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| Ganymede (juzzodiac.tumbler.com) |
Let’s continue our exploration of Aquarius
in the DruidCraft Tarot with the Major Arcana.
We already know that it combines
the element of air with fixed energy, making it a very ‘in your head’
sign. It’s associated with ideology and
reform, humanitarianism and working with community and groups. In Greek mythology, Ganymede was the cup-bearer
to the gods, serving them with the nectar or ambrosia which gave them
immortality – and was placed in the heavens as the constellation Aquarius as
his reward. The contents of that cup
were life-sustaining – and what is it that sustains us, more often than not?
Hope. And what card in the Major Arcana could we connect with hope? The Star!
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| The Star (detail): DruidCraft Tarot |
The DruidCraft Tarot follows Rider-Waite-Smith
tradition in its depiction of The Star with the young, naked woman with two
pitchers of water – an Aquarian water carrier.
Her youth is said to symbolize renewal, while her nakedness represents
truth for all to see. She has one foot
on land (past) and the other in water (the future), linking the two - and
perhaps also linking the conscious and unconscious.
The foot in water also links us to the Pool
of Memory, allowing us to remember events which give us hope. Her two water jugs sustain both the land and
the pool. See how the water falling onto
the rock on her left separates into five streams before returning to the pool?
This symbolizes our five senses.
Aquarius may be detached but it can certainly feed us, providing us with
hope and optimism – the promise of a new day (dawn).
The card carries the number 17, 1 + 7: in
the sky we see the seven stars of the ‘Little Dipper’, the tail of Ursa Minor
or the Little Bear. Polaris, at the end
of the dipper’s handle, is shown as brightest of all – the star that gives us
direction and hope when we’re lost. Sailors used to, perhaps still do, navigate
by the stars at night. Polaris is one of the (apparently) ‘fixed’ star in the
sky, making it particularly useful in celestial navigation – and therefore a
symbol of hope in its own right.
No surprise that
Imbolc occurs during our sojourn in Aquarius – first signs of spring bringing
forth hope. ..and only a few days away – watch this space!
Druidcraft Tarot created by Philip Carr-Gomm and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, illustrated by
Will Worthington, published by Connections 2004
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