Ace! Tarot Blog Hop – Imbolc 2017

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Welcome to Alison’s Alembic!   You may have arrived here as a stop on the Tarot Blog Hop from either Karen's The Pure and Blessed Way's or Chlöe's Inner Whispers blog.  Or you may have found this through TABI’s Facebook page, or though one of the many wonderful tarot bloggers in the ether... It doesn’t matter – what does matter is that you’re here!

Imbolc (pronounced i-molk or i-molg), also called Brigid’s Day or Candlemas, is a cross-quarter festival , marking the end of winter and beginning of spring (in the northern hemisphere). As the Celtic year was based on both lunar and solar cycles, the festival would probably have been celebrated on the full moon nearest the midpoint between the Winter Solstice (Yule) and the Vernal Equinox (Ostara) -  so if you’re living in the southern hemisphere, you’ll be celebrating this in August!

The name ‘Imbolc’ comes from the old Irish “i mbolg”, meaning “in the belly”, referring to the time of year when sheep and goats are pregnant, carrying their young.   Other etymology includes “oimelc”, meaning “ewe’s milk”, a reference to the onset of lactation in ewes about to give birth.

Birth, beginnings… a time of hope, a time to look towards the future, and what might be.

 Our wrangler for this Imbolc blog, Arwen Lynch Poe, has asked us to look at the Aces in the tarot.  The Ace represent the seed, the thing we plant and then go on to nurture as it grows. Each Ace holds the seed of the energy of its suit, be it the creativity and fire of the Wands, the ideas and … of the Swords, the … of the Cups or the … of the Pentacles.

With this in mind, Arwen has asked us to answer the question -

“How can I best foster the energy of the Aces in my life?”

- in whatever form we choose, be it a spread, a poem, a recipe, or whatever our imaginations come up with. I’m excited to see what everyone else is writing about!

And me? I’m fostering Ace energy by creating Ace haiku…

Ace of Pentacles (trimmed):© Shadowsapes Tarot

Earth full of promise

Nurturing, stabilizing,

Ready to take root.

Ace of Vessels (trimmed):© Wildwood Tarot

Well-springs’ constant flow

Carries seeds of love and joy

To fresh hearts and homes.

Ace of Swords (trimmed):© DruidCraft Tarot

Clouds lift, storms abate,

A sword cuts through, points the way,

Stimulates new thought.

Ace of Flames (trimmed):© Margarete PetersenTarot

A small spark of light

The flame grows higher, hotter:

Ignition, blast off!

Thank you for stopping off here on your own journey through this Imbolc Tarot Blog Hop!  Please do come back and read some of my other posts.  

The next stops on the Tarot Blog Hop are - depending on whether you’re moving backwards or forwards through the list – The Pure and Blessed Way or Inner Whispers. The Master List can be found here.

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DruidCraft Tarot created by Philip Carr-Gomm and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, illustrated by Will Worthington, published by Connections

Margarete Petersen Tarot, AGM-URANIA/Deep Books, 2004

Shadowscapes Tarot created by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law and Barbara Moore, published by Llewellyn

Wildwood Tarot created by Mark Ryan and John Matthews, illustrated by Will Worthington, published by Connections

Stirring the Air - Margarete Petersen’s Ace of Feathers

Well, we’ve finished our journey through the Flames suit.  And with the Autumn Equinox and our ingress to Libra just past, I thought I’d turn my attention to the suit of Swords – or Feathers, in the Margarete Petersen deck.

Ace of Feathers (trimmed): ©Margarete Petersen

What do we associate with this suit? We’re in the element of Air, so thoughts, ideas, … anything that involves the mind. Our ability to analyse, to reason, to apply logic. If we think of air-waves, we have communication as well.  The Swords/Feathers are also considered to be the most challenging suit, and are associated with feelings of grief and jealousy, and the isolation that such emotions can bring. 

Here’s the Ace of Feathers.  Like the Ace of Flames, I see a creative spark in this peacock-eye feather – the colours Petersen has used are reminiscent of a flame.  I like the idea of inspiration for the Ace of this suit – the inhaling or in-spiring of the creative process – a new idea?  An alternative way of communicating?

Feather's eye, mind's eye
Watching, fanning, inspiring 
Stimulating thought.

Margarete Petersen Tarot, AGM-URANIA, 2004