The Water Carrier returns...

At 03.08 UT today the Sun moved (astrologically) into the sign of Aquarius...and we may well be in the Age of Aquarius too, although there doesn’t seem to be a consensus on when this actually happened, or will happen.  I think it’s safe to say we’re in the ‘dawning of the Age of Aquarius’, though!

Here in the northern hemisphere the days are starting to lengthen, now that the Midwinter Solstice has passed, and there’s a sense of hope in the air. Here in the West Country, we’re inundated with water, as if Aquarius has emptied his water-carrier onto the earth!  With all the floods, the area around Glastonbury could be returning to the way it used to be when it was known as the Summerlands...  Nevertheless spring (again, in the northern hemisphere) is on its way, and we may perhaps find a spring in our step too, as we look forward to this!  Hope in the air – how appropriate... Aquarius is an Air sign, and the tarot card from the Major Arcana associated with it is the Star, the card of hope and optimism.

But first, what is Aquarius all about, in terms of astrology?  It’s represented in the zodiac by the water carrier, but who is this figure? There are many Aquarian myths – that of Uranus, the sky god of the Greeks who looks down from above and sees into the future, for instance. He was the first creator god in Greek mythology, married to Gaia, the Earth. His creations never met his high expectations, and he was considered to be cold and aloof.   Ganymede, also from Greek myth, became the cup-bearer to the gods and was placed in the heavens as the constellation of Aquarius.  

Prometheus

Other stories include that of Prometheus (his selfless act in stealing fire from the gods to give to humanity being the epitomy of Aquarian humanitarianism), Hercules’ cleaning of the Augean Stables (“cleaning the slate”), and Gilgamesh’s search for the Herb of Immortality (realizing that man can’t live forever).

The sign of Aquarius has two planetary rulers.  It’s traditionally ruled by Saturn, emphasizing restraint, objectivity and detachment.  

‘Aquarius’ ©Alison Coals

Detachment also comes from Uranus, which became the modern ruler of Aquarius after its ‘discovery’ in 1781 in Bath (UK) by William and Caroline Herschel (go and see Forged Line Dance Company's 'LINA', based on the Herschels' discovery of Uranus, if you can - it's brilliant!!). 

Uranus had been observed a number of times before this, but was usually mistaken for a star. Herschel himself originally thought it was a comet but by 1783 it was classified as a planet - the same year that the American Revolution ended with the signing of a peace treaty with the British, and only six years before the French Revolution. The Industrial Revolution had not long begun either – so it’s no wonder that Uranus has become associated with rebellion, revolution, and the reforming of society.  The famous “liberté, equalité, et fraternité” of the French Revolution could sum up Uranian, and by association Aquarian, qualities.

The sign of Aquarius combines the element of air with fixed energy, making it a very ‘in your head’ sign.  Despite being the carrier of water, it often seems to be out of step with emotions and can – like the sky god Uranus - seem very detached or aloof.  It’s linked to original thinking, ingenuity, inventiveness, and innovation.  Aquarius is a reformer and a humanitarian, and is linked to the (astrological) 11^th House through its concern with community and groups, not to mention ideology.  But despite that, the Aquarian could be seen as an “armchair activist”, not wanting to be in the thick of things but preferring to remain detached. On the other hand, some see “Citizen Smith” (1977-80) as an Aquarian figure!

For the next 4 or so weeks, I’ll be exploring tarot cards that have links to Aquarius, to see how this detached revolutionary idealistic humanitarian might cast light on our understanding of the tarot.

‘Aquarius’ comes from my AstroArt series, inspired by walking the Glastonbury Landscape Zodiac. The image is a collage, using watercolour on paper.  

Wish upon a star… Aquarius and Margarete Petersen's Tarot

At 21.23 UT yesterday (19th January) the Sun moved (astrologically) into the zodiac sign of Aquarius. Here in the northern hemisphere the days are starting to lengthen, now that the Midwinter Solstice has passed, and there’s a sense of hope in the air. Spring (again, in the northern hemisphere) is on its way, and we may perhaps find a spring in our step too, as we look forward to this! Hope in the air – how appropriate... Aquarius is an Air sign, and the tarot card from the Major Arcana associated with it is the Star, the card of hope and optimism.

Prometheus

But first, what is Aquarius all about, in terms of astrology? It’s represented in the zodiac by the water carrier, but who is this figure? There are many Aquarian myths – that of Uranus, the sky god of the Greeks who looks down from above and sees into the future, for instance. He was the first creator god in Greek mythology, married to Gaia, the Earth. His creations never met his high expectations, and he was considered to be cold and aloof. Ganymede, also from Greek myth, became the cup-bearer to the gods and was placed in the heavens as the constellation of Aquarius. Other stories include that of Prometheus (his selfless act in stealing fire from the gods to give to humanity being the epitomy of Aquarian humanitarianism), Hercules’ cleaning of the Augean Stables (“cleaning the slate”), and Gilmagesh’s search for the Herb of Immortality (realizing that man can’t live forever).

The sign of Aquarius has two planetary rulers. It’s traditionally ruled by Saturn, emphasizing restraint, objectivity and detachment. Detachment also comes from Uranus, which became the modern ruler of Aquarius after its ‘discovery’ in 1781 in Bath (UK) by William Herschel. Uranus had been observed a number of times before this, but was usually mistaken for a star. Herschel himself originally thought it was a comet but by 1783 it was classified as a planet - the same year that the American Revolution ended with the signing of a peace treaty with the British, and only six years before the French Revolution. The Industrial Revolution had not long begun either – so it’s no wonder that Uranus has become associated with rebellion, revolution, and the reforming of society. The famous “liberté, equalité, et fraternité” of the French Revolution could sum up Uranian, and by association Aquarian, qualities.

The sign of Aquarius combines the element of air with fixed energy, making it a very ‘in your head’ sign. Despite being the carrier of water, it often seems to be out of step with emotions and can – like the sky god Uranus - seem very detached or aloof. It’s linked to original thinking, ingenuity, inventiveness, and innovation. Aquarius is a reformer and a humanitarian, and is linked to the (astrological) 11th House through its concern with community and groups, not to mention ideology. But despite that, the Aquarian could be seen as an “armchair activist”, not wanting to be in the thick of things but preferring to remain detached. On the other hand, some see “Citizen Smith” (1977-80) as an Aquarian figure!

Looking now to the tarot, the card from the Major Arcana that’s associated with Aquarius is The Star. Going back to Ganymede, what did that cup of his contain? Nectar or ambrosia which gave the gods immortality. In other words, 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!

The Star (trimmed): © Margarete Petersen Tarot

Margarete Petersen’s Star isn’t the ‘traditional’ RWS depiction. Here we see a rather ethereal spiral (which reminds me of a translucent nautilus shell) set against a star-filled universe. Below it is a sea. As the shell-like spiral turns it lifts water up, much like a water-wheel - a water carrier...Aquarius again!

Stars have been used to navigate for centuries, perhaps millennia. They held hope not only for the ancient mariners, but also today – we often wish upon stars, don’t we? 

Shining through the dark

Hope and faith lie in the stars

Within and without.

Margarete Petersen Tarot, AGM-URANIA, 2004

Aquarius in the Druidcraft court cards

Today I’ll finish off our exploration of Aquarius in the tarot by looking at the court cards. But which one – or ones?   

Different traditions have different astrological correspondences when it comes to the courts.  Generally  (but not always!) these correspondences depend on how cardinality, fixity and mutability have been assigned.  

For instance, the Book-T system (www.tarot.org.il/Library/Mathers/Book-T.html) attributes the cardinal attributes (initiating things) to the Queens, fixed (maintaining order) to the Kings, and mutable (being able to adapt and transform) to the Knights.  Each court card is also linked to the elements, with Pages with Earth, Knights being associated with Fire, Queens with Water, and Kings with Air.

Other decks follow a different convention. They keep the Knights as carriers of mutable qualities, but have the Queens taking on the ‘fixed’ attributes and the Kings the ‘cardinal’ ones. 

As Aquarius is the fixed Air sign, I’m looking for the Swords court card that’s associated with ‘fixed’-ness.

 

Queen of Swords (trimmed): DruidCraft Tarot

So far in my exploration of the DruidCraft, I’ve found that the Queens seem to correspond best to the ‘fixed’ signs, so let’s look at the Queen of Wands as the Aquarian card.  That combination of air and fixed-ness suggests thoughtful humanitarian detachment.  Actually I can see that in both the King and the Queen, and unlike the other Kings and Queens, there’s no helpful symbolism in the image (that I can see) to help make my choice! It’s what Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm have written about the Queen that makes me see her as the Aquarian figure – “a natural analyst...discriminating and perceptive, with high ideals...ability to be detached and objective”.  

Druidcraft Tarot created by Philip Carr-Gomm and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, illustrated by Will Worthington, published by Connections 2004

Imbolc and the first stirrings of spring

Imbolc (pronounced i-molk or i-molg), also called Brigid’s Day or St Brighid’s Day, is a Celtic cross-quarter festival marking the end of winter and beginning of spring. 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 and the Vernal Equinox, which this year falls on the 24^th January. The astrological point of Imbolc, when the sun reaches 15 degrees of Aquarius, falls on the 4th - but most people tend to celebrate on the 1st-2nd  - or, if you’re living in the southern hemisphere, you’ll celebrate this anywhere between the 1^st and 4th of 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. Fire and purification have played important roles in this festival throughout the ages, with celebrations involving hearth fires, bonfires and the lighting of candles to represent the return of light and warmth to the land. It’s also traditionally a time of weather divination, with people watching for serpents or badgers (or groundhogs!) emerging from their winter dens.

For me, the most potent sign of this time of year is the emergence of the snowdrops – that sight always lifts my heart, and gives me a sense of hope.  One of the first things I do when I move somewhere new is to ensure that I plant snowdrops in the autumn so that I have this to look forward to during those short dark days.  

The card in the tarot that symbolizes that hope and optimism is, of course, The Star – the card that’s linked, astrologically, to the sign of Aquarius (which we entered on the 20^th January).  I wrote about this a few days ago - click here to see this post.

The Ancestor (trimmed): Wildwood Tarot

The Wildwood Tarot (Mark Ryan-John Matthews-Will Worthington, published by Connections) connects strongly to the Wheel of the Year, and starts its ‘journey’ at Imbolc, so it feels appropriate to look at the cards they assign to this festival – the Ancestor (5) and the Pole Star (17). Both cards, then, are linked to beginnings and to the “guidance systems” we have available to us – the Ancestor representing our inner ones, the Pole Star the outer.  

The Pole Star (trimmed): Wildwood T arot

In some ways, the Wildwood’s accompanying book’s description of the Pole Star (a symbol of “universal law, spiritual knowledge and power”) is not unlike the way I think about the traditional Hierophant. What brings it back to the traditional meaning of the Star, for me, is the idea of universal knowledge being a web – a very Aquarian concept! 

Daughter of Cups in the South (trimmed):
Haindl Tarot

The Haindl Tarot’s Daughter of Cups is represented by Brigid. Talk about being hit over the head by the cards!  This really speaks to what it is within me that longs to do – to allow my creativity and intuition greater freedom to explore...  And I have the wisdom I’ve gained from past experience (the Ancestor) and the guiding light with which I can navigate into the future (the Pole Star) to help me with this birth. The birth of hope and optimism, and the reminder not to be so cynical and jaded about the state of the world!  

Haindl Tarot created by Hermann Haindl, published by US Games Systems, Inc.

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