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| 'Taurus' . Copyright Alison Coals |
Beltane falls in Taurus (in the northern hemisphere). As a double Taurus myself, I feel a real
sense of connection to this festival, perhaps through the link to the land –
although I think it’s more likely to be the promise of longer and warmer
days! I have very little Fire in my natal chart,
so perhaps I’m drawn to the Beltane fires, searching for that spark to set my
creativity alight...
There are so many traditions tied in to all our festivals,
Beltane included. It’s linked to May Day, to Walpurgis Night in Germany, to
Calan Mai in Wales – mainly northern traditions, it would seem. It feels fitting, then, that our wrangler for
this Imbolc blog, Arwen, has asked us to write about traditions – in
particular, what traditions are important to us in how we read the Tarot.
As it happens, I’d been thinking about traditions anyway. In
a recent blog about the Hierophant, the
Major Arcana associated with Taurus, I was reflecting on the ‘outer’ forms of
tradition that have held communities together, in the form of the written or
oral word – texts, prayers, teachings, and yes, ritual. Such traditional forms of ‘teaching’ have held
together societies and cultures for millennia – the Haindl Tarot’s Hierophant
carries (top left) the Hebrew letter ‘vav’, meaning ‘nail’, to remind us of
this. And ritual carries with it, of
course, a sense of the seasons, the turning of the year. We celebrate the
passing of the year through a variety of rituals – leaping through the fire on
Beltane being one of them! Again, the
Haindl’s Hierophant carries a reminder of this through the rune ‘radh’ (top
right), meaning ‘wheel’, while the Wildwood’s Ancestor represents the end of
hibernation and the coming of warmth and light; the return of abundance – a
very Taurean word!
Social mores, religious dogma, cultural traditions passed
down from one generation to the next (depicted by the grandfather-father-son in
the Haindl image) - these all carry the idea of being fixed – perhaps even
(Taurus being the fixed Earth sign) ‘set in stone’. But the Hierophant is also about the need to
transform and change, not just about sticking with tradition. Sometimes our
traditions outlive their usefulness, and we need to recognize what no longer
serves us as well as what’s still useful.
With all that in mind, how to answer Arwen’s question? What traditions do I use when I read the
tarot? Am I a traditional or non-traditional reader? Well, I do draw on traditional meanings, but I’ve
come to realize, over the years, that just sticking with tradition doesn’t work
for me – so I can connect to the Hierophant in that regard. I’ve come to rely more and more on being able
to connect intuitively to the symbolism in the cards. I prefer decks that have images on all the
cards, so I’m not a traditionalist in terms of using unmarked pip cards. More of a High Priestess approach perhaps,
which feels appropriate, combining the 'opposing' (in terms of duality) forces, creating a more 'complete' reader?
Just thinking about the fires of Beltane has sparked my
imagination, inspiring this little spread to gain some extra insight...
In what way
do I read ‘traditionally’?
In what way
do I read ‘non-traditionally’?
What helps
me to ‘leap through the fire’ when I read?
What is fuelled
by the fire as I leap over it?
Using the Wildwood Tarot (created by Mark Ryan and John
Matthews, illustrated by Will Worthington, published by Connections), I’ve
drawn the Nine of Stones, The Wanderer, King of Arrows, and the Ace of
Bows. I follow tradition in the way I
respect and use card meanings that have been passed down through time, yet I
can allow myself to trust my intuition and necessarily ‘follow the rules’ – which
for me required a leap of faith when I first started out! I’m able to remain impartial, offering
clarity rather than ‘judgement’, and in doing so, I can give the gift of
empowerment to others.
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.
