...and the depths of winter - well, at least that's the idea, here in the Northern Hemisphere! Not that wintry in the UK but even so...
I created a Midwinter Meditation tarot spread for the TABI blog - please do check it out here.
See you in the New Year!
Alison's Alembic
All sorts of magical things can come out of an alembic - put something in, and out comes.... well, here it's tarot, astrology, and art!
Monday, 30 December 2019
Monday, 30 September 2019
Sitting in Judgement
I’ve been challenged, recently,
about my interpretation of the Judgment card.
In a reading, I’d said that Judgment wasn’t about judging and being
judged – or at least, not only about that. But
others clearly don’t agree, so I thought I’d have a look and see what other
views are around.
© Judgement
Universal Waite Tarot
|
The Little White Book (LWB) that
accompanies the Universal Waite Tarot deck simple says “Change of position, renewal, outcome.” Short and to the point.
Rachel Pollack, in her Seeker: The Tarot Unveiled (Llewellyn, 2005), adds “rebirth, new
possibilities, and wholeness” to the list.
In fact, she maintains (as do I) that Judgment is not about judging
others, showing good judgement, or being judged themselves at all. The child in the image reminds us that new
opportunities and possibilities can appear when we heed the voice that tells us
to let go of old, out-of-date, ways and beliefs. The nakedness of the figures symbolizes
openness as well as new beginnings – the state in which we were born into this
world, but also the state in which we need to embrace this “re-birth”. The trumpet, far from being the call to
judgement, is in fact the “voice”, the push, the call – however it manifests –
to step into the unknown and stop hiding.
© Judgement
Game of Thrones Tarot
|
Juliet Sharman-Burke, in her Beginners Guide to the Tarot (Connections, 2001),
adds “resurrection and resolution” to the list.
She too sees this as an opportunity to greet the new with joy. She calls it the card of karma, saying “it
heralds the time of reaping what has been sown”. You might see an element of judgement in that
but, reading between her lines, I feel it’s more about assessment. Yes, she does use the word “judge” – “to
judge your actions and appraise what you have done” – but she goes on to say it’s
more about the preparation for the next stage in life.
Liz Dean, in the accompanying guidebook to The Game of Thrones Tarot (Home Box Office, Inc., 2017), doesn’t use the word “judgement” in her description of the card. She writes about being on the edge of a change, and focuses on the need for second chances after a review or appraisal, and about the chance to make sense of the past.
© Judgement
Shadowscapes Tarot
|
The creators of the Wildwood Tarot (Connections, 2011), Mark Ryan and John
Matthews, are very clear in their view.
In the accompany book, they write that “The major element in this
process [surviving inevitable change] is judgement of yourself and others.”,
yet the word “judgement” doesn’t come up in their list of keywords. “Karma” and “cosmic law” do, as does “inescapable
truth”. They do talk about renewal and
rebirth, themes that are echoed in the image that Will Worthington has created
for the card. That idea of rebirth is
also seen in the DruidCraft Tarot’s image (also by Will Worthington).
© The Great Bear
Wildwood Tarot
|
© Rebirth
Druid Craft Tarot
|
© Judgement
Wild Unknown Tarot
|
Beginner’s Guide to
the Tarot created by Juliet Sharman-Burke, illustrated
by Giovanni Caselli, published by Connections
Druid Craft Tarot created by Philip
Carr-Gomm and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, illustrated by Will Worthington, published
by Connections
Game of Thrones Tarot, created by Liz
Dean, published by Home Box Office, Inc., 2017
Shadowscapes Tarot created by
Stephanie Pui-Mun Law and Barbara Moore, published by Llewellyn
Universal Waite
Tarot created by Mary Hanson-Roberts & Pamela Colman-Smith, published by
U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
Wild Unknown Tarot, created by Kim
Krans, published by HarperCollins, 2016.
Wildwood Tarot created by Mark
Ryan and John Matthews, illustrated by Will Worthington, published by
Connections
Monday, 23 September 2019
Tarot Blog Hop Mabon 2019: What is my harvest, and how do I find it?
In the northern hemisphere, we're approaching the Autumn Equinox, also known as Alban Elfed, as well as the time for paying tribute to Mabon. It's the time of year when we’re poised between light and dark, with the hours of daylight and darkness being equal in length. It’s also the culmination of the harvest that was begun at Lughnasadh. At this time we celebrate the beginning of harvesting grapes, making wine, bringing in the sheaves for the canning, preserving, and other ways of gathering the fruits of months, sometimes years, of effort and care.
With all this in mind, our wrangler for this particular Blog Hop, Aisling, has given us the title
What Is My Harvest, and How Do I Find It?
She’s asked us to focus on the collecting of our personal harvest – what we’ve learned, what we’ve decided is important, what we’ve have decided to get rid of. How are we planning to make productive use of the autumn and winter months? How have we changed, what are we beginning, and what have we completed, and – most importantly, how have we begun to further and more deeply understand our ‘self’?
Aisling’s suggested using the concept of the Three Realms – Land, Sea, and Sky – to represent Body, Mind, and Spirit, and to draw three cards for each of the Realms, nine cards altogether. In each case, the cards will answer three questions, one set for Body, one for Mind, and one for Spirit.
These are the questions:
1. What do I need to know about the current condition of my body/mind/spirit right now?
2. What is the most important thing on which I need to focus in the realm of my body/mind/spirit as I move into the winter months?
3. What is the main content and context of this harvest of better health/new ideas/deeper spiritual resonance that I am going to receive if I focus on these things?
So, here goes! I’m using Stephanie Pui-Mun Law’s lovely Shadowscapes deck. This is what it looks like, overall – bottom row: Land, middle row: Sea, top row: Sky...
All cards © Stephanie Pui-Mun Law
Starting with the first column (left-hand-side), Body –
Card 2, in the middle (Sea), represents the thing that’s most important for me to focus on as we move towards winter in terms of my health, or body. The Ace of Cups suggests more beginnings, but on an emotional front. That’s good too – emotional happiness has an effort on the body, and vice versa.
Card 3, at the top (Sky), represents what it is I will harvest in terms of improved health. The Ten of Pentacles indicates continued good health – not just in the body but in all material areas.
Moving over to the middle column, Mind –
Card 4, at the bottom (Land), represents what I need to know about the current condition of my mind right now. The World reminds me that I’ve achieved a lot this year, even if I haven’t always been aware of it. Despite difficulties there’s also been joy. New ideas for the coming months are about to seed themselves…
Card 5, in the middle (Sea), represents the thing that’s most important for me to focus on as we move towards winter in terms of my mind, my thoughts and beliefs. The Two of Swords indicates the need to stop procrastinating, something I’ve been doing a lot of recently. Find workable solutions – not necessarily perfect ones!
Card 6, at the top (Sky), represents what it is I will harvest in terms of new ideas. Another Two, the Two of Cups suggests a coming together of ideas. Moving from the edginess of the Swords to the softer Cups, from procrastination to creativity – bring it on!
And finally, the third (right-hand-side) column, Spirit –
Card 7, at the bottom (Land), represents what I need to know about the current condition of my spirit right now. The Ace of Wands tells me that a new spark is ready to be ignited, that within me there’s a way forward just raring to go! My spirit is lifted by the thought of travel and adventure of all kinds, and by the creativity that is born through such wanderings.
Card 8, in the middle (Sea), represents the thing that’s most important for me to focus on as we move towards winter in terms of my spiritual growth. The Fool tells me to take a leap of faith. Instead of wondering if I’m following the ‘right’ path, just pick one (shades of the Two of Swords sitting to the left) and see where it takes me.
Card 9, at the top (Sky), represents what it is I will harvest in terms of deeper spiritual resonance. The King of Pentacles is the court card that’s associated with the decan in which I was born, so this has particular resonance for me – I feel a sense of ‘coming home’ with its appearance here. A greater wealth in terms of spirit, some of which may come from voluntary work that I’m involved in, as well as my personal spiritual work.
Even though they cross realms, I’m really struck by the appearance of the first and final Majors in the spread. Those, and the two Aces and two Twos, really give me the sense of new beginnings, which will be very welcome. I’m also drawn to the richness of the greens and golds in the ‘Land’ row; it gives me a sense of being very grounded and supported (which I am). The blue-mauves of the ‘Sea’ row suggest flow, movement (Water and Air) – a good thing on which to focus. And the blue-green of the top row (Sky) suggests emotional, creative and intellectual fulfilment to come…
Thanks so much, Aisling, for this inspiring idea!
And thank you, readers, for stopping off here on your journey through this Mabon Tarot Blog Hop! Please do come back and read some of my other posts – and if you’re a Facebook user, you can find me at Alison’s Alembic.
Card 7, at the bottom (Land), represents what I need to know about the current condition of my spirit right now. The Ace of Wands tells me that a new spark is ready to be ignited, that within me there’s a way forward just raring to go! My spirit is lifted by the thought of travel and adventure of all kinds, and by the creativity that is born through such wanderings.
Card 8, in the middle (Sea), represents the thing that’s most important for me to focus on as we move towards winter in terms of my spiritual growth. The Fool tells me to take a leap of faith. Instead of wondering if I’m following the ‘right’ path, just pick one (shades of the Two of Swords sitting to the left) and see where it takes me.
Card 9, at the top (Sky), represents what it is I will harvest in terms of deeper spiritual resonance. The King of Pentacles is the court card that’s associated with the decan in which I was born, so this has particular resonance for me – I feel a sense of ‘coming home’ with its appearance here. A greater wealth in terms of spirit, some of which may come from voluntary work that I’m involved in, as well as my personal spiritual work.
Even though they cross realms, I’m really struck by the appearance of the first and final Majors in the spread. Those, and the two Aces and two Twos, really give me the sense of new beginnings, which will be very welcome. I’m also drawn to the richness of the greens and golds in the ‘Land’ row; it gives me a sense of being very grounded and supported (which I am). The blue-mauves of the ‘Sea’ row suggest flow, movement (Water and Air) – a good thing on which to focus. And the blue-green of the top row (Sky) suggests emotional, creative and intellectual fulfilment to come…
Thanks so much, Aisling, for this inspiring idea!
And thank you, readers, for stopping off here on your journey through this Mabon Tarot Blog Hop! Please do come back and read some of my other posts – and if you’re a Facebook user, you can find me at Alison’s Alembic.
The next
stops on the Tarot Blog Hop are - depending on whether you’re moving backwards
or forwards through the list – Tarot and Stars or Tarot of Change.
The Master List can be found here.
Shadowscapes Tarot created by
Stephanie Pui-Mun Law and Barbara Moore, published by Llewellyn
Labels:
Ace of Cups,
Ace of Wands,
King of Pentacles,
Mabon,
Page of Wands,
Shadowscapes Tarot,
Stephanie Pui-Mun Law,
Tarot Blog Hop,
Ten of Pentacles,
The Fool,
The World,
Two of Cups,
Two of Swords
Saturday, 9 March 2019
Pisces in the Minor Arcana: The Nine of Cups
The Nine of Cups, which - in the correspondence system I use - is linked to
Jupiter in Pisces, as well as the middle
third of Pisces (28th February to 9th March, roughly). Jupiter is the ruler of Pisces, so already we
have a sense of how this might play out! Jupiter, the ‘Greater Benefic’,
expansive, generous, jovial... and in Pisces, described so well by William
Blake’s “The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom" (from The Marriage of Heaven and Hell).
Jupiter in Pisces is compassionate and sensitive, and has great faith or trust
in a higher power (and the self). It
wants to grow by living according to its ideals – it’s high-minded, yet its
generosity of spirit makes it sympathetic to everyone and everything.
Nine of Cups (trimmed):
© Wildwood Tarot
|
Jupiter’s expansiveness gives rise to overflowing watery
emotions, symbolized in the Sharman-Burke/Caselli version of the card by the
fountains, or the overflowing cups in the Crowley Thoth and Wildwood decks.
In
Pisces, it’s all about bliss, deep joy, overflowing love... without
restrictions. It’s the benevolence, the
all-expansiveness, of Jupiter that gives the Wildwood’s Nine of Vessels its
keyword ‘generosity’.
Nine of Cups (trimmed):
© Sharman-Burke/Caselli Tarot
|
The emotions are nourished, the senses are satisfied
(symbolized by the spread of food and the embracing couple depicted in the
Sharman-Burke/Caselli card, from the Beginners
Guide to the Tarot) – it’s a time for indulging, to enjoy relationships. Often referred to as the ‘wish card’, the Nine
of Cups can represents dream or wishes coming true and, through Jupiter in
Pisces, the sense of ‘blessedness’ that comes from deep-rooted, absolute joy.
Mutable Water.
Nine of Cups (trimmed):
© Margarete Petersen Tarot
|
In Margarete Petersen’s
version of this card we see a pearl in a shell, bathed in bright (sun?) light,
possibly on a beach… the colours conjure up evening, for me - the Cups correspondence with
twilight-evening, perhaps. Pearls are metaphors for something rare, fine,
admirable, and valuable – so I can see why Margarete Petersen has used this to
represent the penultimate goal. You’d
think there was nothing more to gain after this, but it is the ‘almost but not
quite’ idea.
In the LWB, Petersen writes about the pain involved in the process of reaching this goal: the pearl forms from a grain of sand embedding itself in the soft flesh of the mollusk, and the continuous pain the creature feels as its shell covers the grain of sand with calcium carbonate to create the pearl. So it’s not all happy-happy in this version – there’s a need to accept the pain in order to truly appreciate the gift from the ‘depths of the ocean’ (i.e., from within ourselves, if we allow it to surface). The shadow side of the card, perhaps?
The shadow side of Jupiter in Pisces, and the Nine of Cups, also reflects the tendency towards escapism, and losing focus. Not that escapism is always
a bad thing, but Jupiter takes things to excess, so what might be healthy
escapism runs the risk of becoming an addiction. It could be difficult to deal
with the outpouring of emotions, to the point where the emotions end up
becoming blocked for fear of the consequences.
Beginner’s Guide to
the Tarot created by Juliet Sharman-Burke, illustrated
by Giovanni Caselli, published by Connections
Margarete Petersen Tarot,
AGM-URANIA/Deep Books, 2004.
Wildwood Tarot created by Mark
Ryan and John Matthews, illustrated by Will Worthington, published by
Connections
Saturday, 22 December 2018
Mid-winter arrives!
At 10.22 pm UT yesterday (21st December), those
of us in the northern hemisphere celebrated the Winter Solstice, the solar
festival sacred to the Old King and to the reborn ‘Sun Child’, whom we find in
various incarnations - Mithras, the Mabon, Jesus, among others. ‘Solstice’ means ‘sun still’, and refers to
the sun seemingly being at a standstill – its turning point, the ‘shortest day’
– as well as its lowest point in the sky.
Up to now, the hours of daylight have been decreasing, the nights
growing longer. Today though, the sun
‘stands still’, the Wheel of the Year seems to stop, and time appears to hang...but
from now on the light will start to increase and days will lengthen.
‘Capricorn’ ©Alison
Coals
|
The Solstice also marks the Sun’s ingress, astrologically
speaking, into the sign of Capricorn, the tenth astrological sign in the
zodiac. It originates from the constellation of Capricornus, usually shown as a
goat with a fish’s tale, but is also seen as a more conventional goat that we’d
see on land.
There are, as usual, a
number of myths and stories behind the sea-goat. One involves Pan, the goat
god. When he was attacked by the monster Typhon (so now you can guess where the
name ‘typhoon’ came from!), he ran into the Nile to escape. The part of him
below the water’s surface transformed into a fish. Images of sea-goats go back to Babylonian
times, with symbols for the god Enki being both a goat and a fish. The
constellation of Capricorn is also sometimes called Amalthea, the goat nymph
(in Greek mythology) who reared Zeus after he was saved from being devoured by
his father Kronos.
Kronos, of course, was the father of the Greek gods, and was
also known as the ‘father of time’, giving us the word ‘chronology’. In the
Roman pantheon, he was known as Saturn – the planet that rules the sign of
Capricorn.

It’s about
retaining integrity, but can also be ambitious. There’s a business-like quality
to Capricorn, too – it’s an Earth sign, so it’s practical and level-headed, but
at the same time it’s also a Cardinal sign, so it’s not afraid to get things
going, to start new enterprises. On the ‘shadow’ side, it can appear as greed,
in terms of material ambition.
‘Capricorn’ comes
from my AstroArt series, inspired by
walking the Glastonbury Landscape Zodiac. The image is a collage, using watercolour on paper.
Thursday, 22 November 2018
Shoot for the stars!
At 09.01 UTC/GMT today, the 22nd of November, the
Sun moved (astrologically) into the zodiac sign of Sagittarius. Here in the northern hemisphere, the days are
getting shorter and the path of the sun – when we see it at all! – is low in
the southern sky. The time of solstice,
when the sun will appear to be at a standstill, is approaching – but for now,
we’re in the Fire sign of Sagittarius.
‘Sagittarius’ ©Alison
Coals
|
The constellation
of Sagittarius represents a centaur - the half-archer, half-horse figure who,
in Greek mythology, was a disruptive creature, a lover of riot. The most famous
story of the centaurs has them causing havoc at the wedding of Hippodamia and
Pirithous, where they attempted to carry of Hippodamia and some of her women -
the aim being to free the spirit of the women!
Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, the largest of the planets
in our solar system, and one that’s composed almost entirely of gas. Not difficult to see how Sagittarius has come
by its reputation for being larger than life, full of hot air, and a tendency
to overdo things! Jupiter is the Roman counterpart to Zeus in
the Greek pantheon - the ruler of the gods, as well as being the god of
thunder. Often shown with a lightning bolt as his symbol, Jupiter came to
represent growth, expansion, and benevolence (in astrology, the planet is
referred to as the 'greater benefic') - as well as good humour. Jupiter
was also known as Jove, giving rise to our word 'jovial'. Sagittarius, as well as being a Fire sign, is
also classed as a mutable sign – being able to change and adapt, and to
disseminate or spread. We can see this in the growth and expansion associated
with Jupiter.
The sign of Sagittarius sits at the other end of the axis of
information on the zodiac, opposite Gemini. Both signs carry the quality of
wanting to know what’s going on but Sagittarius takes this quest for knowledge
out into the wider world and beyond into the universe. It takes Gemini’s information and data on its
quest, searching for ways to turn that into wisdom. Like the other Fire signs, Sagittarius is
fun-loving, cheerful, and full of energy - but that mutable energy means it can
be restless and always on the move. In cardinal Aries, we have ignition; in
fixed Leo, the fire is maintained; in mutable Sagittarius, the fire is carried
out into the world. That’s part of being on its quest for knowledge, of
course – but that doesn’t stop Sagittarius from enjoying the journey and having
adventures; just think of the Knights on their quest for the Holy Grail!
Adventure and challenge, wide open spaces, the freedom to
roam – that’s what Sagittarius loves.
It’s not just physical exploration though – it’s also the need to expand
consciousness, acquiring wisdom as well as experience. Philosophy, religion, law – anything that
involves expansion of the mind will appeal to Sagittarius. There are shamanic
associations to this sign too – the vision quest or shamanic journey could be
seen as very Sagittarian.
What happens when you overfill a balloon with hot air? It’s
likely to burst. Well, this happens here too – Sagittarius is optimistic to the
point of being unrealistic, promising to do more than is humanly possible and
not being able to deliver. There’s a
tendency to live in the future, imagining the endless possibilities, but not
noticing what’s going on in front of them, on the ground. But that optimism also leads to a belief in
luck and good fortune – more Jupiterian qualities!
The ‘Sagittarius’ collage comes from my
AstroArt series, inspired by walking the Glastonbury Landscape Zodiac.
Monday, 12 November 2018
Scorpio in the Major Arcana: Death (part 3)
13 The Journey (trimmed):
© Wildwood Tarot
|
In Part 1 of our exploration of the Death card, we saw the
raven appear. The raven is considered to
be, among other things, a guardian of the dead, or a guide to the otherworld. In The Wildwood Tarot’s ‘The Journey’, Will
Worthington has given us an image of the raven tearing flesh from a skull of a
reindeer - a symbol of the stripping of life, and of the (re)cycling of life
through death and birth; all Scorpio (and by affinity, astrological 8th
house) issues.
XIII Death (trimmed):
© Wild Unknown Tarot
|
The skeleton in Kim Krans’ Wild Unknown Tarot’s Death card
may or may not be a raven, but the image reflects that idea of the stripping of
life - the disintegration of flesh, leaving only bones behind. Again, the cycling of life, and the knowledge
that something needs to come to an end.
Krans talks about the need for closure, in the book that accompanies her
deck, and about the inevitability of the ending. And through experiencing the ‘death’, we’re
able to move towards a new stage in our lives.
Wild Unknown Tarot, created by Kim
Krans, published by HarperCollins, 2016.
Wildwood Tarot created by Mark
Ryan and John Matthews, illustrated by Will Worthington, published by
Connections
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