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| 'Ganymede' (juzzodiac.tmblr.com) |
Let’s continue our exploration of Aquarius
in the 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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| Sharman-Caselli Tarot |
Traditional depictions of The Star show us
a young, naked woman with two pitchers of water – a water carrier. Her youth is said to symbolize renewal, while
her nakedness represents truth for all to see.
In the Sharman-Caselli version, 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 that
give us hope, that sustain us. Her two
water jugs sustain both the land and the pool. See too how the water on the
land separates into five streams, symbolizing our five senses, before returning
to the pool. 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: there is one large star in the dawn sky, surrounded by
seven smaller ones, adding up to eight, the number of re-birth and regeneration
– more promise of hope.
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| Shadowscapes Tarot |
The Shadowscapes
Tarot gives us a more ethereal figure. She's not a water carrier in the
strictest sense of the word, although both water and air (remember we're
talking about Aquarius here) are present in the image - her feet dance in water
while the rest of her dances in the air against a backdrop of the Milky Way,
representing perhaps the fixedness of this sign (yes, there are some stars that
are referred to as 'fixed'!). According to the creator, in the
accompanying Shadowscapes Companion (see details below), "she
dances the dance that the stars have choreographed...their silent homage to the
burning spirit they have witnessed." So although in reality stars shine
with their own light, you could say these ones are reflecting the hope that
each person carries!
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| Wildwood Tarot |
Sailors used to, perhaps still do, navigate
by the stars at night. The Pole Star 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. In
the Wildwood Tarot, the Pole Star is referred to as a
symbol of “universal law, spiritual knowledge and power”. 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!
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| Thoth Tarot |
The Thoth uses the
Egyptian sky goddess Nuit (also known as Nu, Nut, and Nuith) to depict the
water carrier. Here we get more of a
sense of the ideological aspects of Aquarius – Nuit receives inspiration from
the universe and allows it to flow through her, passing it on to humanity, or
the greater good. The card represents
clarity of vision, which we could associate with the ‘airiness’ of Aquarius,
while Nuit appears to be grounded, representing the ‘fixedness’ of the sign.
No surprise that
Imbolc occurs during our sojourn in Aquarius – first signs of spring bringing
forth hope.The Imbolc Tarot Blog Hop takes place on 2nd
February – watch this space!
Shadowscapes Tarot created by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law
and Barbara Moore, published by Llewellyn
Sharman-Caselli Tarot
created by Juliet Sharman-Burke, illustrated by Giovanni Caselli, published by
Connections
Thoth Tarot
created by Aleister Crowley, illustrated by Lady Frieda Harris, published by US Games Systems, Inc.
Wildwood Tarot created by Mark Ryan and John Matthews,
illustrated by Will Worthington, published by Connections
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