Aquarius in the DruidCraft Minor Arcana: The Six of Swords

Today we move on to the Six of Swords, which - in the system I use - is linked to Mercury in Aquarius, as well as to the middle ten days of Aquarius (30^th January to 8^th-9^th February this year).

Just to recap: Aquarius is the fixed Air sign, so we’re looking at maintaining lines of communications, and establishing ideas and concepts – but not just any old idea. This is the sign of the unconventional and the unorthodox, the reformer and revolutionary.  When we add Mercury, the communicator, the trader, to this sign we have an energy that wants to express and share its ideas, its ideology, its humanitarian aims, perhaps. Aquarius can be detached and impersonal, so the method of communicating or sharing is likely to reflect that – this won’t be about the emotions!  There could be lots of discussion, and perhaps even the establishing of groups based around a common cause that will involve the need to make changes. Innovative or experimental thinking – leading to the ‘science’ keyword used by Crowley in his Thoth deck – is also an aspect of Mercury in Aquarius.

DruidCraft Tarot: 6 of Swords (trimmed)

Bu how is Mercury in Aquarius reflected in the Six of Swords, and does it work in the DruidCraft?  Traditionally, we tend to see the Six of Swords as being about transition – leaving behind difficult situations and moving towards a calmer place.  Often the image is one of people being carried by boat out of a stormy atmosphere into one that looks more peaceful, and the DruidCraft’s illustrator, Will Worthington, has chosen to follow this.  Mercury in Aquarius suggests to me that we need to find a way out of our difficulties by coming up with new ways of thinking – that the solution comes through a different idea, perhaps even a revolutionary or unorthodox one, or one that requires some experimenting.

Although the creators of the DruidCraft don’t draw on astrological associations, I can see Mercury’s ability to analyze and see clearly helping to bring perspective to what lies ahead (Aquarius), easing the transition.

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