Virgo in the Druidcraft Major Arcana – part 2: The Magician

Mercury has been mentioned in more than one of these explorations of Virgo in the Druidcraft, as ruler of the sign, so I thought perhaps it would be a good time to look the card associated with Mercury in the tarot – The Magician - and to see if we can see any links to Virgo in it.

Druidcraft Tarot (trimmed)

The Druidcraft’s image of The Magician is relatively traditional – he stands with one arm raised to the sky, the other one reaching downwards to the earth. The four ‘tools of the trade’ are set before him on a stone altar. The setting is different – it looks like he’s at Stonehenge at either sunrise or sunset . A black hen stands by one of the stones, a reference to the Taliesin story that forms the backbone of learning in Druidry, where Ceridwen shape shifts into a hen in the fourth stage of her pursuit of Gwion. 

This Magician looks very grounded – in touch with the Earth beneath him as well as the stones around him.  The stones and lintels symbolize the idea of a gateway to the Otherworld, from where he can bring back knowledge and healing – two things that Mercury, and hence Virgo, is linked with.

 

He wears a cloak of raven’s feathers – Mercury/Hermes, the winged messenger, has wings on his ankles – symbolising the ability, and perhaps desire, to return to the wild, to walk between worlds, to bring back ancestral memory. He uses his everyday tools – a link to practical, 6^th house everyday service of Virgo, perhaps - to do extraordinary things, linking the inner and outer worlds. As we’ve said before, Virgo is the sixth sign in the zodiac, the last to focus on the individual and our inner world; after her, the emphasis turns to the outer, public domain.  

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

Virgo in the Druidcraft Minor Arcana: The Eight of Pentacles

Now let’s look at Virgo in the Minor Arcana.  Virgo is linked to three ‘pip’ cards in the earthy suit of Pentacles.  Because Virgo is a mutable sign, we look to the 8, 9 and 10 of the suit to find the planetary correspondences.  (For more information on this system of Planetary and Zodiacal dignities, I recommend Elizabeth Hazel’s Tarot Decoded, published by Weiser, 2004).  In the system I follow, the Eight of Pentacles is linked to the Sun in Virgo – and to the first ten days of the Sun’s journey through this sign (23^rd-2^nd September).  

Virgo, the sixth sign of the zodiac, is associated with the sixth house – the house of service, of daily routine, of health and well-being.  Virgo needs to be helpful in a tangible, practical, down-to-earth way.  The Sun just wants to shine!  The Eight of Pentacles is about allowing ourselves to grow and develop our skills and talents - the things we use in our daily lives – carefully.  We have to tend to our creativity, just as we would our garden.  Some discrimination is required – what’s useful, and what need to be weeded out?

 

8 of Pentacles (detail): Druidcraft Tarot

Can we see this in the Druidcraft’s Eight of Pentacles?  I think so, yes.  The image focuses on attention to detail, to the crafting of practical things. I think of training, of studying, of learning new skills.  But in order to acquire these skills, we need to develop self-discipline, as well as patience and perseverance – qualities we might associate with the other earth signs of Taurus and Capricorn, perhaps. But that’s where the mutability comes in – Virgo takes what’s been set in motion by the Capricorn discipline and maintained by the Taurean perseverance and determination, and turns it into something that can be used in a very practical way!

Although we’re in Virgo, this card isn’t about harvest.  It’s too early for that, in this card - whatever it is you’re nurturing has only just reached flowering stage.  It needs time to develop blossoms.  If we extend this to wider Pentacles themes, such as health or finances, the message becomes one of ensuring that our resources have time to develop sufficiently to allow for success.   

It’s the perfect card for me today, as this is my first day in my new job – which will involve looking after office administration as well as fulfilling natural health food product orders, as well as keeping my bank manager happy.  How Virgoan is that??

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