Ace! Tarot Blog Hop – Imbolc 2017

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Welcome to Alison’s Alembic!   You may have arrived here as a stop on the Tarot Blog Hop from either Karen's The Pure and Blessed Way's or Chlöe's Inner Whispers blog.  Or you may have found this through TABI’s Facebook page, or though one of the many wonderful tarot bloggers in the ether... It doesn’t matter – what does matter is that you’re here!

Imbolc (pronounced i-molk or i-molg), also called Brigid’s Day or Candlemas, is a cross-quarter festival , marking the end of winter and beginning of spring (in the northern hemisphere). As the Celtic year was based on both lunar and solar cycles, the festival would probably have been celebrated on the full moon nearest the midpoint between the Winter Solstice (Yule) and the Vernal Equinox (Ostara) -  so if you’re living in the southern hemisphere, you’ll be celebrating this in August!

The name ‘Imbolc’ comes from the old Irish “i mbolg”, meaning “in the belly”, referring to the time of year when sheep and goats are pregnant, carrying their young.   Other etymology includes “oimelc”, meaning “ewe’s milk”, a reference to the onset of lactation in ewes about to give birth.

Birth, beginnings… a time of hope, a time to look towards the future, and what might be.

 Our wrangler for this Imbolc blog, Arwen Lynch Poe, has asked us to look at the Aces in the tarot.  The Ace represent the seed, the thing we plant and then go on to nurture as it grows. Each Ace holds the seed of the energy of its suit, be it the creativity and fire of the Wands, the ideas and … of the Swords, the … of the Cups or the … of the Pentacles.

With this in mind, Arwen has asked us to answer the question -

“How can I best foster the energy of the Aces in my life?”

- in whatever form we choose, be it a spread, a poem, a recipe, or whatever our imaginations come up with. I’m excited to see what everyone else is writing about!

And me? I’m fostering Ace energy by creating Ace haiku…

Ace of Pentacles (trimmed):© Shadowsapes Tarot

Earth full of promise

Nurturing, stabilizing,

Ready to take root.

Ace of Vessels (trimmed):© Wildwood Tarot

Well-springs’ constant flow

Carries seeds of love and joy

To fresh hearts and homes.

Ace of Swords (trimmed):© DruidCraft Tarot

Clouds lift, storms abate,

A sword cuts through, points the way,

Stimulates new thought.

Ace of Flames (trimmed):© Margarete PetersenTarot

A small spark of light

The flame grows higher, hotter:

Ignition, blast off!

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.  

The next stops on the Tarot Blog Hop are - depending on whether you’re moving backwards or forwards through the list – The Pure and Blessed Way or Inner Whispers. The Master List can be found here.

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

Margarete Petersen Tarot, AGM-URANIA/Deep Books, 2004

Shadowscapes Tarot created by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law and Barbara Moore, published by Llewellyn

Wildwood Tarot created by Mark Ryan and John Matthews, illustrated by Will Worthington, published by Connections

Tarot Blog Hop: Samhuin 2016

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Welcome to Alison’s Alembic! You may have arrived here as a stop on the Tarot Blog Hop from either Louise’s Priestess Tarot or Ania M's blog. Or you may have found this through TABI’s Facebook page, or though one of the many wonderful tarot bloggers in the ether... It doesn’t matter – what does matter is that you’re here!

(First of all, I have to apologise for any weird font sizes that follow. No matter how many times I reset them to 'normal', Blogger insists on making it all tiny again. If they still look odd, I hope you all have a good magnifying glass to hand!)

It’s the time of Samhain (“summer’s end”), a liminal time when the veil that separates us from those who are no longer walking in this world is thinnest. The Day of the Dead, a time to honour the ancestors - and, in the old Celtic tradition, the end of the year. Our wrangler for this particular Blog Hop, Louise of Priestess Tarot, has asked us to think about how we might connect to the ancestors, to see what advice they might have for the coming year. She suggested we might want to design a spread, or a sigil, or anything else with the cards that connects advice from the ancestors to the year ahead.

Now, it just so happens that in another pagan group I work with, we’ve been set the task of creating an organic symbol which we’ve imbued with things we want to release – known and unknown - into our Samhuin fire. I thought I could combine this symbol with the challenge Louise has set. So, here’s a photo of my symbol, made of the sunflower stalks and dead fronds from plants in my garden…

…and here’s a spread based on that design. Not an original shape, by any means, but I hope you will find the concept useful. The cards are from the Margarete Petersen deck, and all card images are copyright Margarete Petersen.

                                              

Five of Flames (trimmed):

Card 1(at the top): What do I need to let go of?

The Five of Flames. I need to let go of anger, channelling it into something more useful, like clarification. As Margarete Petersen says “cleansing the atmosphere like a thunderstorm”. This certainly hits the nail on the head...I spend too much time railing against things I don't seem to have much control over. This feels much more productive!


Moving clock-wise around the symbol...

Four of Coins (trimmed)

Card 2: What do I need to protect?


Four of Coins. I need to protect my boundaries, work out where I need to be and maintain that – and then rest! Again, excellent advice. I've been letting too much 'crap' sneak in. Some time spent reviewing the situation (to quote Fagin) will help me gain better perspective, and show me what I need to hold onto and protect.

Hierophant (trimmed)

Card 3: What do I need to learn?


The Hierophant (V). I need to learn how to make the ‘outer’ rules work with my ‘inner’ ones – to stop kicking against all the restrictions by trying to understand the reasons behind them, and then working with them productively.

Mediatrix (trimmed)

Card 4: What do I need to create?

Mediatrix (XIV) - Temperance in other decks. A better balance in my life.

It's hard to see in this image, but the figure dances above the glyph for the planet Pluto. Now, I've always associated Jupiter with this card, but Pluto makes me think about transformation, about the urge to change at a very deep level... this balance isn't just about surface stuff!

Ace of Flames (trimmed)

Card 5: What do I need to pass on to others?


Ace of Flames! The spark of creativity, the seed of a new adventure…that new beginnings are not only possible, but are ready and waiting for us.


This card comes up for me time and time again. Clearly I haven't been getting the message... Perhaps I've spent too much time in unnecessary conflict, or fighting against perceived rules and boundaries that have kept me off-balance. Time to re-dress all of that over the coming year.
Thank you for stopping off here on your travels through this Samhain Tarot Blog Hop! Please do come back and read some of my other posts – I’m currently working my way through the Margarete Petersen deck!

The next stops on the Tarot Blog Hop are - depending on whether you’re moving backwards or forwards through the list - Louise’s Priestess Tarot or Ania M's blogs. The Master List can be found here.

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Margarete Petersen Tarot, Copyright ©2014 Königsfort-Urania Verlag

Flame out of flame!

I've recently started exploring the Margarete Petersen Tarot, which uses very different images to the ones I'm used to.  And with the Vernal Equinox and our ingress to Aries just past, what better card to look at than the fiery Ace of Flames!

Ace of Flames (trimmed): Margarete Petersen Tarot

The spark of creativity is burning bright, ready to see us off on a new adventure, a new year. What seeds have we sown, nurtured, incubated that are now ready to burn freely?  Wake up! Be aware of what surrounds you right here, right now! 

Margarete Petersen Tarot, AGM-URANIA, 2004. www.tarotworld.com