To ruffle or not to ruffle? Margarete Petersen’s Two of Feathers

Two of Feathers (trimmed):

© Margarete Petersen Tarot

Moving on today to the Two of Feathers, which lie horizontally across the face of a large disc.  The feathers point in opposite directions, so again, opposition. One feather looks ruffled compared to the other one - the need to balance opposites? The circle in the background implies wholeness or union. 

It also reminds me of the Moon, which is part of the astrological association for this card – Moon in Libra.  Libra is the cardinal Air sign, so we’re looking at creative energy around activity involving thought, ideas, logic, reason, while the Moon is associated with the element of Water through its rulership of Cancer, so we have a link to the watery realm of feelings and emotion.  Objective feelings – is that even possible?!?

Margarete Petersen writes about meditation, about observing our thoughts and letting them come to a standstill. How apposite to be looking at this today, coming so soon after the Equinox – when we’re poised at that delicate balance between equal day and night!  She asks us to “Feel the power of the space that lies between a dying and a newly forming thought”. (p 73 of her LWB)

Two feathers at rest

Rough, smooth - opposed yet balanced 
Still mind holds power.
 
Margarete Petersen Tarot, AGM-URANIA, 2004

Cancer in the Druidcraft tarot... another dip into the Major Arcana

The ruler of Cancer is the Moon, so I thought we could have a quick look at the card in the tarot that’s associated with it. It’s not the Moon card, as you might imagine - that corresponds to Pisces - but the High Priestess.  

When we think of the High Priestess, we think of mystery, the unconscious, wisdom, intuition, inner guides – all of which come under the auspices of the Moon.  In many depictions of the Priestess, we see a crescent Moon – something new starting to grow deep in the unconscious, that we may not be fully aware of at a conscious level, the New Moon representing unrealized potential.  That depth of feeling feeds into all of the cards associated with the sign of Cancer.

Druidcraft Tarot: High Priestess (detail)

Traditional depictions of the High Priestess show her sitting between two pillars, often – but not always – black and white, symbolizing her role as bringing together opposites.   In the Druidcraft, she’s shown standing between two rock faces – no evidence of the black and white here, but I think we are meant to see that when we compare her to the Magician, perhaps. She acts as a conduit between the conscious and unconscious – the creativity and intuition that can link the two realms, that of the Magician’s (shown in daylight) and the one she stands in (bathed in moonlight). 

Often we the High Priestess in front of a curtain or veil, behind which can sometimes be seen water, symbolizing the unknown – the mystery.  Here there’s no veil, the sea behind her is easily seen, as is the crescent moon in the night sky above her.  The High Priestess represents our intuition, something long linked with the Moon – the need to trust our instincts, to look inwards for answers, rather than to the outer world.  The Moon has come to symbolize the feminine, as well as psychic energy – the cat in this image also acts as a symbol of the feminine and intution.  Through the Moon’s rulership of Cancer, a water sign, we see the links between the formlessness of water and the shapeless unconscious.

Instead of a scroll, a closed book sits on her stone altar.  The closed book represents the unconscious, as well as the place of secrets.  To uncover them, to find the wisdom, we have to reach within; we have to learn to listen to our intuition in order to unearth the truth.

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

Cancer in the Druidcraft court cards

Different traditions have different astrological correspondences when it comes to the Court Cards, but I follow the tradition of linking Cancer – the cardinal Water sign - to the King of Cups.  The Cups tend to be associated with the element of Water, so it’s not surprising that one of the three Water signs would be tied in to the Cups courts.  

Cancer is also one of the cardinal signs of the zodiac. Cardinality suggests taking the initiative - being self-motivated, as well as outgoing. The cardinal signs – Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn – are all symbolic of being good at starting new things but the element of each helps to define the focus of that energy. In the element of water, Cancer initiates contact on an emotional level; it has the ability to take the first steps in campaigning, for instance.  Because the Sun is at a standstill at the point in which it enters Cancer, on the solstice, the outgoing, active nature may have more of a reflective quality.

Some decks, if they use any astrological correspondences at all, choose the Queens to be the cardinal figure, while others opt for the King.  The Druidcraft’s creators work with the Druid wheel of the year, rather than with astrology, so I’m looking at the cards, trying to see if I can make those associations myself – and I’ve come up with the King.

Druidcraft Tarot: King of Cups (detail)

So why Cancer - why the crab - for the King of Cups?  I often think that the King of Cups represents a bit of a contradiction between suit and position – we tend to think of the Kings as being responsible and making decisions, while the Cups are about emotions, dreams, fantasy, romance...  Remembering that the Sun’s just been ‘standing still’ gives me a clue to a possibly more reflective, inward-focus for this King.  He can symbolize wanting to be emotionally involved but at the same time feeling cautious about going too deep – a bit too Scorpionic, perhaps?!  The King is often said to carry masculine energy, while the watery realm of the Cups are thought to carry feminine energy. So we have a King of Cups who might come across as quite ambivalent.  What better creature to represent this ambivalence than the crab? At home in water, at home on land... but not belonging completely to one or the other. A foot in both camps, as it were... 

The King of Cups in the Druidcraft sits on land, by water – much like the crab. As the head of the Cups clan, he represents the protector of the beliefs of his culture – the things that people believed would protect them, as the shell protects the crab.  There’s a hint of the Chariot, another card associated with Cancer, here in his choice to place responsibility before his need for self-expression, choosing to focus his creativity on things that will benefit his community – perhaps of a spiritual or therapeutic nature, which allow him to draw on Cancerian qualities such as nurturing and compassion.

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