Bringing in the harvest

Warm, sunny Leo has moved on, bringing us into the time of harvest in the northern hemisphere, overseen by Virgo (astrologically, the sun moved into Virgo on August 22nd, 22.20 UT).  Virgo is the Latin word for ‘virgin’, and the constellation was linked, in ancient Greece, to Astraea, the Greek goddess of innocence.   Perhaps more familiar is Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt, but also known as the virgin goddess.  Her arrows found their mark, hitting their target – getting right to the point. That can be translated as the sharp, critical faculty associated with Virgo.

 ‘Virgin’ also refers to a free woman, which we also see reflected in the constellation; Virgo is the only female figure in the sky who is free – Andromeda and Cassiopeia are both chained.  The brightest star in the constellation is Spica, representing a spike of a grain of wheat in her left hand. An early Roman astrologer referred to the constellation as Erigone, linked to wine-making by association with Dionysius.  So Virgo has come to represent the harvest - and the time when things start to shut down, ready for winter and rest. 

Virgo is ruled by Mercury, the swift-footed messenger of the Roman gods. Like his Greek counterpart Hermes, he was also god of trade, in particular of grains. He carries a caduceus, a symbol of trade and commerce. The caduceus is also often incorrectly associated with medicine – the correct symbol is not Mercury’s winged staff and two serpents, but the single serpent-entwined rod of Aesclepius, a Greek god of healing.  Nevertheless, Virgo is often associated with issues of health, in particular nutrition and diet – perhaps through its bodily rulership of the intestines (where things are broken down), as well as the nervous system.  The ability to work with lots of information and finding a way to make them fit – like working with jig-saw puzzle pieces – can also be connected to healing, particularly holistic medicine.

‘Virgo Harvest’ ©Alison Coals

Virgo is one of the three Earth signs, along with Taurus and Capricorn. It’s the mutable one – taking what’s been established in Leo and turning it into something useful. It combines earthy practicality with the sharpness of Artemis’ arrows and the swift thinking and dealing of Mercury, resulting in great organizing skills, the ability to design in great detail - and with deliberation and discrimination.

So how does Virgo fit into the tarot?  Like the other signs, it’s associated with a card from the Major Arcana, at least one court card, and three cards from the Major Arcana.  We’ll start with... watch this space!

‘Virgo Harvest’ comes from my AstroArt series, inspired by walking the Glastonbury Landscape Zodiac.

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  

Harvest time!

Warm, sunny Leo has moved on, bringing us into the time of harvest in the northern hemisphere, overseen by Virgo (astrologically, the sun moved into Virgo today at 10:37 GMT).  Virgo is the Latin word for ‘virgin’, and the constellation was linked, in ancient Greece, to Astraea, the Greek goddess of innocence.   Perhaps more familiar is Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt, but also known as the virgin goddess.  Her arrows found their mark, hitting their target – getting right to the point. That can be translated as the sharp, critical faculty associated with Virgo.

‘Virgin’ also refers to a free woman, which we also see reflected in the constellation; Virgo is the only female figure in the sky who is free – Andromeda and Cassiopeia are both chained.  The brightest star in the constellation is Spica, representing a spike of a grain of wheat in her left hand.   An early Roman astrologer referred to the constellation as Erigone, linked to wine-making by association with Dionysius.... 

 ‘Virgo Harvest’ ©Alison Coals

...so Virgo has come to represent the harvest - and the time when things start to shut down, ready for winter and rest.  

Virgo is ruled by Mercury, the swift-footed messenger of the Roman gods. Like his Greek counterpart Hermes, he was also god of trade, in particular of grains. He carries a caduceus, a symbol of trade and commerce. 

The caduceus is also often incorrectly associated with medicine – the correct symbol for that is not Mercury’s winged staff and two serpents, but the single serpent-entwined rod of Aesclepius, a Greek god of healing.  Nevertheless, Virgo is often associated with issues of health, in particular nutrition and diet – perhaps through its bodily rulership of the intestines (where things are broken down), as well as the nervous system.  The ability to work with lots of information and finding a way to make them fit – like working with jig-saw puzzle pieces – can also be connected to healing, particularly holistic medicine.

‘Virgo’ ©Alison Coals

Virgo is one of the three Earth signs, along with Taurus and Capricorn. It’s the mutable one – taking what’s been established in Leo and turning it into something useful. It combines earthy practicality with the sharpness of Artemis’ arrows and the swift thinking and dealing of Mercury, resulting in great organizing skills, the ability to design in great detail - and with deliberation and discrimination.   

So how does Virgo fit into the tarot - and does it fit into the Druidcraft, the deck I'm working with this year?  Like the other signs, it’s associated with a card from the Major Arcana, at least one court card, and three cards from the Major Arcana.  We’ll start with... watch this space!

The image on the right (watercolour and ink) comes from a series inspired by Native American artists.