Yule Tarot Blog Hop - The Joy of Gift-Giving

Previous | Master | Next 

Welcome to Alison’s Alembic!   You may have arrived here as a stop on the Tarot Blog Hop from either Chlöe's Inner Whispers blog or the TABI blog (also by Chlöe). 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!

Photo courtesy www.twanight.org

Today is the Winter Solstice, for those of us in the northern hemisphere – the solar festival sacred to the Old King and to the reborn ‘Sun Child’, whom we find in various incarnations – Mithras, the Mabon, Jesus.  Solstice means ‘sun still’, and refers to the sun seemingly being at a standstill – its turning point, the ‘shortest day’.  Up to now, the hours of daylight have been decreasing, the nights longer.  Today though, the sun ‘stands still’, the Wheel of the Year seems to stop, and time appears to hang...but from now on the light will start to increase and days will lengthen. So, the sun stands still, the Wheel of the Year seems to stop, and time appears to hang.

Photo courtesy www.tillhecomes.org

The Winter Solstice also marks the festival of Yule. Days later, Christmas arrives. Kwanzaa is also celebrated around this time (26 December-1 January). Hanukah, the Jewish festival of lights, is already well underway this year, having started on the 16^th, ending on the 24^th.  Many of these traditions involve gift-giving, the theme of this year’s Yule Tarot Blog Hop. 

It seems that the concept of Christmas presents goes back to the Romans, when high-ranking officials were expected to give the Emperor a present on the festival of the Kalends (apparently corresponding to 1 January). Originally the gift were simply branches from evergreen trees that grew in the grove of the goddess Strenia, but later cakes and honey were given, representing wishes of a year of sweetness and prosperity.  The Christian nativity story involves gifts too – the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh carried from the east by the magi.  In Catalonia, it’s traditional for children to be given their presents by the three kings on the night of 5^th January.

Our wranger, Arwen, has asked us to write about the anticipation of giving and receiving gifts, through her lovely spread. I'm using the Wildwood Tarot (created by Mark Ryan and John Matthews, illustrated by Will Worthington, published by Connections).

1. What gift would you give the world if you could?             

The Pole Star (17)

The Pole Star, still thought of as THE fixed star in the sky (although it isn’t really), offers a guiding light by which to navigate the waters of life. (No, AC, AM and VK, not whisky!)  It requires a sort of faith to follow it, but that’s what I would give – hope, faith, guidance.

The Hooded Man (9)

2. What gift would you want from the world?  

Time to withdraw and rest!  It’s winter in this image of the Hooded Man, a time to go within and prepare to plant new seeds.  Just what I need... a time to stand still, just like the sun on the solstice – the time of year associated with this card in the Wildwood.  The wren is a secret keeper of wisdom, a perfect companion for the Hooded Man (although not me, perhaps!) and was considered to be an oracle.  As I have just received an oracle deck as a gift (thank you TABI!), I could use this time to learn how to use it.

3. What gift have you received that has brought you joy?                 

Six of Bows

Six of Bows – Abundance.  I have been blessed with abundance this year, in many shapes and forms, all of which have brought me great joy.  The Wildwood’s version of the card is less about public acclaim and ‘victory’, and more about reaping the rewards of our work or actions – and I suppose if I had to pick one specific thing that brought me abundance, it would have to be selling my house....

Three of Vessels - Joy

... but I know I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the help of two very good friends…

4. What gift have you given that has brought you joy?        

Six of Vessels - Reunion

Six of Vessels – Reunion.  It’s actually hard to separate this from the gift I’ve received, because the ‘abundance’ has allowed me to give this gift, and the ‘reunion’ has in turn given me a sense of increased abundance.  This is all about the importance of family and extended family and friends – keeping them close in my heart, even though many of them are thousands of miles away.  The otter here is definitely significant – crossing water in order to reach different land!  Past memories too have been kept alive by staying in touch with not only my friends but also my parents’ friends – just last week I spent a happy hour on the phone with my mother’s best friend reminiscing about all the happy times our families enjoyed together. At the end of our conversation, she told me how much joy that call gave her – but it gave me just as much pleasure!

The Sun of Life (19)

5. What is one last thing you would like to share about this season?           

The Sun!  I wish you all great joy, good health, harmony - and a year full of creativity!

Thank you for stopping off here on your own journey through this Yule 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 – Chlöe's Inner Whispers blog or the TABI blog (also by Chlöe). The Master List can be found here.

Previous | Master | Next

Yule Blog Hop 2013

Welcome to Alison’s Alembic!   You may have arrived here as a stop on the Tarot Blog Hop from either Koneta Bailey's or Jaymi'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! 

The topic for this Yule Blog Hop is ‘Christmas Present’.  Well, this presents (!) a number of possibilities.  ‘Christmas present’, as in Christmas gift? ‘Christmas Present’, as in past-present-future?  If I followed that line of thought, there's always the possibility of a past-present–future spread.  Or I could go the ‘what does this Christmas present?’ route, as in ‘what is it going to show us, or present us with?’  Decisions, decisions.

But wait! Route... reindeer route...the route of the Magi...the root of that story – of all Christmas and Yule stories, myths, legends...(isn’t word association wonderful?)  What’s at the root of Christmas? 

Copyright Alison Coals

Today is the Winter Solstice, for those of us in the northern hemisphere – the solar festival sacred to the Old King and to the reborn ‘Sun Child’, who we find in various incarnations – Mithras, the Mabon, Jesus.  Solstice means ‘sun still’, and refers to the sun seemingly being at a standstill – its turning point, the ‘shortest day’.  Up to now, the hours of daylight have been decreasing, but now the light will start to increase and days will lengthen.  So, the sun stands still, the Wheel of the Year seems to stop, and time appears to hang. What better time to consider the present, when time has ‘stopped’ and all there IS is now, the present?

With the birth of the child, be this the Sun Child or Jesus or Mithras or whoever (or whatever) you see this as, it’s a time to rejoice.  Light and warmth are on the increase, and the seeds of what we’ve been germinating in the winter months are growing, although we have to wait until Imbolc for them to start to bud.  It’s time to stop and take stock of where we stand (still), and what it is we want to germinate before spring arrives.

Copyright Alison Coals

Past tradition in Christmas present?  There’s a reminder of the Old King or Sun God, in the form of the stag, are found in the carol “The Holly and the Ivy” – “...the rising of the sun and the running of the deer...”.   We use holly, ivy and mistletoe to decorate - holly for the Holly King and the waning year, ivy for the Goddess, mistletoe for fertility.  Mistletoe grows most commonly on apple trees (the apple was the fruit of death for the Celts), but the most sacred mistletoe is found on the oak, the tree of the waxing year and important in Druid tradition.  We see robins and wrens on Christmas cards; once upon a time the wren was hunted and killed at this time of year to represent the death of the Holly King, making way for the Oak King.  

One of my favourite images from the Wildwood Tarot *, the Hooded Man, contains many of these symbols – not surprisingly, this card sits at Yule on the Wildwood’s Wheel of the Year.  (Images from the Wildwood Tarot, created by John Matthews and Mark Ryan, illustrated by Will Worthington, published by Connections.)

As for Christmas presents, this goes back to the Romans, where high-ranking officials were expected to give the Emperor a present on the festival of the Kalends (apparently corresponding to 1 January). Originally the gift were simply branches from evergreen trees that grew in the grove of the goddess Strenia, but later cakes and honey were given, representing wishes of a year of sweetness and prosperity.

So back I come to that idea of a past-present-future spread...

What Christmas present do I carry from the past?    
The Ancestor (I kid you not).  I bring with me ancestral memory and wisdom, and a reminder to listen to my instinct. This card sits at Imbolc, the direction we’re headed in now.

 
What can I present to others at Christmas? The Three of Bows.  My present is my ability (or, as I see it, a goal yet to be achieved!) to be still (ah, there’s that word again) inwardly and focus; this may allow others to have confidence in me.

What does Christmas present me with for the future, in terms of my ‘route’?   
The Page of Stones.  I will be presented with the opportunity to learn something new, something practical perhaps, or of a ‘down-to-earth’ nature.  On the Wildwood’s Wheel, this card sits just past the Winter Solstice, heading for Imbolc.

Copyright Alison Coals

Merry Christmas - Happy Yule - Blessed Solstice  - Season's greetings!

Thank you for stopping off here on your own journey through this Yule 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, which case it's 
Koneta Bailey's site ....


 

....or forwards, in which you're headed to
Jaymi's. 


The Master List can be found here.