Tarot Blog Hop Samhuinn 2017: Birth, Death & Rebirth

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

It’s the time of Samhuinn (“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, Jay Cassels, has asked us to look at where we are at the end of this cycle – what’s happened to us since last Samhuinn, and where we might be headed as we begin a new year.

This resonates with me more than usual, as I’m approaching the end of an even bigger cycle early next year – my Saturn Return!  Not only that, but this year sees Jupiter travelling through Scorpio, the home of my natal Jupiter, so I’ll be experiencing the end of yet another cycle during the coming year.

With all that in mind, I’ve decided to use the Spirit of the Circle spread (as described in the accompany book to the Druid Animal Oracle) and my ‘go to’ deck for this time of year, the Wildwood.

Card 2                                   Card 7                                   Card 4

Spirit of the Ancestors             The Gift                           Spirit of Time

Card 1

Self

Card 5                                   Card 6                                   Card 3

Spirit of Place                     Spirit of the Journey       Spirit of the Tribe

Self: Queen of Bows - Hare

This suggests that over the past year I’ve become kinder to, and more understanding of, myself – and, I hope, others too. These qualities have certainly helped me to complete several of my long-term projects earlier this year, and I'm sure they will stand me in good stead in whatever I set out to do over the coming year.

Spirit of the Ancestors: 5 The Ancestor 

(I kid you not - I really did draw this card!)

I’m at the gateway of a new cycle, I know. A turning point. I’m wary of what lies ahead but I know that if I listen to my ‘inner ancestor’ and draw from all my past experience – not only from the past year but from all my experiences – I will have the strength and patience (I’m a double Taurus, after all!) to keep me going on whatever new path calls me.

Spirit of the Tribe: Page of Bows - Stoat

Second card from the Bows, and second court card too!  The stoat is a hunter, with the ability to change the colour of its fur. That, and the fact that it lives underground, has given me a strong sense of secrecy (highlighting my Scorpio Ascendant), of staying hidden when necessary and adapting to changing circumstances.  There’s a bit of the “free spirit” at work too, underlying all the “shoulds” and “ought tos” that The Spirit of the Tribe – today’s culture, in other words – projects, which I’d be wise to listen to. Keep my head down until it feels right to pounce! 

Spirit of Time: Ace of Bows

Subtitled “The Spark of Life”, the Ace of Bows (the third Bow to appear in the spread), this suggests that the “spirit of the times” is inviting me to start a new fire burning, to kindle a new spark of creativity, to hunt out new skills to learn.

Spirit of Place:  6 The Forest Lovers

I have been working with the image of the Forest for the past couple of years, as part of my path, so seeing the Forest Lovers representing Spirit of Place  resonates on that level.  I feel I'm nearing the end of this part of the path, so this card reminds me that I'll have choices to make when I reach the next "fork" in my journey.

Spirit of the Journey: Ten of Arrows

Subtitled “Instruction”, this card conjures up the completion of two long-held writing projects over the past year.  The passing on or sharing of knowledge and ideas…that’s the journey I’ve been on this year – perhaps there’s more to come as the wheel continues to turn...

The Gift: King of Bows – Adder

A bit of a shudder when I drew this card (snake phobia) but I also felt a shiver of excitement at this gift. Maturity, strength of resolve, energy and wisdom are phrases associated with this card – what wonderful qualities to receive as the new year begins.

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.

The next stops on the Tarot Blog Hop are - depending on whether you’re moving backwards or forwards through the list - Hannah Berg's or Lore M’s blog. The Master List can be found here.

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Imbolc and the first stirrings of spring

Imbolc (pronounced i-molk or i-molg), also called Brigid’s Day or St Brighid’s Day, is a Celtic cross-quarter festival marking the end of winter and beginning of spring. 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 and the Vernal Equinox, which this year falls on the 24^th January. The astrological point of Imbolc, when the sun reaches 15 degrees of Aquarius, falls on the 4th - but most people tend to celebrate on the 1st-2nd  - or, if you’re living in the southern hemisphere, you’ll celebrate this anywhere between the 1^st and 4th of 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. Fire and purification have played important roles in this festival throughout the ages, with celebrations involving hearth fires, bonfires and the lighting of candles to represent the return of light and warmth to the land. It’s also traditionally a time of weather divination, with people watching for serpents or badgers (or groundhogs!) emerging from their winter dens.

For me, the most potent sign of this time of year is the emergence of the snowdrops – that sight always lifts my heart, and gives me a sense of hope.  One of the first things I do when I move somewhere new is to ensure that I plant snowdrops in the autumn so that I have this to look forward to during those short dark days.  

The card in the tarot that symbolizes that hope and optimism is, of course, The Star – the card that’s linked, astrologically, to the sign of Aquarius (which we entered on the 20^th January).  I wrote about this a few days ago - click here to see this post.

The Ancestor (trimmed): Wildwood Tarot

The Wildwood Tarot (Mark Ryan-John Matthews-Will Worthington, published by Connections) connects strongly to the Wheel of the Year, and starts its ‘journey’ at Imbolc, so it feels appropriate to look at the cards they assign to this festival – the Ancestor (5) and the Pole Star (17). Both cards, then, are linked to beginnings and to the “guidance systems” we have available to us – the Ancestor representing our inner ones, the Pole Star the outer.  

The Pole Star (trimmed): Wildwood T arot

In some ways, the Wildwood’s accompanying book’s description of the Pole Star (a symbol of “universal law, spiritual knowledge and power”) is not unlike the way I think about the traditional Hierophant. What brings it back to the traditional meaning of the Star, for me, is the idea of universal knowledge being a web – a very Aquarian concept! 

Daughter of Cups in the South (trimmed):
Haindl Tarot

The Haindl Tarot’s Daughter of Cups is represented by Brigid. Talk about being hit over the head by the cards!  This really speaks to what it is within me that longs to do – to allow my creativity and intuition greater freedom to explore...  And I have the wisdom I’ve gained from past experience (the Ancestor) and the guiding light with which I can navigate into the future (the Pole Star) to help me with this birth. The birth of hope and optimism, and the reminder not to be so cynical and jaded about the state of the world!  

Haindl Tarot created by Hermann Haindl, published by US Games Systems, Inc.

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