Welcome to Alison’s Alembic! You may have arrived here as a stop on the
Tarot Blog Hop from Ania M's blog or Aaron Lozano'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!
This is the Yule Blog Hop, celebrating the Winter Solstice
(for those of us in the northern hemisphere) that falls on December 21st – the
solar festival sacred to the Old King and to the reborn ‘Sun Child’. 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.
As the sun appears to ‘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.
At this time of greatest darkness (again, northern hemisphere bias, sorry!) our wrangler for this edition of the TBH, Joanne of CosmicWhispers, writes: "Winter Solstice was also a time to count the resources gathered during the previous harvest to make sure they would last, to look around and dig for hidden abundance beneath leaf and snow and soil, to know that all the bareness of tree and starkenss of landscape was just at time of sleep and not really death, and that life simply rested in preparation for another season of growth. we need to trust our intuition now more than ever since we can't see the abundance beneath our feet, in the living roots of the world."
With that in mind, she’s asked us to pick a card or cards, or develop a spread, that we
think reveals a useful message from the Dark or Hidden realm of life. What can
we learn from those messages as we wait for the return of the Light, and how do
we find uses for the dark times in our own lives?
 |
| The Hooded Man (trmmed): ©Wildwood Tarot |
THE card, for me, that represents this best is the Wildwood’s version of
the Hermit, the Hooded Man. The creators
of the deck place The Hooded Man at the Midwinter Solstice, on their Wheel of
the Year, a choice reflected in the (again, hemisphere bias at work) wintry
scene, complete with holly and other evergreens, and a wren. The Hooded Man survives the cold and darkness
by drawing on his wisdom, and the strength he’s gained through what he’s
experienced on his journey so far. He
can now withdraw, or perhaps even pass on the knowledge and wisdom gained to
others in need.
The idea of evergreens being a constant throughout the year, and the
qualities they imbue, seems to be a theme this year - not to mention Joanne's mention of living roots. It just so happens that I took part in a
midwinter gathering a week ago, where we called on the spirits of four
evergreens to remind us of what we can draw on during the darkness. I’ve borrowed from this idea to create the
following spread.
Spirit of Fir
Spirit of Mistletoe Spirit of Holly
Spirit of Ivy
Spirit of Fir: A tall tree that,
from a mountainside, offers views to the far horizon. The smoke from its wood is said to purify and
to cleanse. Its gift to us then, in this
time of darkness and withdrawal, is perception or clear vision – access to our
own wisdom.
(moving clockwise...)
Spirit of Holly: With its prickly
leaves and hard wood, it offers protection.
When its wood is burned, it provides warmth and light during the cold
months. Its gift to us at this time is
protection, but also the heat and energy we need to act, even during the
bleakest times. 
Spirit of Ivy: Associated with
intuition, ivy needs the support of other trees or structures in order to reach
the light. Its constant spiralling
around other trees echoes the search for spiritual understanding. Its gift to us during the darkness of winter
is to remind us of the importance of the support and companionship we can offer
each other.
Spirit of Mistletoe: Also known
as all-heal, mistletoe grows on trees, suspended between earth and sky. Druid tradition says you should never let
mistletoe touch the ground… Its white berries symbolize fertility and
growth. Its gift is not only healing,
but also the blessing of the seeds we nurture through the cold and the dark
with good fortune and fertility.
I’ve then drawn a card from the Wildwood tarot to represent how I can
use these gifts during the darkness (bearing in mind I’m just about to become
unemployed again). (All images copyright Will Worthington and the Wildwood Tarot)
 |
| The Pole Star |
 |
| Ace of Arrows |
Spirit of Fir/The Pole Star (17).
I breathe in the clear cold air of a starry winter’s night, and let the light
of the stars show me a new path to take.
Spirit of Holly/Ace of Arrows. The
warmth of burning holly wood gives me energy to take that first breath, to
speak the new idea and give it life.
 |
| Queen of Arrows |
Spirit of Ivy/Queen of Arrows. It’s time to let go of some bonds, and seek out
new companions on my next adventure.
 |
| Ten of Stones |
Spirit of Mistletoe/Ten of Stones. Subtitled ‘Home’ in the Wildwood, this
reminds me how much ‘home’ – not so much a physical location but more to do
with being with my family - gives me in terms of love and support. It’s/they’re
where I go to heal. And certainly,
during the dark of the winter, the physical home and the comforts it offer are
where I want to be. Time to hibernate…
Thank you for stopping off here on your own journey through
this Yule Tarot Blog Hop. Please do come back sometime and read some of my other
posts.
The next stops on the Tarot Blog Hop are - depending on
whether you’re moving backward or forward through the list – Ania M's blog or Aaron Lozano's blog. The Master List can be found here.
Wildwood Tarot created by Mark Ryan and John Matthews, illustrated by Will
Worthington, published by Connections
