Celebrating creativity - Tarot Blog Hop: Autumn Equinox 2015

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Welcome to Alison’s Alembic!   You may have arrived here as a stop on the Tarot Blog Hop from either Ania M's Meniscus Tarot or Joy Vernon'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! 

In the northern hemisphere, we're approaching the Autumn Equinox, also known as Alban Elfed, as well as the time for paying tribute to Mabon. It's the culmination of the harvest that was begun at Lughnasadh.  At this time we celebrate the beginning of harvesting grapes, making wine, bringing in the sheaves for the canning, preserving, and other ways of gathering the fruits of months, sometimes years, of effort and care. Keeping that theme of celebrating our creativity in mind, our wrangler Aisling has asked us to also celebrate our devotion to Tarot – by deciding which Tarot card corresponds most to either our own interpretation of this harvest, or the energies and focus of the Celtic deity Mabon, whose festival is celebrated at this time, and then creating a card that expresses that interpretation!

I could think of a few cards that might fit the bill, but it wasn’t until I started reading more about this time of balance and harvest that I was able to choose.  So much of the myth and lore (of the British Isles and Ireland) about this equinox focuses on the cutting of the last sheaf of corn – the corn spirit having taken refuge in the last standing grain in a field that had been harvested. To cut the last sheaf meant that the spirit of the harvest was cut, slain, killed. Sometimes a specific person was elected to make the cut, with varying results depending on whether the harvest was a good or bad one!

So with all this in mind, I decided to create my own version of the Queen of Pentacles.  She’s said to be ‘at one with the spirit of the land, and ... fully embodied in the world’ (Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, The Druidcraft Tarot, 2004). She also represents the results of hard work, knowing what to do with what she’s harvested, and enjoying what she’s created.  This second harvest, the culmination of what was begun at Lughnasadh, is preparing for a new cycle – the Queen too, the penultimate card in the Pentacles, can be seen as the fulfilment of one cycle in readiness for a new one.

The card is a collage of a number of photographs, as well as ink and watercolour work. The central one is a photograph of a papier-mâche figure covered with painted tissue paper and coloured with pencil crayon; I made this a number of years ago – she’s the ‘Autumn’ figure in a ‘Four Seasons’ series. The card isn't quite finished, though - I still need to add a pentacle to it!

Thank you for stopping off here on your journey through this Mabon Tarot Blog Hop!  Please do come back and read some of my other posts – and if you’re a Facebook user, you can find me at Alison’s Alembic.  

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

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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  

Virgo in the Druidcraft Minor Arcana: The Ten of Pentacles

Back to the Minor Arcana today, for a look at the last of the three Minor Arcana cards associated with Virgo.

The Ten of Pentacles is linked to Mercury in Virgo (and to the final ten days of the sun’s journey through this sign – 13^th-23^rd September).  This is a particularly auspicious association, because Mercury not only rules Virgo, it’s also exalted in Virgo. What does that mean? Well, when a planet rules a sign, it’s at home.  It’s comfortable – it can kick off its shoes and put its feet up.  When it’s in exaltation, it’s also comfortable – but there’s a protocol to be observed.  A friend of mine uses this analogy: the Queen is at home in Sandringham or Buckingham Palace – she’s the ruler.  When she goes abroad, say to visit the White House, she knows she’ll be looked after, but there’s a certain formality and protocol that has to be followed – that’s exaltation.  

But here, Mercury is both at home and exalted!  Remember what we said about Mercury, in the first of the Virgo posts? He’s the swift-footed messenger of the Roman gods, as is his Greek counterpart Hermes.  He’s also the god of trade (especially grains – a link to Virgo); the caduceus he carries being a symbol of trade and commerce.  Despite this caduceus often being incorrectly associated with medicine, Virgo is often associated with issues of health, through its ability to work with lots of information and finding a way to make them fit.

So the Ten of Pentacles is a great card to have when it comes to acquiring wealth – whether it’s financial, physical (good health) or spiritual well-being.  Mercury in Virgo brings strong analytical skills to the table, and a clear, down-to-earth way of expressing ideas and putting them into some sort of order.  Virgo is practical and helpful – remember that link to the sixth house and the idea of ‘service’!  And it’s not just about acquiring wealth – it’s also necessary to share it ... and to enjoy it.  

detail from Ten of Pentacles
Druidcraft Tarot

We can see this in the Druidcraft’s image, which follows the Rider-Waite-Smith tradition in depicting a family at home – healthy, wealthy and perhaps wise too! But despite the double ‘whammy’ of rulership and exaltation, there’s another side to the coin.  Too much attention to detail can get in the way of seeing the bigger picture – that ‘not being able to see the wood for the trees’ thing.   

Although this family are well-dressed and appear to be healthy and well-fed, none of them look particularly happy. Have they lost sight of the bigger picture? Have they been too focused on reaching this point that they are unable to appreciate it now?  Or are they worried about losing what they have? Another potential ‘shadow side’ of the coin is fear of poverty. This can lead to holding on to things, rather than sharing - this is mutable Earth, after all! Hoarded wealth stagnates: “the more you give, the more you receive”.

Druidcraft Tarot created by Philip Carr-Gomm and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, illustrated by Will Worthington, published by Connections,2004

Virgo in the Druidcraft: The Prince of Pentacles

Let’s have a break from the Minor Arcana, and look at Virgo in the court cards.

The sign of Virgo is one of the three Earth signs, and one of the four mutable signs.  So what court card does this represent?  Different traditions have different astrological correspondences when it comes to the Court Cards.  I work with a system that assigns mutability to the Knights so, in the earthy sign of Virgo, we have the Knight of Pentacles – or, in the Druidcraft, the Prince of Pentacles.

 

Prince of Pentacles (detail)
Druidcraft Tarot

That combination of earth and mutability suggests a mix of earthy practicality with quick, clear, analytical thinking: the ability to organize, design and plan in great detail. It’s about being methodical, not running roughshod all over the place, but doing things with great deliberation and discrimination. 

 

Like many decks, the Druidcraft’s image shows us a young man sitting on a horse that appears to be at a standstill. If he's moving at all, it's at a slow, considered pace, reflecting the methodical, deliberate movements you might associate with Virgo - spreading or disseminating something practical: mutable Earth.

In the ‘double element’ system the Knight of Pentacles represents Air of Earth.  Perhaps this reminds us to take time to breathe as we pursue our goals!  The effort is worth it, though, in terms of what can be reaped at the end – as it is when it’s done for our own individual growth. Remember that Virgo is the last sign of the personal, individual emphasis in the journey around the zodiac.

Remember too, that Virgo is ruled by Mercury.  When we apply this to the suit of Pentacles, we can see how attention to detail can be applied to the down-to-earth, practical affairs that we encounter on a daily basis – finances, health... our material well-being. Slow and steady, meticulous, deliberate, dedicated, reliable – that’s the way of the Knight/Prince of Pentacles!

Druidcraft Tarot created by Philip Carr-Gomm and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, illustrated by Will Worthington, published by Connections,2004