Aquarius in the Druidcraft court cards

Today I’ll finish off our exploration of Aquarius in the tarot by looking at the court cards. But which one – or ones?   

Different traditions have different astrological correspondences when it comes to the courts.  Generally  (but not always!) these correspondences depend on how cardinality, fixity and mutability have been assigned.  

For instance, the Book-T system (www.tarot.org.il/Library/Mathers/Book-T.html) attributes the cardinal attributes (initiating things) to the Queens, fixed (maintaining order) to the Kings, and mutable (being able to adapt and transform) to the Knights.  Each court card is also linked to the elements, with Pages with Earth, Knights being associated with Fire, Queens with Water, and Kings with Air.

Other decks follow a different convention. They keep the Knights as carriers of mutable qualities, but have the Queens taking on the ‘fixed’ attributes and the Kings the ‘cardinal’ ones. 

As Aquarius is the fixed Air sign, I’m looking for the Swords court card that’s associated with ‘fixed’-ness.

 

Queen of Swords (trimmed): DruidCraft Tarot

So far in my exploration of the DruidCraft, I’ve found that the Queens seem to correspond best to the ‘fixed’ signs, so let’s look at the Queen of Wands as the Aquarian card.  That combination of air and fixed-ness suggests thoughtful humanitarian detachment.  Actually I can see that in both the King and the Queen, and unlike the other Kings and Queens, there’s no helpful symbolism in the image (that I can see) to help make my choice! It’s what Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm have written about the Queen that makes me see her as the Aquarian figure – “a natural analyst...discriminating and perceptive, with high ideals...ability to be detached and objective”.  

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

Aquarius in the DruidCraft Minor Arcana: The Seven of Swords

The Seven of Swords, in the astrological correspondence system I follow, is linked to the Moon in Aquarius - as well as to the final ten days of Aquarius (9^th/10^th-18^th February this year).   We’re still looking at Fixed Air, but now we add some water through Cancer’s rulership of the Moon.  

So if this is the sign of the unconventional and the unorthodox, the reformer and revolutionary, how is it affected by the Moon?  Well, the Moon is about emotional needs and about the way we react to things automatically, instinctively.  So an Aquarian Moon could react unpredictably, perhaps, and with a sense of detachment.  Being free to express ideas, especially ones that don’t conform to the ‘norm’, and to be innovative might give this Moon a sense of security.

But how does this fit with the Seven of Swords? This card is often linked to being stealthy – one of my tarot friends, Alison Cross, calls it the ‘Sneaky Pete’ card.  Some say it’s about making a sly escape, but I like Juliet Sharman-Burke’s description – “tact rather than aggression”.  There’s something about thinking things through and making plans for the future (Aquarius) but taking great care with those plans. Remember the Moon is ruled by Cancer, so there’s likely to be an element of protectiveness involved – possibly to the point of being underhanded.  Aquarius brings the detachment, the clarity of vision, so that any protectiveness or nurturing quality to the action is not going be based on emotional needs.  We often warn against being too free and open about what we intend to do when we see this card – that’s the Moon’s caution acting on an Aquarian desire to spread knowledge within the community.

 

Seven of Swords (trimmed):
DruidCraft Tarot

But can we see this at work in the DruidCraft, a deck not designed with astrology in mind?  I can see the Aquarian at work here, the person working with ideas, with words, with concepts – and the man in the image looks as though he’s taking great pains with his plans.  The stealthiness is less obvious, I think, but the deck’s creators, Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, write about the potential need to meet a challenge with cunning and manipulation, as well as being bold and daring – the more Aquarian approach - in the accompanying book.  The Moon representing the creation of illusion through cunning, perhaps, shining through the window?

The authors also write about another interpretation: “new ideas challenge old assumptions, insights and fresh ideas spring up, and great progress is made”.  I love the use of the word “spring” here – in the northern hemisphere, at least, the first stirrings of spring fall in Aquarius!  

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

Aquarius in the DruidCraft Minor Arcana: The Six of Swords

Today we move on to the Six of Swords, which - in the system I use - is linked to Mercury in Aquarius, as well as to the middle ten days of Aquarius (30^th January to 8^th-9^th February this year).

Just to recap: Aquarius is the fixed Air sign, so we’re looking at maintaining lines of communications, and establishing ideas and concepts – but not just any old idea. This is the sign of the unconventional and the unorthodox, the reformer and revolutionary.  When we add Mercury, the communicator, the trader, to this sign we have an energy that wants to express and share its ideas, its ideology, its humanitarian aims, perhaps. Aquarius can be detached and impersonal, so the method of communicating or sharing is likely to reflect that – this won’t be about the emotions!  There could be lots of discussion, and perhaps even the establishing of groups based around a common cause that will involve the need to make changes. Innovative or experimental thinking – leading to the ‘science’ keyword used by Crowley in his Thoth deck – is also an aspect of Mercury in Aquarius.

DruidCraft Tarot: 6 of Swords (trimmed)

Bu how is Mercury in Aquarius reflected in the Six of Swords, and does it work in the DruidCraft?  Traditionally, we tend to see the Six of Swords as being about transition – leaving behind difficult situations and moving towards a calmer place.  Often the image is one of people being carried by boat out of a stormy atmosphere into one that looks more peaceful, and the DruidCraft’s illustrator, Will Worthington, has chosen to follow this.  Mercury in Aquarius suggests to me that we need to find a way out of our difficulties by coming up with new ways of thinking – that the solution comes through a different idea, perhaps even a revolutionary or unorthodox one, or one that requires some experimenting.

Although the creators of the DruidCraft don’t draw on astrological associations, I can see Mercury’s ability to analyze and see clearly helping to bring perspective to what lies ahead (Aquarius), easing the transition.

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