Trick of the Light - Tarot Blog Hop Lammas 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 or Karen Sealey's PureBlessed Tarot 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! 

For those of you unfamiliar with Lammas, it’s the festival of the harvest.  Also known as Lughnasadh, the cross-quarter fire festival, it’s celebrated on the evening of the 31 July and on the first three days of August (in the northern hemisphere). More specifically, Lammas is the first harvest (usually of grain and fruit – the basic food that sustains us through the winter), when farmers begin to reap the rewards of their hard work.  It’s associated with baking bread from that first harvest of grain, but has also been called ‘the festival of gratitude and first seeds’ because the grain is also the seed that becomes next year’s harvest – a reminder of the cycle of life.

Lammas celebrates the alchemy of Water and Fire - we’ve just left the water sign of Cancer and are now in the fire sign of Leo.   The sun still carries enough energy to help the crops to ripen, but we need rain as well.  Lugh, the Celtic god and Sun King, gives up his power at Lammas, just as the sun starts to wane and lose its power.  We too need to give up something of our outer selves as we prepare for the inner journey of the winter.  It’s a time for assessment, as well as celebration.

Lugh is associated with both the Sun and the planet Mercury, so our wrangler for this Hop, Joanne Sprott of Cosmic Whispers Tarot, has asked us to give us our take on the Sun or Mercury’s influence in the tarot or an oracle deck.  One of the meanings of the name 'Lugh' is 'lightning-flash' and I’m struck (no pun intended) by  the fact that 2015 is the International Year of Light. I’m sure this hasn’t escaped Joanne’s notice, as she’s into the astrophysical side of things as well.  The UN has designated 2015 as the year to celebrate the achievements of light science, and to raise awareness of optical technologies and how they contribute to all areas of life on earth (www.light2015.org).

 

NASA images celebrating ILoL 2015. Chandra X-ray Observatory, 22 Jan 2015

One of the achievements being celebrated is the 1000^th anniversary of Ibn al-Haytham’s work on optics, mathematics, and astronomy.

The more I read about this, the more I kept seeing the Thoth’s version of the Six of Swords in my mind. 

Six of Swords - Thoth Tarot (trimmed)

Crowley chose the word “science” for this card although he didn’t mean it to be confined to the world of science.  The rose in the centre of the card was intended to represent the “secret of scientific truth”– the analytical way of thinking that pushes us away from out-dated ideas and beliefs that are no longer of value, and that allows us to see more clearly new perspectives (Ziegler, 1988).

Crowley drew on the Order of the Golden Dawn’s astrological associations for his deck – no surprise, at least to me then, that the Six of Swords is linked to Mercury in Aquarius. Mercury may be a trickster but he’s also a quick thinker (mercury, the chemical element, is also known as quicksilver), and in Aquarius his ability to analyse quickly, clearly and objectively throws new ‘light’ on the situation.  Sometimes it might be a ‘trick of the light’ that helps us to see things differently.  As the god of communication (among other things), Mercury helps to spread the new light and to “bring the rose of realization into bloom” (Ziegler, again).

Not unlike what Ibn al-Haytham was trying to do, a thousand years ago, perhaps.

Thank you for stopping off here on your journey through this Lammas 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 – Ania M’s or Karen Sealey's Pure Blessed Tarot blog . The Master List can be found here.

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Thoth Tarot created by Aleister Crowley, illustrated by Lady Frieda Harris, published by US Games Systems, Inc.

Ziegler, Gerd. Tarot: Mirror of the Soul. Weiser Books,1988.

 

Leo in the Druidcraft: The Six of Wands

Following on from the Five of Wands, we have the Six of Wands, linked to Jupiter in Leo, and the middle ten days of Leo (approximately 2^nd to 11^th August).  We’re still looking at the Leonine ideals here, so it’s Jupiter that gives the Six a different ‘flavour’ from the Five.  Jupiter is about expansion, optimism, faith.  Jupiter, or Jove, was the king of the Roman gods, as well as being the god of the sky - and thunder.  The planet Jupiter is a giant ball of gas – think of a lot of hot air!  What do hot-air balloons do? They rise, they expand...

Jupiter in Leo gives us a sense of optimism, of being able to grow and expand, through creativity and a ‘joie de vivre’.  We’re free to express ourselves vibrantly and with exuberance.  We’re supported and encouraged, and can support and encourage others.  We may find we want to impress and be recognized by others, which gives us self-confidence.  We do need to be wary of allowing our faith in our own importance to become over-blown, though!

Six of Wands: Druidcraft Tarot (detail)

In the Six of Wands, we can feel this feeling of strength and achievement, of a victory or triumph. Victory that’s been gained fairly, though – not at the expense of others.  There’s no place for egotism or arrogance here – that’s the shadow side of Jupiter in Leo.  Leo gives us a place on centre stage, where the spotlight is on us and our achievement.  Jupiter brings the luck or good fortune - the ability to expand our fortune, perhaps - while Leo maintains the creative fire, as well as the public acclaim for the results of that creativity, and allows us to take pride on our accomplishment.

The image in the Six of Wands in the Druidcraft shows a victory march, coming home in triumph after a successful battle or foray.  The leader, the only figure on horseback, looks strong, a bird of prey on his arm.  So yes, there’s Jupiter in Leo here in being recognized for what’s been achieved – the triumph and the confidence that comes from being a leader, the ability to respond with courage and conviction – and to be our “authentic self”.

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