Scorpio in the Major Arcana: Death (part 3)

13 The Journey (trimmed):

© Wildwood Tarot

In Part 1 of our exploration of the Death card, we saw the raven appear.  The raven is considered to be, among other things, a guardian of the dead, or a guide to the otherworld.  In The Wildwood Tarot’s ‘The Journey’, Will Worthington has given us an image of the raven tearing flesh from a skull of a reindeer - a symbol of the stripping of life, and of the (re)cycling of life through death and birth; all Scorpio (and by affinity, astrological 8^th house) issues. 

XIII Death (trimmed):

© Wild Unknown Tarot

The skeleton in Kim Krans’ Wild Unknown Tarot’s Death card may or may not be a raven, but the image reflects that idea of the stripping of life - the disintegration of flesh, leaving only bones behind.  Again, the cycling of life, and the knowledge that something needs to come to an end.  Krans talks about the need for closure, in the book that accompanies her deck, and about the inevitability of the ending.  And through experiencing the ‘death’, we’re able to move towards a new stage in our lives.

Wild Unknown Tarot, created by Kim Krans, published by HarperCollins, 2016.

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

Scorpio in the Major Arcana: Death (part 2)

In Part 1 of our look at the Death card, we saw the phoenix rising from the ashes of the fire that consumed what was no longer needed – not unlike the bonfires consuming fallen leaves, or the fires in the fields, burning away the debris after the harvest – in order to prepare the ground for the new. 

Death (trimmed):

© Shadowscapes Tarot

The Shadowscapes Tarot also draws on the promise of renewal with its phoenix rising from the ashes of the devastation, the tearing down of what has been, now ready for what’s to come. It's one of the more 'optimistic' versions of the Death card, I think - the fiery-red phoenix looks upwards and outwards towards what appears to be a sunny future... What do you think?

Death (trimmed):

© Zillich Tarot

Christine Zillich’s and Margarete Petersen’s Death cards both invoke the Crone in their depictions of Death. There’s an element of looking backwards and forwards with the Crone-Hermit, and that ‘crone knowledge’ or wisdom associated with the Hermit is necessary in order to make the changes that Death demands. 

The Zillich Tarot’s Death shows a crone-like figure in black, butterflies – a symbol of transformation – around her. 

Death (trimmed):

© Margarete Petersen Tarot

In Margarete Petersen’s version, we see two serpents – another symbol of transformation: one white, one black. There are links back to her High Priestess, Chariot, and even the Lovers in the way she’s used duality and opposites in her work. Her Death image is almost a mirror image: white serpent meets black serpent; Death, in the form of a cloaked skeleton, stands behind the white, earth-bound figure. Out of the dark comes light. A bit like the phoenix, then?

Margarete Petersen Tarot, AGM-URANIA/Deep Books, 2004.

Shadowscapes Tarot created by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law and Barbara Moore, published by Llewellyn

Zillich Tarot, created by Christine Zillich, published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

Scorpio in the Major Arcana: Death (part 1)

Given what we know of Scorpio, it probably comes as no surprise that the card associated with Scorpio (in the system I follow) is Death. Death, as in the end of a cycle – something that’s necessary in order to allow something new to grow and develop. Not physical death, or at least, not necessarily. 

Death (trimmed):

© Sharman-Burke/Caselli Tarot

Traditional depictions of Death show us a knight in armour on a white horse, a king dead underfoot, a religious figure in its path, sometimes children. The image in the Sharman-Burke/Caselli tarot is a variation on that theme; here the horse is black (the colour associated with death in some cultures), its rider a skeleton. The skeleton’s headdress is a swaddling cloth, used at birth, reflecting the link between birth and death and the unending cycle of life. The skeleton carries an hourglass, reminding us that everything has its time. 

In the distance, we see a river – another reminder of the ongoing process of transformation, this time in the form of the hydrologic cycle (the river water evaporates and forms clouds, the clouds rain, rainwater falls back to earth). The boat is said to symbolize both the cradle and the coffin. In the foreground we see a raven, thought to be a harbinger of death in many traditions. The theme is Scorpionic – transformation and change; endings creating openings for new beginnings.

XIII Death (trimmed):

© Thoth Tarot

The skeleton with his scythe are also seen in the Crowley Thoth tarot’s version of Death. He wears two faces here – one is that of the destroyer, the other that of the liberator – reminding us that in order to change, we may have to let go of things that hold us back, that no longer serve us. The headdress of this skeleton is a funereal head-covering, used in ancient Egypt – a reminder of the need to bury old, out-dated, invalid ideas and beliefs so that new life can begin. We see the scorpion at the bottom of the image, ready to sting, and the snake – perhaps THE symbol of transformation – ready to bite. A fish, representing the past, swims through the serpent’s coils: is it the next victim? Above it all, the phoenix, which can only rise from the ashes once the fire has consumed everything in its way. Intense? Oh yes! 

Beginner’s Guide to the Tarot created by Juliet Sharman-Burke, illustrated by Giovanni Caselli, published by Connections

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

A dip into the Runes

Now that we’re in Scorpio, the sign of – among other things – secrets, I thought it was time to dip into the runes and see what secrets I could unearth there.  Today, out of the Alembic comes …

Beorc!

…also referred to as Beorch, and Ba, depending on what source or system you’re using.  According to some, Beorc means ‘birch goddess’, but ‘birch’ seems to be the most common translation.  

Birch symbolizes growth, birth, becoming.   The birch was considered as the tree of fertility.  I’ve also heard it used to represent the idea of liberation, although it might be more about increasing vitality, which in turn could lead to shaking off the old and feeling liberated as a result. Being lightly whipped with twigs of birch was meant to increase vitality; this practice still exists in Scandinavia where, after being in a sauna, you’re meant to roll in the snow and then lash yourself with birch twigs!

Beorc is a fertility symbol, the two lobes resembling a woman’s breasts.   The rune suggests the start of something new – the birth of a new idea or new project, perhaps even the birth of a child.  It can also symbolize your home, where you come from, your roots.  You might be being asked to develop greater awareness of ‘hearth and home’.

XIII Death (trimmed):

© Haindl Tarot

Ba can also mean ‘boat’ and ‘bier’.  That might not seem to relate to the other meanings associated with this rune, but just think about the Viking funerary traditions:  they set the biers on boats, sending their dead across the sea to a new life.  Death, birth.

Beorc shows up on Hermann Haindl’s eponymous Tarot deck’s Death card.  We see the boatman ferrying his boat across the marshes – Charon, perhaps, or one of the Avalon boatmen waiting for another soul to carry onwards. The cycle of life and death again, appearing in the card of transformation and the ‘great journey’.  Here the presence of Beorc reminds us of (re)birth part of the cycle, and the sense of liberation that comes from letting go of what’s no longer of use.

…and Death is also linked, astrologically, to Scorpio…the sign we entered only a few days ago.  More about this card in the next few days…

Haindl Tarot, created by Hermann Haindl, published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

Full Moon in Taurus

Today’s offering comes from the Wildwood Tarot, created by Mark Ryan and John Matthews, beautifully illustrated by Will Worthington. 

18 The Moon on the Water (trimmed):

© Wildwood Tarot

The Moon on the Water seems like the perfect card to work with on the day of the Taurus Full Moon.  Full moon overhead, casting light over a marshy landscape – that’s appropriate too, as we’re in the watery sign of Scorpio.  And against the backdrop of that moon we see the silhouette of an aurochs, the ancestor of our bull – the symbol of Taurus. 

Taurus is associated with fertility, among other things.  In the old Druidic traditions, a bull or ox might be sacrificed at midwinter, as a symbol of new life emerging from the ‘dead’ of winter.  In the accompanying book to the Wildwood Tarot, the creators write of the auroch’s horns representing not only the waxing and waning of the moon, but also fertility: they see the womb and fallopian tubes in the bull’s horns. 

New growth emerging from death is also a theme of Scorpio, of course, with the transformation from what’s decaying or no longer of use into something from which new life can emerge. Just think of your compost heap!  The Moon represents this too – the cycles of life: birth and death, new and old, waxing and waning.

So what might The Moon on the Water be saying to us today? It’s difficult to see a way through the marsh, although the Moon does cast a path of light (reflected from the Sun) over the water. The 'passage through the unknown', perhaps? The heron, a water bird, represents psychic ability as well as reflection - and there's plenty of reflection in the imagery. The heron also stands at the gateway between life and death, acting as mediator on the soul's journey to the underworld. Or between conscious and unconscious? Under the surface (how Scorpionic!) lies the “primal egg” (to quote Ryan and Matthews), waiting to be fertilized. So, at this time of the Taurus New Moon, perhaps it’s time to stand still for a moment, and see the potential that lies before us. Pay attention to your dreams and your imagination – what are you being called to create?

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

The sting of the Scorpion

Today, at 12.22 BST, the Sun moved (astrologically) from Libra into Scorpio. 

Leaves continue to change colour, but now they’re falling from branches, covering the earth in a blanket of gold, bronze, and orange.  The autumn winds lift them up; they whirl through the air, twisting and swirling in a vortex... Since the equinox, the nights are growing longer, giving us the opportunity to spend more time dreaming.   

Here in the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere, people are planting bulbs – the ‘seed’ of life being sown underground where it will lie protected and nurtured until it’s ready to ‘spring’ forth in a few months’ time.  Is it any wonder that Scorpio, the scorpion, is the sign of transformation?  

All around us, in nature, the world appears to be going to sleep; animals are starting to hibernate, the birds are gathering and forming their migratory v-shapes as they head for warmer climates. 

'Scorpio'  © Alison Coals

Before long it will be Samhain (“summer’s end”) the end and start of the Celtic New Year, the Day of the Dead – times of transformation and change, which is what we’ve come to associate with Scorpio.  In astrology, Scorpio is one of the three Water signs, along with Cancer and Pisces, as well as being one of the four Fixed signs.   It ends the second cycle of the elements (Cancer through to Scorpio), and opposes Taurus on the axis of resources.  While Taurus is interested in material resources, Scorpio – as a water sign – is more interested in emotional resources.  As a fixed sign, Scorpio wants to know what’s going on at a deeper level, not at the bubbly surface – “still waters run deep” is a good description of Scorpio’s focus.  Only by diving into the depths can Scorpio unearth the root of a problem and attempt to transform it – and it will probably take a crisis or something similar before Scorpio will take that plunge. 

The traditional ruler of Scorpio is the planet Mars, providing passion and drive.  It also has a modern ruler, Pluto, named after the Lord of the Underworld, reflecting the cycle of life and death and the change involved.  Both planets are associated with power; “knowledge is power” is another good description.  We’ve just left Libra, with its 7^th-house focus on partnership, and the need for harmony and balance through negotiation and diplomacy. Now we’re about to move into 8^th-house issues with Scorpio – shared resources, power issues, life cycles,… and recycling! What follows once the contract is made, within partnerships and relationships (of all kinds)…  Emotions run deep, and power struggles can ensue.  Intensity.  What will be the fall-out, as we move into (in the northern hemisphere) fall)? What are we recycling, or composting? Any transformation, under the auspices of Scorpio, will be intense!

Libra ingress - turning point

Yes, the Sun has moved into Libra, in astrological terms at least. It often feels, to me, like the start of a new year - perhaps reflecting many years spent in the world of education in the northern hemisphere: the start of a new school yar, new term, new friends, new connection.  A turning point in our lives - and in the astronomical world too.

The Libra ingress marks the turning point where, depending on which hemisphere you’re in, the days either become shorter (north) or longer (south), due to the tilt of the Earth and its position relative to the Sun.  This point, where the length of day apparently is equal to the length of night, is marked by the ingress of the Sun into the astrological sign of Libra (in the tropical zodiac) – the scales.

The constellations of Scorpio (left) and Libra (right)

The constellation of Libra (Latin for “weighing scales”) was known as Zibanu (“balance” or “scales”) in Babylonian times. Scales were sacred to Shamash, the Babylonian sun god, who was also associated with truth and justice, concepts that are still associated with the sign of Libra today.  The Babylonians also called this constellation the Claws of the Scorpion – the constellation sits next to that of Scorpio and may have been considered to be part of the scorpion. The Arabic word for scorpion is “zubana”, not dissimilar to the Babylonians’ “zinbanu”, which might perhaps account for the “claws” becoming the ‘scales”.

In Egyptian mythology, Libra is represented by Ma’at, the goddess of the scales who would, at the time of death, weigh the human soul against an ostrich feather to determine whether or not the soul would reincarnate.  Greek mythology gives us Themis, a blindfolded seer who also carries a pair of scales.  The archangel Michael, in Christianity, holds the scales. In each tradition, the theme is balance, of keeping things – be they social or spiritual – in order.  But the story that resonates most with me is the Greek story of the Judgment of Paris.

It starts with the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. Eris, the goddess of Discord (a “shadow” side of Libra), hasn’t been invited but decides to gate-crash. She throws a golden apple down in front of all the goddesses who have been invited.  On the apple is inscribed ‘to the fairest’.... and so we have perhaps the first beauty pageant! Hera, Aphrodite and Athena are the front-runners, and ask Zeus (Jupiter, in Roman terms) to choose. Zeus, in his wisdom (or some would argue, cowardice!), elects Paris, a Trojan mortal to be the judge. Atop Mount Ida, the three goddesses attempted to bribe Paris – Hera dangled the prospect of becoming king of Europe and Asia, Athena wisdom and battle skills, and Aphrodite the most beautiful woman in the world.  Paris chose Aphrodite’s gift – Helen, wife of the Greek king Menelaus... and the rest, as they say, is history, at least in mythological terms.  The Trojan horse, the “face that launched a thousand ships” ... even the idea of “who is the fairest” comes up again and again – and not only in fairy tales such as Snow White!

'Libra' © Alison Coals

So many Libran qualities are illustrated in this myth –beauty, harmony, attraction, negotiation and adjudication.  And no surprise that Venus (the Roman goddess most similar to Aphrodite) is the ruler of Libra!  But “to the fairest”?  That also taps into Libran ambiguity!  The fairest in terms of the most beautiful, or the most even-tempered? The most well-balanced when it comes to making judgments? 

Libra, despite the association with beauty and attraction through Venus, is more a sign of balance. It’s considered and reflective, more concerned with “the other” (7^th house) than with the “I” (1^st house). Libra is mediator, negotiator, and diplomat.