Tarot Meditation 23: Ace of Wands

All four Aces in the Minor Arcana depict a hand bearing a gift from the sky. Aces represent gifts given to us from Above, without our asking, and without our necessarily deserving. They also represent new beginnings. As we saw in several Major Arcana keys, the hand is accompanied by Yods, the Hebrew concept of Spirit descending to Earth.

Because of the creative nature of Wands, this Key may represent the beginning of a new job, a new enterprise, a journey, a new family member.

When this key appears revered (upside down to the reader) in a spread, it may indicate projects deferred or delayed.

If you have pulled this Key for your daily meditation, it's time to count your blessings! It also may be time to assess where you are along your career path. Is it time for a vacation, or a retreat in silence?

Be blessed,

Deb

Tarot Meditation Interlude: The Minor Arcana

I wish blogs didn't publish in reverse order sometimes, because this entry will get buried as we move along through the four suits of the Minor Arcana. I hope you'll remember to scroll down to it periodically to refresh your memory on this part of Tarot.

I've spent months now guiding us through the 22 keys of the Major Arcana, following The Fool's journey to enlightenment. Now it's time to work our way through the Minor Arcana.

The four suits - Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles, are the forerunners of our modern playing cards - respectively Clubs, Hearts, Spades and Diamonds. In Tarot, however, instead of a Jack, we have two keys - Page and Knight - and Aces are always considered the first card in each suit.

The four suits correspond to the four elements - respectively fire, water, air and earth. The four suits correspond to the four cardinal points - respectively south, west, east and north.

As in the Major Arcana, numerology, astrology, sacred geometry and many world beliefs come together to form the intricate symbology of the Minor Arcana. Additionally, each suit speaks its own language of symbols.

Wands, depicted with new growth, represent energy, enterprise and hard work. The animal associated most often with Wands is the salamander (a creature of fire and of the south), although lions (think Leo as a fire sign) are often represented. This is the suit of hard work, learning, growth and change.

Cups, depicted by a golden vessel, represent emotion, often love. This is the key of the unconscious, a key of fertility, beauty and dreams. The creature of Cups is the undine (a female water spirit), along with the Water Carrier (Aquarius). This is the suit of emotion, of connection between the conscious and unconscious minds.

Swords, depicted by shining blades, represent spirit, often in the form of our failure to connect with Spirit. This is the suit of the Warrior, regardless of the kind of battle being fought. The creature of Swords is the sylph (an elemental being of air), along with eagles. Think justice and Libra. This can be a suit of strife, but also of a reminder we need to connect to Spirit.

Pentacles, depicted by golden disc etched with a five-pointed star, represent man bringing magic to earth, particularly in material possessions. The creature of Pentacles is the gnome (an elemental being of earth), along with the bull (think Taurus as a earth sign). Think of the five points of the human body, as Di Vinci depicted in his Vitruvian Man, or Venus in her annual transit across the sky. This is the key of earthly possessions and connection to Mother Earth.

I hope you learn and enjoy our journey through the Major Arcana!

Be blessed,

Deb

Tarot Meditation 22: The World, Key 21

The Fool has finally come to the end of the journey. Or is it just beginning, once again? The road has been long and difficult in some places, light-hearted and joyful in others.



The World key, the last in the Major Arcana, is the reversal of The Hanged Man we saw so many keys ago. Here, the figure stands upright, the triangle formed by the legs forming a cross. Another triangle, formed by the arms and head, points upward, signifying that at last Spirit prevails. The two wands represent both involution and evolution, finding the balance sought by The Magician.


Some Tarot scholars maintain that, while the figure appears female, the scarf hides hermaphrodite features, indicating once again the need for balance of male and female energies. Psychologist Carl Jung would call this a blending of the anima and animus, the unconscious and the conscious, coming together in the superconscious, the destination to which all the keys have led.


The wreath surrounding the figure represents the world, and the red ribbon holding the wreath together is the lemniscate of eternal thought, as we saw in The Magician and Strength keys. The four beasts in the corners are the same beasts we saw in The Wheel of Fortune key, in a slightly different form. They represent the four elements - fire, air, earth and water.



Repeatedly throughout the Major Arcana we have seen the theme of balance (or the need for it). As The Fool has journeyed through physical, emotional and spiritual challenges, s/he has constantly sought this balance - in light and dark, red and white, water and fire, earth and air, mind, body and spirit. Here at last The World awaits The Fool on the Path to Enlightenment.


But wait! As in our lives, just when we think we've reached a point of illumination, there's more. Next week we begin our journey, along with The Fool, through the four suits of the Minor Arcana, beginning with Cups.


While the symbols of the Major Arcana have been deep and plentiful, there is much, much more to learn, in the symbols of the Minor Arcana. Just as in our lives, The Fool's journey never really ends, and the wheel spins again, and again, and again!
Be blessed
Deb

Tarot Meditation 21: Judgment, Key 20

Angel Gabriel emerges from the clouds of heaven, blowing seven notes from his trumpet, giving humanity the creative Word that connects us to the Divine. Attached to the trumpet is the equal-armed solar cross, reminding us to seek balance in all we do.

In the foreground of the Key is the pool of Cosmic consciousness, where all the streams we've seen in previous keys (beginning with melting snow in The Fool key) flow together to become One. Note the same snowy mountain-tops from The Fool key in the background. This is yet another of Tarot's attempt to help us find connection and balance in our lives.

The man, woman and child rise from coffins of world beliefs floating on the pool. This is the re-awakening of our connection to Nature through Spirit and of our connection of birth through death. The man represents the conscious mind, the women the unconscious, and the child represents our ability to regenerate through many lifetimes.

Numerologically, Key 20 represents our evolution through two complete cycles of 10, being renewed and reborn twice in the cycles of learning who we are physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

The Judgment Key is about the gift of decernment that comes from living successfully through challenges and obstacles in our lives. Here, finally, The Fool has found the secrets of living a full and joyful life through both knowledge and faith. The Fool now stands on the edge of blending with universal thought.

Be blessed,

Deb