Missions Accomplished

As we talked about in the last post, 2021 is the year of card V of the major arcana, the Hierophant (2 + 0 + 2 + 1 = 5). In this post we are going to take this idea one step further and pair the year card with the month card.

Calculating the collective month card

               The month card is calculated in a way similar to the year card. We add the number for the month (in this case, we’ll use last month, February, which is the second month = 2) with the year (2021). Our formula is now 2 + 2021 = 2023, which we expand to 2 + 0 + 2 + 3 = 7. (Note: there are other ways to calculate the month card. I have found this method works best for me, so it is what I use. If this method does not work for you, I invite you to explore other was of calculating the month card.)

               The number 7 is associated with card VII of the major arcana, the Chariot. Since we have not introduced the Chariot so far, let’s take a brief moment now to look at some of the archetypes associated with the Chariot. The Chariot in the classic Waite-Smith deck depicts an armored figure in a chariot covered by a star-spangled canopy. The chariot is being led by two sphinxes, one black and one white. The Chariot signifies accomplishment, triumph, control, and progress.

               We also see a lot of other images in the card, but for the sake of simplicity and brevity, we will keep it short and look on what is driving the chariot. While these animals are classically represented by sphinxes, they can also be depicted as horses or other animals. The difference in color of these animals is important as it tells us that they symbolize opposites. It will take the charioteer focus before he can have success in uniting these conflicting interests to move him forward.

               As we remember from the Hierophant, our lesson with this archetype is centered around society and functioning together as a whole community, outside of the individual. So here we have the Chariot and the Hierophant joined numerologically through February 2021 (the month and the year as calculated above).

Society’s drive forward

               The most prominent examples of how these two cards were represented in world events in February 2021 are the recent Mars missions. Last year, three different countries launched probes to the red planet. UAE’s probe Hope arrived in orbit around Mars on February 9, 2021, followed by the Chinese probe Tianwen-1 the next day, February 10. The US mission was the last to reach orbit, arriving at the red planet February 18. The US probe Perseverance has a unique mission to bring Martian rock back to Earth.

               Talk about the Chariot (dedication and coordination of different forces) acting alongside the Hierophant (structure and organization). The stars in the Chariot’s canopy are a rather literal representation of outer space and here we are sending a vehicle to another planet. In line with the Chariot’s characteristics, the probe’s intelligent systems must compute and analyze sensory data to predict how to interact with the environment. The Hierophant can be seen in how different countries cooperate, for example through the Outer Space Treaty. This international framework (the Hierophant’s religious doctrine) defines how the nations of this world are to share space.

               Getting to Mars was not a one-man job. It takes a village—multiple teams working together on everything from calculations in planning and design to the construction of the probe and its many working parts. The images on the cards practically speak for themselves. We see a similar structure. There are three different figures: one central figure (the hierophant and the charioteer) standing over the two others (disciples and drivers). While community is clearly involved, the figure standing over the others could also be representative of mission control watching over the probe travel through space and finally reach orbit.

Around the corner

               In March 2021, the month card is VIII Justice (or Strength, depending on the order you use—a switch that will be discussed in a later post). Whether you use Justice or Strength as card VIII, keep an eye out for at how the energies of card VIII merge with the archetypes of card V, the Hierophant, in the events that unfold this month.

Many Blessings,

Violet

The Bridge Between Worlds

Blessed 2021 to Everyone!

I don’t think I can remember another year where people were so happy to move on. And yet, we have several challenges facing us in 2021. Still, the attitude seems different. We’re not going to be blindsided by a world-changing pandemic this year; no that was last year. But we are still dealing with the pandemic and have a long way to go before it will be over. Nonetheless, progress is being made.

As we look back at 2020, I think we will have learned many lessons. We, as a species, are quick to adapt our lifestyles and habits. We can invent new ways of being social and running our businesses. The silver lining to last year: The environment benefited tremendously from the ramifications of the human species dealing with a global pandemic. Reduced commerce and reduced traffic (whether by air, land, or sea) means less stress on the environment and all its lifeforms.

2021—The Year of the Hierophant

The collective tarot card for this year is card V of the major arcana, The Hierophant (2021 → 2 + 0 + 2 +1 = 5). The Hierophant in its highest aspects signifies social structure, community, the benefits of religion, a connection between the material and the spiritual, teachings and lessons, and societal values. The shadow side of the Hierophant can be abuse in the name of religion, indoctrination for egotistical aims, fanatic cults, and extremism.

The Rider-Waite-Smith deck is full of religious imagery. Personally, I’m not a catholic, so at first, I had a hard time connecting with this card. That is why my favorite versions of this card are depictions of a tree. In many ways, the tree and the pope have several things in common. From my understanding of the catholic faith, the pope is the people’s connection to god. The congregation speaks to god through the pope and listens to god’s message from the pope’s mouth. This is very much like a tree. A tree takes the nutrients and water from the lowly soil and brings it up to the heavens where it produces delicious fruits, and a tree shelters us from the harsh blinding light and heat of the sun by providing us with shade.

Also, the tree as an image is central to many religions. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil leads to the Fall (the introduction of sin) in Christian faiths. The Norse called their tree of life Yggdrasil. The Qabalah is the tree of life that stems from Judaism and has been adopted by many esoteric practices, as well as Christian mysticism. (The Qabalah is also a central theme in tarot, but that is a topic for another time.) The Assyrians in ancient Mesopotamia had a tree of life, and Islam has a Tree of Immortality.

Trees can also grow to become very old. Some can live for over 5,000 years. Trees store information too, the most obvious example being in their rings. Just think about all the knowledge one could accumulate in the amount of time tress live! Trees really are ancient sources of wisdom. And trees also form a great branching network. Their roots are connected by mycelium, or fungi. The mycelial networks allow trees to communicate with other trees in the forest.

Lastly, here’s one way to think about the number Five. Once we have made it to the material world of the Four and have become manifest, we have established the point of reference, the point of origin. From there, we can take it to the next level and go somewhere, somewhere grander, reach for the skies.

In 2021, I invite you to take a journey with me in honor of the Hierophant. This year provides us an excellent opportunity to reexamine our belief structures by answering questions like what are my beliefs and how did I come to them. We will also be called upon to strengthen our personal connection with the spiritual aspects of life. One of the ways I will be doing this is to spend time cultivating my relationship with trees and plants, which means simply spending more time with plants and becoming more aware of their presence in my life. We live on such a beautiful planet, and I find that connecting with nature is one of the easiest ways to experience the sacred in the world we belong to.

Happy Tree Hugging to You All!

Many Blessings,

Violet

Four Corners of the Earth

Fitting for this forth post is a topic we have not covered yet: the structure of the tarot. (In numerology, the number 4 represents secure foundations.) Knowing the structure of the tarot helps us gain a clearer understanding of the overarching energies prevalent in the tarot.

The 78 cards of the tarot are divided into two parts: the major arcana and the minor arcana. The word arcanum (plural arcana) means secret knowledge. The major arcana consist of 22 cards, numbered 0 The Fool to XXI The World. The 56 cards of the minor arcana are divided into four suits: Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles.

The minor arcana

We’ll start with the minor arcana. Within each suit of the minor arcana, there are 10 numbered cards (Ace to 10) and four court cards (Page, Knight, Queen, and King). The four suits in the minor arcana correspond to the four elements: fire = wands, water = cups, air = swords, and earth = pentacles. Note: These correspondences may change depending on which system you are using. The only right or wrong answer when it comes to tarot is what feels right or wrong to you.

Here are some keywords to help us remember what each suit represents.

Wands (fire): passions, desires, drives, ambition, purpose, job

Cups (water): love, emotions, feelings

Swords (air): thoughts, the mind, the ego, conflict, challenges, truth, knowledge

Pentacles (earth): the physical world, finances, the body, security, the home

Take out each suit of your deck and flip through it. Do you see where these themes are expressed in the illustrations throughout the suit? For example, the grief and hurt felt in the Five of Cups stems from love, or the loss of it, in this case.

Knowing the general mood of each suit can help us when it comes to interpreting the cards in a reading. If we get a majority of one suit, this tells us that the qualities of that suit are having a strong influence on the situation. For example, if we are asking about something related to career or work and a lot of cups come up, we could infer that a lot of emotions are involved in whatever is going on. Perhaps strong personal feelings overshadow the work, or there may be drama in the workplace.

Here is another example. If we are asking about our romantic partner and get a lot of swords, maybe the problem is not love or the emotional connection, but certain thought patterns. There could be different ideas about where the relationship is headed. A well-devised strategy and good communication may be exactly what are needed to make things work out. We could try thinking of new ways to approach the bumps in the “relationship” road.

The major arcana

Now that we’ve taken a look at the 56 cards of the minor arcana and talked about the elements associated with each suit, let’s go back to the 22 cards of the major arcana. The major arcana are sometimes considered the fifth element (spirit). Through the story told from 0 The Fool to XXI The World, these cards illustrate the path to individuation. It can help to think of the minor cards as life’s day-to-day activities, and the major cards as life’s bigger lessons. The major arcana teach us how to grow as individuals and become true to who we are.

We’ll go back to our examples above to see how the major arcana can affect the same readings. Say we are asking about work again, but this time we get a majority of major arcana, followed by cups as the next most common suit. In this case, whatever may be going on at work will have a major impact on our lives. We will want to pay close attention to how we are processing the situation and our emotions towards it. These are the greatest opportunities for intimate, personal growth.

Or we have a majority of major arcana followed by swords in a reading about a romantic relationship. This would be an ideal opportunity to work on becoming a better communicator about our getting our needs met, while making sure the other person’s needs are met too. The lessons we learn from developing this strategy will be extremely important in how we approach future situations.

As always, these interpretations will depend on how the cards interact with the others in the reading. The more we work with tarot, the easier it will be to make the leap from having an understanding of the basic meanings to interpreting how the cards affect a particular situation. Our intuition is what allows us to pinpoint the meaning of the cards in each particular reading. By developing our sense of what feels right and learning to trust it, we will see our accuracy improve and confidence soar.

Blessings,

Violet