February was added to the older Julian calendar in the 700’s BCE when two new months were added to create the new Gregorian calendar, matching it up more closely with the actual length of the Earth’s journey round the sun.
But the Anglo Saxons called February Sōlmōnath, from sōl n Old English word for wet sand or mud, alluding to the weather this time of year and the effects of rain and snow melt. The romantic Solway Firth between North West England and South West Scotland is actually the massive tidal ‘Mud way’, rather than the ‘Sun way.’
The northern English scholar monk , saint Bede, wrote that February was celebrated as “the month of cakes,” when ritual offerings of savory cakes and loaves of bread were made to ensure a good year’s harvest.
But is the fire festival of Imbolc and Brigid is a more ancient celebration in Gaelic Britain, including Ireland, Scotland, swathes of Northern England and the Isle of Man.
Brigid’s fire festival began as a neolithic festival marking the 1/2 way point between the winter solstice (Yule) and the spring equinox (Beltane.)
Imbolc spans 1-2 February, celebrating the arrival of Brigid, the Divine Feminine, and the harbinger of the coming of spring and the first lambs, so vital to survival of those early communities. Brigid’s name means ‘Exalted One’.
Brigid From The Sacred Circle Tarot
‘Imbolc’ is thought to mean ‘in the belly’ referring to the precious ewes in lamb Soon is the time of the first lambs although the start of the lambing season varies by up to two weeks in any given year.
Brigid was a powerful protector of women in childbirth, as well as the safe birthing of precious livestock. She was not only a goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann, The Tribe of the Gods, but a triple goddess of healers, poets and smiths.
Via Wiki Riders of the Sidhe, the Tuatha de Dannan
“The Tuatha de Danaan, the people of the (mother) goddess Danu in Celtic mythology; a race inhabiting Ireland before the arrival of the Milesians (the ancestors of the modern Irish). They were said to have been skilled in magic, and the earliest reference to them relates that, after they were banished from heaven because of their knowledge, they descended on Ireland in a cloud of mist. They were thought to have disappeared into the hills when overcome by the Milesians. The Leabhar Gabhála (Book of Invasions), a fictitious history of Ireland from the earliest times, treats them as actual people, and they were so regarded by native historians up to the 17th century. In popular legend they have become associated with the numerous fairies still supposed to inhabit the Irish landscape”. From The Encylopedia Britannica
Brigid was said to visit one’s home at Imbolc. People would make a bed for her, and leave food and drink and items of clothing outside in the hope of receiving her blessings, petitioning her to protect homes and livestock.
This was a time for feasting and visits to sacred wells, and a time for ritual divination. A St Brigid’s cross is made from rushes and was placed in doorways to protect the home from harm, representing the wheel of the seasons.
Spring is fierce in its quickening of new shoots. Spring is initiation. Spring is fire, just as Aries the Ram of the zodiac, though bot starting until later, in late March, is a fire sign.
The old Norse rune ING or INGUZ is a fire sign rune, associated with male fertility, vitality and recovery from sickness. This powerful protective rune can also be noticed incorporated into pargeting, used in half-timbered buildings in Britain and northern Europe
The people would light bonfires on the hilltops by night, and by day might run cattle through the smoke of lower lying bonfires, asking divine protection for the livestock.
Imbolc was a key moment in weather forecasting. This was the time when The Cailleach —the divine crone of Gaelic tradition—gathered firewood for the rest of the winter. If the Cailleach knew the winter was going to last a good while longer, she’d make sure of good weather during Imbolc and would use it to gather more firewood to top up her stores. Bad weather at Imbolc was good news. The Cailleach wasn’t worried about running out of firewood. She had turned over and gone back to sleep and the worst of winter was almost over.
Via Pinterest
‘Dark sacred night’…yes, but when the dark goes on too long, we shout back at the dark, fighting back with the Promethean gift of fire.
I had been reading the cards five or six years when I received a first request to do a reading on behalf of an animal, a pony called Mustard.
What did I know about ponies? Not a huge amount. I have been riding just once in my life, on a school trip to The Trossachs when I was fifteen, and rode on a pony called Thistle, and soon found out why she was called Thistle. She kept stopping to chew….thistles. I said ‘move on’, and she snickered, looking at me out of the side of her eye, a clear invitation to get lost. The woman, exasperated, shouted at me, ‘you there, girl, get her head up!’ but I did not like to pull hard on the bit. The woman knew her stuff and I did not, and the pony’s mouth was tough enough to chew on thistles, but I worried it would hurt.
I am not the only person to have been haunted since childhood by the death of Ginger in ‘Black Beauty’. Oh no. There are a lot of us. Such is the agency of story, and when it comes down to it, there is no such thing as fiction. There is only truth presented as fiction or poetic truth.
This was the author’s only novel, and it was written with an adult audience in mind. But one is all it took to haunt the next six generations of children and we are still counting. Anna Sewell was nearing the end of her life, disabled after a fall when she was fourteen and she broke her ankles, ill, confined indoors and often bed-ridden while she wrote ‘Black Beauty’, published in 1877 by Jarrolds for £40. Her mother helped her, but this was the work of a decade, and she died only a few months after publication, aged 58.
Ignorance. Only ignorance. How can you talk about only ignorance. Don’t you know that it is the worst thing in the world next to wickedness and which does the worst mischief heaven only knows. If people can say, oh I did not know. I did not mean any harm,’ they think it is all right.
Mustard was a 13 year old gelding, and he competed in dressage. This much I had already been told before looking at his cards. He had a clean bill of health from the vets, but his owner was worried that he seemed depressed, and wanted me to inquire into his happiness and well-being, and to see whether the Tarot could pick up on his preferences or wishes.
I was working with the Universal Rider-Waite deck at the time. I have mixed up the imagery here, using cards from other decks, but without compromising on the meanings as I read them for Mustard.
How was Mustard feeling about life at that moment?
Answer: The Four of Pentacles.
The Rider-Waite Tarot
This card of material stability, sometimes unjustly nicknamed The Miser card, indicated that Mustard generally felt safe and secure, and liked his current routine. He didn’t seem too keen on changing things, and liked to hang on to any good thing he was given. (Don’t we all) He was by temperament, reserved but friendly, not given to impulsive behaviour. He liked a little bit of variety in his routine ‘but not too much’.
His owner laughed out loud at this description, saying this was Mustard down to a tee. He could be stubborn.
The Seven of Cups was the next card out.
This suggested Mustard was sensitive and responsive with a plenty of imagination. His owner said he was the most easily trained pony she had worked with, very quick on the uptake.
I asked the Tarot, what did he like? and drew the Three of Cups.
From The Gilded Tarot, artwork Ciro Marchetti
Gossip, chit-chat. Party time! This card suggested Mustard had two special friendships. These must have been a horse and a pony he shared his field with during the day, his owner explained. He had one friend in particular.
I was glad to hear this. I hate it, all those lone ponies you see in fields, bored and lonely, resting their weight on one hoof. People who keep ponies do know they are HERD animals, right? It ought not to happen.
But what might be weighing on his mind, such that his owner worried he was depressed? I drew the Six of Swords, a card of relocation, or moving on in other ways.
The Legacy of the Divine Tarot
I asked if Mustard was being moved. The answer came, yes, he was going to be moved to a new, bigger livery with 30 horses and ponies.
The Five of Cups , a grieving card, suggested Mustard sensed a change coming up, and did not want to be separated from his two old friends.
From The Legacy of The Divine Tarot
His owner said he would still see his friends. She and the owners of these other two ponies rode out together and would continue to do so. I suggested, silly though this may sound, that she tell Mustard this, sending him a visual message of him going along the lanes with his old friends. He might not be able to understand the words, but he might receive the message, and the emotion she attached to that. Who is to say he could not?
I drew a general advice card for Mustard. This was The Moon card, suggesting Mustard was frightened of being alone at night.
From The Gilded Tarot Royale, Ciro Marchetti
There were barking dogs, he seemed to be telling me, and, though I was reading with the Rider Waite that day, the essential imagery of this card from The Gilded Tarot Royale is the same. Look at the dogs, baying at the moon, just as in the Moon card in the Rider Waite deck.
He could not have been telling me more literally, than by my drawing this particular card when there were 77 other cards I could have drawn instead.
He didn’t like that barking. Not at all. And strange shadows scared him.
This was why he was being moved, his owner told me. He was stabled alone overnight and not with his friends. They just met up in the day, and now she was moving him to be stabled near with them. This seemed like excellent news for Mustard, and meanwhile, pending the move, I suggested his owner leave an old coat with him, so that her scent could reassure him in her absence.
This was very peculiar, the owner said. There were a number of dogs at a nearby house, Jack Russells, and from time to time she had heard them barking during the day, but it hadn’t occurred to her they might worry Mustard with night time barking as she wasn’t usually there at that time.
What else bothered Mustard, she wondered.
From The Gilded Tarot, Ciro Marchetti
The Five of Wands, a card of competition in crowded markets suggested Mustard was prone to stress and became anxious in competitions. He didn’t like loud noises. If he had been a show jumper, this would have suggested a fear of jumping a 5 barred fence. I suggested rubbing a little non-alcohol Rescue Remedy behind his ears or on his nose (not on the sensitive bits) the next time they competed, which was the following weekend.
The owner contacted me the week following this event, and though Mustard didn’t win any prizes, she said there was a difference in his body language. He was more ‘laid back.’
A reading is not a substitute for appropriate medical advice. The reader is not a vet, but nor does a client need a nanny. A reader does not try to tell anyone what to do. They do have a duty of responsibility. They must exercise great care, but the whole point of having such a reading is that the reader will share what they see and feel.
Was I reading Mustard’s mind during this reading, or was I reading his owner’s mind, telling her things she already knew, but that she did not consciously know that she knew?
Or was it a three-way telepathy?
I’d likely struggle to read any animal too different in its organization from ourselves, animals with very different nervous systems. Though a reader could always try, and wouldn’t an octopus be interesting.
All life is interconnected at some level. All life is driven by some form of intelligence, brain or no brain. Such is the unfathomable mystery of the real life web.
“We patronize the animals for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein we err, and greatly err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they are more finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other Nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.” ― Henry Beston
Quality: Cardinal (the start of the season of winter)
Key phrase: I build, I use
Body: Skin, knees, skeletal system
Birth Stone: Red Garnet and Black Onyx
Colour: Deep red
Herbs/Flowers: Wintergreen, Ivy, Carnation
Tarot card: The Devil (Pan/Nature, Earth, Will-Power, Determination, Mystery, Fascination, Charisma, Need, Hunger, Entrapment)
The Devil from The Gilded Tarot
The Astronomy
Wiki Capricorn: The Gate of The Gods
Capricornus is thought to be the oldest recognized constellation, just as its subjects are known for being born as old souls, wise beyond their years. Its name is Latin for ‘horned goat’ or ‘having horns like a goat’s,’ and it is commonly represented in the form of a sea-goat: a mythical creature half-goat, half-fish, Pricus, the son of Chronos (Time.)
The constellation of Capricornus from which the zodiac sign gets its name is located in an area of sky known as ‘The Sea’ or ‘The Water’, containing other water-related constellations including Aquarius, Pisces and Eridanus, the Celestial River, which is the sixth largest of the 88 modern listed constellations.
Capricornus is best seen in the northern hemisphere in the southern sky, early evenings in September. Capricornus is the smallest constellation in the zodiac, with no first magnitude stars. Not easy to find, you will need clear skies. Even so, its brightest star, The Tail of the Goat, or Deneb Algedi (Delta Capricorni A) is a white giant with a luminosity 8.5 times that of our Sun.
Capricornus has three stars with known planets, and contains a Messier object, Messier 30, a globular cluster 28,000 light years distant and about 90 light years across in size. This cluster is approaching us at the speed of 181.9 km/s and was one of the first deep sky objects discovered by Charles Messier in 1764.
Five meteor showers are associated with Capricornus: the Alpha Capricornids, the Chi Capricornids, the Sigma Capricornids, the Tau Capricornids, and the Capricorniden-Sagittarids.
The planet Neptune was discovered in the constellation Capricornus, near Deneb Algedi, the brightest star in the tail of the goat, on September 23, 1846.
Neptune is not visible to the naked eye. Galileo saw it first, in 1612 -13 but he mistook it for a fixed star as it was retrograde at the time of viewing. Read more about Neptune and its discovery here
It is curious that this Neptune connection was so recently discovered, in the face of an existing ancient mythic connection between Capricorn the Sea-Goat and Pisces the Fishes.
History and Mythology
Even though Capricornus is the second faintest constellation in the sky, the faintest after Cancer, its imagery is very ancient indeed, associated with myths that go back to the 21st century BC and which centre on various sun gods supposedly nursed by a she-goat.
Goats, and their relatives, ibex, were the inspiration, as depicted in Ice Age paintings.,
In the early Bronze Age, the arrival overhead of the constellation Capricornus coincided with the winter solstice and, in modern astrology (as distinct from astronomy) we enter the zodiac sign of Capricorn’s rule on the turning point of the winter solstice.
Male ibex start fighting and mating during early winter, December and January, coinciding with the dates first ascribed to Capricorn. The constellation of Capricorn itself is no longer overhead at the time of the winter solstice due to the wobble of the earth, an effect known as precession,and now appears overhead in late January, during the dates of the next zodiac sign, Aquarius.
The Sumerians
Before 1000 BC the Sumerians knew Capricorn as the goat-fish, or SUHUR-MASH-HA. There appears to be a connection between Capricorn as a seagoat and Enki, the Sumerian god of wisdom and waters, who also had the head and upper body of a goat and the lower body and tail of a fish. Enki, Later known as Ea in Akkadian and Babylonian mythology, was the god of intelligence (literally ‘ear’), creation, crafts; magic; water, seawater and lake water.
The Greeks
Pricus was king of the mer-goats in a Greek evolution myth. The children of Pricus left the sea to dwell on the mountains, leaving him alone in the oceans, very sad and alone with no-one to care for or teach any more- and Pricus was a great teacher.
Zeus placed him in the Sea of the Stars so that he could see his children again, and they could look up and see him.
But the constellation is nowadays more widely associated with two mythical creatures from Greek legends: the deity Pan, and the she-goat Amalthea who suckled the baby Zeus, although these legends, like the other Greek legends, came in turn from far more ancient stories.
Pan-Bacchus, a set of pipes, and the terrible Typhon
Pan, so the legend said, was placed in the sky by Zeus in gratitude after he came to the rescue of the Olympian gods when they sought refuge in Egypt after an epic battle with the monster Typhon, son of the Titan Tartarus and Earth.
Typhon wanted revenge on the Olympic gods because they had overthrown his own race, the Titans who had ruled before Zeus defeated them, and he was one terrifying adversary, a fearsome fire-breathing creature, higher than mountains and with dragons’ heads instead of fingers. He had the gods of Olympia on the run, and they tried to escape by adopting various disguises: Zeus, a ram – Hera, a white cow, and Bacchus (or another version of the myth suggests Pan)- a goat.
Zeus had the unpleasant experience of being caught and dismembered by Typhon, who was presumably not fooled by the ram disguise, or otherwise had worked up an appetite, with all that raging, and just fancied lamb chops for tea.
Happily for Zeus, Bacchus/Pan played a sound on his pipes, ‘panikos’ -from which we get the word ‘panic’ – and this earsplitting sound disorientated or ‘panicked’ Typhon long enough for an agile Hermes to collect the limbs and restore Zeus to life, and he was so grateful not to be served up with mint sauce that he raised Bacchus/Pan to the heavens as the constellation Capricornus.
And so, thanks to the magic of the pan-pipes, Zeus lived to fight another day. He eventually managed to trick Typhon, and trapped him beneath Mount Etna…though he still tries to escape.
The Gate of The Gods
Neo-Platonic/Chaldean philosophy said that while the souls of those about to be born descended to Earth through the constellation of Cancer, the gate of the summer solstice, arriving through M44, the star cluster known as the Beehive Cluster, the souls of the newly dead return to the cosmic sea, ascending through the Gate of the Gods, the star-gate of Capricorn.
Beehive Cluster
The Astrology
There is no such thing in reality as THE Capricorn personality and the same goes for all the zodiac sun signs. Your sun sign is an archetype, a keynote but of course it is not and never could be the whole story.
The archetype of Capricorn, the tenth sign of the zodiac, and the House ruling material affairs, is shrewd, wise, even Gnostic. They are profound thinkers, deeply inquiring, and with a wry sense of humour, self-reliant, stoic in the face of adversity, hard-working, determined and resilient.
They have high standards, and expect much of themselves but also others, which, depending on other aspects of their astrological portrait, can make them stern, demanding or even overbearing task-masters, holding others to their own very high standards of conduct, or their own preferred way of doing things.
They are sometimes accused of dourness, lacking a sense of humour but this is absolutely not the case. It is just that they are choosy of their company. Capricorn has a dry wit, a keen sense of the absurd, and loves a good joke.
Conversely, the Saturn influence can make them seem somewhat downbeat, cynical and suspicious, seeing traps and problems everywhere, quick to issue corrections, or to douche cold water, viewing the enthusiasm of others as ill advised or naïve.
Capricorn is no-one’s fool. Capricorn carries its own weight, and very often the weight of others too.
But however far it climbs, Capricorn is dignified, canny, circumspect, proud but not vainglorious. Capricorn climbs the mountain to see the world. It does not climb so that the world will see Capricorn.
However many are watching.
“Duties are what make life most worth the living. Lacking them, you are not necessary to anyone. And this would be like living in an empty space. Or not being alive at all.”- Marlene Dietrich, born Dec 27, 1901
Why is this time of year associated with Sagittarius the Archer? Two thousand years ago and more, the ancients looked up at this time of year and studied a constellation overhead that they decided represented the image of a man with a bow and arrow.
But the zodiac signs were cast in stone by Ptolemy in the 2 century AD and these dates remain unchanged, based on his arithmetic model of the zodiac. The astrology has parted company with the astronomy which inspired it, due to the wobble of the earth,and the effect known as the precession of the equinoxes.
The constellation of Sagittarius is now visible in the northern hemisphere in summer until September, and is visible in the winter in the southern hemisphere.
To find out where and how to see the constellation VIEW HERE.
But the zodiac dates endure, and the story and the meaning endure.
This was the time of year when the men of the family group went a hunting, to to catch, to kill, to cure and to store meat for the coming winter.
Common associations
Symbol:
Date of Birth: Nov 22 to Dec 21
Ruling planet: Jupiter
Element:Fire
Key phrase: I seek
Body: Thighs
Birth Stone: Topaz, Citrine, Turquoise
Colour: Light Blue
Tarot card: Temperance: Timing, Moderation, Education, Solstice, Healing of Chiron
Public Domain: Rider-Waite
More about the Astronomy
Source :Wiki
Sagittarius, the zodiac sign inspired by the constellation of Sagittarius, from the Latin meaning Archer, was recorded in the 2nd century by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy.
The constellation of Sagittarius is near the centre of our galaxy, the spiral Milky Way, mainly visible in the southern hemisphere June-November. In the Northern hemisphere the constellation is low on the horizon from August to October.
Sagittarius has a nickname, ‘The Teapot’ on account of its vaguely teapot-shaped star pattern, or asterism.
To find The Teapot
The best time to look is in August or September, somewhere really dark. Locate the hazy band of The Milky Way stretching right across the sky. Looking in the northern hemisphere, the Milk Way seems to bulge as it descends to the southern horizon. This ‘bulge’ is roughly about the middle of the Milky Way and is contained within the boundaries of the constellation Sagittarius.
Photo by u200bu0468u0477u047bu048f u046au0454u0459u0469u04e1u04c4u047bu0487u0477 on Pexels.com
Sagittarius contains a massive star-forming region, the Omega Nebula, home to the bright blue hyper-giant Pistol Star, one of the brightest stars in the Milky Way. The Pistol Star was discovered with the Hubble Space telescope in 1930, and is largely hidden in the dust of its own nebula.
It is 100 times as massive as our Sun, and 10,000,000 times as bright.
Mythology
Sagittarius is the ninth sign in the Zodiac, not to be confused with the constellation itself, and represents those born between Nov. 22 and the advent of winter solstice, Dec. 21.
Sagittarius is nowadays generally associated with the ancient Greek story of Chiron. But the story is far, far older, and goes back to a Babylonian god, Pabilsag, and even further back than that.
Public Domain: Celestial Atlas 1822
Pabilsag and the Solstice
Pabilsag was the ancient Babylonian name for what we now call Sagittarius, handed down to the Greeks through the Sumerians and Kassites.
The Sumerian word ‘Pabil’ means ‘ancestor or relative’. Combined with the final element sag, meaning ‘chief, head, tip or foremost,’ his name can be translated as the ‘Chief Ancestor’ or ‘Forefather’.
Just as we were hunters at the dawn of human civilization.
Here, 3 millennia BC, we we have a winged centaur type figure, and yes, he is an archer too, and his arrow points at the heart of Scorpio, the red star Antares, but he also has a scorpion’s tail as the wheel of the Zodiac turns, and as Sagittarius gallops in, we leave Scorpio behind.
The distinction of Sagittarius, though, is that he is a solitary hunter. He does not work as one of a team to being down the really big prey. He is an individualist, working alone, just as many a hunter or trapper still hunts alone in winter.
Sagittarius – Psychopomp
The constellation of Sagittarius-Pabilsag is within the Milky Way, rising from the southern regions close to the horizon into the higher reaches of the skies.
This section of the Milky Way represents a symbolic bridge or a rainbow for the souls of the dead on their way to the afterlife, as the arrival of Capricorn draws near, marking the advent of the winter solstice. so that Sagittarius, or Pabilsag, is a psychopomp; a guardian and a guide to the dying year, and also to the souls of the dying as the sun sinks ever lower.
Chiron the wounded Centaur
Most modern versions of the story refer back to much later, classical variants of the old Babylonian myths, and say that Sagittarius represents the gentle, cultured centaur, Chiron, who was accidentally shot by Herakles with a poison arrow.
The centaurs in general were a rough lot, hard drinking, hard fighting, not remotely glamorous. It has been suggested that the legend of the centaurs rose from perfectly mortal, mounted ancient Greek cowboys.
But whatever the centaurs were, Chiron ‘the wisest and justest of the centaurs’ was something very different, representing a hope for the centaurs, and for Humanity itself, as collectively it strives to rise above the ever present tyranny of the Id and its own worst nature.
Here he is, trying to teach Achilles to control his temper, learning to play the lyre. Chiron had many other pupils, as well, including Asclepius, Ajax, Achilles, Theseus, Jason, Peleus, Perseus, and Phoenix. And Herakles, who brought about his death, when he was sent there to be schooled with Chiron.
Herakles had previously lost his temper with Linus, his music tutor back home. Linus, criticised his playing, and Herakles responded by smashing his lyre over the teachers head, killing him. Though in some accounts it was a stool.
Now Chiron, wounded by the poison arrow, was left in terrible pain. He was wise in the ways of medicine, none wiser, but he could not heal himself, and none could help him. Nor could he die, being Immortal.
Still, he carried on until he could bear it no more, and he asked Zeus to release him from Immortality so that he could die and be free of pain.
Zeus placed him in the heavens and the story goes, placed him there as Sagittarius.
However, Chiron already has another constellation, Centaurus, and in addition, there is another classical version of the story of Sagittarius, referring instead to Krotos, a satyr who lived on Mount Helicon with the Muses.
Krotos the Cultivated Satyr
Krotos was the son of Pan and Eupheme, and his mother had nursed the Muses. He was a renowned archer, hunter, horse rider – hence a possible source of confusion with the centaur, and besides all this, a devotee of his childhood companions, The Muses and their arts.
Krotos means ‘One who Claps his hands.’ He was credited by the Greeks with not only having invented archery, but introducing the convention of applause at artistic performances.
In this version of the story it was the Muses who, when Krotos died, asked Zeus to place him among the stars, which he did, transforming him into the constellation Sagittarius, says this variant of the zodiac story.
So Sagittarius is either the cultured wounded healer, Chiron, already represented in the constellation Centaurus, or he is the cultured satyr, Krotos; goaty, horse-riding archer, culture vulture and hunter extraordinaire.
There is a secondary link here, Krotos the Satyr linking Sagittarius with Capricorn, the next sign coming up, sun sinking to the winter solstice.
Chiron or Krotos?
Take your pick.
Or you can go Babylonian with Pabilsag.
The Muses
Sagittarius is keenly intuitive, and usually has a marked talent, a gift, in the field of the Arts. Winston Churchill for example, was a Sagittarius subject and probably psychic. He was certainly subject to visions and feelings of premonition, and he also painted.
Delphi said there were three Muses. But c 600 BC Hesiod wrote in his Theogony that there were Nine Muses, the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (Memory personified) and this is the version that has generally stuck.
The Muses were not necessarily benign. They were touchy, sensitive to human hubris, and liable to exact vengeance of anyone they decided was getting too far above themselves.
Image via Greekmythology.com
Kalliope ‘She of the Lovely Voice’ was the muse of epic poetry. Also of Diplomacy.
Klio ‘She Who Proclaims’ was the muse of history.
Erato ‘The Lovely One’ was the muse of love poetry.
Euterpe ‘She Who Pleases’ was the muse of music.
Melpomene ‘She Who Sings’ was the muse of tragedy.
Polyhymnia ‘She of the Many Hymns’ was the muse of sacred poetry.
Terpsichore ‘She Who Delights to Dance’ was the muse of dance.
Thalia ‘The Cheerful One’ was the muse of comedy
Urania ‘The Heavenly One’ was the goddess of astronomy, astrology, and later, Christian poetry.
Sagittarius: The Astrological Personality
Of course there is no such thing as THE Sagittarius personality. Everyone is unique. We are speaking here of an archetype.
Sagittarius is ruled overall by the planet Jupiter, and rules the Ninth House of philosophy, law, travel, higher study, and the second life partner when we have one. The seventh house rules the choice of a first life partner. In any second choice we are looking to learn more, and to expand our inner horizons from meeting with a mind that is very different to our own. A third choice of life partner is said to be ruled by the eleventh house of group identity.
Sagittarius zodiac sign subjects need constant adventures to stay interested. Freedom is of the utmost importance to them. Movement. Travel. Space and room for manoeuver. Likewise they allow space and freedom to their partners.
The archetype of Sagittarius is brave, lively, warm, optimistic, curious, adventurous, rational, but also insightful, even visionary.
These are generally astute, clever and capable people. But they need career flexibility, and they may refuse to fail to apply themselves if bored. Like Gemini, they are prone to restlessness. They may fail to stick at a job or a succession of jobs, and may struggle financially long term in consequence.
Hence their challenge, but also their guiding light is the idea of Temperance,personified in the Tarot and symbolising patience, prudence, and the art of good timing.
They can do ‘domestic’. It’s not that. But you wouldn’t really call it how they roll.
And they do tend to roll, place to place, job to job, and a rolling stone gathers no moss. The problem being, other things it doesn’t gather either, like a steady home life, or steady income, or savings or other means of security in old age, if Sagittarius does not balance the need for freedom , space and independence with prudence and good timing.
Sagittarius tends to have lots of friends. More than almost anyone else, so much so, family and friends can feel neglected at times, forgotten, when Sagittarius goes off yet again, devil may care, to share experiences with new best friends.
Sagittarius must have inspiration, and the freedom to follow it, and to roam. But this humanitarian, kindly, if restless rolling stone sooner or later almost always comes rolling home again, expecting to find their loved ones exactly where they left them. And usually, they are. Though others do not enjoy being taken for granted, and this may need care.
Sagittarius will be the star of this show. But what they really need for domestic happiness, is a quietly confident, self-reliant partner who has plenty of interests themselves; and much life experience.
How soon will we see the UK (and global) economy recover from the recession created by the global effort to minimize deaths due to covid19? I am basing the question on a dateline starting this 1 September.
I shuffle and draw the Nine of Pentacles, also called the Nine of Coins.
The Legacy of the Divine Tarot, Ciro Marchetti
This Minor Arcana card is in my mind, the Tarot’s personification of Britannia and it:-
talks first and foremost about financial independence and self-sufficiency attained through employment or self-employment.
correlates with the zodiac sign of Virgo, which runs 23 August-22 September and together with the other earth signs, Taurus and Capricorn, is a key zodiac sign associated with banking and financial services. Also schools and universities.
Is ruled by Venus, planet of beauty. Not only does it rule banking and all financial services, it rules the beauty industry, hospitality, architecture, the arts, design, fashion and horticulture, viticulture and food production.
Therefore, drawing the Nine of Pentacles, I have a benchmark for interpretation, sufficient to confirm that the Tarot has ‘logged’ the question. OK. So how long for the UK to come out of recession, counting ahead in financial quarters of a year.
How many financial quarters will it take?
I switch to my ordinary playing cards asking to see how many financial quarters it will take the UK to enter recovery, using one card to represent one quarter and asking to be shown the Ace of Diamonds in token of a definitive answer to this question.
Divination involves a lot of this kind of self-programming. It’s all in the framing of the question.
I shuffle the cards blind, pull a card, pull another, pull another…how many cards will it take before we get a good money card….and the third card out is The Ace of Diamonds.
The Ace of Diamonds is suggesting that the UK will start to see some good news, small signs of recovery in the third quarter counting forward from September 2020, which would bring us to June 2021.
I’m surprised that the Ace Diamonds has made an appearance so soon, but this is a volatile card compared with say, The Ace of Clubs which is also a money card, but more solid, and I carry on pulling cards.
The fifth card, representing the fifth quarter is the Six of Diamonds.
Six is the number of community, and diamonds is the suit of money. This card can suggest loss, and of course there have been losses, and there will be more. But on balance it is a positive omen for the state of UK employment.
In summary the UK seems to show small signs of economic recovery with ups and downs but possibly as early as the next 3-5 financial quarters bringing us to June-December 2021.
So now I go online to find out what the Bank of England has been saying.
“The Bank expects the UK economy to shrink by 9.5% this year. While this would be the biggest annual decline in 100 years, it is not as steep as its initial estimate of a 14% contraction.”
So, we drew the Nine of Pentacles and here they are, forecasting a shrinkage of 9.5 % this year. But wait….hang on – here comes another nine.
“More than nine million jobs have been furloughed under the government’s job retention scheme, but the Bank expects most people to go back to work as the economy recovers.”
One of these people has been my son- in- law, a chef. And now he’s back to work. But hang on a sec…. ding- a- ling, here comes a third nine.
“The Bank expects the UK economy to grow by 9% in 2021, and 3.5% in 2022, with the economy forecast to get back to its pre-Covid size at the end of 2021.”
For the UK economy to return to its precovid size by the end of 2021 would accord with the 5 quarters intimated by the Six of Diamonds.
In a further comment Andrew Bailey, the Governor of The Bank of England said,
… “the UK still faced its sharpest recession on record, with the outlook for growth now “unusually uncertain.” Mr Bailey said it was the “largest quantum of uncertainty in a forecast” that policymakers had ever published.”
Last quarter 2021 seems rather optimistic. But if it’s 2023, perhaps that’s not bad, considering the aftermath of the Great Depression. As ever, only time will tell.
Leo is such a glamour-puss. So what’s this about the perm?
The sun has entered the second decan of fiery Leo, August 2-August 12 and tonight’s full moon, 3 August, is in Leo’s opposite zodiac sign; Aquarius, the water-bearer, the cloud bearer.
This is a strange, dreamy, quirky, quixotic and steamy combination. Maybe in a good way but not necessarily.
It might mean a few nights of oppressive humidity over the next two weeks.
It might mean getting frazzled.
It might mean steam coming out of your ears. Like this little lioness with a rather enviable perm.
The Major Arcana card associated with Leo is Strength: physical, mental, moral, emotional. Fortitude which demands patience. Nothing much can be achieved without the ability or willingness to stand and endure.
Centuries apart:
“Here I stand. I can do no other,” Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”-Martin Luther King.
He was a Capricorn native. But we are more than just our keynote sun sign. We encompass the whole zodiac
Strength from The Gilded Tarot Royale: Ciro Marchetti
The second decan of Leo is associated with the Tarot’s Six of Wands, the 6 Wands; a card of action, vision, passion ,courage and superb self-discipline. This is what it takes to enter the arena – any arena. Riding high on the accomplishment of a great effort. But there are no short-cuts. No escaping the Herculean labour to be done. This is dedication to excellence; the attribute of the zenith of the sign of Leo.
The Six of Wands From The Legacy of the Divine Tarot, Ciro Marchetti
Tonight this energy is tempered by the quirky, remote, cerebral Moon in Aquarius. The corresponding Major Arcana card here is The Star: inspiration, a vision, recovery, the application of reason, but this can also be the card of social revolution.
The Gilded Tarot, Ciro Marchetti
The Star
Bridging water, land and sky
Cloudy, cool Aquarian eye
Reasons, gauges Rain assuages
Pours, refills an empty jar
Learning, thirsty, takes us far
But Hope outshines all other stars
Katie-Ellen
A very different mood. May steam be expected, and will it be steam coming out of someone’s ears? It may be best to keep your head down and just get on with your own thing, always assuming it’s not against the law, of course.
The Minor Arcana card corresponding with the degree of tonight’s Full Moon in Aquarius is the solemn yet benevolent Six of Swords; a road to recovery, new learning and discovery, charting new waters, leaving behind the past and with it any vain regrets.
The Legacy of The Divine Tarot, Ciro Marchetti
The next two weeks look unsettled and a lot of us are likely to be feeling more jumpy than usual, even given all the anxiety of recent months . This is a time for staying extra cool, calm and flexible and avoiding risk and conflict. This is a time for focusing hard on work and personal projects, but not for making sudden moves or big changes.
There’s plenty to push our buttons right now. Leo says we can put our energies to plenty of good uses, doing our own thing, and Aquarius says we can keep our cool, even if others are losing theirs.
Yes, you read that correctly. This blog is called True Tarot Tales for a reason. The Tarot is a tool for use in the real world and does not disdain to talk about anything at all: money, plumbing, toilets -and kettles. Hubble, bubble, toil and trouble. Pass me the biccies. The kettle is on the boil.
The Devil card might be the Tarot’s way of trying to tell me about someone’s diarrhea or constipation.
Indeed, it has been known, and the client confirmed it.
Love n Light. Give me a break. I don’t mean to be mean, but certain mantras can become debased by a kind of lazy reductionism. Life doesn’t come off the peg. Yes, there is love and light. We need to give it and receive it, the more of it the merrier, and a little goodwill goes a long way. But reading for others isn’t a party piece demanding applause, is not about the reader and their self-image as an aspiring Merlin, Witch Goddess, Earth Mother or Buddha- in- waiting.
Life can be a struggle at times, sad or lonely, even frightening, demanding not only patience and fortitude but concerted thought, effort and direct action. And how much money, time, energy and actual worry is invested in the basics of everyday living?
The Tarot would be self-indulgent, snooty, and in fact, pointless; bugger all use to anyone else (oh, I say, Jeeves, steady on) Not fit for serious purpose if its readers decided such conversations were not deserving of its very best attention, the same as anything else of a purportedly more ‘spiritual’ nature.
If the Devil is in the details, so is God and and all the angels. If God created everything, that includes germs, worms, and parasitic wasps.
The Tarot will do deadly serious.
Oh yes. It will go ‘there’.
But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a sense of humour.
Junior Sprog was annoyed this morning (we were talking via Skype…she lives nearby with the ‘boyf.’) She had purchased a box of three sachets of limescale remover for her kettle, but when she opened the box, it contained only one sachet.
She deployed said measly single sachet, which I understood was a formula based on baking soda.
‘Why not just use baking soda?’ I suggested in that annoying way parents have, but she explained she had lent hers to Amy next door but one, who was making banana bread.
Maybe new craft habits and other good things will come out of these very sad events and this lock-down, even though we’d all like to tell the hideous coronavirus (and I would like to tell certain relentlessly self -aggrandizing figures in the media this)….
Junior Sprog had done the job, and rinsed the kettle out, but wondered was it safe to use again now, and drink from when boiled?
Bicarbonate of soda, aka baking soda, isn’t going to hurt anyone, unless they ingest it in inappropriate quantities when it certainly could hurt them. I didn’t know what else was in this cleaning product.
Struck with a sudden horrific image of my baby afflicted with alkaloid poisoning, I whipped out a Tarot card:-
Card Number One: The premise of the situation in hand
The Three of Swords Reversed. Uh oh! Death, mourning, separation, severance, divorce, heartburn/heart attack.
The Three of Swords from The Gilded tarot, Ciro Marchetti
‘Are you OK?’ I asked. Tarot often picks up other stuff, regardless of the actual issue being presented for discussion. I like to rule out the worst case scenarios- and either clear the decks or flag up the other priorities being detected, and give the other person the opportunity to discuss that first if they so wish, and then come back to the other thing.
Junior Sprog rolled her eyes.
‘I’ll take that as a yes,’ I said, and had another think.
Of course. No worries. The Three of Swords Reversed was saying two things at once, confirming that ‘it,’ – the Tarot, my spokeswoman/spokestool of The Psychic Mind Delta aka Twilight Zone had heard me perfectly well, and understood the real question; ‘is my daughter at risk from poisoning if she uses the kettle as it is, or does it need another rinse?’
The Tarot was specifically commenting that:-
Indigestion…baking soda is a remedy for heartburn, referring to the other well known use of sodium bicarbonate…a more benign aspect of that classical ‘heart ache/pain/attack’ possibility of interpretation.
She had bought a product advertised as containing 3 sachets, but the box contained only one. 3 sachets not present = 3 Swords Reversed
Card Number Two was asking for advice….where are we at now?
The Eight of Swords. Stress. Abandonment. A flooded bathroom. No hang on, I said to myself. Let’s keep this narrative kettle-based. Just stick with the kettle!
The Eight of Swords has long since proved its worth to me as MY card for spotting problems, letting me know if my client is dealing with drains, plumbing or damp issues or making home improvements along these lines.
The Eight of Swords, The Gilded tarot, Ciro Marchetti
‘How many rinses have you given it?’ I asked Junior Sprog.
‘Seven or Eight,’ she said.
‘That’s OK then. That should do it.’
Final card. Is the kettle completely safe to use?
The Knight of Cups. Flow of water. Healing. Yes it is. This is the ultimate card of clean water…excepting only the Ace of Cups, which symbolizes the Healing Chalice/ Grail Cup. There is a touch of salt here, and the waters may be shark infested but the sharks are not hungry today. This water will not ‘bite.’
The Knight of Cups from the Legacy of the Divine Tarot by permission of Ciro Marchetti
Common sense may well suggest we hardly needed the Tarot for this exercise, and that’s fair enough in general terms, but it’s beside the point here. When I started learning the Tarot, there were so many sources dealing in generic, quasi mystical language, counselling that this card was exhorting us to ‘let go of what does not serve,’ or to ‘rediscover our true purpose,’ that when I first began to write this blog in 2010, it was with a determination to learn, apply and illustrate the Tarot as a useful, modern psychic tool capable of talking in terms of concrete realities, and dealing in specifics.
Whatever the question, whatever the concern, the reader must never lose sight of the ‘so what?’
Cup of tea? Biccie?
I wonder how Amy got on with her banana bread. The Six of Pentacles suggests it went down pretty well. Maybe just a touch on the heavy side…not quite enough baking soda.
But the sprog didn’t rate her single sachet of kettle cleaner. I have told her baking soda plus adding vinegar does a pretty impressive cleaning trick…kaboom… but four hours later she’s confirmed she’s OK, and that was the priority today.
