True Tarot Tales

Aries: Fiery Sky Ram of Spring

I am running a few days late with this. Strange times for us all.

This is a revised and updated article, first published AskAstrology.com

Most of us know our sun sign, or sign of the zodiac, but what does it look like in the night sky, and what is the story behind it? The spring equinox was on March 20. Time to talk about Aries the Ram, the first sign of the new astrological year…

Common Associations

Symbol

Date of Birth: 19/21 March to 20 April

Ruling planet: Mars

Lucky Day: Tuesday

Energy: Yang (Masculine/Extrovert)

Element: Fire

Quality: Cardinal (the start of the season of spring)

Key phrase: I am

Body: Head, neck

Birth Stone: Topaz, Aquamarine, Diamond

Colour: Red

Herbs/Flowers: Honeysuckle, tulip, thistle, bryony, peppermint, tiger lily, geranium, hops, impatiens, onions, hollyhock, thorn-bearing trees/shrubs, some firs

Tarot Card: The Emperor (Masculinity, Fatherhood, Government, Law and Order, Courage, Stability)

Note the rams heads adorning his throne.

If I am asked ‘when?’ during a reading and I draw The Emperor, the time-frame suggested is Aries.

Emperor Rider Waite.png — Public Domain: Rider-Waite Tarot

Astronomy

aries-constellation 2.png — Aries, with the head of the Ram pointing downwards. The two bottom stars are the horns

Aries is located in the Northern Hemisphere between Pisces to its west and Taurus to its east.

It is not a specially bright or large constellation. The brightest star in Aries is Alpha Arietis, or Hamal, from the Arabic Al Ras al Hamal, meaning “the Head of the Sheep.” Hamal is a red giant with a magnitude of 2.0, visible to the naked eye, which is about as bright as Mars when the planet is at its farthest point from Earth. The other two brightest stars are the horns of the Ram, Sheratan and

Between 2000 BC and 100 BC the spring equinox used to be April 24 when Hamal was conjunct with the sun, but now the spring equinox is 20 March when the sun shines in front of the constellation Pisces on the border with Aries.

This is because the sun moves westward in front of the backdrop constellations by about one degree (two sun diameters) every 72 years. This drifting is due to a motion of Earth, a wobble on its axis, called the precession of the equinoxes.

But for historical reasons the spring/vernal equinox is still referred as the First Point of Aries.

The Aries constellation contains a galaxy about 100 million light-years from our own galaxy, the Milky Way, and it also a planetary system called 30 Ari, which consists of a gas giant and four stars.

A supernova in Aries was recorded in May, in the year 1012 AD.

The best time to see Aries.

Look for it in December around 9 p.m. local time, rising in the east. A Northern Hemisphere spring or Southern Hemisphere autumn is the worst time of year for viewing Aries, when it is lost in the sun’s glare. December is an especially good month for viewing Aries, when the Earth is on the other side of the sun. In late October, Aries rises in the east at sunset, reaches its highest point in the sky at midnight and sets in the west at sunrise.

Aries reaches its highest point in the sky about 10 p.m. local time (the time in all time zones) in late November, 8 p.m. local time in late December and 6 p.m. local time in late January.

History and Mythology

The spring equinox was a time of renewal throughout the northern half of Earth, an event of great significance to people who were much more aware than we are nowadays, of human dependence on the land and sky.

Once upon a time Aries marked the end of the wild sheep main lambing season in Europe, 21 March – 20 April.

Below, in this rather humorous and charming illustration from India, is surely the least ever fiery ram of a wild sheep.

Humanity made connections, looking up and making patterns out of the skies overhead at that time, matching these to such significant natural events on the ground.

The Sumerians are one of the oldest known urban civilisations in what is now called Southern Iraq, during the Neolithic-Bronze Age, 4500 BC to 1500 years BC. The ancient Sumerians called the sun, Subat, meaning the Ancient Sheep or Ram and the planets were the Celestial Herd.

The brother and sister Phrixus and Helle were the children of the Boeotian king Athamas and the cloud fairy, Nephele. She died, the king remarried, and his new wife, Ino, feared and hated them and planned to kill them as a perceived threat to her own two children by the king.

They fled, rescued by a flying golden ram sent by Hermes at the plea of the dead Nephele, watching in anguish from the other world, but Helle fell into the sea below and was lost in the Dardanelles, named the Hellespont in her honour. Later, safely in Colchis, Phrixus (rather ungratefully) sacrificed the Golden Ram, returning it to the gods, and presented its fleece as a gift to King Aeetes, who placed it on a tree in a grove under the guard of a dragon, the hideous Hydra, whom Jason later killed in order to steal the magical healing fleece.

In ancient Egyptian astronomy, Aries was called Lord of the Head, and was associated with the god Amon-Ra, depicted as a man with a ram’s head and representing fertility and creativity. And because it was the location of the spring (vernal) equinox, it was also called the “Indicator of the Reborn Sun.” The position of Aries at the zenith coincided with the rising of Sirius in the east and the flooding of the Nile.

The Temple of Amon-Ra at Karnak bore the likeness of the supreme sun-god with the horns of a ram. The road to Karnak was formed from the wings of two granite sphinxes bearing the head of Aries.

However, Aries was not fully recognized as a constellation until classical times when the ancient Greeks from about 1580 B.C. to 360 B.C. oriented the construction of many of their sacred temples in relationship to Hamal.

In Hellenistic astrology, the constellation of Aries is associated with the golden ram of Greek mythology that rescued Phrixus and Helle on orders from Hermes, taking them to the land of Colchis.

The brother and sister, Phrixus and Helle, were the children of the Boeotian king Athamas and the cloud fairy, Nephele. Athamas was unfaithful and Nepehele left. Drought followed but Athamas remarried, and his new wife, Ino, planned to kill Phrixus and Helle as a perceived threat to her own two children by the king.

They fled, rescued by a flying golden ram sent by Hermes at the plea of Nephele, watching in anguish from the other world, but Helle fell into the sea below and was lost in the Dardanelles, named the Hellespont in her honour.

The magical ram, Krios, spoke to Phrixus to calm and comfort him as they continued on their way. Later, safely in Colchis, Phrixus (perhaps rather ungratefully) sacrificed the Golden Ram, returning it to the gods, and presented its fleece as a gift to King Aeetes, who placed it on a tree in a grove under the guard of a dragon, the hideous Hydra, whom Jason later killed in order to steal the magical healing fleece.

The name Phrixus means ‘curly.’

Astrological Personality

There is no such thing in reality as THE Aries 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 your full astrological portrait. We are all unique and it could never be the whole story.

Aries is ultra-virile, with a warrior spirit, just as a ram will charge headlong, at an intruder, and may even kill a person who enters his field, threatening his ewes and his territory at the wrong moment.

Aries is known for its determination and zest for life, and in the same spirit, Aries can be reckless and with it, accident prone in its general haste to get on and do whatever is the next thing. Aries are at a statistically increased risk of accidents, especially with head and neck injuries in comparison with other signs, largely due to impatience and risk-taking behaviours.

Aries is ready to experiment or pioneer but may not finish what it starts. They are determined but can be diverted by their own impatience if they don’t get quick results.

In their personal relationships Aries are lively, pleasant, frank, direct and generous. Full of wit and bravery and bounce and joie de vivre, there is much to love and admire about the early springtime subjects of fiery Aries, the Mighty Ram.

This concludes my series exploring the science and history of the Zodiac. Browse the archives for the astronomy and ancient stories behind the other signs of the Zodiac.

Back soon.

Until next time 🙂

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TrueTarotTales

The Cards say 'Coronavirus.'

Tweeted 16 March

“Covid-19 UK via Tarot. Graph climbs- Full Moon 7/8 April- New Moon 23 April, peaked by late June-late July (the healing Queen Cups card = dates of Cancer) then post-peak phase till late Nov/early December 2020 (8 Wands Rx =Sagittarius) As ever naturally only Time will tell.”

The Queen of Cups from The Golden Tarot.

I understand this is roughly in line with the current scientific modelling, in which case, the congruence is an interesting coincidence.

The timing associated with this card is the zodiac sign of Cancer. This means late June- 23 July, and suggests the imminent acute medical emergency seems likely to pass its peak and start to resolve by midsummer, though the economic ramifications continue throughout 2020, and almost certainly, well beyond.

The Eight of Wands, planes above the clouds, The Tarot of the Divine Legacy

The Eight of Wands reversed is associated with Sagittarius, the bright and breezy, free and easy cosmic traveller, and indicates we are still having this conversation late November/early December 2020, and this card specifically references a continued downturn in global travel. Worst case risk detected here is a second phase, starting late Nov/Early Dec as has happened before with other pandemics.

Astrologers have been commenting since 2017 in some instances, speculating in respect of an ominous outlook for 2020; a challenging conjunction of Saturn in Capricorn coming up at intervals during 2020. They are seeing parallels between the astrology of 2020 and prognostications made by UK astrologer William Lilley from 1648 onwards.

Excerpt via astrologer Jessica Adams.

“Astrologers are here to serve. It’s part of our professional code. When William Lilly predicted back in 1648, that in 1665, “so grand a catastrophe and great mutation unto this monarchy and government as never yet appeared” would come – it did.

Lilly wrote“it will be ominous to London, unto her merchants at sea, to her traffique on land, to her poor”. He actually wrote “by reason of sundry fires and consuming plague.”

The Company of Astrologers still holds a church memorial service in his honour on Lilly Day, every year.

What is really interesting in 2020 is is his prediction in a 1648 London pamphlet. This was the astrologer’s equivalent of a website today.

He saw, in the year 1665, “so grand a catastrophe and great mutation unto this monarchy and government as never yet appeared.” Note his use of mutation. Viruses can mutate.

Lilly went on, “it will be ominous to London, unto her merchants at sea, to her traffique on land, to her poor.” He actually wrote “by reason of sundry fires and consuming plague.” In 1665 the woodcut of bodies in shrouds came to pass and in 1666 The Great Fire of London began.

The Bubonic Plague of 1665 has thus passed into the history books as a date-stamped, illustrated, astrological prediction.”

Covid19

This new coronavirus sub-type arose in a ‘seafood’ market, according to the poor young doctor Li who identified it, shared his findings in a restricted online conversation with colleagues, and was either spied on or reported, rebuked by his manager and threatened by the police for expressing his concerns.

The same young doctor returned quietly to work and kept his mouth shut, only to die, infected by a patient who had been a storefront seller in this self same ‘seafood’ market, leaving a pregnant wife and small children. A man of his age could have been expected to survive, but this particular patient is thought to have carried an unusually high viral load, by reason of his market stall.

Such has been the anger in China, the Chinese Government exonerated Dr Li yesterday, 10 March, and scapegoated those who rebuked and threatened him, much good does that do him and his family.

HONG KONG—Weeks after Chinese social media erupted in grief and rage over the death of a doctor reprimanded by police for raising early alarms about the new coronavirus, Beijing is seeking to assuage public anger by rescinding his penalty and punishing those who rebuked him.

By Chun Han WongMarch 19, 2020 1:05 pm ET

Read more about Dr Li HERE

And what about this market? The market at Huanan.

List of items for sale for consumption derived from a sanitary inspection.

Bats, Badgers, Beavers, Camel, Chickens, Civets, Crab, Crocodiles, Dogs, Donkeys, Fish, Foxes, Giant Salamander, Hedgehog, Marmot, Ostrich, Otters, Pangolin, Peacock, Pheasant, Pig, Rabbit, Rat,Sheep, Shrimp, Spotted Deer, Striped Bass, Turtle, Venomous Snakes, Wolf puppies.

The Huanan market was closed 1 January. On 24 February 2020, the Chinese government announced that the trade and consumption of wild animals would be banned throughout China, but made no announcement in respect of a ban on the use of animals in Chinese medicine, and the closure of the market has not been announced as permanent. The Chinse government says it has been closed for ‘renovation.’

Let’s watch that space.

Back to Sylvia Browne for a moment. Did she suggest this ‘severe pneumonia like illness’ marked the beginning of ‘The End of Days’?

No, she did not. Or not exactly. But she did see it as a kind of a canary in the mine, a signpost of a coming decline in the global human population during the coming century, and I am inclined to think, based on the assumption that we carry on exactly as we are doing, she was on to something there.

This thing has leapt from animals to humans and ultimately kills by thickening and hardening the mucus in the throat, chest and lungs. There is a cytokine storm and suffocation. And yet again, as with SARS and Swine Flu and Ebola, and the Spanish Flu which was carried far and wide on returning troopships after the war, a pandemic of two phases, it begs the same kinds of questions.

From the Huanan market to the globe. Modern work and leisure travel habits have carried this new virus, which is basically a new form of pneumonia, pretty much right around the populated world.

Deaths from coronavirus worldwide are today estimated at 10 000. And this is extremely serious but it’s not the Spanish Flu of 2018 which accounted for 50 million and possibly as many as 100 million.

It is not the Black Death, or as it was called at the time, The Pest (Yersinia Pestis – bubonic plague) which came out of Central or East Asia in 1347, travelling the trade route along the Silk Road into the Crimea and delivered into Sicily by 12 ships from the Black Sea reaching England in 1348. This great plague killed more than 30 % of the entire population of Europe. Some estimates suggest it was as many as 60 %.

This is not that. I do not see that it will become that.

But I won’t be remotely alone or unusual in reading this as another warning. The global human population at the time of the Spanish flu in 1918 was 1.7 billion and today it is 7.8 billion.

Freedoms we have come to take for granted, or have come to regard as our inalienable rights, including cheap travel in massive numbers wherever we like, whenever we like, how we like and for as long as we like, are overdue a fundamental re-think. We want to do what we like when we like, at least with our free time. But we are over-extended.

The Queen of Cups says Home is where the Heart is.

But where is the heart?

A citizen of everywhere is a citizen of nowhere, a consumer first and last, carried aloft in the capacious claws of a doubtful new freedom, as contrails track and line the sky, the real and honest price tag not yet known.

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand 
And Eternity in an hour.



William Blake: Extracts from Songs of Innocence

Meanwhile spring is here and that may help resources in the northern hemisphere, by seeing the easing off the annual caseload of seasonal flu.

The spring equinox was yesterday.

Back soon with more on that, and the story of the Fiery Sky Ram Aries…..

Stay safe

Till next time 🙂

Psychic Pisces, the Zodiac Fishes

Most of us know our zodiac or sun sign, but what does it look like in the night sky, and what’s the story behind it? This month it’s the turn of Pisces the Heavenly Fishes…

Common associations

Symbol:

Date of Birth: 19 Feb to 20 March

Ruling planet: Neptune (before Neptune’s discovery, Jupiter)

Element: Water

Quality: Mutable (read on to find out more)

Lucky Day: Monday andThursday

Energy: Yin

Key phrase: I believe

Body: Feet, eyes, bladder

Birth Stone: Aquamarine but also amethyst, ruby, bloodstone and jasper. Aquamarine is the blue variety of beryl. Emerald is a green beryl. The aquamarine is believed to enhance foresight and clairvoyance, and a sense of happiness.

Colour: Purple, violet, sea-green

Herbs/Flowers: the water lily (associated with Neptune)

Tarot card: The Moon: ebb and flow, cyclical shifts, intuition, dreams, visionary capabilities, fertility, difficulties with travel, uncertainties, shadow boxing, wild creatures, instinct v civilisation, genius, delusion

Moon card rider waite.jpg — From The Gilded Royale Tarot, Ciro Marchetti

Public Domain: Rider-Waite

The Astronomy

In the sky, Pisces is represented as two fish swimming at right angles to each other, one to the north and one to the west and attached by a cord. The fish are most usually depicted as koi.

Pisces, named for the Latin plural of fish is the 14th largest constellation overall. Pisces is in the first quadrant of the Northern Hemisphere and covers a large V-shaped region. While it is a fairly large constellation, its stars are faint — none are brighter than fourth magnitude — making it challenging to see in the sky with the naked eye.

Even so, its brightest star, Eta Piscium, also known as Alpherg or Kullat Nunu, is a bright giant star (G class) 294 light-years from Earth and has a luminosity 316 times greater that of the sun. Kullat Nunu is its Babylonian name. ‘Nunu’ means ‘fish’ and ‘kullat’ is a bucket.

Pisces second brightest star is Gamma Piscium, a yellow giant about 130 light-years from Earth.

Alpha Piscium is the third brightest star in Pisces, and is made up of a pair of white dwarf stars in close proximity. Its other name is Alrescha (“the cord.”) It lights the spot where it appears that the tails of the two fish are joined or tied together.

The best time to see Pisces in the Northern Hemisphere is between 6-9 November at 9 PM below the Square of Pegasus.

Pisces is notable for containing the point at which the sun crosses the celestial equator into the Northern Hemisphere around March 20 each year.

Image from the Atlas Coelestis, posthumously published by astronomer John Flamsteed, 1729, illustrator John Thornhill.

Astronomer and author Ian Ridpath explains: A cord joins the tails of Pisces. The horizontal dashed line passing through the southerly fish is the celestial equator, and the diagonal dashed line is the Sun’s annual path, the ecliptic.

The point where they cross is known as the vernal (spring) equinox.

History and Mythology

The fish of Pisces are attached by a cord of stars, just as life and death, and winter and spring are conjoined and cannot be separated.

Salmon spawn from October- December onwards. The last of the Atlantic salmon spawning happens late February, after which the salmon die. Perhaps there is a connection here.

Pisces is a mutable sign. These are the signs that mark the end of a season; the other mutable signs are Gemini and Sagittarius. Pisces marks the end of winter, leading up to the vernal equinox. Of all the zodiac signs, mutable signs are traditionally the most flexible and adaptable, the ones most at ease with endings and transitions and change.

Pisces is not only the last sign of winter, moving into spring; it is the last sign of the whole zodiac year, the culmination of all the signs that came before it. Symbolically therefore, Pisces has one foot, or fish in the death of the old year, meaning the last of the winter, pre-spring equinox, and one foot or fish in the quickening of spring, post-spring equinox.

Winter often brings mourning, as it carries away the frail and the old.

Psychic Pisces straddles the season of that winter’s grief and the new green shoots of spring.

The sign of Pisces is Babylonian in origin. Enki, the Sumerian god of wisdom, and the alleged true father of mankind, is associated with the planet Neptune, which astrologically rules the sign of Pisces.

To the ancient Greeks, the fish themselves were the goddess Aphrodite and her son, Eros. They were walking by the Euphrates one day when a terrible monster, Typhon, suddenly rose up out of the water to destroy them.

The gods of Olympus were no match for this particular very ancient monster, a son of Gaia, or Earth herself. He was as tall as the heavens and his eyes shot flames. Instead of fingers, he had 100 dragon’s heads sprouting from his hands.

None of the Olympians had the power to destroy the ghastly Typhon, or confront him, not alone, and he tried to kill them every chance he got. For a time, all they could do was flee, often by transforming themselves into animals, and Aphrodite and Eros, in this case, transformed themselves into fish and swam away.

Another version of the story says they dived into the river, and were rescued by two friendly fish that carried them to safety, and were later placed in the sky, their tails intertwined, to commemorate the day when Eros (Love) and Aphrodite (Beauty) were saved from a hideous fate.

Ultimately, Zeus managed to imprison the terrible Typhon beneath Mount Etna…and he is still very much alive down there to this day.

The Astrological Personality

There is no such thing in reality as THE Pisces 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.

Pisces combines imagination with determination, charm with depth, and at times there is a certain passivity, even inertia, which may actually serve them very well at times, but may in some cases degenerate into a trap or a kind of darkness involving depression, alcohol or other substance misuse.

These individuals are talented, natural artists or musicians. They are famously loyal once committed, compassionate and sensitive.

Pisces has steel. This doesn’t get mentioned much, hardly ever, if at all, but Pisces has a quiet steel. They may tire, but they endure, and try taking them on, they may not say much, but watch their face harden, and, should you cross the line once too often, again, they may not say much, but you are gone.

Their instincts are kindly, and they have a soft spot for the underdog. Where they demonstrate a lack of proper consideration for others, or undue stubbornness, it is not due to any lack of goodwill, but because they are not paying attention, too focused on their inner preoccupations.

Pisces needs variety, and structure must allow them room for a degree of autonomy. Many police officers, arbitrators and judges are born under Pisces, as well as artists and musicians. Administrative work, although Pisces can do it, is really not their sort of thing by and large.

Pisces can make excellent and approachable leaders of small teams, loyal to their staff. They will take on injustice, take on those superior in status, but Pisces, unlike, say Aquarius, confines their remit to action on an individual basis. Pisces are not temperamentally disposed to mount group actions, campaigns or crusades unless perhaps, they are early Pisces, born on the Aquarius cusp, but the later subjects of this sign, born close to the Aries cusp, are very much the ‘doers’ of Pisces.

Pisces is brave but their physical energy must be guarded. It can be erratic, and once depleted, is not always easily restored. If they are prone to headaches at the back of the head, there may be related bladder infections or other hidden issues. Pisces needs longer to recuperate from illnesses than some other signs. It needs plenty of rest, music and relaxation time near to rivers, ponds and sea.

Weaknesses – Depending on their other planetary placements, Pisces may be prone to falling prey to either wishful thinking, or gloom or unhealthy lifestyle habits, especially when struggling to recover and regroup from setbacks. Lacking a clear sense of purpose or direction, Pisces can drift loose from their cord, becoming detached and living too much in their own imaginary world.

Until next time 🙂

Tarot divination: How does it work?

Image: Public Domain; The Tarot de Marseilles

Have you ever had a Tarot reading with someone else, or pulled cards for yourself, and been surprised, mystified or even spooked because the cards were so relevant it was downright uncanny? How does that happen? After all, there are 78 cards in a Tarot deck. For those few cards you chose entirely at random, the others all had to stay in the deck.

The Basics

Tarot is only one of many systems of divination. Others are far older in origin, including astrology, palmistry, the I-Ching, runes and reading bones/entrails etc as in Rome, where Spurinna, the haruspex predicted the assassination of Julius Caesar. The popularity of card games took off after Mamluk game cards were brought to Western Europe from Turkey, and the earliest known set of tarot cards was created in the 14th century. The Tarot, also known as the Tarocchi or Tarock, began as a game of chance in the courts of northern Italy but did not become seriously associated with fortune telling or other psychic divination until much later, by the mid 18th century.

Physically speaking, a Tarot deck is little more than 78 pieces of illustrated, numbered card-stock.

The meanings in the cards need a reader to make them come alive. Study is required. No faith is required, however. No religion, no need to commune with any ‘spirits’ than the spirit of Mankind. I have read for Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Chinese and Jewish clients, as well as for atheists, agnostics and downright skeptics. No problem at all. The imagery in the Tarot crosses cultural boundaries.

But in communing with some ancient, but ‘higher’ part of ourselves, superego, not id, perhaps we are communing with the Divine, depending on however one wishes to define it. Or else tapping into our ancient animal knowing. That we muted or traded in exchange for the great advancement to language.

I see it as a transcendence or suspension of the everyday self. When I am doing a reading for another person, I need to free myself, try and take myself out of the equation, me and my worry about getting it ‘right’ or ‘wrong’; me and my ego.

I sometimes joke as I shuffle the cards, ‘OK, now my ancient inner animal is going to have a little talk with your ancient inner animal.’

We are going to converse on at (at least) two levels, consciously, and via telepathy, enabled by the imagery of the cards.

*Marcus the psychic pig, accurately predicted the result of the EU Referendum, and The US Elections*

Suspension of self and ego notwithstanding, delivery of a professional level of service means I, or any other reader need to do as well or better than the pig.

The reader draws cards blindly and at random, and lays them out in a pattern or spread, using the placement of the cards, the imagery and associated meanings of that card. Why choose this card and not that one? Well, there is the mystery. The central nervous system has a mind of its own, and dictates my movement, in determining the instant at which I stop shuffling. I can think of no better explanation. The choice to stop shuffling is not remotely deliberate.

The reader then interprets the cards, sharing what they sense about a given person, situation or question, past, present and possible future.

This stuff is not omniscience. I don’t KNOW anything. I just say what I see and feel. The thing that amazes, and can even startle the person being read for, and the readers too at times, is the total, immediate and undeniable relevance of cards drawn blindly and at random, and then organised into a pattern or spread for interpretation.

The cards were drawn at random, but the results do not seem random at all.

They fit.

OK, but shaddap! How exactly does this stuff WORK?

Well, OK, OK. But there is no one single, neat and tidy answer.

The reader has ‘uploaded’ a ‘programme’ by learning the meanings and associations of the cards. With much repetition and practice, just as with learning to play an instrument or indeed any kind of rote learning, this programming becomes almost second nature, and the cards may act now, not only as technical support but as a springboard for insights prompted by lateral or associative thinking, backed up by instinct.

This provides them with their starting point, and then their own ideas, empathy or intuition supplies further comment. The cards provide a spring board for the reader’s intuition, but the associations of the cards supply the details enabling greater precision of interpretation. Associative thinking, or lateral thinking helps me a lot in arriving at ‘psychic’ insights or ‘hits.’

I look at the card and there is a kind of a ‘ping’

For instance: I drew the Six of Wands, and this card generally means progress, promotion, a trip but on this occasion, something about the artwork made me say something I had never said on previous occasions, drawing the self same card, and I asked the client, ‘are you thinking of going to Siena?’

And she was, or rather, a place just outside Siena, but how did I arrive at that guess? Firstly, I had already established that we were looking at a travel destination. Secondly, something about it suddenly made me think of the Palio.

palio — *The Six Wands from The Legacy of The Divine Tarot, Ciro Marchetti*

At other times the six of Wands has told me about motorbikes. Once it ‘showed’ me an upcoming sporting event, a big one and I asked the client, was this correct, and learned he was going to the Paralympics as a reserve member of the wheelchair rugby team. Most recently I drew this card, and said to the lady that it looked as though she may be meeting a man who was into speeding vehicles, but his job involved teamwork. She recognized this description and said he was a firefighter. In this instance then, the six of Wands denoted a fire engine.

Same card, three entirely concrete, different yet related interpretations, talking about the real, modern world.

Synchronicity

The psychologist Carl Jung never learned to read the Tarot himself but was fascinated by its ability to reflect what was going on. Jung theorized that Tarot works by means of a phenomenon he called “synchronicity”, or meaningful coincidence.

Jung was also fascinated by what Tarot could tell us about real people we know as pictured through classic story archetypes, e.g.; The King, The High Priestess, the Wise Man (Magician) the Hermit, and for its insights into the conscious mind working in tandem with the unconscious mind.

quote-synchronicity-a-meaningful-coincidence-of-two-or-more-events-where-something-other-than-carl-jung-52-5-0551

The ‘coincidences’ of the Tarot’s commentary, relating the enquirer/clients own story back to them are so frequent and particular that the enquirer/client strongly feels that they have been heard by some mysterious invisible presence. The reader feels it too.

The reader has ‘uploaded’ a ‘programme’ by learning the meanings and associations of the cards. With much repetition and practice, just as with learning a language or to to play an instrument or indeed any kind of rote learning, this programming becomes second nature, and the cards may act now, not only as technical support, but as a springboard for insights prompted by lateral or associative thinking, and we may go up into the realms of the psychic stratosphere.

The clues in the cards

Each card has many keywords attached. These are the basic building bricks of the reading.

The Chariot card, for instance, has these meanings attached; a vehicle, a driving test, a garage, a road trip, travel, ambition, project, a partnership, teamwork, discipline, and also the zodiac sign of Cancer and the dates associated with this sign (June 21-July 22)

So, let’s imagine I draw this card. Which meaning is the right one here and now?

John William Waterhouse – Sketch of Circe, 1911-1914 (public domain)

How does the reader

1: choose cards which so appropriately describe things you have not yet told the reader?

2: choose which of the many possible card interpretations to go with?

Well, the context of the card is a clue. What are the surrounding cards? The reader studies these with care. Beyond this, the short answer is, the reader doesn’t know. They make a judgement call and go with their first impressions, trusting the unconscious process, then making it conscious again, putting it back into words.

This is presumably working on empathy.

Intuition is one’s inner tuition – one’s instinctive understanding. It’s necessary for survival, and we all possess it to some degree.

Using a learned system such as Tarot helps us give it words.

Sometimes these words are so specific, many call it ‘psychic’ and psychic ability and intuition are often seen as “supernatural.”

But anyone can learn to read Tarot cards, while the degree of proficiency attained depends on a certain natural talent, but also depends to a very great extent on study and practise. Lots of people start learning, but give it up again without ever finding out all they might be able to do with it.

In Summary

Tarot is an art not a science. It is a form of language. You clearly see there’s a process at work. The mechanisms are both apparent and inscrutable. One sees the physical actions of shuffling, drawing and arranging the cards, and then upon card knowledge, feeling and sensing and finally, the right, apposite and meaningful word choice.

Becoming proficient at reading the Tarot, such that one can read to a service level feels like a big responsibility. Well, it is, and it demands a heck of a lot of practice, and the more you work with the Tarot or whatever system of divination you might want to work with, the more confidently you will be able to tap into your intuition, but you do not need to think of yourself as psychic in order to learn to read the Tarot, or to become fluent and proficient.

There is a native understanding beyond your conscious awareness and control. Whether you think that proceeds from your subconscious, the collective unconscious, God, your guides, or your higher self doesn’t matter.

The results are the proof. Sometimes these can be put to the test, observed and validated immediately, as when a reader says something that they could not possibly have known, but the client knows to be correct. But when a reader comments in respect of events many months ahead, it might be turn out to be pie in the sky, or it might prove accurate, but only time will tell.

Is the information potentially usable, actionable or workable here and now?

That is a pragmatic reading. It is my experience that most people welcome an element of pragmatism when they are at a crossroads. The Tarot is no less ‘spiritual’ when it psychically detects a problem with the drains.

We can, and do know more than we know. All of us, and without necessarily knowing HOW we know it. Perhaps there are biological algorithms at work here, and why should this be surprising?

We don’t even know how old we are as a species. Not really. Until 2015 we were told, based on the available evidence, that humanity had been practicing organised agriculture for 12000 years, but subsequent discoveries by the sea of Galilee suggest humanity has been experimenting with crop eugenics for at least 23000 years.

We don’t know everything there is to know about Time.

Six million years of Mankind. 200 000 years of ‘modern’ us. We’ve got nothing on the scorpions, with their 350 million years. Still, we are more ancient and mysterious, it seems, with every new archaeological discovery.

Till next time 🙂

February, and a One-Card ‘Crystal Ball’ style reading

I am at pains to stress I don’t work as a fortune-teller. I work as an adviser, working to a brief, and I offer forecasting within a specific context, because otherwise, who am I reading for exactly? And I aim to deal in relevant specifics wherever possible.

Context is key for meaning, relevance and precision.

However, I also like to challenge myself. General ‘scrying’ of ‘the’ future, Nostradamus style, is part of a very ancient tradition, and I sometimes work with a well known astrologer, Jessica Adams, writing as a guest contributor for a monthly feature, Tarot Tuesday at JessicaaAdams.com.

The challenge is to pick just one card, and share my intuitive impressions triggered by this card for the coming month. But without benefit of any other context than this loose time frame. One or two other Tarot card readers also write up their one card readings for the month to come, and Jessica then correlates these Tarot findings with current astrology.

My chosen card for this February 2020 was the Six of Swords.

Book meanings: relocation, progress, exploration, charting a new course, mourning, travel by water, self determination, east

From the Legacy of the Divine Tarot, Image by Ciro Marchetti.

Lick your finger, hold it up…what is the prevailing wind?

Winds are changeable of course, from day to day, even hour to hour, but still, it has been interesting for me as a reader, to correlate my previous one card ‘crystal ball’ readings with events of the ensuing month.

An earlier one card reading said ‘wild fire,’ (you can see previous readings via the link provided below) and it is still playing out, tragically; particularly the Australian wild fires, of which the first were actually in September, and now it is known that several of these were started deliberately.

These single card readings are actually drawn 2-3 weeks ahead of publication, so that I am drawing a card mid January for the first Tuesday in February, and mid February looking ahead to the first Tuesday in March and so on.

Logically, none of it ought to make any sense at all, unless by sheer coincidence. Except that isn’t how it works, when it works.

It works on animal sensing.

Click below to read February’s Tarot Tuesday feature, courtesy of Jessica Adams.

Tarot Tuesdays with psychic astrologer Jessica Adams

Until next time 🙂

1 -2 February, Imbolc, Candlemas and Brigid’s Day

Today is Candlemas, the Christian festival of presenting Jesus at the temple, but long before that, this time of year marked a more ancient celebration in Gaelic Britain: the rites of spring and the fire festival of Imbolc.

Let’s get with the programme, Imbolc style, and parade down the street, go pray for the health of the fields! It’s all about the soil. Our cradle on Earth.

Candlemas is a continuation of that more ancient festival Imbolc, which spans 1-2 February and begins 1 February with St Brigid’s Day.

The original Brigid was a pre-Christian goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the mythical first people or faerie people of Ireland. She was a daughter of the chief of the gods, The Dagda, and was known as a goddess of healers, poets, smiths, childbirth and inspiration. Her name means “exalted one”.

*Riders of the Sidhe, John Duncan, 1911*

Her story was later merged with the Christian saint of the same name in the middle ages, St Brigid of Kildare.

This fire festival, whether viewed as pagan or Christian, began as a neolithic festival also celebrated in Scotland and the Isle of Man, roughly marking the 1/2 way point between the winter solstice and spring equinox.

There are various suggestion about the etymology of ‘Imbolc. ‘ It is commonly thought to come from a word meaning “in the belly.” reflecting the role of the goddess Brigid as a protector of women in childbirth, as well as the safe birthing of precious livestock.

Any time now, is the time of the very first lambs. The start of the lambing season varies by up to two weeks in any given year.

Brigid was said to visit one’s home at Imbolc. Asking her blessings, people would make a bed for Brigid and leave her food and drink, and items of clothing would be left outside for her to bless. Brigid was petitioned to protect homes and livestock. This was a time for feasting and visits to sacred wells, and a time for ritual divination.

St Brigid’s cross is the classic icon of her saint’s day today, though this too, predates Christianity. It is made from rushes and was placed in doorways to protect the home from harm.

A new Christian story was created for it, that the earthly manifestation of Brigid, St Brigid of Kildare, had woven it for a dying man, using rushes from the floor, baptizing him at the point of death.

By Culnacreann – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3500722

Spring fire, fierce quickening of new green shoots, the fierceness of the ram.

Imbolc was when the Cailleach. —the divine crone of Gaelic tradition—gathered her firewood for the rest of the winter. Legend said if she wished the winter to last a good while longer, she would make sure the weather on Imbolc was bright and sunny, so she could go out and about, and gather firewood.

This superstition says it’s good news, then, if we have bad weather at Imbolc. Winter is almost done with for another year.

Let them sleep soon, the storm hags.

The Storm Hags. Public Domain-Henry Fuseli(?)

Until next time 🙂

Ophiuchus: The Thirteenth Sign of the Zodiac?

Dang. I meant to post this in November and forgot. I’ll blame it on Brexit. Why not.

Is there a missing thirteenth sign in the astrological zodiac? NASA, astronomers and mainstream media suggest there is, trotting out this story every few years, to the frustration of Tropical western astrology scholars and practitioners. Sidereal (eastern) astrologers may agree with NASA, but Tropical (western) astrologers absolutely do not.

So what’s all this about?

It hinges on the confusing of zodiac signs with the constellations after which they were named, treated them as mutually interchangeable which they are not.

There are 12 signs in astrology. Modern astronomy records 88 constellations covering the southern and northern hemispheres of Earth’s sky.

Thirteen of these constellations cross or touch the ecliptic – the trajectory of the Sun’s apparent path across the sky as seen from Earth.

Public Domain: the Plane of the ecliptic

These include the 12 constellations that inspired the names of the 12 zodiac signs plus a thirteenth constellation– Ophiuchus (Oaf-ih-YOU-kus)

Astronomers and NASA have presented this thirteenth constellation, Ophiuchus, as the thirteenth sign of the zodiac, while also pointing out that the zodiac itself…the section of sky directly overhead as viewed from Earth- has changed from when the ancient Babylonian astrologers first viewed it, so that, claims NASA, the generally accepted dates for the zodiac signs as supplied in horoscopes are now a month out of alignment.

This change in the skies has been the result of an effect called precession. The gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun causes the Earth to ‘wobble’ and as the Earth orbits around the sun; a different constellation appears behind it each month.

So while the zodiac signs have remained in a fixed position, and their dates have remained the same, varying only by a day or two here and there, the constellations have drifted.

Based on this, astronomers have suggested the new astrological zodiac should more correctly look like this, with these new dates:

•Capricorn: 20 Jan – 16 Feb
•Aquarius: 16 Feb – 11 March
•Pisces: 11 March – 18 April
•Aries: 18 April – 13 May
•Taurus: 13 May – 21 June
•Gemini: 21 June – 20 July
•Cancer: 20 July – 10 Aug
•Leo: 10 Aug – 16 Sept
•Virgo: 16 Sept – 30 Oct
•Libra: 30 Oct – 23 Nov
•Scorpio: 23 – 29 Nov
•Ophiuchus: 29 Nov – 17 Dec
•Sagittarius: 17 Dec – 20 Jan

So you thought you were a Taurus sun sign, says NASA. No, actually, you are an Aries subject. So you thought you were an Aries sun sign? No, you are Pisces. So you thought you were a Sagittarius? No, you are Ophiuchus, and so on.

Whoa. But let’s not get too excited. As astronomers are quick to point out, astronomy is not astrology. And that works both ways.

First let’s take a brief look at the astronomy.

The Astronomy and the Constellation of Ophiuchus

Ophiuchus ([Oaf-ih-YOU-kus) is one of the largest constellations but in general the least well known, straddling the celestial equator northwest of the centre of the Milky Way, near the constellations Aquila, Serpens, and Hercules, and opposite Orion, the southern section lying between Scorpius to the west and Sagittarius to the east. Below Ophiuchus, down to the right, look out for a bright reddish star, Antares in Scorpio, for help in confirming that you have found it.

Right now -July- is the best time to see it in the northern hemisphere, mid-winter in the southern hemisphere. Hence this story is in the news again right now.

Its name comes from the Greek Ὀφιοῦχος Ophioukhos; “serpent-bearer,” and it is commonly represented as a man grasping a snake. In medieval Islamic astronomy the constellation was known as ‘Al-Ḥawwa,’ “the snake-charmer.” It used to be called Serpentius, when the constellation counted more stars, including the constellation of Serpens, representing the snake itself. Marking the head of Ophiuchus, Alpha Ophiuchi has an older, Arabic name: Rasalhague, the “Head of the Snake Charmer”.

Ophiuchus contains notable features and objects, including Kepler’s Supernova, or Kepler’s Star, named for German astronomer Johannes Kepler.

It was by far the brightest star in the sky for over 3 weeks during 1604 and actually Kepler wasn’t the first to note the supernova, due to cloudy conditions, but he made observations over the course of an entire year and wrote about the “new star in the foot of Ophiuchus”.

Kepler’s Supernova continued visible for 18 months, and its remnants are still studied today, still the most recent supernova to be observed with the naked eye.

Mythology

To the ancient Greeks, the constellation represented the god Apollo struggling with a huge snake that guarded the Oracle of Delphi.

Later myths identified Ophiuchus with Laocoon, the tragic Trojan priest of Poseidon, who warned his fellow Trojans about the Greek’s wooden horse, and together with his sons, was killed by a pair of sea-serpents sent by Poseidon to shut him up, because clearly, Poseidon was on the side of the Greeks, or else under orders from Zeus, or else Laocoon had already annoyed him in some other way, and you know, nothing less than death by giant sea-snake would do.

Pluto (Hades) complained to Jupiter (Zeus) that Asclepius was interfering with death, an act of hubris which upset the natural order, and meant the end of the circle of life, with no room for new life.

Immortality would be a terrible evil. Life itself would die, stagnated, and Jupiter (Zeus) duly put a stop to it by killing Asclepius, hurling a lightning thunderbolt straight at his head, giving him an instant perm.

Apollo was, rather understandably, we may agree, furiously upset, “you zapped my son you b*stard!” Jupiter tried to comfort him by placing Asclepius in the heavens to honour his good works, and the rod of Asclepius remains the symbol of western medicine to this day.

The rod of Asclepius is not be confused with the Cadeuceus, a symbol of medicine, but also of trade. The cadeuceus is assciated with Mercury, and has not one but two snakes twined round the staff, and it has wings.

So, is Ophiuchus the thirteenth zodiac sign? Or does your zodiac sign stay the same?

Sidney_Hall_-_Urania's_Mirror_-_Taurus_Poniatowski,_Serpentarius,_Scutum_Sobiesky,_and_Serpens.jpg — *Image: Public Domain: The Snake-Wrangler in Urania’s Mirror, 1825. Above the tail of the serpent is a now ‘obsolete’ constellation, Taurus Poniatovii*

If you are born between 29th November and 17th December, NASA, other astronomers and Sidereal astrologers may argue that your zodiac sun sign is technically Ophiuchus.

Key personality traits:

Humanitarian* Poetic* Hungry for knowledge* Intuitive* Psychic*Intense *Likes bright colours *High achievers *Prone to harbouring enemies without realizing *Lucky (so long as the enemies don’t succeed, obviously)

These are, not surprisingly, a mix of classic Scorpio and Sagittarius attributes in this profile.

But- there is a But here. And it is a blooming big BUT.

What astronomy is failing to recognize is the logic of the system which is the very basis of western (Tropical) astrology, and which makes a key distinction between the positions at any given time of the constellations themselves, and the zodiac signs named after them.

The signs of the zodiac as we know them today are based on Ptolemy’s twelve-fold division of the ecliptic, designed so that each sign spans 30° of celestial longitude, or roughly the distance the Sun travels in a month. 12 was a cleaner, tidier number to work with than was 13.

Ptolemy aligned these divisions with the seasons so that the March equinox always falls on the boundary between Pisces and Aries, whereas Sidereal (Vedic) astrology is based on the constellations themselves, as was western astrology way back at the time of the Babylonians, whose data Ptolemy worked with.

Tropical western astrology, with its 12 associated zodiac signs is a static, modelled system based NOT on the constellations themselves, but on the wheel of the seasons which also accord the signs of the zodiac their personalities, but the idea of the ‘missing’ thirteenth sign is nothing new.

“It was developed by Hipparchus in 130 BC,” says astrologer, Susan Miller, “but you don’t get your characteristics from the constellations. You get them from the planets, from the sun and moon. We measure everything by the degree to which the earth is rotated around the sun. So if you’re born at the beginning of the zodiac, which corresponds to the spring equinox and typically falls on March 20, you’re at the 0º point—or the point at which the sun is crossing directly over the earth’s Equator. If we didn’t have names like Virgo or Gemini we’d have to walk around saying, `Hi, I’m a 136º,’ and I’d say, `Oh, really? Well I’m a 352º and so on.”

In Summary

NASA’s supposed debunking may be logical in strictly astronomical terms. But that’s astronomy. It has nothing to do with western Tropical astrology as practiced today, and would only matter if the timing of the signs relied upon being tied to the actual positions of the constellations.

But they do not, and your zodiac sign, also known as your sun sign still stands, both as it is and where it is, based on the principle and according to the system on which it was first described.

Brexit Day: Currents and Currency

Card drawn today as my Card of the Day: (tweets limited to 280 characters.)

Katie-Ellen@ktlncartomancer·57m Tarot COTD: The Magician. 1st card out of the deck, shuffled & drawn blind. Skill, alchemy. Self-assurance, self-determination. Yet. 4 elements-‘corners’ of the globe & see globe of the spheres?Tricky year ahead but UK Manuf, tech & space ind will do big new things. IMG Marchetti

The Magician: The Tarot of the Divine Legacy: Ciro Marchetti

The Magician makes things happen. Britain is making things happen. Britain is still making things. See the factories hidden inside this image? See the tower blocks of the City and the service sectors? See the books new and old? See the astrolabe, the wheels, the cogs, the electricity, and the conjuring, welding and harmonizing of a master conductor/physicist?

There are a number of posts here on this blog, card readings on Brexit dating back to the referendum of 2016. We were in Bilbao the day the result was announced, and next day drove across to Sitges, and were asked about it a few times by total strangers, all in a thoughtful, friendly way.

Some were Catalan.

Let’s just look back to December.

Posted on Twitter 9 Dec 2019:-
Katie-Ellen@ktlncartomancer· Will it be a hung parliament? Let’s look through the lens of playing card cartomancy. No opinions. Just cards. Shuffle blind, draw 5 cards, red/black, central card key. 10 Diamonds, Queen D, Ace Clubs (reps GE & a NO answer) 4 Spades (ugh) Ace Diamonds (future = new start).

And let’s look back again at an earlier reading, posted 1 October 2019 in which I used pendulum divination, asking this question…..

“Will there be a General Election BEFORE the UK leaves?

The pendulum is swinging to NO. But I don’t know. I keep thinking of that Ace of Clubs card. I don’t see one occurring in September or October and that timing would be exceedingly tight. But, swinging the pendulum again, there’s something here, suggesting however unlikely, there may be one either concluded or announced before Christmas.” – (posted 1 October 2019)

The dates though? The dates. How did I do there?

I was timid. I posted in October that I drew a 2:5 chance of there being the Halloween Brexit promised for 31 October. I still detected it as possible therefore, while far from guaranteed, and of course, now we know it didn’t happen. 1 October the chance suddenly reduced from 3/5 to 2/5.

1 October 2019 “The figure on this card from the Legacy of the Divine Tarot deck, illustrated by Ciro Marchetti, is reaching out his arms, spanning the Scorpion of Halloween and somewhere between Aquarius and the Fish of Pisces, late February-late March. But is it 2020 or a continuum into 2021?”

We entered Aquarius 20 January, so that the formal declaration of Brexit tonight is set to occur at the very beginning of the time window indicated by my reading.

And yet, as we know, this event at 11.00 PM tonight UK time, midnight Brussels time, marks the start of a year long transition period.

Time and again since 2016 I have looked to see if it would be a No Deal Brexit. I have not at any time seen a No Deal Brexit. We might still get one, but the Withdrawal Agreement means it has been averted at least until the end of 2020.

So how will that proceed this year? In other readings, I have noted many appearances of Leo the Lion for some reason I don’t understand, indicating a key development in July-August 2020. I’ll have to watch that space.

Again and again since the 2016 referendum I have asked, what is the ‘destiny’ for Britain, and drawn the same card over and over, the Nine of Coins, suggesting a slow gathering momentum, a juggernaut, and a coming decade of hard work and economic achievement.

This card specifically suggests notable prospects including but not limited to: financial services, manufacturing, horticulture/agriculture, farmer’s markets and a surge in demand for local produce luxury goods, the heritage industry and hoteliers.

I would be happier to see a fish leaping in that pond, though at least there is a pond, and that is clearly vital business pending, fishing rights and fisheries, significant by a silence in the noise around the current withdrawal bill passed by this Parliament. This bill, may presumably, may be superseded by events.

Update: Click here to read: BBC: Fishing will be a red line issue

Meanwhile, the new 50 pence coin has apparently so enraged many Remain voters who are not reconciled to the direction the UK has voted to take, they are threatening to deface it. It is unlawful to deface a coin of the realm, but nail polish remover will remove permanent ink, and so will toothpaste and baking soda.

To those so utterly irreconciled at this tide of national events, that they are publicly threatening to deface these new coins with a swastika, on the grounds that this coin marks the new face of Britain, shame on them. And this, the week of the 75th Holocaust Memorial.

Britain, for all its many failings, and despite the likes of Moseley, and shockingly, the machinations of Edward v111, has never had a fascist government, unlike all those countries in mainland Europe we shall forebear to name. Britain was fortunate too, in its allies, and was lucky that it was more than once assisted, and even reprieved by its island status, a 450 000 year old accident of geography.

…“The breaching of this land bridge between Dover and Calais was undeniably one of the most important events in British history, helping to shape our island nation’s identity even today,” said Professor Sanjeev Gupta, a co-author from the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial. “When the ice age ended and sea levels rose, flooding the valley floor for good, Britain lost its physical connection to the mainland. Without this dramatic breaching Britain would still be a part of Europe. This is Brexit 1.0 – the Brexit nobody voted for.”-Source: The Independent.

This has of course not saved these islands from wave after wave of historical uninvited migration and hostile invasion. The British people were forged in wave after wave of intermarriages following invasion and migration; the Romans, the Norse, the Jutes, the Saxons. The list goes on and on.

The shock of 1066 must have been so seismic as to be almost unimaginable. Duke William abolished slavery, but freemen landholders became serfs and tenants almost overnight.

Harold Godwinson

Betrayed by his brother

Begged wait by his mother

Echoes shrined in thread

A fallen king still speaks

Of ships on shingle

Senlac sundered

Homeland hillside

Battle ringed in red.

The English language was never the same again. Norman French was the new language of state and power, and continued so for another 300 hundred years. Click to Continue

Who are the British anyway? Who ARE the Brythones? And who are the English? These islands been invaded so many times, often with horrific violence, by incoming peoples plundering minerals, seeking fertile farming land, sweeping in from the European mainland, and with such an ensuing commingling of tribes, it is not so easy to say, let alone characterise the ‘indigenous’ population, if they are not direct descendants of the Anglians themselves, except to say the native Britons are largely Indo-European, and as such shall remain.

We are not moving away anywhere, except that our island home is drifting westwards as our eastern cliffs continue to crumble and our westerly margins build. The sea is further and further out, along the coasts of Lancashire and Cumbria, I have seen that visible difference during my own lifetime.

Today is about isolationism. It never was and it never will be, as if that were even possible, anyway. It is not anti-global, and yet is is a rejection of a certain kind of globalism, the corporate kind.

The future being resisted here is a chimera of the virtual world, where a chip implanted in your body will mean you swipe left or right, opening a door, getting in to work. That technology is already here,with our greater ease of convenience as the supposed trade-off.

After all, we are already using this technology in medical procedures, such as pacemakers, and in pets, chipping them in case of loss or theft, is the reasoning, meant to reassure:

“The syringe slides in between the thumb and index finger. Then, with a click, a microchip is injected in the employee’s hand. Another “cyborg” is created.

What could pass for a dystopian vision of the workplace is almost routine at the Swedish startup hub Epicenter. The company offers to implant its workers and startup members with microchips the size of grains of rice that function as swipe cards: to open doors, operate printers, or buy smoothies with a wave of the hand.

The injections have become so popular that workers at Epicenter hold parties for those willing to get implanted.” Source – The Independent, 2017

And could we,would we sell our children’s futurity for such a mess of pottage as that?

A ‘metropolitan’ city dweller might counter this in terms of the alternative vision; recoiling in their turn from some vision of a kind of folk horror revival.

It comes down to outlook, but the kingdom has spoken in reclamation of community; the fact and meaning of landscape, the minerals that build our unborn bones and teeth, and our feeling of connection to these are the fixtures and fittings wherever we go. Only the furniture, we choose.

If home is where the heart is:

On y reste.

On y va.

On y retourne.

It looks to me we are in for a momentous and hard-working decade of change, and doubtless this will be unsettling for some, and there will be losers as well as winners, just as there are now, and have been this past 45 years, but the more we thrive, the better we can carry the poor and the sick, the young and old and weak, and the UK is going to do OK.

The Nine of Coins says- better than OK.

Till next time 🙂