zodiac – Page 3 – True Tarot Tales

Here Be Dragons by the dark of the Moon

Entering The Chinese New Year of The Wood Dragon

gold dragon statue — Photo by Martin Woortman on Unsplash

Previous Dragon Years: 2012, 2000, 1988, 1976, 1964, 1952, 1940

The Year of the Wood Dragon begins 9/10 February 2024 at the Lunar New Year in Chinese astrology. The Dragon is the 5th of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals, so there’s a Dragon year once every 12 years. Then, in Chinese element theory, each zodiac sign is associated with one of the five elements: Gold (Metal), Wood, Water, Fire, or Earth, so that we will have a Wood Dragon Year only once every 60 years.

This is a New Moon in Aquarius – and also the very first new moon of Pluto in Aquarius. The moon changes zodiac signs every two and a half days. No big deal on the face of it. Why even bother to notice, even? The effects are transitory. But the changing moon signs still function as a weather vane, while events at the new Moon and full Moon operate on a different scale, mirroring or triggering profound and potentially, long term effects and consequences.

This New Moon could prove momentous “in the affairs of men” across the world, marking as it does, the start of a new age that will continue until March 2043. It is also a Super Moon, and we may notice disturbed sleep or unusually vivid dreams, although the Moon is invisible.

What can we expect from this new Dragon year? Astrologers look at the events in previous Wood Dragon years for hints and clues. The last Wood Dragon year was in 1964 when:-

-the U.S experienced its greatest ever recorded earthquake in S Alaska; 9.2 magnitude. -NASA launched Mariner 4 on a successful mission to Mars.

-There were race riots in the U.S. and President Lyndon Johnson signed into law The Civil Rights Act.

-Dr Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace prize.

-3 North Vietnamese torpedo ships approached and then fired on the destroyer USS Maddox in the Bay of Tonkin after it fired warning shots at them, and then, citing an alleged/unproven second attack, the U.S under Lyndon B Johnson authorized a resolution for war against N Vietnam…

In Western Tropical astrology, the Dragon corresponds most closely with the zodiac sign of Aries the Ram. This is yang energy; bold and brave, optimistic and determined. A Dragon year is anything but quiet and uneventful, whether on a global level or an individual level. But a Wood Dragon is somewhat quieter, more thoughtful and reflective than the Dragons of the other elements.

The Chinese New Year begins during Aquarius season in Western Astrology. Aquarius, the air sign of the Water Carrier, is also called The Cloud Bearer.

The Dragon of the Chinese zodiac does not breathe fire, but clouds.

Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh on Pexels.com

China, Taiwan and the Philippines

The nodes of the moon- the lunar nodes- are also known as The Head of the Dragon and The Tail of the Dragon. The north node is where we are heading next, according to our natal chart, and the south node is about our history and where we have come from. Maybe even our past lives or ancestral karma.

bird's eye view of a mountainside village at night — Photo by Andy Wang on Unsplash

I’m not seeing a land invasion of Taiwan in 2024. But nor is there any sign that China will cease and desist its provocations in the Strait of Taiwan or its incursions into the territorial waters of the Philippines in the South China Seas.

My cards did not show such an invasion last year, 2023, The Year of The Black Water Rabbit, nor did they detect any outright attempt at invasion in 2022 The Year of The Black Water Tiger. I was, I must say, more nervous about the Tiger than the Rabbit. The Rabbit is prudent, wary, where the Water Tiger is maritime and expansionist.

(This is recorded in the archives here at True Tarot Tales.com)

I’m not seeing Chinese military boots on the ground in Taiwan. But one never says never. We are in for all manner of big surprises. President Xi is under economic, as well as political pressure to be seen to “reclaim” Taiwan. Despite a cordial meeting with President Biden in November 2023, Taiwan was not discussed, while at a top-level national security meeting in May 2023, President Xi advised his team to “be prepared for worst case and extreme scenarios,” and called for “combat readiness.”

It may seem only a matter of time before Beijing decides to make the attempt to annex Taiwan by force. I have drawn the Seven of Cups, suggesting it is high on the wish list.

Image from the Gilded Tarot Royale deck.

But much depends on its assessment of the risk, in seeking to avoid a direct conflict with the U.S. This year’s elections in Taiwan have not gone China’s way. And it won’t be known until very late in the year, who will be the next President of the United States. I will certainly be looking at that again in my cards and posting here.

The astrology signs point to a potential crisis during April 2024. I draw The Queen of Wands (Aries) and the King of Pentacles (Taurus.) This seems to be a crisis at sea and this could equally mean the Black Sea or The Red Sea or Strait of Hormuz.

But the landward facing Wood Dragon is room for hope that tensions will not escalate into direct conflict in the South China Sea, while in Chinese astrology, the Dragon relates well with the Monkey. The United States was “born” in 1776, in a year of The Monkey. So far so good, from a purely symbolic point of view in Far Eastern astrology.

the roof of a building with a group of figurines on it — Photo by Jéan Béller on Unsplash

But historically, the United States IS now undergoing its first Pluto return. Such returns have marked the collapse of empires and dynasties, but not necessarily at the first or even second Pluto return. The Roman Empire did not fall until its second Pluto return. In England, the second Pluto return marked the age of Elizabeth 1; an era of great prosperity and expansion. The third Pluto return marked Britain’s abolition of slavery.

On a different note, this Wood Dragon year will likely see new legislation relating to issues of natural sustainability, and in particular, as one might imagine; Forestry and Forest ecology in the Amazon and other rain forests, while there are already plans to recycle Forestry residue in aviation technology.

green-leafed plant — Photo by Raphaël Menesclou on Unsplash

On a Personal Level

The individual Wood Dragon native can really forge ahead in 2024. This is a time for clearing out dead wood, making new plans. A career shift or change in direction is highly likely, and there are good prospects for progress and promotion. There will be some times of stress. Be sure to allow enough rest. Finances may be an issue, notwithstanding job progress. But the Wood Dragon is nothing if not capable, often talented in engineering, architecture, design and the fields of arts and crafts.

This yang energy Dragon is as go-ahead as the other Dragons, but somewhat more easygoing. Essentially good natured. High minded even. When the going gets difficult with other people- this will be something of a roller coaster year of ups and downs-then mood management is the order of the day. Least said, soonest mended. Bask on a rock. Take a nap in the sunshine. There’s a good Dragon.

multicolored dragon float — Photo by 冬城 on Unsplash

Tarot for today

The Seven of Swords= Moon in Aquarius. But this card could be playing out in ways we will notice, not just today, but over the next ten days or so.

There’s a lot going on. New Moon in 20 degrees Aquarius-the first one in Pluto as we enter the third decan of Aquarius in Tropical astrology.

Associated meanings: Scouting, surveillance, diplomacy. Sabotage. We may need to move fast. Preventative measures, or even a preemptive strike. Oh look, says the Seven of Swords. I see your game and I am ahead of you. Averting trouble. Breaking up a fight. Guarding our info. Changing our passwords. Smiling while keeping a cool head. Playing our cards close to our chest. Looking way ahead, taking the strategic long view.

Thank you for reading.

Back soon.

Here comes Aquarius 2024 (and here comes Pluto in Aquarius)

We have entered the sun sign territory of Aquarius today, and also today, the small but symbolically mighty and radical dwarf planet Pluto has entered or ingress-ed into Aquarius for the first time in 266 years.

But what’s the ancient story behind the sun sign of the Water-Bearer?

Traditional associations of Aquarius

Element: Air

Quality: Fixed (meaning a sign that corresponds with the height of a given season) Ruling planets: Saturn the Taskmaster (originally) AND Uranus the Eccentric Up-heaver.

Body: The circulatory system, shins, and ankles.

Birthstone: Amethyst

Tarot Card: The Star (Hope, Vision, Ideas, Systems, The Wider Collective, Humanity as a whole, Recovery, Equilibrium, Bridging, Searching, Exploration, Technology, Space Exploration)

Minor Arcana cards: the 5, 6 and 7 of Swords.

The figure is unclothed because The Star (Truth) has nothing to hide. The truth is naked, unadorned.

Astronomy

From the Earth’s perspective, the Sun actually passes in front of the constellation of Aquarius from February 17th to March 11th, a month later than the dates associated with its zodiac sign.

However, zodiac constellations are not to be confused with zodiac signs. The dates did used to coincide, but Western (Tropical) astrology is a fixed arithmetic system dating back to more ancient calendar systems.

The dates of the zodiac signs and the constellations after which they were named have separated over time due to the ‘wobble’ of the Earth – an effect known as precession.

Astronomers who deride astrology on these grounds are not taking into account the basis and history of western (Tropical) astrology as a mathematical, not an astronomical model of the heavens.

Aquarius the Water-Carrier is one of the oldest identified constellations of the Zodiac (the area of the sky as seen from Earth through which the sun, moon and planets all pass, occasionally or regularly.) Aquarius is the tenth largest constellation, a big though faint constellation in the southern hemisphere, and its appearance is almost universally associated culturally and historically with sky, clouds, water- and therefore rain.

Aquarius lies in the dark region of the sky called The Sea, containing other ‘watery’ constellations; Pisces (the fish), Eridanus (the river), Cetus (the whale), Capricornus (the Sea-goat), Delphinus (the Dolphin), and Hydra (the Water serpent). The start of Eridanus can be seen to the right of Rigel, the bright star at the left foot of Orion The Hunter (seen on the bottom right of Orion as we are looking up from Earth).

See Eridanus the River in the January sky

Helped out here by those added lines, we see the pitcher of Aquarius, pouring out water.

The brightest stars in Aquarius are two yellow super-giants, several times more massive than the Sun; Alpha Aquarii (Sadalmelik) and Beta Aquarii (Sadalsuud) 537 light-years distant.

Sadalsuud is the brightest star in Aquarius, with a mass six times that of the Sun. It’s 2,200 times more luminous than the Sun and its name comes from the Arabic phrase sa’d al-suud, meaning the “luck of lucks.”

Other deep-sky objects include the Aquarius Dwarf Galaxy and the quirkily named Atoms for Peace Galaxy.

Aquarius also contains the Saturn Nebula and the Helix Nebula, the remnants of dying stars, and these are the closest planetary nebulae to Earth, 400 light-years away.

(Talk about The Eye of Sauron)

Aquarius is home to at least 3 meteor showers. The Eta Aquariids, 5th and 6th of May, are the strongest with up to 35 meteors per hour coming from materials shed by Comet Halley as it travels through the solar system. The less active Delta Aquariids peak twice: on the 29th of July and again on the 6th of August. The weakest is the Iota Aquariids, peaking August 6th each year.

The constellation of Aquarius is large but faint, complicated and not easy to spot, though it can be seen from almost anywhere on Earth. The best time to see is 9-10 PM in October but you will need a dark sky to pick it out.

History and Mythology

Throughout the whole of human history, arguably the number one danger to Man has been the threat of flood, knocking spots in terms of the sheer frequency of threat off even the Biblical Horsemen of the Apocalypse; War, Famine, Pestilence and Death. Though just one volcanic winter could, and once did come pretty close to making the human race extinct altogether. Toba.

Aquarius overhead meant winter rain was coming to the lands of Mesopotomia, and this meant the waters of life itself- aqua vitae -but it wasn’t all good news.

The water carrier, the cloud, brings new life but can also act as an agent of death, destruction, flood and disease.

For the Sumerians, Aquarius was a frightening figure, holding the vessel from which a great flood flowed from the heavens onto the earth, while the Babylonians called Aquarius’ appearance in the night sky ‘the curse of rain’.

To the Babylonians Aquarius was the god Ea, or GU.LA , ‘The Great One’ in the Babylonian star catalogues, often shown holding an overflowing vase. During the Early Bronze Age, the appearance of Aquarius, or the ‘Way of Ea’, corresponded to the period of 45 days on either side of winter solstice, when the Babylonians regularly experienced destructive levels of flooding.

In Ancient Egypt, their own version of Aquarius, the god Hapi, God of The Nile, was associated with the annual flood of the Nile when Hapi put his jar into the river, and this marked the beginning of spring, replenishing their farming soil. But their flooding season was June.

Greek mythology describes three floods, the flood of Ogyges, the flood of Deucalion, and the flood of Dardanus. The Ogygian Deluge, they said, ended The Silver Age, and the flood of Deucalion ended the First Bronze Age, ‘parting the mountains of Thessaly.’

The Greeks said that Aquarius caused a great flood which inundated the Earth during the Bronze Age, of which only Deucalion, son of Prometheus, and his wife Pyrrha survived, either by climbing in a chest and toughing it out, or building a great boat stocked with provisions, just as later in the Old Testament, Noah built his Ark.

The ancient Greeks largely avoided living near lakes and rivers, it’s thought, for hygiene reasons as well as protection from floods. There are apparently, impressive remains of hydraulic anti-flooding works; dams, walls, and channels in cities and other settlements in the Minoan era, and the Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods.

Another Greek legend associated Aquarius with the beautiful Trojan prince, Ganymede, who was carried off by that arch-sexual predator Zeus (Did Zeus ever give it a rest?) This time, Zeus disguised himself as an eagle, and Ganymede, whether he liked it or not, became his lover and protégé; the cup-bearer of the Gods.

The ‘Age of Aquarius’

Is it here? What does it mean? What might it portend? There has been a lot of discussion about this, and much excitement surrounding the Great Conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in Aquarius that occurred 21 December 2020.

The Age of Aquarius has become synonymous with a mythical new Golden age of Humankind. This year, 2024, as no doubt many of us have been reading ad infinitum, we will be entering a new 20 year period of Pluto in Aquarius. This starts today, 20 February, at 7:56 PM Eastern Time but then Pluto moves back into Capricorn for one last swan song in September before re-entering Aquarius for good 19 November 2024. The last time we saw Pluto in Aquarius was 226 years ago, and it witnessed the first Industrial Revolution, The French Revolution, The American Revolution, the Haiti Revolution…

We are entering a new astrological era of radical change. But is this THE fabled new “Age of Aquarius”?

In astrological terms, an age lasts roughly 2200 years and is identified by the name of the constellation in which the Sun appears in on the first day of spring (the vernal equinox). To know when THE age of Aquarius begins, we would need to agree the start date for the previous/present Age of Pisces- but astronomy and astrology don’t agree, even among themselves.

Some, but not all astrologers say the Age of Aquarius is already here, that it began in 2012. To arrive at this, they are using the star Regulus, the heart of the Lion in the constellation of Leo as the marker of the ancient border between the constellations Leo and Cancer.

Via Wiki

Regulus moved to within 30 degrees of the September equinox point in 2012, Working with the arithmetical model of constellations as calculated by Ptolemy in the second century AD, this places the border of the constellations Pisces and Aquarius at 150 degrees west of Regulus, or at the March equinox point. By this reckoning, the Age of Aquarius started in 2012.

Alternatively, according to the Belgian astronomer and mathematician, Jean Meeus, the sun at the March equinox passed from being in front of the constellation Aries to being in front of the constellation Pisces in 68 B.C.

This would mean that the March equinox will cross over into the constellation Aquarius in 2597. But again, these are the astronomical, not astrological dates.

The Age of Aquarius denotes or predicts on the one hand the space age, the age of super-technology, and on the other, the age of the human collective, The Brotherhood of Man as opposed to the age of the One, and the individual, where the current Age of Pisces is associated with the rise of the monotheistic religions; Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Space Technology 2021

Prefiguring today’s arrival of Pluto in Aquarius, was the mega conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in sci-fi Aquarius on 21 December 2020.

Back in December 2020, this meant Mars was having visitors -us. Oh yes. Put the kettle on, Mars peeps. And we don’t suppose you’ve got any biccies? Sarnies? Cake? No? OK, OK, well, we know we weren’t invited, but you could have just…you know.

Well, never mind. For a month or so, Earth and Mars lined up in a way that made it viable to land a probe. Miss that window, and it would have meant waiting two years for the next opportunity.

The United Arab Emirates, China and the United States all launched in July 2020, all three due to arrive starting with NASA’a mission, scheduled to land Thursday 18 February 2021.

NASA landed its rover, Perseverance in the Jezero crater, an ancient river delta.

China and the United Arab Emirates sent their own exploration missions to Mars…all due to arrive February 2021.

China sent the Tianwen-1 Rover. After sending a rover to the far side of the moon, this mission was called Tianwen-1, meaning ‘quest for heavenly truth,’ and aimed to be the first Mars mission to drop a landing platform, deploy a rover, and send a spacecraft into the planet’s orbit all at once. The rover has been equipped with a radar system that can detect underground pockets of water and will help China prepare for its own mission to return a sample from Mars to Earth in the 2030’s.

The UAE sent The Hope Orbiter, the Arab world’s first mission to another planet, to study the Martian atmosphere.

Russia was planning to send a mission to Mars, as was The European Space Agency, but the Covid pandemic demanded a postponement.

The European Space Agency likewise had to delay the first flight of its new Ariane 6 launcher which was rescheduled to launch during the second half of 2021, and has since had to be rescheduled again for the second quarter of 2022.

NASA is also working to return to the Moon – robotically. The Artemis Project is using commercial delivery services to send science investigations and technology demonstrations to the Moon twice per year, with the first such flight currently scheduled for a flight in 2024.

Cue 2024 and Pluto into sci-fi Aquarius.

We ain’t seen nothing yet.

The Aquarius Personality/Archetype

Aquarius is a Fixed, Masculine Air Sign. The Tarot court card to watch for here is The King of Swords though the Queen may also represent an Aquarius born subject.

Of course there is no such thing in reality as THE Aquarius 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 archetypal persona, male or female, is keenly observant, sharp, clever, firm, fair, analytical logical, legalistic, brave, amusing and charming. They are often musically gifted, numerate, and very often work in teaching, or in Law, or music, medicine or dentistry in technical, forensic or surgical consultant roles. This is someone who uses logic and reason to cut through confusion. But they need plenty of personal space and fresh air, and if emotionally challenged, they are more likely to administer advice or medicine than take it themselves. And they can be quietly, stubbornly ruthless.

Aquarius is ruled by two planets, Saturn, known to the ancients as the planet of duty and structure, but also Uranus, ‘discovered’ 1781, designated the planet of upheaval and rebellion. Therefore, as you might imagine, this is a sign of acute paradoxes.

There is on the one hand the authoritarian Aquarian, prone to dogma, and the freewheeling Aquarian archetype. Either way, Aquarius is radically independent in their thinking, often for good, but not always. Even a rebellion may become just another kind of dogma.

Aquarius is generally exceedingly kindly, humane, civilized and honourable in dealings. They set great store on friendship and loyalty, and they need to belong and be of service, just as their symbol is the water-bearer or cup-bearer, a person pouring water for another.

This symbol can be interpreted to imply a destiny to serve others, but by the same token Aquarius may carry water to ‘cleanse’ the world of ‘errant’ thinking. Taken to extremes, Aquarius therefore represents a communal potential for crusading or fundamentalism.

Aquarius excels at cerebral thinking, dealing in abstracts, but does not necessarily see the reality of the individual standing in front of them. Where they make a false step, it may be because they trusted their cerebral processes at the expense of their instinct.

Aquarius may be difficult, moody, prone to bouts of depression, or they may sparkle with the brilliance of diamonds, when their chart is warmed by courage, warmth, honour and charisma.

Famous Aquarius subjects

Abraham Lincoln, Ferdinand Magellan. Galileo Galilei, Thomas Edison. Charles Darwin. Frederick Douglass, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Virginia Woolf, John Travolta, Oprah Winfrey, Shakira

Thank you for reading.

Back soon with a general collective Tarot card reading for this new Aquarius season.

Till next time 🙂

Freya’s Day, The Empress and a Waxing Moon in Taurus

The Queen of Coins, court card of Capricorn from The Touchstone Tarot.

Today is a waxing Taurus Moon, just greater than last night’s waxing half Moon. How apposite for a Friday, ruled in Mythology by the astrological ruler of Taurus; Venus/Freya/Ishtar/Hathor…fruitfulness, fertility, beauty, luxury …and money and finance.

“She’s looking good, for beauty we will pay…”- Kraftwerk

The Tarot card representing Friday is The Empress. When the world is ugly, still, there is always beauty, and where the ugliness is at its most terrible, the enduring beauty is in even the humblest, simplest acts of kindness, without which there is no fuel for the upkeep of courage…en -courage-ment. The Empress is Woman; The Mother, Gaia, Demeter- the earth beneath its crown of stars.

Taurus, the Bull of The Empress Gaia, and the ruler of today’s moon, can represent earth tectonics.

Taurus would much rather not charge, or smash up the china shop. He much prefers to be left to graze in peace. Chew the cud. Guard his cows. But he will do what it takes to guard his meadow, glaring down from the heavens with his giant red eye, the star Aldebaran, the eye of the Bull, at the constellation of Orion the Hunter.

Orion boasted that he could and would kill any creature on Earth. It was a boast that got him killed when Demeter sent a giant scorpion to deal with him for his hubris. And Taurus is having none of it either.

If you’re in the mid-northern latitudes, you’ll locate the mighty Orion in the southeast in the early evening, shining high in the south by mid-to-late evening. South of the equator, you’ll see Orion high in your northern sky around that same hour.

There was an old story in Arabic lore, that should Taurus ever break free of his pen in the skies, he would stampede the Universe to pieces. Taurus was to be feared. Totally. And sometimes gets a bad rap for supposedly being dull or docile or stubborn. But he is the very spirit of springtime in its full flowering, beloved of Venus, The Empress. The flowers in the picture are knit-bone which flowers in April and May where I live.

blue petaled flowers — Photo by Belinda Fewings on Unsplash

By Jove, by Jupiter!

Jupiter last night was glorious, stupendous, almost conjoining the moon in optimistic – or aggressive Aries, while today’s Moon in Taurus is trining Mars in Capricorn. AND Mercury in Capricorn is trining Jupiter in Taurus. An auspicious angle.

January Moon-Jupiter close approach views from 3 different cities - New York, Singapore and Sydney.

Source TimeandDate.Com

Today’s astrology is rather upbeat, perhaps surprisingly given the manifest problems in the world right now. But a waxing Moon in Taurus trine Mars in Capricorn. AND Mercury in Capricorn is trine Jupiter in Taurus? This is rather lively, bouncy, and money orientated, conjuring in my mind’s eye, an image of the Bull of Wall Street.

a statue of a bull on a brick street — Photo by fabio Spano on Unsplash

One looks at the card/s. One looks up the astrology and then one checks out the news pertaining to these signals, clues and signs. So now I look up the headlines for what is happening today on Wall Street, and how about this for real time synchronicity:-

“Stock Market Today: Wall Street Drifts Toward the Edge of Its All-Time High Set 2 Years Ago…”

Source: Associated Press

On a personal level, likewise, today’s transits are potentially excellent news for all manner of business and material matters; financial, and practical, but also pertaining to work, business and education. Again, this is a celestial booster for work prospects, projects for home improvements, educational prospects, or domestic matters that span these activities, to do with finding the right locale, school or university for us or for our children. Now in the UK is the time for applying for a place at university.

A note of caution

Venus in Sagittarius is square Neptune in Pisces, while I draw the Ace of Pentacles reversed, and the Knight of Cups. Today is a squirreling kind of a day, or a planning kind of a day. This is pro-active energy, so far, so good. But this is not a day to commit. Now is not the best time to sign a really big money contract. Chances are, because of that reversed Knight of Cups, amplified by today’s foggy Neptune in Pisces- we are not sufficiently fully in the picture. Don’t believe everything you hear, says this Knight of Cups when drawn with the Ace of Pentacles reversed. Don’t lend money to any new or unproven friend or admirer, or spend money on them, or automatically believe everything they tell us. Not until they have proven themselves trustworthy. Reality checks all round, even when it’s a harsh reality. At least that’s workable information.

Knight of Cups: Love Advice, Future Outcomes, Yes or No?

There is a feeling here of issues to do with digestion and hydration or UTI’s. This could be to do with overeating or correcting recent seasonal overeating…(thank you for that, Jupiter.) It could mean that those dealing with IBS or similar issues may need to eat more lightly today, or may require extra peppermint, or whatever is the go-to remedy.

Likewise, this is a day for not losing our cool…not blowing our top. Taurus was called by the ancient Greeks The Bull From the Sea, and they associated him with Poseidon the Earth Shaker, god of the sea…and of earthquakes. A waxing Moon in Taurus can suggest an increase in the next few days of seismic or tectonic activity. This is not to say there is any cause for alarm. The Pacific is merrily bubbling away, but then again, it always is.

a man standing in the water with a pole in his hand — Photo by Lance Reis on Unsplash

Thank you for reading. Farewell for another year to the sun sign of our Earth magic friend, Capricorn the Celestial Sea-goat. Back soon with a spotlight shining on Aquarius, Cosmic Water Carrier- The Cloud-Bearer.

Songs of Solstice, Capricorn the Cosmic Sea-Goat

On 22 December 2023 at 3 AM we experienced the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere, and thereby entered the first decan of the zodiac sun sign of Capricorn the Goat.

Traditional associations

Symbol:

Date of Birth: 21/22 Dec to 20 January

Ruling planet: Saturn

Lucky Day: Saturday

Lucky Numbers 2 and 8

Energy: Yin

Element: Earth

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

Origin Story

The story of Capricorn evolved from an ancient creation myth of the Akkadians and the Sumerians. Enki the Mer-Goat, the wise teacher, found himself all alone when the rest of his kind left the oceans for ever, and went on to the land, ascending to the mountains.

Enki mourned the loss of his children, and in his terrible loneliness was placed in the heavens where he could look down and still see them, following their new destinies as creatures of the land. The Greeks later told a similar story, in which Enki was known as the Sea-Goat Pricus.

But why was earthy Capricorn ever seen as a sea-goat? A mer-goat? Here is one of those curious things. 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.

This illustrates a powerful mythic connection between earth sign Capricorn and the deep water sign of Pisces the Fishes. This connection is many ages old and goes back to the Babylonians 21 centuries BC. But how did the ancients know? How could they have known, to have come up with the story of the Sea-Goat?

So far as we aware, they didn’t. They could not have known about Neptune to have made any such connection. And yet somehow they seemed to have apprehended this cosmic connection, poetically, understanding that life on Earth had begun in the seas, and then some of that life had left the seas for ever.

a mountain goat standing on top of a snow covered mountain — Photo by Jack Charles on Unsplash

The constellation of Capricorn which gives its name to the sun sign, was known to the Neo-Platonists as The Gate of the Gods, through which the souls of the newly dead ascended, returning home to the Source of all things.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is capricorn-stars-wiki-256px-capricornuscc.jpg

Tarot

Tarot cards: The Devil (Pan/Nature, Mystery, Charisma, Fascination, Obsession, Powerlessness, Fear, Entrapment.) Also the Queen of Pentacles and the 2, 3 and 4 of Pentacles.

Tarot card: The Devil (Pan/Nature, Mystery, Charisma, Fascination, Obsession, Powerlessness, Fear, Entrapment.)

This card from the Gilded Tarot deck paints The Devil as one hell of a beguiling sexy beast. We know that the Devil- whether this is our own worst nature or Nature itself -can be downright cruel, vile and nasty. “Nature red in tooth and claw” (Tennyson)

But one can appreciate the artist’s take on this. The Devil is also the angel of the Morning Star, fallen or not. And if he is invariable hideous and stinky and manifestly hostile, who is going to let him anywhere near them? Whom shall he snare? Whom shall he tempt? And entrap.

The complexity here is that the cardinal earth sign of Capricorn is the most grounded and self-disciplined of all sun sign archetypes. Responsible, shrewd and also devoted. But “all that glitters” is not gold. For someone to get EVERYTHING they want, who is going to get hurt? Who else is going to do without? Capricorn at the macro level is about worldly power and the price that is paid for that power, and by whom. Capricorn represents the rock bottom line of our material reality and all that attaches to it: safety, comfort,identity and the luxury of free time.

Resources are not infinite. Who loses so that someone else gains? Here is the the danger of Capricorn as the Devil. Here is the flex playing out on the world stage as power-monger Pluto gets ready to leave Capricorn by stages in 2024. Pluto sweeps a board clean, but not kindly, and not without creating a whole lot of mess.

History has shown this many times. When Pluto changes signs as it will finally do in November 2024 when it settles in Aquarius until 2043, world changing events occur.

1853 Pluto into Taurus: The Crimean War

1914 Pluto into Cancer: World War One

1938/1939 Pluto into Leo: Spanish Civil War/World War 2

It does not always or necessarily signify war when Pluto changes sun signs, but it is always huge.

1984 Pluto into Scorpio: the AIDS epidemic

2008 Pluto into Capricorn: the financial crash which impacted the entire global financial system, caused by bad lending practices which created a mortgage crisis in the United States.

In 2024 we say farewell to Pluto in Capricorn. Astonishing things are in store during Pluto in Aquarius, the sun sign of I.T and Space Tech and “The People” versus “The Establishment.” The possibilities are fascinating, the challenge being that history shows us “The People” have a way of becoming “The Establishment.”

The Queen of Pentacles

From The Sacred Circle Tarot.

The court card of Capricorn is The Queen of Pentacles. She may equally represent a Taurus or Virgo subject, and she may be male or female when we are reading for someone, but this is her specific archetypal card.

She is the Queen exalted in the Earth. Born older than her years. Wise and canny, shrewd and patient, she initiates. She works. She provides. She creates and conserves all things beautiful. Her feet are planted in the soil, connected with the wild creatures but her spirit spans the globe. She is a cook. She is a gardener. She is a keeper, a curator, the queen of rocks and gems. She is a wise woman, consulted by many, bridging traditions of the the ancient past with the present, building a future, sure-footed, one nimble step at a time.

In some tarot decks she is called the Queen of Pentacles. In others, the Queen of Coins, Disks or Stones.

The Stone People

We are the people and we are the stones

The greater the stones the higher we stand

We are the stones, our feet in the earth

And under the earth and over the ground

The shape of the stones is the shape of the land

And the shape of the land is what shapes us

And the shape that we are says who we are

The shape of our land is the secret of us

And we are the stones, and our bones are the stones,

And the stones are us, are us.

Margaret Whyte, 23 December 1939-27 February 2023

Capricorn says we stay earthed and grounded. We keep our own counsel. We look out of the window, lick our finger and stick it in the air to feel the wind direction for ourselves. We neither preach to others nor do we subscribe to mass hysteria, dogma or disinformation. It is hard right now, not to get angry and upset at the things we see and hear. But Capricorn has a way of going high while staying rooted. We know where we came from. We are children of the stones of our forefathers. We know where we belong. We are of a people, shaped by the landscape that formed our people, whomever they may be.

But a people, however distinctive, is not a homogenous, uniform entity.

Capricorn says we honour the land but we think for ourselves.

Back soon with more stories about Capricorn, the cosmic sea goat.

Thank you for reading.

Sagittarian vulcanicity…and tarot in real time synchronicity

black mountain with flowing lava at nighttime — Photo by Shawn Appel on Unsplash

We are about to leave the season of Sagittarius, entering the celestial territory of Capricorn 22 December 2023.

The astrological sun sign of Sagittarius the Archer represents the elemental power of Mutable Fire. The sun sign of Sagittarius is represented in the Tarot deck by the Knight of Wands, generally signifying an explosive speed of travel, attack, or action, or, whether these things are connected or not, a string of beacons. Passing of messages. The Ace of Wands is the Divine Spark. Inspiration, vision and philosophy. The Knight comes and goes without warning. Changeable states. Well, blow me down, if this depiction of Sir Knight Sagittarius does not actually show a volcano spewing magma.

IMG from The Gilded Tarot Royale.

In Sagittarius season 2021 the La Palma eruption became the longest running on the island. Then in Java, Mount Semeru erupted 4 December 2021, spilling out a deadly pyroclastic flow with tragic consequences and widespread disruption.

So far, the latest ongoing volcanic eruption in Iceland is not declared to be a danger to life. May this continue. The Earth itself is always restless but currently more unsettled than “normal.” Perhaps it is little wonder that we are too. The world is never quiet, never at peace. It is always relative. But we are in a particularly unsettled geomagnetic cycle. Solar Cycle 25 is turning out much stronger than predicted. Read more about that here

On a mundane level I have known this card to alert me, correctly, to client problems with travel plans, with boilers, cars and central heating. I have known it to advise me, correctly, that a client is struggling with liver problems, or with side effects of medication which are having an adverse effect on the liver. Why might that be, I wondered, deducing it was because the liver is a powerhouse, aka the engine room of the body’s metabolism.

Meanwhile we are witnessing horrible terrible events; man-made fire raining down relentlessly on the heads of the defenseless masses in Ukraine and Gaza.

None of this is to say that the month of the zodiac sign of Sagittarius= volcano eruption month. This would be a false equation. Nevertheless, we do say “as above, so below.”

And as within, so without.

And here it is. A tarot card specifically correlating with the dates 22 November-21 December and we are looking at vulcanicity in full flow. The oddity, the sheer symbolic synchronicity of Sagittarius as the vulcan archer of Fire in 2021, and now again in 2023 may be mutable as we segue between seasons.

And yet it is irrefutable.

Second decan Sagittarius

Nine of Wands: Standing to and Standing by

IMG Abstract: Sagittarius. Own image in watercolour and pen

We’re in the second decan for just a few more days, till the New Moon in Sag 12 December, represented in Tarot by the Nine of Wands.

The keywords here are vigilance and stamina. This figure, stalwart but injured, is resting, battle weary. The second decan Sagittarius native is quick of mind, good with their hands, adventurous, technically proficient, Sagittarius-Aries fire. More generally, this card says we would rather not go it alone. But we’ll do it if we have to. Oh yes. And we’re not done. Oh no. We’re still standing, and we are standing by. Sentinels. Watchmen. Ready. You won’t catch us with our guard down.

Neptune has gone direct in Pisces as of 6 December, having been retrograde since 30 June. We might have been having some mighty odd and vivid dreams just lately. In my own case, there has been a rather entertaining spate of dreams involving raccoons popping up in odd places, possibly reflecting symbolically tricky dealings to do with certain matters. The raccoon can warn against dealing with tricky people and those who aren’t dealing straight with us, wearing its little bandit mask. The raccoon has positive associations too, of course. The raccoon is agile, and endlessly resourceful.

But it’s curious where these things come from. And I wouldn’t mind but we don’t even have raccoons where I am (in the UK, North West W England) I can’t just put it down to watching nature programmes on the box either.

a raccoon standing on a rock looking at the camera — Photo by Jennifer Uppendahl on Unsplash

Things have been heavy going in recent months for almost anyone. Something has been weighing heavy on our minds for some time. Problems for which there can be no solutions as such. We’ve just had to do the best we can, maintaining a holding position, and trying meanwhile not to make matters worse.

The New Moon in Sagittarius 12 December suggests new possibilities, and a clearer way ahead. And don’t we all wish that for the whole wide world. Looking into my cards for 2024 there are no clear signs of a lasting resolution in the dreadful conflicts and events in Ukraine and in Gaza. Though there are windows of opportunity, and perhaps I will write more about that later.

But right here, right now, says this card is our individual power of action in our own, personal battles.

The New Moon on the 12 December is in 20 degrees of Sagittarius. We might get the strong urge to go somewhere new, learn something new, change our horizons, however vicariously. Even reading a book is a form of travel. Reading rolls up telepathy, mind reading, space travel and time travel all in one page. Each page a magic carpet.

There are so many sad events, and we might well ask ourselves, what use is philosophy? What use is poetry? (Or Tarot)

We are made that way. Words can lift us up. Why else do we conjure special words for births and weddings and funerals? Words are invocations. Words are comforters. They can help us readjust and regain our equilibrium when everything is dark. Words contain the magical power of Wyrd. We get the word weird from Wyrd, meaning mystery and destiny.

Word. Weird, Wyrd. They are all the same thing.

“I will lift mine eyes up to the hills from whence cometh my help.”

-Psalm 121

The higher we can go, the more bearable or at least, immediately manageable things are when the going is really tough. We don’t have to be religious to feel the truth of this.

woman in white dress sitting on ground under tree during night time — Photo by Josh Hild on Unsplash

“The best thing for being sad,” replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow (on his pipe. “is to learn something. That’s the only thing that never fails.”

-T.H.White, from The Once and Future King.

Angry Merlin GIF - Angry Merlin Pipe - Discover & Share GIFs

Till next time.

Cancer, Zenith of the Zodiac, The Starry Crab of the Summer Skies

It’s that time of year again. Greeting Cancer, The Zenith of The Zodiac, The Starry Crab in the Sea of the Summer Skies…

True Tarot Tales

Photo by stein egil liland on Pexels.com

We go into the zodiac domain of Cancer the Crab Tuesday 21 June 2022 and we sail once again into the zodiac domain of the mysterious and elusive Cancer the Crab, scuttling across the heavens as we arrive at the summer solstice. The word solstice comes from the Latin ‘solstitium’ – meaning the sun stands still. Now the sun appears to move sideways/crabwise as we pass the peak. The North Pole has now hit its maximum angle of tilt to the sun, 23.5 degrees, and now we are on the return journey.

This is the great astronomical event with which we came to associate the zodiac sign of The Crab. Butwhat does it look like in the night sky, and what’s the story behind it? It’s that time of year again.

Common associations

The pincers: Zodiac symbol of Cancer

Ruling planet:

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The Hermit, Virgo and the River

“Even the upper end of the river believes in the ocean.”-said William Stafford.

But even if it doesn’t, that’s where it’s going anyway. Slowing, broadening and deepening as it goes. Like us, if we get the chance, if we are given the time. And the closer we get to the ocean, the less we strive, the more we carry, the more we reflect and the less we hurry.

Like The Hermit, who walks alone in the wild places, following a far-off light, or answering the ancient drum beat. The Hermit is feeling the weight of his years and experience but casts his own light all the same. He/she withdraws more from society, but the wild creatures draw near and cautiously welcome The Hermit home. He – us- humankind of the modern world left their path many years ago, branching away from the path of the wild.

The Hermit is airy Mercury in earthy Virgo; watchful, enquiring, creative but analytical, self-disciplined, seemingly aloof yet approachable,with a quiet warmth.

The Hermit from The Golden Tarot by Kat Black

William Stafford died aged 79 at his home in Virgo Season, Lake Oswego, Oregon on 28 August, 1993. The morning of his death, he had written a poem containing the lines, “‘You don’t have to / prove anything,’ my mother said. ‘Just be ready / for what God sends.’

Ask Me

Some time when the river is ice ask me
mistakes I have made. Ask me whether
what I have done is my life. Others
have come in their slow way into
my thought, and some have tried to help
or to hurt: ask me what difference
their strongest love or hate has made.

I will listen to what you say.
You and I can turn and look at the silent river and wait.

We know the current is there, hidden; and there
are comings and goings from miles away
that hold the stillness exactly before us.
What the river says, that is what I say.

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.”― Plutarch

There is what Life does to us. There is how we respond. But first there was always who we were to begin with, and the ways we are still becoming it.

Tabula rasa is the theory that individuals are born without built-in mental content, and therefore all knowledge comes from experience or perception. Epistemological proponents of tabula rasa disagree with the doctrine of innatism, which holds that the mind is born already in possession of certain knowledge. Wikipedia

There was never a ‘Tabula Rasa’…no blank slate.

You only need to look at the newborn.