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Card 12 – Sacrifice (The Hanged Man)

The card shows the man of corn or corn dolly, which represents the sacrificed life of the Corn Spirit, so that mankind might eat.

Divinatory Meanings:

A willing sacrifice of some kind will be called for. You will be forced to recognise the necessity of change, which involves the letting one thing go to gain another, whether this concerns relationships, possessions or personal growth. Depending on the surrounding cards it may be that the time has come to relinquish a long cherished dream or ambition that cannot be fulfilled, but which is standing in the way of you pursuing another, and ultimately more beneficial, course. It may be that you decide to shed the burdens of social position, business or possessions to achieve an inner peace.

Reverse Meanings:

You have become obsessed with control; you are letting many opportunities pass you by for fear of losing those things you already have, whether they are useful to you or not. The mouse of this card is warning you that you are in danger of becoming obsessed with small details, with cataloguing things and putting them in order, and missing out on the bigger picture.

The Journey of the Fool:

With this card, the Fool has come to a realisation that he is on the verge of a greater consciousness which cannot be attained by the intellect. He must surrender himself to the greater forces of the Cosmos and let them do with him as they will. This involves the sacrifice of all that he has previously learned and held sacred, all of his shields and defences; the things that he has felt have been giving him control over his life and destiny. He has made a blind leap into the dark, acting on faith alone and hangs suspended between his old self and the new.  He is alone, vulnerable and afraid, waiting for what will come.

Card 13 Death

In this card we encounter the Crone, goddess of winter, destruction and death. She is the keeper of the mysteries, the secrets of the tomb and is the guide to rebirth. We try to flee from her, but her dark beauty is profound, and must one day be embraced.

Divinatory Meanings:

This card does not presage a physical death but, like the harvest, marks the end of a cycle, in which the seeds of a new cycle are sown. The Death Card marks the end of a phase of your life which can never be recaptured. This does not necessarily have unpleasant connotations; the birth of a child will mean a radical change of lifestyle, as might a marriage or a change of residence, but nevertheless the old way of life is dead and the loss must be acknowledged and mourned. Death always indicates a change, either voluntary or involuntary, good or bad.  This change may be unexpected.  Depending on surrounding cards it can indicate an illness which will make you re-evaluate your life. Relationships may end, partnerships dissolve, jobs be lost or businesses fail. If you can let go of the old life an exciting new one can be just round the corner - trying to hang onto the past which is dead will only cause you pain.

On a spiritual level, only when all your pretensions are stripped can a profound change of consciousness be initiated, one that will lead to transformation.  

Reverse Meanings:

You are refusing to accept change; you won’t acknowledge that something has ended. If you don’t release something voluntarily it will hurt all the more when it is snatched from you against your will.  Refusing to move on and grow leads to stagnation, depression, boredom and suffering.

The Journey of the Fool:

The Goddess has lead the Fool to his death.  She has asked him to sacrifice his image of himself to find his true Self. Death has stripped the Fool naked in order to go into the Underworld, he can take nothing with him, neither his old securities or old  beliefs.

Card 14 the Underworld (The Devil)

The card shows King Gwyn ap Nudd in his underworld domain of Annwn. The underworld appears in many mythologies throughout the world, and though in modern times it has come to be associated with the punishment of the Christian hell, for the ancients it had no such connotations. It was the mysterious realm of the Dark Goddess, and the Underworld Lord, the inner womb of the earth from which all life sprang and to which the spirit returned at death. In the Death Card we met the dark face of the Goddess, here in the Underworld Card we meet the darker face of the God in the underworld, where he reigns as Lord of the Dead, the protector of souls as he and they await rebirth.

Divinatory Meanings:

The underworld is the hidden realm within, where your self-created inner demons dwell: your deepest fears, hatreds, prejudices and feelings of self-disgust. Here lives the secret dark half of yourself, the shadow, which lies buried and suppressed in the darkest recesses of the subconscious mind, yet holds you in bondage, affecting every thought process and action, and prevents you moving forward, free and unchained.  Deep down, everyone shares the same fears - fear of death, fear of being hurt, fear of suffering, fear of loneliness; these are survival instincts and part of the human make up. However, conditioning and life experience often twists these natural instincts and binds them up with inappropriate associations. When the Underworld Card appears in your spread, you are being asked to look at your subconscious motivations. You are being held prisoner by your inner fears or a suppressed experience which you refuse to face and deal with. You may feel a rage which is inappropriately expressed or your violence, emotional or physical, may be directed at yourself. You may be punishing yourself for things that were not your fault.

Reverse Meanings:

You may be abusing your power over others to get your own way, irrespective of their feelings. Your ambition may be so dominating that you are prepared to use unscrupulous methods to achieve your ends and to trample over anyone who gets in your way. You may be obsessed with money and possessions to the extent that nothing else seems important - even other people are counted as possessions.

The Journey of the Fool:

The crisis of death has brought the Fool to the gates of the underworld, where he must journey to the centre of the life maze. But first he must pass the Guardian of the Threshold. It is the dark self who bars the way to further progress and ultimately initiation  until he is dealt with. The Guardian can adopt terrifying and monstrous forms, which are personifications of deeply buried fears. It is a frightening thing to be brought face to face with your most severely repressed fears and something that everyone would prefer not to do. However, it is this dark self that opens the gateway to initiation, and the guardian is not defeated by repression or being fought, but by being recognised and assimilated as part of the whole Self. It is this whole self that is the treasure the dragon guards.

Card 15 - the Tower

The card depicts a high tower struck by lightning. In this card the tower represents a man-made structure, symbolic of the concepts a person builds up about themselves, the attitudes, their ambitions and their lifestyle. The tower is struck by lightning, which can represent an outside agency, or divine intervention.

Divinatory Meanings:

The tower represents all the things you have built up around yourself, the exterior face you present to the world. When this card appears in your spread it indicates that an unexpected shock or disaster that will change your life completely. Some action you have taken in the past is now beginning to have unfortunate consequences that you never imagined. The tower you have so carefully created will be destroyed whatever you do; your plans and ambitions will be shattered. The tower cracks and falls because it was a flawed structure, built with the poor materials of misguided ambition, false values and pride. While the consequences of this card are painful and unwanted at the time, they force you to face up to the fact that you have been deceiving yourself and living your life on a false premise. Now, you must sort through the wreckage and truthfully examine your motives. This can be a card of liberation, depending on how you respond to the situation. You have the opportunity to begin again and base your future structure on honesty, truth and sound principles. Try to erect the same tower again from the old rubble, and it will collapse again.

Reverse Meanings:

The Tower Card reversed indicates a drastic, unexpected change in circumstances which cannot be altered or countered.  Depending on the surrounding cards it can indicate bankruptcy or a loss of employment. Occasionally, it can mean imprisonment, but more usually it means being restricted by circumstances.

The Journey of the Fool:

The Fool has undergone his symbolic death and is engaged on his journey through the underworld where he seeks the centre of the labyrinth. At the gates of the underworld, he had to encounter the Guardian of the Threshold, his subconscious shadow self which he had to learn to embrace and assimilate before he could pass. Because of this his carefully constructed tower of self-image and protective delusion collapses and falls, leaving him naked and defenceless but for the first time conscious of his whole, true Self.

Card 16 - Initiation

The card shows the initiatory maze with the cauldron of rebirth and inspiration at its centre. Initiation is a ritual death, renewal and rebirth. It is not a single event, nor is it conferred by a ceremony, it is a continuous journey of expanding consciousness. The journey is symbolised by the double spiral, which curves inwards, the declining death spiral, to the centre, the point of initiation and renewal and then outwards, the unfolding spiral of new life.  

Divinatory Meanings:

When the Initiation Card appears in your spread, it may mark a transition (such as marriage, childbirth, graduation, starting a new job or moving house), the nature of which can be divined from surrounding cards. The woodpecker signifies that one cycle has ended and another is about to begin. The success of any enterprise depends on co-operation with and consideration for others. Existing relationships can reach new levels of happiness and fulfilment by taking time to understand and accept the feelings of your partner.

A spiritual initiation marks the passage from one state to another, a state of new consciousness. When the Initiation Card appears in your spread it marks the dawning of spiritual awareness and joy.

Reverse Meanings:

You are trying to fill up your life with activities to disguise the fact that something fundamental is missing from it. Any knowledge you gain is only superficial, because you are a butterfly, and cannot settle on one thing long enough to make any real progress with it.

The Journey of the Fool:

In this card the fool has reached the centre of the labyrinth, where lies the cauldron of regeneration and rebirth. Here he must allow himself to be re-absorbed into the womb of the Goddess by dissolving himself in the cauldron, allowing the elements of his being to return to the source and become one with Goddess once more, free, formless and unlimited. The Fool will be renewed by the Goddess, reformed and reborn and must now begin the outward journey of the initiation spiral, a difficult journey in which he must absorb and apply the lessons he has learned.

Card 17 the Star

The card shows a bright, glimmering star in the night sky over a stone circle in which a fire burns. For the ancients the sky and the stars were a manifestation of the divine powers at work; they marked the passage of time and foretold the destinies of mankind.  

Divinatory Meanings:

The Star is a pale light in the darkness; and that light is hope. This card is the herald of new beginning, instigated by an experience which will give you hope in the future. You will feel a renewed mental and physical vigour. It may be that you will receive help from unexpected quarters or the support of good friends. Though any long term plans will not be clear at this point, you can rise from the ashes of your unhappy past.  

Reverse Meanings:

You are being stubborn, you have settled into a rigid and inflexible way of thinking that makes you incapable of adapting to changing circumstances. Useful opportunities are passing you by because you do not trust other people and doubt your own abilities. You need to change your attitudes.

The Journey of the Fool:

The Fool has journeyed to the centre of the labyrinth, the tower of his false self-image destroyed along the way. After his immersion in the cauldron of inspiration, he now sees a guiding light which will lead him out of the darkness into the full light of his spiritual realisation. The unfolding spiral of his initiation has begun.

Card 10 the Moon

The moon was a powerful image for the Stone Age people and embodied a central mystery, changeless but ever changing.

Divinatory Meanings:

The Moon Card speaks of the mystery of regeneration - the monthly renewal of the moon, the yearly renewal of the earth, the cyclical renewal of the spirit and the reincarnation of the soul. When the Moon Card appears in your spread it indicates that this is a period of change and fluctuation, that nothing remains stable or certain for long. It is time for something buried deep in your subconscious to be brought out into the light. It may be that you need to let go of something - a bad habit, a negative thought pattern, a destructive relationship or an old hurt that is holding you back and stopping you developing as you need to. The Moon indicates bringing ideas from the subconscious to manifest them as works of fiction, poetry, paintings and sculpture. Artists call on their most painful experiences to inform their work.

Pay attention to what your dreams are trying to tell you. This is also an excellent time to develop your psychic skills, as you will be more than usually intuitive and should trust your instincts.

Reverse Meanings:

You have been deceiving yourself. You are trying to hide from reality in the world of fantasy and daydreams. Perhaps you have also been lying to other people and find it hard to stop. You must put it right before matters are taken out of your hands.

The Journey of the Fool:

The Fool is engaged in the outward spiral of his initiatory process and has been following the pale light of the star as his guide through the labyrinth. Now he encounters the primordial power of the moon which calls moisture forth from the earth as refreshing dew, which governs the tides of the oceans which endlessly generate life and reabsorb it in death, and the cycles of women’s wombs, readied each month to accept the fertilisation of life. The Fool realises that though his journey has been an individual one, it is reflected in the journey of all souls; his own experience has contributed to the evolution of humanity as a tiny part of the whole. He has been re-enacting the eternal myth.

Card 19 the Sun

The sun represents both the daylight world, and the inner light. While the moon rules the night and the unconscious, the sun rules the day and the conscious.

Divinatory Meanings:

The rising of the sun dispels the darkness and its light reveals the pattern of the landscape, warming and nurturing the life it contains. Though life is gestated in the darkness, it strives towards the light, just as the human consciousness strives towards illumination. From now on you will be able to see things clearly and plan with confidence. You feel optimistic and experience a renewed energy. It may be that you enjoy good health or recover from an illness. At this propitious time all your efforts will be rewarded by financial gain or the recognition of your peers.

On a spiritual level, this card indicates a great leap forward. Your consciousness will be illuminated by a new and deeper understanding.  

Reverse Meanings:

Your intelligence is not being usefully directed. It may be that you are fantasising about success rather than doing anything to achieve it, or muddled thinking has led to a serious misjudgement. Lack of communication leads to problems with legal contracts, marriages and partnerships.  You are feeling very sensitive, rushing around and not achieving anything.

The Journey of the Fool:

The Fool has completed his terrifying and perilous journey through the darkness of the underworld, sustained only by the strength and determination of his spirit. Like all things, his True Self gestated and grew in the dark and strove towards the light. Now the bright light of the sun dispels the shadows and the last of his fears and he is ready to emerge into the daylight world with his new knowledge and his new consciousness.

Card 20 Rebirth (Judgement)

Though in most tarot packs this card is called ‘Judgement’ and portrays the dead rising from their graves on the Day of Judgement, when according to Christian thought, souls will receive their final reward or punishment according to a person’s conduct in life, in Pagan philosophy the eternal spirit evolves through several lifetimes, undergoing many cycles of birth, life, death and journeying towards rebirth once again, hopefully learning and growing with each incarnation. In view of this, the Rebirth Card has a much more profound meaning. It is the promise of the Eternal Return, just as the rebirth of the sun at Yule promises the return of spring, so the soul is promised new life, that the wheel of death and rebirth shall level all things in the end.

Divinatory Meanings:

This is a card of change and renewal. You will move forward with new energy and resolution; this card always represents a definite step. Depending on surrounding cards, the Rebirth Card can herald the recovery of your health and vitality.

On a spiritual level, this card heralds a profound change in your consciousness. Your insight reveals that the person you are now is the result of past actions and choices; previously unrecognised patterns are made clear and are seen as part of the whole.

Reverse Meanings:

The time has come when you will have to answer for your past decisions. You have not been true to yourself, though you are an expert at self-deception you are consumed with guilt and fear.  This card can sometimes indicate illness and the fear of death.

The Journey of the Fool:

With this card the Fool has completed the outward spiral of his initiation: all his lessons have been absorbed.  In many ways this was the hardest part of his journey, his world view was totally altered, and the struggle to centre himself in the new consciousness very difficult.  Like many new initiates he experienced confusion, alienation and depression while the integration took place and his journey from the cauldron has taken several years.  Now the unfolding of the initiation into waking consciousness and everyday life has come to fruition and he acts from a new perspective.

Card 21 the World Tree

In myth the Three Realms are connected by the World Tree. It has its roots in the underworld, its trunk in Middle Earth and its branches in the heavens. The World Tree of the Druids was the oak.  It is said to extend as far underground as its branches do above; it is a symbol of the law "as above, so below".  In ogham the oak is duir meaning 'door' , perhaps because a door made form oak offers protection, or perhaps because the oak is the door to knowledge

Divinatory Meanings:

The card of the World Tree marks the successful completion of some venture, achieving something that you have worked hard for; the successful end of a cycle of events. You will be rewarded for all your efforts and it is time to celebrate.  

On a higher level the card of The World Tree demonstrates the Oneness and inter-connection of all things, their equal importance and their myriad possibilities. This is an ideal, rather than something which we can attain on a day to day basis; we’re only human after all. However, it is something we can glimpse at certain special moments and sense its harmony.

Reverse Meanings:

When the World Tree appears reversed in your spread it is warning you that a situation is not resolved or a project finished, even though you might think it is.

The Journey of the Fool:

The Fool has ended his journey, but now a new one begins…

Sacred Circle Tarot Major Arcana part 2

Major Arcana previous