The BloG
Major concepts. minor musings.
Suits & Seasons: Autumn
With the Autumn Equinox, we have officially reached autumn! And as the seasons change, we continue our Suits & Seasons series. In Spring, we explored its connection to the Pentacles. In Summer, we delved into its link to the Wands. But what about Autumn?
At face value, it doesn’t seem like the most obvious pairing. However, delving a little deeper, it doesn’t feel like the Cups could belong to any other season. So, just as we’ve explored for previous seasons - what can they teach us about one another, and what wisdom do they share, that we can learn from, as we reach the peak of cosy season?
The Connection
Let’s start with the lighter stuff first, shall we? Autumn is warm and fuzzy season - sweater weather, hot cups of tea and coffee, and pumpkin spice everything. It’s a comforting season that wants to wrap you up in a warm blanket. The emotional Cups cards feel right at home here…
Reclaiming The Hierophant
With all of his associations with ordered religion, patriarchal systems and the pressure to conform, The Hierophant is a notoriously unpopular archetype in the tarot community. Believe me, I get it - especially in today’s sociopolitical climate.
But no card is all bad, the same as no card is all good. In fact, The Hierophant is far more neutral than you might think.
Yes, he represents all of those things, but he represents so much more.
When viewed more positively, we see him as a mentor or a teacher, a representation of community and tradition. But these are just buzzwords. And when you line them up alongside the others - religion, patriarchy, conformity, teacher, community, tradition - even the positive ones look a little less so. In today’s world, these words can lead us to see him as a symbol of someone who might abuse a position of power, or who forces us to live by rules that aren’t in alignment with who we are, or who gatekeeps wisdom, spiritual connection and truth.
I know - things aren’t looking good for our buddy, The Hierophant. But bear with me, because we’re just getting to the good stuff…
Monthly Reflection: The Star & Seven of Pentacles
August Reflection - The Star
I’m pleased to say that we begin September in a powerful and positive position!
So, let’s get the tough stuff out of the way first, shall we? With The Star as our card for August, this may have started out as a challenging month. In the image we see here, bats circle in a dark sky. The woman in the image is stripped bare, vulnerable. This is a general reading of course, but for some people, there may have been a bit of a ‘dark night of the soul’ type moment - where we just feel awful, hopeless and exposed. If you have felt this way in August, I’m glad for say this isn’t for nothing. There is value in the difficulty you have endured this past month, because it has healed something, whether tangible or intangible. When I say ‘healed’, this has a somewhat metaphorical meaning. It’s like a wound has been brought to our attention, perhaps a wound reopened, that never fully healed, or maybe one that we’ve ignored for far too long. Either way, it’s been brought to our attention because it needs to be dealt with, in order for us to move forward and embrace our future in the best possible way. We cannot carry this into the next chapter of our journey, and so we needed to address it right now.
Monthly Reflection: The Wanderer & Four of Pentacles
There has been a collective energy lately around emerging from our comfort zones, and this Monthly Reflection is no exception. As we enter into August, we are met with a sense of yearning, a sense that something is missing, and if we truly want it, we can’t stay where we are.
July Reflection - The Wanderer
This is a beautiful bonus card found in The Wandering Moon Tarot (a wonderful, high-quality deck). In the image, we meet The Wanderer, who appears to be sitting atop the moon alone. She looks out towards a crescent moon in the distance. She may be physically on this moon, but her mind and heart are elsewhere. This forms the basis of our reflection for July…
Suits & Seasons: Summer
In Spring, we explored the link between Spring and the Pentacles (read the blog post here), but which suit relates to Summer?
Well, how could the hottest season of the year not be linked to the most fiery suit of the tarot deck?
At the most basic level, Summer is a natural seasonal pairing to the Wands. With the hotter temperatures and greater risks of sunburn, heat stroke, dehydration, and other heat-related issues, we can draw parallels with the element associated with the wands suit… Fire. Humans turn to fire for warmth and light, both of which are benefits we gain from the presence of the sun, shining at its brightest, and warmest, during the summer months…
Monthly Reflection: The World & Justice
The monthly reflection comes a little late this month - moving home has been a little chaotic! But we’re back with quite a bang - two major arcana cards make quite the powerhouse combo here!
The Wayhome Tarot’s version of The World, called The Universe, is perhaps my favourite. Its beautiful imagery captures the complexity of a card that is mostly reduced down to being about accomplishment, achievement and completion.
Don’t get me wrong, it is about those things - but what does that really mean? Let’s break it down.
Monthly Reflection: Continuum & Keeper
If you’re familiar with the tarot, these might not be the tarot cards you’re used to, but the Ephemere Tarot deck by Arthur Wang is just as powerful. Though the minor arcana follows the traditional structure, Ephemere’s major arcana, follows The Hero’s Journey, instead of our familiar Fool. In this month’s reflection, we have two majors. Whether traditional or otherwise, this is always a sign that big things are occurring for us. As someone writing this on the precipice of a major house move, I can certainly say that energy is reflected in my own life!
May Reflection - Continuum
As the last card of Ephemere’s major arcana, Continuum of course indicates the closing of a chapter, but moreover, the cyclical nature of everything in existence. With every ending, comes a new beginning, as they say…
Monthly Reflection: Three of Swords & Knight of Cups
The months of April and May appear to mark an important turning point for us my friends! The areas we have been stuck are being brought to light, and while it might be painful, it is an opportunity to release and to forge ahead on a new and better path.
So, let’s break this down…
April Reflection: Three of Swords
This was a significant, albeit difficult, month.
The Three of Swords is our card of heartache, a card many of us fear to see, and the way the Wayhome Tarot depicts this has an interesting additional layer for us to consider.
We can see the blood red liquid as a signifier of the pain we hold within ourselves. It sits there, circling round and round within us, an endless loop…
What It Means To Be The Fool
As some of you may have seen on my Instagram stories (check it out here), last week, I went to the Tarot: Origins & Afterlives exhibition at The Warburg Institute. It’s a small, free exhibit in London that delves into the history of the tarot, and I found it incredibly interesting. One of the things I love about tarot is that it’s an endless treasure trove - there is always more we can learn, more to research, more to study. Anyone with an interest in tarot who is able to get to the exhibit before it closes at the end of the month, I would certainly recommend it.
One thing at the exhibition that particularly caught my eye was a tableau of Etteilla’s original 78 cards.