Lammas | XIII Death

Spanning Lammas - or Lughnasadh as this Festival is also known - we have XIII Death.

The image we have here is of the Cailleach - the Goddess in her Crone aspect.  She stands at the entrance to her cave and gently strokes a human skull as she gazes out into the growing light of a new day.

We are reminded of the transformative meaning of this card - the snake that sits behind her not only has the power to kill, but also to heal.  It also sheds its skin - just as we shirk off our carcass when the Cailleach's sickle points towards each of us.

There is an inevitability about this card - just as night follows day behind the dolman in the background of this card, night will fall once again; we cannot fight it.  We need not strive to achieve - she waits patiently for us all!

Death shows us that we have an opporunity to cut down and clear away old and worn-out aspects of our lives, in order to make way for the new.

What are you lugging around with you like a tired old body? What detritus does Death call you to discard?

Make no mistake - the cutting out that Death requires hurts like hell.  If it was easy to do, you would have done it aaaaages ago, but it's difficult and you've grown attached to it ......no matter how drained the toxic friendship might be..... no matter how lifeless the relationship now is.

Change is scary - you must venture out of your comfort zone (as our Wands cards have also indicated). 

Transformation is scary - but a butterfly can't remain a caterpillar for ever! Embrace the Cailleach and see what NEW LIFE she breathes into you!

Lammas | The Queen of Wands

At Lammas, we see that the excitable energies of the Prince of Wands have given way to the more mature energies of The Queen of Wands.

With the bobcat crouched beneath her chair and her confident open-kneed seat, we are under no illusions about the power and sexual confidence of this person.  Passion and a can-do attitude are the watchwords of The Queen.

The blaze behind her rages, but her heavy-lidded gaze is unconcerned.  This is something that the Queen of Wands needs to watch out for - it's marvellous to be assertive and passionate about life, but if you lose touch with your compassion for others or let your assertiveness tip over into aggression, you will find yourself playing alone in the school yard.

The Queen urges us to develop our passions but with sensitivity.  Be confident, but kind.  Be assertive, but understanding of other's needs

If you can master all of that, you might just escape a vicious poke from her little Wand!

What steps can you take to nurture a passion?
What fires within you need stoking up or tamping down?
Which challenges can you turn into opportunities?

5 of Wands

After the celebration of the 4 of Wands and our imminent arrival at Lammas on 1 August, we find ourselves in the energies of the 5 of Wands.

We see five young men, each wielding a long stick, all clattering into each other with gusto!

In some decks this looks like the boys are fighting, but here there is an element of joy about it - like a very physical game is being played and the competition is fierce!

Perhaps they are building something.  The arrangement of the Wands in this card always reminds me of a star so perhaps they are trying to work together and it's all getting a bit out of hand.

This card reminds us that just as we try to make our own way in the world, we might accidentally poke other people - even tread on other people's toes.  But it's not deliberate and to take it as a slight says more about you than the other person.

We're all just trying to do our best and sometimes we get it wrong - apologise and move on, but above all, don't take it personally - just jump in and enjoy the game.

Life is not a spectator sport!

4 Wands

In the four of Wands we have moved out from our place of safety and are now feeling celebratory!

In the image foreground we have a fire pit - where the flames gaily dance - surrounded by four tall posts, garlanded with flowers.  There are boulders around that could be used as seats.

This feels like a place where people get together around the fire and celebrate!

However, celebrations are temporary - Cinderella has to go home from the ball!  And the flimsy bower looks like quite a temporary structure.  See how the flames are licking perilously close to those wooden uprights too!

Fear not!

Look at the path - yes, it does lead down from the house to the bower, but it also leads from the bower BACK to the house!

Unlike the 2 of Wands where to emerge from the copse and head towards the figure carved into the hillside left you exposed and potentially vulnerable, here we have an easy way to travel back to our homes.

With this card, therefore, we remember the importance of pushing out into the world and celebrating our achievements and good times with others, but also the importance and stability that home provides.

XII The Hanged Man

The energy of the Hanged Man is still with us at this point in the Wheel of the Year, shortly to give way to the transformative powers of XII Death.

In the Hanged Man we see a naked man, almost a greenman, hanging by one slender ankle from a tree. There are also fruits and mistletoe on this tree.  This, coupled with his ritualistic bonds, makes me feel that this is a sacred sacrificial act.

Behind him stands a golden field of wheat with a scythe lying amongst the cut stubble.  There are meadow flowers and blackberries.

Why is he hanging upside down - perhaps to get a different perspective on life? Certainly this is one of the messages from this card.

Because he is hanging upside down, his flaccid penis looks erect, showing us that in surrender, we can find potency.

Sometimes we just need to stop raging against the machine and go with the flow.  Sometimes we can lose the battle, but still win the war.

How has the Hanged Man been showing up in your life?

Prince of Wands

The Prince of Wands energies have taken over from the confidently striding Princess.

The Prince is depicted here upon his horse, leaping over a tussock of grass as he gallops forward to meet.....well, everything really!

He has a huge appetite for life and is the sort of person who says YES to everything.....only later, as he's nursing a hangover or worse, sitting in a jail cell, does he look back at his hasty actions and wonder whether he might have made the wrong decision.

But he's not the sort to dwell upon his mistakes.  Life is for seizing and the Prince of Wands doesn't think terribly much about the consequences - he's young, he's ambitious and fiery - it's not his job to worry about what might happen.

The Prince of Wands urges you to seize the day!  He advocates action - any action - just don't stand still and wait for life to come to you!

3 Wands

In the 3 of Wands we find another man on a hillside, but this time the figure is a real man in his prime, not the enormous outline of the hillside giant!

The man stands in a fairly relaxed pose - one foot resting on a rock, one hand resting against the trunk of a great tree.

By his side we see three saplings, now growing strongly from the ground.

The man looks off into the distance, where a path snakes down the valley floor.  What is he waiting for?  What are YOU waiting for?

From the eager desire to set sail and explore the world that we found in the 2 of Wands, we have a more mature scenario.

The seeds have been sown, the projects/relationships have taken root and are growing strongly - just as the saplings stretch tall and begin to branch.

From his high vantage point, the man can easily see what's coming down the path towards him - this is a card that indicates good perspective and an ability to see the Big Picture.

But just as he can watches for the rewards of his labour to appear on the path, there is also the opportunity to go forth again himself and make greater use of his fiery, questing Wands spirit!

2 Wands

As the  Ace's blazing Solstice energy begins to take hold, we enter the 2 of Wands which depicts The Long Man of Wilmington.

In the card, we the viewer, seem to be standing within a little copse of hawthorn trees on the valley floor, looking up at the great figure on the sun-soaked hillside.

Although we are safe and need nothing other than what we already have, we are filled with longing to bask in the sunlight and venture out into the world.

This card reminds me of young and restless people, impatient to leave home and see the world and grab its opportunities with both hands, much to the incomprehension of their family who believe that they have everything they need right at home.

The hillside is exposed and a wholly different environment from the shaded hawthorns where we stand; it's dangerous and exciting, but we crave what the world can offer us!

The walking sticks in the Wilmington man's hands create a doorway, just as the two twisted hawthorns provide a doorway too.   Shall you travel through the doorway and out on to the hillside?

Will you be able to balance the drive to explore - new projects, new relationships, new journeys - with the very human need for security and familiarity?