Julie Cuccia-Watts

Blue Moon Tarot is a majors only tarot deck based on the

13 full moons and 8 cross-quarter days.
(http://www.newmoontradingco.macwebsitebuilder.com/trading.html)

The Fool

The Fool
Vernal Equinox/Eostar
Cross Quarter Day; March 21
The BLUE MOON TAROT Fool represents the holy man,
shaman, or trickster of the tribe. He is not a ruler though he
advises rulers. He is not a leader yet he shows people how
to act or not to act. His persona shows up in virtually every
human culture. He is special and set apart from other walks
of life. He stands at the point of balance between
decreasing darkness and increasing light. In ancient
societies he would have been the holy man using sacred
hunting magic to shape-shift, bringing in the herds, insuring
success in the hunt and, consequently, assuring the
survival of the people. He is the healer who walks between
the worlds and banishes the evil spirits causing disease. He
could also bring back the knowledge of plant medicines that
would cure the body.

This Fool was the bringer of dreams and messages from

the land where time doesn't exist. He is Joseph in his coat
of many dismembered color pieces breaking the rules of
fashion, as well as the rules of nature, relating visions of the
future to Pharaoh. He is the one who slips between the
worlds into the land of the Dead, retrieving the Goddess
from her winter slumber. Maybe the Fool tricks Death
because, in his innocence, he simply doesn't realize it can't
be done. Or maybe it is because he has never quite put
both his feet into the physical world and keeps his
connection to the Atisokanak, the Anishnabe Spirit world.
He is the young Fool in love, who wears his heart on his
sleeve. We are all Fools when we're in love- inspired,
obsessed, seeing only the good in our beloved. The
innocent Fool has the ability to operate in the twilight
between good and evil because he is pure of heart. He has
the magic (Love) to awaken the sleeping earth and bring
her back to life. He is the return of the Greenman every
spring. Like the proverbial Fool he returns again and again
thinking, "This time it will be all good!"
In Medieval Europe the Fool was the Jester, who made the
king and his court laugh by conveying truth with his illmannered antics. He is the arrogance of youth boasting of
his abilities and proclaiming his grand intentions. He is the
lunatic babbling the words of unseen spirits. He is the
'insane one' who mutters prophecies. He is the sacred
clown who shows us ourselves and teaches us to get real.
And, ironically, he is the one you go to when there is no
hope left.
The shaman's world consists of three layers: the lower
world, the middle world and the upper world. The lower
world is the place of power animals. The middle world is the
place of time travel. And the upper world is the place of
spirit guides and teachers. The shaman can travel to these

worlds through the use of his drum or rattle, connecting with

its rhythmic beat, sending him into trance. Once in trance
he slips into these other realms to retrieve the knowledge
he seeks. The Shaman/Fool embodies Yang energy and
seeks its knowledge.
The traditional Tarot image of The Fool has a dog biting
him. This summons images of the Shaman/Sacred Clown
being dismembered by his power animals. Going through
`shamanic death' is often referred to as being
"dismembered to remember." The image also has the fool
about to fall off a cliff, plunging unexpectedly into the
underworld. Shamans, like Fools, seldom chose their roles
in life but are more likely chosen and reluctantly so. His little
guardian/dog nipping his heels pushes him into his first
journey down the 'rabbit hole' or off the cliff into the
unknown.
This image also brings to mind the constellation Orion who
is always followed by the Dog Star, Sirius. The ancient
Egyptians associated this constellation with their god Osiris,
god of green vegetation. Osiris is also known as god of the
dead, judge of the dead, and the embodiment of the sun's
journey at night, (the sun at midnight). Osiris was murdered
by his jealous brother and brought back to life by his
magician-wife Isis, only to be torn to pieces by his brother
and re-assembled by Isis again. (Coincidentally, Isis is
associated with Sirius the 'dog' star) There are theories that
the pyramids of Egypt are linked to the three stars in the
belt of Orion. The Great pyramid at Giza aligns with the
constellation Orion.
Orion is also associated with Hercules, mortal hero of
ancient Greek and Roman mythos, who undergoes many
trials as he seeks immortality. The constellation Orion,
though very prominent in the night sky, is not included in
the Zodiac. Orion is set apart from the Zodiac much like the
Fool is set apart from the trumps and as the Shaman is

separate from the tribe. The Spring Equinox is the time of

the year that is set apart from all other times, as it is the
magical time of increasing daylight. Spring coincides with
the high magical time of remembered triumph, like the
ancient Passover rituals when the tides of tyranny turn and
freedom can be won against great odds. The Vernal
Equinox is a perfect time for initiations of priests and
priestesses, puberty rites, cave initiations, and vision
quests.

Other names:
April Fool; Village Idiot; Coyote; Court Jester; Heyokia;
Hermes; Loki; Pied Piper of Hamlin; Joseph and the
coat of many colors
Symbols:
Golden bough with bells of gold; branches with leaves;
rabbits; coyotes; mismatched clothes; long
exaggerated hoods; three horned hats; Yang
Attributes:
Young virgin male; extrovert; exuberant; light hearted;
silly comedian; irreverence.

The Magician

The Magician
Full Moon in Cancer
The full Moon after Winter Solstice
This card represents the first full moon after Winter
Solstice. The Winter Solstice or Yule is the holiday or crossquarter day that begins with the return of longer days in the
Northern Hemisphere. The day when Mother Earth gives
birth to the Sun child.
Many Solar Deities have their birthdays at this time. Hathor
birthed the lion-maned Sphinx; Isis gave birth to Horus.
Celtic goddess Rhiannon gave birth to Pryderi (golden
haired colt representing the Sun). The Persian solar/savior
god Mithra was said to have no mother, being born from a
female rock and called " the unconquerable Sun". This
story and its hero was adopted by the Romans in 307 AD
calling Mithra the "Protector of the Empire". In the Christian

faith Mary gave birth to Jesus, who eventually was

assimilated into these older deities, and referred to as
the'Sun' of God. In the Astrology from Egypt, Cancer was
associated with the scarab beetle and not the crab. The
scarab eats away the darkness, leaving light. The young
scarabs emerge from the dung ball much like the sun rising
out of the Earth each morning. Also, the Scarab is thought
to push the Sun/Son across the sky in much the same way
as the Mother scarab pushes her the dung ball containing
her eggs. The Scarab eats dung and transforms the filth
into fertile soil. This is yet another of the mother's traditional
jobs- to clean and renew. This card emphasizes the
importance of Renewal/ Rejuvenation and the powers of life
and of birth. These powers are seen as the Mother bringing
forth life from a dark womb. Birth is a magical event that
transforms spirit into the material world. The magical
newborn is in tune with the universal energies at the
moment of its birth. This child is imprinted with his/her
personal rules, caught at the moment of birth for the rest of
his /her life. These personal laws are documented in the
natal chart.
This leads to the possibility that the Star of Bethlehem is an
astrological configuration and just a `star'. About 9 years
ago a friend ran a search for a Fire and Water trine over
Bethlehem with an advanced computer astrology program.
She searched for a fire and water trine between 1000 BC
and 50 AD. In her search she had a hit occurring on
January 5, 02 BC. There was only one fire and water trine
in that time frame. Conflicts, however, arose with this timing
because Herod was supposed to have died in 04 BC,
according to historical records meaning that this fire and
water trine was two years too early. Within a couple weeks
a documentary on PBS stated a correction was made of
King Herod's date of death- revising the date of death to 01
BC! This makes an astronomical chart containing a fire and
water trine a very feasible `Star of David' becoming the
natal chart of a" once and future king". The three Kings

'from the east', sometimes called Wise men or Astrologers,

presented gifts representing three factions of Jews in
ancient Israel: The Essenes (love) myrrh, The Sadducees
(rich land owning Jews) gold, Pharisees (law) frankincense.
What is still interesting is the "from the East" part of the
story. This implies that the story was told from a place other
than Palestine. But were these `kings' local Jewish
authorities? The fourth King Herod was the "bad" king and
not to be trusted. (Or was this another Roman twist?)
Further research shows that Herod was the appointed King
of the Jewish people. Herod was appointed by Marc
Antony, an ally of Egypt, and Egypt was in direct opposition
to the Roman emperor Augustus as they were warring only
28 years earlier. Lastly is the 'holy family fearing 'Herod' (A
metaphor for Rome perhaps?) fleeing to Egypt for safety.
Herod also controlled Masada, where the last of the rebels
against Rome eventually committed suicide. This place was
a favorite rendezvous spot of Marc Antony and Cleopatra.
The interesting connection is that Herod was appointed
`King of the Jews' by Marc Antony in the days of Julius
Caesar. After Caesar's death, Antony joined forces with
Cleopatra against Rome. Was Herod still an ally of Antony
and Cleopatra during this conflict? There are so many
unanswered questions and we may be able to discover the
truth by looking at history a little differently.
Was this story simply politics with a spiritual edge? The
Jewish kings were searching for King David's return and he
likely did return. But David's law of "might as right" was
established after the slaying of Goliath and that was what
the Jews and Roman's adhered to. This law was unjust.
Jesus/Joshua came back to this conflict to enforce the older
law of Karma. An eye-for-an-eye and a-tooth-for-a-tooth is a
universal law that does not need human intervention. Whatgoes-around-comes-around is more inline with the laws of
Karma. But Jesus had another message and that was to

teach people how to release yourself from your karma by

turning the other cheek.
This may not have been what the "the three Kings
/astrologers /Jewish authorities" expected when they
looked found the fire and water trine in the sky but Jesus
did play the role of the traditional Savior gods, just like
Horns and Mithra, casting light on the shadows within.

Other names:
Mother of child couples; Mary (Jesus Christ); the
Great Goddess; Isis (Horns); other Mother Goddesses
of Transformation; Nana; Rhiannon; Pryderi; Earth and
Sun; Khepera, the self made one (Egyptian sun of the
morning)
Symbols:
Eye of the creator; the child; sparrow hawk; eagle;
lion; Phoenix
Attributes:
Omnipresent; omniscience; omnipotence.

Full Moon in Cancer key phrase: "I Feel"

The Lovers

The Lovers
Beltaine, Cross Quarter Day - May 1
May Day, or Beltaine, is another "betwixt and between" time
sacred to the Celts. Like Samhain it is a doorway. Beltaine
welcomes us back to summer. On these days there are no
rules or taboos and anything goes- including sexual
encounters.
Traditionally the Queen of May is chosen from among the
young maidens. She represents the Goddess, who is now
fertile and ready to choose her consort. Beltaine's fire burns
the "bones of Bel" and the shadow of winter/death is
banished until Judgment Day or Halloween. In ancient
times Celtic maidens blessed the fields with dew soaked ox
tails to ensure a good crop. The Goddess's sacred wells
were also blessed at this time for water is the source of life
and health in any community. The blessing of wells is a
symbolic representation of the clear liquids in the fertile

vagina, complimented in later times in the phallic

symbolism of maypoles. At this time the Annual King is also
chosen.
Beltaine is the celebration of the joining of god and goddess
in the Sacred Marriage as well as the joining of the high
priestess and high priest in sacred sexual union.
Transforming the virginal high priestess into the newly
pregnant and faithful Empress is an important part of this
doorway to summer. This union transforms the Fool into the
Goddess' High Priest/consort.
She is the fertile, flowering earth that will bare fruit and He
is the return of the Green/ Green Man, who nourishes her
fruit.

Other names:
May Day; Bealtane; Baal; Bel; Bael; Balder; Pan; Lord
of the Hunt; Maid Marion and her Robin Hood; Isis and
Osiris
Symbols:
May Pole; Phallus; pools; ponds; wells; dew; bonfires.
Attributes:
Lust; choice

The Chariot

The Chariot
Full Moon in Leo
The full moon during Candlemas
The painting for the Chariot depicts the Sphinx, with the
likeness of King Khafre, facing the east. The sphinx by itself
faces the rising sun during the Equinoxes of the year. The
great sphinx was known in later times as Horemakhet,
Horns on the Horizon. This name alludes to Egypt's ancient
sun god Horns which is closely associated with the kings of
Egypt.
"It is clearly, in some way, a solar monument. All the
year round it looks directly at the sunrise. A priest, or
anybody else, who stood on the plateau above and
behind it, could look straight along its body and see
the sun come up over its head at the spring and
autumn equinoxes... " (Riddle of the Sphinx by Paul
Jordon ISBN: 1-84015-017-3 copyright 1998)

The only way for the ancients to know the solar astrology
was to mark the nighttime planetary and stellar
configurations between certain dates. The star constellation
Leo, similarly posed to the sphinx, represents the lunar
monument in the heavens. The phrase, "As above, so
below" is meaningful in this context. During the day the
sphinx monument to the sun acknowledges the sun's path.
Between 21 January and 19 February, the full Moon is at its
zenith as she crosses the constellation Leo, marking the
lunar path in the heavens. The Sphinx, then, mirrors the
constellation Leo. At this time of the year the two distinct
orbital paths of the sun and moon are most apparent.
During this time, the Moon is at its highest point and the
winter Sun lies low on the horizon, clearly defining their
separateness. At most times of the year it appears that the
sun and moon move along a single orbital path.
The symbolism of the lion is also significant because most
felines sleep up to 20 hours per day. Lions are known for
their power, fierceness, and their killing efficiency and are
associated with the sun. In Ancient Egypt one of the
sources of the lion symbol is found in Sekemet goddess of
the burning rays of the sun. During the time of the full moon
in Leo the Lion symbol, true to the patterns of the feline, lies
down peacefully, possibly asleep. This can be construed as
a sign that the burning rays of the sun are in repose. In
Northern Europe the fiercest months of winter are during
the full moon in Leo. In this case, it is the Earth Mother who
lies dormant, fast asleep. Several ancient European
Goddess symbols are often flanked by two lions. The
ancient Celts were well known for their command of the
chariot and may be an indication of the extensive trade
between Europe and Egypt. The chariot may also
symbolize a means of getting ideas from one place to
another.

The Chariot, from the Tarot, rides on two wheels and is

driven by horses, lions, and sometimes sphinxes. These
beasts are often shown as one being black, and one being
white. In BLUE MOON TAROT one wheel of the chariot
represents the Lunar cycle and the other the Solar wheel of
the year. The traditional Chariot is driven by a warrior (child
of the God and Goddess), who is adorned with the symbols
of sun and moon. In Greek mythology, for instance, chariots
were known as two-wheeled vehicles, thought to drive the
sun and moon across the sky. In BLUE MOON TAROT the
Earth is the chariot and the orbits of sun and moon become
the two wheels. The observer, then, becomes the chariot
rider.
Western culture is certainly driven by two wheels
symbolized in the way we define ourselves psychologically.
For example, we may call ourselves "Right-brained" or
"Left-brained", Feminine or Masculine. Solar/masculine
symbolizes being conscious, precise; linear, sequentiallogical, and rational. The Lunar/feminine being cyclical,
intuitive, nonlinear, subconscious, and emotional. This
polarization shows up in all areas of our world including our
politics. The lesson is clearly that one side should never
take control over the other as this creates imbalance. The
key to a successful ride would be keeping these two
powers in balance.

Other names:
Apollo; Helios; Hyperion; Lugh; Ra (sun); Artemis;
Nimue (newmoon); Diana; Mari; Isis (full); Hecate;
Anna (waning); Semele; Selene; Phoebe; Hathor;
Ceridwen (moon); Sphinx; Lion of the double lions
(another name for Osiris-the sun at midnight);
Charioteers-Greek; Selene and Artemis; Egyptian Isis;
Phrygian Cybele; Semitic Ashtart (lunar); Greek Apollo
and Helios (solar); other charioteers-Norse Freya,
Thor; Celtic Morgan; Mywnawr

Symbols:
Chariot; two wheels; chariot drivers; lions; Orbits of the
sun and the moon; the ewe lying down with the lion;
Goddess of the Mountain with two lions (Gate of
Mycenae, Knossos, Crete); Solar and Lunar lions,
Night and Day
Attributes:
Synthesizing opposites; balancing female and male
qualities; balancing left brain and right brain thinking.

Key phrase: "I will"

The World

XXI - The World

The Central card
She is Gaia, the great Mother, dancing through the
universe. Scientists have a theory called the 'Gaia Theory'
that describes the earth as a living organism. Placing this

card's meaning into a relationship with the other BLUE

MOON cards and putting its meaning into words was a
difficult task- until I ran across a paragraph in the book The
Myth of the Goddess - Evolution of an Image by Anne
Baring and Jules Cashford. That summed up my meaning
perfectly, Anne and Jules write:
the essential distinction between the whole and the
part was formulated in the Greek language by the two
different Greek words for life: zoe and bios, as the
embodiment of two dimensions co-existing in life.
Zoe is eternal and infinite life; bios is finite and
individual life. 'Zoe is the thread upon which every
individual bios is strung like a bead, and which in
contrast to bios can be conceived only as endless.' as 'infinite life.'.... Zoe is then both transcendent and
immanent, and bios is the immanent form of zoe. In
this way bios is contained in zoe, as the part is
contained in the whole Zoe, contains bios but bios
cannot contain zoe. Similarly, the Paleolithic myth of
the Great Mother contains the myth of the Hunter, but
the hunter could not contain the myth of the great
mother. Great Mother Goddess can be as recognized
as the totality of the lunar cycle-as-zoe. And her
daughter and son--lover, who emerge from and return
to her, can be seen as the moon's phases - as bios.
The son and daughter personify the ever dying and
ever renewing forms of life, whether human, animal or
plant. Related to the cycles of the earth's seasons the
son and daughter incarnate the life of vegetation. The
transitional moments in the agricultural cycle are
commemorated with festivals of mourning and
rejoicing, and in the great mythic dramas that express
the mysterious analogy between the life of the moon,
the life of plants and the life of human beings.
Participating in these rituals creates a trust that as
darkness is always followed by light, so death is

followed by rebirth. All life therefore, holds a promise

of renewal."
In respect to this concept of zoe and bios I see the whole
meaning of the tarot embodied by the central card, The
World, and she is zoe. The surrounding major cards are
bios, the perpetual cycle of renewal.

Other names:
The Dancer; the universe; the Great Mother; the
Earth; Gaia; The World Egg; Earth Mother; Water
Mother
Symbols:
Eggs; worlds; mothers; dancers; Nature
Attributes:
Everything.

The Wheel of Fortune

Wheel of Fortune

Candlemas
Cross Quarter Day; February 2
The image of this card is a candle burning in front of a
translucent glass model of the zodiac. The Wheel of the
Natal Chart represents the sky at the moment of one's
birth- As Above So Below. Your natal chart marks the
personal laws that you were born with. Your individual
character can be understood by the descriptions and
placements of the stars and planets. This opens a beautiful
and personal metaphor for the idea of macrocosm and
microcosm. Everyone's chart is different like a fingerprint
and every individual is a physical and spiritual manifestation
of the universe at the moment they were born. It is said that
a person's character is their destiny.
The study of Astrology dates to about 3000BC in ancient
India and is sometimes credited to the Chaldeans of
Mesopotamia. The Egyptians, Assyrians and Babylonians
adopted astrology, making their own contributions. Along
with sun and the moon, the "lesser" lights of the sky were
also observed- the planets and the stars considered divine
beings or gods. Seemingly a direct reference to astrology is
that the stars are the watchers over the children of earth.
Astrology may have been the motives of the ancient
Europeans who built stone circles often associated with the
watching of the stars and planets.
The concentrated trail of stars called the Milky Way must
have dazzled the ancient star-watchers and the origins of
the term Milky Way is found in Greek mythology. The story
is that Hermes, in an effort to give the child immortality,
placed Hercules on the breast of Hera while the goddess
was sleeping. Hera opened her eyes, finding the suckling
Hercules and she pushed the baby aside but it was too late.
Her milk let down and began to flow from her breast,

spraying milk into the sky creating the Milky Way. Other
Goddesses, Rhea, Hathor and Isis, have also been credited
for creating the Milky Way. This tale not only gives a
delightful example of the primacy of a feminine principle in
the creation of the galaxy but also speaks volumes about
the fertility, reliability, and the power of woman's bodies to
provide nourishment for their offspring. Hera's milk shows
that her body was willing to nourish the child Hercules and
completely impartial to her cantankerous will. Her
unconscious body would have given the child Hercules
immortality but when conscience she would not suckle the
child of a mortal woman impregnated by her husband Zeus.
The importance of the `lesser lights' are found in other
cultures as well. For some Native Americans the Milky Way
is the path that souls follow to the land of the dead. The
Ancient Egyptians saw the Nile River as a reflection of the
Milky Way on earth and it became their tradition to float the
bodies of their dead down this river on barges embalming
them along the way to their final resting spots in the cities
built especially for the dead.
Mapping constellations also helped with the mundane
responsibilities of this life. As certain stars appeared in the
night sky the land would warm or cool according to season.
This seasonal procession of stars is a comforting,
predictable dance. Early February marks the beginning of
increase again as the daylight hours begin to show obvious
growth. The cross quarter day of Candlemas marks the
time when ewes give birth to the spring lambs. Ewe's milk
would be the first milk to become available as a source of
nourishment during the fiercest of ancient European winter
months. The old biblical verse "the Lion shall lay with the
Lamb" may have originally been translated as "the Ewe will
lay down with the Lion". This cross quarter day is also
known as Oimelc, meaning ewe's milk, and takes place
during the time of the full moon in the sign Leo. The

constellation of Leo appears to be a lion reclining and one

can envision the exhausted ewes resting along with the lion
after giving birth. Other names referring to this crossquarter day are Imbolc (meaning in the belly of the mother)
and Brigid.
Candlemas was, and still is for many Pagans, sacred to the
triple Goddess Brigit and the Celts called it Brigit's Day or
Lady Day. Brigit or Bride was a goddess of poetry and
smithcraft. Her priestesses kept an ever burning sacred
flame, similar to the Vestals of Rome. Fire was a source of
light as well as life during ancient times for it saved our
ancestors from certain death during the lee Ages. Firelight
would be a sign of hope for the weary hunter on a dark
winter night as well as a beacon for fishermen navigating at
sea.
It is easy to see the significance of a small fire lit in prayer
for the hope to change fortunes or insure the good outcome
of events in one's life. Invocation was one way to gain the
attention of gods or spirits of the dead and asking a divine
favor could require some kind of a sacrificial exchange. To
aid one's destiny or to strengthen a prayer included animal
sacrifice in ancient times. This included sacrificing lambs to
the gods for favors rendered. The belief in balance and
reciprocation meant that in order to receive something, one
needed to give something of value in return. Over time,
candles eventually replaced sacrificed animals making
Candlemas a holiday for blessing candles instead of
blessing lambs marked for sacrifice. Candlemas is a time
between winter and spring so the ancients used this time
for creative and cultural activities. Education, inspiration
(opening oneself to spirits), planning for the year to come,
and even the study of astrology were the activities of
Candlemas.
Christianity found it difficult to remove virgin goddess Brigit
from history. Eventually she became associated with the

attributes of the Virgin Mary. Brigit is muse, inspiration, and

enlightenment. The spirit of Brigit is alive today in the smart,
strong and beautiful young women everywhere. They are
still the hope of life in the future and the sign of new
beginnings, evidence of the wheel still turning.

Other names:
Imbolc (in the belly of the mother); Oimelc (milk of
ewes); Lady Day; Brigit's Day; Lupercalia (Roman
Fertility Festival); The milk of Hera, Rhea, Hathor, Isis
forming the Milky Way
Symbols:
Candles; birthing of lambs; first milk; ancient tools of
invocation; sacred fires; The Milky Way
Attributes:
Paradigm shift; invocation; destiny; hope; fate.

The Moon

The Moon

Thirteenth Full Moon

The Thirteenth Full moon in the year can fall in any of the
twelve signs of the Zodiac. This phenomenon happens
once per year, hence the saying `once in a BLUE MOON.
The BLUE MOON occurs when there are two full moons in
single month. Because there are 12 signs of the zodiac, the
new calendar contains twelve months, and the moon is full
thirteen times per year, one of these full moons will fall into
a zodiac sign twice.
The Moon card is traditionally known to be deceptive and
illusionary. Within the context of BLUE MOON TAROT, the
Moon card represents the thirteenth full moon within the
solar year so it could be described as "deceptive" and
"illusionary". When the lunar cycles are measured within
the constraints of a solar year there are 13 full moons. If the
moon were on her own, she would flow though these 12
signs again and again seamlessly. The actual cycle of the
moon is 18.6 years long as was marked by ancient
observers. The ancient people who created Stonehenge
noted this 18.6-year cycle and so did the Mayans. (18.6
years is equivalent to 240 lunar months) This 18.6-year
cycle opens some wonderful understandings of the triple
Moon goddesses (known as Maiden, Mother, and Crone)
found all over ancient Europe. In the ancient world, 18.6
years is about the amount of time it takes to move through
each of these cycles of womanhood.
When we compare the cycles of sun and moon as if they
were wheels of a 'chariot', and force the moon to compare
equally within the sun's year, we create the illusion that the
moon is inconsistent and unpredictable. In this context its
natural pattern is obscured and the moon appears chaotic
and random. We have created this troublesome
incongruent 13th moon. It is not the moon that is illusionary
or deceptive - it is the human concept that months

themselves are forced to meet the measure of the year.

This thirteenth moon has been named the BLUE MOON,
which is a relatively new term. (Of course the way we
moderns define the 'blue moon' is not as what zodiac sign it
falls in, but as which Julian Solar calendar month contains
two full moons). The Julian Calendar was created under the
direction of Julius Caesar in 46BC. His idea was to replace
the multitude of inaccurate and diverse calendars of the
Roman commonwealth with a single official calendar. The
Julian Calendar (also called Old Style Calendar) replaced
the Roman Republican calendar dating system that evolved
in Rome prior to the Christian era. The Roman Republican
calendar was based on a 10-month lunar cycle and
according to legend, Romulus, (the co-founder of Rome)
instituted in it about 738 BC. In reality this calendar was
taken straight from the Greek Lunar Calendar, which came
from Babylon. By the lst century BC, the Roman calendar
had become hopelessly confused. The year, based on
cycles and phases of the moon, totaled 355 days, about 10
1/4 days shorter than the solar year. The occasional
inclusion of an extra month of 27 or 28 days, called
Mercedonius, kept the calendar in step with the seasons.
But the confusion was compounded by Rome's corrupt
political maneuvers. The Pontifex Maximus and the College
of Pontiffs had the authority to alter the calendar, and they
sometimes did so to reduce or extend the term of a
particular magistrate or other public official.
Finally Julius Caesar employed the astronomer and
mathematician Sosigenes of Alexandria to create a new
calendar. With the help of this Egyptian astronomer, Caesar
created a new calendar based on the sun, not the moon,
and he made the length of the solar year as 365 1/4 days.
The year was then divided into 12 months, all of which had
either 30 or 31 days except February (which contains 28
days in common (365-day) years and 29 in every fourth
year (a leap year, of 366 days). With Sosigenes' help, on

Jan. 1, 45 BC, Rome adopted the new, Julian calendar, but

due to misunderstandings, the calendar was not
established smoothly until AD 8. Sosigenes' astronomical
writings, including Revolving Spheres, have all been lost,
except for some isolated fragments. One notable fragment
mentions Sosigenes' belief that Mercury revolved around
the Sun.
With minor modifications this calendar is the same as the
modern Gregorian calendar. However this particular Solar
month calendar was not used in all of Europe. Even
England did not switch to a solar month calendar until King
James (of the 'King James Bible' fame) implemented it in
the 1700's. Which means up until that point the British Isles
still used the ancient lunar and cross quarter day calendar.

Other names:
Blue Moon
Symbols:
Moon; time; measurement of time; female life cycle.
Attributes:
Something rare; special; a misconception; mystery to

Death

Death
Full Moon in Taurus
The full moon during Halloween
Hathor is sometimes called "Gate of the Tomb" and as the
Full Moon in Taurus she is a doorway to the dark months of
winter. Hathor is the celestial cow bearing the moon
between her horns. She is spangled with stars and her legs
are the four pillars of heaven. Kings of later dynasties were
often portrayed standing between her forelegs, as if within a
gate, above which the moon-disk is raised upon her horns.
This Goddess is sometimes portrayed as a pillar with a
capital of a horned head. She is also depicted between cleft
mountains, as the horned gate dividing mountains, as
death/sleep, and the awakening sun. She is the mountain
enclosing the cave-tomb. (See "Awakening Osiris: A New
Translation of the Egyptian Book of the Dead" by
Normandie Ellis, 1988, Phanes Press).

At atal Hyk, Turkey the goddess Cybele is depicted

seated between two felines, her throne the high mountain
peak where heaven meets earth. The "All-Begetting
Mother, who beats a drum to mark the rhythm of life." Her
most important symbol is her frame drum, representing the
moon, and the primordial egg of Creation. The beat of her
drum is the pulse of life, the heartbeat of the Earth Mother.
Cybele holds her red frame drum in her left hand, and from
her right hand she pours forth libation from her lotus bowl.
The Lotus bowl, called a patera, was the great cosmic vulva
that poured forth the waters of life, symbolized by honey,
milk, wine, or blood. (See "When the Drummers were
Woman," by Layne Redmond, 1997, Three Rivers Press)
In BLUE MOON TAROT The mourning goddess beats her
drum with the rhythm of life. She sits in the temple found in
atal Hyk. Temples and burial sites, found from Malta to
Scotland, were designed to look like the head of the bull
and one of the finest examples is at atal Hyk. Contrary
to the patriarchal interpretation- which is that these bull
figures symbolize male fertility- these "bull heads" may
have been fashioned after the shape of the uterus. (See
Habitations of the Great Goddess, Cristina Biaggi, Ph.D.,
1994) The dead of atal Hyk were left to be eaten by
vultures. This method of funeral ceremonies would have
allowed these ancient people to view the internal organs of
their dead. One of the organs viewed could have been the
uterus that, during pregnancy, can swell to the size of a
Bull/Cow's head. The uterus, the fallopian tubes, and
ovaries look surprisingly similar to the star-horned bull's
head depicted during this time. Consequently the symbol of
the bull's head would have become an important symbol of
rebirth and not male virility. The ritual killing of bulls by the
slitting their throats comes to mind as one contemplates
these symbols. These rituals were prominent in early
human societies and these rites were performed for the
sake of power and fertility.

One relief sculpture found in Egypt is this same bull head

symbol is surrounded by five stars. These stars may be the
same stars found in the constellation of Taurus. The
Aegean counterpart to Salma, another Moon Goddess like
Selene, is Tar, meaning `the West' or `dying Sun.' Tartara is
also given as the name of the Land of the Dead and may
come from tar-tar, meaning Far, Far West. Homer mentions
Tartar in his Iliad `as far below earth as Heaven is above it.'
In Greek mythology, Tartarus is also known as the Land of
the Dead and means `Far West.' Semele was worshipped
during Lenaea, the Festival of the Wild Woman, when a
young bull, representing Dionysus, was cut into nine pieces
and sacrificed to her. One piece of the bull was burned, and
the rest was eaten by worshippers. Semele is yet another
form of Selene, which is the Moon. Nine (Triple Goddess
multiplied by three) was a sacred number of the orgiastic
Moon-Priestesses who took part in these feasts. Nine
priestesses dancing around the sacred King is depicted in a
cave painting in Cogul. Taranis is a Gaulish deity
associated with Scythian Diana, (Taurian Artemis) who
practised human sacrifice. These sacrifices probably were
originally meant to be symbolic and associated with plants,
vegetation, and the hunt. The ritual of dismemberment
patterns the stories of Gods from many different cultures
where they are torn apart and scattered or eaten. An
interesting story incorporating bulls and dismemberment is
that of the Greek Pentheus (King of Thebes). He apparently
did not like Dionysus and had him arrested along with all of
Dionysus' Maenads. Pentheus went mad and instead of
capturing Dionysus, shackled a bull. The Maenads escaped
and raged through the mountains, tearing calves apart in
their anger. Dionysus, like the Roman Bacchus, is the deity
of wine and vintage festivals. Grapes are crushed and the
juice fermented into wine. Wine is often a symbol for blood
and is part of the ritual sacrifice. The uterus is the bowl or
cup that holds the wine.

It is proposed from all these clues that the bull head

symbols were meant to symbolize the womb. The sacred
place where the spirits of the dead were thought to reside.
The souls of the dead taking on the symbol of the sun as it
sinks in the west or buried in the earth mother, promises
rebirth in the east each morning. The sacred blood of the
womb and its fertility brings all this about.

Other names:
Tar-Anis; Annis of the West; Death Goddess; Salma;
Semele; Kali; Cybele; Hathor; Hecate
Symbols:
Bull's horns; womb; tomb gateway; bull sacrifice;
drum; bowl
Attributes:
Radical transformation; the Harvest; abundance;
strong; hibernation; Rest and ease; Bull/Cow

Key phrase: "I Have"

The Empress

The Empress
Full Moon in Scorpio
The full moon during Beltaine
In its conception the "Merry, Merry month of May" was
dedicated to Mother Mary. The Full moon in Scorpio with its
ancient lunar secrets occurs during the month that contains
the holy-day Beltaine. This lunation is sexually charged and
all the birds in Mother's flowering garden are filling their
nests with eggs. The trees are flowering like bridal
bouquets and the ground in the Northern Hemisphere is
ready to be seeded. The Celtic Beltaine opens the gate to
summer, the earth is fertile and ready for sex, and the
Mother is newly pregnant.
Examples of this symbol can be found in the story of the
Goddess of Desire. Aphrodite, who rose naked from the
sea and first set foot on an island called Cythera, went on
to Peloponnese, and eventually ended up at Paphos in
Cyprus. As she walked, grass and flowers sprung from the
ground. Aphrodite, meaning 'foam born,' rose from Chaos
and danced on the sea. During the Spring her priestesses
bathed in the sea and rose again symbolically renewed.
She was worshipped in Syria and Palestine as Ishtar or
Ashtaroth. Aphrodite is also called the daughter of Dione,
Goddess of the Oak tree in which an amorous dove nested.
Doves and sparrows are known for their lust and passion.
According to Roman myth, Zeus claimed to be Aphrodite's
father after he seized Dione's oracle at Dodana thus
making her Aphrodite's mother.
The dove associated with the Christian Holy Spirit is a thinly
masked Virgin Mother goddess. The written Latin texts for
Holy Spirit is clearly a female-gendered word though it
quickly loses its femininity in modern translations. Today,
even our modern pop-culture "Hallmark Holidays" honor

Mother's Day during May.

Bird goddesses date back to Neolithic times. The posture of
these goddess figures carved in stone have wings with
upraised arms assuming a welcoming gesture. This gesture
is repeated in the images of other ancient goddesses from
Crete, Greece and Egypt. Goddesses depicted with this
gesture include the butterfly goddess and the bee goddess.
This symbolism can be seen in the Egyptian ankh (meaning
life and looks like the symbol for Venus and female). The
upraised arms of the Egyptian hieroglyph Ka represents the
individual's greater soul. The Ka's responsibility is to
welcome and greet the soul (BA) of the dead person. The
Ka takes the form of the bennu bird, or phoenix, and was
sometimes called mother. Images of the knot of Inanna
3000BC Sumeria, the Sacred knot 1500BC Knossos Crete,
and the buckle of Isis all resemble the ankh with the outstretched arms of the goddess. The buckle of Isis,
representing the Yoni, carries the attributes of fidelity,
fertility and growth with sacrifice.

Other names:
Tethys; Thetis; Mary; Mari; Isis; Ishtar; Ashtaroth;
Demeter; Venus; Gaia; Maia
Symbols:
Creatrix; Snake; Great Mother; Great Goddess;
Flowering earth; Dove goddess
Attributes:
Passion; Lust; Friendship; Attraction; Love; Growth;
Fulfillment; Maturation; Nurturing; Sex.

key phrase: "I desire"

The Emperor

The Emperor
Full Moon in Aries
The full moon occurring after The Autumnal Equinox
Moon cycle ruled by the planet Venus
The BLUE MOON TAROT calendar begins with the Full
Moon in Aries that occurs before Halloween. Also known as
the Witch's New Year, this is the time of the year when all
that is green changes to the beautiful gold, oranges and
reds of autumn. The Death of the 'Green Man' and his
transformation into the 'Lord of Shadows' signals the
coming of the dark days of winter. The season of autumn is
the metaphor for our own mortality.
Just as I was finishing the Ancestral Path Tarot, I came
across a passage in a book "Egypt Canaan and Israel in
Ancient Times" [by Donald B. Redford; Princeton University

Press; 1992]. I found a word on pages 229- 231 used by

the ancient Egyptians that leapt off the page at me. The
word was "Em-par-Re," which translates to "In the House of
RA." This was the title given to the immigrants of high
status to Egypt. Em-par-Re was a diplomatic title for upper
class foreigners wishing to become Egyptian citizens. The
idea was that Ra [the sun] ruled over all the lands, and
even a person of high social status was lowly compared to
the sun but could be acknowledged as being a resident of
the House of Ra. Quite possibly, could be the origin of the
word we have come to know as 'emperor'. The aristocratic
foreigner wishing to immigrate would be given the title Empar-Re, followed by the name of the Egyptian official who
was giving him this immigration status. For example,
Octavius of Rome [who was the first Roman leader to use
the title 'emperor' of Rome] went to Egypt with his armies,
claimed to be the ruler and made Egypt part of Rome. Of
course, given language barriers and cultural perspective,
the Egyptians thought, "This foreign leader must be asking
to become a citizen of Egypt." An Egyptian official named
Augustus would have then named Octavius 'Em-par-Re
Augustus'. Octavius then goes back to Rome thinking in his
blatant Roman bias, "I am Emperor Augustus of Rome,
conqueror of Egypt."
Obviously after 4000+ years of sovereignty, Egypt's
worldview did not put Rome at the center of the civilized
world. The Egyptians believed it was their god Ra [the sun]
that ruled over all the lands, after all Ra was everywhere
they traveled. Their Pharaoh was simply Ra's physical
representative on Earth - a Head Priest, Shaman or
Channel.
The Emperor in Blue Moon Tarot [the Full Moon in Aries] is
represented by the ram- headed god Amun Re, chief of all
gods in Ancient Egyptian culture. Amun-Re gave life to all
creatures and beautiful animals. He was the most ancient in
heaven, the eldest in all the world and was thought to dwell

in all things. As the season changes and the light of the sun
weakens, we observe the life force of the plants fade. In
Celtic cultures it is the season when the Green Man dies
and is reborn as the Dark Lord of Shadows, Lord of the
Hunt. In autumn, hunter-gatherers turned to hunting wild
game as vegetation became sparse. This full moon is
known in some cultures as the Hunter's Moon, signaling a
time for the herds to be thinned assuring the survival of
healthy, well-fed animals. After the domestication of animals
occurred, this moon signaled a time to bring the animals
indoors.
For the people who had to sustain their domesticated
animals through the winter it didn't make sense to keep
large numbers of male animals around. Males would fight
with each other for dominance, and eat too much of the
winter-feed. A single, large, beautiful male would be chosen
for breeding purposes and the other male animals would be
harvested for human sustenance, while the female animals,
usually pregnant, would give birth in the spring to restock
the herd. The Hunter's Moon reminds us that death is part
of the healthy transitions of life and that our time too will
someday come to pass. As the green growth of the garden
of Earth loses its chlorophyll and fades into its true colors,
the season of the hunt begins. We are also reminded of our
own transitory glory in the house of Ra.
The message of the Full Moon in Aries is, as the trees go
from uniform green to the plant's natural variety of brilliant
hues, to 'show our true colors' and let ourselves shine
through. We are young, and strong only for a short time.
We should not be afraid to be who we are in this life. Our
physical time is limited, so live from your heart, without the
shackles of regret. What we believe about ourselves is
what we will become. We should never wait to become who
we are for it is later than we think. Our mortality is the gift
that gives us a reason for self-focus. The Emperor teaches

us while it is good to serve others; we should never forget

our own value.

Other names:
Green Man (post-agriculture); Horned God of Fertility
(pre-agriculture); The Dagda (the Good God with
horns of ram, deer, or bull); Dionysis; God of the Vine;
Osiris; Cernunnos; Pan; Arthur; Robin; Dumuzi;
Annual King; Herne the Hunter; God of Nature; God of
the Underworld and Astral Plane; Great Father; Lord
of Light; Hu Gad (Druidic); Belatucadros; Vitiris; Amon
Re (ram-horned God of all living creatures); All ancient
gods of the Hunt.
Symbols:
Ram; Stag; Bull; Horned Serpent; animals.
Attributes:
Virility; fertility; physical love; nature; woodlands;
reincarnation; cross roads; wealth and commerce;
hunter-gatherer; oneness with nature; mortality.

Key phrase: "I am"

Temperance

Temperance
Winter Solstice
Cross Quarter Day; the shortest day of the year
Temperance, the great cackler who gives birth to the
Universe, is portrayed as an old Crone. The image is the
Crone pouring light onto the earth, and darkness in equal
measure. Temperance is defined in the dictionary as "the
suppression of appetite ". The traditional tarot image is a
winged being pouring liquid, light or a rainbow from one
vessel to another and then back again. It's motion or
movement is sometimes depicted as the infinite figure 8 or
lemniscate. Essentially it represents the motion of emptying
and filling up again.
Myths of Creation generally portray a symbolic view of birth:
First there is darkness in the churning, liquid, uterine
environment (Kali's Ocean of blood). It is told that the

Mother is alone in the dark abyss (sometimes called a Void

or the Deep). Then, suddenly, there is an abrupt light and
consciousness emerges; All is new.
The word solstice comes from the Latin word "sol stetit"
meaning sun-stands-still. This hesitation happens during
the longest and shortest days of the year, the Summer and
Winter Solstices, respectively. On these extreme occasions
the sun sets and rises in the same spot for six days. Initially
this phenomenon must have raised some fears for our
observant ancestors that perhaps the warm, life-giving sun
would not return, condemning them back into the primordial
Darkness. Monuments to mark the solstices are found
throughout the world, Discovered recently is the Hindwell
Palisade site near Powyss, Wales which marks the sunset
on the Summer Solstice. This site, shaped like an egg, may
have been used to capture the light of the sun as it began
to wane and held it safely until its rebirth at the Winter
Solstice. Stonehenge, on the other hand, marks the Winter
Solstice sunrise. The horseshoe-shape within the circle
mirrors the shape of an opened egg or birthing womb. At
any rate, the stillness of the Winter Solstice brings to mind
a shifting of energy. It is the healing and returning of light
that eases fears and the return of hope.
In the Celtic story of Ceridwen and Gwion, there is another
example of filling and emptying, rebirth and healing.
Ceridwen was a sorceress, a supernatural woman with
abilities to change from a crone or hag into a young and
beautiful woman. She was also the keeper of a Magical
Cauldron. Ceridwen had two children, her daughter
Crearwy was beautiful (Light) and her son Afagdu was ugly
(Darkness). To compensate for Afagdu's ugliness,
Ceridwen decided to brew up a magical potion that would
give him wisdom. This brew would take a year and a day to
produce and would need herbs and ingredients that would
be added throughout the year. She hired a boy named
Gwion to watch this pot for her. But as poor Gwion watched

the pot three drops of the scalding liquid splashed on to his

finger. Without thinking he stuck his fingers into his mouth
to cool the burning, accidentally ingesting the wisdom
meant for Afagdu. When Ceridwen realized what he had
done she was furious. Ceridwen's rage frightened Gwion,
who fled and as he did the magical contents of the cauldron
was dumped and the cauldron shattered. As Ceridwen
chased Gwion they began to change shape. Gwion's
transformations were that of the prey and Ceridwen was
that of the predator. Gwion's fear changed him to a
trembling hare and Ceridwen changed herself to a hungry
dog. To hide from the hound he changed to a fish and
slipped into the water but Ceridwen quickly transformed into
an otter. Poor Gwion jumped out of the water and into the
air shape shifting into a bird but Ceridwen became a hawk.
Gwion then dropped to the earth and quickly disguised
himself as a small grain of wheat lying on the ground.
Realizing this, Ceridwen changed into a hen and gobbled
him up. But as she returned to her original self she realized
that she was pregnant with the seed. This seed was in fact
Gwion. In due course the boy Gwion was reborn and by the
time of his birth the vengeful Ceridwen had softened and
she could not kill him, calling him Taliesin or "Radiant
Brow". It doesn't take any stretch of the imagination to find
a correlation of the cyclical life of the egg, seed, and sun.
Nor is this symbolism of the egg, seed and sun restricted to
Europe. Several African tribes regard the Sun as the eye of
the supreme Creator. The Samoyeds view the Sun and
Moon as the eyes of heaven. Sulis, the name of the old
Teutonic Sun Goddess, comes from 'suil' which translates
to 'the sun's eye'. East Indian myth regards the sun god,
Surya, as the eye of Varuna, god of the heavens. Greek
god Hellos is the eye of Zeus. Egyptian eye of Ra and the
Norse eye of Odin, Islamic eye of Allah, a11 seem to depict
this same symbol of the sun in the sky.

This excerpt from Starhawk, The Spiral Dance, represents

the Winter Solstice as:
"... the longest night of the year. Now darkness
triumphs; and yet, gives way and changes into light.
The breath of nature is suspended: all waits while
within the Cauldron, the Dark King is transformed into
Infant Light. We watch for the coming of dawn, when
the Great Mother again gives birth to the Divine Child
Sun, who is bringer of hope and promises of summer.
This is the stillness behind motion, when time itself
stops; the center which is also the circumference of
all."
The following is an except from "The Winter Solstice: The
Sacred Traditions of Christmas by John Matthews (page
46):
"Honoring the Old One ""In the Celtic world she is
Cailleach, the Old Woman, who brings frost and snow
and the bitter winds of winter. Among the Mandan
Indians of North America she is "The Old Woman Who
Never Dies, " who offers bowls filled with earth and
sky, which are of great significance to the tribe.
Elsewhere she is Mountain Mother, who carries great
boulders in her apron, occasionally letting them fall,
and who is perhaps a Creatrix from the beginning of
time. In each instance she personifies the cold, dark
days, and brings the snow, which is seen as feathers
emptied from her pillow..."

Other names:
Cailleach; the Old Woman Who Never Dies; Mountain
Mother; Kali; Ceridwen; Our Lady
Symbols:
Yule; Solstice; the sun standing still; the manger as
bed for grain and god; Cauldron as the night sky
Attributes:
Creating; healing; restoring; suppression of appetite.

The Star

The Star
Full Moon in Aquarius
The full moon during Lammas
The Egyptians called Sirius the Dog Star, its heliacal rising
coincided with the Nile's annual Flood. The flooding of the
Nile takes place when the Full Moon is in Aquarius.
Aquarius, the Water Bearer, bears a striking resemblance
to the hieroglyph for the Nile, which is an androgynous
male (Hapy) with pendulous breasts, pouring water from
jugs onto the land and into the water.
This also bears a resemblance to the Star card in traditional
tarot. Is this merely a coincidence? The typical
interpretation of the card is synchronicity and universal
timing. The "Dog Days" occur between July 24th and
August 17th. Sirius Rises with the sun (invisibly) on August

4th and rises one hour before the sun on August 15th.
Sirius is called the Dog Star because it 'dogs' Orion,
chasing him through the night sky. The constellation Orion
is associated with Osiris and was thought to represent him.
Orion / Osiris drops below the horizon because it is then
that he was killed by his brother Set. Set (god of the
encroaching desert) was jealous of the beautiful world that
Isis and Osiris had created. In his rage he planned to
destroy his brother. Set threw an elaborate banquet with
Osiris as the guest of honor. Set presented Osiris with a gift
at this banquet. The gift was a beautiful box encrusted with
precious gems and covered with gold and ironically the box
was made with the perfect form to fit Osiris's body. Set
encouraged Osiris to get in the box and feel how
comfortable it was. Osiris got into the box and Set quickly
closed the lid, trapping his brother. Osiris realized, too late,
that the box was a trick. Set threw the box into the Nile and
it floated down the river until it finally came to rest in a large
tamarisk tree. The tree that held Osiris's box was slated to
be cut down and used as a pillar in the palace of King
Byblos. Isis, aided by Anubis, searched for Osiris after his
disappearance at Sets party. Isis found Osiris in the
tamarisk tree just as it was about to be cut down. Isis tried
to stop the king from cutting down the tree by changing into
a dove. But it didn't work so she assumed human form and
disguised herself as a nurse to the Queen's child in order to
stay close to the tree. Once close to the tree, she is able to
work her magic and secure the box. But her actions make
Set really mad and he tears Osiris into fourteen pieces and
scatters them, hiding the pieces all over Egypt. Isis mourns
the death of Osiris and her tear (Sirius) drops into the Nile
causing it to flood. Isis eventually collects the dismembered
pieces of her dead husband and eventually conceives a
son, Horus, from Osiris's re-membered pieces.
Looking more deeply into the Egyptian mythology, we find
that the river god Hapy is a much older version of Osiris,
representing the river itself. Osiris, the river, whose flooding

becomes the personification of fertility as the god's outflowing passion for Isis / Earth is intermixed. The "evil",
murderous brother Set represented the red rock and
infertile desert. There also seems to be the symbolism of
River representing Time itself, which flows, especially in the
context of the Star card.

Other names:
Hapi; Sothis
Symbols:
Water pouring onto land and water; the star
Attributes:
Universal Law; coincidence; synchronicity.

Key phrase: 'I know

Strength

Strength
Full Moon in Gemini

The full moon before Winter Solstice

The image of this card is the Evening Star (rebirth) and the
Morning Star (death) as the twins of ancient myth. The
morning star disappears into the brilliance of the sun and
reemerges as the evening star. This disappearing and
reappearing phenomenon occurs again and again with all
the heavenly bodies. In the late autumn season it is the sun
itself that disappears below the horizon in the far North. The
sun disappears into the body of the Great Mother earth.
The promise of the sun's return is the Winter Solstice,
during which strength is needed to make it through the
moments of deepest darkness.
Shu and Tufnut, twin lions (first born of Re) from ancient
Egyptian Mythos, are two siblings that are quite interesting.
Shu is most often depicted in human form, while his sister
Tufnut assumes the lion's shape. Originally both were lion
deities reappearing later in the Middle Kingdom as the twin
lions of yesterday and today. Shu was the 'Atlas of Egypt',
his role being to support the sky. His lioness sister was
goddess of the sun and the dew and legend has it that she
received the newborn sun each morning. Her brother takes
the Sun from her mouth and places it in the sky. Shu and
Tufnut were two of the original nine gods of Heliopolis, but
their personalities were later absorbed into Horus and Bast.
Some of the ancient text refers to the double lion in twinsoul terms, the physical manifestations of the original
creator Atum, whose energies assume a dual form upon
coming in contact with the earth or material sphere.
"Twin souls follow each other from incarnation to
incarnation, sometimes never actually meeting up with
him/her on the earth plane but always gathering the
experience necessary for the spiritual development of
the complete unit. Another explanation is that only, half

of the twin incarnates while the other half watches

over its polarity from the world of spirit. When the
incarnated half has reached a certain level of evolution
and awareness then the twin may take human form to
create final polarization on the earth level prior to
ascending to the higher planes..." Murray Hope, The
Way of Cartouche (New York, St. Martin's Press,
1985) p. 151-55

Other names:
Horns (Atlas of Egypt) and Bast (Goddess of Dew and
Sun); Zeus and Nemesis; Polydeuces and Castor;
Dionysus and Semele; Hercules (associated with Shu
(The White Goddess by Robert Graves)); Egyptian
warrior god Anhur; Sekemet Lion headed goddess of
the Sun
Symbols:
Twin lions of Today and Yesterday; Sun and Moon;
Light and dark; Morning star and Evening star; Sleep
and Death
Attributes:
Taking over of feminine; Darkness over light;
surrender; faith .

Key phrase: "I think"

Judgement

Judgement
Halloween
Cross Quarter Day October 31
The third and final harvest festival of the year is Halloween
or Samhain. This day is also known as the Witch's New
Year and celebrates the veil between the two worlds -the
one of the living and one of the dead - being at their
closest. The traditional Tarot imagery of the Judgment card
is one of spirits rising from their graves. Halloween, known
to the Celts as Samhain, is the last day of summer and the
doorway to winter. Like Samhain which is a betwixt and
between day, it's lighter counterpart, Beltaine, is the
doorway to summer. Betwixt and between can be the time
of dawn or twilight, when it is neither day nor night and is
considered by the Celts to be a magical time. On the
betwixt and between Holy Days (Samhain and Beltaine) the
laws of people, including the laws of time, are temporarily

suspended. They were magical days that can not be

defined as clearly Winter nor Summer, and on Halloween it
was believed because of this suspension of laws, that the
dead came back to walk with the living.
The ancient Celts believed that if you had control of your
enemy's head you had control of your enemy. (Historical
side note: It is possible that it was the Romans who gave
the impression that Celts were 'headhunters'. In fact, it was
the Romans who left the so-called Bog People; Celts who
had been ritually sacrificed) Eventually the custom of
keeping your enemy's head evolved into carving turnips
and in modern days, pumpkins. Lighting a candle within
them tricked the returning spirits. While the laws were lifted,
the doors of individual houses were opened to neighbors.
Children ran begging from house to house in the
community. If the children came home with bags full of food
and treats it was believed that the future would be able to
provide for them. At Samhain, also known as "the feast of
the Dead", it is customary to set an extra place at the
supper table in honor of the departed. Often food and drink
are laid at Cairns for those who have departed this world.
All crops left in the fields after October 31 st were
abandoned because it was believed that the Pooka
(shapeshifting hobgoblins) had contaminated all un-reaped
food, because they delight in tormenting humans.
In Italy Halloween is called Shadowfest by the Stregheria
(witches) and costumes are worn to disguise one's identity
from avenging spirits. Shadowfest marks both the
beginning and ending of the year. The Stregheria tell that
on November Eve the Goddess descends into the
Underworld seeking to understand the Mystery of Death.
While there she meets Dis, Lord of the Underworld, and
expresses her anger with him believing he had taken away
all the things that she loved. He told her that age and fate
has stolen these things from her. As she waits for rebirth,
Dis tries to make their time between the worlds more

pleasant. Eventually he charms her, winning her heart and

affection and they share their mysteries with each other.
Myths about judgment day or doom's day are in every
culture. According to Barbara Walker "The Women's
Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets" in the Old Norse
religions Judgment Day or Doomsday was called
Ragnarok, brought about by Mutspell (Mother's Curse)
when the violent gods neglected the old laws of peace and
blood kinship. The angry Goddess would become Skadi the
Destroyer, casting a great shadow that devoured the world.
In many ways Skadi is like the Oriental Kali. (The East
Indian Kali is often represented as a Black woman with four
arms; in one hand she has a sword, in another the head of
the demon she has slain. She wears dead bodies as
earrings and wears a necklace of skulls) The gods would
enter the shadow of Gotterdammerung (literally going into
the Shadow of the Gods) where they were consumed, and
the world (heaven and earth) would sink back into the
primordial womb. Then, as in all other judgment day myths
except the younger myth of the Apocalypse, the goddess
would give birth to a new universe.
In ancient Egypt Judgment Day came when the dead
person's heart (seat of the soul) would be weighed against
a feather. Osiris, also associated with the sun as it traveled
through the underworld at night, would judge the heart of
the deceased. If the heart was found to be as light as a
feather, it would go on to the land of the dead. If the soul of
the dead was not as light as a feather, the soul would be
devoured by a monster. This monster was described as a
dog or a crocodile. Ironically, in all the writings about this
Judgment of the Soul, no soul was ever eaten by the
monster, all souls went to the land of the dead.
Many Native American cultures also honor their ancestors
on this day with the Ghostfeast. Menomonee and Ojibwa
woodland ancestors, for example, are honored with plates

of food offered by the youngest unmarried woman of the

community. Food is laid out for the spirits first and the girls
would take a small portion from each plate. This plate is
burned in the sacred fire as an offering to the ancestors, all
before the living are allowed to eat. While the girl was
getting the spirit plate ready, the others in the community
share water from a common bowl and offer tobacco and
prayers to their departed loved ones. It is their belief that
the dead do not have access to water or tobacco in the
spirit world.
In Mexico the people celebrate Dia de los Muertos or the
Day of the Dead. They paint their faces like skeletons and
dance and celebrate in the streets. It is a very healthy way
of dealing with death and remembering ancestors.

Other names:
Halloween; Dia de los Muertos (Mexico); Ghost Feast
(Native American); All Soul's/All Saint's Day (Catholic);
Hallowmas; Third Festival of Harvest (Celtic);
Shadowfest (Stregheria)
Symbols:
At the crossroads; Judgment Day; Ragnarok;
Doomsday
Attributes:
Betwixt and between; a day for Divination; first day of
winter; Time, as a Dimension, disappears; immortality.

The High Priestess

The High Priestess

Full Moon in Virgo
The full moon before Vernal Equinox
This full moon takes on the qualities of the High Priestess
who is the barren earth of early spring. The quiet moon of
the Virgin earth has great power that lies dormant within
her. She is the barren landscape, that pure and empty
space, soon to be awakened by the growing strength of the
Sun. The term "Virgin" in its purest form simply means not
taking a partner or not staying with a man. Unfortunately
this term has taken on a modern, puritanical meaning,
narrowly defined as being celibate. The High Priestess
represents the Maiden in the ancient Lunar Trinity of
Mother, Maiden, Crone. She is a time of freedom and
daydreams when one analyses the choices at the gateway
to fulfilment. This moment of contemplation is of paramount
importance as it is the decision one makes just before

irreversible change.
In BLUE MOON TAROT she is portrayed as the Sleeping
Goddess. This image represents all virginal females of
myths, legends and ancient stories. One of the oldest of
these sleeping female images is the Sleeping Goddess of
Malta. As people arrived in Malta from Sicily around 5000
BC (and again about 3500 BC), there was a great surge of
temple building in Malta, especially with the second wave of
immigrants. One of the most mysterious of temples is called
the Hypogeum. This temple was painstakingly hollowed out
of the rock creating what looked like a vertical labyrinth.
Over the course of 600 years 7,000 bodies were laid to rest
in the Hypogeum. Within the Hypogeum a small statue of a
sleeping priestess was found in a niche near the entrance.
She lies comfortably on her side, apparently asleep.
Questions come to mind as to who she is and what she
represents. Is she similar to Buddha, dreaming the world
into existence or a priestess undergoing an initiation? Has
she entered the cave to receive the souls of dead ancestors
into her womb as they await rebirth? Is she there to receive
the wisdom from the ancestors during Dream State? Is she
the High Priestess drawing intuition from her dreams?
Clearly the Sleeping Goddess is as mysterious as the
powers that awaken within the maiden as she moves out of
her dormancy.
The Virgin in BLUE MOON TAROT is symbolic of the
unmarried woman or maiden. Her body forms the rolling
hills and mounds of Earth, which makes the transition from
silent winter to awakening spring. She is not unlike the
Sleeping Beauty of children's fairy tales, who is about to be
awakened by her handsome prince (who would be The
Fool of Spring Equinox). She is very much like Vesta, a
virgin fire goddess of Rome. Her fire is concealed within her
body; much like the fertility of Earth is concealed within the
frozen ground of winter. (Vesta is based on the earlier
Greek goddess Hestia, a goddess of the hearth, who also

represents the Full Moon in Virgo very well) Myth tells us

Vesta was given a choice of marriage between Apollo and
Neptune but refused both, desiring to be `virginal'.
Eventually Zeus granted her freedom and she becomes an
important religious symbol. Vesta's temples are round with
a central sacred fire and this fire was tended and
maintained by young female initiates called vestals. These
girls kept the eternal fame of the temples burning. The
vestal virgins went through three phases of service: that of
student, then as priestess, and finally as teacher. Vestals
were by no means celibate, though their career as a vestal
ended when they bore their first child.
Brigit, another virginal goddess, is considered Goddess of
Fire, Patroness of smithcraft, poetry, and healing. She
bestows her blessings on any woman about to be married
or handfasted ("Bride" is derived from Brigit). On Brigit's
Day, in honor of the Irish Goddess Brigit, 19 Priestesses
(no men were allowed) kept a perpetual flame burning in
her honor. (See Wheel of Fortune).

Other names:
All virgin Goddesses including the Christian Virgin
Mary; Semetic Lilith; Roman Diana; Durga; Greek
Athena Hestia, Vesta and Artemis; Gnostic Sophia;
Celtic Arianrod, Brigit
Symbols:
Unseeded ground; unsprouted seed; barren winter
landscape; unplowed field; The Maiden; Sleeping
Goddess; Yin; Sleeping Beauty
Attributes:
Intuitiveness; Female energy; Receiving information
from within Full Moon in Virgo.

Key phrase: ' "I analyze"

The Sun

The Sun
The Summer Solstice/Litha
Cross Quarter Day - June 21
This card symbolizes Light, Joy and Wholeness. The
Summer Solstice is longest day of the year; the peak of
solar energy. It is Mid Summer. It is a fruit bearing branch;
success; goals met; wishes fulfilled. It represents the self
aligned with The Self.
Ancient bonfires were lit in celebration of this Whole Day,
but one cannot stand too long in the Sun for too much sun
light would be deadly. Light and joy must have its balance.
A flower blooms and once the fruit begins to ripen, its
purpose has been fulfiled and it must wilt. This being so,
the Summer Solstice also marks the beginning of the
waxing of the sun's energy. This energy is now becoming

manifest in the fruits of Earth's abundant garden. This light

energy is synthesized into food energy, providing
sustenance for all Earth's creatures in the coming year.
Once the Flower, Light and Joy are experienced the
memories can sustain one through darker times. The suns
light is now manifested in the fruits as they ripen in earth's
garden, much like the spirits of the dead reincarnate in the
womb of the Virgin-turned-Empress. The Sun becomes the
son gestating within the womb of the great Mother Goddess
awaiting its rebirth at Winter Solstice. Summer Solstice is
sometimes referred to as the death within life and the
Winter Solstice sun is referred to as the life within Death.

Other names:
Sol; RA; Apollo; Helios; Sekhtnet; Horns; Jesus;
Amaterasu
Symbols:
the child; the horse; the lion
Attributes:
Conception; Joy; wholeness; self-realization.

The Tower

XVI - The Tower

Autumnal Equinox / Mabon
Cross Quarter Day-September 22nd
The Autumnal Equinox is the time of the second harvest
festival when many once vigorous plants begin to dry out
and drop their fruit. The work of harvesting the good fruits
for winter stores begins in earnest now. Unusable fruits will
be left to give themselves back to the soil, as eventually all
matter must return to earth. This is when the bulk of the
harvest is taken. The Autumnal Equinox is a time of sorting
and processing. It is cutting away the old, leaving only the
heartiest of plants for the final harvest of All Hallows Eve.
The image of The Tower in BLUE MOON TAROT is a dead,
decaying tree being struck by a bolt of lightning. Though
this tree is providing habitat and shelter for many creatures,
it must eventually be returned to the earth to provide space
and nourishment for a new tree. This new tree will grow, not
only providing a home for many new creatures, but it will
also provide oxygen, shade, erosion-control and other
benefits.
Equinox is the breaking down of non-life, giving way to a
healthy and timely harvest. All life has grown to fullest
potential, has given its fruit, and has atrophied. All dead
things must be torn down to make room for new life. Other
interpretations might be a Bureaucracy that no longer
serves the people; a system that has outgrown its
usefulness. The Tower is the third physical object in the
major Arcana, with the others being the Chariot and the
Wheel of Fortune. The Tower, however, is the only object
that is incapable of movement. It is a monument that is
inflexible, rigid, and unchanging except in its destruction.

For countless generations the great ancestral mothers have

been deified by their descendants. After the domestication
of animals and the male's recognition of his own role in
reproduction, men transferred their allegiance from The
Great Mother to gods like Yahweh, on the basis of being
the begetters of future kings, creating their own histories,
and becoming immortalized. Siring many, many children
was the fastest way to become a god. I will make of these
a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name
great ...I will make thee exceeding fruitful and I will make
nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee (Genesis
12.17).
The tree also summons the image of Osiris (one of the last
nature gods like Pan, lover of the Great Goddess.) trapped
in the tamarisk tree. This tree was used to build the palace
of King Byblos creating the Tower of Babel. (BA- Bel,
"God's Gate") The Tower is essentially a patriarchal, phallic
building where stones are piled on top of each other
reaching toward the Sky God. According to the Christian
Bible, the Tower of Babel became so tall and took so long
to build that the workers at the top of the tower could no
longer understand the languages of the people instructing
them from the ground. The instructions were soon
misinterpreted and the tower fell to ruin. This is also the
problem with a written history verses an oral tradition- it
does not allow the changes to happen naturally; it becomes
fixed and unchanging.
The stagnant patriarch is where the co-opting of female
power is obvious, where her role as life giver and her
symbols of the sacred-blood--of-life have been changed.
One simply cannot take the Moon Goddess with her cycling
sacred-blood-mysteries of life, death and rebirth (the blood
of menstruation) and change Her gender to male. Nor can
one change her moon into the sun. Simply drenching your
male priests in the blood of Bulls did not give males the
power that menstruation gives woman. The Tower reminds

us that we cannot circumcise young males, making them

bleed at puberty, to acquire this womanpower - even if
imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Woman's power is
not in the 'things' she does, or in her rituals, but it is found
in the essence of her gender's role as Mother. Men, of
course, are essential and vitally important- as father,
brother, lover and son.
Any blood shed by men inherently becomes the blood of
war, death and destruction. The Tower becomes the
epitome of phallus worship and the God of the Sky
becomes the power over. The Tower is the destruction of
the pastoral egalitarian society and the consequent natural
lust of man for woman turned to sin. It leads to disuse and
to the demonizing of connections of man to the green earth
and his animal nature. The creation of the Wasteland is the
death of Pan and Osiris and other horned Gods of the
ancient hunt. The cold Gods of thunder, wrath, abstract
words, and war have replaced lusty Gods of the Green.
Interrupting the natural flow of matter and spirit, of the
totem and familiar, of male and female, leads to
disintegration of spirit in Western Culture. Is the powerful,
creative woman to be domesticated and be reduced to
handmaiden? Are we meant to live our lives out of balance,
burdened by our children, imprisoned in urban Towers
where huge populations of people have never seen virgin
nature? Western culture has ventured so far from our
Source that we have become the children of the Tower. We
can't seem to remember our first Mothers' names and that
we literally come from earth. Maybe it's time to help tear
down that Tower.

Other names:
Ziggurat
Symbols:
Ivory Tower; Tower of Babel; things that are no longer
growing or useful; male fertility in autumn

Attributes:
Something that you are forced to; expulsion;
extraction; against your will; plucking; repelling;
harvesting; a failure to communicate; a
misunderstanding; patriotism instead of fraternity;
Separation.

The Hierophant

The Hierophant
Full Moon in Sagittarius
The full moon before Summer Solstice
The full Moon in Sagittarius is the moon that honors the
consort of the Great Mother, who is the Holy Father. In this
image he is resting in the forest after his union with the
empress. A child-sprit hands him another arrow, which
symbolizes fertility. This moon marks the reign of the Green

Man reaching his full potency. He is the old god of nature

and sexual prowess who worships the goddess. The
traditional Celtic Dagda was known as "good father". The
Romans called him "Dis Pater" ("God Father").
He is the Horned God (Pater) Pan or Father Pan. He is the
King of Arcadia, one of the oldest gods of Greece, who is
associated with Dionysus and Bacchus God, of wine and
the vine. The Greeks claimed the Egyptian's Amon Ra was
actually Pan. (Panopolis was the name given to Amon Ra's
holy city) The hierophant belongs to the ancient All-Fathers
gods associated with divine bread. These lusty father gods
of the ancient world would guarantee abundance. As the
sun achieves its peak and daytime hours are the longest, it
is the Sun's time to dominate. As Dionysus, this deity
witnessed the holy mysteries of the goddess and, as
punishment, he was torn into pieces. This action is similar
to the fate of Osiris who was torn to pieces by his jealous
brother Set. This phenomenon of being torn to pieces
shows up in the experiences of many shamanic
practitioners._ Young men seeking the Egyptian priesthood
were put through a grueling, highly secret 10-day initiation
that included a descent into hell. The initiates went into the
underworld where they experienced the trials of Isis and her
experience of putting all the pieces of Osiris back together.
Only the high priests were allowed to have sexual relations
with the high priestesses, thus the Hierophant represents
the father of the child born from the sacred union with the
Empress.

Other names:
Pan (panic); Father Pan; Peter Pan; Robin Hood;
Amon Ra; the Good Father; the Holy Father; Adonis;
Dionysious; Bacchus; Osiris; Tammuz; the father of
the child of the Empress; the Consort of the Goddess
Symbols:
Centaur; the horse as symbol of penis size (Kama
Sutra); The Sacred King; bread & wine

Attributes:
The archer who has spent his arrow (symbol for the
erect penis); today's non-sexual Priest; sexually
stagnant (Tower form); ancient priest with sexual
partner

Key phrase: I see

The Hermit

The Hermit
Full Moon in Capricorn
The full moon after the Summer Solstice
After the months of flowering spring comes the product of
the flowers the sweetness. The Queen Bee and her drones
produce honey that will be fed to the next generation. This
Honeymoon has come to symbolize the rendezvous of the

newlyweds, privately enjoying the company of each other.

Honey played an important role in the New Year
celebrations of the Minoans in ancient Crete. The new year
was celebrated on the summer solstice. The new year
festivities lasted 40 days and ended on the day when Sirius
(the great Star) rose with the sun. During those forty-days,
honey was gathered from hives in the surrounding woods
and caves. The honey was then fermented and made into
mead. This intoxicating drink was part of religious ritual.
Honey was also used for a number of different medicinal
purposes in the ancient world. It was included in the list of
ingredients for making an Egyptian contraception recipe, for
use in stomach ailment remedies, as well as mascara.
The temples in ancient Crete were oriented in the direction
the Great Star and on the day that Sirius rose, a Bull was
sacrificed. The bees, attracted to the blood of the bull, were
believed to be the resurrected Bull as well as the souls of
the dead returning to this life. The humming of the bees
was understood to be the sound of creation and the voice
of the goddess.
Mythology texts relate to the bull as a masculine Bull `God'.
But if the spirit of the bull is one with the goddess then the
bull was the symbol of the uterus and the blood of the bull
symbolic of menstruation. The ritual related above
describes how the souls of the dead came from the blood of
the Bull/uterus. Butterfly, bee, bull and the moon were
united in symbolism of renewal. The bee signified the life
that came from death. The uterus, then, becomes the
vehicle of transformation, as the sacred moon blood is
contained in the pregnant belly of the mother/Empress.
Through ritual, the souls of the dead return to the earth for
rebirth.
The soul of the dead friend/ relative enters into the

mountain mother (uterus) alone, feeding on the honey from

the hive of the mother awaiting his rebirth.

Other names:
Urania; Goddess of the Mountain; Goddess of the
Wind; Goddess of the wild oxen; Honey Moon; Isis of
Egypt; Sirius; Inanna of Sumeria
Symbols:
UR' (Celtic Mid-Summer); Mountain goat; Pan;
Capricorn's half goat/half fish; goat male
(Pan/AmonRa); lust; Fish; female genitalia (Egyptian);
two become one; The hermit shining light on the past;
Honey (symbol of golden sunlight and the sweetness
of life hidden in dark places)
Attributes:
Culmination of the heights and depths; Rapture; Love
comes full; Union with the Higher Self; extremes;
depths of emotion; heights of the physical

key phrase: I use

The Tower

XVI - The Tower

Autumnal Equinox / Mabon
Cross Quarter Day-September 22nd
The Autumnal Equinox is the time of the second harvest
festival when many once vigorous plants begin to dry out
and drop their fruit. The work of harvesting the good fruits
for winter stores begins in earnest now. Unusable fruits will
be left to give themselves back to the soil, as eventually all
matter must return to earth. This is when the bulk of the
harvest is taken. The Autumnal Equinox is a time of sorting
and processing. It is cutting away the old, leaving only the
heartiest of plants for the final harvest of All Hallows Eve.
The image of The Tower in BLUE MOON TAROT is a dead,
decaying tree being struck by a bolt of lightning. Though
this tree is providing habitat and shelter for many creatures,
it must eventually be returned to the earth to provide space

and nourishment for a new tree. This new tree will grow, not
only providing a home for many new creatures, but it will
also provide oxygen, shade, erosion-control and other
benefits.
Equinox is the breaking down of non-life, giving way to a
healthy and timely harvest. All life has grown to fullest
potential, has given its fruit, and has atrophied. All dead
things must be torn down to make room for new life. Other
interpretations might be a Bureaucracy that no longer
serves the people; a system that has outgrown its
usefulness. The Tower is the third physical object in the
major Arcana, with the others being the Chariot and the
Wheel of Fortune. The Tower, however, is the only object
that is incapable of movement. It is a monument that is
inflexible, rigid, and unchanging except in its destruction.
For countless generations the great ancestral mothers have
been deified by their descendants. After the domestication
of animals and the male's recognition of his own role in
reproduction, men transferred their allegiance from The
Great Mother to gods like Yahweh, on the basis of being
the begetters of future kings, creating their own histories,
and becoming immortalized. Siring many, many children
was the fastest way to become a god. I will make of these
a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name
great ...I will make thee exceeding fruitful and I will make
nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee (Genesis
12.17).
The tree also summons the image of Osiris (one of the last
nature gods like Pan, lover of the Great Goddess.) trapped
in the tamarisk tree. This tree was used to build the palace
of King Byblos creating the Tower of Babel. (BA- Bel,
"God's Gate") The Tower is essentially a patriarchal, phallic
building where stones are piled on top of each other
reaching toward the Sky God. According to the Christian
Bible, the Tower of Babel became so tall and took so long

to build that the workers at the top of the tower could no

longer understand the languages of the people instructing
them from the ground. The instructions were soon
misinterpreted and the tower fell to ruin. This is also the
problem with a written history verses an oral tradition- it
does not allow the changes to happen naturally; it becomes
fixed and unchanging.
The stagnant patriarch is where the co-opting of female
power is obvious, where her role as life giver and her
symbols of the sacred-blood--of-life have been changed.
One simply cannot take the Moon Goddess with her cycling
sacred-blood-mysteries of life, death and rebirth (the blood
of menstruation) and change Her gender to male. Nor can
one change her moon into the sun. Simply drenching your
male priests in the blood of Bulls did not give males the
power that menstruation gives woman. The Tower reminds
us that we cannot circumcise young males, making them
bleed at puberty, to acquire this womanpower - even if
imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Woman's power is
not in the 'things' she does, or in her rituals, but it is found
in the essence of her gender's role as Mother. Men, of
course, are essential and vitally important- as father,
brother, lover and son.
Any blood shed by men inherently becomes the blood of
war, death and destruction. The Tower becomes the
epitome of phallus worship and the God of the Sky
becomes the power over. The Tower is the destruction of
the pastoral egalitarian society and the consequent natural
lust of man for woman turned to sin. It leads to disuse and
to the demonizing of connections of man to the green earth
and his animal nature. The creation of the Wasteland is the
death of Pan and Osiris and other horned Gods of the
ancient hunt. The cold Gods of thunder, wrath, abstract
words, and war have replaced lusty Gods of the Green.
Interrupting the natural flow of matter and spirit, of the
totem and familiar, of male and female, leads to

disintegration of spirit in Western Culture. Is the powerful,

creative woman to be domesticated and be reduced to
handmaiden? Are we meant to live our lives out of balance,
burdened by our children, imprisoned in urban Towers
where huge populations of people have never seen virgin
nature? Western culture has ventured so far from our
Source that we have become the children of the Tower. We
can't seem to remember our first Mothers' names and that
we literally come from earth. Maybe it's time to help tear
down that Tower.

Other names:
Ziggurat
Symbols:
Ivory Tower; Tower of Babel; things that are no longer
growing or useful; male fertility in autumn
Attributes:
Something that you are forced to; expulsion;
extraction; against your will; plucking; repelling;
harvesting; a failure to communicate; a
misunderstanding; patriotism instead of fraternity;
Separation.

The Hanged One

The Hanged One

Lammas
Cross Quarter Day -August 2
Lammas is the day of new bread- bread made from freshly
harvested wheat. Another name for Lammas is
Lughnasadh and the root of the name, Lugh, translates to
"the least." During this time of the year people were still
depending on the food from last year's harvest. The
ancients looked forward to the first harvest festival because
it marked the beginning of the abundant days ahead.
Lughnasadh was also the season of handfastings, trial
marriages lasting a year and a day.
Lugh was known to the Celts as the god of Light. It is told
that Lugh was injured on this day. One way in which this
maiming was done was for the king to be tied by his hair
from an Oak tree with one foot on a cauldron (representing

the west, Death, Samhain / Halloween) and one foot on his

white horse (representing the Hierophant / Sagittarius/
consort of the May, Queen of Beltaine) The horse was sent
out from under him causing him to fall with the sides of the
cauldron between his legs thus rendering him infertile. This
was actually believed to be an act of love. Fertility, at times,
needs to be stopped to allow ripening. Sacral Kings of the
ancient Celts were indeed killed but not at Lammas. The
death of the annual king would take place three days before
Samhain. Eventually the annual kings were exiled instead
of murdered and likenesses of the king, made of bread,
were sacrificed instead. (Clannada na Gadelica Academia
Gadelica by lain MacAnTsaoir, 2000)
Woden hanging from the tree of life makes a connection
between the Iberian and Celt Sun- Lugh, Llew, or Lugos.
These people insisted that the alphabet came to them from
Greece by way of Spain. (The Greek Myth by Robert
Graves, Penguin Books 1978)
Upon learning the alphabet, both woman and men
turned away from the worship of idols and animal
totems that represented the images of nature, and
began paying homage to the abstract logos. A god
with no face replaces the sacred images... The
alphabet people's god became indisputably male and
he would become disconnected from the things of the
Earth. He was abstract nowhere and everywhere, at
once. The Alphabet verses the Goddess by Leonard
Shlain.

Other names:
Lughnasad; First Harvest; Woden; Odin; Loaf mass;
Festival of the first fruits
Symbols:
hanged men; grain gods/goddesses; Tree of life

Attributes:
Enlightenment; growth; external stagnation; waiting
period between two major events

Justice

Justice
Full Moon in Libra
The full moon after Vernal Equinox
The full moon in Libra is the first full moon after the Vernal
Equinox. This lunation signals the week of Passover for
Jews and the first Sunday after this full moon is Easter for
the Christians. For Wiccans and pagans Eostar Vernal
Equinox signals the rebirth of the earth just as the Winter
Solstice signals the rebirth of the sun. During this the time
of earth rebirth when the increasing sunlight has awakened

the earth, trees begin to show buds, flowers begin to

immerge from the dormant ground of winter. The name for
the Christian holy day known as Easter has its roots in the
pagan holiday Eostar. Eostar the spring equinox was
named after the Germanic goddess Ostara, Eostre or
Eostar. Eostar's sacred animal is the hare. The hare is
associated with fertility and magic. The goddess Eostar
whose name means the dawn is also similar to the goddess
Ishtar Babylonian goddess of morning and evening star.
Even today the modern Easter bunny that hides eggs
shows the lingering remnants of the goddess Eostar. The
egg and the rabbit or hare symbolizes the mystery of life
that returns from a seemingly dead earth.
The tomb, which becomes the womb, is symbolized by
archeological evidence of tombs found throughout ancient
Europe in the shape of goddesses. See Habitations of the
Great Goddess by Cristina Briaggi published by Knowledge
Ideas and Trends Inc. Manchester CT.1994. The idea of
shaping a tomb like a woman gives rise to the ancient idea
of Earth as mother and the dead being reborn like the plant
life the reemerges from the dead winter ground in the
spring. Life rising from death, like the egg with emerging
chick symbolizes life rising from a small rock like object.
The symbol of the scales in the zodiac sign of Libra is found
in the ancient Egyptian stories of the judgment of soul. In
these stories it is the Maat Goddess of Truth and Justice
who weighs men's souls against a feather before they can
pass on into the next world. In the great hall where the
Judgment takes place called The Hall of the Two Truths. At
one end of the hall sits green skinned Osiris, behind him
are his wife Isis to his right and Nepthyus to his left with
their arms around his shoulders, before him perched on a
lotus stand the four sons of Horns; Mesta (guardian of the
live), Hapy (guardian of the lungs), Tuamutef (guardian of
the stomach), and Qebehsenuf (guardian of the intestines)

(the 4 elements respectively Along the sides of the wall

each on separate thrones, are; sun-god Ra/Atum, Shu,
Tefnut, Geb, Nut lady of the sky, Horus, Hathor lady of the
West, Hu and Saa.
A great Balance stands in the center of the hall,
surmounted by Thoth, lord of wisdom, karma and magic,
inventor of hieroglyphic writing and Anubis guardian of the
tomb and guide of souls. The deceased was given a
barrage of questions to judge his innocence. With each
question his heart would be weighed against Maat's
Feather of Truth and Justice. If the heart weighed equal
with TRUTH then, all was well, but if his heart were to
weigh heavy it would betray him and he would meet his
doom. This fate was to be devoured by Ammut, a monster,
her body part hippopotamus, part lion with the face of a
crocodile. This threat would certainly keep one true to one's
heart. In spite of this impressive display of divine Justice,
the deceased was found innocent in every case and
admitted to the Afterlife without issue.
The Libra moon represents a time for balance between
winter and summer. It is the time when Light overtakes
Darkness and the winter surrenders to springs warm days.
The Libra moon has the attributes of life awakening from
death and the weak and oppressed finding liberty and
justice from the forces that oppress them. This theme is
reflected in the story of Passover, when Hebrew slaves
were released from bondage and set free by the pharaoh
god-king of Egypt. As a small child going to Catholic school
and attending Catholic mass every morning the words of
the Apostles creed and consecration of bread and wine into
body and blood were etched into my mind. As an adult
woman who has studied ancient Egyptian religious
practices I see the world though different eyes. The words
"descended into hell and ascended into heaven" *(see
bottom of page) of the apostle's creed pop out at me
because of their similarity to the secret initiation rites of

ancient Egyptian priests. The Egyptian priests descended

into hell and ascended into heaven as well. During their
descent into hell the initiate priests faced the horrors known
to the goddess Isis who reassembled her dismembered
husband Osiris. If the initiate could handle the initiation he
was anointed as a priest of Isis with all of its rank and
privilege. There is very little known about these initiations
as they were veiled in secrecy.
Although Christian legend has it that the Apostles wrote this
creed on the tenth day after Christ's ascension into heaven,
this is not the case. The Symbolum Apostolorum was
developed between the second and ninth centuries. This
particular verse is the most popular creed used in worship
by Western Christians. Its central doctrines are those of the
Trinity and God the Creator.
My personal view of the passion of the Christ is that the
Jews had become so oppressed by the Romans that they
waged a rebellion. The public death and resurrection was
necessary to gain political support of the masses during this
age of 'god-kings'.
In the Old Testament God was hidden after a veil, and the
man was behind the veil... but that "veil" was torn the day of
the crucifixion, in Mat.27: 51, and now we can enter into the
presence of God at any time, because Christ has laid the
way to us. It is Final Judgment (Rom.2: 5-11, Mat 25: 3146, Rev.20:11-15).
It seems apparent to me that the timing of a rebellion was
critical to the Jews for reasons of sympathetic magic
established for them by their history. Although a favorable
outcome could not be guaranteed as successful this was
the optimum time based on past success commemorated
by the Passover holiday to stage such an act. Any rebellion
that may have occurred against Rome did not make it into
the historical record, however. This rebellion my have been

squelched by the Romans as there is not much evidence

handed down to the 21st century to prove there even was a
rebellion, only trace evidence like the crucifixion itself which
was an execution reserved for anyone rebelling against
Rome. There is evidence of a rebellion waged 30+ years
later that speaks of the continued unrest. The new religion
'of woman and slaves' born of this cause was not so easily
squelched. This religion became so powerful the only way
for Rome to control it was to adopt it as the state religion of
Rome some three centuries later. This is when Rome was
able to gain back full control over the hearts and minds of
the Christian people. As the state religion of Rome,
Christianity was given the attributes the previous state
religion Mithraism and 'Jesus the Savior', rebel against
Rome, has been put to death every year and will be for as
long as the religion exists. One of the most telling and
peculiar attributes of the Christian religion is its need for
conversion and constant and vigilant quest for members. I
feel this behavior is a remnant of the recruitment for the
cause and the need for large numbers of rebels to wage a
rebellion against Rome.
As a pagan woman I can not help but see the similarity
between the ancient scene of Osiris judging souls before
the scales of Justice and the Judeo/Christian father god
who also judges the dead and to whose right hand Jesus
ascended to after he spoke to Mary Magdalene in the
garden. Jesus did not let Mary touch him. Is there a
connection between the celibacy rules for initiates of
ancient rites and the current preachings? At this point we
can only guess.

Other names:
Maat; Mayet; Truth
Symbols:
scales; ostrich feather; hearts; wombs and tombs; life
and death; eggs; rabbits; hares

Attributes:
time for initiations; puberty rites; tests of Soul and self;
rites of passage; death and resurrection ceremonies;
divine comedy; harmony; balance; the Law is Love;
honesty; light heartedness.

Key phrase: "I balance"

*I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of
'heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son,
our Lord: Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born
of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was
crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into
hell.
On the third day He arose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of
God, the Father Almighty, whence He shall come to
judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the
resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen.

The Wheel of Fortune

Wheel of Fortune
Candlemas
Cross Quarter Day; February 2
The image of this card is a candle burning in front of a
translucent glass model of the zodiac. The Wheel of the
Natal Chart represents the sky at the moment of one's
birth- As Above So Below. Your natal chart marks the
personal laws that you were born with. Your individual
character can be understood by the descriptions and
placements of the stars and planets. This opens a beautiful
and personal metaphor for the idea of macrocosm and
microcosm. Everyone's chart is different like a fingerprint
and every individual is a physical and spiritual manifestation
of the universe at the moment they were born. It is said that
a person's character is their destiny.
The study of Astrology dates to about 3000BC in ancient

India and is sometimes credited to the Chaldeans of

Mesopotamia. The Egyptians, Assyrians and Babylonians
adopted astrology, making their own contributions. Along
with sun and the moon, the "lesser" lights of the sky were
also observed- the planets and the stars considered divine
beings or gods. Seemingly a direct reference to astrology is
that the stars are the watchers over the children of earth.
Astrology may have been the motives of the ancient
Europeans who built stone circles often associated with the
watching of the stars and planets.
The concentrated trail of stars called the Milky Way must
have dazzled the ancient star-watchers and the origins of
the term Milky Way is found in Greek mythology. The story
is that Hermes, in an effort to give the child immortality,
placed Hercules on the breast of Hera while the goddess
was sleeping. Hera opened her eyes, finding the suckling
Hercules and she pushed the baby aside but it was too late.
Her milk let down and began to flow from her breast,
spraying milk into the sky creating the Milky Way. Other
Goddesses, Rhea, Hathor and Isis, have also been credited
for creating the Milky Way. This tale not only gives a
delightful example of the primacy of a feminine principle in
the creation of the galaxy but also speaks volumes about
the fertility, reliability, and the power of woman's bodies to
provide nourishment for their offspring. Hera's milk shows
that her body was willing to nourish the child Hercules and
completely impartial to her cantankerous will. Her
unconscious body would have given the child Hercules
immortality but when conscience she would not suckle the
child of a mortal woman impregnated by her husband Zeus.
The importance of the `lesser lights' are found in other
cultures as well. For some Native Americans the Milky Way
is the path that souls follow to the land of the dead. The
Ancient Egyptians saw the Nile River as a reflection of the
Milky Way on earth and it became their tradition to float the

bodies of their dead down this river on barges embalming

them along the way to their final resting spots in the cities
built especially for the dead.
Mapping constellations also helped with the mundane
responsibilities of this life. As certain stars appeared in the
night sky the land would warm or cool according to season.
This seasonal procession of stars is a comforting,
predictable dance. Early February marks the beginning of
increase again as the daylight hours begin to show obvious
growth. The cross quarter day of Candlemas marks the
time when ewes give birth to the spring lambs. Ewe's milk
would be the first milk to become available as a source of
nourishment during the fiercest of ancient European winter
months. The old biblical verse "the Lion shall lay with the
Lamb" may have originally been translated as "the Ewe will
lay down with the Lion". This cross quarter day is also
known as Oimelc, meaning ewe's milk, and takes place
during the time of the full moon in the sign Leo. The
constellation of Leo appears to be a lion reclining and one
can envision the exhausted ewes resting along with the lion
after giving birth. Other names referring to this crossquarter day are Imbolc (meaning in the belly of the mother)
and Brigid.
Candlemas was, and still is for many Pagans, sacred to the
triple Goddess Brigit and the Celts called it Brigit's Day or
Lady Day. Brigit or Bride was a goddess of poetry and
smithcraft. Her priestesses kept an ever burning sacred
flame, similar to the Vestals of Rome. Fire was a source of
light as well as life during ancient times for it saved our
ancestors from certain death during the lee Ages. Firelight
would be a sign of hope for the weary hunter on a dark
winter night as well as a beacon for fishermen navigating at
sea.
It is easy to see the significance of a small fire lit in prayer
for the hope to change fortunes or insure the good outcome

of events in one's life. Invocation was one way to gain the

attention of gods or spirits of the dead and asking a divine
favor could require some kind of a sacrificial exchange. To
aid one's destiny or to strengthen a prayer included animal
sacrifice in ancient times. This included sacrificing lambs to
the gods for favors rendered. The belief in balance and
reciprocation meant that in order to receive something, one
needed to give something of value in return. Over time,
candles eventually replaced sacrificed animals making
Candlemas a holiday for blessing candles instead of
blessing lambs marked for sacrifice. Candlemas is a time
between winter and spring so the ancients used this time
for creative and cultural activities. Education, inspiration
(opening oneself to spirits), planning for the year to come,
and even the study of astrology were the activities of
Candlemas.
Christianity found it difficult to remove virgin goddess Brigit
from history. Eventually she became associated with the
attributes of the Virgin Mary. Brigit is muse, inspiration, and
enlightenment. The spirit of Brigit is alive today in the smart,
strong and beautiful young women everywhere. They are
still the hope of life in the future and the sign of new
beginnings, evidence of the wheel still turning.

Other names:
Imbolc (in the belly of the mother); Oimelc (milk of
ewes); Lady Day; Brigit's Day; Lupercalia (Roman
Fertility Festival); The milk of Hera, Rhea, Hathor, Isis
forming the Milky Way
Symbols:
Candles; birthing of lambs; first milk; ancient tools of
invocation; sacred fires; The Milky Way
Attributes:
Paradigm shift; invocation; destiny; hope; fate.

The Devil

The Devil
Full Moon in Pisces
The full moon before the Autumnal Equinox
Some medieval artistic renditions of the devil show images
of an ugly, distorted face, sagging breasts and belly, hairy
legs and a 'face' where 'his' genitalia should be. We can
accept this imagery as someone who is thinking with 'his'
animal lust instincts or we could look at it from a different
point of view. It is this medieval 'face at the crotch' imagery
that challenges us to determine a possible correlation
between the images of the 'transitional stage' (head
crowning) of birth and the devil.
Birthing is the arena of woman and woman's knowledge of
the mysteries were kept private from the ancient males.
This frightening image of the devil could be 'his' impression
of birth. My husband (an educated man of science) was

quite affected by witnessing the birth of our children. He

commented that my eyes during labor held the same
distant gaze as his mother's on her deathbed. One can only
guess at what would have come into the mind of the
medieval man from an uninvited glance into the birthing
room.
This is the time of the year that the earth is at it's fullest and
the fields are full of the harvest. All the fruits of the earth
have their `umbilical cords' still attached to their mother just
as we do. This is not unlike the symbolism of the chained
couple in a traditional devil tarot card. It also marks the time
when fields must be harvested a daunting manual task in
ancient Europe. It was a time of Feudal injustice when
wealthy overlords would covet their due allotments of the
bounty for the 'protection' they offered. This also marked
the last month before the time when the green of earth
would begin to fade.
The Piscean image is two fish, or "Great bodies," heading
in opposite directions. The Full Moon in Pisces is the
waning sun and waxing earth. This is the season that earth
is at its fullest fruition as sun decreases light and Pisces
represents the union, repulsion and eventual reunion.
As the great Mother Earth, Goddess of everything, is
pregnant with new life, the spirit of the fetus is connected to
her, as all physical and spiritual beings are connected to
universe. Ancients considered the spirit as "good" while the
physical earth was considered "evil." Heaven was
something to be attained and earth was a temporary
nuisance, a place of perpetual pain and servitude. In this
ideology the separation of dualities places the female, in a
perpetuated misinterpretation of dualistic views, as 'evil'.
This philosophy became the norm in a hierarchical religious
cultural structure that has been labeled 'the patriarchy' by
modern feminists. The origins of the words "devil" and
"Satan", and other words of ultimate evil, usually relates to

any 'old testament' person who may oppose or accuse

another. In some cases, however, it can be traced to the
rebellious woman Lilith. With the adopted negative views of
women and the consequent misperceptions of earth, came
the de-humanization of the ancient Earth Goddess religions
and the ultimate domestication of women. 'Dominion over'
the land and animals put man out of touch with nature thus
creating the 'wasteland' of the grail legends and sending life
spinning out of balance. Lilith is a perfect example of this
phenomenon. She who was cast out of Eden allowing Eve
to take her place. Lilith was an ancient Snake Goddess,
first wife of Adam, who allegedly influenced Eve to eat of
the fruit of Good and Evil. In most cases the
gods/goddesses of conquered people became the demons
of the conquerors.
The metaphor of the apple is an interesting one. Without
the use of modern pesticides, the apple would very likely
have larva/worms enjoying the fruit. As one takes a bite of
the apple one may find "good" fruit and "evil" worms
existing together. Was Lilith's message to Eve to take the
bitter with the sweet? That good and evil co-exist,
especially in relationships? Another symbol associated with
Lilith is the screech owl that howled at night, haunting the
desert. It creates an image of the angry goddess, the
woman with a mind of her own. Lilith was a nonsubmissive, uncontrollable woman who supposedly ate her
children.
This last full moon before the Autumnal Equinox marks the
days just before the dark hours overtake the light hours. It
is the beginning of the shadow time brought about by
Mutspell (Mother's Curse) when newly adopted violent gods
neglected the old laws of peace and blood kinship. The
angry Goddess, Skadi the Destroyer (Old Norse), would
cast a great shadow over everything devouring the world.
This happened on Ragnorak, Doomsday or Judgment Day,

dia de los Muertos (the day of the dead), eventually giving

birth to the whole world again.

Other names:
Lilith; Baal; Satan; Devil; Sin (Hebrew Moon God);
Cernunnos (Celtic Horned God); Sekhmet (Egyptian
Lion Goddess of the Burning Sun); Kali the destroyer;
Skadi the Destroyer
Symbols:
Yin/Yang; Harvest; Separation of mother and child
Attributes:
Karmic relationships; Opposites bound together

key phrase: I believe