Lapis Philosophorum

Day of Rest: – Dec 30th This card shows us how to walk our path in a relaxed and confident way….with the ability to deal with stressful situations in a philosophical, detached way.

The Hanged Man.

This man is in fact The Corn King or God, soon he will be sacrificed to ensure peace and fertility. He is closely connected to the Lady, The Corn Goddess.

Letting go of expectations, of attempts to understand things rationally, to hold and to have, of attention and approval from others. Letting go of trying to control situations. When we think we are in control of certain situations, they are in fact in control of us, because we are striving so hard to be in control.

Instead; surrender, sacrifice, patience, peace.

This card is about getting a deeper experience when surrendering to something greater. He is telling me to be confident in the path and the process, and to give in to the experience of just being. Surrendering will be an initiation to the mystery of life.

Day of Nymphs – Dec 29th This card encourages us to connect to our playful side, our inner child and how best to cultivate this aspect of ourselves.

I shuffle and draw 10 of Cups.

This card is about happiness, abundance, love and relatedness. Just as is the Lady. This is the Lady’s energy expressed through real life relations; family, children and friends. To be playful and childlike (not childish) and to make room for my own inner child is simply to be with my family and to cherish the time I spend with them and for them.

“The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.”

Feast of Alcyone: – Dec 28th This card gives us a personal inner message – one that speaks directly to our heart and soul (again I’ve changed the description from spirit to soul).

The Lady.

This is the Goddess in her Mother aspect. After Death comes – as I wrote about yesterday – new life. Here in the form of the yet unborn baby in womb of the Lady, and all the ripeness of wheat and fruits surrounding her.

She is majestic in her feminity and abundance.

The mother aspect of The Goddess is about connectedness and relatedness, of being fertile and fruitful, and of course of eros, sexuality, sensuality and passion. About beauty and happiness.

According to the book the message os the Lady is:

Open yourself to the fertile nurturing power of the Goddess. This power will fill you with passion and the ability to be creative and to enjoy a life of abundance and sensual delight.

I do not think I need a clearer message confirming me that I am on the right path in my life right now. Thank You!

All I need is to be, shine, love.

Birth of Freya: – Dec 27th This card points to issues of love, luck, artistic and creative expression and female wisdom.

I shuffle and draw Death. The Goddess in the shape of the Crone. There is really not much to say. I order for something new to be born and grow to ripeness and maturity the old must die. The Goddess knows this, and as the Crone she is helping life to die to be reborn again.

It is not that we should not feel sorrow and mourn when things die – like relationships – but things die all the time. That is the cycle of life and death and that of the year.

It is no shame to be hurt or sorry, but it is a shame to be reluctant to let go.

Interwoven with death is sex or passion or love. The great goddesses like Aphrodite, or Inanna, or Isis or Astarte – or of course – Freya – also know that. Therefore they love passionately and grief when their son-lover dies like Osiris or Dumuzi or Adonis. But it is also in their (Her) power to save him, like Isis saves Osiris.

So it is in the power of the Goddess to let things die – and live (again). She is the ruler of death, love and life. And those three things can not be separated.

For me this cards means that I – in order to love, to be creative and to be wise – must accept things to die, and to let go of them with passion and compassion.

Festival of Life, Christmas: – Dec 25th This card shows us how to connect directly with Spirit.

Again, I want to rephrase the description. I want it to say: This card show us how to connect with Soul – since that is of outmost importantance to me in this phase of my life. (If you have read works of Hillman or Woodman you will have an idea of what I mean by “Soul”).

I shuffle and draw Prince of Pentacles.

He is a Prince of the Earth, being grounded and bound to the land and the earth – as the Queen. He has the downward pointing Triquetra of the Goddess on the horse collar. And the five pointed star on his shield – which is also a symbol of the Divine Feminine.

Connecting to light and to soul is both about being patient, earthbound, and sensuous.

The reverse meaning of the card is interesting in terms of Soulmaking. It says (from the accompanying book):

“… [A] search for the gold in the self that lies in the darkness, that needs a period of introspection and apparent inactivity to unearth it.”

Golddigging is an apt metaphor of soulsearching – finding the gold in the darkness, learning to know one’s Soul by patiently digging and accepting to get dirty in the process.

Hopi Time of Renewal Dec 23rd This card indicates the best way for us to seek purification and renewal, and to build tolerance for others.

I think that what is most important for me now is the aspect of Tolerance, so that I will focus on, since that may be what is difficult for the Queen of Swords.

I drew the Lord, which at once seems just as harsh, even harsher, than the Swords Queen. But I guess this is about setting boundaries and structure. To be clear in my communication of my own values. To let people know who I am, and what I stand for. When I know who I am, it is easier to let other people be who they are, and not crossing boundaries, thereby creating unnesseacary conflicts.

Vacation for the holidays. Time for relaxing – and facing shadows:

The Time of Beth: – Dec 22nd This card points to the inner blocks and resistance that is holding us back from following our dreams.

Queen of Swords. I do know this lady. She is tough, maybe even harsh, and she has a tendency to be cold and critical. Or so it seems, she can also be clear and wise. But. When I turn her against myself she tells me , “nothing is never really good enough”.

She is a Lady of high standards and ideals, and when I – as a human being – am making mistakes, which I do quite often, She is there immediately. I have tried to come to terms with her this last year – in the shape of miss Perfect – but I must admit she still have a strong hold on me. Especially when it comes to writing – my dream.

The irony is that She could be used to enhance my creativity because she is indeed clear and strong and razor blade sharp. She should not be in charge of the overall process, though.

Today is the shortest day of the year. From now on the light will slowly become stronger by each day.

Yule – Winter Solstice: – Dec 21st This card shows us how best to connect to the Light within and without – it symbolizes the Birth of the Sun.

I drew The Queen of Pentacles. She is sitting on her throne with a drum and a bone.  She is connected to the ground and the earth, nature and fertility in the shape of the white Hare or Rabbit behind her. It is still winter, both spring is on it way, as the snowdrops are telling us.

This card is about being grounded to the hearth and to the earth, and being connected to presence and process, to be drawn to sensual pleasures as food or flowers. Now – for me to connect with light is simply to be earthbound and pragmatic. To be patiently waiting for light to return.

It is now again time for the Sacred Days of Yule Spread. As always I’m using The DruidCraft Tarot created by Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm and beautifully illustrated by Will Worthington. I simply adore this deck. Especially the Star, which you can see on top of the pile of the cards  on the image.

From monday and during the holidays I’ll be posting every day here and in the Aeclectic. Starting this weekend though, with a post on the Yule.

Hope you will join in.

This is a brief summary of The Sacred Days of Yule Spread.
Since the actual sickle of the Seven of Pentacles came out at the end, my focus will be on the practical aspects of the spread, or how can I use the messages of the cards/the spread practically – to the extent that this is possible?

Overview
I drew 5 Majors: World, Rebirth, Justice, The High Priestess and The Lord
1 Sword (Princess)
3 Cups (Prince, Ace, Queen)
3 Pentacles (King, Five, Seven)
No Wands

This seems to be about obtaining a balance between the emotional, intutitive, irrational, feminine powers on one side, and masculine, rational, structural and protective powers on the other.

I have the feeling that I should use the latter to protect my path towards and my work with the former. There is no wands. No Fire. Except from the Lord if we say that he is elementally connected with Fire.

So this about the equilibrium between rational and irrational and about connecting with earth (grounding) in order to flow (creatively, spiritually and intuitively). The last card most of all reminded me to use this in a down to earth, concrete manner.

Advice
So let’s see – what the cards could be telling me – about this aspect:

1. Prince of Cups: Keep up my interest in dreams, especially be aware of the male figures in them.
2. World: Allow my light to shine, and other’s as well. Do not envy.
3. Rebirth: Accept my calling, take steps to follow it.
4. Justice: Decide that this is my path. Be fair towards my self and others.
5. Princess of Swords: Cool it. Be calm, distanced and objective whenever appropriate and possible.
6. High Priestess: I did what first came to mind; started reading Women who run with wolwes.
7. King of Pentacles: Be mild, trustworthy and generous, yet strict if the situation demands it.
8. Ace of Cups: Dive in (actually I first wrote “divine in”) – accept my true source of power and energy.
9. Queen Of Cups: Nurture myself to allow myself to open up to this source.
10. 5 of Pentacles: Don’t worry.
11. The Lord: Define boundaries, limits and structures to create space, time and energy (for example by working less).
12. 7 of Pentacles: Be practical, be concrete.

Actually, it’s like the whole spread is saying “Do something about it, come on, you can do it” or simply: “Just do it”.

What is it then, that I should just do?

I think it is Writing. Funny then, that there are no Wands, but I guess, it lies in the Ace of Cups; it is all there. All anyone can ever need of inspiration, creativity and love. The gifts of the Goddess.