Lapis Philosophorum

In as much as I love the celebration of the New Year and the promises of renewal and transformation that it brings, I simply can’t stand the long, cold and dark month of January. I now feel totally drained by the very thought of it – lying there  ahead of us.

January simply sucks in Copenhagen.

Since this is my first post in the PDR this year, I think I should ask how I best take care of my self and my energy to meet January.  Maybe it is just a question of being neutral, and to know from which sources to renew my energy.

I guess I’ll simply do a modified celtic cross with 6 cards to understand my current situation, letting 2 be hope and fear too, so that I may understand what makes the very thought of January so depressing  and burdensome;

3

5   1/2   6

4

Let’s see how it works out:

1. This covers me: Lady of Coins. This is me – trying to keep my feet on the ground, appreciating the little things, Nature’s gifts, flowers and such. This Lady may be paying too much attention to the materialistic stuff, and too little to the Moon, and spirituality.

Well, I guess I try to do that, and the Yule spread encouraged me to do that, but also to find ways to work out practical ways to connect to spirituality (more about this in a later post).

Maybe I’m looking too pessimistic and practical on the time ahead, and on earthly matters – such as bringing children to and from daycare, getting to work, having enough sleep, money and what to have for dinner –  and not so much on the possibilities that also lies in these things?

2. This crosses me / hope and fear: Six of Coins. The children – my children – understands how to have a playful attitude towards the earthly and practical matters – the practicalities of everyday life. So I guess yes – I do look too pessimistic and practical on these things. I can learn from my children. I can learn about love, generosity and play in everyday life.

3. This crowns me: Three of Coins. I sometimes tell my querents that this is about their ideals, about what they want to do with their life, their longings, wishes and ambitions. And this tells me, that – yes -what I want to is to work creatively.

4. This grounds me: The Chariot. Will power – ego drive. Stuff has to be done, I have to do certain things, in order to get going. I do that excellently, but sometimes it bores me – and I may go too fast. From The Alchemical Tarot Study Group:

Tarot wisdom: The Chariot shows us what can happen when we become impatient. Alchemical heating is a patient process – the alchemist should not add too much heat too fast. As we draw closer to the Stone, we glimpse it, and want to get to it as quickly as possible.  It has been hidden from view–now it is in plain sight. But getting there, to spiritual wholeness, is not a fast process. We must check our impulse to charge off, and proceed more slowly and carefully. We must stay centered.

The Chariot offers us exuberance, energy, ambition, and willingness to take on a challenge. These are good traits that can serve us well, as long as they are properly managed and tempered. The long distance traveler knows how to pace himself so as not to burn out before reaching his destination.

So I’ll have to use my will power, but also be wise and go patiently.

5. This lies behind me: Queen of Staffs. I have experienced creative and emotional energy during x-mas, for example by writing, reading and being with my family. This energy I’m leaving now, and the thought of this – feels like the energy drain, that initiated this reading.

Three of Swords

6. This lies before me: Three of Swords.The feeling that my thoughts have everything to do with my pessimistic attitude and approach towards January is very much confirmed by this, and it tells me that I must look at my own expectations to grow and get out of my winter blues.

Again from The Alchemical Tarot Study Group:

This card represents pain and suffering, but also shows how our suffering can lead to new growth. In the book Place says that the eye symbolises the soul and suggests and awakening consciousness. He also says that suffering is necessary to achieve the consciousness of the higher self.

Because this is a sword card, and represents the mental realm it is also important to ask what part your own thoughts and expectations and mental habits play in your current suffering. Is the suffering a wake-up call to encourage you to change your mental patterns to enable growth? If the rose is the goal of Alchemy then suffering can be seen as an opportunity to grow and to become all that we potentially can become.

So: The Chariot tells me to be in control, patient and go steady. I have to work on my attitude, be wiser, and look and learn from the children. I have an real opportunity to learn how my own thought patterns play a crucial role for my energy level, and that I do have the responsibility for changing my attitude, and thereby my energy.

Otherwise January will suck and the three swords will cut me, and my expectations will fullfil themselves as a painful prophecy.

Images from The Alchemical Tarot, copyright Robert M. Place, are used with kind permission. Visit the Alchemical Tarot website.

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.

Justice
What first came to mind was that something has to be cut. Old patterns of behaviour and thought. That is what the renewal and purification is about, and that is the decision that I wrote about yesterday, I guess. To be able to take a decision, to take action, to let go of the old and take a step forward. The Justice is able to do that. Clear and conscious. Know what I want, decide what to do, then go in that direction.
As for tolerance –  be just, be wise (like the owl), judge fairly and balanced, and keep this in mind.

This year I’ve decided to focus on Temperance. The idea of Temperance (and the card also) is very much about Equilibrium and Balance.

Therefore I asked the cards about how I can best balance the different aspects (roles, task and identities) of my life. As a mother, a wife, as a co-worker, a friend and as, well, me. How can I make all that a whole person?

In a short while I’m going back to my job after 11 months on maternal leave, and would like to know how to balance things so my life with my little projects, work, family etc does not end up being too stressfull and chaotic. In fact I’m a little bit afraid to get drained of energy in the swing of things.

I drew 10 of Staffs: The Phoenix : rebirth, strengthened by ordeal, renewed strength; 3 of Staffs:  The ship: a new wave, reinforcements, replenishment;  and the Lovers: The Minor Conjunction, love, sex, attraction, coming together.

One of the things I have to get used to by this deck is that Place connects Staffs (or Wands) with the feeling function, not the intuitive function, of the Psychological Types coined by C.G. Jung. So the two Staffs card makes this very much about feelings and about valuing. (Appearently feelings should not be confused with emotions. Emotions can rise from all of the four psychological functions).

There is some passion in this reading, I should say.

The Alchemical Study Group at AT says about the 10 of Staffs: “The phoenix represents the birth of a new personality. Tarot wisdom: You have been transformed by your experiences. You have been tested by fire; your old self has died away, and a new self is being born. You are renewed .”

During the months of my maternal leave and by giving birth to a new little child, some changes have already happened to me. A transformation has taken place, so that I am actually ready for the new phase in my life. I can start anew. I am also at a point in my life where I am proactively starting changes for myself. For example I’ve decided to let go of my overweight and a lot of bad habits. Im ready to let go, purify, and let something new into my life. 

There certainly is a lot of power in this image of fire. 

The Alchemical Study Group at AT says about the 3 of Staffs: Tarot wisdom: Your ship has come in. Energy has been put out, and now it returns in reward. What you have been waiting for is arriving; the project will be complete. Or, the message may point to the arrival of reinforcements to help out in a tough situation.

I guess that this means that I need not to be afraid to get drained. I have the power in my self to sustain, and there will come reinforcements from my reserves, as long as I stick to my course. Here I also have in mind the UW 3 of Wands. I also think of this ship in connection to the Six of Swords, and my soul journey, I’m going to embark on this spring. That will provide me with energy too.

The Alchemical Study Group at AT says about the Lovers, that “The Lovers mark the first or lesser conjunction of the masculine and feminine principles, symbolized by the union of the Emperor and the Empress, with their spiritual essence, Sol and Luna, in the background. This is called the alchemical wedding, and was depicted in the texts as a wedding ceremony, or more often as a consummation of the marriage. […] [A]nd ideally balance between the male and female aspects of our personalities. The Lovers are in harmony with each other, and therefore with the entire physical world”.

The Lovers are in fact doing what the Temperance is ultimately doing on a more sophisticated level: Mixing and combining opposites; female and male energies, solar and lunar. This is the alchemical wedding in the more mundane, sensual form. I’m also thinking about my husband and about my marriage, and that tending my love for and with him really is a key to make things work – of course. All you need is love. Well, love certainly is the x-factor to make the world go around. That goes for our little world too.

Something is also telling me that a key to balancing and healing (making whole) my life is passion. To be passionate about things. If some activity does not “do it” for me or fail to make me want to “just do it”, it has to get out of my life. 

The overall message seems to be : The balance will be right. Just do it.

Images from The Alchemical Tarot, copyright Robert M. Place, are used with kind permission. Visit the Alchemical Tarot website.