(The Emperor Tarot Meaning) 11. Amazon – Myrine – Aries

KEYWORDS: Action, potent energy.

The militant yang aspect of the female principle, the Amazon here replaces the Emperor. She is the warrior of the Major Arcana, the masculine within the feminine. Her martial image represents the phase in the spiritual evolution of this planet when the sword of the warrior is turned in anger against the hand of the agrarian matriarchs. At first this phenomenon manifests only on the spiritual plane, when beings had not yet come into their denser female and male physical bodies. The anger impulse generated separation and disharmony. It marked the beginning of the severance of the spiritual from the material plane. Consciousness split and the experience of differentiation and ego replaced that of wholeness and essence.

Interestingly, modern-day neo-Amazons (radical feminists and radical lesbian feminists, along with other gender-benders of all sorts are attempting to heal this schism by their blending of the yin/yang or feminine/masculine energies within themselves; the cycle continues. But I am jumping ahead….

Eventually these spiritual forms came to manifest on the physical plane in prehistoric and ancient times. According to J. J. Bachofen, amazonism was a worldwide phenomenon, as were matriarchy and patriarchy. My research revealed that the image of the warrior woman is global appearing early among all peoples. In amazon cultures, the women and children form a nomadic core supporting the activities of the warrior women. The male groups are in the hinterlands, interacting for purposes of trade and procreation and parenting the maturing boys.

As eventual integration brought the males into the women’s society, matriarchal systems evolved out of these early amazon groups. Matriarchies broke down again into amazon systems as women formed their own groups in flight from and to fight against patriarchal persecution. The amazons did territorial battle among other amazon groups as well as against patriarchal and even matriarchal tribes.

Trump X is Myrine, or Merina in Libyan style. Ultimately “the swift-bounding one” becomes the warrior queen of some 30,000 Libyan amazons – meaning all of Africa except Egypt. History records a fierce battle between Myrine’s Amazons and the neighboring Gorgon Amazon group. “Myrine escaped and pursued her military career eastward, conquering Lesbos, Samothrace and Lemnos.” She died in battle, under siege by a union of patriarchal kings bent on annihilating the amazon nation of Asia Minor.

Myrine wears traditional Libyan Amazon attire of red snakeskin armor and boots, and carries a python-skin shield in one hand and a sword in the other. (To this day, Morocco is known for its red leather.) Around her waist, supporting a labyris, is the traditional gold, crystal sword-belt – a symbol of virginity. This dark-skinned, muscular women is mounted on a powerful horse. The equestrian prowess of the amazons was second to none; the mare was their totem animal.

In Armenia, ‘amazon’ means ‘moon woman’. Many of the lunar deities have a warrior aspect as maiden or new moon. There are countless ancient warrior goddesses, e.g., from Nigeria we have Oja. The Greco-Roman Artemis/Diana appears as Artemis, 9/P in The Wise Woman’s Tarot, along with several others: Pohaha – Native Am, 6/W; Trung-Trac – Vietnamese, 5/S; Boadicea – Celtic, Pr/S; Gorgon Medusa – Libyan, Trump VII; Hippolyta – Greek, 10/S; Valkyries – Norse, 7/S.

When the Amazon appears in a reading, expect swift and decisive action regarding any matter at hand. Beware of a tendency to be short-tempered and “insensitive.” Do not become the oppressor to fight the oppressor. As the I Ching states, “hatred is a form of subjective involvement which binds us to the hated object.” This is certainly a time for action: breathe deep and quickly ascertain what is truly right action for this particular circumstance, and bravely move forward, assuming the stance of the warrior.

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(The Hermit Tarot Meaning) 10. Sarah – Healer – Virgo

KEYWORDS: Discrimination, guidance.

The Healer specifically refers to the consciousness of the agrarian matriarchs who walked the earth as beacons of light, with healing abilities.

Virgo is the astrological sign ruling trump X, formerly known as the Hermit (IX trump in the Rider/Waite/Smith deck). I feel that the sign Virgo requires a more feminine archetype than the wise old Hermit. A thorough understanding of the 6th zodiacal sign will greatly enhance the clarity of this card.

For the Healer, I chose the image of Sarah, one of the “greatest of the ancient Hebrew matriarchs. She also had the most in common with the ancestral goddesses of the non-Hebrew tribes of the ancient Near East.” This similarity is why “she must be re-viewed as a vestigial goddess among the patriarchal Hebrews.”

According to myth, she was a Chaldean princess who brought great wealth to her half-brother Abraham, by marrying him. She was described as being “brilliantly beautiful and ageless.” Sarah was known as a healer, for “while she was alive, her land was fertile and her husband did not age; when she died, the land ceased to bear and her husband Abraham suddenly aged and died.” The notion of Sarah keeping her husband “alive” is a metaphor for his kingship being dependent upon her, rather than the other way around. This factor makes Sarah a “Virgin” in the original sense of the word. The ancient concept of virginity had nothing to do with male sexual penetration but rather with woman’s autonomy. The word virgin meant “a woman who is whole within herself.”

Sarah was also called Iscah, “seer,” and acknowledged to be a more gifted prophet than her husband.

“In the days of Abraham the Shekina was called Sarah.” The word Shekina literally means “the act of dwelling”; in its general usage, the word refers to “that aspect of the deity which can be apprehended by the senses.” In short, she was a Hebrew version of the divine Female Principle.

Sarah is shown here amidst her people, not on some solitary peak like the Hermit in the Rider/Waite/Smith deck. She is providing counsel, guidance and healing to all who need her services. The Hebrew tradition is one that can pride itself on its many powerful female leaders; Sarah is one who managed to avoid the patriarchal purge of later biblical interpreters.

In her left hand, Sarah holds a lantern with a gold, glowing six-pointed star. This lamp casts a golden glow over an otherwise dusky blue sky. The star’s six points are a subtle reference to Virgo, the sixth sign of the zodiac, and more overtly to the star which is symbolic of the Hebrew tradition, the Star of David. This star is also a symbol of union, a union of two triangles. Because the triangle has historically been such a powerful female symbol, I suspect that the “Star of David” had a more feminine origin. The constellation Virgo is shown in the upper left corner of the sky.

Sarah’s lamp shines like a beacon, illuminating all it touches. It is a guiding light to discriminate between that which is trivial, and that which is significant. Sarah embodies the power of positive discrimination; it is this same power which is used to diagnose illness and to weed out extraneous symptoms so that the healing process can begin. This light is also the light of understanding; when it is able to penetrate the dark corners and hidden mysteries, still another form of healing takes place.

The Healer uses the lamp to illuminate her path as well as to help others find their own. This is not a life of solitude; rather it is a life spent “out in the world” once the original task is done. That first task is, of course, “Healer, Heal Thyself.” After that work is accomplished, this card indicates a path of service and guidance to others, not unlike the astrological significance of the sign Virgo.

Because Virgos care so much about “doing it right,” they can be critical and overly cautious. That’s the down-side. However, they can also be cleverly discriminating and devoted healers and helpers. This card appearing in a layout can suggest areas that need healing, discrimination or understanding. Observe the direction of the lamp’s light to discern which area of life requires this attention. The light can also suggest an aid in beginning this process. You need to be discriminating too, as all paths and options are not always suitable or open.

In memory of Sara Glanzer, a healer who now shows the way from behind the veil.

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(Temperance Tarot Meaning) 9. Synthesis – Cerridwen – Sagittarius

KEYWORDS: Blending, synthesis of energies.

The main emphasis in this Sagittarian card, in other decks called Temperance, is the concept of blending and synthesizing energies and elements of nature. For this purpose, I chose the Celtic image of Cerridwen and her magical cauldron.

As I researched Cerridwen, I was struck by the amazing cross-cultural similarities in the symbology of the Cauldron. From Scandinavia to the Orient, from the Middle East to ancient Greece, the cauldron is revered as a sacred symbol of transformation, regeneration and transmutation; it is also a symbol of the Great Mother within whom life is transformed.

Christians even adopted the cauldron as their “Holy Grail.” “In nearly all mythologies there is a miraculous vessel. Sometimes it dispenses youth and life, at other times it possesses the power of healing; and occasionally, as with the mead cauldron of the Nordic Ymir, inspiring strength and wisdom are to be found in it. Often … it effects transformation.”

The cauldron also signifies cyclic rather than linear time. “Among the Celts of Gaul and Britain, the Cauldron of Regeneration was the central religious mystery: reincarnation within the womb of the Goddess.”

Cerridwen, the Celtic Druid Moon Goddess, is the central figure in this card. Her name translates as both “Cauldron of Wisdom” and “Fortress of Wisdom”. She has presided over the “Mysteries,” brewing her magical cauldron of Inspiration. She appears above the Cauldron of Transformation, Regeneration, and Inspiration. She is pouring elixir from the cup of intuition to the cup of the intellect, blending and merging these two principles.

Cerridwen straddles her island home with one foot while the other is immersed in the magical lake waters. This is a metaphor for the blending of the spiritual and material planes, as well as the elements of water and earth. The lake waters beneath her are symbolic of the “Mighty Roaring Cauldron, force of life-giving waters at the foundation of the earth” from Scandinavian mythology. The huge snake which encircles her island is the kundalini serpent, a symbol of female sexuality from the Tantric tradition of India.

Dancing erotically around the sacred cauldron are the nine Druid Fire Priestesses who maintain the flames beneath the vessel for one year and one day. The nine maidens are similar to the nine Muses of Greek mythology.

The tradition of fire-keeping is a very ancient female ritual, as in the cults of the Arani or the “Vestal Virgins.” These priestesses’ outward purpose in their temples was to tend the sacred fires; this ritual was merely a metaphor for an even more sacred act. Within these traditions, wood is considered a female element. By rubbing pieces of wood together, fire is created. To ritualize this natural phenomenon, the fire priestesses rubbed against (tribadism) or made love to each other. This act raises the sacred fire (symbolic of the fire of sexuality) to ignite the sacred flame. This ritual also celebrates the creative aspect of Mother Nature as She engenders new life. Perhaps Sappho and her lesbian maidens were adherents of this tradition!

A rainbow frames Cerridwen’s powerful Celtic body. Rainbows are formed by a blending of sunlight and rain – fire and water; the rainbow is a perfect symbol for Sagittarius, the mutable fiery ruler of this card.

The Cauldron, as Mother Nature, synthesizes all four of the elements: fire heats the water and herbs (earth element) and turns them into steam (air).

When you draw this card in a reading, it is a time when various elements of your life and/or personality are blending and synthesizing. It can also be a time of neutralizing extremes. With all your energies balanced and blending, this can be an extremely creative time, when all the forces from within and without are harnessed in full harmonic cooperation. Become your own alchemist and fearlessly toss all your cares, confusions and toxic material into the Cauldron. The solution may come as you add fiery energy to transmute the sum of these parts. It’s time to use and blend the left and right side of your brain, the inner and outer aspects of your personality, the material as well as spiritual sides of life. Dualities dissolve and peace incites creativity

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(Strength Tarot Meaning) 8. Strength – Asherah – Leo

KEYWORDS: Empowerment, desire.

The Strength card symbolizes the total integration and exaltation of the desire-nature. Women’s sexuality, which has so long been suppressed and treated as something dirty and sinful, is in fact a cornerstone of our empowerment.

I chose Asherah to symbolize this integration and resurgence of women’s sexual power and energies. She represents the persistence and tenacity of woman’s strength. She was worshipped in her temples as an upright pillar called an “Asherah.” The patriarchal Hebrews were horrified by their god Yahweh’s matriarchal predecessor, and they waged a centuries-long campaign against her joyfully orgiastic rites. Asherah was a key figure in the earlier matriarchal Hebrew religion. Evidence of the persistence of Goddess-worship within the Yahwist Hebrew tradition can be found in many biblical passages, for example (II Kings 17:9): “and the people of Israel did secretly against the Lord their God things that were not right. They built high places, set up pillars and asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, they served idols, made molten images of two calves, they made an Asherah and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord.”

The Levite priesthood was in fact the only segment of the Jewish religion that failed to defect, from time to time, back to the idyllic “milk and honey” matriarchal past. It was this priesthood that denounced the sexually autonomous woman with her ecstatic self-affirming rites, thus laying the groundwork for the denial of matrilineal descent and property ownership. Quite simply, to control women’s sexuality is to control women and all of society.

Another biblical passage indicates the lack of religious tolerance afforded the followers of Asherah (Exodus 34:11-16): “But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images and cut down their groves, for thou shalt worship no other god, for the Lord whose name is …. is a jealous God.”

In biblical Canaan the powerful ancient goddess was known by many names: Asherah, Astarte, Ashtoreth, Attoret, Anath, Elat or Baalat. Sumerians called her Ashman, “strength of all things” and a “kindly bountiful maiden.” Asherah is translated “grove,” without any explanation that the sacred grove represented the Goddess’s genital center, birthplace of all things. The pillar may stand as a single tree to represent the whole grove.

The Hebrews should in no way be singled out as “defeaters of the matriarchy,” as they were simply another cog in the wheel of a global patriarchal onslaught. The resistance by ancient Jewish women was fierce; but, as in all other cultures, they eventually succumbed under the power of the sword.

Originally, male ascetic practices seem to have evolved from a notion that extreme forms of self-denial would bring them the magical female capacity to give birth. Oriental myths claim that the first creatorgods acquired the ability to produce living things by “practicing fierce asceticism for 10,000 years.”

Sexuality is a very important facet of life. All religious beliefs which deny or limit this form of expression only serve to create deep-seated blockages and fears which fragment the psyche and, ultimately, society and the religions themselves.

Asherah, the Canaanite goddess, is shown naked riding her sacred lion. She has curly hair and she holds lilies and serpents in her upraised arms. The serpents in her hands symbolize her connection to oracular duties. Unlike some older versions of this card, she and the lion are as one; this unity is a metaphor for the total integration of the desire-nature, which leads to the integration of mind, body and spirit. How can one be whole if any part is disowned or fragmented?

The astrological ruler of this card is Leo. A large, bright yellow sun appears in the upper left corner, beaming its solar power on Asherah. The sun is also most powerfully expressed in the sign Leo. She appears in the desert at an oasis of sorts with an “Asherah” or upright pillar to her right.

Drawing this card is an indication that you are truly in touch with your own power and strength. Wherever it appears in a reading it denotes empowerment. You and your body and desires are in harmony. The serpent power or kundalini is rising inside you as you become more alive.

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(The Chariot Tarot Meaning) 7. Gorgon – Medusa – Gemini

KEYWORDS: Divided path with focused mind.

Instead of using the traditional Chariot image, I chose the Gorgon Medusa to represent the VII trump. She is the infinite mind, focused, clear, and as potent as a laser beam. Like her serpent friends, she uses the incredible power of mind control to harness her energy and transfix any aggressor.

Medusa was one of the Gorgons (the Grim Ones) who were a Libyan tribe of Amazons, the last to be conquered by the patriarchy. The three famous Gorgons were: Stheino – the Strong One, Euryela – the Wide-Roaming One, and Medusa – the Cunning One (the three lunar phases, Maiden, Nymph and Crone respectively).

Medusa is a moon goddess in her guise as the transfixer. The Gorgons wore masks as part of their ritual to scare off those who would profane their rites. Perseus’ alleged beheading of Medusa symbolized the Hellenic overthrow of the Goddess’ chief shrines and the stripping of her priestesses of their Gorgon masks and sacred horses. The Gorgon’s mask, which Medusa wears and which was worn on Amazon tunics, was a symbol of chastity; it meant death to the person who removed it without the wearer’s permission.

The Gorgon is ruled by the dual mental sign Gemini. Geminis often seem to be pulled in two directions by dissonant thought forms. The Gorgon’s ability to focus the mind is a positive solution to this problem: use the power of the mind, do not be used by it.

Medusa is drawn in a chariot by a white and black horse (her sacred animal) who appear to be moving in divergent directions. She maintains a subtle control over these forces, the powerful struggle of emotions and fleeting thoughts, by her strength of will. Medusa contains the intense power of the horses without the aid of reins! Her ability to focus energy, to transfix is truly how Medusa “turned men to stone.” She was definitely a woman of psychic potency and this was her protection.

She said, “No mortal has yet been able to lift what covers me”: she was Death, and to see her face was to die – that is to be turned to stone. “Another meaning of her hidden dangerous face is the menstrual taboo. Primitive folk often believe the look of a menstruating woman can turn a man to stone.”

Medusa wears the traditional Gorgon mask, replete with snake hair, wild eyes, fangs and protruding tongue. The snakes which appear in any image of Medusa may have served a triple purpose.

1: Gorgons were Africans, so the snakes may have been a misrepresentation of their Afro-hair.

2: Snakes are symbolic of wisdom, regeneration, psychic power and the power to transfix, and could have represented the Gorgon’s aura.

3: Lastly, snakes enhance the overall shock value of the mask.

The full moon shines down on Medusa in her silver chariot. In her hand, the labyris – symbol of female power. She charges through the sea foam, a Gorgon head on the face of her chariot.

The essence of this card is the ability to maintain focus and clarity even amidst divergent energies and fluctuating emotions. The focus of the mind is the psychic protection–the armor if you will, offered by the Gorgon.

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(The Lovers Tarot Meaning) 6. Lovers – Soulmate – Venus

KEYWORDS: Intimate relationship, love, wholeness.

The esoteric purpose of the Lovers card is to depict the free-flowing transit from spirit to matter and back again that existed at an earlier phase of our evolution. At this time, we could vividly distinguish the physical, mental, and spiritual levels of consciousness, and we could effortlessly glide back and forth among them.

As I explained earlier in the Essence card, our bodies were much less dense than they are today. These ethereal beings operated in a most intuitive, telepathic manner and were hermaphrodites.

This card could be subtitled ‘Wholeness’, as this was truly the nature of these beings. They were complete within themselves, yet they still sought a relatedness to others. There was, at this time, no differentiation of the self as separate from the totality, so of course, love was expressed in a most divine manner.

Venus, the planetary ruler of the Lovers, deals specifically with the concept of relating. It is through our relationships that we humans attempt to recreate that feeling of “One-ness” or “Wholeness” that we only dimly remember. Wholeness, like Truth, is a state of being, not something to be sought after as a prize — it simply is. On the material plane, these concepts are to be seen as more relative than absolute.

With the passage of thousands of years, consciousness polarized into two single-sexed beings; certain qualities came to be defined as male or female. From this point the myth evolved that one was necessary to complete the other. At that stage in human development, perhaps this may have been true, in some ways.

Today, as we hover at the dawn of the Aquarian Age, many are challenging previous conceptions about relationships and some are even questioning gender itself. I believe that the beginning of this new Uranian (ruler of Aquarius) Age – in addition to major transits and shifts of the “outer planets” Neptune and Pluto – is largely responsible for these changes in relationship consciousness. Granted, one can still find some very traditional relationships, but these are slowly shifting. In heterosexual relationships, the divorce rate is sky-high. Some who stay married “open” their relationships; many stay single. Women are no longer chained to the home; and the nuclear family is a bomb waiting to explode. Rigid concepts of gender that have bisected humanity are yielding to more inclusive and tolerant views.

More and more women and men are opening themselves to lesbian and gay relationships and transgender identities. This seeking after sameness may very well be a cosmic memory of a time when we embodied both sexes in one (Neptune’s effect), as well as an out-and-out rejection of patriarchal emphasis on the heterosexual model of marriage and nuclear family.

Many gay people choose not to revolutionize their manner of relating and they simply mimic traditional heterosexual roles. Because of its freer forms and relative lack of rules, there is, however, great potential within gay lifestyle to totally transform (Plutonic energy) our notions of relating.

This theory is by no means meant to exclude heterosexuals from the relationship evolutionary process. As I stated before, these changes are already all too obvious in male-female relationships. I am also not saying that heterosexual bonding precludes Wholeness. The coupling of women with men simply evokes in the psyche the collective myth that one needs the other to be complete, thereby rendering individual wholeness more difficult, but certainly not impossible. Perhaps gays and lesbians do not trigger that unconscious genetic memory of one needing the other to be complete. Perhaps we do; in this case, the rules that we project on our relationships may generate from enforced heterosexuality.

Basically, wherever we are on the evolutionary spiral, we are all gravitating at our own speed, in our own ways, toward Wholeness, both as individuals and through our relationships.

The image for the Lovers shows three ethereal women joined together from their yonis or genital areas. One springs forth from the other, illustrating the free flow from all levels of consciousness, as well as from spirit to matter. They are surrounded by a glorious rainbow backed by a lavender sky. Beneath this scene, pulses a huge red heart, the source of our desire for relating. The shadows of two women are shown locked in a passionate embrace within the heart. The heart is precisely where we must come from when we are involved in all relationships, for this is where we are most whole. Esoteric texts suggest that this (the heart) is indeed the seat of wisdom.

The growth you invoke when drawing this card is the joy of union with another, the tests particular to relating. The Lovers card is about sharing, blending, joy, pleasure, and, most importantly, Wholeness – relating based on desire rather than need.

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(The Empress Tarot Meaning) 5. Nurturer – Venus of Willendorf – Cancer

KEYWORDS: Nurturance, sustenance.

Nurturing is one of the most important components of the female principle. It is this quality that has rendered women the caretakers of the Universe (a dubious honor, to be sure). Woman is both mother and daughter interchangeably, illustrating the capacity for the flow of nurturance. This flow creates a mutually satisfying exchange of love energy, which blurs the traditional roles of each.

The Nurturer gives us sustenance and unconditional love, as well as the momentum to give birth to our ideas, dreams and projects. Once life has sprung forth, just as with the development of children, nurturing and sustenance support the manifestation of projects–our children of the mind. This is the second card deriving from the same source as The Empress in traditional decks.

The astrological sign Cancer is associated with the Nurturer. This lunar-ruled sign shows its strength in devotion to home, family and nurturance. Trump V is nothing less than the “Mother of the World,” applying this devotion and unconditional love on a global level. The moon, lunar or yin energy urges us to immerse ourselves in our emotions and to swim and bathe in the sea of our feelings without any need for differentiation or understanding. The experience of this immersion bathes us in the joy of unconditional mother-love and the warmth and security of the womb. Part of the image I chose for this card is the Venus of Willendorf. At 60,000 years of age, she is one of the oldest work of art yet to be discovered. Patriarchal archaeologists have tried to minimize her importance by reducing her to a mere fertility charm; she is more likely an ancient rendering of the Great Goddess. Her large, pendulous breasts are filled with the life-sustaining fluid of the Universe. She appears pregnant and faceless, as she is not a particular woman, but the Mother of us all, of all life.

Beside her, two open pink hands surround the golden globe, symbolizing the way she gently cradles the world while firmly maintaining its security. The background shows a gradation of the Cancerian colors, green and blue.

Because we live in a solar (patriarchal) world, these all-important lunar qualities are vastly underrated and devalued. Even militant feminists, in their zeal to be free of limiting traditional female roles, lend unwitting support to the devaluing of this lunar side when they maintain undue focus strictly on achieving what we have been denied as women. This struggle is economically crucial but need not require the neglect or disowning of the intuitive, nurturing side of ourselves, which has long sustained life and growth on this planet. These qualities may be far more common in women, but they are not exclusive to our sex. Thus it should not be our responsibility as women to be sole caretakers of the Universe.

Drawing this card indicates that the qualities of nurturance, unconditional love and care-taking are of profound importance at this point in your life. Own your own dependency needs; nurture yourself and don’t shrink from sharing the love of which you are merely a channel. It is a time of giving and receiving. Endeavor to do this with an open heart.

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(The Star Tarot Meaning) 4. Star – Tara – Aquarius

KEYWORDS: Hope, new life, optimism.

Tara, The Star, is the manifestation of life which spontaneously springs forth unaided in a parthenogenetic birth. For Major Arcana IV, I chose the pre-Vedic Indian Star Goddess, Tara whose name literally means star . “Her symbol, the star, is seen as a beautiful but perpetually self-combusting thing, so Tara is the absolute unquenchable hunger that propels all life.” This hunger is, in particular, a spiritual hunger or yearning to elevate the consciousness and to transcend matter and all its limitations. She represents the limitless bounty of new life and hope.

To quote Crowley’s Star Goddess, “I’ll give unimaginable joys on earth; certainty, not faith, while in life; upon death, peace unutterable, rest, ecstasy; nor do I demand aught in sacrifice.”

The Star is ruled by the Uranian sign Aquarius. Uranian energy emerges chaotically. It manifests as a hunger for the Truth, the absolute meaning for existence above and beyond our mundane realities. The spiritual hunger of Tara symbolizes that meaning. Her image speaks to us of the beauty and constancy of change within the structure of an abundant, perpetually renewing universe. Does She not then promise peace and joy, inspire certainty more than faith!

Tara is a goddess of self-mastery and spiritual discovery. Hers is not a path that demands surrender, rather, it asks that each being aspire to her own truth, burning up all obstacles that obstruct this path. She is a compassionate goddess, like Kwan Yin, Isis and the Virgin Mary: she has youthfulness and playfulness that remind us not to take life or ourselves too seriously. “She also appears as a celestial boat woman, ferrying her people across from the world of delusion to that of knowledge.”

“In Tantric Tibet, the divine essence of the Earth-Goddess Tara is still assumed to inhabit her human incarnation, the Diamond Sow.” She is revered as she who leads out beyond the darkness of bondage, as a primordial force for self-mastery and redemption; as such, she is a protectress as well as a redemptress.

White Tara (the one of her several aspects shown here) has a visible third eye in the center of her forehead, as well as eyes in the palms of her hands and soles of her feet. This third eye is most important, as she encourages all to look beyond the terror of death, where she waits to enlighten.

Tara’s image is one of classical Indian grace and beauty as she stands with one foot on the land and the other in the water. She exists not to leave the material plane, but to nurture it with her overflowing healing and wisdom so that we mortals may find peace on earth.

From her left hand, she empties the sacred vessel onto the earth. This vase is held near the heart, and her left hand forms the mudra, a sacred hand gesture of protection. As she pours the other vessel into the vast waters, her right hand forms the gesture bestowing gifts and blessings. This constant pouring and recycling of elixir symbolizes the constant flow of life and the re-channeling of energies.

The sacred long-stemmed red lotus appears over her left shoulder and she is surrounded by an aura of multi-colored light. Behind her is the disk of the full moon.

In the far right corner, the 8-pointed Star of Hope appears surrounded by three smaller 7-pointed stars representing Venus. These three stars are charged by lightning bolts (Uranian energy) indicating that a most potent spiritual awakening can be invoked by opening the heart as well as the other chakras to love.

At a workshop with Tsultrim Allione, author of Women of Wisdom, I learned the ancient chant to Tara. I used this as well as her image to evoke the energy for work on this card.

“Om Tara Tutare tore Swa Ha….”

You may experiment with this chant to invoke the beneficence of Tara.

When drawing this card, expect all sorts of new exciting beginnings, power surges, surprises. She also heralds a release from blockage and turmoil. A positive spiritual awakening is now possible. This is the light at the end of the tunnel for the seeker, as life and hope spring eternal.

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(The Empress Tarot Meaning) 3. Fertility – Oshun – Taurus

KEYWORDS: Fertility, sensuality, love.

As mentioned in the Introduction, this is the first of the two cards deriving from the meanings of the Empress card in traditional decks. This Taurian card represents the perpetually fertile aspect of nature. For this I use the image of Oshun. “She is a Yoruban Goddess, Mother of the River, sister of the Sea (Goddess) Yemonja, and a very important Orisha (goddess) among the Yoruba people. Her archetype is akin to any of the Western Venus / Aphrodite images, as a goddess of love, creativity, and beauty. Oshun is particularly a fertility goddess. Her namesake is the Oshun River in the town of Oshogbo in southwestern Nigeria. Barren women who bathe in her waters and pray to her are said to become fertile.”

She is a goddess of many moods. In Oshogbo, her priestesses practice heightening the healing properties of minerals found in her waters. They also communicate with the Orisha through her messengers and omens. “But even to the uninitiated, she communicates her moods. A walk along her varied edges, passing in and out and around groves inhabited since time began by Oshun herself, as well as by other Orisha–other spirits of earth and its vegetation–discloses some of the richness of her personality.”

Oshun is shown here slender and naked, reclining against a tree in a serpent-like, seductive posture, as if she were awaiting a lover’s caress. She is the moon-snake of eternity, a traditional African symbol of 22 regeneration. Her arms are extended wide to embrace the love of the universe. She is a symbol of sensuality and abundance, the yoni or female genitalia in perpetual arousal.

In her left hand is the honeycomb, her favorite food and a symbol of matriarchal civilizations. On her head she wears the crown of brass, “the metal that transmits the force personified by the river.” The inverted triangle appearing on her crown is the most ancient symbol for woman, as it personifies the female genitals. This triangle in the ancient matriarchal cultures was a symbol as ubiquitous as the cross today in the West. In the Greek sacred alphabet, the letter delta, a triangle, meant the Holy Door or vulva. In the Hebrew Kaballah, the letter ascribed to this card is Daleth or “door.”

The river appears to be pouring forth from Oshun’s genitals, the sacred door to all life. We see women bathing in her waters, much as barren Yoruban women do to this day. Besides being Oshun’s sacred river, the river in the foreground symbolizes the continual flow of energy and sustenance from mother to daughter. The spiritual waters of the preceding trump card flow and become the womb-waters of Fertility.

Oshun’s riverside pools are teeming with potential life forms, still incubating in her dark backwaters and underground caverns.

Between the tall African sedge grasses, a heart and a woman’s symbol adorn two stones; in the tree, doves nest to remind us of Oshun’s astrological connection with the planet Venus, ruler of the sign Taurus. Priestess and author of Jambalaya and Carnival of the Spirits Luisah Teish says, “Oshun provides us with all the things that make life sweet and worth living.” In Jambalaya, Teish has a chart of the Seven African Powers, describing Oshun as follows:

Saint – Lady of Caridad del Cobre, Mother of Charity
Day and Number – Thursday, 5
Country and Owned Places – Cuba, Oshun River, Oshogbo, Nigeria
Cloth and Bead Colors – yellow, green, coral
Favorite Animals and Objects – quail, vulture, parrot, peacock, gold bells, fans, mirrors, scallop shell

I have spent many days and nights honoring Oshun at the sacred Ichetucknee River here in Florida. Imagine 23 women and children of many races dressed in white, winding their way to her turquoise 23 crystalline waters at dawn to honor her with a most spectacular floating offering of oranges, honey, mangos, strawberries, healing stones, cinnamon sticks and beautiful flowers. It took my breath away. After much singing, dancing, drumming and chanting, we offered this tray of goodies to Oshun. It was clear she was pleased when a huge carp leaped into the air to punctuate the moment. Finally, Yoruba Priestesses Oyabi and Omi gave us a luscious lesson on the fine art of honey-dripping. We offered honey to the water, to the fruit, and to each other. A sensuous feast to be sure. Ashé ashé.

To honor Oshun, who inspired creativity, I wrote the following song, (soon available on tape/CD, sung by Flash Silvermoon accompanying herself on keyboard and other instruments):

River Goddess To Oshun with Love – Flash Silvermoon
River Goddess keep on flowing
River Goddess keep on flowing
Bring on the rhythm of the Spirits
Bring on the rhythm of the Spirits
Bring on the rhythm of the Spirits for me

Honey Lady – bring love sweetly
Honey Lady – bring love sweetly
Bring on the rhythm of the Lovers
Bring on the rhythm of the Lovers
Bring on the rhythm of the Lovers for me

Wide hipped dancer – keep on swaying
Wide hipped dancer – keep on swaying
Bring on the rhythm of the River
Bring on the rhythm of the River
Bring on the rhythm of the River for me

(Bridge:) Cool clear water – cool clear water
mystical vision flowin’ with the Spirits
mystical vision comin’ on through me
mystical vision flowin’ with the Spirits
flowin’ like water
flowin’ just like the

River Goddess – keep on rolling
River Goddess – keep on rolling
Bring on the rhythm of the Spirits
Bring on the rhythm of the Lovers
Bring on the rhythm of the River for me.

Receiving Oshun puts you in touch with the fertile aspect of your consciousness. Once this limitless source is tapped and awakened, you become the sower of creative energy. The creative fire and the fire of passion blaze from the same source. It is a time of awakened sexuality and sensuality, of erotic moments of inspiration. You can flow like the honey and her river.

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(The High Priestess Tarot Meaning) 2. Illumination – Isis – Moon

KEYWORDS: Deep understanding, gateway to soul.

Lady of the Moon, Healing of the Soul
Isis — Isis, veil lifter — shape shifter
Goddess of 1,000 names,
wisdom that survived the flames,
lift the veil for us once more
that we may enter your sacred door
to heal our souls from deep inside,
no secrets left for us to hide…
From the womb to the tomb
we adore you, Mother Moon

For the High Priestess, I chose the Egyptian Goddess Isis (or Au Set as she was called before the Greeks altered her name), in her dark or veiled aspect. She represents the gateway to the soul. Isis is the initiator to the hidden or “dark” mysteries of the moon. Her secrets involve those mysteries pertaining to nothing less than the continual cycles of life, death and rebirth, as exemplified by her three changing phases. Rush in Moon, Moon says, “The Veil of Isis is the flesh or human form, which must be lifted to find spirit; it is the door of every mystery.”

Those capable of enduring the initiation of the Moon Goddess become her children and are awarded the Rose of Isis. In this ritual, she is portrayed as the holy bird, with dark, vivid blue feathery wings.

In The Wise Woman Tarot card, Isis is shown serpent-entwined sceptre in hand. The bird-head appears above her lunar headdress. Her feathery arms extended, she draws down the moon. This is one of her sacred duties, re-enacted in ceremonies which include the drawing and pouring of water. She is standing in her shrine, straddling the grotto where her waters trickle freely into a pool reflecting her ruler, the moon. Also floating in the pool is a small stone boat carved like a crescent moon, with a likeness of the Goddess riding in it. These stone boats are typical of those found in all the temples to Isis.

In Egypt she was known as Au Set, meaning “exceeding queen,” or simply “spirit”. The Greeks called her Isis and she assumed the roles of many lesser deities to become the Goddess of Ten Thousand Names.

Being a priestess of Isis not only in the present, but also past and future, I have many memories regarding various initiations that were guided by Isis/Au Set and her followers. My memories are so intense that I was driven to write a whole book about one past life I had as a priestess in the Temple of the Bells in Egypt. Many rituals we did there had to do with the cycles of life, death and rebirth. Birth and death experiences were often simulated through these rites.
I include here some excerpts from my unpublished book Temple of Isis: A Past Life Memory, to give you a flavor of the world of Isis and show you how she lifts the veil to the mysteries.

“I wasn’t sure if I was awake or asleep as a dim golden light led me onward and inward. A gentle rocking movement made me aware that I was on a small moon-shaped boat. Two women shrouded entirely in dark robes pulled this lunar ship silently over black waters lit only by the moon playing hide and seek with dark billowing clouds. It was eerily peaceful and almost too quiet. (See the Initiation card for this visual image.) My mind began to race!

“‘Nefra,’ a soft voice came from one of the cloaked women. ‘Now you must swim to find your treasure.’ I was terrified. Swim in this blackness? ‘No, no,’ I screamed, waking myself from a deep sleep.

“The Ancient One came in to my room early that morning with a sly grin across her wrinkled face. ‘Sweet dreams, Nefra?’ she cackled. ‘No, not at all,’ I answered defiantly. ‘Well today, Nefra, you must be silent. I will stay with you but words must not escape your lips. If you can do this and enter your dream again …’ her voice trailed off. I was always amazed at how she knew what happened to me without my uttering a single word.”

“She helped me slip off my robe and covered my eyes with thick gauzy material. Next she led me down the steps into the cool water and proceeded to lead me around the pool in concentric circles till we had created a whirlpool. Then suddenly, she was gone. My blind hands searched for her but I was alone in the whirlpool. Inside my head I could hear the Ancient One’s voice. ‘Nefra, you must learn to see in the dark.’

“I was wondering how this would happen, when my mind became flooded with rapidly changing images. I willed my vision to slow down, to focus on each picture. The mast of a small ship came into view complete with my two shrouded dream friends. Not this again, I thought. I could feel the water all around me lapping hungrily at my sides. Somewhere inside me I knew that I was in a friendly pool, but fear and doubt were crashing in against my knowing. Panic tried to wrench my wisdom from me, pulling me into an abyss of paranoia. Monsters loomed everywhere. I lost all sense of time and space in this pool.

“After what seemed like many hours, I remembered a breathing technique I had learned from Sepi that helped me relax. I breathed deeply into my belly and felt the surge cycle up through my heart. After several breaths I felt my fear finally recede and be replaced by a warmth spreading through my body. As my terror left me, my visions returned and a perfect white rose appeared in my mind’s eye. I swear on Hathor’s Eye that I could even smell that rose.”

During the process of writing, I was constantly fascinated by how effortlessly the words came flying out of my pen. I learned much and did some profound inner healing as this lifetime revealed itself. I strongly encourage any of you who feel in touch with a particular past life to take pen in hand and open your mind and spirit for revelation.

The healing that I believe to be most profoundly reflected by Isis is the healing of the soul. She beckons you inward to truly become known to yourself. She lifts the veil and you must be brave enough to gaze at the mysteries of the universe as well as your own. We are entering a time when transpersonal awareness is crucial. We are inter-penetrating light beings with knowledge and soul-food for each other. When any of us raises our level of awareness the planet is uplifted. As we engage our personal work, we are indeed in service to the collective. We need not all stay in personal work at all times but periodically we must all come home and clean house.

The Moon is the planet in our astrological charts most closely associated with the soul. It also reflects our need for comfort and nurturance. The Moon in each of our charts can be a crucible for change, understanding and soul growth. Because the moon essentially wants to stay comfortable through her awakening process, we must approach her tenderly and with much love for ourselves and the hidden fears we may uncover.

To sum up my feelings about Isis, I quote from the final lines of the “Charge of the Goddess”–a most potent incantation among goddess worshippers:

“And you who seek to know Me, know that your seeking and yearning will avail you not, unless you know the Mystery; for if that which you seek, you find not within yourself, you will never find it without. For behold, I have been with you from the beginning, and I am that which is attained at the end of desire.”

Many find Isis to be an enigmatic figure, staring back blankly, like the Mona Lisa. When her card appears, she demands that we seek within ourselves for the answers and dig deeper. Then, and only then, does she lift the veil. Hers is a tradition that teaches us to find the Goddess within. That is how we truly make contact with her divine lunar energy and feel the illumination which comes from listening to our intuition.

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