This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster. An elegant weapon for a more civilized age. — Obi-Wan Kenobi
I have always identified with the Queen of Wands not only because I'm a Leo but because I'm strong and creative and a few other things that go along with that particular suit on a good day (and a bad one). From time to time however, I reflect upon the Queen of Swords and I recognize that this card represents me too, whether I want it to or not.
The suit of Swords is not a happy suit and we have only to look at Pamela Colman Smith's depiction of the cards it contains to understand that.
Traditionally Swords are associated with air, winter, wind, cold, strength, sharpness, intellect, independence, violence, loneliness, power and ruin—and Colman Smith has incorporated these themes into the Rider-Waite-Smith. And the RWS has become the tarot deck of choice for many readers as well as a interpretive point of departure for many alternative decks—with an emphasis on the negative.
I have never seen a person cheered by Colman Smith's Ten or Three of Swords!
The popular imagery of this suit is may appear tragic. So tragic that it is easy to forget that the symbolism of the suit would have been different when the cards were first introduced. They would have reminded people then of a passing age, where the sword was a weapon reminiscent of chivalry and the nobility. Some might have described the sword in the same way Obi-Wan Kenobi described the lightsaber.
When tarot was new, Wands, the suit of spring and creativity, victory and manifestation, would have been associated with the peasantry or at the very least, the craftsman. Cups, the modern suit of love and happiness—the clergy. Pentacles, which now suggest prosperity—the merchant class.
In this system then, Swords would have represented the class most respected by society at large. And, at its best, the suit is worthy of respect. It symbolizes strength, independence, intellect, and courage, and these are fine attributes in any estimation. Loneliness, as implied in a reading predominated by swords, may be a byproduct of these characteristics in the same way that violence and ruin can be a potential consequence of decisive action. And yet, I cannot dismiss the inherent sadness of this dark queen.
Perhaps it is only a product of the season. Winter is, in northeastern Appalachia, is an austere and unforgiving time that encourages introspection and dark thought. Even in our modern age, it is a season of survival, and I feel this very keenly when I force myself outside on the coldest days to walk the frozen ground.
It takes a certain degree of determination to live this season well and I think that is, on a level, what the symbolism of this suit is fundamentally about.
The Queen of Swords is an independent queen. She rules the wind, winter, and herself with a strong and not necessarily gentle hand, but she is the one I think most of us want to be when we face a challenge.
Representing, not only the nobility, intellect and the most difficult time of year in northern climates, she is courage, maturity and self-determination. I can draw very direct associations between this card and the season it represents. A time of year, but more significantly, a time of life.
 |
| The Strand Saturday Night |
It was a busy weekend – a short family vacation. Everyone had their own agenda and a window of time. Saturday afternoon was my turn.
I had a list of places to see. It included The Strand, a Botanica, a Persian Restaurant, China Town and possibly the Indian neighborhood near a friends' old apartment. The Botanica was first because it was on the way into the city.
I have a friend who likes Santeria and I wanted to pick up something for her and for myself. There is a small Botanica in NJ with a nice selection of incense and home-made candles and it was our plan to go there.
When we arrived however, the shop was closed. A second botanica nearby, sold mass produced candles and machine blended oils only. Somewhat daunted, we got an address for a third shop but were unable to locate it.
When we arrived however, the shop was closed. A second botanica nearby, sold mass produced candles and machine blended oils only. Somewhat daunted, we got an address for a third shop but were unable to locate it.
I have come to believe, as I’ve gotten older, that there is a current to things and I sincerely believe that it’s a spiritual current. This is not superstition, not “this is what is meant to be” - or at least not necessarily - but a kind of energy. Whether or not it is cognizant, whether or not it's destiny or great or small, it is very simply our own personal energy and mine just wasn’t cooperating!
We gave up on the candles and went into the city. There were lights and people and interesting restaurants. Afternoon turned into evening and the whether turned sleety. Hours later, after what seemed like miles of mid winter slush, we walked into the bright lights of The Strand, which if not the biggest used book store ever is certainly the biggest one I've ever been in. After the dark winter streets, it seemed crowded and cheery. There was an interesting occult section and in the end I found something connected to my cultural frame of reference.
I bought nothing to sell and nothing to give as a gift. The clock was ticking and we were tired and and hungry and in the end, picking one good book was enough. Being away from my usual routine I didn’t have a strong sense of the day but as I stood in line with my new book it occurred to me that what is open to us and what is closed has meaning.
That was Saturday and we didn't get a lot of news. Still reports filtered in via snatches of CNN playing in the hotel lobby and iPad updates. Things were happening in Egypt. Being on vacation made it seem even further away then it was in fact I think.
Sunday morning found us in the room in front of the television however. We heard that ordinary citizen's were putting their lives on a very literal line to stand between looters and the Cairo museum. Between the lines of courage and sweeping change and life and death, I was reminded how fundamentally important culture is to all of us.
I bought nothing to sell and nothing to give as a gift. The clock was ticking and we were tired and and hungry and in the end, picking one good book was enough. Being away from my usual routine I didn’t have a strong sense of the day but as I stood in line with my new book it occurred to me that what is open to us and what is closed has meaning.
That was Saturday and we didn't get a lot of news. Still reports filtered in via snatches of CNN playing in the hotel lobby and iPad updates. Things were happening in Egypt. Being on vacation made it seem even further away then it was in fact I think.
Sunday morning found us in the room in front of the television however. We heard that ordinary citizen's were putting their lives on a very literal line to stand between looters and the Cairo museum. Between the lines of courage and sweeping change and life and death, I was reminded how fundamentally important culture is to all of us.
I came home with my new book and some new ideas. I don’t know what it is about vacations but there is something about being free of the daily routine that encourages reflection and affords us the opportunity to see things from a slightly different perspective.
I'm always tired after a vacation and always glad to be back in my little backwater. Still it is nice to feel the shift from time to time!
I'm always tired after a vacation and always glad to be back in my little backwater. Still it is nice to feel the shift from time to time!
The word scry (to see) found in reference to divination in several medieval texts including a 1549 narrative calling Thomas Malfrey and an unnamed woman "scryers of the glasse" (Oxford English Dictionary).
But the practice of scrying is much older, going back thousands of years to the land of ancient Egypt as evidenced in the biblical account of Genesis and beyond.
Genesis 44: 1. And he [Joseph] commanded the steward of his house, saying: 'Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth. 2. And put my goblet, the silver goblet, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money.' And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. 3. As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses. 4. And when they were gone out of the city, and were not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward: 'Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them: Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good? 5. Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby he indeed divineth?.
The use of the cup, while probably part of the "trick" Joseph played upon his brothers, is an obvious reference to scrying. One that Joseph expected his family, who were from far away Canaan, to understand. It seems likely that scrying was known in the ancient middle east and can be found in other sources such as the Persian Legend of the Cup of Jamshyd in which, it was said, the entire universe could be seen.
Unfortunately, scholars are not in full agreement in regard to the linguistics making it difficult to speculate about the way they were used but it's likely that using these items was a variant on the ancient practice of casting lots which is still used today when working with the runes.
Moving forward into the book of Exodus, a possible, albeit tenuous, association between pooling water and biblical prophecy appears in the story of Miriam, the sister of Aaron and Moses, called Miriam the prophetess (Exodus15:20).
Though no details of Miriam's prophecy in the biblical narrative, Jewish oral tradition (as contained in Sefer Ha-Aggadah) tells several such stories. It also tells of the Well of Miriam. Traditionally described as a literal portable source of water, which followed the Israelites through the desert for the forty years of their wandering. We are not told how transporting this portable well is done or why the well was associated with Miriam.
Did Miriam, or any other biblical figure for that matter, scry? The research is, as I see it, inconclusive. The cup of Joseph was I think, only a cup, and we have no idea how the Urim and Thummim of the high priests of ancient Israel were employed. The Well of Miriam, while fascinating, seems to me a remnant of a story told outside of the biblical text as we know it today. I consider it a mystery that is almost certainly lost, and probably best understood symbolically.
 |
| The Queen of the Night Relief |
From the temples of ancient Sumer to the forests of Native America, the owl appears as a frequent and remarkably consistent symbol of the spirit world.
First drawn on prehistoric cave walls, the owl can be associated with religion as early as 2000 BCE as evidenced by the The Queen of the Night Relief, a 4000 year old terracotta base relief presently located in the British Museum in London. The relief depicts a winged Sumerian goddess flanked by two large owls and the owls are not decorative but highly symbolic.
The goddess was called Inanna
or 'Divine Lady Owl'. She was strongly linked to the underworld through 'The Descent of Innana' a story which some modern scholars see an as allegory to the movements of Venus, Mercury and Jupiter.
The myth is related on a series of clay tablet from the Queen of the Night period and tells of Inanna's descent into the underworld during the dark of the moon. She was to associated with the planet Venus and known to the as Ishtar. Though there is no direct connection, authors such as Cashford and Baring have associated Inana with Lilith whom the ancient Hebrews.
or 'Divine Lady Owl'. She was strongly linked to the underworld through 'The Descent of Innana' a story which some modern scholars see an as allegory to the movements of Venus, Mercury and Jupiter.The myth is related on a series of clay tablet from the Queen of the Night period and tells of Inanna's descent into the underworld during the dark of the moon. She was to associated with the planet Venus and known to the as Ishtar. Though there is no direct connection, authors such as Cashford and Baring
have associated Inana with Lilith whom the ancient Hebrews.
In Pagan Europe, the ancient Celts also saw the owl as a symbol of the underworld - an association that has perhaps survived as the owl of Merlin
- while in other cultures the symbolism centered on the soul. In Australia the aboriginal people believed owls to be the souls of women while the Ainu of Japan held the Eagle Owl to be alternately a a divine ancestor or a messenger of the gods. In Romania, folktales say that forgiven souls fly to heaven in the guise of Snowy Owls.
- while in other cultures the symbolism centered on the soul. In Australia the aboriginal people believed owls to be the souls of women while the Ainu of Japan held the Eagle Owl to be alternately a a divine ancestor or a messenger of the gods. In Romania, folktales say that forgiven souls fly to heaven in the guise of Snowy Owls. 
, was often depicted with owls and the Hopi god of death was believed to be an owl. In Mexico, the Little Owl was called "messenger of the lord of the land of the dead", and flew between the land of the living and the dead. In the Sierras, native peoples believed that the Great Horned Owl captured the souls of the departed and carried them to the underworld. Several different Native Northern American traditions including the Mojave
, said that the soul turned into an owl at death.The mythology of multiple cultures places the symbolism of the owl firmly in the spirit world. His mythic role however is largely positive. As a messenger of the gods he is sacred, a bearer of divine knowledge and a facilitator of communication between the worlds. As a guide, he bridges the gap between life and death, but more correctly: the space between this reality and the next.
A series of small synchronicities have engendered in me an interest in owls. The first event was a comment associating the owl with a tarot card I like to get in readings. The next, a found item - a carved base-relief Victorian brass brooch that was a synchronicity within itself.
The brooch (above) has the face of an owl, and two bright moonstone eyes. As owls are widely associated with psychic ability and the spirit realm and moonstones have the same association, the happy coincidence of design and material made the piece ideal for Mystic Emporium inventory. In the interest of offering it for sale, I did some research. This was another synchronicity of sorts.
Already possessing a strong interest in mythology, the ancient middle east, middle eastern religion and Native American spirituality, I found the spiritual significance of the owl in these cultures not only fascinating but capable of speaking to me on a personal level. Also fascinating, the symbolic owl's presence in the mythology of multiple cultures, all across Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia and the Americas and it's meaning, while subject to the filter of each individual society, is remarkably consistent.
Enough info for a book, obviously, so in the interest of beginning something I can finish - I'm aiming for a single short blog entry more or less specific to the spiritual symbolism of the owl. I was hoping to have at least one done for Halloween. This entry might be the best I can do for now. If I can get the article done for tomorrow, it can be for All Souls Days which is after all a holiday for some.
As for the brass owl - I'm very tempted to keep it but will probably still offer it up for sale. Owls are not, after all, my birds and it's my opinion right now that the significance this owl holds for me is, not as an amulet, but as an abstraction. Items pass through our lives for different reasons and may in the end, have their own paths. That's why buying and selling old things can be so very interesting.
Update: Have actually decided to keep the owl brooch for a time so it will no longer show up as inventory in the shop. Reasonable offers always considered, however.
After the Owl article, I will try to do one on my own direct experience with birds.
Update: Have actually decided to keep the owl brooch for a time so it will no longer show up as inventory in the shop. Reasonable offers always considered, however.
After the Owl article, I will try to do one on my own direct experience with birds.
I viewed the movie, Hereafter, hoping to recommend a movie. But I decided recommend an older movie, Stir of Echoes, instead. Be warned, this is mostly an action film (and a relatively violent one at that.
Although, unfortunately eclipsed in the theaters by the gimicky Sixth Sense,Stir of Echoes is a beautiful movie with a great soundtrack. Play the DVD all the way to the end to hear Beth Orton sing, It's Not the Spotlight (or check out the live version below)!
Gematria is a Hebrew form of numerology. Hebrew is especially suited to this type of interpretation because each Hebrew letter represents a number. Actually is a number. There are no numerals. Only letters. I had a dream about the number 13 approximately two years ago. It was unusual enough to spark an interest in Gematria which has been ongoing. You can read about this dream here.In Gematria the Hebrew word 'v'ahavta' (love) has a value of 13, as does the word 'echad' (one). Both words represent key concepts in Jewish thought. The Zohar, an important Kabbalistic work, speaks of the 13 Qualities of Compassion and the 13 petalled rose. Maimonides defined 13 Principles of faith. There are 13 months in the lunar year and the Hebrew calendar is a lunar one. My Hebrew name has a gematria of 13. I was 13 when I began reading Tarot.
I was aware of some of these associations prior to the dream but not all. I hope to blog more about Gematria going forward.
I don't read a lot of best
sellers or New Age books and have definitely not read a book that spanned both
those categories but I am reading Eckhart Tolle.
His book A New Earth is on my night table. It has a bright orange cover with a wrapper full of text about an Oprah / Eckhart web event. And it brings with it a sense of possibility I had just about forgotten.
His book A New Earth is on my night table. It has a bright orange cover with a wrapper full of text about an Oprah / Eckhart web event. And it brings with it a sense of possibility I had just about forgotten.
I first saw and heard of Eckhart Tolle just last night on public access TV. It was almost 3 a.m. on the morning of my birthday and I couldn't sleep and I eventually found myself on the couch watching late night TV. Surfing through the channels, I paused at Eckhart Tolle because I liked his voice.
A peaceful voice is a welcome thing on a sleepless night and I liked Tolle's lilt and his ill-fitting peasant vest and hobbit-like demeanor. He talked about spaciousness, attachment to objects and enlightenment. All of interest to me. And he did not seem to take himself especially seriously which I find appealing in just about anyone.
Curious, I researched Tolle on the internet. I learned that he was born in 1948 and had an unhappy childhood in the shadow of post-war Germany. He later relocated to Spain then England where he attended the University of London. He completed his post graduate work in 1977. I am not clear on his area of study.
Also in 1977, following years of depression, anxiety and spiritual seeking he underwent a self described spiritual transformation. Following this transformation, he lived with friends at a Buddhist monastery or slept on the open ground of Hampstead Heath in a state of peace and contentment. Following or during this period he began to provide spiritual instruction to individuals and small groups in England.
He found himself compelled to move to the North American West Coast in 1995 and has stated that the energy of northwest Canada made it possible for him to write a book he couldn't have wrote in England. That book, the Power of Now, was published in 1999. Other books followed, including "A New Earth" which I am surprised to find myself reading.
I have been meaning to start a blog for some time thinking that, perhaps, if I make a commitment to review a book I will finish it. I have fallen into a bad habit lately of wandering away from them. So this is the blog, please wish me luck with it.
~August 22nd 2010
~August 22nd 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Translate
Social Icons