Monthly Tarot for May 2018 ~ Our Will In Balance

It’s time again for monthly tarot and overall, the month looks positive. I’m again using three card spreads for each week with an initial significator followed by what challenges and what provides support for the week. There are five cards from the Major Arcana indicating Higher Self influences along with two cards from the suit of Wands, Cups, and Swords, and one from Stones (Pentacles) as well as one Ace. As I’m using the Haindl deck for the monthly reading, six cards have I Ching guas or hexagrams associated with them as well as five cards with runes. I use the Elder Futhark when I look at runes and this particular set that Haindl uses may possibly be Anglo Saxon so I have to do a little translation to compare them to what I use.

Elemental energies are basically in balance with Earth a little less than the others and the overall numerology of the reading is seven or the number for magick and divinity. An interesting pattern happened with the individual week’s numerology, however. Each of the first three weeks resulted in a numerology of eight with the last week a one so for the first three weeks we may be focused on more practical matters with something new beginning in the final week of May. So let’s look at the cards!

During the first week of May, two cards from the Major Arcana indicate that our Higher Self is influencing and that some change is in store. The Universe, The Tower, and the 6 of Stones comprise the first week’s cards and suggest movement into something new. It’s unclear to me why Haindl titles the 7 of Stones, Failure when its gua is titled Standstill. In my view, it seems that although things might be a little crazy or erratic indicated by the multi-sized stones, like the seven itself, it’s time to step back and trust the process that’s begun. It’s not a failure, just a pause for reflection.

As we look at The Universe card, we see a fire-breathing serpent encircling the center of creation, bubbles of hope, purity, appearing like planets in space. The serpent evokes a sense of grace as it breathes cosmic fire into manifesting all of creation. And it’s into this same fire that we return when life in form is complete. The Universe represents the synthesis of all that we learn during our time in form. It’s the Akashic record of creation, the Triple Goddess fully manifested, serpent energy catalyzing our awakening and liberation. Gebo is its rune suggesting balanced energy exchange.

Anything is possible this week as The Tower burns to the ground. Its patterned walls suggest impermanence, that our thoughts and behavior have taken us into areas which no longer serve and it’s time to let them go to be replaced with something more relevant. The challenge may be in our willingness to let go of ideas and choices that run counter to new experiences. Mars energy is present in this card but so is the rune Algiz suggesting that Higher Self awareness is available and ready to offset the ego’s use of that catalytic impetus so that it focuses that energy into positive experiences.

Referring again to the 7 of Stones, again, with the changes in thinking that we’re experiencing, I don’t agree with Haindl’s title. Seven is an interesting number in that it symbolizes scales to me with three on each side of the one. So in a sense with the seven, we’re to stop and let the things come to balance. Gebo as the rune representing The Universe reinforces this idea with balanced energy exchange, so in the position of support for the week, instead of failure, what we really have is the time for reflection and to bring everything into balance. Haindl tends to follow Crowley with his use of the same titles so I suppose it is what it is. Thoth happens to be my favorite deck to use and Crowley’s version of the card doesn’t evoke a sense of failure either in my opinion. Sure, Lady Harris uses dark colors, but they’re beautiful so I don’t know. I guess I don’t see sevens as problematic.

 

Moving on to week two, The High Priestess, the 6 of Swords, and The Aeon comprise this week’s influences with two Major Arcana cards again providing soul archetype influences as significator and in the position of support. The High Priestess begins the week as significator depicting the goddess with her hands raised in supplication before a large bubble as she manifests creation. A camel sits at her feet reinforcing the Hebrew glyph Gimel on the top left of the card. Uruz is in the upper left corner reinforcing her manifestation of life, love, and inspiration. She is wise, her secret knowledge guiding her path. She is the gateway to the unconscious realm and possesses inner wisdom and revelation. The river below her represents a sense of stability brought by change that is ever-flowing. As card two of the Major Arcana, The High Priestess represents duality and balance, as above, so below.

In the position of challenge this week, the 6 of Swords is depicted by six swords suspended in mid-air, four pointing upward toward Spirit and two pointing downward toward matter. The card is titled, Science and suggests intelligence that is focused or directed toward success. Traditional depictions of this card show a journey over water suggesting a change in thinking or focus or toward awakening. The gua Haindl includes on the card is the 61st of the I Ching and is titled Inner Truth and suggests that humans intrinsically have a pressure to know universal truth. That may account for the focus on Spirit by the four swords that point upward. A closer look at the card shows the hand of an ancient master extending down over the swords with the face of the master visible as he reaches down to clear the branch away from the swords as if setting aside what’s in our way. He represents inner truth and the challenge this week may be to remember that inner voice that’s always present.

The Aeon is in the position of support this week influencing rebirth and renewal. With the inner work of The High Priestess and the 6 of Swords influencing, it’s prescient that this card appears. A fetus appears in the center of the card ready for birth. Twin rivers of fire and water are below with blue and red droplets falling from above while the serpent looks on, only its eye visible above the vortex of creation. This has to be the most incredible card ever created to depict the twentieth card of the Major Arcana. Known as Judgment in traditional decks and Rebirth in others, Haindl again borrows from Crowley and brings us into the present moment with this card. He also includes Perthro, the rune of the unknown and fate and given that this card appears right before the final Universe card, it’s suggesting that new experiences are coming and in the position of support, that transformation is assured.

 

 

We begin week three in Strength challenged by overflowing emotion with the 3 of Cups followed by the support of the victorious 6 of Wands. Even the progression is strong with three doubling to six suggesting that what supports us during the week will far outweigh that which challenges us. Strength depicts the goddess nude with a serpent coiling around her. Traditional cards show her petting a lion, but either way, this is about balancing the wild with the civilized in our nature and the power of the goddess within. Her compassion radiates as she gently coils the serpent around her, its colors in elemental balance as it rises out of the pool below. When Strength appears it’s telling us that we are more powerful than we realize and that we’re never a victim unless we allow ourselves to be. A card of Leo and supported by the rune, Sowilo, the goddess has the courage to present herself as naked and unashamed for all the world to see. The card of Strength states with complete authority: here I am.

Sometimes our emotions can get the better of us and with the 3 of Cups overflowing emotion can bring an abundance of love and joy or a sense of just too much. Traditionally, the 3 of Cups indicates success and abundance along with celebration. In the position of challenge, however, it may mean that we’ve taken our eye off of the ball, so to speak, so we don’t want to lose focus in all of our success. The real message may be found in gua 28 titled Preponderance of the Great which deals with the intuitive awareness of when to allow and when to struggle and that challenge is simply a part of life. It acts as a catalyst in every sense and speaks to the fact that power and influence may be fleeting. There’s strength in this type of knowing.

The 6 of Wands appears this week suggesting that we enjoy the support of friends, family, or colleagues. Six flame-tipped wands rise from the ground indicating victory and success. The energy is balanced and demonstrates that our will overshadows our emotions. Receptivity is the title of the gua suggesting that it’s the basis for action driven by our Higher Self. And given that the wands’ flamed-tips point to Spirit, that supports the influence of the receptive presence of the Higher Self within.

 

 

While the numerology of the first three weeks is eight or practical matters, during week four, that influence gives way to one or new beginnings. So perhaps after the work accomplished during the first three-quarters of the month, whether it was something we completed or the genesis of something new, we’re getting on with it. After being challenged last week by the 3 of Cups, we begin somewhat at odds either with others or within the self. The 4 of Cups is titled Mixed Happiness and suggests balance but since the cups are facing each other there may not be integration. So there’s a sense of limitation with this card in that we may be somewhat stuck emotionally, or a little obsessive. The gua is titled Difficulty at the Beginning reinforcing the idea that although the card is essentially positive and indicates security, we’re not really moving forward.

The 5 of Swords appears in the position of challenge and is depicted by five swords broken as they appear to strike the head of a dying unicorn as blood rises within a bubble above him. Defeat is its title and Oppression the title of the gua and asks, are we engaging in defeatest thinking? Are we getting in the way of our own process or imagination? Although this could also indicate oppression from others, typically, unless there are Court cards involved or the presence of cards that indicate other people, I typically interpret it as the individual getting in the way of himself.

Aces are said to contain all the aspects of the suit, and Haindl’s interpretation places Wands in the East. I correspond Swords to the East and Wands to the South, but that’s me. But here we have the Ace of Wands in the East and the beginning of creative will. A flamed-tipped arrow rises upward in front of a lingam stone positioned in a shell within a small pool of water. This is the moment of creation, the meeting of the male with the female. It represents birth and legacy along with catalytic expression. Its energy explodes initiating the very spark of life and in the position of what supports us, it suggests that we’re on the precipice of something new and exciting!

Overall, the numerology of the reading is seven, or again, seeking our own balance and trusting in our own process. So we may spend the month clearing out the clutter and making way for new ideas or projects to take hold. Either way, May will be interesting, especially if the frost doesn’t kill the tomatoes I’m going to put out this week. Fingers crossed.

May Blessings to all!