I love it when synchronicity deals the cards. One of you pulled The Magician & The Hierophant back on Day 1 and my advice was, if you don’t feel like The Hierophant after you’ve performed the spell then do it again. Now here we are on Day 5 with no outside light source to guide us, except The Hierophant’s enlightenment. The cards have flipped the message; allow your divine light to guide your tools and KNOW.

And this may be sticky territory today. Who amongst us doesn’t look at the image of The Pope and feel, at the least, somewhat conflicted? The Shadow of the guru, the abuse of power, the false prophet is heavy here. But as Hesse writes in Demien, we have to acknowledge in this instance ‘What isn’t part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us.’ We can hold the awareness of the shadow aspects while still acknowledging  The Hierophant  in ourselves as the bridge between Heaven and Earth. His luminosity speaks of ascension and enlightenment; one who brings divine light to the material world and guides those who follow him. He is most commonly depicted as the Pope and so the trappings of great power and wealth are associated therein. However he could equally be considered a bodhisatva…one who has reached enlightenment but has rejected buddhahood in favour of working on this plane to end suffering for all.

Be The Guru

My invitation to you is to now see yourself as The Hierophant, the expert of your own divine light which you give to the world in your very own unique way. How does it feel to be the bridge between heaven and earth?

The Magician too is a bridge between heaven and earth. He is that first initiatory spark of conception, creativity, master of the material elements and carries both the will and the substance of the universe to work with. We see before him the tools of his trade laid out on the table; the ingredients for some powerful magic.  He looks to Hierophant for his divine instructions and sets to work building these in the mundane world.

The Hierophant’s astrological sign is the grounded Taurus ruled by Venus, while The Magician is ruled by our current sometimes trickster Mercury. You can imagine there might be a bit of play between these two. While the Hierophant broadcasts the divine message and embodies his position with authority, the Magician picks up the message runs with it and makes something of it.

What’s Cooking?

What are these two up to then? What’s their gift to us? The Ace of Swords says, ‘To Know’. I’m reminded of a phrase from The Bible, Be Still and Know That I Am God. The vertical nature of the sword reminds me to say centred, literally breathe up and down the spine, finding a space of stillness.  Allow my breath to rise above to the divine and below to the ground beneath me. Let me also be a bridge, centred and fully grounded and present… here. Confident.

Again from Hesse:

We can then be gods for moments, stretch out a commanding hand and create things which were not there before and which, when they are created, continue to live without us. Out of sounds …

At the solstice, our solar system is at its closest to the Galactic Centre. (think of it as the Sun of our Sun) This is literally the stillpoint around which we all move.

The Galactic Center acts like a satellite dish, directing divinely inspired information straight to the potentially receptive gray matter of our brains. If you believe in God, this might be the voice you hear. Regardless, within this connection you have the ability to pull down wild information which you would otherwise have no way of knowing.” From: http://www.philipsedgwick.com/Galactic/GalacticCtr.htm

And so at the solstice, when we celebrate the rebirth of the sun of god, we are given the ability, TO KNOW – to connect deeply with the stillpoint that organises all that we are and to know what divine creations we will be gifting to the world over the coming year. And also to know, with absolute authority,  that each of us in our own unique way is the divine gift.

The Year Ahead – What do you know?

It’s the perfect time to strategise, with Saturn in our Galactic Centre this Soltice.  (see also…)Take some time today to centre yourself, breath up and down the spine, feel yourself as the shining sword of clarity, and allow the inspiration of knowledge to travel through you. Get your pen out and answer these questions:

1. What will I create over the next year?
2. What tools do I need to make this happen?
3. What would it feel like to know that I have absolute authority to make this happen?
4. What does my Magician want me to know?
5. What does my Heirophant want to me to know?

Today’s Spell – Tell It To The Trees

I grew up with a freedom that most children today will never experience. I left the house in the morning and only came back for dinner and if I came home early, I was told, ‘Go Tell It To The Trees’. This meant get out of my hair and go outside and play. It was a phrase that my mother used, her mother used and Greatmother as well. I never once considered that this might just be a figure of speech so I learned to climb one of the wise old oaks nearby, lie down in its branches very high up where no one could see me and whisper wishes and secrets. It was a safe place for me where I could just be with myself in the cool shade. Sometimes the wishes came true. Sometimes they didn’t. But what I learned was how to relate to trees, how to listen and how to talk to them.

The wisdom of Grandmothers works in mysterious ways.

One of the most iconic symbols of The South, is that of the live oak, dripping in Spanish moss. They are keepers of old knowledge and histories, both wisdom and trauma in The South, yet they abide. In some decks, The Heirophant is depicted as Jupiter, a paternal figure who brings prosperity and of course uses the power of lightning. The Oak is also associated with him, tall, strong, steadfast. Sadly, my beloved childhood oak was struck by lightning in the mid 80s. My God, how I cried.

For our spell today I invite you to find a tree that you feel drawn to – one that appears to you as a bridge between heaven and earth and ask for its help in manifesting your intention or any of your goals for the coming year.

Instructions

1. Pull 3 cards and ask: What Do I Know About The Coming Year? Reflect on how the power of this knowledge informs your plans for the year.
2. Write your intention on a piece of paper.
3. Find an offering for the tree. I suggest something that draws prosperity, luck or success or an object that resonates with the cards you drew. Example: an old key for opening the ways, a silver coin for prosperity, flowers, water, tobacco, a sacred oil, a special stone.
4. Go to your tree and connect with it. Trees conduct energy both vertically (through their trunks) and horizontally (through their out stretched limbs and roots). Breathing up and down the spine will create resonance on the vertical and ground you. Breathing out from your heart space will radiate resonance on the horizontal.
5. Listen to what  the tree has to tell you and sense into its unique power.
6. Express your gratitude to the tree and place your offering nearby. I prefer to bury offerings to trees, but you may prefer to place your small item on or in the tree.
7. Read or state your intention out loud to the tree. Feel the power of the tree fuelling your intention and sending it up and out into the above as well as down and into the ground beneath your feet. End by saying…’so it is’.
8. Thank the tree for its help and show it a bit of affection.