Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Daily Draw, January 6: Have An Epiphany!

Today is Epiphany, the traditional end of the "12 Days of Christmas" and, in Christian traditions, the day when the Magi, the Three Kings, arrived to worship the Baby Jesus. "Epiphany" is the word used to denote the feelings of the three Kings when they first viewed the Holy Child, and it still has the meaning of a sudden striking realization on the Spirit level, marked by the influence of a Divine Being. And so, today, we will work the cards from the perspective of--well, of course, three Kings. The four suit cards of the Tarot of the Old Path, as well as the Emperor, the Hierophant, the Lone Man (Hanged Man) and the Mage, are the eight manifestations of Kingly Power of various kinds in this deck. So, all 8 of them are laid out, and we will draw three, the "Three Kings" who will grant to us, today, our Epiphany. So--are you ready? Let's do this:

Our first King of the Day is the Magician. He it is who, in the deep night under the Moon and a sky studded with stars, casts the stones with his receptive hand in the shadow of Stonehenge, the repository of millenia of sacred knowledge. This card is Orion, the Wild Hunter, and he is King of the Arcane, reminding you to receive of your own Inner Wisdom in the company of the loyal Wolf of your family, in the gaze of the Unicorn of purity, and with the Cup of receptivity and sharing close at hand. Be King of the High Self, and nurture the Child Within. Let yourself be guided by inspiration and craft the new path each day with the symbolic meaning of all that you hold sacred. Let yourself be led and guided by Spirit.

  Our next Epiphany is coming to us from the King of Rods. He is the avatar of new growth, inspiration, and creativity. His scepter of Willow represents the phallic "father energy" which both creates and heals the world, while the yellow Iris growing behind him is a symbol of purification, protection, and wisdom. And the Three Rays of Awen on his necklace bespeak Body, Mind, and Spirit in harmony one with another. He represents the Epiphany of understanding that you must heal and maintain and nurture your Self in order to be able to have anything to bring to anyone else, and that you must hold the three Realms of Being, body, mind, and spirit, in equal balance in order to thrive.

And our final Wise Man for the feast of our own Epiphany is the King of Cups. He holds the Cup of his power close against his heart, King of Water, dreaming whilst awake of the tranquility of healing, meditation, the deep truths of the subconscious, the joy of Being. He is the Wounded Healer whose energies of peace and connection are always available to us to heal mind and heart, to reconnect that which is separated,  and to grant refreshment from the cup of healing when we are parched within. He represents the necessity of maintaining balance in the emotional life, of giving only that which we can afford to share and keeping hold of our own inner resources, and of making certain that we do not let uncontained emotional states "spill over" and take control of our lives and inner Being.

So--what kind of an Epiphany did the Three Kings bring to you today? Gold for having enough, Frankincense for being aware of your own royal and divine soul, and Myrrh for the constant presence and guardianship of God and Goddess? I hope so!

Blessings on your day,

Aisling the Bard