Dear reader
Note: The following is mature age content. Parental guidance is advisable.
In the search for meaning, I have discovered something very beautiful which I wish to share here with you. In ancient tarot, there is a two of cups which has some very mystical symbology in it. I read the tarot very closely and divine its messages, usually to find clarity, for my querents.
One of my querents recently, happened to be a Sun ruled Leo. The lion, represented in the card two of cups came up with an interesting twist. This one has wings. And underneath the winged Lion Lamassu, we find the Caduceus, which has two snakes, coiling upwards with a sword or a wand between them. Further, we see in a foreground, two youthful persons, one of each gender, a girl and boy, cheering with two cups, one each in hand. What is also noteworthy is they wear the wreaths of olive leaves and the boy seems to be handing something over to the girl's outstretched hand. in the background, we see a hill, and on top of the hill, there is a house. The boy and girl look like they are standing on a flat structure, painted yellow, which could mean prosperity and stability. There is much harmony in the two of cups, and it's a wonderful card, when it comes up in my readings.
But as I was saying, according to ancient Sumerians, there was a creature, the winged Lamassa, who had the face of a Lion, and wings, and this reminds us of the Sphinx. But we notice that there is no obvious visibility of wings on the Sphinx, today. But we can never be sure if the wings once existed and have now eroded.
The power of the subconscious and the underworld cannot be underestimated. The deep recesses of the subconscious, in Freudian- Jungian theory, has us looking for symbols that can free up our libido, which is our creative energy, ruled by the sign of Leo, the Lion, in astrology.
Now, if you're like me, you've probably watched a lot of movies. The whole business is ruled by the sign of Leo, and you even have MGM pictures proudly flaunting this association. You also have the famous Cannes festival of creativity, in which the awards distributed are statues of lions.
The Lion is an earthbound creature, or so we think. In astrologos, we have the signs of Scorpio, which represent the eagle and even the turtle dove and the sign of Aquarius which also has the eagle as symbol, which are associated with flight, of mind, of imagination and of invention and discovery. The current north node in Leo and the south node in Aquarius has stirred up a whole heap pf drama, even a love of the creative arts and sciences in a way that no other transit has so far.
We have raging debates on social media where Aquarius rules tech and social spaces, on the destinies of huge enterprises in Leo ruled professions like acting, drama and the business of motion pictures. But to really fly, Leo needs to become the winged Lamassu, and that can only be done via Persephone, since between the beginning and the end, there always has to be a conflict that must find resolution.
In life, we all have parts of us, which finds itself in conflict with either ourselves or others and we struggle to find resolution. How does the story end?
Why the subconscious matters to Persephone and the Winged Lion
There are many instances when we agree to resolutions that don't quite sit well with us. This is where the subconscious kicks in. It starts to mess up one's conscious, above the surface life, and this can be anything from traumatic to bearable. It could involve people deliberately messing up what one thinks is something that has no problem. It could involve grey areas like human rights issues, like interferences from people who think they know best, because everyone is trying to keep the surface clean.
But underneath the surface, Persephone opens our eyes to the riches of the underworld. She is the daughter of the Earth, Demetra, and Zeus, or Jupiter. In astrology, Jupiter is the great benefic and he rules many important ancient disciplines like medicine, the art of laughter and generally, represents the abundance of love and what that could manifest. But in the story, Persephone, born of such great love of Gaia and Jovius, is abducted by Hades and thrown into a prison. She struggles to find her wings.
In the world today, there is a oil war, resources underneath the earth, which represent a part of the collective human subconscious. This war is closer to being no more because of many alternative fuels and technologies which are coming from exercising the use of the gift of the wings. Persephone has been given the gift of wings by the winged Lamassu. She, the daughter of an abundant God and the Earth have finally been freed of the imprisonment of Hades, who has also won himself a cure.
For anyone going through a difficult time, which may feel like a mess, you simply have to believe that you can use the power of your own subconscious and give it a voice, a release and see where that takes you. Sun ruled Leo is also a benefactor here and allows us to work through our personal dramas and come out sane, victorious, complete in ourselves, for what it matters.
The Hanged Man and his role in Persephone's return from the Underworld.
In another relationship that explains the Sun and the exaltation of Pluto in Leo, we also have the Hanged Man, the major arcana card number 12, which says, "This is a symbol which is supposed by some to represent Prudence." It is a most interesting depiction of wisdom or prudence, or jurisprudence or financial prudence. It has a youthful man hanging off a gibbet, one leg folded behind the other. You'd think Prudence would be a judge or at least a wide old soul or a owl, but it is extraordinary that a hanged man represents Prudence, the ability to be discerning, to know one cunning thing from another. Here we see an example of "Walk a mile in a man's shoes before you judge him, which in this case has seen a discerning man walking in the shoes of a man who is hanging as well, in a show of great solidarity and patience for the outcomes of the decisions we take, and the meaning of the lives we live.
What is interesting to note is that the man has a halo, the benediction of the Sun and even though his situation is so precarious, literally hanging on a thread, his eyes do not betray any fear nor his expression any pain. The hanged man reversed looks like a dancing man, doing a pose in a Celtic or Russian dance sequence with his mates. This protection that he has of the Sun could mean many things, including patronage of the ruling king. It could also mean he's wanted by the king and there are bounties on offer for his capture or execution.
If you are a fan of Sherlock, you'd know that he and Moriarty share the same head space. Sherlock struggles with it, he has to finish him off, but he knows he can't do it because it could mean the end of himself. The hanged-man is an invitation to explore the bargaining we make in return for peace, so we can carry on with a surface life which looks un-anomalous with the rest of the world. But we lose the inner child in this bargain. The child is everything to Sun ruled Leo. The safety and protection of the child is uppermost in his mind because he knows no other way to live, to love, to laugh.
Persephone represents the part of our childhood which is innocent but, she lives in the underworld which represents things like child sexual abuse, paedophilia and rape survivors of both genders. Her world is constantly threatened by post traumatic stress of abuse and the neglect of her own needs for love, she longs for stability, for the flat surface of the two of cups, where you see the caduceus of medicine and a winged lion ready to take her away from the depths and rescue the child, which is what is left of any of us, at the end of the day. In the context of recent world wide movements like the cry for and end to abuse represented by the #metoo movement, we're seeing a lot of people coping and trying to heal as best, as fast and fully as they can. This entire exercise involves going back into the deep and habituating oneself to past trauma and repeating it until events of the past no longer hold power over a person and that is how cognitive behaviour therapy addresses healing the trauma, which is in turn liberating energies that are imprisoned in fear and it takes the courage of a lion to grow out of those fears.
Many adults feel lost in this place and the North Node in Leo is pushing everyone to their limits to overcome fear of abuse, fear of the betrayal of trust and the fear that holds us back from truly being loved. So, it's not easy, and we need enormous amounts of love, patience, and time to work through our collective fear and replace it with love. Thanks to people talking about it and making a big noise, we find more children coming out to express what is making them afraid and helping them speak, and seek help. There is hope that we can survive this, that we can learn to move on and have compassion for people, whatever point we happen to be in, along these lines.
Sharing a personal page
I can relate to this story, a lot. As a Scorpio, progressing into wild Sagittarius, I had a lot of years in the prison called Persephone. She tends to complicate her life. And while there were many who spoke about the subject with great concern, it took a Sun ruled Leo, to invade every corner inch of the darkness of Hades or Pluto and liberate the light in all parts of me. It is really something to be fully loved, until the oceans are swelling and you want to cry from the sheer beauty of it all. There is a very good reason why Pluto is exalted in Leo and I'm never going to get enough of saying that.
But, does the Lion pay a big price for liberating Persephone from Hades?
The King or Queen. The Sun. He/she has a whole other life, in which he/she is an indiscriminate showerer of the light of sunshine and love, but it also takes the entire darkness of Persephone for him to realise his own value. Hence, in astrology, Pluto, who is anciently called Hades, is considered exalted in the sign of Leo. It balances the dance of the light and dark energies quite spectacularly and is emotionally, an ultra-rich field of knowledge and experience.
Persephone and Sita
In ancient Indian mythology, too, a story comes to mind, of a prince Ram, who was an avatar of Vishnu. There was a test set to win the hand of Sita, for which many valiant princes came. The test involved stringing the bow of Lord Shiva, which was called Gandiva. The test was to see who could string the bow. Many princes tried and could not even lift the bow. It was the dead weight of the subconscious, which many people can relate to, when you study the details of depression and what people describe it feels like. it's only when you cross the point of no return through to the Netherlands that you find the energy you need to come back up again , feel lighter and develop flexibility. Finally, when Ram's turn came, he lifted it up and strung the bow and won the hand of Sita. In this story as well, Sita is the daughter of Mother Earth. Sita is described as the daughter of the earth goddess Bhūmi and the adopted daughter of King Janaka of Mithila and Queen Sunayna.
Persephone and Sita are both related to springtime, which is April in the northern hemisphere and November in the southern hemisphere. Interestingly, both April and November, represent Aries and Scorpio in the astrological calender and are both also ruled by relationship planet Mars. Technically, Scorpio is also co-ruled by new ruler Pluto.
They represent the freshness of thought, of life, the liveliness of spring and indeed, if you observe Mars ruled natives, they don't strictly seem to think there is any need to conserve, to put away for later, to save money in bank accounts. They are all about the here and the now, spontaneously bursting forth like a dance of springs bubbling forth from the underground.
The story of both Sita and Persephone are tragedies. They observe their duty to land, their mother and the principle of abundance, their father, but they are both bereft of true love, unless they learn to balance their own subconscious and conscious needs with those of others.
While everyone is happy that Ram and Sita ruled a great kingdom and brought a great menace to an end, and brought closure to it, they paid with the sacrifice of their own love for each other.
It is with deep sorrow and great hope that I wish personally, for Persephone to fly with the winged Lion so that something gives, so that they find peace and love, like in the card, two of cups.
Things to take away from here
If there is something bothering you, and you feel injustice in your life wreaking the havoc of a subconscious mind whose equations don't add up, then reach out to someone.
You may feel its too complex for someone else to understand what's going on. But make that call, dial a friend, talk to someone. Take action on matters that are needing resolution in your life to move forward.
Do not sit on it, brood about it, get depressed, shut yourself off, and disappear. You must reach out to someone and take that first step towards resolution.
What happens next is at least not getting more depressed, you will find that people do come to help you, there are many angels watching over us, and you will soon find yourself getting involved, meeting others like you who also are wearing their insides out, crying, laughing and participating in their own recovery.
Who knows, you may crack a brief you never thought you could, you may win the lottery, you just have to show up. Life ka route dikhe ya na dikhe, haazir ho jao. Whether you can see where the road goes or not, just show up.You will always make a new friend or meet an old one.
Life seems dead in the winter of our souls, but it is teeming with life in the springtime. Make spring your home.
#ifeellikespringtime
#metoo
AFFIRMATIONS:
I am brave.
I am fearless.
I am love.
If you have a friend you care about, call them up and say hello. Also bringing you more in other blogs from Swa's little corner of the universe.
Shout out to our yogi friends who're going around helping people breathe through their anxieties and fears and helping them feel lighter and brighter.
A big thank you to therapists everywhere who're working flat out through all the trauma and bringing us the strength to carry on, I wouldn't have no idea where it comes from.
Our very special gratitude to doctors who're making us laugh, artists who're making us laugh and to The Live, Love, Laugh Foundation for Mental Health for supporting live stand up comedy.
Also, to writers everywhere for being inspiring, and telling so many amazing stories. A big hug of acknowledgement to one of the world's most favourite persons, the ideator, creator and originator of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck,Pamela Coleman smith, who has been instrumental in helping so many lives and continues to do so posthumously. Many artists use it to get out of writer's block, or to get a sense of where their bearings are, or to help the flight into imagination and dreaming, while it can also help with affairs of the mundane world. Get a reading, meet a card reader once in a while, spend some time with them, support Pamela's art. It can be a deeply enriching experience.
Who knows, maybe the Sphinx will just up and fly.
Note: The following is mature age content. Parental guidance is advisable.
In the search for meaning, I have discovered something very beautiful which I wish to share here with you. In ancient tarot, there is a two of cups which has some very mystical symbology in it. I read the tarot very closely and divine its messages, usually to find clarity, for my querents.
One of my querents recently, happened to be a Sun ruled Leo. The lion, represented in the card two of cups came up with an interesting twist. This one has wings. And underneath the winged Lion Lamassu, we find the Caduceus, which has two snakes, coiling upwards with a sword or a wand between them. Further, we see in a foreground, two youthful persons, one of each gender, a girl and boy, cheering with two cups, one each in hand. What is also noteworthy is they wear the wreaths of olive leaves and the boy seems to be handing something over to the girl's outstretched hand. in the background, we see a hill, and on top of the hill, there is a house. The boy and girl look like they are standing on a flat structure, painted yellow, which could mean prosperity and stability. There is much harmony in the two of cups, and it's a wonderful card, when it comes up in my readings.
But as I was saying, according to ancient Sumerians, there was a creature, the winged Lamassa, who had the face of a Lion, and wings, and this reminds us of the Sphinx. But we notice that there is no obvious visibility of wings on the Sphinx, today. But we can never be sure if the wings once existed and have now eroded.
The power of the subconscious and the underworld cannot be underestimated. The deep recesses of the subconscious, in Freudian- Jungian theory, has us looking for symbols that can free up our libido, which is our creative energy, ruled by the sign of Leo, the Lion, in astrology.
Now, if you're like me, you've probably watched a lot of movies. The whole business is ruled by the sign of Leo, and you even have MGM pictures proudly flaunting this association. You also have the famous Cannes festival of creativity, in which the awards distributed are statues of lions.
The Lion is an earthbound creature, or so we think. In astrologos, we have the signs of Scorpio, which represent the eagle and even the turtle dove and the sign of Aquarius which also has the eagle as symbol, which are associated with flight, of mind, of imagination and of invention and discovery. The current north node in Leo and the south node in Aquarius has stirred up a whole heap pf drama, even a love of the creative arts and sciences in a way that no other transit has so far.
We have raging debates on social media where Aquarius rules tech and social spaces, on the destinies of huge enterprises in Leo ruled professions like acting, drama and the business of motion pictures. But to really fly, Leo needs to become the winged Lamassu, and that can only be done via Persephone, since between the beginning and the end, there always has to be a conflict that must find resolution.
In life, we all have parts of us, which finds itself in conflict with either ourselves or others and we struggle to find resolution. How does the story end?
Why the subconscious matters to Persephone and the Winged Lion
There are many instances when we agree to resolutions that don't quite sit well with us. This is where the subconscious kicks in. It starts to mess up one's conscious, above the surface life, and this can be anything from traumatic to bearable. It could involve people deliberately messing up what one thinks is something that has no problem. It could involve grey areas like human rights issues, like interferences from people who think they know best, because everyone is trying to keep the surface clean.
But underneath the surface, Persephone opens our eyes to the riches of the underworld. She is the daughter of the Earth, Demetra, and Zeus, or Jupiter. In astrology, Jupiter is the great benefic and he rules many important ancient disciplines like medicine, the art of laughter and generally, represents the abundance of love and what that could manifest. But in the story, Persephone, born of such great love of Gaia and Jovius, is abducted by Hades and thrown into a prison. She struggles to find her wings.
In the world today, there is a oil war, resources underneath the earth, which represent a part of the collective human subconscious. This war is closer to being no more because of many alternative fuels and technologies which are coming from exercising the use of the gift of the wings. Persephone has been given the gift of wings by the winged Lamassu. She, the daughter of an abundant God and the Earth have finally been freed of the imprisonment of Hades, who has also won himself a cure.
For anyone going through a difficult time, which may feel like a mess, you simply have to believe that you can use the power of your own subconscious and give it a voice, a release and see where that takes you. Sun ruled Leo is also a benefactor here and allows us to work through our personal dramas and come out sane, victorious, complete in ourselves, for what it matters.
The Hanged Man and his role in Persephone's return from the Underworld.
In another relationship that explains the Sun and the exaltation of Pluto in Leo, we also have the Hanged Man, the major arcana card number 12, which says, "This is a symbol which is supposed by some to represent Prudence." It is a most interesting depiction of wisdom or prudence, or jurisprudence or financial prudence. It has a youthful man hanging off a gibbet, one leg folded behind the other. You'd think Prudence would be a judge or at least a wide old soul or a owl, but it is extraordinary that a hanged man represents Prudence, the ability to be discerning, to know one cunning thing from another. Here we see an example of "Walk a mile in a man's shoes before you judge him, which in this case has seen a discerning man walking in the shoes of a man who is hanging as well, in a show of great solidarity and patience for the outcomes of the decisions we take, and the meaning of the lives we live.
What is interesting to note is that the man has a halo, the benediction of the Sun and even though his situation is so precarious, literally hanging on a thread, his eyes do not betray any fear nor his expression any pain. The hanged man reversed looks like a dancing man, doing a pose in a Celtic or Russian dance sequence with his mates. This protection that he has of the Sun could mean many things, including patronage of the ruling king. It could also mean he's wanted by the king and there are bounties on offer for his capture or execution.
If you are a fan of Sherlock, you'd know that he and Moriarty share the same head space. Sherlock struggles with it, he has to finish him off, but he knows he can't do it because it could mean the end of himself. The hanged-man is an invitation to explore the bargaining we make in return for peace, so we can carry on with a surface life which looks un-anomalous with the rest of the world. But we lose the inner child in this bargain. The child is everything to Sun ruled Leo. The safety and protection of the child is uppermost in his mind because he knows no other way to live, to love, to laugh.
Persephone represents the part of our childhood which is innocent but, she lives in the underworld which represents things like child sexual abuse, paedophilia and rape survivors of both genders. Her world is constantly threatened by post traumatic stress of abuse and the neglect of her own needs for love, she longs for stability, for the flat surface of the two of cups, where you see the caduceus of medicine and a winged lion ready to take her away from the depths and rescue the child, which is what is left of any of us, at the end of the day. In the context of recent world wide movements like the cry for and end to abuse represented by the #metoo movement, we're seeing a lot of people coping and trying to heal as best, as fast and fully as they can. This entire exercise involves going back into the deep and habituating oneself to past trauma and repeating it until events of the past no longer hold power over a person and that is how cognitive behaviour therapy addresses healing the trauma, which is in turn liberating energies that are imprisoned in fear and it takes the courage of a lion to grow out of those fears.
Many adults feel lost in this place and the North Node in Leo is pushing everyone to their limits to overcome fear of abuse, fear of the betrayal of trust and the fear that holds us back from truly being loved. So, it's not easy, and we need enormous amounts of love, patience, and time to work through our collective fear and replace it with love. Thanks to people talking about it and making a big noise, we find more children coming out to express what is making them afraid and helping them speak, and seek help. There is hope that we can survive this, that we can learn to move on and have compassion for people, whatever point we happen to be in, along these lines.
Sharing a personal page
I can relate to this story, a lot. As a Scorpio, progressing into wild Sagittarius, I had a lot of years in the prison called Persephone. She tends to complicate her life. And while there were many who spoke about the subject with great concern, it took a Sun ruled Leo, to invade every corner inch of the darkness of Hades or Pluto and liberate the light in all parts of me. It is really something to be fully loved, until the oceans are swelling and you want to cry from the sheer beauty of it all. There is a very good reason why Pluto is exalted in Leo and I'm never going to get enough of saying that.
But, does the Lion pay a big price for liberating Persephone from Hades?
The King or Queen. The Sun. He/she has a whole other life, in which he/she is an indiscriminate showerer of the light of sunshine and love, but it also takes the entire darkness of Persephone for him to realise his own value. Hence, in astrology, Pluto, who is anciently called Hades, is considered exalted in the sign of Leo. It balances the dance of the light and dark energies quite spectacularly and is emotionally, an ultra-rich field of knowledge and experience.
Persephone and Sita
In ancient Indian mythology, too, a story comes to mind, of a prince Ram, who was an avatar of Vishnu. There was a test set to win the hand of Sita, for which many valiant princes came. The test involved stringing the bow of Lord Shiva, which was called Gandiva. The test was to see who could string the bow. Many princes tried and could not even lift the bow. It was the dead weight of the subconscious, which many people can relate to, when you study the details of depression and what people describe it feels like. it's only when you cross the point of no return through to the Netherlands that you find the energy you need to come back up again , feel lighter and develop flexibility. Finally, when Ram's turn came, he lifted it up and strung the bow and won the hand of Sita. In this story as well, Sita is the daughter of Mother Earth. Sita is described as the daughter of the earth goddess Bhūmi and the adopted daughter of King Janaka of Mithila and Queen Sunayna.
Persephone and Sita are both related to springtime, which is April in the northern hemisphere and November in the southern hemisphere. Interestingly, both April and November, represent Aries and Scorpio in the astrological calender and are both also ruled by relationship planet Mars. Technically, Scorpio is also co-ruled by new ruler Pluto.
They represent the freshness of thought, of life, the liveliness of spring and indeed, if you observe Mars ruled natives, they don't strictly seem to think there is any need to conserve, to put away for later, to save money in bank accounts. They are all about the here and the now, spontaneously bursting forth like a dance of springs bubbling forth from the underground.
The story of both Sita and Persephone are tragedies. They observe their duty to land, their mother and the principle of abundance, their father, but they are both bereft of true love, unless they learn to balance their own subconscious and conscious needs with those of others.
While everyone is happy that Ram and Sita ruled a great kingdom and brought a great menace to an end, and brought closure to it, they paid with the sacrifice of their own love for each other.
It is with deep sorrow and great hope that I wish personally, for Persephone to fly with the winged Lion so that something gives, so that they find peace and love, like in the card, two of cups.
Things to take away from here
If there is something bothering you, and you feel injustice in your life wreaking the havoc of a subconscious mind whose equations don't add up, then reach out to someone.
You may feel its too complex for someone else to understand what's going on. But make that call, dial a friend, talk to someone. Take action on matters that are needing resolution in your life to move forward.
Do not sit on it, brood about it, get depressed, shut yourself off, and disappear. You must reach out to someone and take that first step towards resolution.
What happens next is at least not getting more depressed, you will find that people do come to help you, there are many angels watching over us, and you will soon find yourself getting involved, meeting others like you who also are wearing their insides out, crying, laughing and participating in their own recovery.
Who knows, you may crack a brief you never thought you could, you may win the lottery, you just have to show up. Life ka route dikhe ya na dikhe, haazir ho jao. Whether you can see where the road goes or not, just show up.You will always make a new friend or meet an old one.
Life seems dead in the winter of our souls, but it is teeming with life in the springtime. Make spring your home.
#ifeellikespringtime
#metoo
AFFIRMATIONS:
I am brave.
I am fearless.
I am love.
If you have a friend you care about, call them up and say hello. Also bringing you more in other blogs from Swa's little corner of the universe.
Shout out to our yogi friends who're going around helping people breathe through their anxieties and fears and helping them feel lighter and brighter.
A big thank you to therapists everywhere who're working flat out through all the trauma and bringing us the strength to carry on, I wouldn't have no idea where it comes from.
Our very special gratitude to doctors who're making us laugh, artists who're making us laugh and to The Live, Love, Laugh Foundation for Mental Health for supporting live stand up comedy.
Also, to writers everywhere for being inspiring, and telling so many amazing stories. A big hug of acknowledgement to one of the world's most favourite persons, the ideator, creator and originator of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck,Pamela Coleman smith, who has been instrumental in helping so many lives and continues to do so posthumously. Many artists use it to get out of writer's block, or to get a sense of where their bearings are, or to help the flight into imagination and dreaming, while it can also help with affairs of the mundane world. Get a reading, meet a card reader once in a while, spend some time with them, support Pamela's art. It can be a deeply enriching experience.
Who knows, maybe the Sphinx will just up and fly.
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