Sacred Days of Midsummer

[Ciderwell]

Sacred Days of Midsummer

Sing in me O' Muses of Pleiades

1. Birth of the Muses: The cards show how our inspiration and creativity is manifesting.



From the Tarot of the New Vision I got these three cards. A balanced draw, as my inspiration for manifesting creativity was to do some work on an unfinished wand. I carved out circles around the crown of the wand and will later etch in the shapes of the cycles of the moon - this being of Selenite design. I then prepared two indents for induction coils, to tap the moon's energy.
Interestingly, I was considering shaping the crown to be more like that of a standard Queen chess piece. With the appearance of the Tower card it will give me plenty to think about.

[Ciderwell]

Sacred Days of Midsummer

As everyone seems to be drawing a daily card I will use the above three cards for the 14th 15th and 16th of June.
The original plan was to draw 9 cards on the 14th of June, one for each muse. Three were used in the Tarot Haiku game, and the other three were to be kept for personal use. However ...

aligning, the New Vision with the original RWS


gives me:

1. Birth of the Muses, inspiration creativity and manifestation - the Tower and Strength
2. Vestilia of hearth and home - Queen of Cups and King of Cups.
3. Night of the Teardrop, emotions at this time - the Magician and the Tower.

The Strength card is by far for me the most interesting. The red robe of the magician and the red lion and the infinity halo above both tells me they are one and the same. The king and queen are one and the same. The two towers are one and the same. The message therefore is simple, together we stand divided we fall.

Or, as John Constantine would say, "Close your eyes. And whatever happens, don't look!"

[Ciderwell]

4. Juno, Goddess of Fertility and Union –
This card shows us an area of fertile growth in our lives.

The LWB says - Exhaustion, work.
I took a bus today, several miles out of town, to receive a Covid jab. The health clinic there is situated in a large park surrounded by a river, much like the Isle of Dogs in London. Google maps said there was a footbridge through the woods over which would take me to the village and an old castle I wanted to see. But I couldn't find any footbridge. By the time I got back to the bus stop I was feeling very hot and a bit groggy. I'm sure they got the Covid vaccine from down the back of a sofa because my lungs were filling up with dust!
When I got home I was so tired I slumped down on the bed and fell fast asleep - exhausted!

Last night I dreamed of an old friend. He said to me in the dream, "By the way you still owe me 40 pence!".
I thought this so irritatingly trivial it had actually been on my mind all day. So when the bus driver said to me that the fare was £2.20 or £4 return, and I said, just a single as I would be taking a different bus back, and when the same bus driver saw me later again that afternoon and smiled and only took £2, I can't help thinking the difference in fare had something to do with the dream.
Well, I plan to go back later in the week and take a more leisurely route to the castle.

[Ciderwell]

5. Festival of Strawberries card shows us the sweetness
in our lives and encourages us to live in the moment.

I like this card. It feels like the most summertime card I've had yet. The two children splashing in the sun; a memory of happier days. The lotus flowers soon to bloom. With the Dove of Peace holding ... hey, the Steve Hillage Rainbow Dome Musick recording (which I've been meaning to get for so long but keep forgetting so have actually placed an order online while making this post).
Cool!

[Ciderwell]

6. A dedication to the Oak King, who is now near the height of his power in his battle with the Holly King.
This card shows us our strength.

I thought tonight I would try some visualisation meditation to visit the Oak King - while listening to the Rainbow Dome Musick CD, from the previous card the Ace of Cups. But I actually blew it by using three multisided dice. It seems to have confused the outcome of the exercise, I think.

Anyway, here is the short version ...
being much out of practice at this meditation technique I was drawn quickly to the centre of the woods by the power of the musick.

The majestic Oak was difficult to maintain focus, it being so huge. Any concentrated vision was blinded by wave upon wave of awesome pleasure - and I was pulled into the tree through an unseen opening in the bark to a large throne hall. It appeared that the musick was creating light inside the hall.

I was unable to personify the Oak King as he was the tree itself, unlike the Ents for example in The Lord of the Rings. But I was still aware of a regal presence and sparkling eyes that watched. So, I asked the Oak King where I might find Strength? The Oak King replied that I had already been given that answer! (a card had slid off the pile after shuffling and I had placed it on the bottom of the deck. I would later discover to be the above 10 of Chalices).

I was made aware of a table or wood stump at the centre of the hall. On the table was a Death card and three dice, (which with eyes closed) I rolled. I was then shown a swirling mass of stars in outer space into which I fell. Through many rooms I travelled until I came to an open space like a crow's nest. And I saw that I was at the crown of the giant tree.
The Crown was encrusted with many raw diamonds the size of pine cones, and jewels and treasure were scattered about the place.

As the musick was beginning it's outro I was pulled back down to the throne hall. There on the table the dice and Death card were replaced by three magic beans. I was instructed to take them with me.

When the musick had ended I brought the meditation exercise to a close.
I then used the numbers on the dice to select a complimentary card from the RWS
(which I intended to keep private) but I got ...

the 10 of Cups ... not good!
I shall now have to wait and see what transpires with the (imaginary) magic beans before I can make sense of where to find ... Strength!

[Ciderwell]

7. Scrying – June 20:

In the tradition of scrying at the time of Midsummer,
this card shows us a blessing to come.

Strength, in honour, victory, and success.
The six of wands, a very positive card!

[Ciderwell]

8. Summer Solstice – showing us how to shine our own light like the Sun.

Picture taken in the Elizabethan gardens
at Kenilworth castle.

Knave of Swords

I'm very pleased to have drawn this card as it is so spot on - (if you read my story about meeting the Oak King and the magic beans). Here's Jack climbing the beanstalk, and, although the day was rather overcast the sun is shining brightly somewhere up above the clouds. As for me, I'll await his return and see what treasures he brings back from his adventures in the upper realms.

[Ciderwell]

9. Honey Moon – This card shows us how to release anxieties or worries,
how to enjoy ourselves.

The Lovers

Perfect harmony and balance -

What is foremost in my mind about The Lovers has to do with my little pilgrimage to the gardens of Kenilworth castle, and the history between Queen Elizabeth I and sir Robert Dudley. There were a couple of news items that caught my eye a day or two before my visit; synchronicities telling me there is harmony and balance in the decisions and actions I'm taking.

One item was that Queen Elizabeth II was advertising for volunteers to come and weed the gardens at Sandringham Palace in Norfolk. Nothing special in that. Then there was a story that emerged about a brutal scene Joseph Fiennes had did in a TV show he is doing. Again not so special. Then Cate Blanchett showed up in the news about her buying a house in Cornwall.

Although all three news events are really rather trivial, both Cate Blanchett and Joseph Fiennes did play Queen Elizabeth I and sir Robert Dudley in the film Elizabeth, and I find this interesting. Yes I know the film was made a long time ago back in 1998, but the fact remains that a conjunction of events caught my eye and that gives me cause to question the arcana of the Lovers.

And that's whats so good about synchronicity, it tells us we are in tune with the ebb and flow of the universe and not to worry, everything's going to be fine. Well at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

[Ciderwell]

June 23: Saint John’s Eve – Like the herbs traditionally gathered on St. John’s Eve, this card shows what protects or heals us.

The 4 of Pentacles had me stumped. I could not make head nor tail of this card and how it relates to the traditions of Saint John's Eve. So I decided to sit on it, like making an investment, to wait and see what would happen next.

I used the 4 of pentacles as a locator, returning it to the deck and shuffling it back in with the rest of the cards. Which ever cards the 4 sits between will be the last cards drawn.

25 June:

Guru Purnima – Indian festival of expressing gratitude to teachers. This card reminds us of a lesson we have learned, or an experience or person who taught us something, that we should remember and have gratitude for as we move forward.
Parvati, Earth Mother – The card shows us how to ground ourselves and how to connect with the earth’s abundance.

The Queen of Chalices returns from the Birth of the Muses reminding me to look back on a lesson learned, and the The Wheel to look forward with an abundance of gratitude. Which seems fairly accurate for this Midsummer's group reading. And as much as I'd like to talk more about those accuracies, I will leave it there. Because, what I liked most of all about this Midsummer reading was the simple moral to the story of Jack and the Beanstalk ...

the trick of the tale is to not climb the beanstalk, and remain earthed and rooted to reality.

[TheLoracular]

I loved your readings especially the pictures and the little touches you put into every reading with stones. I also listened to Rainbow Dome Music out of curiosity and it completely hit the right notes for me having something in the background while typing notes. I might be an addict now, lol.

[Ciderwell]

I loved your readings especially the pictures and the little touches you put into every reading with stones. I also listened to Rainbow Dome Music out of curiosity and it completely hit the right notes for me having something in the background while typing notes. I might be an addict now, lol.

Thank you, Lor. Though I am a little embarrassed I was unable to gel with your Sola Busca. The deck seemed too distant and surreal for my June activities. Maybe next time I'll add that one to my wish list.

The selenite wand, (for anyone interested in such things) worked far better than expected. The 24th saw the last super moon this year so the addition of the collector coils could not have been at a more opportune time.