PREVIOUS BLOG | MASTER LIST | NEXT BLOG
Happy Equinox/Mabon/second harvest and the Tarot blog hop! Whether you came from Christiana’s take on our theme or back from Olivia’s, welcome!
Our intrepid blog hop wrangler, Aisling the Bard, has challenged us to create our own tarot card to illustrate our perspective on this time of year and perhaps the mythology associated with it.
Works for me, since I’m building my own deck anyway (based on images from the cosmos), and I found this really cool image for my Sun card that totally relates. 🙂
You see, Mabon was a Welsh legendary hero (see the nice-looking guy to the left) whose name means “Great Son.” He had some interesting adventures trying to get himself hooked up with a lady, including hanging out with Arthur and having some trouble with his parents, which you can find more details on over at Wikipedia’s article, here.
Now, you’d think that if someone were working on finding a Sun card for a deck based on astronomical objects that it would be rather simple. Find picture of Sun, put it on card. But the tarot card often has other symbolism, including a child or children, sunflowers, a wall, a flag, etc.
With the astronomical sun, you can end up with “clinical-looking” photos like this:
Or in some frequencies that we can’t normally see, color coding like this:
And I did want to use a picture of the sun from space and not from Earth, so I looked around some more, and then I found this:
Wow! Not only did I have the sun in the picture, I had, thanks to a sunspot flare, a child-like silhouette. The Great Son of the Sun! Awesome! Definitely a keeper, this one. Here’s the text that will go in the companion book for this card, including the accompanying poem (each Major card will have a poem):
Keywords
assurance, greatness, enlightenment, vitality, children, invigoration, action!
The Physics
This giant sunspot appeared in this profile of the Sun on Feb. 25, 2014. This is the third trip for this region across the face of the sun, which takes approximately 27 days to make a complete rotation.
This blend of two images from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory shows the sunspot in visible light and an X-class flare (the silhouette) in ultraviolet light.
Studying what causes active regions to appear and disappear over time, as well as how long they remain stable, is key to understanding the origins of space weather that can impact Earth’s technological infrastructure. These energy bursts make this Great Son/Sun flare an active little guy, indeed.
Credits: NASA/SDO/Goddard Space Flight Center
Metaphysics and Myth
Good old (or actually, middle-aged astronomically speaking) Sol is a very popular deity among humans all over the world. How can you get any brighter, more regular (except during those pesky eclipses) or more powerful than the Sun! Comes up every day, goes down, then comes up again. Never fails (at least not for a few billion years) to arrive. Something you can count on, even behind a cloud or resting at night. He (mythologically, the Sun is most often a masculine/active deity) really rules the sky, and life on Earth as well.
Like all gods, though, he’s got his negative side; too much of him can be exhausting, and sometimes even fatal. He is both a god of life and a god of death, with exposure as his theme.
For the Reading
Shine on! Use your own tuned energies to rise above the surface and give off your own flare; remember that the deep work inside you is what creates your visibility in time and space, just like it does for the Sun. It’s time to build on your successes and make your talents visible. Keep churning and burning!
The Story
Open the eyes of your heart.
You will see the truth in everyone,
the angel disguised in flesh and bone,
the shining saint cloaked in fear, alone.
Open the eyes of your heart,
and fall into the darkened mirror.
Meet your soul at the crossroads of life,
give her a kiss for me, in starlight.
Open the eyes of your heart.
Gaze in wonder on the roses of love
that bloom in the garden of your delight.
Their sweet scent blows away the fear
in a dancing cloud of sun-pollen bright.
Open the eyes of your heart
and all those around you will marvel
at the golden one that shines anew,
the saint uncloaked, the angel revealed,
the illuminated power of You.
….Off you go now, either forward or back, hopping along the way, I hope. 🙂
Very original Joanne…. the Son of The Sun in that image is amazing, I have always been really interested in how Sun flare cycles may affect us too….. great work x
That image is amazing! Absolutely perfect and so beautiful!
Marvellous images of the Sun, especially the one you’ve chosen 😀
That blue Sun is amazing… much better than a blue moon! Son of Sun and your poem are a brilliant combination. Love the thought prompt for the reading 🙂
I love that you include the physics! It adds another awesome dimension to the card and its interpretation!
What an awesome find! I love the Sun image you settled on – unbelievably perfect.
Wonderful!
I especially love your phrase: “Use your own tuned energies to rise above the surface and give off your own flare; remember that the deep work inside you is what creates your visibility in time and space, just like it does for the Sun.” A perfect match to a gorgeous image. And your poem is beautiful! 🙂
Thanks for all the great comments, folks! I’ve been dealing with mother-in-law health issues over the past three weeks and didn’t have time to catch up on the blog hop.
Jayd22, that’s an excellent point about Sun flares. Obvious physical effects on the planet, but from an esoteric energetic perspective (including astrological), it would be interesting to know what other effects it might have on individual consciousness and the collective consciousness here.