Tabula Mundi Tarot – Page 4 – an inspired Thoth based tarot deck by M.M. Meleen

DECAN WALK: SCORPIO 2, SIX OF CUPS – Part I

Lord of Pleasure, from Telos Tarot of 777

Succedent Decan of Scorpio: A man riding a camel, with a scorpion in his hand.

Hellenistic deity: Leto

Ptolemaic deity: Merota

The middle decan of Scorpio is a pleasant place, where the Sun, ruler of the decan and of the Sixes, warms the waters of Scorpio. Here the man on the camel is at a desert oasis. The desert is a solar place, and the oasis a safe haven with plentiful water.

He holds a Scorpion in his hand, seemingly without fear. The scorpion is clearly a symbol of Scorpio, but also an emblem of the Egyptian goddess Serket, Lady of Heaven, Mistress of the Sacred Land. Though normally the scorpion is considered destructive, Serket was a protective goddess of fertility, magic, and healing.

This card has a sensual quality, similar to its opposite decan in Taurus, but more focused on pleasure rather than resources.

The man in the image was inspired by one of the two statues on a beach on the coast of Japan, that were modelled after a nursery rhyme and folk song called The Desert of the Moon, written by poet Maseo Kato. I do not know though who the artist is who created these beautiful statues. In the song, a prince and princess take an intimate ride, side by side upon treasure-laden camels, carrying gold and silver across a desert landscape with a dreamlike quality. Of course, I had to modify him to hold the scorpion.

“Across the desert under the moon

Two camels were traveling

With gold and silver saddles on their backs

The two walked side by side.

A prince on the saddle ahead

A princess on the saddle behind

They wore matching white clothes.

Across the wide desert

No one knows where they were going.”

Death, the card for Scorpio, and The Sun, card for (obviously) the Sun, ruler of the decan. Together they provide pleasant, sensual, and fertile Sun-warmed waters.

The decan usually contains the cross-quarter holiday Samhain, and All Saints or Dia de los Muertos, around November 1st, when the doorways to the underworld open and the veils are thin. Offerings are made to nature spirits and faery beings, as well as the souls of the dead, seeking the grateful blessings of kin beyond.

In the cycle of the waters of Scorpio, this is the Elysian fields, the Isles of the Blessed, where heroes and gods lived a happy afterlife, indulging in their most enjoyed pleasures. Here they live a life free from toil and tears, where ocean breezes caress them and flowers of gold blaze. It is a pleasant change from the underworld flaming river of the Scorpio 1 decan.

I think of this as the Goldilocks card of the Scorpio decans, the Five, Six, and Seven of Cups. Where the Five has not enough, and the Seven has too much, the Six is just right.

DECAN WALK: SCORPIO 1, FIVE OF CUPS – Part II

This is the update post for how the Scorpio decan I unfolded. You can see the Scorpio decan I details and correspondences in a prior post.

Also note: if you ever come here during this decan walk, and do not see the current decan as the first post, hit the circular arrow refresh button top left of the browser. That should do it. I have been faithfully keeping up with these posts every time right on the first day of the decan – but if you don’t refresh it does not always show.

Which is similar to a related issue on the store site. In short – this decan has been horrid in terms of computer issues. I spoke way too soon about not being worried about launching something during the Scorpio I decan. After all, I figured it was only a pre-order process, of which I have done many before. Not even an actual publication date or anything, and stuff I’ve set up on the site many a time. I did not expect to be disappointed, even though the Scorpio decan I tarot card, the Five of Cups, is called Lord of Disappointment.

Yet yikes, this has been quite disappointing and super stressful; I am so disappointed in my interactions with the web host so far. Endless phone calls in tech support hell, trying to get someone competent. Long story short: I put up the new book to pre-order, tested the configurations, etc all seem well and good. Then I sent the newsletter and updated the Kickstarter project too, that the book was available for pre-order. People started ordering, all well and good. But then it became apparent that some people could see the new product while others could not. So I sent a direct link out for those who didn’t see it. Seemed to work, people ordering from it without a problem.

Then some people were not getting any shipping options while others were getting them just fine. Bit of a crisis there.

I assumed it had to be a mistake I made, but I looked over everything and could find nothing wrong on my end. So had to call for support. An 8 hour call with tech support was the result. First they told me they had pointed something to the wrong IP address – so that was their fault. They fixed that. Some of the issues calmed down, people were seeing the product and seeing shipping options. But still randomly some people would not see the new products on some devices, mostly on phones. Then they told me it was some sort of caching error related to a program that has been on the site forever, and never caused an issue before.

Just when all was working again, or seemed to be, yesterday Microsoft Outlook went down in a wide swath of the internet. Lots of odd troubles with a lot of email addresses resulted, Microsoft email logins for lots of people were affected including yours truly. Sort of like the AWS issue recently, lots of related things went down.

Then, as soon as that was resolved, the shipping software on the store had an automatic update, that somehow removed Priority Flat Rate as an option for all customers on the store, no matter the product or the geographical location. Which matters, as for heavy stuff like big books and decks, Flat rate is more affordable.

Again – nothing I did; I’m just flotsam and jetsam. Murphy’s Law, things beyond my control and all that. Another 8 hours and counting with not one, but five different tech support outlets. More tech support hell.

Anyone who has dealt with such things knows that calls to tech support are mostly the ultimate in disappointment. Anyway, it really messed up the launch. But I’m still able to order the books and ship them to all who ordered. It is working now, for anyone who missed out due to any issues, so you should have no problem now pre-ordering. Just want to say sorry, to all who had any issue at all, and thank you, to those who ordered without a problem and to those who ordered after a problem. Sometimes things are beyond your control.

Various tech support things are going to be looked at. So it goes. As they say, when you are going through hell, keep on going. But the site is working, so you can pre-order the book or the new edition of Telos, and get it shipped in December.

This Scorpio 1 decan, as mentioned, is Mars on steroids. With roid rage. And Mars in the sky right now is sidled up to Mercury, who is in the shadow period for the approaching retrograde. Heads up!

Thankfully, I won’t be shipping the new book until after the Mercury retrograde is over.

Introducing Scions of 777, the book

Scions of 777

Scions of 777, the book I promised, is finally ready for pre-order. Order now at TarotCart.com for December delivery. I had said I would finish it by the end of summer, so I am about a month late, but here it is!

This book turned out to be more than just a reference for the deck. It really could be two books, one about aspects of the Telos deck, and one about tarot, the decans, and magic. But for me they were and are intertwined. I ended up re-organizing it as two interwoven volumes, but the two are printed as one book under one title and cover. So you get two books in one!

Scions of 777 is a 598-page book containing two volumes in one book: Volume 1, subtitled Six-and-thirty Decans, and Volume 2, subtitled Forty-two Truths.

Volume I, Six-and-thirty Decans

Volume I, Six-and-thirty Decans, is all about the 36 decans, and the 36 related minor cards of Telos Tarot, with a focus on magical praxis. This is a sampling of what you may find there:

Image magic and magical viewing
*Deck consecration – simple method
Making talismans, both permanent and temporary
Invocations, evocations, mantras, magical alphabets
Magical materia
Methods for “loading” a talisman
Ephemeral talismans and talismanic actions
Obscure, eclectic, and diverse magical practices that relate to the energies and correspondences of each decan
Comparison of different decan image traditions and their descriptions
Hellenistic and Ptolemaic deities, some you know, and some that are obscure
Process of making the Telos Tarot of 777 deck
Symbolic visual elements of each design explained
Embedded astrological and Qabalistic correspondences
“Artist notes” with behind-the-scenes inspirations, technicalities, models for and influences on the image
Explanation of the esoteric elements of the card back design
The cards in divination
Tarot magic
The decan walk
Unique spreads
Proactive spread magic
Other: fixed stars, divinatory lotteries, PGM rites, and horoscopic decan interpretations

Volume 2, Forty-two Truths

Volume II, Forty-two Truths, covers the Majors, Aces, and Courts, with a focus on magic and alchemy.

Magical use of the Majors, Aces, and Courts
Difference in use between zodiacal, planetary, and elemental majors
Astrological timings related to the creation process of Telos’ elemental majors
Delineations of the reasoning behind the complex symbolically “correct” descriptions of the majors, aces, and courts according to the Hermetic Golden Dawn
New method of elemental empowerment and consecration of a deck used for magic, based on the Emerald Tablet
The Seven Hermetic Principles
Correspondences
Alchemical considerations, old/ traditional and new assignments from my own speculation and contemplation
Elemental majors and portals of the three
Planetary magical effects, weapons, and epithets of the seven
Zodiacal mottos and purviews of the twelve
Aces as magical tools
Court cards: their faces and shadows, rank, modality, and elemental considerations
Court cards as souls of people and their shifting traits
Court cards as significators, and choosing one
Court cards as situations
The uniqueness and power of Princess cards in esoteric tarot
Symbolism in the art, and Artist Notes for inspirations behind the art
Card meanings in divination
New and unique spreads
Sources, references, and recommended reading for both volumes

A new edition of Telos Tarot of 777 available

In the interest of having a Telos deck sized for portable magic applications, there is also the opportunity to pre-order a copy of a new edition of Telos Tarot, in the more portable mid-size at 2.625×4 inches. The mid-size can be pre-ordered with or without the book, to ship in early December.

The holographic decks also come in large, but only with pre-orders of the book. The new editions do not have the double sided traditional impressed foil of the first edition. The new edition has a new holographic card back design, beautiful saturated color, and smooth slice-cut deck edges. Due to popular request, it is printed on the same cardstock as the Tabula Mundi deck you know and love, with similar holographic effect. There is not a little book for this edition, nor the stele on the box, and it is not numbered. It comes with 79 cards plus a signed title card, in the Scorpionic green two-part box with the foiled phi symbol and green satin ribbon lining.

Here is direct link to deck: https://tarotcart.com/thoth-inspired-tarot-decks/telos-tarot-of-777-holographic-mid-size-deck/

Pre-order now for December delivery. Depending on circumstances, pre-orders may or may not close at the end of October so I can place the quantity with the print shop in time to get these for earliest December shipping, so if you want either of these items please order now. Once I place the order with the shop, if the rest sell, there won’t be more until next year. Thank you for waiting for this book!

Here is direct link to book:

https://tarotcart.com/thoth-inspired-tarot-decks/decans-tarot-book-scions-of-777

DECAN WALK: SCORPIO 1, FIVE OF CUPS – Part I

Five of Cups, Scorpio 1 decan, Telos Tarot of 777

Welcome, I guess, to the first decan of Scorpio, known as the Lord of Disappointment (Loss in Pleasure).

Ascendant decan of Scorpio per 777: A man with a lance in his right hand, in his left a human head.

Ruler of Scorpio: Mars

Ruler of the first decan of Scorpio: Mars

Triplicity ruler of the decan: Mars

Ruler of the Fives/Geburah: Mars

It’s Mars all the way down here, plus some Pluto (Hades), if you include the modern ruler of Scorpio. A whole lot of fire and brimstone, and an underworld scene. The man (Mars) holds a lance (Mars) and a head (also Mars, if you consider his other sign, Aries). Here the waters of Scorpio are portrayed as a flaming river of the Underworld, with the man as a Charon figure wearing the robes of Death in a barge with Scorpionic and Martial elements. I’ve made the head a skull, all the more reminiscent of the Death card.

Death aka The Widow’s Walk, Pharos Tarot

In the Telos image at the top of the page, the man wears brown robes, much like the death figure in my Pharos Tarot. Brown is one of the colors of Scorpio, the Death card. Look closely at the background of the Pharos card and you may see Charon’s barge there as well.

In the Rider Waite Smith deck, the figure wears a black cloak, also very Hades-like. You can also see there in the background a river, and a bridge somewhat similar to the river in the Telos Tarot image at the top of the page. Except in the Telos image, the waters are of flame (Mars), probably the Underworld river Phlegethon. Though any of them will do for this card.

The five rivers of the Greek Underworld realm of Hades are as follows:

Styx, sometimes called the River of Hatred, is the most well-known river that Charon ferries the souls of the dead across, and the “dread river” upon which oaths are sworn
Acheron, the River of Woe/Misery, (whose name means “lacking in joy”)
Cocytus, the River of Wailing/Lamentation
Lethe, the River of Forgetfulness/Oblivion
Phlegethon, the River of Fire/Burning

The Hellenistic god(s) for the decan per the 36 Airs fragment: the Nymphai, seductive yet dangerous, and associated with rivers. The Ptolemaic god per 777 is Arimanius, a martial god of darkness and destruction.

The decan is associated with craving, and being left wanting more. In both Telos and RWS, two of the Cups are upright, but three are overturned and empty. The figure is more focused on lack than abundance. Austin Coppock calls it “the jawbone” in his book 36 Faces. It has the feeling of the “hungry ghost.” Scorpio’s motto is “I Desire,” and with all this Mars, there is burning and yearning.

No matter how many cups, upright or overturned, with this much heat they are likely to be empty and dry regardless.

Mars, Mars, Mars, Mars…evaporated all the water of Tabula Mundi’s Death card.

Death Tabula Mundi Tarot — Tabula Mundi tarot

In other news, news about the new book is coming tomorrow (Friday, the 24th). And no, I’m not worried about being disappointed, or about you being disappointed! My two most popular decks releases were associated with this time. One was published during this decan, while another was published and shipped just before it and during it, and so hit everyone’s doorstep during it. They were not disappointed! So even this decan has to have some uses. In those cases, all that Mars for me meant a lot of energy expended working on shipping! In this case, this decan will just be the pre-order period. The book won’t ship until early December, prime Sag season. So the Mars energy of this decan will probably be spent on wrapping up final details on the project to get it sorted and sent off to the printers.

DECAN WALK: LIBRA 3, FOUR OF SWORDS – Part II

This is the Part II update with observations on anything noticed during Libra decan 3. For all the Decan 3 Libra content and the Telos Tarot of 777 decan-based image, see Part I.

Fittingly, for a decan whose tarot card is called Truce, or Rest from Strife, most of this decan period was spent on a week-long “staycation,” the term for when you take a break from work but don’t go anywhere, just spend it at home “resting”.

It is a bit of a misnomer in this case, because it really wasn’t spent taking a break from work entirely.

It was, in the sense of stepping back from our day-jobs for the most part. But it was pretty much spent doing chores around the homestead. Par for the course in these parts. But it was still a break of sorts anyway.

We are calling it the “peppercation” as the majority of days involved some form of processing peppers. The big frost at the end of Libra decan 2 meant we had to pick all the peppers, as they don’t survive freezing temperatures. Which meant we had boxes and boxes of peppers stacked all over the house for most of Libra Decan 3, and a lot of the staycation involved pepper prep.

Seriously it was a LOT of peppers, both sweet and hot varieties; best pepper year ever. So every day there were peppers being chopped and frozen, stuffed and frozen, chopped and pickled and canned, fermented in a crock for hot sauce, and cooked and eaten daily. Pepper poutine was a highlight!

Other than that, ho hum, other chores happened per usual. Replaced a rotten broken sliding door; entropy happens.

That was a bit of an issue for the cat, as it is a small house with an open floor plan, and he is an indoor cat. I spent a day locked in the cellar with him, while meditatively chopping peppers of course.

It was a fairly boring decan. But no news is good news, as they say.

We did have a great time hosting friends for dinner after the climax of a big work thing they had gone through.

But rest is about to end. I had hoped to get this book out at the end of summer, but I am pretty much almost exactly a month late. Anyway, it is done, and about to drop!

I’ve been collecting quotes during this period for printing the book and am waiting for some info to come in. It is done, it is formatted, it is ready to go. It is two volumes, but printed as one book. It really could have been two books, one on the decans and magic, and one on the deck, but I wanted to do it more economically for me and for you all. So you get two books in one!

The “rest” time also involved some thinking on options for the book.

I ended up reformatting it to include all the tables, and both volumes, into one binding of 598 pages. I also hope to offer a new edition, a mid-size version of Telos, for a more portable size for magic, with a new card back design. I am hoping to have a pre-order page set up at the end of the workweek, so that the book or the book and new deck can be ordered now and delivered in December.

So stay tuned – see you in Scorpio season!

DECAN WALK: LIBRA 3, FOUR OF SWORDS – Part I

Libra decan 3, Four of Swords, Lord of Truce (Rest from Strife).

Magical image of the decan per 777: Cadent decan of Libra: A man riding on an ass, preceded by a wolf.

Libra is ruled by Venus. The decan, and the Fours, are ruled by Jupiter. Triplicity ruler is Mercury.

Surprising that the card is merely “truce” and not something more beneficial, with the Greater Fortune (Jupiter) and Lesser Fortune (Venus) involved. But in the first card below the Abyss in the Swords suit, we merely get a compromise or rest from strife. The suit of Swords is notoriously troublesome, just like the mind itself the suit represents. The Air element of the Swords suit is inherently turbulent, as the offspring of the two opposing elements Fire and Water.

In the image, there appears to be some sort of truce between the rider, the ass, and the wolf as they plod downhill, presumably after some arduous climb or encounter. The downward slope is a bit of a break from the climb. The four swords revolve around a gyroscope – which is what Austin Coppock calls this decan in his 36 Faces. The wheel symbolism is echoed by the device the man holds, which echoes the wheel carried by Fortuna in some depictions.

Wheels are generally associated with the idea of progress, and of cycles. They symbolize ceaseless change and constant renewal. Buddha set the Wheel of the Law or human fate, the dharma-chakra, into motion. Cycles of fortune can and do rotate, and what is on the top will return to the bottom, and vice-versa.

There is evolution and involution, or spiritual progress and regression. The wheel carried by the figure has a handle to set it into motion, which once started, continues its own momentum and is fateful. Yet at the center of the wheel there is a still-point, where one is motionless. Accessing this stillness is a form of truce. This emptiness is a release from the ceaseless whirl of manifestation, achieved by a return to the center of being.

The ass is often a symbol of obstinate stupidity, idleness, pleasure-seeking, or moral depression. Sometimes though, in medieval emblems, it indicates humility and patience. In alchemical terms it is depicted as a daemon triunus, with three heads representing Mercury, Sulphur, and Salt, the three principles of matter. This reinforces the wheel symbolism, for the three figures on the Wheel card in tarot also correspond to the cycling of the alchemical triad, or the three gunas of Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas.

The wolf can be a guardian and symbol of strength, or a lustful and savage devourer. They are generally considered a chaotic force that needs to be shackled to maintain order. Whether the wolf is wild or domesticated, there is no question that he is perceived as a danger by the donkey; despite any truce things could change.

The Hellenistic deity is Nemesis, who has connections to Fortuna. The Ptolemaic god is the Titan Ophionius, also known as the serpent Ophion, the first ruler of Olympus, before Zeus.

DECAN WALK: LIBRA 2, THREE OF SWORDS – Part II

This is the Part II update for the second decan of Libra, just sharing a bit about how it unfolded. Part I with all the Libra 2 decan data is here.

I’ve finished the book, formatting and all, but am having trouble deciding how to print it, because at 598 pages, it is quite expensive to print, even in bulk. Interestingly and weirdly, using a “print-on-demand” service for even a single copy is substantially cheaper than having a “real” printer print hundreds or thousands at once. But I’ve never used one and I’m not entirely sure I trust them. Yes I have control issues. So still thinking on it.

The decan’s card is the Three of Swords, Lord of Sorrow. True to form, someone shared some very sad news with me during the decan period, truly one of life’s more heartbreaking things. But it was heart opening too, as I was honored that they trusted me with something quite personal.

There was also the first hard frost in this decan, which is always kind of sad. So there was a bit of running around harvesting everything that needed to be picked, and covering other things that could survive it if covered. One of the things I harvested was my Job’s Tears seeds, for making beads for a Saturn mala.

The seeds start olive green, then turn tan, then brown, then black. From black they then turn blue-grey, then finally dirty-ish white. All Saturn-ish colors. The best stage to harvest them for jewelry is when they are black or grey, as they are fully ripe, hard and glossy, and not too dried out. You can see in the picture how the stem runs through the center. You remove that and there is a natural hole for stringing.

You may remember if you have been following along, that I planted these in Taurus decan 3. What is interesting is that Taurus 3, the Seven of Disks, is a Venus-ruled sign, with a Saturn-ruled decan, in a Venus-ruled sephira. So I planted these seeds then with intention, for making a Saturn mala for Saturn mantra repetitions. Venus-Saturn=jewelry made from Saturn materia.

You can see in the image of the Seven of Disks above that there are blue frost-like patterns in the background. Sure enough, these seeds were harvested just before a hard frost in this decan, Libra 2.

The Libra 2 decan is very similar to the Taurus 3 decan when the seeds were planted, as it is also a Venus-ruled sign, with a Saturn-ruled decan. The only difference is that Libra 2, the Three of Swords, corresponds to a Saturn-ruled sephira, while Taurus 3 is a Venus-ruled sephira.

This is the plant Job’s tears growing during the Sorrow decan. It looks like corn, as it is related.

I’ll show the mala when I get around to stringing it. Not sure yet when that will be, as there may not be time in what is left of this decan.

Also had to harvest so many peppers…this is only about half of them; got an equal number of red ones and hot ones. Going to be freezing them, pickling and canning them, stuffing them, making pepper sauce, giving them away, etc etc etc….it is a LOT of peppers. The house is full of them; they are stacked everywhere. I have to make a truce with these in the next decan.

Also, happy Crowleymas, October 12th, the birthday feast of Aleister Crowley. Curry-stuffed peppers, anyone?

DECAN WALK: LIBRA 2, THREE OF SWORDS – Part I

Line art for Libra decan 2, Telos Tarot of 777

Succedent decan of Libra: A man, dark, yet delicious of countenance.

The Three of Swords, Sorrow, middle decan of Libra. Libra is ruled by Venus. The decan is ruled by Saturn, exalted in Libra. Saturn is also the ruler of the decan in the triplicity system.

Egyptian God per 777: Omphta. Hellenistic god per the 36 Airs of the Zodiac fragment: Kairos

Color of Binah in Yetzirah: Dark Brown

Three of Swords from Telos Tarot of 777 M.M. Meleen 2023 — Lord of Sorrow. Second face of Libra: A man, dark. yet delicious of countenance

This is the only card with a truly close up portrait, due to the decan description focused on the man’s countenance.

Brief excerpt from the upcoming book, from the chapter on Libra 2 decan, about some of the symbolism of the Telos Tarot of 777 image:

“Yes, he looks very much like those depictions of Jesus opening his chest to reveal a flaming heart, serene face and all. That was of course intentional. Jesus and Buddha are avatars, with many parallels and similarities. The Picatrix image description says “a black man, a bridegroom having a joyous journey.” In the Bible, God uses the metaphor of the bridegroom for Jesus.

The Sacred Heart images of Jesus represent his suffering and love for mankind. Sometimes the heart is shown encircled by piercing thorns, or penetrated by the holy lance, and flaming or emitting light. Here it is surrounded by the three swords of the suit, run through by the central one.

In Egypt, the heart was the ib, a part of the soul essential to the afterlife. It was weighed in the Hall of Judgement, where if it weighed more that Maat’s feather, it was devoured by the monstrous goddess Ammit. The pure heart was lighter than the feather.

The heart is winged, lightening it, for via this piercing there is the possibility of ascending, transcending the physical and the traumas of life to achieve true spiritual growth. When you see the Egyptian winged scarab, you are seeing their amulet of the winged heart. The purpose of the heart scarab was to bind the heart to silence while it was being weighed in the underworld to ensure that the heart did not bear false witness.

The central sword is marked with the hourglass symbol of time, corresponding to Saturn. The two outer swords have hilts marked with the glyph of Libra, which is said to represent the bar of the scales, or the uppercase letter Omega. Omega as the last letter of the Greek alphabet is often used to denote endings and limits, like Saturn. For we encounter the sorrow of endings all the time.

The three swords are bound together with a chain. It is an obvious reference to the bindings of Saturn. But not all bonds need to be sorrowful. Marriage is a contract, a promise and a binding. It is an ending of one state of being, but also a joyous union. There are the chains with which we bind ourselves, which can be restrictions or promises. The chain can be a union through matrimony, or a link of blood relations. Austin Coppock uses “two links of a chain” as the symbol for this decan in 36 Faces.

The chain can also symbolize the bonds that link heaven and earth. This is interesting as Binah (Saturn) is the first sephira above the Abyss on the Tree of Life, and part of the heavenly unknowable trinity. Binah is considered the divine mother, whose daughter is Malkuth, representing life here on earth. Chains also have a connection with prayers, chains of communication with the divine. The ancient philosophers used “iron and adamantine chains” as a metaphor, linking human happiness to the practice of Justice – a concept of the scales of Libra.

Behind the figure is the “dark sea” associated with Binah, the cosmic womb of the Great Mother. The clouds in the sky are parting to reveal three bright stars, symbolic of the triune nature of deity, divine guidance, and liberation of spirit.” [end of excerpt]

This is a very interesting decan. Though it is called Sorrow, the clouds have a silver lining, in that Saturn is exalted here. Yet Saturn is still difficult, and this card is Saturn times three: rules the decan in both Chaldean and triplicity system, and the card is a Three, associated with Binah, the sephira of Saturn.

It seems to indicate karmic bindings [Saturn] between people in some sort of relationship [Libra/Venus], whether marriage, contractual/business, or familial. The heart is pierced, the rose of nature torn asunder in order to reveal its secrets. It also is associated with painful truths, the sorrows that nonetheless are steering us towards enlightenment.

DECAN WALK: LIBRA 1, TWO OF SWORDS – Part II

Just a quick update now that we are nearly at the end of the first decan of Libra.

The card, Two of Swords, is called Peace, or more formally, Peace Restored. It seems applicable to the recent days of the decan, at least personally. It has definitely been a time where the theme of balance has been noticeable. And a bit of restoration, combined with a very productive flow state. I think this is from both Libra, and the decan ruler the Moon. The Moon is always in flux, flowing constantly from one phase to another.

There has been a lot going on, yet I seem to be able to flow from one thing to the next in quite a productive and even relaxed way. There is the sense of many impending things to do, at work, at home, regarding family and friends, obligations, tasks. And if any of you reading lives in an area with true winter, you will understand the sense that by the end of this decan there are many little tasks that need to be done before it arrives, in order to prepare the house, yard, and garden for frosts and freezes and cold weather. Lots of things to button up. This decan normally contains the first frost here, but we escaped it so far…

And lots of things in general…computer systems needing updates, communications to respond to, paperwork, bills…things that are normally kind of irritating, to me anyway. Yet I’ve found it easy to just keep flowing from one thing to the next, getting them done, moving to another, yet also taking time to rest, enjoy nature, and think. With some ease and balance as well as productivity, which isn’t always the case.

The book is now in the final edit stage after formatting. Getting quotes from printers and re-reading everything, making small tweaks in preparation for wrapping it up. Already I find myself thinking about what is next…but one thing at a time.

Soon we will be in Libra decan 2. Crowleymas approaches…

DECAN WALK: LIBRA 1, TWO OF SWORDS – Part I

Two of Swords, Lord of Peace Restored. Ascendant decan of Libra: A dark man, in his right hand a spear and laurel branch and in his left a book.

This year the Equinox, start of Libra, falls on Monday the 22nd, though the entry to each decan varies by a day or so each year. With the start of the first decan of Libra comes the Autumnal Equinox, here in the Northern hemisphere. It is a time of balance, where for a moment the hours of daylight and darkness are equal. It is considered the beginning of the second harvest season. The pagan holiday known as Mabon thus is a time that celebrates balance, and gratitude as we gather the fruits of our labors in preparation for winter.

This theme of balance of light and darkness is why the day of the Equinox is for stringing the traditional necklace of witches, made with beads of jet (darkness) and amber (light).

September 21st, which is right around this time, is also sometimes known as Devil’s Nutting Day. While this is a great time of year for gathering nuts (also mushrooms, and grapes) this was a day to avoid gathering nuts, as it was said to be the day when Old Nick gathered up his share. There is an old saying “as black as the Devil’s nutting bag.” It is related to this superstition, that it is considered unwise to gather nuts in autumn on a Sunday because that is when the devil himself is out nutting. If you go nutting on any Sunday in autumn you might meet the devil gathering nuts; but this year Devil’s Nutting Day also happens to fall on a Sunday, so maybe doubly likely! I’ve started the writing for this decan a day ahead of the Equinox, on Sunday, which is also the day of the solar eclipse at the very end of Virgo. I might have gone to gather some nuts anyway. But instead spent it canning some salsa from all the late season tomatoes and peppers. And picking grapes, and cleaning onions for storage. It was done with friends, so was fun, and many hands make for lighter work.

Libra is ruled by Venus, who brings things together. The sign is associated with balance, thus symbolized with the scales, symbolic of legal justice and mediation. Libra decan 1 is ruled by the Moon, whose fluctuations are stabilized, at least here in the Two. The Twos all demonstrate the initial emergence of the element, where it is in its most pure state. Here the element is Air, the suit of Swords, the mind, which is inherently conflicted generally, but at emergence is in a balanced state.

The deity (or in this case, deities) per the 36 Airs of the Zodiac fragment: the Erinyes, otherwise known as the Furies. At first this may seem strange for the card known as “Peace” or “Peace Restored.” But it does fit the card’s association with themes of justice. The Furies were particularly concerned with murder, offenses against the gods or elders, and perjury. A victim seeking justice could call down the curse of the Erinyes upon the criminal.

Tabula Mundi illustrates how the Two of Swords, Libra decan 1, combines the scales of Adjustment (Libra) with the pillars and scroll of the Priestess (Moon, ruler of the decan).

Adjustment Tabula Mundi Tarot — Tabula Mundi tarot copyright 2011-2014 Adjustment – M.M. Meleen

Priestess Tabula Mundi Tarot — Tabula Mundi tarot copyright 2011-2014 Adjustment – M.M. Meleen

Equinox blessings – enjoy the changing seasons! Libra is also about relating to others, so we are kicking off the season with a small gathering of friends for a cookout with all the late season harvest.