zeus Archives - ROXANNA BIKADOROFF

June 6, 2026July 6, 2026

‘Festina Lente’ ~ Riding Tarot’s Hermetic Wheel of Fortune

Bless us, divine number, thou who generated gods and men! O holy, holy Tetractys, thou that containest the root and source of the eternally flowing creation! For the divine number begins with the profound, pure unity until it comes to the holy four; then it begets the mother of all, the all-comprising, all-bounding, the first-born, the never-swerving, the never-tiring holy ten, the keyholder of all.
~ prayer of the Pythagoreans to the ‘Mystic Tetrad’ [Wikipedia]

First, we do the math…

Though it may appear comical, the importance of the triumph in tenth position is underlined by the reverence Pythagoreans paid to its number. To get a better grip on the Wheel of Fortune, it’s essential to understand it’s placement in the TdM numerical cycle, as it relates to the cosmology of Pythagoras, famed philosopher-polymathematician (ca 570-495 BCE). The same cosmology was also the axiom of Maria the Jewess/Prophetess, famed alchemist-sage and inventor of the Bain-Marie and other alembics (ca 1st-3rd CE):

“One becomes Two, Two becomes Three,
and out of the Third comes the One as the Fourth.”

mathematical and alchemical versions of the same thing

This simple formula, hidden in plain sight in triumph I, provides the foundational structure on which to then load our various interpretations; The Wheel of Fortune is both the first card of a three part cycle (10, 11, 12) as well as being the fourth card (the death) of the previous cycle (7, 8, 9). All the 1/4 cards indicate both initiation and completion – ie, change. They are always masc/solar (see below). Wheels are typically a solar symbol, and besides including the Sun itself, the 1/4 series contains the two triumph cards with wheels (7 and 10). Notice all the cards between 1 and 19 have crowns in them – another solar symbol – and that the the Wheel is central.

Cards in the 1/4 placements [Camoin-Jodorowsky deck]

German astronomical illustration of the Sun, 1445. How many cards from the 1/4 series do you see represented?

With 10, the perfect, complete number, ‘the great work’ (ie, the soul’s work) may now commence. 9 was the number of endings and of memory (Mnemosyne), of reflected, inner light. Similar to the Emperor, the old Hermit turns toward the past, drawing the numerological cycle to a close. We might imagine a shadow puppet play of life highlights projected onto the inside of his curtain-like cloak.

Mathematically, 9 always returns to itself. The Pythagoreans were not enamoured with 9, but understood its importance as the first square (3×3) and for its role in human gestation, relating to the 9 spheres a soul transited before rebirth. More about the Hermit and his lamp here.

Pythagoras himself had been initiated into the Orphic Mysteries, among others, ’tis said. He believed in and taught metempsychosis (reincarnation), and that mathematical principals – numbers – are universal, guiding principals.

Alchemical etching from the ‘Amphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae’ by Heinrich Khunrath, Hamburg, 1595

10 is the ‘higher octave’ of 1. To Pythagoreans and alchemists alike, 1 was not actually a number (it could not be ‘numbered’ and anything multiplied or divided by 1 was still the same), but represented the Monad (God, origin, unity), symbolized by a circle with a central dot or eye. This is still the symbol for both the Sun and gold. Wheels are essentially monad shaped. [Note: They did not use or accept 0 as a number.].

The next card after 10 that reduces to 1 when the digits are added together is 19, the actual Sun. There is no 4 in this last, seventh cycle of 3, unless we include Le Mat as 22. While ‘Pythagorean’ numerology considers 22 to be the ‘master builder’ (aka god), the man himself did not specifically mention this. However, what’s very interesting indeed is that the ratio of 22/7 was used by Archimedes to approximate pi. Thus by adding Le Mat as a 22nd triumph, division by 7 no longer gives us 3, the trinity, but pi, which is ‘never-ending.’

“Numbers are the Highest Degree of knowledge. They are knowledge themselves.” ~ Plato

The infinite and the eternal? Camoin-Jodo Conver type II, 1997

The process of destruction and purification by fire and water prior to what will be rebirth in 19, 20, 21 begins with this most sacred number of the Pythagoreans because, where unity and wholeness is the ultimate intent of the work, God/the Divine must be invoked.

Alright, math class dismissed, time for art, myth and philosophy…

The Marseille Roue de Fortune card is a bit of a visual conundrum. The parts don’t quite fit together and though the creatures on it appear to be in motion (at least, the ones on either side do), nobody’s turning the handle. The base, which resembles a section of ladder, stands on water. Is it a water wheel? Maybe this rota cannot be fully understood literally, but is another riddle asking to be read as a composite of its parts.

I won’t go into the entire history of Fortuna’s Wheel, or ‘wheel’ be here all day, but one, particular detail in the Marseille version is what got my wheels in motion: at some point in the card’s r-evolution (perhaps simultaneously, in different traditions), the creature on the left transitions into a flaming pot.

This has been dismissed as misinterpretation of worn away plates by printers who, (correctly) interpreting the tail as a flame, figured the Wheel should be equip with an altar or censer with which the passing of earthly existence into smoke was symbolized. (And now it does resemble an Arabic ’10’).

One possible precedent is in images of Ixion, where the wheel Zeus binds him to is being lit with a torch, although, there are plenty of mythical, flaming wheels (and altar pots) to choose from. Ours is not Ixion’s wheel per se, but maybe the flame is mnemonic of it. Ixion, having killed a kinsman and twice flagrantly violated the sacred law of Xenia, was denied the cathartic rituals that would cleanse him of his guilt, and, under Zeus’ orders was bound by Hermes to a fiery solar wheel for eternity [either rolling across the sky or stationary, down in Tartarus]. At this point in the game, there are two options; change or be stuck on repeat forever.

Ixion about to be lit, from ‘Mythologie de la jeunesse’, 1803

The Wheel’s stand can elude to a couple of things; like the Hanged Man’s gibbet, it might suggest a gateway, recalling the dokana of the Dioscuri (even shaped like the Gemini sign, a prelude to the twins in 19).

It could also indicate that ‘the initiate’ has now made it this far on the scale philosophorum (philosopher’s ladder of mystical ascention), which will later appear atop the wall in 19. The two bars form the Arabic numeral 11, and/or the Roman numeral II, recalling “one becomes two…” Double digits begin here and the images start to reflect this. 10, with this design element, seeds 11 (La Force), situated exactly in the middle, a threshold with ten numbered cards on either side. The formidable, lion-wrestling mistress is partner to the Le Bateleur.

Lions of yesterday and tomorrow (eastern and western horizons), with the eternal in the middle, hieroglyph for ‘the horizon.’

The ‘foreparts of a lion’, seen here at the head of the embalming table, is the hieroglyph for ‘strength’, and is featured in the Strength card.

We might also imagine the Wheel as metaphorically representing the Sun above the watery horizon and the beings on either side as ‘yesterday’ and ‘tomorrow’’ – traditionally, ‘I have reigned’, and ‘I shall reign’ – with the top middle one as the present, ‘I reign’. Instead of a fourth on the bottom (usually an old, impoverished figure) there is a gateway to watery rebirth.

Memento Mori mosaic, in the Museo archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, 1st c

In this iconic ‘memento mori’ Roman mosaic from Pompeii, a simian skull is balanced atop a butterfly on a wheel. Above, a square level’s plumb bob is just touching it, the tool balanced atop two staffs, hung with the garbs of rich and poor. All are equalized in death, all are subject to Fortune’s whims. The mosaic was part of a banquet table, where Romans often practiced ‘carpe diem’, remembering their death tomorrow by partying today. The butterfly represents the immortal soul (Psyche). Butterfly, torch (especially going out or pointed downward), plumb line, fortune wheel, urn and of course skull/skeleton were all symbols of death, typical of the Roman ‘carpe diem’ motif.
[The tradition of death symbolism is also recurrent in Freemasonry. Masons practice reflecting on their mortality at every turn. The plumb represents death as well as the upright, balanced life and is a common, gravestone motif.]

The explanation usually given for the monkey skull in the Roman mosaic is that cremation practices of the day had left the artist without a human one to refer to, but this ignores the fact that monkeys/apes were often used to parody humans. The memento mori theme was very popular and there is more than sufficient proof that artists of the day knew how to depict human skulls. An artist could easily have improvised the bone structure from a living human.

Lamp showing a juggler with monkey and dog (Carthage 1st c), Terracotta plaque (S. Italy, 1st c), Hermes seated between two baboons (Egypt, 3rd c BC, British Museum)

The little creatures on the TdM Wheel also seem to be parodying fearful humans stuck on the mortal coil, immediately following the card of remembering. Regrets…I’ve had a few…

A Lunar Wheel of Fortune or Fate being turned by an ass, Hekate’s familiar. The woman’s hair-do is similar to that of Kairos (‘critical timing’), she might be the Roman equivalent, Occasio, who was female.

It would seem the tail of the simian-looking creature on the left side of the card was always intended to resemble a flame, both to illustrate the fire element, and to suggest that being turned on the wheel is akin to being ‘cooked.’ Perhaps there is nobody turning the handle because, as with the Chariot, which is not physically moving, there is no outer influence, the change is happening inside. Either we turn our own wheel or invite “fate” to do it – an outer expression whereby things seem to randomly happen to us (wheel of karma). The ‘winged’ Mercurial being at the apex might be symbolic of will, overseeing the process, making sure the pace is natural and steady, that an even temperature is maintained.

“Its purpose is constant digestion. Within its womb, substances are subjected not to violent flames but to the slow and merciful fire – ignis temperatus that mimics the warmth of the earth’s own generative belly. There, in that tranquil inferno, base substances soften, combine, and refine, until that which was profane begins its ascent toward the sacred. This is no vulgar boiling, but a sacred gestation.” ~ Universal Co-Masonry FB post, regarding the Athanor (alchemical furnace).

Above, with a suitable Tarot card for comparison, is the image that finally unlocked this card’s cryptic meaning for me. It is of an alchemist’s ‘athanor’, which is a self-feeding, clay furnace designed to maintain a steady temperature. Although etymologically unrelated (it comes from Arabic at-tannūr, “the baker’s oven”), ‘athanor’ oddly enough contains the Latin word ‘rota’ in it (albeit spelled backwards). Note the familiar design of the heat-release valve.

“The athanor’s design further symbolizes the unity of the macrocosm and microcosm through its correspondence to the four classical elements, integrating them into a harmonious whole; Fire represents the transformative heat in the lower chamber, Earth the stable structure, Air the circulating vents, and water the surrounding baths, collectively mirroring the alchemist’s inner equilibrium and the cosmic order. This elemental interplay underscores the Hermetic principle of “as above, so below,” where the furnace’s operations reflect the soul’s alignment with universal forces.” [Grokipedia…forgive me!]

Qing Dynasty Chinese School Taoist Alchemy

In fact, the alchemists did use the term ‘wheel’ (rota) as a metaphor for the cyclical nature of their art. The stages were not linear, but continuous – the end could also be the beginning, just as in nature.

The three figures on the TdM Wheel might represent the 3 philosophical elements – left, sulphur (soul/emotions/desires), right, salt (body), and top, mercury (spirit/imagination/moral judgement/higher mental faculties). The salt/body fellow has ass ears, which typically are a sign of ignorance (think Pinocchio) but also, again, possibly suggestive of Hekate, triplicate Goddess of the crossroads and occasional consort of Hermes (aka Mercurius) or Hermanubis. As supreme navigator of liminal spaces, her torch burned with the sacred solar fire of Helios.

“O Sun our lord and sacred fire, the spear of Hekate of the roads, which she carries as she attends her mistress in the sky and as she inhabits the sacred crossroads of the earth, crowned with oak-leaves and the woven coils of savage dragons!”

~ fragment of a hymn to Helios and Hekate from the play Rhizotomoi (Root-Cutters) by the Greek tragedian, Sophocles [Loeb Classical Library].

Goddess Hekate in magical plate from ancient Pergamon, Anatolia [Berlin Museum]

All 4 classical elements, too, are present:

AIR (sword pointed up, wing-like cape)
FIRE (flame-like tail pointed up)
WATER (below)
EARTH (vine or snake-like tail pointed down)

4 classical + 3 philosophical elements = 7.

In both type I and II, the number of spokes appears to be 6 (or three divided), but notice that a seventh is also formed by the Wheel’s handle. Clever. Seven elements, planets, metals and stages.

Addendum: The 6 spoked Wheel can also be read as the Labarum symbol (solar) adopted by Christian iconography, which is nevertheless based on the idea of “inverse directions…one of which is like a reflection or mirror image the other” – ie, ‘as above, so below’ – similar to Solomon’s seal. [René Guénon, Symbols of Analogy, via Wikipedia]

Dodal type I (ca 1701-15) and Chausson type II (1672)

The hub of the Wheel is divided into 3 sections, like a globus, while also resembling a lunar-solar combination – navigation of liminal spaces as we progress toward unity.

That the flaming tail was turned into an altar pot/censor doesn’t change the intrinsic meaning and actually alludes more strongly to the alchemical cooking process. The water below suggests ‘a slow, gentle cooking’, akin to that of the Bain Marie. Similar to the gentle turning of a wheel, the contents of a cooking pot or cauldron is stirred in a slow, spiralling motion. In Shakespeare’s tragic play of alchemy gone backwards, MacBeth, the Wyrd Sisters famous chant, ‘Double double, toil and trouble,’ is a reference to ‘the work.’ Originally, the old English word ‘wyrd’ (which became ‘weird’) meant ‘fate’ or ‘destiny.’

The Vieville card does not show any flame on the side, but rather, some suspiciously fiery-looking, yellow grass, below, possibly suggesting the pool of water is being heated from beneath. But the shape of the fire being’s skirt is consistent across TdM decks. It bears a similarity to the shape of constellation Ara, the altar on which sacrifices to Zeus were made, and is reminiscent of the Emperor’s skirt (‘I have reigned’). The Wheel of Fortune was also an attribute of Zeus, god of optimists and gamblers. By ‘letting go and letting God’, we sacrifice our dross to the pyre, turning fate to faith. Remember Pythagoras’ holy number 10.

Apollo, though one of the great gods of Olympus, is yet represented in some sort of dependence on Zeus, who is regarded as the source of the powers exercised by his son. [Theoi.com]

Jupiter (Zeus) altar featuring a 10-spoked wheel, the number of months in a Roman year.

Helios, a Titan, was the Sun personified, later identified with Olympian Apollo, god of light and prophecy. The sad myth of Phaethon – the son of Helios who insisted he could drive his father’s chariot, but lost control of the horses and fell to his death – can, in the mythoalchemical sense, be equated with ‘the work’ being scorched by impatience (or hubris) or halted by negligence (or ignorance).

To go this way, nowhere else, I confess;
Note only the tracks of my wheel.
And to give equal warmth everywhere,
Too soon to earth and the sky neither rises nor falls.
Because by climbing too high the sky you will burn,
And descending too low the earth will destroy.
But if through the middle your career remains,
The race is more united and the way safer.

[Nuysement, Philosophical Poem of the Truth of Mineral Physics, in Traittez de l’Harmonie et Constitution generalle du Vray Sel . Paris, Périer and Buisard, 1620 and 1621, p. 254.]

Tarocchi of Mantegna Sun, featuring the myth of Phaethon, 1465

The meaning of the Latin phrase Festina lente (‘make haste slowly’), is that activities should be performed with a proper balance of urgency and diligence. If tasks are rushed too quickly then mistakes are made and good, long-term results are not achieved. Work is best done in a state of flow in which one is fully engaged by the task and there is no sense of time passing. In this way we are in harmony with nature. ~rb

“Thus, let the Athanor burn–not with haste, but with faith–and may its light ever guide the hand and the heart of the true seeker.”
~ Universal Co-Masonry, ibid

Alchemist’s athanor (top removed), stoneware, German, 1501-1700

All written content, besides quotations, is ©ROXANNA BIKADOROFF and may not be reprinted for republished in full without my permission. Kindly share via LINK only, which helps direct traffic here. If you wish to use a short pull quote, please include a credit (and link).

February 22, 2025September 13, 2025

Divine Measure – Traversing the Star Card of Ancient Tarot

In Greek mythology, while transformation into a rock is usually a barren fate, a pattern emerges in which the heroines who were transformed into islands are lovers of the gods; just as islands, like cities, were usually personified as minor goddesses or heroes. [Wikipedia]

This is precisely what happened to Asteria [not to be confused with Astraea], Titan Goddess of falling stars, oneiromancy (divination by dreams) and astrology (by stars), and mother of Hecate. She transforms herself into the Island of Delos, where her sister Leto at last gave birth to the lunar Artemis and solar Apollo, after an exhaustive search for refuge. The usual suspects were to blame; Zeus for making Leto pregnant, then pursuing Asteria, and jealous Hera’s subsequent curse, that Leto not be able to find solid ground on which to give birth, forbidding all places on earth to accept her. Hera also kidnapped the goddess of childbirth to ensure that Leto’s labour would be ultra painful. Asteria (‘star’) defied Hera’s orders, but as she had not succumb to Zeus’ advances, Hera, though angry, did not punish her.

Artemis was an easy delivery, but Apollo took 9 days and nights to come out (luckily, Artemis was able to assist). There are a few variations on the myth, as is typical. Delos means ‘to manifest or reveal’. It had been a floating island, ’emerged’ for Leto by helpful Zeus (the least he could do since he can’t seem to keep his Tower in his robe). Either it was uninhabited or it was and the people didn’t want her giving birth there, so Leto gifted the island with 4 anchors to keep it stable, which pleased them. Are these ‘anchors’ the 4 Royal Stars (Aldebaran, Regulus, Antares, Fomalhaut)?

“Hail. O heaven-built isle [Delos], most lovely scion of the children of bright-haired Leto, O daughter of the sea, thou unmoved marvel of the spacious earth, by mortal men called Delos, but by the blessed gods of Olympos (Olympus) known as the far-seen star (astra) of the dark-blue earth . . . For aforetime, that isle was tossed on the waves by all manner of whirling winds; but, when Leto, the daughter of Koios (Coeus), in the frenzy of her imminent pangs of travail, set foot on her, then it was that four lofty pillars rose from the roots of earth, and on their capitals held up the rock with their adamantine bases. There it was that she gave birth to, and beheld, her blessed offspring.” ~ Pindar, Processional Song on Delos (Greek lyric ca 5th B.C.) [Theoi.com]

Both Delos and Delphi, site of Apollo’s famous oracle and omphalos (navel), share the root word ‘del’ with ‘delphini,’ which means dolphin in Greek. Dolphins are sacred to Apollo, Dionysus and Poseidon. The Cary sheet hints at location with a fish-tail shape in the shoreline. Dolphins were considered by mariners to be a very good omen indeed, guiding and protective. They are also known to protect whales giving birth. So saviour-like are dolphins, that in the 14th century, French heirs began calling themselves ‘dauphin.’ It is beyond shameful and utterly reprehensible how modern humans have abused these sacred beings (the marine mammals, not the French kings).

Louise of Savoy instructing her son, Dauphin Francis I, ca 1505

Apollo wore his golden hair long and his sacred number is 7, associated with the traditional planets, stringed lyre and the Pleaides (starry rain-makers).
The cards do not give us absolutes, but evoke in a mnemonic, riddling fashion, so don’t be too confused by the lack of breasts on the Cary water-bearer.

After her transformation into Delos, several stars, deeply moved by her tale, aligned themselves in her honor. This formation, known as an asterism, served as a protective shield and a tribute to the goddess. For sailors navigating the vast seas and stargazers looking up in wonder, this celestial pattern became a symbol of Asteria’s indomitable spirit. [Olympioi.com]

It’s obvious that the birthing waters have broken, which explains why the card is somewhat incorrectly interpreted as illustrating the zodiac sign of Aquarius. Aquarius signifies a similar idea (and the constellation once included the Southern Fish, with Royal Star Fomalhaut in its mouth) – albeit in the dead of Winter we are talking more about inward, spiritual rebirth, ultimately necessary for a more evolved, physical return (Saturn).
The androgynous figure pours one jug onto the earth and one into the water, as she will do in the classic Tarot de Marseille card. We get the sense of purification by libation – libation of feminine fluids – as well as the cyclical nature of water, aka life, connecting with her arms in a continuum. In alchemy the liquid purification of spirit is considered Lunar and feminine, inner.

‘Eternitas’ 1640 emblemata, after Francesco da Barberino (early 14th c)

Now it’s also possible that her two pitchers contain waters of Mnemosyne and Lethe – some Orphic lamellae (gold tablets) instruct the deceased to only drink from Mnemosyne’s streams, not Lethe’s, in order to avoid another, terrestrial birth or an eternity in gloomy Hades:

“You will find a spring on the left of the halls of Hades, and beside it a white cypress growing. Do not even go near this spring. And you will find another, from the Lake of Memory, flowing forth with cold water. In front of it are guards. You must say, ‘I am the child of Ge and starry Ouranos; this you yourselves also know. I am dry with thirst and am perishing. Come, give me at once cold water flowing forth from the Lake of Memory.’ And they themselves will give you to drink from the divine spring, and then thereafter you will reign with the other heroes.” ~ from Petelia, 4-3 BC

Other sources seem to indicate we’re to drink a bit of each. Hmm.

Chosson TdM, 1736, feat. one of many misspellings

The little black bird, which could represent the soul or ‘Ba bird‘, in the background is also a mytho-alchemical clue, for the crow in alchemy is symbolic of Saturn and the blackening (the first stage of the work, now fading in the distance, but not entirely forgotten).
In another, Apollo myth, he sends his originally white bird to keep watch (spy) on his lover, Coronis (‘crow’). Unfortunately for everyone involved, the bird reports she’s been cheating with a mortal. Seething, Apollo scorches the messenger for his efforts, then shoots his woman down. Naturally, he regrets it, tries to revive her, but it’s too late, because Greek tragedy. In the opener image kylix detail, we see the blackened crow or raven as Apollo’s bird of prophecy. Are bird and lover one and the same? Only the shadow knows.

Apollo kills Coronis, 1590 engraving by Hendrick Goltzius

During the alchemical opus, there is something called the ‘impregnation stage’ wherein:

The star rises to the surface and thus connects both the upper spiritual part of the vessel and the lower substance. The bird flies upwards, the soul of the process also seeks union with the spirit. The Impregnation is the turning point of this phase, and indeed it marks the point in the whole process where we are no longer dealing with mere material substances, but the seed of the spiritualization of substance has here been sown, and from now on we will see, through the many following stages, just how this seed grows, metamorphoses, and develops. ~ Adam McLean, The Alchemy Website

The blackening of Apollo’s bird and the rising of the 7-pointed star

It’s been pointed out that in the Cary, there is an emphasis on 4 stars surrounding the main one, creating a starry quintessence, but problematic is the 5th ‘extra’ star in the figure’s right shoulder. In keeping with with the theme, however, this evokes the constellation of Orion, aka Osiris, with red star Betelgeuse placed thusly. Osiris was the god of death and regeneration par excellence, whose reappearance signified the annual rising of the Nile and the land becoming fertile again with birthing waters. (Hapi, who was male but had breasts, was the god of the actual flooding of the Nile, that became Aquarius).
Interestingly, one of the reasons Pythagoreans were superstitious about the number 17 was that Osiris was killed on the 17th day of the month of Athyr.

Eridanus, the cosmic River of Night, has a bright, fixed star at either end; in the north, Rigel, situated in the foot of Orion/Osiris, and in the south, Achernar, the ‘end of the river.’ The god-king has one foot in the water at the serpentine river’s mouth, as if being born out of it. (Article with more on this here).

If we count the number of little plants sprouting from the earth in the Cary card, they equal the number of small stars. As above, so below. Inner quintessence = outer/cosmic. This unification can only happen after the Tower – the structures we build around our minds from the outer, ego, etc – has been transformed. The star not only depicts ‘outer space’ but ‘inner space.’

Marriage stela of Tjanetiset feat. red and white Nut, ca. 825–712 BC (MET)

The ancient Egyptians saw earth as the mirror of the heavens. The sky goddess Nut is depicted, like Hapi of the Nile, holding two jugs that flow with the waters of creation/fertility.

Nut was the goddess of the sky and all heavenly bodies, a symbol of protecting the dead when they enter the afterlife. According to the Egyptians, during the day, the Egyptian decans would make their way across her body. Then, at dusk, they would be swallowed, pass through her belly during the night, and be reborn at dawn. She was often painted on the inside lid of the sarcophagus, protecting the deceased. The vaults of tombs were often painted dark blue with many stars as a representation of Nut. [Wikipedia]

Rosenwald sheet 15th c (National Gallery of Art)

In astrology the ‘big three’ of a natal (birth) chart are our Sun, Moon and Ascendant. The Sun indicates the time of year we’re born, energizing the present lifetime and our natural, outward expression of what we aspire to be this time around. The Moon shows time of the month (phase, day) and is indicative of the past and of our inner or nighttime realms – memory, dreams, soul lineage – what we bring with us, unconsciously. The Ascendant completes the picture with our precise moment of arrival/first breath. There is something very fated and acutely personal about this moment.

To the ancients, it was not so much the moment itself or even the rising sign, necessarily, but the star heralding or accompanying the Sun, as it rose on the day of birth (they didn’t have clocks) that was of prime importance. Stars on any angle or conjunct a luminary or planet are also significant, coming into play at different times during the course of a life. We could muse that this first star on the horizon is our navigational star, guiding us back to the ‘berth’.

Compass rose, France 1543 and sounding lead (for measuring depths), Marseille, 1st c

The TdM Star card is also interpreted as Venus, since she is symbolized with 8 points, but of course she can also have 5 (evening and morning star symbols). In the Tarocchi of ‘Mantegna’ print below, we find Venus in her river toilette (note the anagram, there), with her entourage of Eros and the Graces, looking suspiciously like the Star card figure. Meanwhile, in the unique, Leber-Rouen card, a witchy ‘Stella Maris’ looks like the wild twin of Botticelli’s serene goddess. (Might the cross/ankh around her neck have been an add-on?).

‘Mantegna’ Venus and Leber-Roen Venusian, mid 15th c

Lodovico Lazzarelli, in his De Gentilium Deorum Imaginibus (trans. William O’Neal) described the first one:

Nude Venus swims forth from the midst of the natal wave of the sea, and the fair one holds a sea-shell in her right hand. For she divests lovers from extraordinary cares and affairs. Nude Venus calls nude bodies to herself Indeed the sea shell engages itself in sexual union within its own body. Passionate love is ship-wrecked by a sea of troubles.

The victor stands with his quiver of arrows, and he is swift on his wings. The nude boy Cupid stands with eyes covered. At one time he hurls down golden arrowheads from his bow and at another time lead ones, and each strikes the hearts of men with a different wound. The lead-tipped arrows drive love away but the golden-tipped bring it about. As hatred is strong so also love is dear. The nude boy loves the defenseless. Love with eyes covered does not know at whom he aims. He drags his prisoners through hard places. And those ignorant of every road wander off through lonely places The boy calls young men to his camp. Love marks out their unstable souls for his swift wings. He causes wounds hastened along by his quivers.

The Idalian nymphs, the fair and pleasing crowd of three, stand together with their bodies unclothed. They hold their arms together bound by interchanging bonds as often interchanging Love ties the bonds. The first holds the light of her countenance and her eyes toward us. The rest of her group sees us in her gentle eyes. First, Pasithea enraptures us in her gentle fires. Aglaia revives those taken in with her flattery. Euphrosyne entangles them in fetters and strong chains, and she does not permit her captives to go back. Then, Venus, pitying those mangled in such sorrows encourages them with her sweet enticements and flattery. Poets have treated these many things from the star of Venus which lovingly presides over the triple place of heaven. This constellation stands in the highest part of heaven with a triple name. Of course, it has always been said to be Venus.

Sounds a bit like alchemy-speak, no? Lead and gold-tipped arrows? I’m still pondering the arrangement of her four doves. Anyone?

In the Leber-Rouen card, our Stella Maris is of course Venus-Fortuna, for she holds in one hand a large arrow-cum-spindle, its quiver wound (with hair?). In the other, she grasps a lock of her windswept tresses. It bears a similarity to Lazzarelli’s description – she lures or navigates ships through shifting weather in the same, fated manner as Cupid sends forth his arrows.

Dame Fortune wielding a large arrow, French, 1403

Sailors were a superstitious lot. They believed women, being ‘wetter’ (ie, more lunar) than men had a special power over the sea. Medical writers like Pliny the Elder, in his Natural History (77 AD) declared, “For, in the first place, hailstorms, they say, whirlwinds, and lightening even, will be scared away by a woman uncovering her body while her monthly courses are upon her. The same, too, with all kinds of tempestuous weather; and out at sea, a storm may be lulled by a woman uncovering her body.”
Hence ancient goddesses, Isis in particular, but also the Stella Maris (‘Star of the Sea’, which could be Venus or any navigational star) became protector of ships at sea, and female figureheads were often bare-breasted.

Now, obviously I’ve focused only on the more cryptic Star cards, as mystery is what I find interesting, but there are just a few more worth an honourable mention, before wrapping up this essay. Their imagery, at first, may not seem to relate to our running theme, but let’s take a closer look…

Tarot of Paris early 1600s, Jacques Vieville 1650, ‘Mantegna Tarocchi’ Geometria 1460s

The third image is not a Star card but depicts one of the Liberal Arts inspiring these learned men: Geometry (‘to measure the earth’). Of all the Liberal Arts personified in the ‘Mantegna’, she is the only one floating in the sky above.
In the first card, the man sits at a drafting or reading table with books on it and holds the compass to his head, in thought. It’s hard to say whether he’s aware of the Star or whether it’s symbolic only, but divine, mathematical inspiration is being transmitted. I like to think of him as either an astrologer or an explorer creating maps.

In the second card, the central Star and four little stars form a ‘quintessential’ arrangement. An astronomer/astrologer or mason (or alchemist) sits in contemplation or meditation before a cathedral-like building that has a clock or rose window in its bell tower. The division of the cosmos has now become a precision science, thanks to the sacred gadget. He appears to be measuring the heavens, but as in the Paris card, the compass almost seems to be a conduit and, held this way, it resembles the numeral V (5). The ground has a checkered pattern typical of masonry tiles and alchemists’ labs, but also resembling meridian lines of the earthly plain. Vieville or whoever created the the images for this deck was likely of the Rosicrucian Brotherhood. It’s just barely possible find a rose hidden under that red circle behind the figure’s head.

Like the Cary, in Vieville we find a 5th small star, this time in the clock/window face, connecting the above and the below. The Vieville Star card with its theme of enlightenment is in contrast to his Moon card, wherein an old woman sits spinning yard (and fate) under a tree, in the realm of night.

The compass (actually called a divider) was specifically created in order to measure the heavens (hence time), while the much older square was used for earthly structures. These were the two essential tools of the stone masons and still form the well-known, Freemason logo. Because it allowed for the concept of eternity/divinity (the monad) to be perfectly drawn, the compass became a symbol of man’s spirituality and higher nature.

“It is said that the compasses’ two points represent spirit and matter, life and form; from these all the complexities of the fleeting, ever-changing mantle of the one-life are produced within the circle, self-imposed by the Being who has decreed the bounds of His Universe or His System.” ~ Harold Bayley, The Lost Language of Symbolism

Thus in these two variations, another aspect of the Star is emphasized: human intellect (Mercury/Aquarius) or indeed wisdom as the vehicle for uniting Heaven and Earth.

God/Christ the Geometer creating the world soul, 13th c

The sacred tool bears a notable resemblance to a stork or crane, birds associated with birth/immortality (like crow and raven, they are interchangeable, symbolically). We all know the greeting card baby delivery propaganda, but it was once the belief in Ancient Greece that they actually stole infants, like Harpies. [Fun fact: vultures evolved from storks.] Hera’s wrath again – this time at some haughty Pygmy queen who’d just given birth to a son:

The other Pygmies brought many gifts for the newborn infant, but Hera, enraged that Gerana would not worship her, elongated her neck and turned her into a crane. Wishing to keep close to her child, Gerana as a crane would fly from roof to roof, but the people armed themselves and chased her away, and thus arose the rivalry between the Pygmies and cranes. [Wikipedia]

Nevertheless, the nesting of cranes/storks on one’s rooftop is generally considered auspicious. People sometimes placed old cartwheels on the roof, to help initiate nesting. (Interesting we have named the mechanical monsters of construction after them, due to the resemblance).
Indeed, if we zoom in on the ‘Mantegna’ Geometria print, we find one of these very birds hunting in the river below….and it has caught a snake!

Master of the e-series, Ferrara, 1460s (MET)

From compass to compass, star to star, this concludes our sojourn of the 17th Triumph. Thank you for reading. To explore more articles on the Tarot de Marseille, simply type ‘TdM’ into the search, or scroll the Home page, where I list recent articles. ~rb

Related, excellent talk, if you wish to go deeper:
How the Alchemists Meditated by alchemist Dennis William Hauck

All written content is copyright ©Roxanna Bikadoroff, except that which is in bold quotation (and meme). Please share via LINK only. You may include a short excerpt, but do not copy the article to your own site. Thanks for being respectful. Donations toward my continuing work are gratefully accepted.

February 14, 2025December 27, 2025

Typhon Awakes!

In case you’ve been too preoccupied with the whiplashing American news…

Formidable seismic activity began occurring on Feb 5 in Greece’s most popular tourist destination, Thira (aka Santorini) and people are being evacuated from the heavenly island in droves. Some old timers are choosing to stay, being fatalistic…perhaps they will take care of the animals left behind. All those cats! Authorities are saying there is ‘no need to worry’ about volcano eruptions. Hmm….I wonder.

Of course, seismic activity in the Greek Islands and the surrounding seas is attributed to the Titan God, Typhon, who, after a long and bloody battle, Zeus managed to seal up under Mt. Etna, a still very active volcano on the east coast of Sicily (Prototype for St. Michael and Satan). Still rattling his chains and fuming, Typhon is responsible for typhoons, tsunamis, quakes, volcanos, plagues and other such disasters. But in the mytho-alchemical sense, Typhon is like Mercury on steroids, similar to Uranus being called the ‘higher octave’ of Mercury and having the effect of creating sea changes. For example, when the Greek gods fled Typhon into Egypt, where they donned animal heads/masks for disguise, the great Pan jumped into the sea, transforming via crisis into our Capricorn sea-goat.
Part 3 of this post about the TdM Devil goes into this Typhon material.

Detail in map of the Underworld, showing Typhon under the volcano.

As it turns out, there is a trans-Neptunian object (TNO) named after him, as there is for everything – a binary system (it has a Moon) – currently at 28 Scorpio. Athanasius Kircher had once associated Typhon to this sign. At the moment of the first quake, TNO Typhon was/is opposing Uranus and Moon conjunct at 23 Taurus (earth).

I have long ‘intuited’ 23 as being Uranian in nature due to the discordant vibration of this prime number that reduces to 5. Today this is actually a commonly accepted idea. Lately, with Uranus having just stationed direct at 23 degrees of Taurus (typically a sign that thrives on harmony), you must admit, there has been quite a lot of discord! We can’t but acknowledge the POTUS’ wrecking ball nature, with his North Node closely flanked by Sun and Uranus – his most elevated planet – in Gemini. (Both Muck and his outspoken 4 yr old Mini-Me also have Sun-Uranus conjunctions). The number between 45 and 47 is 46, which, divided by 2 is…23.

Barry Blitt’s ‘Anything but That’ …at 23rd St??

This isn’t to say 23/Uranian discordant energy is necessarily always bad, but it is often shocking – you don’t see it coming – and has the effect of breaking up the harmonic order it refuses to fit into.

Returning to the main theme, Typhon, I also learned that astral Typhon was discovered Feb 5, 2002 – exactly 23 years to the day of this earthquake! (Yes, tremors started earlier, but it’s not an official quake unless it registers 5. on the Richter scale). Very mysterious, especially with Typhon’s distinctly serpentine attributes and it being a lunar EARTH SNAKE year.

Stamp featuring Zeus and Typhon duking it out

But is there a deeper meaning to all this, not just some wow-conspiracy-theory-sounding-coincidence? We have to remember that the Underworld, to the Greeks, was not yet the Hell of Christianity, although it did have a section like this for bad people and monsters, called Tartarus. Rather, Hades was an inverted, somewhat depressing mirror version of the above world of the living. Pluto is simply dark Zeus (also Dionysus, but let’s keep it simple).
Uranus, named after the sky itself, gets and sends its energy from the beyond the Saturnian sphere, ‘out of the blue’, often taking the form of inspiration (Urania) or strokes of genius. It’s fiery/airy. If Uranus is the higher octave of Mercury, then its ‘messages’ are going to come faster and more intensely. Typhon, similarly, rears up from deep below, sending shocks in the form of earth or water events, rocking our physical foundations.

Giulio Bonasone (Italian 1531-76), Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto dividing the universe. MET

When Jupiter and his two ‘brothers’ (actually all aspects of the one triplicity) cast lots and divided the realms, Neptune didn’t just get the sea, but the whole ‘middle realm’ where the other two worlds meet. We currently have the North Node conjunct Neptune in Pisces, trine Typhon/Scorpio, sextile Uranus/Taurus. Meanwhile, Pluto, Lord of Hades is in Uranus’ fixed air sign of Aquarius. We look to global events for clues to how and where the planetary aspects are manifesting. Greece is where our western ‘civilization’ began, The surrounding seas and islands are literally the realm of the old gods. Seems to me that some very shape-shifting, powerful chthonic and cosmic forces are at work or perhaps even doing battle, their combined effect being felt acutely by us middle-realm dwellers. Perhaps the frequency of 23 provides a conduit. ~rb

In the next instalment I will further explore 23 and Uranus in the charts of various air disasters.

All written content and Tantric Typhon image are copyright ©Roxanna Bikadoroff and may not be reposted/reused without permission. Please share via link only. If you wish to share a short excerpt, please make sure to include a credit and link. Thanks.

December 2, 2023December 30, 2025

The Hermit – Shedding a Little Light on the Situation

[Originally posted April 17, 2023, now re-posted with some Mercury retrograde addendums and edits. Enjoy!]

In 15th century Renaissance Tarot decks, this allegorical figure was called ‘Time’ and his device was an hour glass. Later, with a few exceptions, it was replaced by a lamp, changing the meaning somewhat. Instead of being a Saturnine symbol of old age reminding us of the passing of our mortal existence, he became more of a monk-sage, holding up a guiding light for seekers. But as we shall see, the two are not so different.

In this well-known Visconti-Sforza card, Father Time holds the hourglass and wears the deep blue of Lapis, i.e, wisdom/the philosopher’s stone (Lapis simply means ‘stone’). This he will wear into future Tarot decks, it is his trademark. On his head, a dome-shaped turban with rings. Until the 18th century, Saturn was known as the outermost planet, whose orbit encircled those of all the other planets’. It was the last stop. The average person was fortunate to experience one or even two Saturn returns in a lifetime. (The super-power of survival, however, is a common gift to those born under his rulership).

His colours are probably indicative of ‘the work’. Inside its holder, the hourglass is black and white (I inquired – it is not tarnished silver, but black paint). Likely this means the white inside it is salt. The tria prima of philosophical alchemy are as follows:
– SALT representing the body, which is material (in hourglass, also his white gloves, socks, hair)
– SULPHUR representing the soul, which is fiery (hat colours, also his lining or undergarment, boots)
– MERCURY representing the spirit, which is watery (blue cloak)
The green grass is symbolic of renewal/rebirth, nature, and is perhaps also an alchemical reference, which the Hanged Man card of this deck picks up on.
The planets are the ‘above’ to alchemy’s ‘below’, the metals, but spiritual (or philosophical) alchemy is about the transmutation of the soul.

Saturn, from Lazzarelli’s De Gentilium Deorum Imaginibus, ca 1470

The ‘So-Called Mantegna’ prints, an Italian Renaissance relation, though not actual cards, were a little more esoteric. Above is a page from a book by Ludovico Lazzarelli, which beautifully replicates the prints, in colour, with fancy borders. While still nothing typically Hermit-like about him, other than his shabby cloak, Saturn is doing the most allegorical thing possible to show the passing of time – eating his offspring, in order that he might reign eternal and avoid succession. (This was actually what kept patriarchs awake at night, in olden days). The serpent or dragon biting its tail is one of the oldest alchemical symbols, representing mercury and the work itself; ‘my end is my beginning’.

Seated in a line, as if to complete a (second) scythe shape, are four of his children, a fifth one is about to be devoured. The sixth, Zeus-Jupiter has been hidden away by his mother, Rhea, and will later return to succeed his Titan Father, beginning a new era of Olympian rule and providing an endless supply of mythology for generations to come. That cherub on the right holding a golden ‘O’ (mirror or empty picture frame) for ‘Olympus’ might be him, preparing his new place in the line. The babe at its father’s lips must be Vesta, who was born/eaten first (and coughed up last). In fact, at one time, first-borns were given to the Gods, in sacrifice, that was their honour. Again, the theme of age, elders, death. Note the mysterious (funerary?) urns which match the four, seated babes – Juno, Pluto, Neptune and Ceres. Missing is Vesta’s urn…are we to presume that Saturn himself is the container for her? Attached to the two brothers’ urns is a wreath, signifying completion, while new growth emerges from the sisters’ taller urns.

Rare Vesta in human form, from the lararium of a bakery in Pompeii, 1st c. (Vesta was patron Goddess of bakers). Note she also appears to be holding a coiled serpent. The ass was sacred to her.

In Ancient Rome, Vesta (Greek Hestia) was Goddess of the hearth, eternal flame of the city. Vestal Virgins enjoyed much privilege…as long as they kept their vow of chastity and never let the eternal flame go out. Punishment for either was severe, usually being sealed up or buried alive. Extreme Saturn. The fate of Rome itself depended, it was believed, on that fire being kept alive. Similarly, and prior to this, in each Roman home, women had to ensure their home hearths didn’t go out, lest the ancestors and living family should suffer calamity.

Europa, Ripa 1603 and TdM style Hermite, 18th c (?)

Lamp-lifting Hermits: Old one from Lyon, Dodal Tarot de Marseille mid-17th c, Grumppenberg ca 1807-1816 (note the copulating snakes suggesting Tiresias).

Am likely not alone in seeing the Hermit’s lamp as being temple-shaped. It was indeed Vesta’s temples that were circular and domed, to replicate the dome of the sky over the earth. Just as Vesta’s flame represented eternal life, the little light in the Hermit’s temple-shaped lantern must also be symbolic of the eternal existence of spirit. 9 is indicative of (human) gestation…a most mysterious alchemical process. Interestingly, Vesta, with Janus, was also connected to liminality, in particular the marriage threshold. Typically the Hermit is looking back to illuminate the past, the dweller on the threshold of transformation.

Returning to the Visconti-Sforza card, we find that the leap from being an allegory of Time to the christianized (?), hermetic Hermit of TdM is really just a small step. His hourglass is encased in a tri-sectioned (Hermes-Mercury), lantern/temple-shaped holder, and the black outline of the hourglass is shaped very much like two, entwined snakes. The TdM card simplifies it into a tri-sectioned lantern and calls him l’Ermite or l’Hermite, as an added clue (both old and new French were used, depending on when/where the cards were printed, meaning doesn’t change). Time is not simply about counting hours, but is essential to the great work that is our development of spiritual wisdom over the course of a lifetime. This ultimately (hopefully) prepares us for our transition from bodily form to spirit. The blue cloak takes up most of the V-S figure, while the white areas of salt and body are comparatively small.

By now I hope you can see the connection between Saturn, representative of constricted time, lead and bodily age, and Vesta, embodiment of the vital, ever transformative life force energy – that which is eternal, whether you interpret it as Earth-fire, the Sun (by which her sacred fire was lit for the Olympic Games) or Holy Spirit. The Hermit holds up this little, temple light not as literal Vesta, but to evoke what her temple and fire signifies. Number 9 will in fact re-emerge or be reborn, in the Sun card, number 19, after a process of being ‘tortured’ (alchemically speaking) through the next 9 cards. In astrology, too, the 9th sign, following the trials of Scorpio, is Sagittarius (aka the Sage) – mutable, transforming flame of the fire triplicity. Keep this light burning within you at all times, never let it be snuffed out. If it is, well, fortunately Vesta is also the sacred, phallic fire stick (brother Jupiter to the rescue!), with which she rekindles herself. This was inserted into a hollow piece of wood and “rotated in a phallic manner” to light her flame, ahem.

Time/Hermit, Bologna Leonne 1776 and Horologion (time keeping) Tower, Athens

Segue and full circle… I had mentioned device exceptions. This Time/Hermit figure above has both a (phallic?) column – probably a sundial, ironically – and wings on his back. It is usually interpreted as the fleeting of time but another way to see it is buoyant spirit (wings) readying to leave the heaviness of this mortal coil or simply not being affected by it. Perhaps the same sort of idea as the Tower card, a release from bondage or prison. Sometimes the elderly do begin to look angelic. Or maybe it’s just the signature of our old friend, Hermes-Mercury, the winged wonder. [Addendum: I intend to do a whole separate post about this.]

The Sanskrit word for temple (I recently learned), mandir, is a combination of mana, meaning ‘inner self’ and dir, meaning ‘a place’, ie, a ‘place where the inner self lives’. I can think of no better description for The Hermit.
Tarot images are cryptic, it’s not ‘this = that’, but rather, ‘this resembles that, I wonder if there might be a reason…’

Saturn and Vesta sitting in a forest, The Allegro & Il Penseroso of Milton, 1848 [BM]

November 12, 2023April 10, 2024

Secrets of the Emperor’s Chicken

There is a curious detail in the Marseille Emperor’s throne, which always reminded me of a goofy-looking bird, a bit like the Roadrunner cartoon. Merely an accident of design…or is it? Jodo refers only to the eye-like, circular shape, as symbolic of ‘alchemical gold.’ He and Camoin also insist there was an egg (under eagle’s tail) in the Conver card, which they ‘restored,’ a topic of much debate in Tarot circles.

detail in 3 versions of the Conver Emperor

Details in Tarot imagery are known to get muddled or omitted, so it’s necessary to look at as many variations as possible, to try and put a picture together. Often it’s nothing, sometimes it’s something. In this case, it was the latter.

In the two versions below, you’d be forgiven for thinking the bird head on the back of the Emperor’s throne was just another eagle, being the imperial bird (and in the first card, it appears to be), except for a couple of other clues; in the 2nd card, the arm of the throne is clearly ‘feathered’ like a rooster’s tail. Also there is the fact that the brim of the Emperor’s helmet-crown is almost without exception consistent in its red colouring.

We could also make the connection to the alchemical basilisk, which symbolized the destructive fire preceding the transmutation of metals, as well as having the ability to kill with a glance, like Medusa (hence situated behind the Emperor, his shadow nature or hidden super-power). And, of course, the presence of Mercurius, the transmuter.

Now, the next question is, why? Why, when chickens are a medieval symbol of cowardice and avarice, and when the rooster in particular belongs to Mercury or Mars, would anyone associate the noble Emperor with poultry? Isn’t the Emperor an avatar of Jupiter??

Actually, Emperors and Gallus gallus go a long way back. No ancient Roman Emperor was without an assembly of sacred fowl. You see, in olden days, chickens were not bred for frying, but for fighting and alectryomancy, a form of augury. Chickens were used to predict the outcome of battles and, yup, who the next Emperor would be. We can see the military aspect of our Tarot Emperor, though he be seated in repose.

Etruscan buccher 630-20 BC and German Rooster helmet c 1530 (MET Museum, NY)

Alright, so what does the regal rooster have to do with de Zeus, if anything?
This is where it gets a bit esoteric, because TdM imagery is never this = that. We can find associations in the Emperor card to Jupiter (imperial eagle on his shield, sometimes a thunderbolt in his sceptre, bearded), Mars and Mercury (rooster, as mentioned), as well as the Sun (rooster, medieval 4th sphere, wears a radiate crown over his helmet), but what about Pluto? Pluto/Hades was, after all, an aspect of the Jupiterian triplicity, one of the ‘bros’.

While the other, major Greco-Roman gods were always busy doing – Mars at battle or cavorting with Venus, Mercury flying all over the place, Jupiter running Olympus between mythic, erm, conquests – it seems Pluto’s one, big event was the ‘abduction’ of his young bride, Persephone/Proserpine. After that, the god of subterranean riches pretty much just sits there on his Underworld throne or lies in repose at banquets for the newly-dead, right?

engraving by Wenzel Holler (detail) 1600, Francesco Berti Bologna Emperor 17th c

This is likely due to the abduction myth being a relatively late injection; Persephone had long presided in the underworld as part of a Goddess triplicity (with Demeter and Hekate), before the patriarchal gods usurped:

“There is an archaic role for Persephone as the dread queen of the Underworld, whose very name it was forbidden to speak. In the Odyssey, commonly dated circa 800 to 600 BCE, when Odysseus goes to the Underworld, he refers to her as the Iron Queen. Her central myth, for all its emotional familiarity, was also the tacit context of the secret initiatory mystery rites of regeneration at Eleusis, which promised immortality to their awe-struck participants—an immortality in her world beneath the soil, feasting with the heroes who dined beneath her dread gaze.”

Note the ‘dread gaze’ reference, again.

Persephone and Hades/Pluto Enthroned, 500-450 BC, Greek (Cleveland Museum of Art)

As it turns out, Hades/Pluto and Dionysus may have been one and the same (or syncretized). In this beautiful relief, we see that the cock and hen are familiars of Persephone and her consort, representing Springtime regeneration (and eggs!), when she emerges from the Earth to make it fecund, again. The ear of grain/wheat is another of her attributes (indeed she was the grain itself), and we see that the TdM Emperor wears a necklace (circle) of golden grain, just like Pluto/Dionysus wears on his head.

Going back to the subject of my previous post, every 4th card is also the 1st card of the next cycle of 3, the Empress being the first 3. Like Persephone, she embodies the cyclic, creative triplicity. The Emperor, in 4th place, represents the ‘death’ of the first cycle as well as the beginning of the next. Similarly, Winter is the 4th season, when the forces of life go underground.

The aging Emperor is typically shown in profile, facing the Empress/past and with his back to the next cards/future (if they were laid out in numerical order). He will not go further in his current form, but holding his sceptre erect, looks to his lady for renewal, while she, in turn, holds her sceptre to her womb.

Addendum: Hermes-Mercury’s travels famously included being a psychopomp, being the only god who had licence to travel back and forth between realms. So don’t worry, this is not to discount the rooster/chicken as possible presence of Mercury, significator of transition, alchemical, numerical or otherwise. Rather it is to draw attention to the Plutonian nature of the Emperor. Hermes-Mercury is present in every Major Arcana card of the TdM (more on that some other post). Interestingly, modern ‘evolutionary’ astrology sees planetary Pluto as having to do with both death and transformation. ~rb

January 1, 2023April 10, 2024

2023 – Of Gods, Solar Heroes and Magic

Happy New Year!

Jupiter is back in Aries, until May 16. This masculine, fiery combo embodies the mythology of the solar hero (Aries) on a mission from God (Jupiter) or the ‘superhero’. The Sun’s exaltation is in Aries and the Sun is also the ‘son’.

Weapon-wielding, demi-god sons who saved humanity by wiping the floor with fabulous creatures were abundant in the ancient world (or at least abundantly immortalized), as they are, today – but one in particular stands out from all the others, for he wears the solar lion’s skin and performs twelve labours, just as the Sun and Jupiter themselves stay a day and a year, consecutively, in each zodiacal house. Sing along if you are old enough…

“Hercules, hero of song and story!
Hercules, winner of ancient glory!
Fighting for the right, fighting with his might;
With the strength of ten, ordinary men!
Hercules, people are safe when near him!
Hercules, only the evil fear him!
Softness in his eyes, iron in his thighs;
Virtue in his heart, fire in every part of
The Mighty Hercules!”

I was dismayed to learn that the ‘real’ Hercules never had a magic ring, ripped abs and a quiff, or a centaur sidekick who’s favourite expression was “Suffering Psyche!” But my childhood TV cartoon got one thing right, ‘Herc’ was the modern, macho superhero prototype:

“Heracles – or Hercules as he has been more popularly known ever since the Roman times – was the greatest of all Greek heroes, “one who surpassed all men of whom memory from the beginning of time has brought down an account.” A half-god of superhuman strength and violent passions, Heracles was the epitome of bravery and masculinity in the ancient world and the most notable champion of the Olympian order, which he staunchly protected from various chthonic monsters and earthly villains. Even though his short temper and lack of composure did cause both him and quite a few innocent mortals undeserved trouble, the magnitude of his labors was of such an order that it earned him the prize of immortality… Heracles is undoubtedly one of the most iconic figures in all of Greek mythology.” [source]

Drunk Heracles “urinating” (in fact trying to get it up, for erroneous intent).

In the myth, Goddess Queen/evil stepmother Hera, angry that Zeus had sired him with another, who had the gall to name him ‘glory of Hera’, hated her step son and had marked him since birth. She sent two poisonous snakes (of course) to kill him in his cradle, but he strangled them with his bare, chubby little superbaby hands. Years later, grudge firm as ever, Hera served Heracles a potion to drive him temporarily insane and murder his own family. When the drugs wore off and he realized what he had done, remorseful Heracles sought spiritual advice from Apollo, who divined the gruelling tasks for his atonement. (Note that Apollo was a Sun god, who killed and usurped the Python). “In my defence, I was drunk and drugged!”

Delphic oracle with her tripod, Hellenist bell krater detail (British Museum)

The myth of Herc’s 10 labours was likely extended to 12 – which became the official number – because the day and the solar year were also divided into 12 sections (Roman year had formerly been 10 months, also), each through which the Sun himself was ‘guided’ by a lady of the hora, as he traversed the sky in his chariot. Every man of importance in the ancient world, political or religious, was depicted wearing a halo of the Sun’s rays – essentially what a golden crown is, made with the Sun’s metal. Alexander the Great, who self-identified with various mythic/solar heroes, including Heracles, was frequently depicted as Helios. Our image of the haloed Buddha (‘enlightened one’) also comes courtesy of the imported, Greco-Roman Sun God. Of course it wasn’t only reserved for men, they just tended to have a bit more power and a bit less humility.
[Side note: Though I’m not of the ‘there are really 13 signs!’ camp, it’s interesting that, in order to make things solar and mathematically ‘even’, the 13th constellation touching the ecliptic, associated with the serpent (and 13 being lunar) had to be left out. We now know our Sun is itself serpentine in nature, it ‘sheds’ its skin via coronial mass ejections (CMEs).]

Gilt roundel with Alexander as Helios, 4th c BC

“All the seven planets have
opened their gates.” – Goethe

Whilst reading up on Heracles and the horae, I took a rabbit hole into horary astrology. Turns out that on the first day of the first month of 2023, the first hour belongs to the Sun, as does the day (Sunday), meaning the entire year is going to be under solar influence. The Sun card comes up (19 reduces to 1), as does the Chariot, being that it’s a universal 7 year ( 2+0+2+3). The actual picture of the solar demi-god in his vehicle!

The 7th house cusp of the zodiac, opposite to the natal horizon or ascendant, is where the Sun-self begins its descent and marks the beginning of knowing thyself through others (Libra), which is a different kind of awakening.

Vieville Tarot Sun and Charioteer, looking rather Alexander-ish

Unlike Heracles, the Charioteer, previously initiated as a Lover (6, which some do see as ‘Hercules at the crossroads’, choosing between Vice and Virtue), is now tasked with keeping the solar and lunar sides of his own nature in Balance (8).

The fiery energy of Jupiter/Aries is boundless, until Saturn enters Pisces, March 7 and tempers the flame. Saturn specializes in labours and (karmic) atonement, and it’s entering the 12th sign, traditionally ruled by Jupiter. At best, Saturn/Pisces directs Jupiterian inspiration, so as to give form to visions and dreams, testing their weight and our faith, every step of the way. Are we just being given our tasks or is this the final push? Maybe both? (I have Saturn and Jupiter returns coming up this year, will let you know…).

There are 7 cycles of 3 (plus the Fool) in the Major Arcana, so each 4th card is also a new 1. So the Chariot, as the first card of the third triad, is also a 1 placement. All ‘1‘ placement cards have to do with the theme of change/transition/death/rebirth: 1–Magician, 4-Emperor, 7-Chariot, 10-Wheel, 13-Unnamed, 16-Tower, 19-Sun.

Being the number of traditional planets/planetary spheres, 7 has long held sacred significance as a microcosm, by which the weeks and solar years are divided.

Amulets found in Turkish excavation, dated from 7th-4th c BC

Horary astrology is also tied in with magic (using the energy of the planet at the appropriate time and/or creating talismans for positive outcome or amulets for protection). Before Solstice, I made some planet-themed bracelets. I hadn’t checked the planet hours at their creation, but when the Mars one proved conductive, I wondered whether I’d made it during a Mars hour or on a Tuesday. It remains to be seen whether Sun-ruled hours/days this year will have extra potency, but I intend to find out! In astrology, the Sun is generally seen as a bringer of happiness, unless terribly aspected. Similarly, we feel hope when the Sun shines, except during a drought or heat dome.

“Symbols are to the mind what tools are to the hand–
an extended application of its powers.” – Dion Fortune

To me, the Chariot card is emblematic of Tarot itself and of magic; forces within and without in accordance, the meeting of above and below, the completion of the first 7 steps.

painted icon of seated blue sphinx on gold background — Blue Saharan Sphinx wood icon by Roxanna Bikadoroff

Sphinxes, such as those who ‘pull’ the triumphal Chariot in some decks, were guardians of mysteries and the dead. As human-lion anthropomorphs, they are also symbolic of Aquarius/Leo (or, previously, Leo/Aquarius). We might view the pelt-clad Heracles as an initiate, a man not yet integrated with the solar lion in the spiritual sense. (He did actually become an initiate of the mysteries, but only in order to capture Cerberus). He is still an accursed bête, wearing the old skin but not yet the golden crown of the solar lion (the Nemean lion he flayed represents the constellation of Leo).

Of the Aquarius Age, astrologer Alan Oken, in the 1970s wrote,

“In spite of the utopian visions which this writer shared with millions of his peers in the 1960s, the Age of Aquarius will not be dominated by a suddenly transcended, spiritually oriented, love-sharing world population. Mankind has yet to work out the natural animal aggression which is so much a part of his nature…”

He goes on to say that (as we are seeing) the Aquarian Age will be dominated by ideological conflicts and, because of the energies available and potential for evolutionary advancement, self-awareness is a priority for people of the Aquarian Age if we are to properly channel these energies – physical and metaphysical – for the benefit of all.

Heracles, in burning agony, throws himself on the fire

In the end, after a kind of alchemical trial by pyre, brought about by a toxic balm his second wife inadvertently procured from a centaur (Sagittarius, the centaur sign ruled by Jupiter, is the transforming fire of the zodiacal triplicity), Hera and Zeus both agreed he’d suffered enough, and Herc was placed in the sky, as the constellation formerly identified with Gilgamesh. “Victory is here, raise a mighty cheer!”

Final thoughts…

As we ‘permanently’ enter the rational, masculine, high-tech age of the Titans (fixed air Aquarius, that is), with Pluto making its first ingress into this sign March 23, it’s important to keep sight of our higher Aquarius/Leo nature. The Sun is just one star in the heavens, but it represents the creative here and now, the full potential and expression (Leo) of our present lifetime. Meanwhile, Aquarius, sign of the starry heavens (hence astrology/astronomy), can open our minds to the distant past and future. Imagination is our personal conjuring tool. Through our art, wonder and creativity we are connected to the cosmos and the gods of our higher consciousness. In sync with these, there is no need for domination or force.

All written material except that which appears in quotations herein is ©Roxanna Bikadoroff and may not be copied/reused without first obtaining my permission. You may share the LINK TO THE POST , with a short, introductory excerpt only.
Any artwork of mine you share must include a credit/link [©Roxanna Bikadoroff] Thank you for being respectful.