Sabbat correspondences?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 29 Apr 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

WooMonkey	29 Apr 2004
I've noticed on some sites and in some books (Tarot Green Witch, Tarot for All Seasons) certain tarot cards relating to the 8 Sabbats. Are there any "official" or traditional correspondences? There seems to be a lot of variance. If a thread has already answered this, please direct! Thanks!

Thirteen	29 Apr 2004
Well, no, there's no traditional correspondences, per se. That's because the Tarot did not arrise from one particular type of Paganism per se. Wicca, for example, celebrates a mix of holidays that are solar (like equinoxes) with holidays that are primarily Celtic (like Beltane). But something like Greco-Roman paganism has a completely different system of holidays because of their very different climate--which requires very different holidays on when you plant and harvest food. Ditto Egyptian paganism which celebrates times of year that correspond with the flooding of the Nile, etc. As the history and symbolism of tarot cards are a mix of many different cultures and types of Paganism (we'll acknowledge that most of the Christian symbolism used was probably Pagan in origin)--Roman, Egyptian, European, there's no one pagan practice that was ever reliably connected to the Tarot. Such a connection can only happen with decks like the Tarot Green Witch which tailor their Tarot to suit the spiritual beliefs of their particular branch of paganism. Even then, things get sticky. Wicca is a non-organized religion (aka, there is no Pope or recognized set of Elders deciding things like this) and any branch of Wiccan can conclude whatever it likes in this regard. Heck, any coven can teach its initiates what it likes about which tarot card stands for which Sabbat. Disagreements abound not only on which card for which sabbat, but on which Aces for which time of year (go up to Firemaiden's catalog of threads atop this section and you can find all kinds of discussions on this). Some feel that Swords are Winter, other insist Swords are Spring and Pentacles are Winter...Cups are Fall and Wands are Summer...but then maybe Wands are Fall and Cups are Summer... Round and round it goes. Depends a lot on the paganism/Wicca you were taught. Which item goes where and is associated with what? Is a Wand related to Air and set to the East, or it is Fire and Set to the South.... You see the problem. Of course, you COULD just correlate the cards to the zodiac signs. Alas, this is ambiguous as well. Different tarot authors have different zodiac associations. IF we go with the Golden Dawn's association, however, that would put, for example, the Hierophant at Beltane (May 1st/Taurus). Which doesn't seem right to me....So I guess we're back to: use which ever system rings true for you.

WooMonkey	02 May 2004
Thanks for the detailed response Thirteen! I guess in a way it's good that we aren't stuck in rigid formulas. With only 8 sabbats that would leave out many cards each year. So much in tarot comes back to "what feels right". I'm still getting used to that--I tend to be a "where's the manual" type person. :)

Cerulean	23 Aug 2004
found it was very seasonally oriented to have Pentacles as Winter and North. Even the five decks that it featured (Sacred Circle, Buckland Romany, Robin Wood, Nigel Jackson and I cannot remember the fifth) had different seasonal correspondences...at least I know the Buckland Romany's visual clarity was having Swords as winter. Because of the OOP status of the Buckland and despite giving it away last year after having received it in a trade...it just seemed so clear, crisp and the weather depictions in each suits for the minors seemed very much what I wanted. Plus the pictures extending to the borders is different from my usual style... I wish I knew other decks that showed seasonal correspondences as clearly...but is not the fantasy, sci-fi style as the Tarot of the Ages! Anyone have any other decks where suit and season seems clear? I think the Arthurian (Hallowquest) one has this as well. This thread is the closest thing related to my curious question... Regards, Cerulean

Kiama	23 Aug 2004
What Cerulean and Thirteen have said already is brilliant, so I can only add to that by giving you an idea of where people have tried this before... The Wheel of Change Tarot ascribes cards to different festivals, and different aspects of the God/Goddess. The Blue Moon Tarot, a 22 card deck by Julia Cuccia-Watts ascribes the 13 moons to the cards, as well as the eight Sabbats. That one's particularly interesting. I'm in a bit of a rush, so I may post what they ascribe to what later on, but until then why not try out yourself? See which card(s) you would apply to which festivals? (I sometimes find there is more than one card.) Blessings, Kiama

Cerulean	11 Sep 2004
I settled on an oracle that is designed around "Celtic" themes, known as the Rune Tarot--not a real tarot, but a nice wheel of the year seasonal oracle deck with 76 cards and pretty colors with designs by Caroline Smith. The Tarot of the Green Witch book has pictures with every description and I was surprised to see the following decks grouped together--Buckland Romani, Nigel Jackson, Sacred Circle, Robin Wood and Tarot of the Witches. But both times I saw the book, I found that I thought the Buckland Romani and Nigel Jackson were the prettiest decks and reproduced very nicely in black and white. I ended up finding at those two different times, the Buckland Romani and the Nigel Jackson at a good price--the Nigel Jackson in the mini-kit packaging was less, an older version--and did not feel that I need to get the Green Witch book as a result.. Regards, Cerulean

augursWell	11 Sep 2004
I'm not pagan/wiccan but I have a "cheat sheet" of sorts for the Zodiac on which I make note of various time related information. If you simply use the general time of year in which each Solstice/Equinox/etc. happens then you have the following: Capricorn = Yule, Winter Solstice Aquarius = Imbolc, Candle mass, Brigid Pisces = none Aries = Ostara, Spring Equinox Taurus = Beltane, May Eve, Walpurgis Gemini = none Cancer = Litha, Summer Solstice Leo = Luchnassad, August Eve, Lammas Virgo = none Libra = Mabon, Autumn Equinox Scorpio = Samhain, November Eve, Hallows Sagittarius = none Then it would be a manner of relating the Zodiac sign to particular Tarot cards which, of course, is a whole other story. :D

rabble	11 Sep 2004
augursWell, that's fine, until you live in the Southern Hemisphere! :) I actually woke up yesterday morning, having decided, in my sleep, to ally each of the suits in my deck-in-progress to a season. My seasons are going to be Stones - Earth - Autumn Wands - Air - Spring Sticks - Fire - Summer Cups (or Bowls) - Water - Winter I'm not sure if these seem odd or not, to most people, but I'd be interested to find out. And also, does your location on the planet have any influence on this?

WooMonkey	12 Sep 2004
Hmm... Kiama (or anyone else who knows), which festivals does the Wheel of Change tarot link to which cards? I'd just like to compare her correspondences to some of the other systems I've seen. I was specifically wondering about Imbolc, Lammas, and Samhain. :) Thanks!

punchinella	13 Sep 2004
Quote: Originally posted by rabble Stones - Earth - Autumn Wands - Air - Spring Sticks - Fire - Summer Cups (or Bowls) - Water - Winter I'm not sure if these seem odd or not, to most people, but I'd be interested to find out. And also, does your location on the planet have any influence on this? It does seem odd indeed rabble--as an (honorary) Canadian I can't possibly imagine Cups/Water corresponding with winter, when every speck of water above & below ground is frozen solid! I would put water in the summer, although perhaps spring would be even more 'accurate', from a meteorological perspective. And, I'd probably put fire in the Autumn because that's the color the leaves turn (and also because that's when one burns things--leaves & other). 'Stones', or earth, would definitely be winter :) So, yes, location on the planet has everything to do with how this works, as I believe Lee originally pointed out!

rabble	13 Sep 2004
Thanks, punchinella! I can see cups as Spring, but not summer. Summer in Australia is so dry - bushfire season! Hence my choice of fire. Most of the trees here aren't deciduous, the leaves don't turn and fall, in autumn, so we don't burn them. (And those that do fall are left on the ground as mulch, to protect the precious moisture in the earth!) In Spring we get crisp mornings, with bright clean air - new leaves and blossom appearing on the stems of my nectarine tree, for instance, brought to my mind a beautiful airy wand! Would having odd seasons put you off a deck? Maybe I should call this the antipodean tarot ;) [edit - i've copied these last couple of posts into the wiccked stepmother tarot project thread in deck creation.]

augursWell	13 Sep 2004
Quote: Originally posted by rabble augursWell, that's fine, until you live in the Southern Hemisphere! :) ...snip... And also, does your location on the planet have any influence on this? I'd be interested to know if those in the Southern Hemisphere end up celebrating Samhain, Imbolc or whatever in the "opposite" time frame from those in the Northern hemisphere? I assigned the above list purely by date, Capricorn is usually Dec 22 to Jan 19, roughly, so Yule or Winter Solstice would fall in that time frame. As for Suits and seasons, this is how I do it: Solid = Coins = Winter (everything is in a solid state) Liquid = Cups = Spring (the winter thaws, water everywhere) Fire = Wands = Summer (Hot, everything bakes and expands) Gas = Swords = Autumn (Wind as the season turns back to cold, also a loss of water as we turn to Winter.) It also follows the order of the seasons. Just adjust to your location on the planet, northern or southern hemisphere. I live in the U.S. so I put Winter/North, Spring/East(rising sun), Summer/South, and Autumn/West(setting sun).

rabble	14 Sep 2004
We're coming up to Ostara, not Samhain :) We celebrate midsummer at Christmas, and Yule in July :)

Cerulean	14 Sep 2004
To those who see the Southern Cross..in this Southern Hemisphere...does this sound right? Beltane - November 1 Midsummer - December 21-31 Lughnasadh/Lammas - February 1st or 2nd Mabon - Spring Equinox Samhain - May 6th Yule - Summer Solstice Imbolg - August 1st Ostara - Fall Equinox

rabble	14 Sep 2004
It's difficult to find a reference that's the same as the next. And also, because these are based on being the reverse of the Northern hemisphere, which we're acutally not. We don't really have four seasons this far north, so we just do whatever feels right :) Beltane - 1 November or 31 October (personal preference) Summer Solstice - 21.41 am, 22 December 2004 Lughnasadh - 1 February or 2 February (personal preference) Autumn Equinox - 12.33 am, 21 March 2005 Samhain - 30 April or 1 May (personal preference) Winter Solstice - 12.58 pm, 21 June 2004 Imbolc - 1 August or 2 August (personal preference) Spring Equinox - 4.30 am, 23 September 2004 Found that on an NZ website.

Keslynn	14 Sep 2004
I like to use tarot in my rituals. In fact, I'm working on writing tarot-based rituals for the moons and sabbats. This is definitely something I've been thinking about. I decided to use the zodiac attributions for the moons, and for the sabbats, I'm going to use several cards that represent the relevant themes of the sabbat. Really, because (as Thirteen so wonderfully pointed out) there are so many different brands of pagan, you can pretty much pick your own. It would be a nice way to explore what each holiday means to you. I also highly recommend Tarot for All Seasons by Christine Jette. It does have some card attributions, but it's the lovely spreads that make the book really great for sabbat celebrations. Go with the attributions that feel right to you, and if they're different from what anyone else says, who cares? :) Kes

WooMonkey	14 Sep 2004
Very interesting! I can see how a festival would have a totally different "feeling" depending on whether you were in the northern or southern hemisphere. Keslynn, please share which cards you pick for Sabbat themes when you work them out. Are you planning on looking through the whole deck, or just the majors? :)

augursWell	15 Sep 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Keslynn I decided to use the zodiac attributions for the moons, and for the sabbats, I'm going to use several cards that represent the relevant themes of the sabbat. I'm not familiar with the zodiac attributions for the moons. Could you perhaps list them? I would also be interested in what the themes are for the various Pagan sabbats. Halloween I'm more or less familiar with. :D

Cerulean	16 Sep 2004
Julia Cuccia Watts designed and painted a tarot with these Sabbat dates in mind: http://www.newmoontradingco.com/trading/bluemoon/bluemoon.htm The deck is back in print....it's 22 cards only? She also is working to publish her 78 card version... I am eagerly awaiting the availability of her 78 card version...meantime the website shows the majors and good information. Regards, Cerulean

Keslynn	16 Sep 2004
For the moons, I'm using Golden Dawn(?) astrological attributions of the cards. They will be based on where the moon is. Aries - Emperor Taurus - The Hierophant Gemini - The Lovers Cancer - The Chariot Leo - Strength Virgo - Hermit Libra - Justice Scorpio - Death Sagittarius - Temperence Capricorn - Devil Aquarius - The Star Pisces - The Moon Of course, I'm still at the very beginning so some things might change. I'll be using just the majors for the main part of the rituals, but there is also a spread included with each one. That will get the minors in there. If anyone would like to see what I have so far, check out: http://swordsqueen.tripod.com/tarotrituals.html I'll be following this thread with interest because I like to see how other people do it. I like Cuccia Watts' approach, but I personally feel that each Sabbat merits several cards because of the complexity of their themes. :) Kes

WooMonkey	16 Sep 2004
Just a FYI, Ann Moura in Tarot for the Green Witch uses these correspondences: Imbolc - World Spring - Fool Beltane - Lovers Summer - Empress & Emperor Lughnasadh - Sun Autumn - Judgement Samhain - Death Winter - Hermit I saw a Sabbats site (http://www.partytown.com/menus/sabbat.htm#top) that listed these correspondences: Imbolc - Star Spring - Pages Beltane - 4 Wands Summer - Empress, Strength & Sun Lughnasadh - Wheel of Fortune & Justice Autumn - Judgement & World Samhain - Death Winter - Aces She doesn't give references for her choices however. It's interesting to see the similarities and differences. :)

Shade	16 Sep 2004
Here's how my tradition goes about it but as was stated before paganism as a whole would never consider having any "official" guidelines Seasons/elements follow the tattvic tides which mirror astrology. The seasons are related to the carinal sign that begins the seasons t solstices and equinoxes so: Spring - Aries, fire, wands - life being born anew Summer - Cancer, water, cups - dreamy disconnected quality Autumn - Libra, air, swords - clarity, focus, harvest Winter - Capricorn, earth, disks/coins - grounding reflective The trad. also has a set of three or four tarot cards associated with the sabbats and full moon. As much as I can remember without checking my Book of Shadows: Full Moon: High Priestess, Empress, Hermit, Moon Yule: Sun, Judgement Candlemas: Empress, Hanged Man, Page of Wands, Ace of Wands, Spring Equinox: ??? Beltane: Empress, High Priestess, Star Midsummer: Emperor, Fool, Sun Lammas: Temperance, Queen of Disks, Ten of Disks Mabon, Autumn Equinox: Emoress, Hermit, Tower Samhain: Death, Wheel of Fortune Damn, will check the book when i get home and edit the post with the cards for the others

Cerulean	16 Oct 2004
I'm still studying this, but here's an interesting site that discusses North and South slants....from an Australian perspective...click on Sabbats button to the left http://www.akashawitchcraft.net/craft.htm Hope it's helpful Cerulean

rabble	20 Oct 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Cerulean I'm still studying this, but here's an interesting site that discusses North and South slants....from an Australian perspective...click on Sabbats button to the left http://www.akashawitchcraft.net/craft.htm Hope it's helpful Cerulean That's a great site, Cerulean, thanks! :)

Cerulean	20 Oct 2004
In the calendar of Japanese events, some being national holidays, some seasonal observations include: New Year, Spring Equinox, Summer 7th day of 7th month, Autumn Equinox. Some of the holidays have Shinto or Buddhist local festivals, and there are family-oriented holidays listed as well... http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2062.html I'm certain there are other cultures with the wheel of the year incorporated in people's personal holiday or family observances. While one can become transplanted in another area, it does not mean we have to forget a personal rembrance of our inherited or chosen way of observing such things! Best wishes, Cerulean P.S. Sadly, our family has a renewal of cultural passages coming soon in the passing of an elder...but if all goes well, I'll be standing with my brother and sister through this...best wishes to all in these seasonal changes...

The Sabbat correspondences? thread was originally posted on 29 Apr 2004 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.