Maat Study Group- 9 of Wands

hunter

I could really use some help with this card.

In the past I have focused on discipline and defensiveness, and the idea that a LOT has just happened. Now I have a card with a new baby. I'm going to need to really change my thinking.

I guess Moses really has been through something though. He was hidden for a few months and his life was in peril each of those moments as well as the people who hid him. He is about to enter a time of greater safety, that he must use to prepare for what is coming.

As I'm writing, it's feeling clearer.
 

juliecucciawatts

hunter said:
I could really use some help with this card.

In the past I have focused on discipline and defensiveness, and the idea that a LOT has just happened. Now I have a card with a new baby. I'm going to need to really change my thinking.

I guess Moses really has been through something though. He was hidden for a few months and his life was in peril each of those moments as well as the people who hid him. He is about to enter a time of greater safety, that he must use to prepare for what is coming.

As I'm writing, it's feeling clearer.

Moses is part of a larger group of solar archetypical heroes who were raised in secret so they would be safe to fight another day. Egyptian savior god Horus son of Isis raised in the marshes so he could mature and later fight his uncle Set and avenge his murdered father Osiris. Legendary King Arthur taken by Merlin and raised in secret to draw his father's sword from the stone on Easter. Even the Christian Jesus is taken into Egypt as an infant to stay safe from King Herod until he is older. There is a perenial story here and much of it is based in nature. The new born sun begins to grow stronger as the days grow longer after winter solstice the sun overtakes the darkness at the spring Equinox(Ostara Eostar, Easter) teaching it's peak at summer solstice when the
sun begins to die the spirit of the sun flows into the vegetation the green man/Osiris and we await his return.
 

hunter

I'm getting it better. Thank you!

I'm going to talk a little more about this card in the general discussion thread.

I'm trying so hard not to take any of these threads OT, so it means skipping around to different threads a bit, to say what I want to say.
 

hunter

Wands are air in this deck, so I'm realizing I need to check my past elemental associations. The mom must be thinking a lot about her situation. I shouldn't focus on fire associations. I need to dwell on this a bit.
 

Kimber

Seeing the baby as the infant solar god helps me to assimilate this card. Like Hunter, I follw the Wands/Fire attribution, so it does require a bit of adjustment in how I view Wands and Swords. It's not as difficult with this particular card for me, because I see the traditional RWS card as symbolizing the aftermath of a struggle in which the battler has been wounded and is now on the defensive. These woulds can be psychological or spiritual as well as physical. So for me the need to protect the infant is a symbol of the battler's need to take care of him/her self and everything that he or she cherishes. Sometimes it's easy to lose sight of what's really important in your life when you're focused away from now, on the potential threats of the future. This saps the waxing energy of the first quarter moon in Aries, which requires growth and expansion.

Kimber
 

juliecucciawatts

Here's a thought. There is so much riding on this little baby. His parent's generation are expecting him to come in and pick up the fight where they left off. The waxing first quarter moon in Aries key phrase "I am" suppose this kid decides he's evolved out of this fight? What if he doesn't want to fight their battle for them? What if he has his own ideas about his life?
What if he stops the battle by not engaging? With MAAT all the old systems are not in play. You have to look at the card and reconnect with the image and the number and the energy of the moon.
Likely the hero child will fight the battle of the previous generation but you never know.
 

Penthasilia

Maat tarot IDS

Card/Number: 9 of Wands/23

Card Image: see attached

First Impression: I like the idea behind this 9 of Wands. The Moses theme fits well within the traditional meaning of a "rest between battles" but also adds a substance to the idea- that of preserving something precious, the promise of the future.

Card Description: A babe lies on a vibrant red cushion inside a wicker basket, floating gently on the water amidst reeds. A woman stands behind the basket, wrapped in a white robe, pushing the baby gently through the water.

Masculine/Feminine/Neutral: neutral

Colors: red, brown, yellow, blue and white

Senses: you feel the cool water lapping at your skin and the rough edges of the basket on your fingertips, the soft cooing of the babe sings in your ears as you taste the salty tears of your silent fear and grief.

Symbols: basket, babe, white robe, reeds

Story (intuitive): My heart aches for the woman. I have watched her give birth to this child on the longest night of the year, watched the child triumphant as the Prince and then the two of them together, their bond of love forming the Magician. Yet, here she stands, covered in white- the old traditional color of mourning. Her face is full of grief, yet determined, as she pushes the Prince among the reeds, hiding him away from those who would seek to destroy the promise that he holds. I mourn, as I feel that the duality of the Magician is slipping away. The woman does not look away from the babe, yet she addresses me sternly in a tear-roughened voice, "NO, our duality remains strong and we remain the Magician, even when separated! The bond is complete, there is nothing that can break it. Does your love lessen when your children have to travel far away? Does theirs? No, nor does ours.". I nod in understanding, though am still upset for their plight. "You shouldn't have to hide." I tell her softly. She looks at me now, exasperated at my continued lack of understanding, "Of course we shouldn't have to! But, we do and the only thing that matters at this point is keeping him safe, so that the promise of the future may come to fruition. That is ALL that matters! And in the end, we will prosper, and never regret that retreat was once necessary to bring about the fulfillment. In our rest we will become stronger. Know that any sacrifice is worth it when the promise is so great.". And true understanding finally hits me. Of course, that is the meaning of true commitment and love- the willingness to sacrifice, to hold back and retreat for the greater good. I understand well, as I am doing the same thing now for the protection of my family and our future promise. And in the end, I will stand with her and we will prevail! The sacrifice will be fulfilled by the promise and we know that at the end lies hope!

Astrologic: first quarter moon in Aries, planetary ruler: Saturn

Element: air

Keywords: rest between battles, protection, nurturing

Meanings: something that needs protection in order to mature to its full potential

Quote: "The sacrifice is worth the promise it brings."
 

Attachments

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annik

It's a cute card. The baby is resting. Maybe he is dreaming. Being on the water, in a basket may bring sweet dream. Probably that the water is rocking him gently because of the waves. There is a range of possibility for this child.
 

Surja76

One of the meaning of this card is - "Lonely woman with the child".
Actually if you make a reading for family life.. for woman... very often this card will show you that the woman is lonely or divorced and grows up the child herself without any help and protection from men's side.

The child in the cradle-egg looks like he is inside of mother's womb surrounding with mother's intrauterine waters. The straw that is drawing from the child and touching water surface.. looks like umbilical cord that joins child and mother when the child is inside of her stomach.

This card shows us that despite the fact that the child is born ... he is still associated strong emotional bond with his mother (the straw in water - "cups sign")... He still needs her help... her protection... she feeds him with food and emotional feelings. He has no any other protection but her.

9th cards are family cards of our family worries and joys.
9th of swords for example means - "whatever happens, it happens for good".


9 of wands card can be described by the the King Solomon's words - "And this, too, shall pass away."
It means that all our problems have time duration... Stop! Wait! Listen! you have to wait out all your severe times and then business will go smoothly.