MAAT Study Group The Wheel of Fortune

juliecucciawatts

The Wheel of Fortune

Cross-Quarter Day-February 2

Candlemas/Oimelc



"First Milk"
Oimelc or Candlemas is the halfway point between Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. Oimelc means ewe's milk. Few urban dwellers today would know or even care that it is lambing season, the time of the year that lambs are born. But to our ancestors the birth of lambs would be the first signs of spring approaching and the abundance of life returning. The lambs meant there would be meat, milk and wool and that autonomy could be maintained.

Most Christians will say "Lions lay down with lambs". Yet no where in Scripture is that ever mentioned. It is the wolf that lays down with the lamb, not the lion. The New Testament always contrasts lamb with
wolves, not lions. This interesting phrase came from somewhere... perhaps it came from some old folk knowledge that Ewe's lay down to lamb when in the month the moon is full in Leo. The constellation of the reclining Lion
is clear and prominent in the late January and February sky. The whole point of Isaiah 11:6 is to foretell a time of peace. This year (2007)the full moon actually falls right on Oimelc.

In the MAAT Tarot The Wheel of Fortune alludes to the astrological natal chart as it represents the sky at the moment of one's birth (As Above So Below). Your natal chart marks the personal laws that you were born with. Your individual character can be understood by the descriptions and placements of the stars and planets it is your virtual Wheel of Fortune. This opens a beautiful and personal metaphor for the idea of a macrocosm and a microcosm. Everyone's chart is different, like a fingerprint, every individual is a manifestation of the universe at the moment they were born. It is said that a person's character is their destiny.

The study of Astrology dates back to ancient India and the Chaldeans of Mesopotamia around 3000BCE. The Egyptians, Assyrians and Babylonians adopted astrology and made their contributions. Along with sun and the moon, the "lesser" lights of the sky are also observed. The planets and the stars were considered divine beings (gods), Watchers over the children of Earth. European stone circles may well be associated with the watching of the stars and planets.

The concentrated trail of stars in our galaxy is called the Milky Way and the origins of this name turn up in Greek mythology. The story goes that Hermes [in an effort to give the child immortality] placed the child, Hercules on the breast of Hera while the goddess was sleeping. As soon as she opened her eyes, Hera pushed the baby aside, but it was too late. Her milk had let down and began to flow from her breast spraying milk into the sky creating a trail that became the Milky Way. Other Goddesses given credit for this milk were Rhea, Hathor and Isis.

This tale not only gives a delightful example of the primacy of a feminine principle in the creation of the galaxy, but also speaks volumes about fertility, reliability and the power of woman's bodies to provide for their offspring. Hera's milk let down shows that her body was willing and impartial to her cantankerous will. Her unconscious body would have given the child Hercules the immortality he craved. But when she consciously saw him she would not suckle the child of her husband (Zeus) by a mortal woman. It was her consciousness that decided to whom she would grant her power of immortality.

For some Native Americans the Milky Way Galaxy, is the path that souls follow to the land of the dead. There are theories about Ancient Egyptians seeing the Nile River as a reflection of the Milky Way on earth.

The MAAT Tarot Wheel of Fortune offers the metaphor of the personal astrological natal chart as your wheel of fortune and combines this attribute with the first signs of spring. It also brings us to a place in time when mother's milk was held in such high esteem that it was thought the stars in the sky were made from it.

Other names: Imbolc (in the belly of the mother); Oimelc (milk of ewes); Lady Day; Brigit's Day; Lupercalia (Roman Fertility Festival) The milk of Hera, Rhea, Hathor/Isis forming the Milky Way.

Symbols: Candles; birthing of lambs; first milk; ancient tools of invocation, sacred fires The Milky Way

Attributes: Paradigm shift; invocation, destiny, hope, and fate.
 

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annik

I like the idea of the clock with the astrological sigms around. And the woman and the child seems to be in the water.
 

rachelcat

A Vision of Peace

Isaiah 11:6-9

6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.

7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

8 The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,
and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.

9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.
 

crazy raven

oops! duplicated by mistake
 

crazy raven

There's much to this card, but the first thing that came to mind was that the deep waters of the sea are a common symbol for the inner self. It is a spiritual journey of going inward to the depths of our being.

If we act on our childlike impulses alone, we could plunge into deep waters recklessly and dangerously moved by impulse, curiousity and when we're overexcited. Then again we can turn a flee because of fear, without the courage to hear and follow the call of our spirit.

We need to explore, spend time and reach out to our 'child within', breaking down barriers and seeing him/her as a precious and lovable part of ourselves. After a birth there is a time of embracing the new born child, resting and nursing.

It is a lifelong process of birthing and nurturing our child, enabling us to discover and rediscover the newness within ourselves. We often learn by trial and error. Being in touch with our emotions helps to understand what is hindering the process of an inner birth from actualizing. Instead of 'bearing down' we need to relax and let go. Tell that to any woman giving birth to a child and I bet she'll tell you in no uncertain terms to go to h*ll. :D

I also see similarities with your painting Julie and the I Ching or Yijing Hexagram 47 K'un/Oppression (Exhaustion)....lake above, water below. Some have attributed this Hexagram to The Wheel of Fortune, and although the naming of this Hex is somewhat somber, it has a much greater meaning.

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Penthasilia

Maat tarot IDS

Card/Number: The Wheel of Fortune/27

Card Image: see attached

First Impression: A lovely Wheel of Fortune card! I like the idea of the birth/zodiac chart as showing our place in the wheel of the universe- connected to all, our strand of Wyrd.

Card Description: The Goddess Mother is in the center of the card, a babe beside her. From Her breasts pours divine milk, forming the stars and galaxy. A circle surrounds the pair, composed of the colors of the rainbow. On the outer edge of the wheel sits all of the zodiac signs.

Masculine/Feminine/Neutral: Feminine

Colors: all the colors of the rainbow, white and gold

Senses: Caught in the void of space, there is no wind, no sound. Only the milk of the MOther shining brightly, bathing your skin in stardust.

Symbols: mother's milk, wheel, rainbow, birth/zodiac chart

Story (intuitive): See now- the gift of your thread, the web of Wyrd, you strand marked at birth! See the beauty, revel in the mystery. It is your strand, yet it is connected to all! What will you weave? Will you remain true to the path of your destiny? Or will you fall away, creating tangles and unraveling tapestries? So few see their true destiny, and how it connects to others- both living and in the ancestral plane. Live true to your Wyrd, listen to the voices around you that help to guide you on your path. They will keep you close to your strand, and help guide you home. Remember- you are given your strand to follow your destiny, it is up to you to choose to do it!

"We've got two lives, one we're given and the other one we make." --Mary Chapin Carpenter

What will YOU weave?

Astrologic: Candlemas, Oimelc, Brigid

Element: Ether

Keywords: destiny, fate

Meanings: paradigm shift, change in fortune/fate

Quote: "You have your strand, what will you weave?"
 

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