Thursday Night Tarot – Moon/Hermit

This is the ninth in a series of conversations between the Birth Card pairs and Jason C. Lotterhand, through “The Thursday Night Tarot”, (edited by Arisa Victor). The host for this series is the Fool, representing the individual taking the journey. The ninth Birth Card pair up is the Moon/Hermit.

Fool:  Welcome to this series of conversations. Information discussed here is based on Jason C. Lotterhand’s work, as presented in “The Thursday Night Tarot”. Something to keep in mind before we enter into the following conversation is the theme for the Moon/Hermit duo: “Finding ones own truth, and connecting with ones self. ” To my left is the Moon, to my right is the Hermit, and to the Hermit’s right we have Mr. Lotterhand. Thank you all for being here. Moon, you may begin.

The Moon: I would like to thank Mr. Lotterhand and the Hermit for being here, and the Fool for hosting this series. As we all know, Birth Cards work in pairs. However, we all carry our own identity. Through Mr. Lotterhand’s work, we hope to clarify who we are to those who carry our energy.

Mr. Lotterhand, can you please explain why the Moon carries such a dichotomy of energy?

Jason C. Lotterhand: The Moon takes us up through an evolutionary process to the Peak of Understanding. Here spiritual and physical evolution go hand in hand. Here we see the dichotomy of the tamed self versus the wild self, represented by the two figures in this card – the dog and the wolf. Another way of looking at this dichotomy is intuition versus illusion. Definitely a dichotomy that leads to attention being paid to “hidden information”.

The Moon: What do the 18 yods in the image of the Moon represent?

Jason C. Lotterhand: Wow! They represent a tremendous amount of Life Force, and act as symbols of the Archetypal World. They are the ideas that are the guiding principles of evolution. The Moon is the agency that develops ideas. The Yods raining down in the card of the Moon illustrate the descent of grace.

The Moon: Can you talk a bit about the dog being tame by nature, and the wolf being seen as wild by nature, please

Jason C. Lotterhand: Our tame and our wild natures are aspects within ourselves that act as poles. We constantly move between these poles, but we need to remember not to go too far in either direction.

Fool: Thank you, Moon, and you, Mr. Lotterhand. Hermit, you have the podium.

Hermit: Thank you, Fool. I would like to thank the Moon and Mr. Lotterhand for being here, and the Fool for acting as host.

Mr. Lotterhand, what does the Hermit represent?

Jason C. Lotterhand: The Hermit represents the Cosmic Self, and also our own True Self. Remember, our major goal in life is to identify with our Inner Self … i.e. we strive to “be” ourselves!

Hermit: Can you talk a bit about the lantern that I carry, please.

Jason C. Lotterhand: I know what you are getting at, Hermit. The light from your lantern is not so that you can see … it is to act to draw Seekers to you, so that you can share your wisdom. Remember, each of us has all of life itself within us, to teach us and guide us. The six pointed star in the Hermit’s lamp symbolizes Tiphareth on the Tree of Life. The upward pointing fire triangle corresponds to the Three Supernals, while the downward pointing water triangle represents their reflection in substantiality. Together, Fire and Water create the Light of Beauty, which guides us through our whole life.

Hermit:  What is transcendence?

Jason C. Lotterhand: Transcendence is the ability to see yourself in a larger context. Life consists of being “in” ourselves. The transformation is at an inner, rather than an outer level.

The Hermit: Do you have any final thoughts for our audience?

Jason C. Lotterhand: We need to have limitations. The creative life as described in the Cabala indicates that we do not attach ourselves to any particular state. We always need to be ready for change, to be willing to expand out lives.

Please note: These are, of course, imaginary conversations. The information has been taken from “The Thursday Night Tarot”, Jason C. Lotterhand, edited by Arisa Victor, Newcastle Publishing Co. Inc, 1989. Any errors in translation are mine, and mine alone.

Images are from the Tarot Lovers Tarot (Karyn Easton, http://paranormality.com/) .

 © October 2012 Bonnie Cehovet

Advertisement

 

Conversations Overheard – Moon/Hermit

I have been trying to think of ways in which I could make the Birth Card pairs come to life. I thought that it might be fun to have a Birth Card pair chatting over coffee or drinks. I was going to work with the gentlest Birth Card pair that I could find, just so the conversation would be, shall we say, a “nice, quiet one” Best laid plans, and all of that. The first two individuals that choose to speak were the ones that were the hardest for me to write about – The Devil and The Lovers. They choose to speak over drinks … fair warning! Today’s Birth Card pair are the Moon and the Hermit. The Moon is represented by the Lady of the Lake, Morgan Le Fay. The Hermit is represented by Albus Dumbledore. Both of these individuals are mythical … I am taking a bit of license here in asking them to represent certain archetypal energies. I hope I am forgiven, and that you enjoy the conversation!

Scene: The mythological isle of Avalon. Two figures are walking along the water, mist surrounding them. The male figure is older, with shoulder length white hair, and a flowing white beard. He is wearing a dark gray cape that seems to shimmer. The female figure is dark haired, and of indeterminate age. She is wearing a white dress, covered by a deep purple, hooded cape.

“Albus, thank you for coming. There is so much chatter going on that I thought it best for us to meet in person.”

“Morgan, it is my pleasure to visit Avalon. It is one of our better visions, and has served us well. I am sure that it will continue to do so. I have heard the chatter too. There will always be some version of the Dark Lord around. We always knew that this would have to be, so that mankind was able to come to its own conclusions, and drive itself forward. The Dark Lord forces everyone to examine their innermost selves, their belief systems, and their alignments. They see first hand what it means to act against their beliefs. It may seem harsh, but the learning is quicker. And we are always there to make sure that the chaos is “controlled”.”

Morgan laughed. “Controlled chaos … Only you could have come up with that term! I have been having visions lately that I would like to share with you. Both you and I came into this world with certain information, and the means to gain more information as needed. The visions that are coming to me were, I believe, implanted well before this lifetime. And they relate to the 2012 transition.”

Albus kept his face blank, but his eyes showed intense concentration. He was very good at masking the fact that what Morgan had just told him had startled him to his depths. Was it all coming this soon?

Morgan continued. “In my visions, I am seeing myself in a cave. It is well lit, with sconces on the walls holding burning candles. At one end of the cave is a deep pool of water. I am instructed to kneel down and gaze into the water. I see images that I know to be from my pasts. They carry no emotion … they are simply there. Mentors and teachers from various times in my lives come to me. They are all telling me to ready myself, that the time we all knew would come is here. I have a deep sense of foreboding about all of this. I understand the change … I helped create much of it.” Having said this, Morgan went quiet, waiting for Albus’ response.

Albus went deeply within himself. Was this the time? He had agreed to the task, but was this the time? In time, he spoke.

“Morgan, we have had many lifetimes together. You do understand the change. Your “remembering” is almost complete. The fact that you feel foreboding tells me that you have a wall up, that the final step is not clear. A part of you that many do not understand is that you are a healer. They know that you wield magical powers, and that often all is not as it seems in your world. For all that honor your wisdom, there are an equal number that fear you. This is the time for you to make your healing side known.”

Morgan felt the energy around her changing. It was lighter, more electric. She looked at Albus, and saw flashes of each of her mentors/teachers. A sense of peace came to her.

“What more is there, Albus? We have really not talked beyond the 2012 transition.”

“There is a reason for that. For many, the transition will be out of the physical plane. They are not ready to align themselves with the higher vibrations that will be required to move forward. They will be moving on to their teaching planes, to review the lessons that they could not, or would not, learn here. They have to move past these lessons to go on with their journey’s. You are a healer … in that capacity, you will be transiting with them. You can give them the visions that they need to know who they are, accept who they are, and function within those parameters. This will be a massive undertaking, and may require several lifetimes of effort. You made this choice long ago. Now is the time.” Albus looked at Morgana with wisdom and caring in his eyes. He knew that she would be able to do this.

“I understand, Albus. And So It Is.”

With that, Albus disappeared into the mist. Morgan continued on, saying her goodbyes to this world that she had walked in for so long. One part of her journey was ending, another about to begin.

And So It Is.

Images are from Karyn Easton’s “Tarot Lovers Tarot” – http://paranormality.com/ .

© August 2012 Bonnie Cehovet