by Brian Clark
Ganymede’s beauty is symbolized by the planet Venus, which is the ruler of the second decanate of Capricorn, the sign representing authority and supremacy. Combining the two archetypal energies indicates the need for both control and balance of personal resources, whether they are emotional, physical, or financial. The eagle is an omen that the resourceful potential of the individual will materialize if they take hold of the situation and direct it towards the goal. The appearance of the card augurs a period when we may be attracted to creative and resourceful ventures.
Aquila is also known as the eagle that daily pecked out the liver of Prometheus, as punishment for his heavenly theft of fire. Unlike Ganymede, Prometheus entered the realm of the gods to steal from them, not serve them. With the appearance of Capricorn, it is imperative to understand the potential consequence of your actions and act in accordance with the prevailing laws, being responsible for your actions.
The different myths associated with this constellation resonate with the two rulers of this card, Saturn and Venus. Saturn implies that a mature and responsible direction needs to be applied. Venus represents the beauty and creative potential of the situation, and when aligned with Saturn, can be structured and directed towards a prosperous and pleasurable outcome. Literally, a new project may benefit from an older individual’s mentoring and a younger person’s passion and enthusiasm. The two pentacles imply union and balance and suggest that two psychic strands need cooperation to be resourceful and productive. In the card, drops of blood fall from the wound of Aquila that Sagitta (the Ace of Cups) has opened. Regeneration is taking place, and material and emotional resources are available to move forward. When the Two of Pentacles is drawn, the card implies the necessity to forge a fertile relationship between commerce and creativity, work and play, maturity and innocence. It strikes the balance between the masculine need to take action, and the feminine way of allowing things to happen.
The Three of Pentacles: Delphinus
“Sacred fish” was the title the Greeks gave to the constellation named for Delphinus, an ambassador of the god Poseidon, who persuaded Amphitrite to marry him. Poseidon enlisted the help of Delphinus to try and persuade the sea goddess to become his wife. Delphinus was accustomed to the nature of the sea, and argued Poseidon’s case for marriage so well that Amphitrite relented and agreed to marry him. Poseidon was so grateful, he immortalized this persuasive authority by placing Delphinus in the heavens as the constellation of the dolphin. Delphinus represents a labor completed for the gods, an achievement requiring skill and dedication. The combination of Mercury and Capricorn suggests success through the application of practical information and hard work. Similarly, when the Three of Pentacles appears, it suggests that a major project has been mastered, and is nearing completion. Through effort, teamwork and following a planned course, the outcome will be successful. The card also implies being in the precinct of the gods, as the dolphin was considered sacred not only to Poseidon but also to Apollo and Dionysus.
Delphinus was also an epithet for the god Apollo, who often took the form of a dolphin. It was also in this form that Apollo recruited the first priests for his oracular sanctuary. In the form of a dolphin the god guided a ship from Crete safely into harbor at the foot of Mount Parnassus. Apollo then reassumed his divine shape and commanded that the Cretan sailors become his priests. The great shrine of Delphi takes its name from Apollo who in the guise of the dolphin was known as Apollo Delphinus, connected to the art of oracular knowledge.
The dolphin was also sacred to the god Dionysus. Pirates who kidnapped Dionysus were terrified when Dionysus transformed himself into a panther, changed the oars to snakes, and caused ivy to grow around the ship. As the pirates jumped overboard to escape they were transformed into dolphins. The ancients viewed dolphins as majestic and divine creatures favored by the gods. The image of the dolphin represents conversion and metamorphoses. When the dolphin appears, the unconscious is aware that a change will take place. As images of regeneration, this may suggest renovation, new growth, or rewards for hard work accomplished to date.
Dolphins are known to be friendly to humans. Ancient art has consistently depicted men riding dolphins and ferrying them to safety. A variation of this is in funeral rites where the dolphin carried the soul to the shelter of their resting-place. In this tradition, dolphins were guides to the underworld. The appearance of the friendly dolphin is a reassurance of divine support and guidance.
In the Rider Waite Tarot deck, the Three of Pentacles depicts the trinity of a sculptor, architect, and monk within a church reflecting on the plans of the church. Something sacred is being shaped and the trinity of professionals represents teamwork and cooperation. This theme appears in Celestial Tarot with the appearance of the sacred fish suggesting that the hand of the divine is at work to secure the success of the venture. The Three of Pentacles reveals the need to ground the creative life and direct it through work and effort. On a psychological level, this previously dormant creativity is now coming to life. On a physical level, it indicates that a new phase has begun and the project can attract financial backing, practical support, and resources. It may be necessary to seek out this patronage or pursue a contract for your creative work. On another level, the card is heralding the rewards that will be achieved from the output and hard work to date. When the Three of Pentacles appears, it augurs recognition and rewards for a job well done.
On a divinatory level, the Three of Pentacles suggests the individual is well supported in their work and the practical goals they wish to achieve. Through concentration, hard work, and focus, the individual has manifested something of great value and worth and this is being recognized. As with all creative endeavors, the project will not only be praised and applauded, but also critically evaluated and judged. However, the appraisal will be supportive and reflective of your persistence and labors.
The Four of Pentacles: Orion
With the Four of Pentacles, we enter the first sphere of Taurus, the fixed earth sign of the zodiac. In this second triumvirate of Pentacles, the issues and life lessons reflected by the cards focus on possessions and resources, and the values that we assign to them. The zodiacal polarity of Taurus and Scorpio psychologically reflects the developmental process of identification with objects and their ascribed value. This ability to distinguish between our own possessions and others’ allows us to let go of attachments and share resources, behavior consistent with the Four of Pentacles. Therefore, it is appropriate that Orion represents the Four of Pentacles, the first decan of Taurus, the constellation of the zodiacal bull. We have already met Orion in the thirteenth Major Arcana card of Death, ruled by Scorpio. When Orion sets, his nemesis Scorpio rises, eternally set against one another in the celestial theater. Underpinning the celestial drama is a more ancient layer of meaning that reflects the motif of death and rebirth.
The three bright stars in Orion’s belt are as easily recognizable as the Big Dipper or the Southern Cross. To the ancient Egyptians, this giant of a constellation was their god Osiris, whose heliacal rising heralded the return of spring and the annual growth of the crops. The theme of death and resurrection became embedded in the Egyptian psyche through their god Osiris. As the original deity associated with the stars of Orion, Osiris heralds a period of fertility and abundance, yet also the realization that this period will not last forever. When the Four of Pentacles appears, it suggests stability and security has been or will be accomplished through a period of prosperity and resourcefulness. The tendency will be to hold on and try to control these resources. However, this card highlights the need to be aware of the gradual erosion of these resources unless they are regenerated and shared. On a literal level, this suggests excessive control, the inability to delegate or share the rewards, even concerns of inheritance and dissemination of family resources.
To the Greeks this constellation was their eponymous hero, the giant son of Poseidon. Orion was known for his skill as
a hunter, as depicted in the card. One of his first labors was to rid the island Chios of all its wild animals. Similarly to Osiris, Orion met an untimely death. There are several different accounts of how Orion dies. One variation of the myth indicates that Orion boasted that he would rid the Earth of all wild creatures. In so doing, he transgressed the sacred realm of Gaia and defiled nature. To punish his hubris, Earth released a giant scorpion and Orion died from its toxic sting.
The need to discriminate between the divine and the human realms is a motif consistent with the Four of Pentacles. In its distinction between inner values and outer possessions, Taurus represents awareness of the boundary between Earth’s sacred and secular spheres. When this card appears, the individual needs to reflect on their attitudes about the material realm. Focusing on the material realm may deflect emotional inadequacies and the fear of being vulnerable and open to others. Orion lacked respect for Nature and was punished. The moral of the Four of Pentacles is that pursuit of the material world, at the expense of internal values, results in loss. With the appearance of this card, the unconscious is issuing a warning about being too fixed on material gains.
Traditionally, the Four of Pentacles is known as the miser. Variations of the card depict an individual fearfully holding onto their resources. Unfortunately, this position does not allow any exchange of resources or growth of investments, and also suggests that the flow of emotional energies is blocked. Projecting our anxiety onto material possessions or lacking confidence in our ability to regenerate and accumulate resources may mask the inability to give freely of ourselves.
The first decan of Taurus is ruled by Venus, reminding us that the realm of Taurus relates to pleasure. With Venus, pleasure is gained through the exchange of resources. When the Four of Pentacles is drawn, it alerts us to the need for pleasure, sensual stimulation, and contentment, which is not attained through holding on or being rigid. What is important to secure and protect and what needs to be let go? The card suggests that the individual confront what they are clinging on to as a defense against loss or the fear of the future, even the fear of success. Ironically, the more the individual digs in their heels the more they seem to stagnate. Hence, the unconscious is revealing that it is time to let go. On an oracular level the card implies regeneration and growth if the natural cycle is allowed to take place.
The Five of Pentacles: Eridanus
The Five of Pentacles continues the themes developed with the previous card in this suit. The individual is now at the midpoint of a process of realignment with personal resources and worth, having fallen out of touch with what is of real value. Issues of self-esteem, personal values, and recognition of skills and talents underlie the card as the individual examines the decisions, choices and attitudes, which have contributed to the current situation. Even though the outer world of resources may not be problematic, the Five of Pentacles card reveals that the individual feels impoverished and inauthentic. The loss of a job, security, investments, or inheritance may have triggered feelings of deprivation and coldness, as external hardship or difficulties reflect the inner situation. Celestial Tarot reveals another way to view the situation through the constellation of Eridanus, the mythic river of the Greeks.
Eridanus is a meandering constellation, which begins near the sea monster Cetus, and like a snake, slithers towards the South Pole, making it the longest constellation in the sky. Many Indo-European cultures claimed the mythical river as their own. Greek mythology knew the river as the waters that extinguished the scorching fires of Helios’ chariot. Youthful Phaëthon was unable to control the chariot of the sun as he drove it through the sky. Zeus intervened to stop the destruction and threw his thunderbolt at the boy to end the reckless destruction. The horses of the sun broke free and scattered, but Phaëthon and the blazing chariot fell into the river Eridanus. Phaëthon was rumored to be the son of Apollo. Jeered by his companions, he set about to prove that he was truly the son of the brilliant god. Apollo confirmed his paternity and offered to fulfill any of the boy’s desires. The impetuous young man asked permission to drive Apollo’s chariot across the heavens for one day. Concerned, but helpless to take back his promise, Apollo relented and gave the boy the reins to the white horses of the sun. Unable to firmly control them, Phaëthon swerved all over the heavens climbing so high the North Star burned and the Earth froze. He then descended so close to the Earth it was afire with the white heat of the sun. Phaëthon’s route through the heavens was like the course of Eridanus, twisting and turning, back and forth, reminiscent of life’s ups and downs. Phaëthon was out of control, as he had neither the maturity nor the strength to take over his father’s role. Instead, he fell from the sky to his death; his paternity no guarantee of position or power.
The river is a multi-dimensional symbol of fertility, perpetual renewal, time and the transitory nature of life. Phaëthon’s fall from heaven into the river symbolizes the fall of a soul. Taurus represents the state of embodiment and incarnation. Phaëthon recognizes his mortality through the painful realization of what he cannot accomplish. Having been unacknowledged by his own father, he seeks to remedy his lack of worth by identifying with his father’s prestige. When our self-esteem is reflected through another’s achievements or status, or through our parents, or possessions, we must inevitably encounter our sense of worthlessness. Like Phaëthon, we may need to fall into the river of our feelings to return to the source of our own internal value. Another variation of this theme suggests that we may be bound up with someone else’s lack of worth, which erodes our own self-esteem. As we constantly help them through difficult times, we enmesh ourselves in a web of powerlessness and resignation.
The Five of Pentacles may foreshadow a loss through mishandling one’s inheritance, resources, or talents. Like Phaëthon, we may have taken on projects or courses of action we are not yet ready for, in order to prove our worth. The Five of Pentacles signals the time to be in contact with our own resources, and not someone else’s. With the Five of Pentacles, our losses and falls are not irredeemable. We may need the experience of a loss or the challenge of a fall to awaken the integrity of our own sense of self-worth. While this may feel like an all-time low, we are at the bend in the river, which is forcing us back on ourselves. Insecurities and possessions will weigh us down, but contact with the inner sources of our value and worth will strengthen us.
Mercury is the ruler of the second decan of Taurus, and suggests the need to be more conscious of values and not to be tricked by the false comfort of possessions. When the Five of Pentacles appears, it is wise to reaffirm that wealth and riches may be enjoyed by remaining loyal to our inner values.
The Six of Pentacles: Auriga
The imagery of the charioteer encountered in the Five of Pentacles continues through Auriga, the constellation representing the Six of Pentacles. The ancient Greeks adopted the tradition of the charioteer that had been associated with the star pattern since Mesopotamian times. Auriga was also seen to contain the image of Capella, one of the brightest stars in our sky, featured prominently in this constellation. Its name means ‘she-goat’ and therefore Auriga was also imagined to contain a goat nursing her two kids represented by the twin stars that lay below Capella in the constellation. The unlikely combination of a charioteer with a nursing she-goat on his left shoulder interweaves two motifs of cultural evolution from an earlier mythological cycle. Celestial Tarot merges both traditions; Amaltheia, the wet nurse who suckled Zeus, cradles two kids, while behind her, the spirit of the charioteer races to victory.
The dual motifs of nurturing and the charioteer have previously appeared in the Major Arcana. The Major Arcana card of the Chariot depicts Hera cradling the heroic infant Hercules, while in the background the chariot of the Moon crosses the sky. The motif of nurturing the heroic reappears in the Six of Pentacles, suggesting that the individual who has drawn the card be aware of their responsibility to care for their resources and creative skills. When the
Greeks looked at the she-goat they saw Amaltheia, the goat-nymph who nursed the young Zeus while he was in hiding from his father. Amaltheia symbolizes the abundant mother who is able to suckle and nurture the disenfranchised aspects of ourselves. When the Six of Pentacles is drawn, the mythic motif of plentiful resources and abundant value presents itself.
Although Auriga is seen as the charioteer, the constellation does not include an actual chariot. Left holding only bridle and reins in his hands, the image is reminiscent of the 5th century bronze statue The Charioteer, showcased in the museum of Delphi. The spectacular bronze statue was carved as a tribute to the victor of the chariot race at the Delphic Games. Greek mythology linked Myrtilus, the charioteer to the King of Elis, with the constellation. Pelops challenged the undefeated king to a chariot race in exchange for the hand of his daughter. Myrtilus conspired with Pelops to loosen the linchpins on the wheels of the king’s chariot. Helped by the subterfuge, Pelops of won both the race and Hippodameia. However, rather than paying his debt to Myrtilus, Pelops threw him off a cliff to his death. Acknowledging his trickery, Hermes resurrected him as the constellation of the charioteer. Hippodameia translates as ‘horse tamer,’ a vestige of the feminine ability to both rein and nurture the wild instincts.
Earlier Greek myth has also been associated with the charioteer. Erichthonius is often seen as the charioteer, and is even credited with the invention of the four-horse chariot. The citizens of Attica believed they were earth-born, sprung from the soil of Attica. The earth gave birth to Erichthonius, after Athena wiped Hephaestus’ spilt semen from her thigh and threw it onto the ground. Having the tail of a snake and the body of a man, Erichthonius epitomizes the chthonic man. When the Six of Pentacles is drawn, the image of Erichthonius as the charioteer symbolizes the earthy instinct, that is, the ability to be secured and become one with the element of earth. In a contemporary context, this would augur the resourcefulness, prosperity and fertility that is ready to be disseminated.