Category Archives: Days and Seasons

Stars and Cards: Gemini

Posted on by
Reply
The Lovers and the Magician from the Tarot of Marseille deck, published by Lo Scarabeo.

The Lovers and the Magician from the Tarot of Marseille deck, published by Lo Scarabeo.

The sun begins its month-long journey through Gemini, the sign of the zodiac associated with the Lovers trump of the tarot, on May 21. The sign Gemini belongs to the element air and is ruled by the planet Mercury (the Greek messenger of the gods), which is linked to the Magician trump of the tarot. The tarot’s air suit of swords illustrates typical scenes of daily life related to intellect, communication, logic, strife, conflict, choice, decision-making and the overcoming of adversity.

As an air sign, Gemini is concerned with all aspects of the mind. This zodiac sign is ruled by Mercury, which is a planet that represents communication, writing and teaching others. They get fascinated by almost everything in the world and they have a feeling as if there is not enough time to experience everything they want to see. This makes them excellent artists, writers and journalists. Gemini sign means that sometimes people born under this sign have a feeling that their other half is missing, so they are forever seeking for new friends, mentors and colleagues.

During the time of the sign Gemini, we have an excellent opportunity to meditate on the tarot’s Lovers and Magician cards, as well as the suit of swords of the minor arcana. Ponder the myths of Castor and Pollux, and of Helen of Troy — all figures associated with the constellation Gemini. Do you show your loved one how much you really care? What are the important decisions you are facing in your life and what are the potential consequences? Where must you turn away from the things of childhood and assume your position as an adult member of society? How can you use your talents to work magic in your own life and in the lives of those around you?

May Wine

Posted on by
2
Woodruff is associated with the planet Mars and the element of Fire.

Woodruff is associated with the planet Mars and the element of Fire.

Even if it is a few days past the end of May, there is still time to enjoy a glass or two of May wine!

May wine, a popular spring-time beverage in Germany or German-speaking areas, is made by steeping sweet woodruff in white wine. Sweet woodruff has a strong scent, which increases when the woodruff wilts. The fragrance persists as the woodruff dries, and the dried plant is used in potpourri and as a moth deterrent. Dried woodruff is also used, mainly in Germany, to flavor May wine, sweet juice punch, syrup for beer (Berliner Weisse), brandy, jelly, jam, a soft drink (Tarhun, which is Georgian), ice cream, and herbal tea. Also very popular are Waldmeister flavored jellies, with and without alcohol. In Germany it is also used to flavor sherbet powder, which features prominently in Günter Grass’s novel The Tin Drum.

Woodruff is carried by business-folk to attract wealth and prosperity or by soldiers and athletes to attract victory. Anyone who carries a bit of woodruff in a leather sachet is protected against harm, especially harmful magic or ill wishes. In astrology, Mars is the planet of energy, action, and desire. It is the survival instinct, and can be thought of as the “leftover” animal nature of man. It is this association with the planet Mars that causes woodruff to drive its bearer to success and victory and fights against the harmful magic directed against its bearer (leather being associated with soldiers’ protective “armor” in the ancient or medieval world since metal protective gear — i.e. a knight’s suit of armor — was too expensive for most peasant soldiers).

Maybe a glass or two of May Wine is just what I need to get rich or win the Olympics? Or protect myself against witchcraft and black magic? I should definitely enjoy some May Wine before selecting the numbers the next time I buy a lotto ticket!

Black Monday, 1453

Posted on by
Reply
Hagia Sophia, the great cathedral of Holy Wisdom, was built by the emperor Justinian and was the largest dome in the world until the Astrodome was built. The minarets were added by the Turks when they converted the cathedral into a mosque after they captured the city in 1453.

Hagia Sophia, the great cathedral of Holy Wisdom, was built by the emperor Justinian and was the largest dome in the world until the Astrodome was built. The minarets were added by the Turks when they converted the cathedral into a mosque after they captured the city in 1453.

May 29, 1453. It was a Monday and lived on as “Black Monday” in Orthodox territory because that was the day that the great city of Constantinople fell to the Turks. Byzantium came crashing to a halt and the Ottoman Empire arose from its ashes, ruling much of the Middle East as well as portions of Central and Eastern Europe until it ceased to exit in 1923.

The conquest of Constantinople reinforced Byzantine expectations that the world was about to end. Byzantine churchmen calculated that the world would be 7,000 years old on September 1, 1492 and would therefore end on that day. They thought the Turks were the forerunners of the Antichrist and the Turkish conquest of New Rome, the official title of the city, the beginning of the last period of world history.

The art of the Seljuq Turks is currently on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, through July 24. Among the treasures displayed there are the harpy pitcher (see below). Harpies, birds with the heads of human women, are an image the Turks inherited from the classical Greeks. The Turks associated harpies with the astrological sign of Gemini and brought happiness in their wake. They were considered protective creatures. Spotting one was a good omen. This is all in marked contrast with the classical perception of harpies as wicked, dangerous creatures who delighted in abducting and torturing their victims.

Harpy pitcher