Category Archives: Tarot

Lily of the Valley

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Lily of the Valley is considered a "masculine" plant, dedicated to Mercury and associated with the element of Air. If you dream of Lily of the Valley, it can be indicative of a desire to flee the constraints of day-to-day life or re-discover the simple joys of nature.

Lily of the Valley is considered a “masculine” plant, dedicated to Mercury and associated with the element of Air. If you dream of Lily of the Valley, it can be indicative of a desire to flee the constraints of day-to-day life or re-discover the simple joys of nature.

Lily of the Valley, the flower of May much as emerald is the birthstone of May, since Maia, the daughter of Atlas, was the mother of Mercury. The flower is known by many names: May Lily, Our Lady’s Tears, and Jacob’s Ladder among them. (Daffodil, known as “lent lily,” and the well-known Easter Lily make this May Lily part of a springtime lily sequence.) Associated with the planet Mercury for astrological purposes and the healing gods Apollo and Aesculapius, the Lily of the Valley is a potent plant for magical medicinal purposes and for increasing mental abilities. It can therefore be considered related to the suit of Swords in the tarot deck.

However, all parts of the plant are highly poisonous, including the red berries which may be attractive to children. If ingested—even in small amounts—the plant can cause abdominal pain, vomiting, and a reduced heart rate.

IF YOU LIKED THIS POST ABOUT THE FOLKLORE & OCCULT QUALITIES ASSOCIATED WITH LILY-OF-THE-VALLEY, CLICK HERE TO SEE MY FANTASY NOVELS IN WHICH ALL THE MAGIC AND SUPERNATURAL EVENTS ARE BASED ON AUTHENTIC MEDIEVAL-RENAISSANCE OCCULT BELIEFS AND PRACTICES.

New Review for PART 3: DELUGE

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The Tower, one of the Major Arcana of the Tarot deck, is associated with disaster or sudden, unexpected changes.

The Tower, one of the Major Arcana of the Tarot deck, is associated with disaster or sudden, unexpected changes. The modern chapters of the CHoHW trilogy are each named for a tarot card and The Tower is the next-to-last chapter of the concluding book, PART 3: DELUGE.

Bonnie Cehovet, a leading blogger and reviewer of the Tarot and the Tarot-related, is among the first to review Part 3: Deluge of the Come Hell or High Water trilogy. She writes:

“Being a Tarot reader myself, and a student of esoteric magic, I was riveted at the use both factions (George and Magdalena, and Victoria and her professors) made of the Tarot itself, of the qualities of the four elements (Fire, Water, Air, and Earth), and of simple things like salt and herbs. Morris shows a thorough understanding of religion, myth, and basic human nature, bringing everything together in a final showdown between George, Magdalena (who is beginning to realize that she has been duped), the devil Svetovit, Victoria, and the professors.

This is quite a compelling series – one that you want to read again and again!”

Read the complete review here. Bonnie’s reviews can also be found on the http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/ site, one of the best sources for Tarot supplies online.

Click here to order your copy of Come Hell or High Water, PART 3: DELUGE.

Happy birthday, Pamela Colman Smith!

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Tarot cards with the famous images designed by Pamela Colman Smith.

Tarot cards with the famous images designed by Pamela Colman Smith.

Pamela Colman Smith, c. 1912; she died on September 18, 1951.

Pamela Colman Smith, c. 1912

Pamela Colman Smith, best known for her illustration of the tarot deck that now bears her name [Rider-Waite-Smith] and has become the standard deck nearly all readers begin and learn with and continue to use throughout their reading careers, was born on February 16, 1878. Born in England and raised in New York, she studied art at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. She returned to England when her father died in 1899 and continued her work as an illustrator which she had begun in the US. Her work included illustrating works by Bram Stoker and she began designing costumes and stage sets for the theatre company Stoker was affiliated with.

Her friend Yeats introduced her to the Heremetic Order of the Golden Dawn and she joined in 1901. Having met Waite, he commissioned her to produce a tarot deck in 1909. Published by William Rider & Son of London, the deck was the first to depict illustrations for all the cards, Minor Arcana as wellas Major, and has remained the most popular and easily available deck.

The images she designed for the Major Arcana were evidently based on Waite’s detailed instructions but he simply gave her a list of the meanings associated with the Minor Arcana cards and left her to design the images for those herself. Most likely, she drew all the images in pen-and-ink and then used watercolor to complete the work.

Shortly after the publication of the tarot deck, Pamela converted to Roman Catholicism. She died in Cornwall, 18 September 1951 penniless and in debt, evidently having received no royalties from the card images she had produced and for which she had been paid a flat fee.

Illustration for the first edition of Bram Stoker's Lair of the White Worm in 1911

Illustration for the first edition of Bram Stoker’s Lair of the White Worm in 1911