Friday 23 September 2022

An Equinox Tarot Card: Mourning or Seven of Vessels

I drew a card for the world at the Autumn Equinox and it was the Seven of Vessels. It shows a skull with grave goods as offerings - cups, a lamp and a bowl. The card represents mourning in the deck I used, the Wildwood Tarot. 

The meaning given in the book that comes with the set is this:

"This is a time to honour what is dead and mourn for what has gone. Learn the lessons of letting go by offering thanks for cherished memories and being at peace with the past."

In analysing readings where this card appears, the book points out that mourning begins the process of recovery after failure or bereavement. We should allow our emotions to flow with their natural course and recognise that it can take a lot of time after a loss to get a sense of closure and be at peace.

Sometimes we don't realise what was important to us until it is gone.  A lot has happened in the world over the past few years. Many are still mourning personal losses as well as feeling sadness over things that have fallen into history. The Autumn Equinox is the point in the year when the nights start to become longer than the days. We are entering the time of festivals to honour the dead. The message of this card is to allow yourself to mourn if you feel you need to, and to allow others to mourn for as much time as that will take.

In Rider-Waite-Smith style tarot decks, this card corresponds with the Seven of Cups, but the meaning is a bit different from the card I drew. Images show cups filled with possible gifts that the future might hold, some are beneficial, some are harmful, and they are all potentially just illusions. They represent emotional choices we face as we go forward in our lives. The message is to try to see through illusions and to pick wisely.

You can read my review of the Wildwood Tarot here.

Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2014/09/are-some-tarot-decks-more-genuine-than.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2019/05/the-wildwood-tarot-stag-card-strength.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2021/07/divination-blasted-oak-from-wildwood.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2022/09/a-poem-on-learning-of-death-of-queen.htm

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