Tarot Casters

The Large Hierophant Amulet
Taurus
The Tent Stake
“Vav”

The Large Heirophant Amulet

After reviewing the collection of Tarot Amulets I have created, I started developing larger versions of the designs for those who wish to have a heavier more detailed piece. While possessing a rather strange name, this particular amulet has always been a favorite of many who find themselves teaching through example and discover themselves an authority through life experience as well as study and reflection. Because of the larger size, have the opportunity to add detail with fingernails and the lines on the palm. In this rendering of the design, I included the “magic “M” found intersection with the “life line”. Because of it’s mass it “gives weight” to the meaning of the piece.

When setting up a tent One knows the importance of a good tent stake. If the stake is not solid, deep and well anchored, the tent will collapse. The Hebrew letter associated with the Hierophant is Vav<: “the tent stake”, a well-grounded object (when set) will hold up an entire community. The concept is associated with the very grounding sign of Taurus.

The “Hierophant” comes from the Greek: “hiera, “the holy,” and phainein, “to show”
offers a blessing to be in turn redirected to others. Its effect continues through the members of a given community thus weaving the fabric of love and strength through out society.

The amulet focuses on the hand of blessing, the fingers in the circle of spirit, the arm trailing in roots below into matter. These symbols are the embodiment of religion:
reaching into the realm of the spirit while grounded into the rituals of daily life.
The actions of everyday existence empowered with the intent of reaching the divine
establishes a relationship with the godhead. The central element is that of blessing;
the art of bestowing the divine to each other is what gives religion its lifeblood.

Blessings to Earth,
Service to the Divine.

The Large Hierophant Amulet
is excellent for teachers, nurses, healers of all kinds,
clergy and any one who has chosen the path
to serve the community through Teaching, Healing and Service.

The Large Hierophant Amulet may be used as a Talisman
or it may be used as a part of a Three dimensional Tarot Deck
The Tarot Casters
created and developed
by Kirk McLaren
of Amulets by Merlin

More Tarot Amulets may be seen on my Wearable Tarot Page

It was in 1986 when I requested Russ McClay to create the cards
to accompany the Tarot Amulets.
I wrote a series of verse to describe the individual Tarot Amulets.
After already investing nearly ten years of study in the Tarot
it was time to move forward with the project.

Prose Card
of
the High Priestess Amulet

I had Met Russ four years earlier at Corona Trucking.
After two years of grueling work
we found jobs where we worked for subcontractors at the post office;
our duties did not take every waking minute as it did with Corona.
Each day we met for lunch breaks and spoke of our interests in philosophy,
religion and the state of current affairs.

Tarot Prose Card
The Empress

At that time Russ McClay was well known for his Calligraphy:
his work was prominently displayed in signage in the Newport and Huntington Beach area
of Orange County as well as framed works of art
distributed in the better known shops of the Southland.
In a time before desktop publishing,
his handwork out-shown the shaky fingers of his contemporaries
and was the envy of those of us who wanted good calligraphic art.

With my offer of the sound montage: “Something Happening”,
he agreed to create the cards.
It was a monumental task that took months of pen to paper,
running down to the photocopier to reduce them down to the right size;
creating layouts and a host of other steps.
I frustrated him with my revisions and “improvements” as he,
with great patience and endurance of my foibles
produced what I consider to be
some of the finest Calligraphy I have ever seen.

I still have the original printing of these cards
and include them with the purchase of The Tarot Amulets.

Merlin’s prose and McClay’s flowing penmanship.

The Tarot Amulets may be used as a Talisman
or it may be used as a part of a Three dimensional Tarot Deck
The Tarot Casters
created and developed
by Kirk McLaren
of Amulets by Merlin

In the classic Rider image of the World Card:
A Skyclad Woman suspended in a field of stars,
dances with a veil facing away from us.

Like all the cards,
this refers to our perception of the universe rather
than the Universe itself.
Once we perceive beyond the veil of reality
we can begin to understand the mechanics of what it is we see.

The letter associated with this card is Tau:
the Material World.
On first examination we think we are seeing limitless space,
however that is but an illusion.
Ruled by Saturn,
a symbol of limitation,
this card represents all that we know:
information, knowledge, and hear-say;
limited by the constraints of time and space
and our ability to understand what we perceive.
So often when we look out at the universe we find our own image looking back,
reflections of ourselves in nature,
random patterns in the clouds and stars.
Each time we learn something
our universe appears to expand into a larger manifestation.

Central to the expression of The Universe is the Dance.
In the classic expression of the Tarot we find the image of the Goddess dancing in the stars.
Gaia represents the embodiment of all life on Earth
as a single form of consciousness dancing the ever-evolving modes of being.
Her art is Life itself,
her pallet are the millions of forms of life across the land and sea.
Within the Tarot this image is expressed with a human form
because of our tendency to perceive our world around us
by what it is we already know.

Rhythm is of Gaia;
each beat is a heartbeat,
a turn of the tide or the change of the seasons.
Music of all kinds is associated with The Universe Card:
Rhythm, tone, song, symphony.
Rhythm’s manifestation permeates all things,
including ourselves.
Seeing the dance of creation is one thing,
to participate is quite another.
To make music is to participate in Gaia’s expression;
Dancing is embodying her movements,
Her gestures.
To make the structured movements and sounds of our own written and choreographed art
is to participate in the rhythms of the seasons and tides.
To improvise is to participate with her Dance of Creation.

Universe Amulet
The World
Saturn
“Tau”

The Universe Amulet
presents a veiled Gaia,
immersed in stars and planets.
The letter Tau is set in the middle of the amulet,
representing “The World”:
the material world covering her like a veil.
There is always a part of Her that is obscured:
the Unknown.
As our experience of the world around us expands,
so too does our awareness of it.
The more we perceive
the more we understand our limitation of perception.

The pendant is in the shape of the Fool Amulet:
an Egg;
distorted by our ever expanding awareness of what is beyond,
bulging where we find physical limitations.

The Universe Amulet
is for those that are explorers, scholars, students,
those who have taken on the quest of Life:
ever searching for meaning, the source, and themselves.
The Universe Amulet is for musicians, dancers, lovers of music and the arts;
those who push the envelope
unafraid of new experiences,
new ideas and a larger Universe.

The Universe Amulet may be used as a Talisman
or it may be used as a part of a Three dimensional Tarot Deck
The Tarot Casters
created and developed
by Kirk McLaren
of Amulets by Merlin

More Tarot Amulets may be seen on my Wearable Tarot Page

Shown in the classic Rider Deck we see two coffins are floating in a sea of Fire,
two corpses are reanimated:
a man and a woman sit up and offer a baby to an Angel floating over them.

As the Fool is Elemental Air,
the Hanged Man is Elemental Water;
the Judgment Card is Elemental Fire.
The Element purifies, burns off the unnecessary parts of the Self.
Emotional turmoil, unneeded angst, prejudice, hate, fear, grudges and more.
What is left is the Self in its pure state.

The Ego represented by the man,
sub consciousness by the woman ~ offers up their child:
the culmination of life’s experience, knowledge, wisdom and compassion.
The angelic figure above it is the Higher Self or the part of us that is eternal,
the vehicle of the Spirit.
Each part is an aspect of one’s being.
The Man (ego) is quiet while the Woman (subconscious) is much more active:
offering of the Purified Self.

This Tarot Card is the Baptism of Fire.
Attributed to Shin,
the Hebrew letter interpenetrated as: Spirit,
Judgment represents the incinerating of unusable values,
habits, modes of expression and more.
Judgment represents the complete destruction of a way of life,
world views, opinions.
Many have thought of the Last Judgment from the book of Revelations from Christian Mythology
and rightly so.
The experience is terrible if you have a tendency
to cling to these things being taken from you.
This is sometimes referred to as The Dark Night of the Soul
where we face our self made demons and banish them.
The experience is one of burning, loss and at times regret as we try to hold on to the past.
Spirit is not all that concerned with the foibles of the flesh.
Desires of the body tend to start and stop with the glands,
Spirit is more concerned with the over all health of the entire being.

Unlike the book of Revelations,
this does not happen at the end of time rather this is a constant process:
~ perpetual intelligence ~
Through out our lives we discover tools and other helpful aspects of the flesh,
however if we become too attached to these things,
eventually the Spirit grows weary of the weight of the fetish and begins push it away.
If we cling to the desire for dominance,
accumulation of wealth and other things that tend to drag us down,
the Spirit develops ways of ridding itself of these attachments.
If we allow the Spirit to continually evolve,
enjoy what is there and not be mesmerized by it,
then we will be surrounded by Glory and yet it will have no claim on us.
As Shin is at the core of this card, so too is one’s Spirit:
the driving force of this continual cleansing of one’ life.
Conflict is caused when the Ego clings to the parts being burned away.

In Judgment we learn the Tao.

Judgment Amulet
Baptismal Fire
Spirit
“Shin”

The Judgment Amulet
is the shape of the element of Fire, the triangle with the point up. Like the Lovers Amulet,
it is framed in wings with male and female shapes representing the Ego and the Unconscious Self.
The third shape is a Faceless Angel of the Higher Self:
the continence is blurred to represent its transcendence.
The Letter Shin is at the base of the amulet illustrating the source of cleansing.

The Judgment Amulet
is a potent symbol of Spiritual Cleansing.
People that would find this amulet useful in daily life would be Judges,
arbitrators, housekeepers, and maintenance crews, gardeners, any whose task it is to clear,
cleanse and renew environments, relationships and patterns of behavior.
The Judgment Amulet is a potent symbol of Spiritual Purification.
It may be worn by those that are going through upheaval in their lives,
watching their positions being discarded,
acquaintances being revealed as unhealthy and discarded;
all this and keeping balance,
knowing that this period on one’s life is to be harnessed as a positive and necessary thing.

Judgment Amulet
Baptismal Fire
Spirit
“Shin”

Remember the giant Sequoia:
The only way these great trees may survive as a species is for periodic fires to cleanse the land and stimulate their seeding.

Baptismal Fire

The Judgment Amulet may be used as a Talisman
or it may be used as a part of a Three dimensional Tarot Deck
The Tarot Casters
created and developed
by Kirk McLaren
of Amulets by Merlin

More Tarot Amulets may be seen on my Wearable Tarot Page

The classic image of the Sun Card in Rider Deck:
A small boy sits astride a horse.
Behind him is a row of Sunflowers before a wall;
beyond the wall is the Sun.
The Sun Card of the Tarot is ascribed to Resh:
Countenance,
the Face;
and the entire zodiac,
all of the sun signs,
all of the planets: Everything.
It is the center of the solar system from which we receive the need light,
heat, energy – everything comes from the Sun.
The Sun Card uses this metaphor to represent a direction of inquiry:
the source.
The process of learning itself:
knowing the Face of God.
The child astride a horse represents Innocence mounted an overwhelming power with ease.
To understand this card we must become as a child:
with the ability to perceive things
without the inhibitions we acquire through our lives.

Sun Amulet
Sun
Countenance
“Resh”

Sunflowers are an excellent example of the nature of The Sun Card.
The Sunflower tracks the Sun through out the day,
it even resembles the sun in its shape.
We have given it the name Sunflower because of its behavior and its appearance.
The wall separating the Sunflowers
and the Sun infers the needed buffer between what is and our ability to perceive it.
This tool is the persona:
the Mask.
When approaching a concept that is so vast as to overwhelm the observer,
then it is necessary to filter the flow of information.
We do this naturally
by associating these concepts with ideas already grasped.
It is akin to holding up a filter to see the Sun,
screening out the majority of radiation in order to observe sunspots.
When our minds turn to the Divine,
we use persona to interpret these beings:
Father, Mother, Brother and so on.
These masks are also used in identifying other people:
using these assumed labels to interpret another’s actions,
~ confused if we use the wrong one.

The Key is to be vigilant in our assigning of persona to each other
and the Powers That Be.
By keeping constant knowledge of the fact we associate everything around us
with known qualities,
we can be prepared for new information and associations
without allowing ourselves to be fooled by our own projections.
This Card reminds us that assumptions can be dangerous,
often costly;
the use of our own persona
can mislead others into assuming things about us that can be damaging.

The Sun Amulet is a sunburst,
on the surface it is the letter Resh,
the Face of the Godhead.

The Sun Amulet may be used
as a constant reminder and dedication to the Divine.
It can also be a reminder not to take things at face value,
there are always layers of assumption between us,
no matter how close we are to others.
This amulet would be good for Actors,
representatives, politicians, teachers
and others that interface with the public.

The Sun Amulet may be used as a Talisman
or it may be used as a part of a Three dimensional Tarot Deck
The Tarot Casters
created and developed
by Kirk McLaren
of Amulets by Merlin

More Tarot Amulets may be seen on my Wearable Tarot Page

In the classic Rider image of the Moon Card we find:
A crayfish crawls from pool of water.
The Path extends past a wolf and a dog
past a stone wall
and continues into the mountains.
The Moon lights the path and from it tiny Yods descend,
lighting the way.

Like the crustacean,
our beginnings are very self-centered.
As small children we learn that we are not the center of the universe
we are on a journey of knowledge
and self discovery
where by we may begin to learn wisdom.
Our defenses are strong to protect the fragile ego within.
As we move onto the Path and grow out of our shells.

Moon Amulet
Pisces
back of the head
“Qoph”

Two canines stand on either side of the road:
the wolf representing our animal,
feral instincts:
desire for dominance,
comfort and so on
where as the dog represents out need
to be accepted by our culture and society.

By striking a balance between both
yet never giving control to either,
we stay True to ourselves,
understating and evolving beyond both.
We travel past the towers:
symbols of the limits of our human experience
and the path leads on beyond the distant hills,
beyond human experience.

The Moon rides in the sky,
sometimes waxing sometimes waning,
sometimes in the brilliant full light
giving us guidance on our path.
However even in the darkness of the New Moon,
we are still on our Spiritual Path
learning all the while
the lessons needed to grow and develop.
The descending Yods are like a rain of blessings,
not always pleasant
but consistently enlightening.

The letter associated with The Moon is Qoph:
back of the head.
This is referring to several things at once:
The Sun Card
is often referred to as the Continence,
thus Qoph is representing the anterior of the Sun.
Qoph’s light is but a reflection of it’s light source.
This also speaks to one of the many aspects of sleep:
a reflection of reality’s qualities.

Pisces is attributed to The Moon:
a changeable Water sign, always in flux.
Like Pisces, The Moon Card
is in constant turmoil,
hardship and challenges wait at every turn.
In the Classic definition of Good Karma,
it is not a life’s path of calm waters and blue skies,
it is a life of challenges,
opportunities offered,
conflict to over come and painful lessons to be understood.
Much like the Chinese blessing:
May you live in Interesting times,
The Moon Card reminds us that balance in experience is nourishing to the soul.

The Moon Amulet is the Moon Itself,
obscured by cloud:
evident that it is there,
yet veiled in a way to keep its mystery:
our life’s path may at times be uncertain,
yet each time new experiences arise we have the opportunity to gain a better understanding.
A Qoph is centered in the amulet:
recalling both Visions and Dreams.

The Moon Amulet is for those
who have realized their Life’s Path
and have committed themselves to walk their talk.
Although not an advertisement for being a Spiritual Leader,
one teaches by example,
treats others with the respect due them
and learns from children as well as their Elders of community.
This is a good amulet for councilors,
advisers, leaders and solitaries.

The Moon Amulet may be used as a Talisman
or it may be used as a part of a Three dimensional Tarot Deck
The Tarot Casters
created and developed
by Kirk McLaren
of Amulets by Merlin

More Tarot Amulets may be seen on my Wearable Tarot Page

In the Classic Rider Deck
A Sky-Clad Woman kneels before a pool
and pours water from two containers
creating little streams that merge and flow into the pool.
Above the figure we see a cluster of stars
with a single brighter beacon of light.
Behind her is a tree and in it an Ibis.

Star Amulet
Aquarius
fish hook
“Tzaddi”

Nudity in the Tarot represents Truth Exposed
and has little to do with sexuality.
When the figures are clothed,
it refers to things unrevealed
whether we are not able to understand them
because of our position
or that we are simply not yet evolved
to understand it at all.
The Tree in the background
has two fold meanings:
it is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life.
The former is a reference to the choices we make
whether we are to live out lives with good or ill intent,
the results are obvious:
the Intent is the Key.
The Tree of Life is a glyph that represents the entire universe
whether it has manifest or not.
It is the symbol that helps us understand the Tarot
and it interrelationships and correspondences.

The Ibis is a bird associated with the Egyptian god Thoth:
the god of Communication (among other things)
representing the importance of understanding and communication,
tools on the path of perfection.

In the Tarot,
water is the symbol of consciousness.
As the liquid assumes the shapes of these containers
they tend to take on their characteristics.
When poured again the water resumes its transient state.
When poured onto the ground it takes on the shape of the earth it flows across.
Consciousness flow through our bodies and our senses.
When in the end our liquid returns to the collective unconsciousness
again it will transmute into that form.
In the process of meditation we learn to observe
the ebb and flow of thought; the forms it takes.

Attributed to it is the Hebrew letter Tzaddi
often referred to as the fish hook.
The process of meditation is likened to “fishing”,
one drops one’s hook (the Star) into the Waters
(The Hanged Man)
to catch Fish (The Death Card)
Transformation of Consciousness).

Aquarius is the Sun Sign associated with the Star.
It is the experimenter, the manipulator.
Considered assign the Fixed Air sign,
meaning that it is both variable and constant.
Like the Star Card itself
it is always in process and requires a specific direction
for it to be of any positive use.
Here again the practice of Meditation keeps it on the right track.
To be able to have a goal that would improve
the health and well being of themselves and others around them
would keep its power influences on the right track.
Without the necessary perspectives,
this sign will create chaos for its own sake.

When I created the Star Amulet
I selected the star itself as its single symbol.
This is an eight pointed star:
four primary directions (the elements of Fire water air and earth)
and four secondary
(the many combinations of the elements: or states of mind).
This constellation of ideas and study
is condensed into a single celestial body.
The central letter of Tzaddi in the center.

The Star Amulet
would be excellent for those who use meditation
as a practice on their lives.
This tranquil amulet
may be used to calm and clarify one’s perspective
achieve a better understanding of themselves and their environment.
Practitioners of Yoga and martial arts,
those who use Meditation and Prayer
would find this amulet helpful
in their daily lives.

The Star Amulet may be used as a Talisman
or it may be used as a part of a Three dimensional Tarot Deck
The Tarot Casters
created and developed
by Kirk McLaren
of Amulets by Merlin

More Tarot Amulets may be seen on my Wearable Tarot Page

Once there were a people
who thought if they built a tower
so tall
it could reach heaven;
they would not have to live
a virtuous life
to go there when they died,
all they had to do was to climb the tower.
Apparently God took exception to this idea
and blasted the tower with a bolt of lightening.
When everyone recovered from the tragedy
they tried to speak of the experience to one another;
but none could understand each others words.

Tower Amulet
Mars
the Mouth
“Peh”

When one creates a structure
one must first have a solid foundation.
If the foundation is flawed
then the entire structure will be unsound.
The views of what is real around us
are built on what we rely on as fact.
When the facts are discovered false,
then the structure based on those facts
is unreliable.
In the classic image of
The Blasted Tower of Babel,
we see a bolt of lighting,
the symbol of realization strikes the tower
and theories tumble to the ground.
We see tiny Yods fall from the Tower,
illustrating the strike may be harnessed:
the influence of the Hand of God
(the Hermit),
the blessings of Truth,
(however painful)
will sow seeds for a better outcome.
This Tower
is our inner construct of the world
as it is built up and torn down
over and over,
each time our understanding becomes stronger,
more solid
and reflects the truth.
When we try to re-group,
we often misunderstand each other;
new facts present a need to be re-sorted
and what was once the common
view is fractured.

Peh
is the letter associated with the Tower:
the Mouth.
Words.
The ability to speak
in ancient times
was considered sacred.
Think of it:
the ability to make mouth noises
to convey ideas.
Seems Magical!
With words we can sooth or crush.
The Tower
Speaks directly to this:
the bolt of realization is often carried by words,
so too a faulty foundation may be created.

Mars is the sign of the Tower:
the circle of spirit moving through Matter:
Mars Close In,
conflict if an opposing force attempts to slow it down;
Mars is a God of the sword and field,
associated with cattle,
the battle field produces the best wheat:
Mars clears chaos and order may grow in its wake.

The Tower Amulet
is patterned off of the Tarot Card:
a bedrock of a foundation with a block tower standing on its crest.
A shaft of lightning strikes the top of the tower to its heart.
Over the front of the Tower is the letter Peh.

There are those whose jobs it is to give us the necessary jolt of reality:
Judges, Police Officers, Solders and Oracles.
However,
the Tower Amulet is more of a tonic
rather than an every day piece.
If you are in confusion,
unable to decide what to do,
if you feel like you have been lied to
and wish to know the truth,
then the Tower would be a good tool in meditation.
This would be ideal to keep on hand for a spiritual councilor,
to use for short periods of time
and then to be put aside to build again.

The Tower Amulet may be used as a Talisman
or it may be used as a part of a Three dimensional Tarot Deck
The Tarot Casters
created and developed
by Kirk McLaren
of Amulets by Merlin

More Tarot Amulets may be seen on my Wearable Tarot Page

The Court Jester is a strange little devil.
Should anyone but the little fellow
say unkind things to the king,
they would be missing appendages.
So why does the Jester continue to keep his head?

The Devil Amulet
Capricorn
reflection of truth
“Ayin”

He is a liar,
a scoundrel,
very uncomplimentary
and sometimes
he even tells the truth
at very inconvenient moments.
Should the King have a bright idea,
it is the Jester that shoots it down.
If the king says something stupid,
it is the jester that corrects him,
yet still he lives.

In the Book of Job,
God is in his heaven
and the Devil is sitting at his left hand.
“Check out that guy Job down there” he tells God.
“He really doesn’t honor you;
only out of habit does he make his sacrifices.”
Through persuasion,
the Devil convinces God to let him test his faith.
His land and wealth is stripped of him,
his wives and children are gone
and he is alone in the desert
covered with boils.
In the end of it,
God recognizes Job’s faith
and all is restored.

The Devil in both cases is testing the individual;
this corresponds with the influence
of the sea goat Capricorn
who is always testing the waters,
unsure of anything.
In the Native American folklore,
we find Coyote,
a totem of the tester
who also has a great sense of humor
and indeed here is the key:
Humor is the tool that sets you free.

The Hebrew letter Ayin is associated with the Devil Card:
the Eye.
As Heh (the Emperor) is attributed to the Window
(the influence of perception)
Ayin is the Eye itself.
It is both the physical Eye
(the acceptance of the illusion of matter)
and the inner eye (the recognition of what actually is).

In a nightclub we can find a comedian who is doing a “stand up” routine.
The entire time he is talking he is speaking in half-truth
and innuendo however the audience listens to him and laughs,
not taking his lies seriously at all.
This devil is funny because there is an association
between his lies and the lives of the audience.
They too have similar problems
and are able to see it through the eyes of another
and recognize the humor in their own lives.

In this testing,
this twisting of the truth to reveal it’s depth
we find where that trap lies:
believing the lie.
Urban legends, tall tales, terror-vision;
all become traps where people can get caught up
in the language rather than the story,
the fashion rather than the substance.
One can get entangled by the illusion
and think that what they are seeing is real.
By seeing through the illusion of humor,
one perceives the greater reality.
But if you want to know the truth you have to be open to it,
no matter what it is.

In designing this amulet I chose the five point star.
It symbolizes (amongst other things) Ideal Man (human rather than male-ness).
Each of the points represents an element,
the fifth on the top point being of Spirit representing its balance and influence.
I reflected the image:
the mirrored star is a reflection of the truth.
On the star pointing up I have inscribed the classic triangles,
in the reflected image I used Hebrew letters,
representing an interpretation of those elements.
In the middle of the two stars:
a hand holding a torch thrust downward, gutting smoke;
the light is cloaked:
the truth is obscured.
The Letter Ayin placed over the hand representing how the Eye
may be directed to see many facets of reality.

The Devil Amulet would be an amulet for writers,
comics, filmmakers, anyone who creates fiction,
images or media that can inspire, reveal the truth or test one’s metal.
This is for the trickster,
the joker or the teller of tales.
It is an amulet representing Humor,
the telling of stories and the practical joker.
It is also for the scientist:
one who tests theories, weighs ideas for their merit.
It is for the Editor,
one who looks to stories and weighs the validity of their meaning and truth.

The Devil Amulet may be used as a Talisman
or it may be used as a part of a Three dimensional Tarot Deck
The Tarot Casters
created and developed
by Kirk McLaren
of Amulets by Merlin

More Tarot Amulets may be seen on my Wearable Tarot Page

When we hear the word “Temperance”
we think of the enforcement of a government’s social attitude
concerning substances that are “currently considered evil”,
or perhaps the avoidance of such substances.

The Temperance Amulet
Sagittarius
Transformation
“Nun”

However the Tarot presents the more classic concept
from Alchemical studies.
The classic image in the Rider Tarot is that of an Angel
with one foot on land and the other in water
pouring liquid from one vessel to another.
The act of “tempering” is taking a substance and moving it from one extreme to another:
Hot and Cold.
As with the other Tarot Images,
Water represents Consciousness,
the vessels that are being uses are “states of being”.
When we are stressed by our everyday lives
we are experiencing “tempering”
and provided with the opportunity
to strengthen our Spirit and focus our Will.

In Metallurgy
the making of a blade requires heat
for the steel to be worked.
Then is quenched by water, hardening it.
This is repeated until the shape is accomplished
and the metal is worked to create an edge.

Like the process of alchemy,
One’s Being is separated into its elements
heated, cooled and combined for the final tempering;
the result is the Philosopher’s stone,
which in fact is You.

Samekh is the Hebrew letter attributed to this concept:
sometimes referred to as The Womb Preserving Life.
In this way we see a kind of containment
(much like the Chariot)
yet this is used to strengthen and preserve.

In the elder days
when folks talked about the mysteries
they used everyday images.
They would ask the Crone
(the old woman who is the keeper of the knowledge of the Tribe):
“What is it like?”

“Well”, she looks to the fireplace.
“It is like that old cauldron over the fire.
We set the great pot in the fire place
(the alchemical crucible)
and fill it with water (consciousness)
and your Father would go out and hunt a deer
(The God) and place it into the pot.
Your Mother goes into the garden
and collects herbs and vegetables
(aspects of the Goddess in nurturing, healing and cultivation)
and that too is placed into the pot.
It is heated and cooled,
from that we fill our bowls and feast.”

We derive nourishment form the source itself,
and in fact we find it delicious,
here by demonstrating an Art in this expression:
food is both a sacrament of the body and the spirit,
nourishing us in every way,
even aesthetically.

The classic image of Sagittarius
a centaur drawing a bow and aiming at the stars.
This tension and release is fundamental in the composition of music,
the greatest music of the ages utilizes
drawing your attention and holding it,
causing the listener to physically sit on the edge of a seat
for the chord progression to resolve,
teasing us when it doesn’t.

For the Temperance Amulet
I have placed a cauldron with a Crone of Wisdom behind it,
form finger tip to finger tip we see a rainbow,
representing the tension (like the bow of archery) and the assurance of success.
She stands before a cauldron brewing a stew of nourishment
containing everything you need to learn and grow,
aesthetically pleasing to the pallet.
On the cauldron is the letter Samekh
signifying the alchemical crucible
in which we must endure in order to gain the necessary experience
to transcend our current position.
The image is to convey the process of Art itself:
a process that can open the mind and heart
to deeper realization and the potential for growth.

The Temperance Amulet is for the Artist,
Actor, Musician or Dancer.
The filmmaker that can inspire and inform their audience.
The Temperance Amulet would be for those that are more subtle in their abilities
to express themselves for the benefit of those around them:
home makers that can turn their dwellings into places of inspiration;
a chef that can create food,
helping one transcend their daily routine.
It is within the context of Temperance
we gain a better understanding of the Art of Living.

The Temperance Amulet may be used as a Talisman
or it may be used as a part of a Three dimensional Tarot Deck
The Tarot Casters
created and developed
by Kirk McLaren
of Amulets by Merlin

See more Tarot Amulets on my Wearable Tarot Page

Amulets by Merlin's Blog

Reflections of the Art of Merlin

All posts tagged Tarot Casters

Merlin’s Tarot ~ 5th Key The Large Hierophant Amulet

Prose Cards for the Tarot from Amulets by Merlin

Merlin’s Tarot ~ 21 ~ Universe Amulet

Merlin’s Tarot ~ 20 ~ Judgment Amulet

Merlin’s Tarot ~ 19 ~ Sun Amulet

Merlin’s Tarot ~ 18 ~ Moon Amulet

Merlin’s Tarot ~ 17 ~ Star Amulet

Merlin’s Tarot ~ 16 ~ Tower Amulet

Merlin’s Tarot ~ 15 ~ Devil Amulet

Merlin’s Tarot ~ 14 ~ Temperance Amulet

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