So I laid out the Wildwood cards in the Wheel of the Year and it helped to see them like this and associate the different suits and Majors with their place in the seasonal cycle. The card I drew for my daily draw today was The Hare.... whose time in the wheel we have just passed through..... the days coming up to Midsummer.
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| Wildwood Tarot |
This gorgeous artwork by Will Worthington shows a magnificent hare standing in mountain terrain with the full moon behind him. He looks in command of his countryside, strong and alert to danger. He has a Green man mask by his feet... symbolic of the continuity and fertility of nature and its cycles. What a beautiful and majestic creature this hare is! Wonderful art!
The Hare means a lot to me, I have been fascinated with hares all my life, I have hare art all over my home, I have done a Welsh pilgrimage to the Patron Saint of Hares and spent many years watching them back in East Anglia. A couple of years ago we had a pet New Zealand hare for a while who came to live with our beloved Snoopy. He was a wild creature, unlike our gorgeous wee mini lop bunny, and we called him Jerusalem. He got on really well with Snoopy who loved having him as a friend, but eventually as he got older, he left us. I cannot keep animals in cages. He didn't go far though and he would come back and visit sometimes, or we would spot him hanging out at the gate to our drive.
The Wildwood book has some beautiful words for the Queen of Bows:
"A companion through life, sympathetic and understanding, leading you to a deeper awareness of what is needed to bring success to your every enterprise. Wise and witty, gentle and kindly the Queen supports you and strengthens your resolve."
This a a fantastic companion for me at this time, I should know the Hare is always there for me and this is a great reminder of that energy. Hares are messengers, they cross through age and culture, bringing you to where you need to be. Their tracks in the fields are complex, but designed to be for them only to be able to follow. They have no underground homes like their rabbit cousins, and so they keep safe by their wits, their amazing senses and their speed. Those huge ears and big eyes are not just for show.
Hares are often related to the Moon and lunacy in mythology, and they are also shapeshifters. The Hare was said to have offered to lay down his life for Buddha in order to feed him with his own flesh. Buddha saved him however and painted his image on the Moon, to be seen forever by all who looked up, as an honour of his selflesness.
The hare will return here often.... as he has in my life...
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