Auntie Moon

We are fully submerged in the lushness that is Taurus. The first 10 degrees of Taurus are the purest expression of Taurus energy. Rich, abundant, solid, sturdy, strong, immovable. Since that is the case, I found it difficult to see all that lushness in the 5 of Pentacles.

It doesn’t look lush to me. It’s, IMHO, the most impoverished card of the deck.

[The 5 of Pentacles is assigned to the first 10 degrees of Taurus and the dates falling between April 20 and May 1, depending on the year.]

Taurus is the most earthbound of all the signs and we can see this clearly in the 5 of Pentacles. Even though there is  a monument to spirit right there by them, they are moving past it. Maybe they’ve been turned away, perhaps many times. We’ve all felt that way at some point—on our own, scorned, out in the cold, rejected.

I don’t want to go heavily into all the symbolism of the card, but I would like to point out one thing in particular.

We know that the small figure in the blue tunic is a leper because he wears a leper’s bell around his neck. This can symbolize the throat and voice which Taurus rules. Leprosy affects the larynx, so in order to warn people of their approach, lepers wore bells or clappers.

There is a mystic teaching that tells us we can speak something into existence. If you speak it, you make it so. I believe that extends to thinking, too. We can think something into existence. And that means we can change (5) it. Let’s watch our words and speak the best of what we wish to create.

Prosperity Pack

I spent most of yesterday working on an altered tarot card pack to help dispel the despair and hopelessness this card seems to imply. It’s a prosperity pack of sorts. I imagine I’m not the only one who needs this right now.

If you’d like to put one together for yourself, read on for a description of all the parts and their symbolism.

The front cover of the pack has a beeswax coated pocket embellished with a stamped fern. Ferns represent magic and shelter (!). The beeswax is also a shelter of sorts and a storage place for honey which symbolizes wealth and prosperity.

The pocket holds the 5 of Pentacles from the original Waite deck. The card has been covered with green tissue paper with sparkles in it. A green ribbon on the side is decorated with a five petaled flower and five emerald colored rhinestones. The card has a tea-dyed page adhered to the back for notes and observations. The green color represents money and the lush green foliage of the earth during Taurus.

The inside of the packet contains more symbols of 5. Five represents change and the fleeting nature of Mercury. The 5 in the upper left corner has “change” written on it and is next to the universal symbol for change, a butterfly. A little note on the butterfly says, “Life is good.” A page with some initial thoughts and symbolism on the 5 is turned up with a disseminating Moon sticker. The disseminating phase is the fifth sixth* phase of the cycle, representing sharing and spreading of knowledge. A small Hierophant card (card V) is attached, noting the major arcana card representing Taurus. Behind the note closed with a star is a card from a game called “Chat Pack” that asks the question, “If you could have 50 pounds of anything besides money, what would it be?” I’ve been thinking long and hard on that one.

[My mistake—Disseminating is the sixth phase. Thanks, Anna Maria.]

On the right hand side is stamped Taurus 5, with a glittery green strip of washi tape down the center of the page. A 5-page tea-dyed “journal” is bound with green thread at the top. It’s attached with a bobby pin holding the letters FIVE. A packet of prosperity powder is attached to the back of the powder recipe and instructions. Prosperity powder is a mixture of sassafras, cinnamon, pine, and basil with a little glitter thrown in just because. The rolled scroll has instructions for a prosperity ceremony or spell to be used with a tiny prosperity candle.

A green sparkly sun represents Taurus.

Working on this altered tarot card pack was a fabulous meditation on prosperity and sharing. It would make a good addition to a journal or to use on the first day the Moon is in Taurus each month.

I have one 5 of Pentacles Altered Tarot Card Pack available in my ETSY store. You can see it here.   SOLD!