The interpretations given here are not meant to be definitive. As you grow your intuition and imagination, you will develop your own understanding of the essences of Symbolism. Real understanding comes from inner reflection, thought, meditation and experience.
In the northern hemisphere, winter lasts months. In some parts of the world they suffer from 5+ months of cold, wet weather. So, with many of us living in this part of the world, why are there so few tarot cards with wintery scenes? Especially since tarot card origins come from Germany, France and Italy, all countries that experience winter. Let’s try to get some insight.
The winter solstice when we celebrate the return of the light. We welcome the longer days and explore healing and coming to appreciate our broken parts.
It seems odd to always use summer scenes on tarot cards, ignoring the yin and yang of seasons and Life. The dark days between Winter Solstice … are an excellent time for nurturing our dreams, body and mind, preparing us for spring. Craving rest and quiet, sleeping more, and not feeling quite ready to take action.
The tarot cards with a wintery feel, tend to represent the stagnate, silent, restful periods. The quiet, peaceful and clean feel of a heavy snowfall, seems emphasized on the Hermit card. The best friends are the ones where there is no awkward silence. Welcoming the dark and cold takes bravery and good health, both of which are associated with youth. The Hermit is mostly represented as an elderly man. Maybe as Father Time, he’s reminding us to act now, while we are young and able.
Winter Solstice
“Unconquered Sun” was the official Sun God of the later Roman Empire and a patron of soldiers. On 25 December AD 274, the Roman Emperor Aurelian made it an official alongside the traditional Roman cult [1]
In east Asia, Dongzhi, the winter solstice has been celebrated as one of the Twenty-four Solar Terms. “In Japan, in order not to catch a cold…there is a custom to soak oneself in the yuzu hot bath” [2]
The pagan northern Europeans celebrated a twelve-day “midwinter” holiday – Yule. Yule is often used in combination with the season “yuletide” a usage first recorded in 900. It is believed that the celebration of this day was a worship of these peculiar days, interpreted as the reawakening of nature … sacrifices were given to the gods to earn blessing on the forthcoming germinating crops. [3]
Winter Solstice In Warm Weather Cultures
Taking a point of view from a culture that doesn’t experience winter, the winter solstice, “for Iranians around the world…it is also the time to commemorate the triumph of Mithra, the Sun God, over darkness … Mithra is the Zoroastrian angelic divinity of covent, Light and Oath. In addition to being the Divinity of Contracts … also a judicial figure, an all-seeing Protector of Truth and the Guardian of Cattle, the Harvest, and of the waters … used the name of Mithra current in their time for the Third Messenger, was the helper and redeemer of mankind …” [4]
“The Indian Mitra … whose cult spread from India in the east to as far west as Spain, Great Britain, and Germany… was essentially a solar deity, representing the ‘friendly’ aspect of the sun… the first written mention of the Vedic Mitra dates to 1400 BC.” [5]
The solstice happens every six months and seems to contribute to dictating planting crops, animals mating and long term planning for the next winter. New Year’s Eve is a time most of us make resolutions, oaths/contracts/promises we make to ourselves. Sounds like Mithra at work with her contracts and justice.
Pentacles & Winter
Many classic wintery cards are pentacles. Pentacles are connected to the winter season when practicality and determination are needed to survive the cold weather physically and the lack of sunlight mentally. Pentacles also are an earth element representing giving and receiving. Because of the harshness of winter, we may be in a position of need.
The patron of soldiers mentioned above, enforce the idea of bravery and youth. The prevention of disease from the Japanese, the celebration of the renewed solar energy from the Scandinavians and the fairness and justice from Mithra remind us of the important energies at play during the winter season. The quiet of the season and the long dark time, grants us the opportunity to make long term plans without distractions. The retuning of the sun gives us hope that what we are planning now, will reap a reward. Letting the earth/your garden rest before you re-plant in the spring. Think about this when a wintery card shows up in your reading.
Sources:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Invictus
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Even-toed_ungulate
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithra
[5] https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-general/ancient-tradition-iranians-celebrate-winter-solstice-001146
images: https://www.pinterest.ca/fibibishop/wintery-tarot-cards/
http://www.spinoolean.com/2012/09/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocturne_in_Black_and_Gold_%E2%80%93_The_Falling_Rocket
#tarotcards #fibibishoptarot #playingcards #divination #cartomancy #tarotreading #winter
