Mythic Tarot - Sun

rwcarter

Crowned with laurel leaves and the golden disk of the sun, Apollo stands before a portico and two golden columns. In his right hand he holds a bow and in his left, he cradles a lyre. A quiver of arrows hangs from his right side.

Laurel Leaves/Wreath
  • laurel was used to crown victors in contests; the striving spirit and crown of victory are aspects of Apollo
  • symbol of victory, peace, purification, protection, divination, secret knowledge and immortality
  • laurel wreaths were worn by those worthy of honor, especially poets (poet laureate)
  • Apollo cleansed himself in laurel after slaying the Python at Delphi as did Orestes for killing his mother Clytemnestra. Laurel was seen as having the ability to cleanse the soul of guilt and to purge those who had spilled the blood of others.
  • the Delphic Oracle chewed laurel before giving her prophecies
  • symbol of chastity because Daphne was turned into a laurel tree as she fled Apollo’s advances
Bow/Arrows/Quiver
  • Apollo was known as Apollo Longsight because of his far-shooting arrows, implying that he represents that part of us that can see reason and purpose for experiences long before they’ve been emotionally processed and left behind
  • arrows represent the piercing, masculine principle; penetration, fecundity, virility, power and war; impulse, speed, menace, determination; an incoming message; something that’s purposeful, powerful and intentional; an aim, direction or course of action
  • arrow is a solar symbol representing the rays of the sun and the light of supreme power
  • Apollo’s arrows are the sun’s rays that can be beneficent and fertilizing or scorching and harmful
  • arrow can be a symbol of pain and disease, shot at mankind by the gods, especially Apollo
  • arrow can represent movement that reaches beyond set boundaries
  • the bow is a masculine symbol of prowess that dispatches the masculine arrow; vigor and vital energy; stored energy, willpower, aspiration, dynamic tension; spiritual discipline
  • the quiver is the receptive feminine principle to the arrow’s active masculine principle
Lyre/Music
  • as an expression of Apollo, music transforms darkness into light and meaning and lifts one out of oneself
  • music is associated with an idea of experience that’s in tune with oneself, one’s environment or the universe
  • music is the ability to coordinate one’s energy into a specific direction or purpose
  • lyre symbolizes divine harmony, musical and poetical inspiration and divination
Apollo
  • god of hunting and healing, pestilence, light, prophecy, sudden death
  • patron of medicine, music, the lyre and archery
  • twin brother to Hecate/Artemis
  • represents the transition between adolescence and manhood
  • represents the power of consciousness to dispel darkness
  • represents both the urge towards consciousness and the spirit of intellectual striving that is combined with a vision of the future that encompasses an ideal of perfection
  • the hope and clarity of daylight
  • his bright light casts away shadows and dispels fear
  • faith in the meaningfulness and purpose of the human journey
  • the indomitable spirit that has always struggled against superstition, helplessness, ignorance and bondage to fatalism and despair

Written in my workbook on 14 Aug 91:
Apollo reflects his surroundings. He's made of energy, clothed in hope, wreathed in growth, winged with happiness and crowned in joy. He holds a lyre of love in one hand and a bow of clear vision, which shoots arrows of truth. His temple is composed of columns of energy and hope which are topped with clear vision. The sky is happy, the ground swells with joy and the trees are growing.

My key color was white (purity, clarity of vision).

Rodney