Ace of Swords - It's A Movement

 

Yesterday I was sent a link to watch a movie free of charge from The Red Temple. I watched Things We Don't Talk About, which is about The Red Tent/Red Temple movement. I was thrilled, because I had really wanted to see it, but had no way of doing so. It was both very moving and inspiring.

And so, it was fitting that I drew the Ace of Swords today illustrating Athena, the goddess of Justice, with her sword cutting through muddled thought and the mercurial air, with the raw energy of change. 

Athena, being a warrior, gained her power not through violence, but through her intelligence and wisdom. There is now an awakening of our mental powers. She was once considered the mother goddess, and some how got relegated to the virgin goddess. I prefer to think of her as the mother goddess of Justice, with her scales being equally balanced between wisdom and intelligence.
The Ace of Swords augers change in one's life, that can often threaten the old order. We are however urged to let go of old habits, and to invite change in spite of ensuing struggle.

Like Athena The Red Tent or The Red Temple, encourages us to reclaim our inherent power, via a " state of mind ". It is the way of the woman warrior, on the front lines of a grass roots movement, that has always seen women gather from the beginnings of time.  And with this new state of mind comes freedom, and with freedom, comes responsibility.




“The ‘Red Tent’ is many things to many people. It is a womb-like red fabric space, it is a place where women gather, it is an icon, and it is a state of mind—all concepts inspired by Diamant's book.” –Isadora Gabrielle Leidenfrost, PhD.
 

http://redtenttemplemovement.com/

 “A circle of women may be the most powerful force known to humanity. If you have one, embrace it. If you need one, seek it. If you find one, for the love of all that is good and holy, Dive in. Hold on. Love it up. Get naked. Let them see you. Let them hold you. Let your reluctant tears fall. Let yourself rise fierce and love great. You will be changed. The very fabric of your Being will be altered by this. If you allow it. Please, Allow it.” ~ Author Unknown

The Moirai - Wheel of Fortune

The Moirai or Fates are fascinating symbolic images found in the Wheel of Fortune, and were the incarnations of destiny and life. They remind me of the Three Graces or Muses,  and I suspect the Moirai carried over into the three theological Christian virtues, Faith, Hope, and Charity. Clotho was the Spinner, Lachesis the measurer and Artrpos the cutter whose name means 'she who cannot be avoided.'

Greek Mythology is about as confusing as family genealogy but even more so. For instance Uranus which symbolized the sky, was the primal Greek god. He was the son and mate of Gaea who symbolizes the earth and mother of all. Uranus had no father. According to Hesiod's  creation myth, Uranus was born of Gaea alone. Gaea was his sole parent. Weird eh? Makes no sense, but is all symbolic creation myth. But I do so love that Gaea was the mother of all.

The Moirai are the three deity sisters born of Zeus, the god of the sky and ruler over the gods of Olympia. It has also been said they had no father, but were the daughters of Ananke, the primeval goddess who was self-formed, as a Mother Goddess.
According to another myth, their mother was Themis the goddess of the divine order, and was " the messenger of the very first rules of conduct, established by the elder gods, and in the role of divine voice, she first instructed the primal laws of justice and morality to mankind."
 Themis was also the daughter of Uranus and Gaea. I think it would be safe to say that the Moirai had a rather divine mission.

Moirai-Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos