The Druidic Cross Tarot Layout as a Revision 25 years later.
This Tarot Layout was the second of a series of layouts which was published 25 years ago. The first of these appeared in Gnostica News, issue number 45, and was called the Pentacle Layout. The present article should be considered as only a bare outline of the Druidic Cross Layout. It was to have been developed in conjunction with The Celtic Pagan Tarot Deck a set of designs which has yet to be published because I have not been able to find and artist for it yet. This deck will depict Celtic divinities As Archetypes.
The Pentacle Layout was designed to be used for questions dealing with deeply personal and spiritual matters. As most of you are aware, the pentacle symbolizes the microcosm a mini-universe, a personal frame of reference which extends from within us all as individuals. The Druidic Cross Layout is a logical progression from this: it represents five manifested, exteriorized spheres of being which emanate from the microcosm of the Self.
These five circles correspond to the five traditional elements: fire, air, earth, water, and Spirit. And, as in our Druid Tradition they also represent the five directions: North, South, East, West, and the Sacred Center, the relationships of element to direction are those of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn System, familiar to most students of occultism. Fire is South, Air is East, Water is West, Earth is North, and Spirit Or Akasha is the Sacred Center. In my layout, each circle is given a letter. The center circle is Letter A, and is considered to be the first sphere of influence ---the realm of Spirit. Letter B, the second circle, represents Earth; Letter C, the third circle, is Fire. Letters D and E are Air and Water respectively. This completes the basic circle of the elements. Much can be inferred from this pattern about the nature of energy-flow being shown. In addition to the elements, certain ancient Celtic deities hold sway over the five Circles. These can be invoked as guides by the diviner, or their spheres of influence, seen as centers of the body in a psychic sense, or simply studied in terms of how their energies influence a manifestation. The object is to develop a personal relationship with the elemental divinities of the Celtic pantheon, to get close to them, and to listen for their prophetic voices as did the ancient Bards. This guidance from the Gods and Goddesses are the essence of Divination itself. This list given of Celtic divinities is not intended to be complete, however it is a suggestion, an outline, of what might be possible. Many other implicit concepts will present themselves to the serious student. The deities for the Five Circles of Being are the following: For Circle A the place of the Sacred Center and the element of Spirit we have. Tailtiu and Tethra. For Circle B in the place of the North, the element of Earth, we have Danu and Dagda. For Circle C the place of the South, the element of Fire, we have Bridgit and Lugh. For Circle D the place of the West and the element of Water we have Cerridwen and Mannann Mac Lir. For Circle E in the palace of the East, the element of Air, we have Rhiannon and Camulos. This completes the deities of the Five Circles.
Each of the Five Circles has a color assigned to it. For Circle A the color is indigo, the colour of Spirit. For Circle B the color is brown the color of Earth. For Circle C the color is red the color of Fire. For Circle D the color is silver or grey, the color of Water. For Circle E, the color is blue, like Sky Blue. There are 5 Arch-Druids for the Circles of Being. These 5 Arch-Druids are elemental guardians for the 5 Circles of Being. They are depicted in human form dressed in robes the colors of the element they represent. The Arch-Druid for the A Circle of being is wearing an indigo robe sacred to Spirit. The Arch- Druid for the B Circle of Being is wearing a Brown robe sacred to the Earth element. The Arch-Druid for the C Circle of being is wearing a red robe sacred to the Fire element. The Arch-Druid for the D Circle of Being is wearing a silver or gray robe, sacred to the element of Water. The Arch- Druid of the E Circle of Being is wearing a blue or sky-blue robe, sacred to the element of Air.
The final set of corresponding images for the outer circles is the four Magickal treasures of Celtic tradition. In the Sacred Center we have the symbol of the Goddess; the circle with two spears or staves going through it. She is the triple goddess in many systems, the Mother, the Daughter and the Crone-Hag. The Magickal treasure for the B Circle of being is the Stone Lia Fail, the Stone of Destiny. This stone would scream for a just ruler when he or she sat on it. The Magickal treasure for the C Circle of Being is the Spear of Lugh. This spear was a soul-stealer and blood sucker. But it was a formable battle weapon. The Magickal treasure for the D Circle was the Cauldron of Inspiration. Cooking within was a magickal drought to allow Bards to experience the Awen. The Magickal treasure for the E Circle of Being is the Sword of Nuada known as Fragarach the Answerer. It could answer any question, but beware not to ask more than one question, for it would cut you to the bone for being greedy. Fragarach could cut through any mail.
Some ideas for this layout came from an excellent book by Virginia Moore, entitled The Unicorn. In it is given some material from the unpublished diaries of W.B.Yeats, written at the time when he was still a member in good standing of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. (After his death, it is believed that most of his magickal diaries were burnt by his fanatically Christian widow, who considered magick in all its forms to be of the Christian Devil. (A similar fate befell the diaries of Sir Richard Burton, much to our loss).
Other ideas come from a multitude of books of Celtic mythology; and still others come from personal experience. A complete bibliography will accompany the Celtic Pagan Ogham Tarot when it is finished. This layout was especially designed for students of the Tarot and other divination systems who desired to explore the influence of divinities of the ancient Gaels in their lives, and to communicate with them. It can bring more scope and dimension, however, to anyone seriously interested in Paganism and Magick.
I would like to give a more detailed look at a Circle of Being, The Circle is Circle A. At ancient Telltown was held the annual celebration of Lughnasad, for here Lugh, the Lord of Fire and Lord of the Dawn, sought out and wedded the land of Erin (Ireland). Watching over this sacred spot was Tailtiu, or Telta, Goddess of the Sacred Center. She had a Dun (stronghold) at this location. In some myths it is Tailtiu that Lugh of the Long Arm weds. It all depends on which myths you study. A great battle for the control of Erin-Ireland was once fought in the vast mythic past. In Celtic religion, the center of a particular province was considered the most magickal and sacred place in that province. All of the most important Druidic and magickal rites were performed and celebrated at the Sacred Center point. It is appropriate for Tailtiu the Goddess of Protection, who watched over Erin, to be honored here. Beneath the sea the Formoire, whose king was Tethra, plotted to take Erin by force and bring her under the sea to His realm. After years of preparation, a great battle was fought at Telltown in which the Fomoire were defeated. Tethra, even though he is depicted as being kind of shady has still been important in my personal Magickal work and thus I honor him in the Sacred Center.
The Gods and Goddesses do not guard their own treasures, but assign the task to their priests and priestesses. In this case the priests and priestesses are the Druids. Their worship is of the deities of Nature and the ways of Nature. This particular Guardian is called the Druid of the Sacred Center, the Druid of the Mystic Center, the Keeper of the Mysteries of the Spirit. The Druid guardian wears a robe the color of indigo, the elemental color of Spirit. This Druidic guardian is to be called upon when you will to perform a reading which deals with weighty subjects or deeply spiritual matters. Being a priest or priestess, the Druidic guardian can contact the deity forms of this (the spirit) plane of awareness if the question is dire enough. The Magickal treasure of this Sacred Center Circle is the symbol of the Triple Goddess; the Mother, the Daughter, and the Crone or Hag. It is the Circle of Spirit with two spears or staves crossing it. The circle is a symbol for the concept of peace, for only with peace of mind and the calm feelings which it brings can anything be done successfully of a spiritual nature. Fifteen years ago, one of my fellow Druids, Dave Nelson by name made a divination board of the Druidic Cross Layout, which we later discovered quite by accident that it could also be used as a flat altar top or outside placed on a large flat stone for the same purpose. It has been used as a divination board and a flat altar piece ever since.
I welcome all comments about this work. Sorry if it is a little too long. AD (arch-druid) Stephen W. Abbott. Peace, Peace, Peace.
