Full Moon Cycle Sagittarius : The High Priest

Full Moon Cycle Sagittarius

May 21-June 20

The overall theme or lesson of the Full Moon Cycle of Sagittarius is the cause and effect of Love on men. This card brings some understanding of the male point of view regarding committed relationships The Full Moon cycle of Sagittarius honors the consort of the Great Mother, who is the Holy Father. In this image he is walking through a stone circle deep in the forest after his union with the empress. A child-spirit hands him another arrow, which symbolizes fertility. This moon marks the reign of the Green Man reaching his full potency. He is the old god of nature and sexual prowess who worships the goddess. The traditional Celtic Dagda was known as "good father". The Romans called him "Dis Pater," ("God Father"). He is the Horned God (Pater) Pan or Father Pan. He is the King of Arcadia, one of the oldest gods of Greece, who is associated with Dionysus and Bacchus, God of wine and the vine. The Greeks claimed that the Egyptian's god Amon Ra was actually Pan. Panopolis was the name given to Amon Ra's holy city. The High Priest belongs to the ancient All-Fathers gods associated with divine bread. These lusty father gods of the ancient world would guarantee abundance. As the sun achieves its peak and daytime hours are the longest, it is the Sun's time to dominate. As Dionysus, this deity witnessed the holy mysteries of the goddess and, as punishment, he was torn into pieces. This action is similar to the fate of Osiris who was torn to pieces by his jealous brother Set. This phenomenon of being torn to pieces shows up in the experiences of many shamanic practitioners. Young men seeking the Egyptian priesthood were put through a grueling, highly secret 10-day initiation that included a descent into hell. The initiates went into the underworld where they experienced the trials of Isis and her experience of putting all the pieces of Osiris back together. Only the high priests were allowed to have sexual relations with the high priestesses, thus the Hierophant represents the father of the child born from the sacred union with the Empress. The designs on the robe of The High Priest represents the 3 shamanic worlds. The upper world, the middle world and the underworld or lower world. When on a shamanic journey the shaman will feel him/herself being pulled into one of these 3 levels. The upper world is the world of guides and teachers if you feel yourself lifting you may encounter a guide or teacher for your information. If you feel yourself staying on the same level you are physically sitting in you may be journeying to the middle world the world where time travel can take place. If you feel yourself being pulled down you may be journeying to the underworld the realm of power animals. These journeys can occur spontaneously or can be induced through monotonous drumming which can still and bore the mind so much that it induces trance. Since not everyone has the ability or desire to visit other dimensions of reality the High Priest as spiritual leader and shaman will journey to these worlds to retrieve whatever knowledge his people may need. The role of the priest is mediator between this world and the next, between the physical and the spiritual, between the world of humans and the world of the animals his people need for survival. His knowledge protects him as he travels to spiritual realms. When looking at the MAAT cards in terms of the shaman we will see the Fool as the innocent young initiate about to stumble into his first usually unbeckoned journey into the underworld his power animal with him is the dog. In MAAT the Fool is symbolized as the constellation Orion sacred to the ancient Egyptian's Orion represented osiris god of the underworld represented as the sun at midnight. The Hermit card shows the ascended master who has himself become a teacher in the upper world. In MAAT the Hermit represents the sun-god Ra the highest of ancient Egyptian gods the sun in the afternoon. The horned Emperor in MAAT Tarot represents the shaman's journey used in hunting magic. Other names: The Hierophant, Pan (panic); Father Pan; Peter Pan; Robin Hood; Amon Ra; the Good Father; the Holy Father; Adonis; Dionysious; Bacchus; Osiris; Tammuz; the father of the child of the Empress; the Consort of the Goddess, Chiron the wounded healer Symbols: Centaur; the horse as symbol of penis size (Kama Sutra); The Sacred King; bread & wine. Attributes: The archer who has spent his arrow (symbol for the erect penis); today's non-sexual Priest; sexually stagnant (Tower form); ancient priest with sexual partners. Full Moon in Sagittarius key phrase: "I see" In a Reading: This card signifies a loving person who has been called to a spiritual life. This could be of a traditional holy religious order or non-traditional spiritual path. Planetary Ruler: Mercury