Telos Tarot of 777 Five of Disks, Taurus 1 decan

New Moon in Taurus 1 today, so thought I’d jot down some quick notes for Part II of the Taurus 1 decan which started here, how it is going, reflections, etc. We are about three-quarters through the decan, give or take.

It has been quite busy, lots of work. Here is my view, which sort of resembles the scene in the Telos Five of Disks as I took it from above looking down at some of the garden. Without going up with a drone I cannot capture all the garden beds, but part of the largest one can be seen on the right, and part of a big one on the left, and some little ones, and some not at all. We like plants and making food, but it creates a lot of work.

But it hasn’t been all gardening.

There are other projects being shepherded along, and reflections on the theme of “Worry” in general. Speedy Mercury colliding with the more inert sign of Taurus creates resistance, a sort of grinding of the mental gears where one can fall into the trap of overthinking things.

The Mercury dance here is this: it does help to think and to plan for the future, using your Mercury to alleviate worries for your various material prospects and projects. Until it turns into the strangling feeling of Worry, when thinking (Mercury) is no longer your friend, and just plodding along doing what needs to be done, (Taurus) is the solution. Doing, and creating motion from inertia, is also a function of the Fives and Geburah. (On a humorous note, spell check wants me to change Geburah to Vegeburger! Um, no. Mars (Fives/Geburah) with Taurus is more likely to be a beef burger.)

So some examples of my own these last few days include:

• Instead of worrying that it is the wrong moon phase for planting, being the dark waning quarter, we decided to plant potatoes anyway, for practical reasons like a) now is when we have time and b) it was about to give a good, soaking rain. I think of potatoes as a very Taurus-y food – I’ve never met a Taurus Sun or Taurus Moon who didn’t love potatoes! Plus we planted Five kinds of potatoes, which seems to fall into Five of Disks category.
• Instead of worrying that the band won’t like the design I’ve done for their new song single, I’ve just gone ahead and done it and just finished it up so I’m even a few days ahead of their May 1 deadline. I also made a couple different versions of the same design in different color schemes, so they can choose what suits them. Mercury likes choice! Even though they offered to pay I’m giving it to them as a gift, so why worry? And chances are they are going to like it, as it came out exactly as I told them the idea was, which they liked. Will be sending it off to them later today or tomorrow.
• Instead of worrying that the tons of little seedlings I’ve started were looking scraggly and crowded, I took the time to patiently transfer hundreds of little tangled plants into larger containers over several days, and given them a good dose of some kelp. This way, by the time we can put them in the garden in the next decan, they will be stockier and (hopefully) able to survive. Weather dependent, which is something beyond my control so why worry?
• Instead of worrying that my new mandrake seedlings won’t be happy living under the indoor light set up I had, I invested $100 into a better one. I can always use that better light set up for seedlings next year, as I’ve been laboring under a homemade MacGuyver set up with cheap lights zip tied to some foam board, all balanced on yoga blocks. Money well spent.
• Instead of worrying that the book I’m writing for Telos and the decans is becoming far too big, as in I won’t be able to afford to print something this large, I’m just keeping going, adding what I want to add. I can always edit it down later, or save some material for a future book. Instead of stressing about how it will be received, I just keep working. Get the thoughts down, then be more selective and practical later and do some cutting.

But sometimes, Worry arises when there is nothing you can actually do. Like some important financial documents (Taurus=finances/Mercury=documents) recently mailed, still not arriving and showing nothing good happening on their tracking. Mail being excruciatingly slow is definitely a Mercury-Taurus manifestation. Cannot do a darn thing about that, for the moment anyway, but hope that it turns out ok and they won’t need to be recreated and sent again.

In cases where there is nothing you can do, it is best to turn that shit off and stop thinking about it. No sense in losing sleep over something you cannot take action on. That’s why the overheating machine on the Five of Disks in Rosetta has an off switch!

Rosetta Tarot Five of Disks, Taurus 1 decan

Speaking of taking action, I was reminded today that the fifth element of Spirit, as shown by the egg/cracked seed in the central or fifth disk of the Telos Five of Disks, is cognate with the fifth power of the Sphinx, which is “To Go.” Someone in the Decan Walk club on the Tarot Tea and Me forum had asked a question about the Thoth Hierophant and what was on the Horus child’s foot. They thought it was a nail, which certainly would fit for Vau, the Hebrew letter for the Hierophant (Taurus), meaning “nail.” But I think it is supposed to be the ankh sandal strap, referring to the fifth power Ire, To Go.

Since this is a Taurus card, an Earth sign, and a Five (fifth power, Hierophant’s V, etc) , it makes sense that the way to power through the earthly inertia and struggles of Material Worry that come up with this card is to just go forth and do your Will. I thought it was a cool synchronicity that I saw that after writing the examples above of doing just that.

It makes me think of the Stele of Revealing, and the HRU hieroglyph there, meaning “coming forth by day” or going forth to do your will amongst the living.

The end lines, the last third of the text on this side of the Stele read:

“the deceased Ankh-f-n-khonsu has left the multitudes and rejoined those who are in the light, he has opened the dwelling-place of the stars (the Duaut); now then, the deceased Ankh-f-n-khonsu has gone forth by day in order to do everything that pleased him upon earth, among the living.”

Crowley’s poetic paraphrase of the same:

The dead man Ankh-f-n-khonsu
Hath parted from the darkling crowds,
Hath joined the dwellers of the light,
Opening Duaut, the star-abodes,
Their keys receiving.
The dead man Ankh-f-n-khonsu
Hath made his passage into night,
His pleasure on the earth to do
Among the living.

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