#my practice

I even mentioned Eve and the Serpent!

For over a year I've had this practice of drawing a card of the day from my tarot deck. For a couple of months, while shuffling my deck, I invite one god / goddess to choose the card for me (I have a dedicated deity for each day of the week so it's not difficult to decide who I want to invite). For the last two months I've drawn the Six of Cups on Thursdays many times, which are dedicated to Hera, exceptionally often and it prompted me to write this post

So, what does Hera and the Six of Cups have in common? Do they have anything in common at all?

Mind that while talking about symbols, colors and figures on the card I'm going to use RWS Tarot as my reference point

Hera as a guardian ⚔️

She's a goddess of fertility and marriage and she's also considered a matron goddess of maternity and a protector of families. Especially her role as a protector is important in the context of the Six of Cups - in the background on the left side there's a figure of a guardian, probably making sure that the children we can play safely in the garden

Hera's connection to children 👶

She's a mother of four:

Ares - god of war

Hephaestus - god of fire and craftsmen

Hebe - goddess of youth

Eileithyia - goddess of childbirth

Hera isn't an archetype of the mother and isn't portrayed as a role model for mothers but she is a patron goddess of maternity, and maternity is inseparably connected with having children. It is important to remember though that both of those terms may be metaphors. On top of that, her daughter Eileithyia is a goddess of childbirth

Hera was also worshipped as Hera Pais which translates to "girl" or "maiden" so again, someone who wouldn't be considered an adult an therefore - who was a child

Maybe it's a bit of a stretch, but four of her children plus the two on the card make up six

Number 3 or 3+3 3️⃣

Hera has two sons and two daughters and the children portrayed on the card are a boy and a girl - together it gives us a nice balanced number of 3+3, and I associate number 3 with Hera a lot - she was on of the three daughters of Cronus and Rhea (the other two were Hestia and Demeter). Moreover, number 6 on the card is identical with the total number of Cronus and Rhea's children (again, three sons and three daughters). Another thing that makes me think of Hera in the context of number 3 was her rivalry with Athena and Aphrodite for the title of most beautiful goddess. According to some sources, she was the third wife of Zeus, after Metis (goddess of wisdom and counsel) and Themis (goddess of justice and divine law and order)

Last time I drew the Six of Cups it was Tuesday, a day that I dedicated to Ares, Hera's son

Flowers 💐

One of her titles is Antheia (Ανθεια) which means "of flowers" and flowers are an important element of the Six of Cups. They resemble stars and they make me think of the night sky and therefore, also about Hera who is goddess of the sky and Queen of Heavens

Castle in the background 🏰

A very royal element on the Six of Cups. It's just my association but Hera is a Queen and when does a queen live? In a castle (or a palace)

Astrology of the Six of Cups ☀️🦂

Astrologically, the Six of Cups corresponds with Sun in Scorpio. Sun is connected with the Sun card, often associated with happiness and childhood, and Scorpio is associated with the Death card, often associated with transformation and ending something. Having that in mind, let's take a look at some of Hera's epithets again:

Mákaira (Μάκαιρα) - Blessed; brings happiness to mind

Pais (Παις) - Girl, Maiden, Child; associated with happy and care-free times

Nympheuomenê (Νυμφευομενη) - Betrothed Bride; transition to a new role as a wife, leaving childhood, stepping into adulthood

Zugia (Ζυγια) - Yoked (Married); again, leaving childhood behind and stepping into a new role, this time with a bitter aftertaste

Teleia (Τελεια) - Adult Woman; transition from being a child to being a crone (it is also translated as 'Perfect' or 'Complete' which makes me think of a very short period of time when everything looks great and works out perfectly before a worse period comes)

It wasn’t until I really acknowledged and accepted my identity as a Vampire/Succubus that I felt comfortable enough to reach back towards home.

I truly believe the last few years of trauma, strife, and illness were heavily influenced by me trying to suppress my true nature. Trying to be the Good Girl. The Angel. The Sweetheart.

But that isn’t me at all is it? I’m fire and brimstone, sex and drugs and violence. I’m not meant for sweetness and gentleness. I am meant to be the fire in the storm. A force to be reckoned with. A catalyst for change.

Coming home to my demonic roots and my soul Mother has been eye opening to say the least. Truly. I missed me, and I’m so happy to have found my way back to her.

So I then decided to give the goddess a break from my whining and invoked Helios instead, asking for clarity on my situation. I was immediately struck by a slew of ideas for the rest of the morning and now my head feels so much clearer 😅 Not only that but He dispelled the fog of worry and confusion I've been in all this time, so now I feel unusually optimistic about everything!

While Hekate is a goddess of illumination, amongst many other things... She can provide clarity, inspiration, ideas for growth and getting your life in order. But given that I also work very closely with a sun god, at some point She must have started giving me the side eye like "why are you asking me for these things when Helios is right there?"