The Fours
Major arcana: Greenman and Greenwoman Position on wheel: Midsummer Solstice. Chakra: heart.
Four of Wands: Celebration
	The four wands of ash, oak, birch and hawthorn form a diamond, an ancient symbol of the sun and womb as a gateway to life. On a warm June evening, the sun sets as people celebrate the midsummer festival with a traditional bonfire. Inside the hill the four-spoked sun wheel radiates life energy. Enjoyment of nature, celebration, of the summer with friends, party atmosphere, being outdoors, feeling of freedom and fun.
Four of Arrows: Rest
	A person lies down in nature, resting so that their imagination and spirit can take flight and rejuvenate. A rest, a holiday, a cessation of activity, healing. Feeling more positive, seeing the beauty in yourself and everything around you.
Four of Cups: Boredom
	A white hart and a peacock, creatures of visionary beauty, drink from the waters of life from which the vines of love grow. Trapped inside four walls of their own making, a figure sits apathetic and lethargic, unaware of the bounty of life around them. Being shut indoors, bored and unstimulated. Pent up frustration. Need to get out into the world.
Four of Stones: Protection
	On a hilltop the midsummer sun rises over a dolmen beneath which a newly born fawn shelters. Many burial places are orientated to the midsummer sunrise, when the dead are given spiritual rebirth. Also many new-born birds and animals are especially vulnerable at this time of year, and need protection from predators. Nurturing parental care. A roof over one’s head. A period of stability. Time to foster your tender heart.
The Blasted Oak (traditionally The Hanged One, The Tower)
Minor arcana; Fives Position on wheel: Lammas. Element: Air/Water
Chakra: solar plexus. Colour: yellow/green. Polarity: red
	A green figure is liberated from their bonds by the force of the lightening striking the oak tree. You have been out on a limb, clinging on to an untenable situation. The air is charged with emotion. Pent up tears or anger are released. Although these times are often traumatic, this is the first stage of healing; yet there may be a loss of stability as the familiar is replaced by the unknown. Be gentle on yourself and give yourself time to heal. The thunderbolt could also be thrown at you by a figure in authority, using their power over you, as anger, or intimidation, for instance. Use the balance of Strength to stand up to them or seek help.
Strength
Minor arcana; Fives Position on wheel: Lammas. Element: Air/Water
Chakra: solar plexus. Colour: yellow/green. Polarity: red
	The Strength card concerns following what you feel is right for you, doing your true will. Society is not supportive of individual dedication to an unusual path, and incredible strength of heart is needed to stay on it. If one’s initial impulse to follow your heart (Ancestor and Archer) has been lost by the pressures and attractions of everyday living, i.e. Lovers, Greenman/Woman, then Strength calls to your heart to rededicate your life. At this stage this might require sacrificing some aspect of it, which leads to the tensions in The Blasted Oak.
The image shows a woman with a mask of the mountain lion with eagle feathers, against the burning sun , dressed in the August colours of the land. A lioness empowers and encircles her heart. Tied upon her spear is the oldest animal headed statue ever found in Europe (30,000 BCE) a leonine human. It is very similar to the Egyptian statues of the Goddess Sekmet but 28,000 years earlier. Prehistoric European cave lions, now extinct, were unmaned, like a large mountain lion. The spear of power (air) is balanced by the cup of compassion. This balance cannot be held for long. It is a card of fullness seeking release, a build up of energy that needs grounding, a thundery sky needing rain, passion, anger, pre-menstrual tension, pregnancy about to birth, ecstatic dance or trance that could become oracular, a harvest ready for picking. It is not an easy energy to utilise yet when surrendered to produces ecstatic liberation that is both tenderness and wildness, a powerful creativity that can be used to transform your life into a dance of the heart.