William Blake Tarot - Ace of Poetry
Created by Ed Buryn
Thorson Publishers, 1995
ISBN 1 85538 330 6

The Cherub on this card looks like a kamikaze muse, with her arms over her head like a diver, driving straight down toward the poet's face. Blake was ravished by his muse in a similar fashion, giving his life to serving his muse by creating an alternate mythology. He lived in poverty and was considered a crank and an eccentric by his peers. With the Sun and Pluto in the 5th house, it was his destiny to be consumed by his muse.

Female muses are fine for men, but a book I read recently said that women have male muses that the author called the "daemon". He usually takes the form of a mysterious, erotic compelling male figure. Before we own our creativity energy, we often project this onto movie or rock stars (think Elvis in his prime, or James Dean - I'm showing what generation I'm from!), or we get into relationships with men who are exciting and dangerous, but no good for us. If I could reverse the genders in Blake's card, I would show a woman joyously accepting the embrace of a mysterious, compelling figure, her inner core set afire by his radiant energy.

Sherryl