This is the Grandmother. The Mother of All, the Mother of Mothers. Her power goes beyond physical mothering (but may include that as well). She holds the world in her hands. She holds each of us, all of us, in her hands. We can sink into her lap, into her bosom, and she will hold us as long as we need her to. And she will let us go and stand us on our feet when we need her to. She is giving and she is joy. How she loves to create and how she loves her creations! Love and joy and creation and peace are all one in her.

The image is of a comfortable large woman (she doesn't completely fit in the picture). She cups her hands in her lap and the glow of life surrounds them as she gazes down lovingly. She is brown-skinned to signify the earth, life on earth and life made flesh. The green glow around her hands and in the background is the life force itself, that is greater than just this earth, that pulses like a heartbeat through all creation. Her dress is blue. This is for peace, and for the great womb of the sea, and for the vastness of the heavens.

This card is dedicated to my own grandmothers, who taught me alot about love. When I was born, my mother already had a 2 year old and a 1 year old, both in diapers. My parents were also very reserved (I never saw my parents kiss and only saw them hug once that I can remember) and seemed to me to be mostly concerned that I do well in school. My grandmothers asked me about my feelings, about what I loved. They taught me how to cook and sew and play. One great-grandmother painted, another told stories. With them I didn't have to do, I only had to be. With them, love didn't come with a price tag.

Some notes on the number three: Three is the first transcendent number, the first number that implies a whole lot more than just itself.

From The Tao of Chaos by Katya Walter: ...tertium non datur-- the third position cannot occur on the same level as the polarizing data initiating it. Instead it must rise or sublime to a higher, more complex level of organization... yet it's also restless. It continually seeks completion through further evolution.

From the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tse: The Tao begot One. One begot two. Two begot three. And three begot the ten thousand things.

Like Mia and Valerie, I wanted more from my mother than I received. I feel that through loving my daughter, I was able to reach back to the lonely little girl I was and give her love and help her heal. And I'll tell you one of the proudest moments of my life: My daughter was ten and we were talking about the character in a story we were reading. I said "There's a lot of people who feel they weren't loved enough when they were little." And she said, "Really???"

Anyway, the Grandmother is here to tell you: it's never too late to know love.

Ellen's Tarot of the Crone

http://www.northcoast.com/~ellen/

Ellen
ellen@northcoast.com