Silicon Faeries 4

Silicon Dawn 2011, Faeries' Oracle 2000

Today we've got 7 of Swords from Silicon Dawn and Epona's Wild Daughter from Brian Froud's Faeries' Oracle.



Epona is a goddess of horses, donkeys and mules, and sometimes goddess of the moon, so I suppose that explains why the faery in this card, named Dorcha, has horse-like legs and hooves. Dorcha, a name which Brian Froud seems to have created, kneels upon an owl and has her elbows pressing down on the shoulders and back of a crouching naked female figure. The figure is the sleeper or dreamer, and Dorcha's job is to bring nightmares, or bring up the dark thoughts from our inner workings, presumably to allow us to deal with them. She faces to the left, which is traditionally associated with the past, suggesting that  her work is to bring up stuff from our past that needs to be dealt with and worked through. Not a fun job either for Dorcha or for the person she's pressing down on. But it is very important work. Not all faeries are up to it. Only a few of the faeries in the Faeries' Oracle are wearing the crown of stars you see on Dorcha's head -- these are faeries who are particularly powerful and have the skills to do very important and difficult work. Dorcha's face is benevolent and mild. She does not do this work to torment, but to heal. And sometimes healing hurts. The pose reminds me of a nurse bearing down hard on a wound to staunch the flow of blood and save a life. Or a massage therapist carefully kneading out the kinks in someone's muscles, knowing it hurts but also that there will be a great benefit from it.

Now coupled with Dorcha we see 7 of Swords from Silicon Dawn. In this card, we see a figure being beaten down by three other figures with swords. These three instantly made me think of the Furies, the three netherworld goddesses whose concern it was to avenge crimes against the natural order. (Tisiphone, the avenger of murder, Magaera the avenger of jealousy, and Alecto the avenger of constant anger). The Furies here are beating down the girl in the card...and because this is the Sword suit, the suit of thoughts, I believe these Furies represent the girl's own thoughts at work against herself; combined with Epona's daughter, there is the notion that she is punishing herself for her past.

Just as Orestes was brought to trial before Athena by the Furies, we bring ourselves to trial for our own pasts. But Athena, goddess of wisdom, has mercy on Orestes, and persuades the Furies to become the Eumenides, the 'gracious ones', toward him. (These events are from the third play by Aeschylus in 'The Oresteia,' called 'Eumenides'). So, just as Orestes saw the Furies tamed to mercy, so we can tame our own inner thoughts, but we have to face them and work through them, and that's Epona's job.

It's a pretty big message for a Thursday. And I'm not even going to work today; it's my day off.  However, a friend is coming round for coffee. It makes me wonder where our conversation might lead!

(ETA: I've just had a look at the Silicon Dawn companion book. Guess what--the three figures in the 7 of Swords are referred to as the Furies. Ha, no wonder they reminded me of the Furies, they ARE the Furies.)