Figured in this mandala is the hermaphrodite who represents the alchemist. The alchemist resolves all duality within himself/herself: he conjoins both male and female -- active and passive elements; s/he wears a golden crown which represents rulership over the solar elements (sources of life); s/he stands in balance on the crescent moon which represents mastery of the lunar elements (decomposition of life). " A woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown with twelve stars." Rev.xii,1. Notice too , that the figure is winged - a symbol of aspiration which arises in the mind for, "when perfect and fully winged, the soul soars upward, and is the ruler of the universe;...." Plato, Phoedus.

Candlemas (February 2)

Shrove Tuesday (Pre-Lenten)

St. Valentine's Day (February 14)

The Tarot: Images of Christian Being

The Origins of the Christmas Tree