Tarot Blog Hop: Beltane, The Fire Tends to All

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I'll wash my face in the morning dew

Bathe my soul in the sun

Wash my face in the morning dew

And keep on movin' along. 

~Tom T Hall

Beltane is a fire festival...but I'm feeling a softer spirit this Beltane. Oh, I know the fire's burning in the bosom of the earth --and in us all-- but this year, I'm feeling a spirit more of refreshment than of flame. Maybe it's because my part of the earth is awash with much needed rain. I can hear the wind blowing outside the windows and see the droplets dashing against my window as I type this. The flame of Beltane is a soft glow, a steady warmth. It's speaking to me of hearth and health.

Another Rocky Horror Picture Show Reading

Here is a sample reading using the Rocky Horror Spread I created, with feedback from the recipient:

Davis Celtic Tarot 

1) Science Fiction Double Feature -- What influence from your past colours the way you see and experience everything to this day? (In the way that science fiction B movies did for the narrator of this song) -- 4 of Cups
2) Dammit Janet -- What do you feel passionate about in the here and now? --9 of Cups
3) Over at the Frankenstein Place (There's a Light) -- What has suddenly emerged that might be of help to you? (Or does it just seem helpful? Could it be harmful?) -- Page of Pentacles
4) Sweet Transvestite -- Who is the real you? -- Queen of Wands
5) I Can Make You a Man -- What is your greatest strength/skill? -- 5 of Cups 
6) Sword of Damocles -- What is your biggest fear? -- 10 of Wands
7) Rose Tint My World -- What is your greatest desire, ie, what you like to not dream, but be? -- 4 of Swords 
8) I'm Going Home -- What outcome would be the most deeply satisfying to you? -- 10 of Cups

All those cups in your reading make me believe you are led by your emotions and that relationships and feelings are very important in your life. Also, the lack of majors suggests to me that things are going pretty good for you right now, on an even keel, and you've got no big 'life changing' moments or decisions upon you any time soon.

Your past suggests to me that you don't want to feel bored or unfulfilled in life. Perhaps there were examples in your past of people who let life slip by them and you don't want that to happen to you. (4 of cups)

So this has led you to passionately pursue a feeling of deep self-satisfaction and confidence in yourself. Material success isn't the goal for you, but feeling that your life has been a happy one is what matters to you. (9 of cups)

1st GT -- Near and Far

To finish my first Grand Tableau, I had a look at where the cards were in relation to each other. To my surprise, I began to get messages from all over the board and so instead of doing a 'card analysis', the best I could do was jot notes. In the GT for the next four weeks, I saw:

• Niggling, repetitive thoughts about money
• A decision about socializing with work colleagues
• A change involving a powerful female at work; the change brings more stability but also lots of nervous chatter and anxiety.
• House guests.
• The Key is in the House of Birds. The Key seems to be an answer to a problem with a female, and its being in the House of Birds suggests chatter is key. Perhaps it means, to stay quiet.
• Husband in House of Bear, with Ring beside it. Strong commitment, support from that source.
• Bear in House of Lady. Possible confirmation of deep connection with Husband. Also suggests strength on my part. 
• Lady in House of Clover--despite all these cards showing decisions and doubts around me, I don't think they will have a strong effect on me personally, but I will remain upbeat.

And that's that, really. Now to watch over the next 4 weeks and see how these manifest.

1st GT -- The Lines

(Continued from here, my first Grand Tableau)

The Lines

Past--There are no cards to speak of to the left of the Lady card in my spread. Directly to the left is Star, and diagonally to the left is Coffin. I'm not sure how I'm meant to read these. If in pairs, I've already read Star + Lady, which is a female with psychic gifts. Coffin + Lady I'm not sure what it could mean. So I don't really have much to go on with the past in this spread. 

Present--29 Lady + 6 Clouds + 11 Whip + 19 Tower

There are no cards above the Lady card, suggesting that I have nothing 'hanging over my head'. Read from left to right, I see my present as feeling down or fuzzy-headed (Cloud) and also plagued by repetitive thoughts  about trouble (Whip) with an authority figure (Tower). I know this has to do with work. This issue does still bother me, but since all the cards are below me, I take it as a sign that in these next 4 weeks, I will be in better control of my responses to it or find a better way to deal with it. 

Future-- Lady + Rider + Sun + Letter + Mountain + Cross + Ship

This is a long line. Giving it a go, I arrived at: A positive message, possibly brought by a man, but that is delayed until quite late. Like, right before hope seems lost. I have no idea what this may refer to. 

Diagonal lines--If you look at the tableau, you can see the Lady is at the beginning of a diagonal line that goes to the right. There's nothing above her as she's on the top line. There isn't really a diagonal line to the left, either. The right line is: Lady + Snake + Scythe + Bear + Child. After some pondering of key words, I see this as: 

A female rival's position of power is put at risk by the bold actions of a younger woman, or an inferior. I so hope this comes to pass, if it's what I hope it is (relating to that authority figure referred to in the Present line). If looked at with slightly different key words, it could mean Troubles or temptations are cut through with a fresh new power. That's really vague. It would be nice if it meant I'll clean up my eating and lose some weight! 

I say again, this is my very first attempt at reading a Grand Tableau. I only just learned key words a few days ago, and just started trying my hand at combinations four days ago. I feel, though, that diving into the GT is the way to learn this system. I feel I could journal about single cards until the cows come home, but I doubt it will get me anywhere. This is the way forward!

1st GT -- Finding the Querent and Destiny Cards

More on my first Grand Tableau...

Finding the Querent

If you click on the link above, you will see the image of my Grand Tableau. The significator (Lady) is the second card on the top row. It is positioned, then, at the top of the spread, and to the far left. Cards above the querent are matters pressing down on them, and cards beneath querent are things that are more under their control. So as my card is at the top of the spread, I take this to show that over the next 4 weeks, there will be very little beyond my control pressing down upon me. Rather, I will be more in control or feel more able to deal with what's happening. I'll feel better about things, in other words.

The significator (Lady) is on the far left side of the spread as well. The left side of the spread contains information about the past, the right side is the future. Because my card is on the far left side of the spread, I take this to mean that I am looking forward and not back during the next 4 weeks. That I will be enjoying a lot of forward momentum, or at the very least that I am feeling very ready within myself for moving forward rather than hanging back.

I also note that the Lady card is the House of Clover. This suggests to me that the next 4 weeks will be happy ones during which I will enjoy good moods and positivity. The overall tone is a good one. Even if it is implied to be only temporary. (Well, you can't laugh all the time, can you?)


Destiny Cards

I'm using the technique AndybC describes exactly, in my approach to these cards. I start with the two left-hand destiny cards (Journal + Dog), then read the two above them (Mice + Clover), then go to the top of the spread and read cards in position 5 and 6 (Letter + Mountain).  Then I took the last two destiny cards (Bouquet + Child), the cards above them (Bear + Moon), and the cards in position 3 and 4 (Rider + Sun). I get:

A bookish or introverted friend who is down on his/her luck (possibly money worries) awaits an important message that doesn't come. He/she gives me a surprise invitation that leads to a work-related success. This success may come through a female senior member of staff in the form of an email or phone call. 

I arrived at this by thinking Journal + Dog = bookish friend, Mice + Clover = bad luck, Letter + Mt = a message that never arrives or is delayed.  Then Bouquet + Child = party invitation (or similar), Bear + Moon = a success at work (and Bear implies powerful female), Rider + Sun = a good message. 

So far, then, my reading has taken two tracks: my personal esoteric studies and my work life. 

 

1st GT -- The first cut, first 3 cards and the corners

The First Cut
For my first Grand Tableau this morning, I shuffled the Melissa Lenormand and cut into three. Then I checked to see what the cards were at the bottom of each pile:

13 Child + 19 Tower + 14 Fox

This is said to give a glimpse of what's at the root of the reading. This particular GT is meant to be an overview of the next four weeks. Working from left to right, Child + Tower (child + authority) makes me think of school, and Tower+Fox (alone + watching) suggests lone investigations. Child also denotes something new. So I thread them together to create: 'There is something new I'm investigating/learning on my own, with help of authorities.'  

The First Three Cards

Then I laid out the cards in the traditional 8x4+4 arrangement. The first 3 cards in row 1 are meant to be quite significant, and here they are:

16 Star + 29 Lady + 1 Rider

I am Lady, that's my significator. Reading the line from left to right, I read it as 'a woman taking inspiration or making a new start with esotericism.' 

So it appears to me that both the First Cut and First Three Cards point to the same overarching theme for me for the next four weeks:

A new start in learning something on my own, investigating authorities in the field, watching others, that involves pyschic/esoteric skills. 

The Four Corners

Checking out the Corners, I get 

16 Star + 35 Anchor + 3 Ship + 5 Tree

Again, reading from left to right, the Star modified by the Anchor shows me a firm foundation being set in a realm of the esoteric/angel realms/spirituality/psychic. Ship + Tree suggests a long journey, so:

I will  spend lots of time in the next 4 weeks building foundations in the psychic realm of my life.

I pieced these ideas together using card combos and key words and I did not intend to make them fit together in meaning. But it appears they do. It seems like the next four weeks will see me continuing to work with and develop knowledge of the basics of the Lenormand deck. It's the only new esoteric thing in my life right now. Unless something else is going to pop up that I don't know about yet! 

My first Grand Tableau

This is an image of my first Grand Tableau. I am spread out in the floor with it, with AndybC's notes at hand (I spent several hours last night carefully writing them up in my journal) and I am about to dive in to it. This could take hours. My timing for this is 4 weeks from today, 19 Apr - 16 May, roughly corresponding to the period of new Hare Moon to new Honey Moon.

Melissa Lenormand 2nd Edition 2011, my 1st GT

I will probably put the various stages of this reading in a series of posts: the First Cut, the First Three Cards, The 4 Corners, Finding the Querent Card, Destiny Cards, The Lines, and 'Near and Far'. I will probably stop there, though I might have a go at Divisions and Houses. This could take days! :)

New Lenormand 'School' Opening Soon!

AndybC has started a new site designed to teach the Lenormand system.The study group is divided into seven sections, each containing between three and four modules, complete with exercises (click the image):




Andy will be teaching traditional Lenormand card reading, and not some idiosyncratic personal system:

Take your time with the basics, please. Learn the principles of combinations. Also, remember, you are working with a 19th century EUROPEAN oracle. The symbols, and what they mean, are 1840s/50s German-French, and these need to remain: don’t be tempted to “update”. You don’t need to alter them. ~AndybC on AndybC Journal of a Cartomante

The site will open on 30th May 2012, but you can register now and be all set to go. Hope to see you there!

Lenormand Study -- Cross

Mystical Lenormand AG Muller 2005

The traditional meaning of the Cross is a burden, a necessary evil--something that is unavoidable, that you must work through, that you cannot escape. Because of this sense of inevitability, the Cross is often said to mean 'fate'. The card has strong feelings of something that can't be avoided, but that doesn't make it 'fate'. Many traditional cards go so far as to actually have the word 'Misfortune' printed as a title. I don't see it that way, either. For me, it's more of a 'bummer' card, or a 'sh*t happens' card, in the sense that it represents those unpleasant things in life that we all just have to go through. Some of those things are more intense than others, but none is  'fate'. And most certainly not  'karma'. Why?


Well, karma is the result of your actions--something you get based on what you put out. Karma is action that brings certain inevitable results upon you, either in this life or the next, and can be either good or bad. If you do something good, you get something good in return. If you do something bad, you get something bad in return. Karma, then, comes from within a person, based on his or her choices, and is thus attached to free will. Fate, on the other hand, is something that unavoidably befalls a person, something which has been inevitably predetermined, for reasons that have no connection to free will or human actions. And 'fate' has strong implications of something negative--death, destruction, ruin. But wait? What has either to do with the Cross?

Lenormand Daily Draw -- Stork--2 manifestations from the same draw????

Melissa Quick & Dirty: Stork + Cross

An unpleasant change that I can't do anything about is coming my way today? Whoopie! Wonder what that could be. It might not be 'unpleasant', but it is likely a change that I can't do anything about, out of my control. Hmm. I cannot relate to this, so let's try to add more cards.

I decided to turn this into Line of 5 with the original combo in position 3:

Dog + Gentleman + Stork/Cross + Mountain + Lily

I first thought of my husband with Dog + Gentleman. So maybe the change centers on him. Then Mountain +Lily made me think, after some pondering, of his mother. She's in a care home and she has mental health problems. Actually, he plans to go see her tonight. So, I read this as either he won't be able to get to see her tonight for some reason beyond control (Mountain is a blockage/obstacle) OR he is going to find out something new about her or her condition tonight (Mountain + Lily as her general mental condition or perhaps some new behaviour). It will be interesting to hear from him tonight.

ETA: When I got to work this morning, my male colleague (Dog + Gentleman) told me he had to miss work today because his wife, who is expecting, had to go to hospital with pains (Stork + Cross). A little later, I went upstairs and found him at a desk. 'What are you doing here still?' I asked. 'That lorry has my car blocked in, I have to wait for them to move it, ' he answered (Mountain). Now...the question is, what does Lily/Mountain+Lily represent in this scenario. I can't wait to find out what happened and compare it to these cards!

Lenormand Study -- Rider

Melissa Lenormand 2nd Ed 2011

Today I've drawn the Rider from the Melissa Lenormand. (Actually, I did a 2-card draw and pulled Dog + Rider, more on that later.) The Rider is said to represent a messenger, which makes sense. In most Lenormand decks, the rider is just a man on a horse. This picture showing the girl in the circus gear waving to the crowd doesn't really help, but as soon as you know what the picture is supposed to be, you can make allowances. I am training myself not to analyse the artwork or style of the pictures on Lenormand decks, but to go solely by memorised symbol meanings. So none of this, 'Hmm, the sunflower makes me think this, and the Pegasus makes me think that' sort of talk. This card is just 'Rider', same as any other Lenormand. At least for now! 
Some associations with Rider: news, message, an expected message, could come by post, writing, phone call, etc. Could indicate a connection with foreign countries. Could indicate a young man, a means of transportation (horse, car, motorcycle, bicycle, you name it). Could indicate the need for quick action, something being in motion. Can mean sports, agility. Even business enterprises. Well, that's a lot!
But this morning, I drew Dog + Rider. I'd barely written it in my journal when my husband turned to me from the PC and said, 'You have a message from your son asking for money.' My son lives in a foreign country. I send him money every month on the 15th. So yes, my husband (Dog) delivered a message, from a foreign country, from a young man,that was not unexpected, which needed a quick response (Rider). (I have to add that he told me he intends to use the money toward his truck--so also some transportation in there). How do you like that! Now, how I could have gleaned so much from those two cards in advance, I don't think I could. But still, it's kinda cool.

Crossover effect -- a good thing, I'm thinking

I did a 3-card draw with my Celtic Tarot this morning for the day, and I found myself doing something I seldom do with tarot: I looked at the first and second cards to see how they together make a new meaning. I almost always use positional spreads, and read cards as chunk-chunk-chunk of information and weave them into a story. But after only a week of pondering Lenormand cards, my first impulse was to look at the Star and 6 of Coins and wonder how they affect each other to create something that they couldn't mean apart from each other. I have to admit, I have never really done that.

Interestingly, my daily draw with Lenormand had the Stars card, and then my daily draw with tarot also had the Star card. I can't help but think it's a kind of little joke--because we're going to see a movie today about aliens. Ha ha!

I know it's not a good thing to try to read the Lenormand like tarot and vice versa, but surely card linking in tarot goes right back to Eteilla and is a true cartomantic skill. So this is all very exciting for me in my development as a reader.

I'm on my way now!

Okay, I've made a start. I've read several sources that suggest when learning you should choose one system of reading Lenormand cards and stick to it. And several sources that say the best way to learn is NOT to read a book (not that there are many available anyway) but to journal daily readings. So, you see before you my complete Lenormand learning kit (well, minus the Internet of course! I need that to get to Melissa's website, lenormand.info). The Melissa Lenormand, a journal and a pen.

I chose the blank book with the picture of Paris on front in honour of Mme Lenormand--even though I'm learning that the Lenormand deck as we know it today is likely not much like the deck she herself used. She might not even recognise it. Ha, she might even be bemused by it, who knows.  Still this is the deck we all have and love now, and the journal was cheap at the Works and I thought, 'Ooh! It's Paris! Mme Lenormand lived there (I think). And it has a postmark! Surely a sign that I will be able to buy the Postmark Lenormand when it comes out in its next edition!' And so I bought it. (Plus another one featuring Amsterdam. And another of Venice. Good to be prepared, you know).

Lenormand study -- KEY

Mystical Lenormand AGM 2005

I'm using an image of Mystical Lenormand today, and I can already see why so many Lenormand readers prefer simple card faces that show only a plain image, with perhaps the playing card as well. It really does confuse the matter, for me, as a Lenormand beginner, to have a lot of images on the card. The temptation to do a tarot-style springboard from those images is nearly too great to resist. BUT--all sources seem to point to the same advice: you must learn the card meanings by rote, and learn to read them according to tradition. It's that simple.  It makes sense. You have to learn to play your scales before you can indulge in jazz improvisation. You have to learn to draw before you can become the father of Cubism. So, here I am with today's doh-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-doh. 


Key (33), despite the fact that today's card shows a sleeping dragon and an egg with a key in it, is really just a key--a big, ornate key. What does a key mean to me? My first thought is, freedom. Release. A key is what you need to open a door. It is the answer to the problem. 

Lenormand Study -- WHIP

Melissa Lenormand, 2nd ed 2011

The first thing to spring to mind this morning is the song 'Whip It' by Devo. ha ha. Anyone remember that? 'When a problem comes along, you must whip it. When something's going wrong, you must whip it...Now whip it! Into shape! Shape it up! Get straight! Go forward! Move ahead! It's not too late... to whip it. Whip it good!' I don't think this song is entirely unrelated to this card, funnily enough. Though the song implies strong proactive responses to problems, while the card is mostly just the problems. 


A scourge or whip and sometimes a broom as well is what you usually get on card number 11 in the Lenormand oracle, and it is sometimes also called 'Birch rod'. A quick brainstorm of associations with this object yields: oppression, abuse, pain and suffering, strife, conflict, punishment, corporal punishment, whipping of course. These are on the right track. But from what I've seen in various sources, rather than focus entirely on physical punishment, the Whip also has a lot to do with verbal arguments: debate, discussions that degenerate, strong words that hurt, fights, power demonstrated through words. Now how to link words with a whip in the mind? 

Lenormand Study -- DOG

Melissa Lenormand 2nd Edition 2011

Lately I've been looking at my Mystical Lenormand quite a bit, and the other day, my 2nd edition Melissa Lenormand arrived, and so I would like to embark on a study of these cards. I am a complete newbie to the Lenormand cards and system, and so this will be a useful exercise for me. I encourage comments that will help me along my path to learning this system of divination.


In my reading about the Lenormand system, I've concluded that the best way to go about reading the cards is to develop my own set of associations (based on tradition as well), and to leave out analysis of individual artists' interpretation of the card. For my Lenormand style, I intend not to worry so much what direction a figure is facing, or what colours are used, etc. I want to do a pure Lenormand reading style from the beginning, then let it flow from there as I grow. I really hope that I take off with this system, as I haven't been this excited about any divination tool since I discovered tarot.

Let's see if I can get this straight

I've been trying to get some things straight in my head for the last few days because I think it's 

important. Why do we read cards a certain way and who were the first people to do things the way we do? Why did they make those choices? Who says we have to keep doing it that way? Stuff like that. 

I'm no tarot historian and most likely never will be. My eyes glaze over when I try to read theories about the Astro-Alpha-Numeric correspondences of pre-de Gebelin cartomancy...and stuff like that. But several comments read in rapid succession at Aeclectic Tarot which made a strong implication that the Thoth Tarot was somehow superior to the Rider Waite Smith deck made me start to squint and wonder. And it's so rare lately that my cerebral gears try to kick into motion, I had to follow up on it. 

Okay, I know both Uncle Al and dear old Arthur were Golden Dawn. The thinking is, if I've got it right, that Waite illustrated Golden Dawn meanings, but did so in an obscure way because of his vows of secrecy, whereas Crowley put it all out there on the deck, trusting that we were all big boys and girls enough to learn the system and could handle it. Right, okay, I'm fine with that. But where, I suddenly began to wonder, did these Golden Dawn meanings come from? It sounded to me like they'd 'always' been the tarot meanings, and that only a few people knew them, that the meanings were closely guarded esoteric secrets that had only been released to us, the great unwashed, sometime near the turn of the 19th century. Could that be right? I had a few questions that needed answering. 

What's coming for me in the next quarter?

It seems like a good time of year to do a reading taking stock of things. So I drew cards for a Celtic Cross this morning, just asking in general what the state of things are in my life and what general trends I can expect in the next three months or so, from Ostara onwards. (I like to celebrate Ostara at the nearest full moon after the Vernal Equinox.) 

Celtic Tarot Davis, Aquarian 1990

Overall, the spread contains a lot of majors, which surprises me as I thought the next few months would be a quieter time in 'grand scheme' of my life, given all I've been through in the last year with my job being in jeopardy. But we have here four major cards! And four court cards suggest both some important interactions with other people and also some character development within myself. 

The draw shows my recent past very clearly indeed. The thing that has been foremost in my mind has been my source of income (Ace of Coins), and after a long, drawn-out process, I have finally received the news that I will be keeping my job (Judgement). Yes, I have been deemed suitable by the powers that be, to continue doing the job I've done for the last seven years. 

It's true as well, that my highest aspiration in recent times (and still today) is to strike a balance in all areas of my life, to find some Temperance in my habits and my thoughts and my approach to my life. I have the tools to achieve this available to me in the Knight of Coins aspect of my character, as I do like to take things slowly, think things over, make informed decisions, develop some good reasons for following through on something. So while it may take me longer to accomplish a goal, it generally stays accomplished. That's true. 

Ostara Blessings to Everyone!

Druid Animal Oracle Worthington /Carr-Gomm 1995

HAPPY OSTARA  AND A BLESSED FULL MOON

The Hare from the Druid Animal Oracle (Will Worthington & Phillip Carr-Gomm, Touchstone 1995) is the card for today, in honour of the Easter holidays. 

'As representative of the Corn Spirit and the two equinoxes, the hare brings the excitement of rebirth, fertile abundance and willing release as each creative cycle comes to an end,' Carr-Gomm writes, in the guidebook to the deck. 'With the hare as your ally, you will be able to draw on your intuition to guide you through life.'

April Giveaway: Free Tarot Card Reading

FREE READING OFFER!

Open to all followers of this blog who leave comments during the month of April. 

The winner's reading will be featured on this blog in May. 

Though commenting on my blog automatically includes you in the draw, the prize is optional. If the winner doesn't want the reading, I will draw another name. 

I'm looking forward to my very first giveaway and to seeing you all here during the month of April. Thanks for visiting me at Rowan Tarot!

An Oracle for a Change: Mystical Lenormand

In the last few years, I've put on ten pounds of the 70-odd I lost in 2004. It's finally hit home to me hard this year, because I finally have moved up a size in clothing. This makes me unhappy! I've not been very successful so far this year in changing my habits, and I was having a look at the Mystical Lenormand (AG Muller, 2005) and decided to do a quick draw about it. 


I'm new to Lenormand cards, so had a look through the LWB and found 'The Runway Layout', in which you are to select your significator (The Lady if you're female, The Man if you're male) and a card that represents your goal and place it away from the significator, then shuffle and draw some cards to place between to show what will get you from A to B. The instructions suggest to start by drawing three cards, up to seven, but no more than seven. 


So my question was: 'What should I do in order to achieve my goals of losing this weight and achieving vibrant health?' I selected The Sun as my goal, as it represents success, energy, will-power and optimism. 

Lady, Ship, Tower, Tree and Sun from Mystical Lenormand,  Urban Trosch, AG 2005

Universal Waite: 3 of Swords

Universal Waite, US Games 1990

What is the deal with the 3 of Swords? It's a curious card, no matter how you look at it, and not what you'd expect in the swords suit. Nearly every RWS deck uses the image of a valentine heart pierced by three swords, with some sort of rain or dripping around it. And of course it's traditionally seen as indicating heartbreak. Well, that doesn't seem quite right to me, somehow. I associate that sort of abject 'heartbreak' with the cups suit, the suit of emotion; I think a card meaning heartbreak would fit in better there, though none spring to mind at the moment. The swords I associate with thinking. So while these swords pierce the heart in the image, it is a false piercing of the heart. It's a false heart (being a valentine, after all). And it's even a false piercing, there being no blood in evidence. So this card doesn't read to me to be 'heartbreak' so much as 'making yourself miserable by what you're thinking about a situation.' You THINK you're heartbroken. But your heart is neither broken nor pierced, in reality. It's something you are doing to yourself. Or prolonging, or intensifying, in yourself. You keep stabbing YOURSELF in the heart.  You can stop. And just like the pain wouldn't go away instantly if you stopped poking yourself in the finger with a pin, the pain in your 'heart' won't stop instantly when you realise you're doing it to yourself. But it will stop, eventually. You have to stop stabbing yourself first, though. And stop believing that you're the victim of someone or something else. You're in control of how long you let this 'stabbing' continue.

Today's draw: The Empress

Today's card is The Empress from the Universal Waite tarot deck. I'm generally a bit perplexed by  majors in a daily draw, because they just seem too big and far-reaching for the events of a single day. (To be fair, I'm also generally perplexed by the 'daily draw' itself, and seldom try to read for myself using this technique.) It doesn't help that I rarely feel much like the Empress in myself, personally. With all her juicy pomegranates and waving matured grain, she represents aspects of the feminine that I don't readily identify with. I'm certainly no earth mother, definitely not interested in getting pregnant! On the other hand, I am interested today in avoiding the sort of squabbles that went on yesterday, so there is the sense of seeking harmony. And my hope is to get a lot of tasks done today...although I would have expected something like 8 of Coins for general productivity, whereas the Empress suggests producing something of an altogether more creative nature, and that seems unlikely to happen today!

Universal Waite: I shall not be moved

Yesterday I decided to get out my Universal Waite and as usual, I was surprised and delighted at how very good the deck is. Whenever I look at it, I realise that a good copy of the RWS is all you really need. Or at least all I really need. If I were down to just one deck, it would have to be Universal Waite.


Today I'm back to work after a week off, and also starting my a new timetable. It seems like a back-to-basics kind of day, so I'm using Universal Waite. Today's draw: 5 of Wands reversed. Now I don't usually shuffle for reversals, but last night, I accidentally knocked the deck off the arm of the sofa, and when I picked the cards up, I was aware that they weren't all upright, but didn't fix it. So today, I've drawn a reversed card. (I haven't posted it reversed as I can't bear to look at an image upside down! If I ever were to read reversals, I'd turn the card upright and mark it with a little stone or something).