Mabons past

I started this blog seven years ago, and have been pretty faithful to it, with some fallow periods (such as the current one). I did a quick search for previous Autumn Equinox posts and found these:


2012 - for the Tarot Blog Hop (I wonder if that's still running) - Choosing a card to represent 'the hidden god' (I don't own any of those decks anymore - but you may notice I mention disliking the word 'resonate' in this entry, too!)

2012 - my first reading with the Wicca Moon Tarot (which I still have)

2013 - a Lenormand square of 9 (with a deck I no longer have)

2014 - look at Sally Morningstar's Wicca Deck (which I still have)

2014 - from the old 'Share a Spread Sunday' series I did for a time (back when I used to do 'spreads')

For study - The Three Steps playing card spread

'The Three Steps' Dawn R Jackson - White Knuckle playing cards

In this blog entry, I'm just working my way through Dawn R Jackson's example of her playing card layout, The Three Steps. This spread is laid out 1-11 on the bottom row, 12-18 on second row, 19-22 on the third row, and 23 on top. It is read in trios, by counting off in sevens, with the seventh card in sequence serving as the middle card of the trio.

Okay, so counting forward from the first card, the first trio is Jack of Hearts - 3 of Spades - 3 of Diamonds. They follow thus:

First Ascent
Jack of Hearts - 3 of Spades - 3 of Diamonds (6 7 8)
Queen of Spades - 6 of Hearts - 4 of Spades (13 14 15)
10 of Diamonds - 4 of Clubs - 2 of Hearts (20 21 22)

Second Ascent
5 of Clubs - 2 of Diamonds - Jack of Hearts (4 5 6)
8 of Hearts - 7 of Spades - 6 of Spades (10 11 12)
10 of Spades - Jack of Spades - Ace of Hearts (17 18 19)

Third Ascent
10 of Hearts - Jack of Diamonds - Queen of Diamonds (1 2 3)
3 of Diamonds - King of Hearts - 8 of Hearts (7 8 9)
4 of Spades - Ace of Diamonds - 10 of Spades (15 16 17)

'The Surprise' 
2 of Hearts - 9 of Hearts - 10 of Hearts (22 23 1)

When reading the trio, you can seek clarification on it by viewing the card above the middle of the trio.

Dawn R Jackson's interpretation:

There doesn't appear to be a question in this reading (something I personally never do - no reading without a question is my policy.) The first trio is Dawn trying to figure out the subject of the reading. She says the seeker is interested in dating someone and getting closer to that person but has not been very successful (6 of Hearts above informed of the love interest). Apparently a date has been broken.

Queen of Spades is interpreted as the love interest - she's got a lot of problems and while she may not be uninterested in the seeker, she's just tired and consumed by the crap going on in her life at the moment.

The third trio is seen as advice - don't give up, the desired deepening emotional bond might be achieved with persistence. 4 of Clubs being a place, combined with 2 of Hearts, a museum or theatre is indicated. Combined with 10 of Diamonds (a lot of money), Dawn decides it's a theatre, and suggests inviting the love interest to a show which is part of package deal included transportation to an out-of-town theatre. (Two 10s in close proximity indicating a journey). An alternate or additional reading of this trio is that the financial deal the seeker is working on is stable and will work out harmoniously.

The second ascent, first trio, sees the seeker heeding the advice to keep plodding away, and he will keep asking her out, and keep getting turned down, though with the occasional acceptance.

8 Hearts - 7 Spades - 6 Spades is interpreted to mean that the seeker's thoughts of love get more and more negative. He is ready to walk away. She's giving too many mixed signals. The mystery behind this is solved, says Jackson, by the Jack of Spades above 7 of Spades.

The primary concern of Queen of Spades is her home and child. She is worried about him because he is feeling depressed and lonely. She believes that he is hiding something (7 of Spades below) and it may be failing grades or other bad thing (10 of Spades). A new relationship (2 of Hearts above Jack of Spades) is not the best idea right now, she thinks. However, this trio is red, showing a light at the end of the tunnel for the seeker. Things will get better.

As the Jack of Spades' outlook begins to improve (a red card above him), the Seeker's emotional situation will grow more fair. The Queen of Spades has become the Queen of Diamonds, and Jack of Spades improves to Jack of Diamonds, showing more sociable and better outlooks. The bodes well for the seeker's happiness (10 of Hearts). An alternate or additional reading of this trio is that the seeker will be invited to the wedding of a younger couple.

With his relationship in hand, the seeker is next confronted with lack of stability in a new financial venture which will become of great concern. There will be a lot of delay and worry and possibly a lawsuit. Travel plans (two 10s) should be carefully made. A secondary reading is mentioned from Ace Diamonds -10 Spades  -- a destructive fire! It's not a house fire (Ace of Hearts is not over the Ace of Diamonds), but still. That's a heck of a thing to report!

The 'surprise' is a fair one - his wish is granted and he enters a harmonious relationship and is married.

----------------------

This was a lot to take in, which is why I decided to talk my way through Dawn's interpretations first. It's an interesting story she weaves. 

The devil his due

Fournier Tarot de Marseille

Funny I should draw this card this morning, as I was just reading about it in Tarot Triumphs by Cherry Gilchrist before I logged on.

You may notice the TdM Diable is not particularly 'Satanic', as you'd see in some later decks, such as Morgan Greer or even Rider Waite Smith. Neither is he the 'misrepresented Pan' figure of natural carnality seen in decks such as Druidcraft or Tarot of the Hidden Realm. Here, Diable is a 'squat, hairy creature' based on 'a stock type devil originating with the Persians or Egyptians and reach us via Byzantine art', according to Gilchrist.  She says the traditional TdM Devil is a 'stupid, comic type devil,' because mocking him reduces his power, and this technique was widely used by medieval monks in their illuminations.

Gilchrist gives what I consider a contemporary interpretation of the Devil. In some instances, we spend so much time giving the devil his due, we forget he's actually not a very nice guy at all. Gilchrist does not fall into this trap. 'People or situations that are diminishing our capacity to act, think, or feel...to have a chance of becoming free, we must first recognise that we are enslaved...a situation of very limited choice.'  She says nothing about carnal appetites being neither good nor evil and how misunderstood the Horned One has been. Thankfully.

I wonder what the Devil card signified to 15th century folk who saw it either in a tarocchi game or in divination. I wonder what it meant to readers down the centuries, before Golden Dawn and other 'esoteric' schools latched on to Tarot.

But these are just idle thoughts, because our minds are not the minds of 15th century folk, and it would be silly to think that Tarot interpretations that meant something to them would mean anything to us. Our life experience and the way we find meaning in it are really entirely different. (Notice I didn't use the word 'resonate'. Shudder.)

So I guess today I need to be aware that there may be unpleasant choices to be made, and there will invariably come a time to pay the piper.

Times they are a-changing

I've got my collection down to 30 tarot decks and 29 oracles. This is down from a peak collection of around 200 decks total. There are still several decks I could get rid of that I never use.

Most of the money raised from the deck collection have gone into the board game collection, which has gone from 0 in February to 37 (45 if you include expansions to base games). We're very much enjoying our new hobby. It's nice to have something we can do together.

Decorating update

The dining room is nearly done. Here you see the new colours of yellow and orange, and I've added a new second-hand dining set and some white Ikea shelving units. 

Those doors that I was going to paint green you'll see are now both gone, and I've hung a groovy bamboo curtain over the cupboard door so I could place a shelf unit in that corner. 

I bought some little feet to go on the shelves to give them more of a finished look, and also so they can be adjusted to make up for wonky flooring (80 year old house). 

You'll also note the 1930s mirror and the Staffordshire dogs I got for my birthday! 

There's a bit more decorating to do in there, but that's pretty much it. :) 

COTD - Four of Wands

Golden Tarot, Kat Black 

Domestic bliss today. I can see that. I know I have to go to work to earn my living, but I do so love being at home, and I love it even more now that I finally have my own house. I see this as the opening to my weekend, and also a review of the last week. I'm going to be home all weekend, enjoying the newly decorated dining room and just being comfortable and happy here.

Also, we have started going to a board game group on Wednesday nights at a local pub and it turns out two of the members of the group live on the very same street as me! So perhaps this points to fun and games as well.

I'm also looking at the fruit draped across the top of the card, which of course symbolises bounty, but I'm taking literally. I see fruit and water in this image. Last week when it was so very hot, we didn't feel like eating much and we ate salads and fruits and drank lots of water, but this week, I've had a rebound effect with the chocolate, and it's not a good thing. So I'm reminded to eat better today and over the weekend as well.

Have a great Friday!

COTD - Queen of Wands

My first card of the day in ages and I pull the Queen of Wands from Golden Tarot by Kat Black. It has been a bit fiery around here lately, not because of anything volatile but because I've had the dining room painted yellow and orange! It isn't quite finished yet, but it's pale yellow walls, white gloss trim and the chimney breast is a deep orange called 'spicy sandalwood 3'. There are two doors in the room that I'm staining with a translucent stain to a Wedgwood jasper ware green, or a kind of sage green.  I bought a 1930s mirror, one of those kind that have scalloped edges and hang from a chain, and that's going over the mantel. And over the weekend, we found a Nathan teak dining set at a secondhand furniture shop and it's being delivered this morning. I may post a photo when it's all in place. :) 

Other ways I can be the Queen of Wands today is to get through my to-do list with gusto (which might not be easy as I seem to have left my diaries at my other work base, but one must soldier on!) 

Tarot Games -- Shahrazad and Stones of Fate

So far I've bought two games that involve Tarot in some way, so I thought I'd do a little review of them. :)

Shahrazad, Osprey Games 2017

The first is Shahrazad, published by Osprey Games. This game is based on the Tarot majors, with each card assigned a thematically linked world fairy tale. In the game, you are Shahrazad, stringing together the fairy tales in order to survive another day. It was originally published as Tarot Storia in Japan, printed on cardstock. Shahrazad is the US/UK version, leaving out any mention of Tarot on the box and instead focusing on the fairy tales. In the new version, the cards have become tiles.

Cards or tiles, neither the fairy tales nor the Tarot carry a whole lot of weight, as the object of the game is to arrange the cards in columns in numerical order. You do this by drawing cards one at a time and placing them in offset columns of four cards each.  When you've finished laying all the cards, you then score based on how many contiguous cards of the same colour you have, after eliminating any cards that cannot be connected first to last column and that appear out of numerical order. This does not sound particularly challenging, but it is! This game is recommended for solo play, and it is a quiet, meditative game, particularly if you let your mind wander over the fairy tales and how those fit in with the Tarot card meaning whilst you are placing the cards. Two players can also play, taking turns and working collaboratively.

I bought this game at the UK Games Expo in Birmingham and paid £13, only to come home and find it on Amazon for £5.99. The dirty robbin' bastards. :)

Stones of Fate, Cosmic Wombat 2014

The second game I can share with you is Stones of Fate published by Cosmic Wombat Games, which was apparently formed in order to publish this particular game.  I don't think they've done anything else.

Stones of Fate contains the 78-card Tarot deck, art work by Ciro Marchetti. Tarot plays a stronger role in this game, with each card even getting a few lines of text explaining the card meaning. However, game play does not really involve Tarot meanings. It turns out this is a memory game!

Each player is given a set of 4 coloured tokens and the object of the game is to collect cards by placing the stones in the proper places above, below and/or left and right of the face down cards. Here's how it works:

Cards are laid out face down in 3 or 4 columns of 3 rows. (To its credit, the rules book calls this a 'spread'.) The cards are turned over so that players can examine the card placement in the spread. On each card, there are markings at top, bottom and sides indicating how many stones must be placed there in order to claim the card. Then all the cards are turned face down again. On your turn, you can either peek at a card, place a stone, or try to claim a card by turning it over. When you turn it over, if you have the proper number of stones on each side, you can claim it. If you don't, it goes into the discard pile and is replaced. This carries on for 78 cards. You keep all the cards you've claimed and at the end of the game, points are added up to see who wins. Some cards have special powers based on their Tarot meaning, such as Queen of Coins, 'This card represents the 'motherly' aspect, the desire to care for and nurture your family. Choose a card from your collection and give it to another player.' Or The Fool, 'The Fool represents a new journey into the complete unknown. Each player must remove all of their fate stones from the spread.' Or The Tower, 'The Tower represents a time of great turmoil and insecurity, shaking foundations built on naivety. Each player must discard at random one card from their collection.' Which is all well and good, but it's the memory aspect that is the big challenge here for me. I found myself getting so confused and grumpy that we decided we should play it with a timer set and then count up points after 15, 20, 30 minutes. When we played it recently, I found myself getting very upset with myself for not being able to remember where to place the stones! Funnily enough, improving my memory is one of the main reasons we started gaming. But memory games! Oy!

I think either of these games would make a nice addition for a Tarot group that might want to try something a bit different.

Hey, I'm still here! (waves)

I haven't been blogging about tarot, but I'm still doing readings if you want one, and I've been keeping myself busy with the new house.

This week the decorator is in doing some painting in the dining room. Yesterday, he removed some paper, today he's sanding the walls, who knows when the painting will start.

Last week, a work colleague gave me three tomato vines, and yesterday I decided at sweltering 4 pm that would be a good time to repot them, and of course I caught the sun on my face and neck. The courgette plant is taking over the neighbourhood; I decided yesterday to clip off some leaves that looked worse for the wear and I'm hoping it doesn't see that as a good reason to die.

All those pretty winter flowers went the way of all flesh, and now I'll need to get new bedding plants to replace them, but yesterday the hubster and I went clothes shopping (we both looked like Victorian orphans, it was really time to buy something) so it will have to wait until cash reserves are replenished.

Speaking of which, last week we had to buy a new clutch for Old Faithful, and this week we've got the decorator, so even though we have this week off, we haven't been able to travel to Wales as we'd planned. Too broke. However, my recent tarot/oracle sales have generated Paypal money for the buying of board games, so we have been playing those every evening and enjoying them very much. Hope everyone who bought decks from me is loving their new decks.

Here's how the garden looked at 7.00 this morning. (Hubster calls this corner 'Carla's farm'.)

The newly potted tomato plants. Blue pot: french beans, green pot chili pepper (Apache).

Left planter: cayenne pepper and more dwarf french beans. Right: herbs

Left: the triffid yellow courgette

Carla's farm (that's the neighbour's fence, nothing we can do. Spot of soil is where at 9 pm last night I decided to repot the french beans and apache pepper to make space in the planter) 

Big Oracle Sale

Click here to see price list (TABI forum)

Images from my garden

What have I been up to lately? Learning to bake sourdough bread, discovering the joys of board games and making a start on doing up the garden. 

Here's what I've managed so far, using a lot of stuff I found out there (salvaged brick, an old stump, some flower pots I brought from the flat). 

It takes a lot to fill a garden, but only a little to start to make it feel welcoming. This is just the beginning -- the shed arrives next week -- and I'm going to paint it like a beach hut!

View from back door

View from the back step :) 

Old flower pots, old bricks and pansies 

Classy owl wall art

Brand new grow tables (ignore the junk, that's going)

a £2 watering can

Faery altar from found stump and stones (that's our leftover Yule tree)

April card and mantra

Star Tarot by Cathy McClelland

The major card for April 2017 is Temperance, and the mantra for Temperance (according to my own system) is Ra Ma Da Sa Sa Say So Hung. This mantra was taught by Yogi Bhajan in the summer of 1973, and is chanted by kundalini yoga practitioners, and others. It is considered a sacred healing meditation for the self and others.

Ra - Sun
Ma - Moon
Da - Earth
Sa - Impersonal infinity
Sa say - Totality of infinity
So - Personal sense of merger and identity
Hung - The infinite, vibrating and real

It is often translated: 'Sun, Moon, Earth, Infinity, Totality of Infinity, I am thou (or I am that)'.




The above is a lovely rendition with photographs to help get you in the mood to contemplate the meaning. It's not my favourite version for chanting though. My favourite is by Mantra Girl (Erin Kamler) from her album, 'Truth'. However, it's not on You Tube.

Blessed be.

March month card and mantra

Star Tarot, C McClelland 

March's tarot card is Death:

3 + 2 + 0 + 1 + 7 = 13

You can see in the image by Cathy McClelland that death represents an ending and a beginning. There are many symbols. We have Nuit arching over the sky, the traditional faceless Grim Reaper, but he holds a glowing stone rather than a scythe. The Phoenix flies upward, and a butterfly hovers above. Ends and beginnings.

The mantra for this month that I will chant daily is:

Gobinde
mukande
udare
apare

Hariang
kariang
nirname
akame

(Sustainer
liberator
enlightener
infinite

Destroyer
creator
nameless
desireless)


My favourite version of this chant is from Mantra Girl:

Blessings for the month of March. x

February Month Card and Mantra

Star Tarot, Cathy McClelland

February is the second month, so to find the 'month card', I have added 2+2017=2+0+1+9=12. The Hanged Man. Or the Hanged One, as Cathy McClelland calls it in the Star Tarot. Please follow the link in the image caption to read Cathy's words about this card.

The Hanged Man, then, is the card for February. As Cathy says, the image represents a sort of surrender to the universe. With all that's going on in the world, surrendering up our fears and worries seems the best possible choice, and it is the advice of the card.

The mantra that I have selected to represent the Hanged Man is Shante prashante:

Shante prashante sarva bhaya upasha mani swaha

Invoking peace, perfect peace, I offer up the energy of fear to the universal formless mind

Bhaya is the word for fear. If you would prefer to release some other energy, you can substitute a different word: 

Khroda - anger

Shoka - grief

Here's a pleasant enough example of one way to chant the mantra. Chant it however it suits you.

I am chanting this for 5 minutes a day every day in the month of February.

Blessed be!

Blessed Imbolc

Source unknown

Blessed Candlemas, blessed Imbolc. Blessed be Brigid, the Bride. May her energy flow through us today with its renewal and inspiration.

Blessed be.

Goddess Oracle 

Goddess Power Pack 

Madame Endora's Fortune Cards - first daily draw

I was sent this deck for Christmas, but it didn't get here until my birthday, so I'm considering it a birthday gift. :D

For my first draw, I'm doing the 'Oracle of the Dawning Day' draw described in the LWB. You're meant to ask, 'What will the day bring?' and shuffle three times, then cut three times and take the card from the top, which is:

I have a sneaking suspicion this might mean 'she who must not be named' will send me to another work base which will require a train journey and long walk, at short notice (meaning none).  I hope not! I will report what this card actually pointed to at the end of the day.

In the meantime, the LWB explains, 'A change is forthcoming. Your circumstance or destiny has been altered. You must decide whether to change your current direction or stay your course. New prospects and potential new problems are on the horizon. Be prepared to adapt.' Which seems to me to be several different ways of saying the same thing: The winds of change are blowing particularly strong today. Don't carry an umbrella.

ETA: Okay, I wasn't sent to a different workbase, but I did find out I have to work on Saturday. I think that this is more about everything I found out about my retirement, and also some stuff I read about interest-paying current accounts and high interest saving accounts. The winds of change may be blowing ISAs into my past!

2017 Cards for the Year and the Months

I was just thinking, if we have tarot year cards for the year in general (not personal birthday cards), why not take a look at the cards for each month as well. This is the card for the world, all of us, the collective, humanity in general, or however you want to look at it. The card for 2017 is 2+0+1+7=10, Roue de la Fortune.

Jean Noblet Tarot de Marseille - Year Card 2017

It doesn't take much imagination to figure out how this can apply to 2017! It's a year of great uncertainty, and bound to be filled with unexpected twists and turns. It is a volatile time. Brexit, Trump, who know what all.

What about the months? What cards represent each month in 2017? I used a simple method of adding the number of the month to the year and reducing. January = 1 + 2017 = 2018 = 11. And so on.

Jean Noblet Tarot de Marseille - January to June 2017

January - Force
February - Le Pendu
March - La Mort
April - La Temperance
May - Les Amoureux
June - Le Chariot

Jean Noblet Tarot de Marseille - July to December 2017 

July - Justice
August - L' Ermite
September - Roue de la Fortune
October - Force
November - Le Pendu
December - La Mort

Now, January's nearly over, but perhaps you can think of ways that Strength was the card to represent this month.

What do you think Le Pendu portends for February? If we use it as a recommendation, what do you think we should be doing in February? What attitude to take on? What to avoid?

Did you notice how the last three months echo the first three months? Force, Le Pendu, La Mort. Strength, Hanged Man, Death. Will we have learned nothing in a year? Will we be seeing the resolution to the year brought full circle? -- This would be interesting, considering the card for 2017 is Wheel! Or will we have completely new challenges and issues to face that these cards deal with?

What do you think?

Each month, I intend to write my ruminations on the 1st, and how I think the card relates to the year card. Please add your thoughts as well! Should be an interesting exercise. In fact I may also suggest it on the TABI forum as a running thread. :)

Birthday reading with Tarot de Marseille

Fournier TdM and Dodal TdM

It's my birthday and I've decided to use Angelorum's birthday spread. The card in the middle is my year card, and the other cards clockwise from top are 'area of life most affected by year card', 'aspect that will be most challenged by year card energy', 'avoid this in the year ahead', 'do more of this in the year ahead'.

My year card is Strength, because I use TdM, and Strength is 11, not Justice. I also don't see the point of reducing the number again and having two year cards, so I'm leaving La Papesse out of the equation.

Looking at the spread, there's a good balance of suits here -- one each. That always feels reassuring to me, a balance of elements. We have numbers 5, 9, and 8, and by some reckonings, Knights are 12, which reduces to 3. The Coins and Cups on the left are the 'soft' suits (as described by Yoav Ben-Dov), which can be regarded as feminine, receptive, and favourable. The Swords and Wands or Staves can be regarded as masculine, outgoing, and challenging. The fact that they have taken sides in the spread rather than mixing themselves suggests that there may be a bit of dichotomy or struggle between them. However, the lion is on the 'hard' side of the spread, and the lady is on the soft side, and we know who is winning that struggle! The message of the pips echoes the message of the trump -- gentleness will win out over savageness.  I like the way the Cavalier de Epee is facing in toward the spread; it makes it feel complete of itself. When cards on the edges of spreads face outwards, it makes me feel like the message is incomplete and more cards need to be drawn to see what they're looking at. Strength and Knight facing each other also feels right to me, especially as the position is 'area of life most affected by year card.' So that area is not running away from it, but to me it looks like the two are engaged in conversation about it.

My 'main spiritual lesson' of 2017 comes from Strength. My spiritual teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, wrote a poem called 'Recommendation' in 1965 during the Vietnam War, calling on his fellow protesters to be strong in the face of hate. I've italicised those lines that resonate with the Strength card for me:

Promise me this day,
promise me now,
while the sun is overhead
exactly at the zenith,
promise me:

Even as they strike you down
with a mountain of hatred and violence;
even as they step on you and crush you
like a worm,
even as they dismember and disembowel you,
remember, brother,
remember:
man is not our enemy.

The only thing worthy of you is compassion,
invincible, limitless, unconditional.
Hatred will never let you face
the beast in man.

One day, when you face this beast alone,
with your courage intact, your eyes kind,
untroubled
(even as no one sees them),
out of your smile
will bloom a flower.
And those who love you
will behold you
across ten thousand worlds of birth and dying.

Alone again,
I will go on with bent head,
knowing that love has become eternal.
On the long, rough road,
the sun and the moon
will continue to shine.

The area that will be most affected by Strength energy will be 5 of Coins. As this card often is interpreted is instability in health/finances, I take this to mean that instability will be affected by Strength in order to become more stable. Strength provides the advice for how to deal with challenge: take the lion by the jaws. 

The aspect that will be most challenged in the year ahead is Knight of Swords, or Cavalier d' Epee. This character has a lack of impulse control and enjoys forcing his opinions on others and not listening. If I'm going to be able to take the lion by the jaws and tame it with gentleness, the Knight of Swords is going to feel challenged by this! He's going to have to rein himself back and let other aspects of self take the lead. 

What should I avoid in the year ahead? 9 of Cups. It seems to me to point to getting too comfortable with the status quo. It is entirely possible to be happy and also want to change things. I do love the simple life, but I also must remember that each day being exactly the same is how years can slip by and you can't believe so much time has passed. That's because after a certain age, once most of life's milestones have been achieved, if you don't make your own milestones, it goes by in a blur. Avoid the comfortable blur. 

And finally, do more of this in the year ahead: 9 of Wands. Again, there is advice to rein in the hard suits in my life and personality. And in the Ben-Dov book, this line sticks out at me: 'In a conflict: avoiding a clash with superior forces by letting them have their way.' Which reminds me of an old John Cougar Mellancamp song:

They like to get you in a compromising position
They like to get you there and smile in your face
They think, they're so cute when they got you in that condition
Well I think, it's a total disgrace
I fight authority, authority always wins
I fight authority, authority always wins
I been doing it, since I was a young kid
I've come out grinnin'
I fight authority, authority always wins

Guess which route I usually go? Oh yeah. Fighting authority. But the card here suggests, less offence, more defence. Oh, all right! This also echoes the Strength card in a way. As Michelle Obama said, when they go low, we go high.

Thanks to Lisa at Angelorum for an interesting spread. :)

Just like a tree that's standing by the water

'Cruelty. Nine of Swords. Consciousness has fallen into a realm unenlightened by reason. This is the world of the unconscious primitive instincts, of the psychopath, of the fanatic. The celestial ruler is Mars in Gemini, crude rage of hunger operating without restraint; although its form is intellectual, it is the temper of the inquisitor. 

There is, however, a way of dealing with this card: the way of passive resistance, resignation, the acceptance of martyrdom. 

Nor is an alien formula that of implacable revenge.'  -- Aleister Crowley, The Book of Thoth 

Implacable revenge may not be an alien formula, but it doesn't make for a pleasant Thursday. Neither does the acceptance of martyrdom, but Uncle Al did like to be melodramatic. Passive resistance, now, that is something I can go along with. And I may need to engage in it at some point, if anyone or anything tries to draw blood today. But will I need to let passive resistance become resignation, and finally acceptance of martyrdom? I refuse! (Or should I say, I resist!) 

Like the swords themselves, cruelty is double edged. People can be cruel to each other, but we can also be cruel to ourselves. Uncle Al's first remarks are about the 'realm unenlightened by reason' -- and what is overthinking and the replaying of tapes but this? So apart from being on the lookout for outward cruelty today, I must also avoid bashing myself. 

I'm not up for a fight today. I'm done with all that. So I'm not having one, with myself or anyone else. I will not be engaged. You can try to bully me, you can try to beat me down, but I will not be moved. 

Weird Science: 6 of Swords Parrott Tarot

'Six of Swords is a time of outreach, travel, study and learning. You are empowered by your own knowledge and the accumulation of knowledge.' - Paul Hughes-Barlow, Super Tarot

Today the service is shut down so that staff can travel to a central location for our second annual staff conference. It looks like this card from Parrott Tarot by Margaret and Thom Parrott is 'spot on', as they say. 

I have absolutely no idea why the design is as it is. To me it looks sort of like the iris of a blue eye with a star over the pupil and swords growing out of it like those worm-alien things came of that dude's eye in 'Prometheus'.  Eww!

Notice how the pip card has the playing card association in the top left (6 of Spades), the planet and astrological association under the image (Mercury and Aquarius), and the parrot doing something cute and science-y in the corner there?

Hope today goes by fast, is productive and doesn't make me want to lance myself in the eyes. Ha! 

Parrott Tarot: The World

Today's card is The World from the curious Parrott Tarot deck by Margaret and Thom Parrott. It's a self-published deck that apparently came out in 2008 (or at least that is the date it was first available on Amazon.) I received it in trade and find it quite amusing. The deck came in a tuck box with no instructions, though I gather that originally it had a fold-out information sheet. However, I've managed to find images of the sheet online and from what I can see, it's no more helpful than a traditional LWB. So all these esoteric notations must be either something you're familiar with from elsewhere, used 'intuitively', or simply ignored. They come from Golden Dawn tradition, and as we know, Golden Dawn is behind both the RWS and the Thoth decks. Strangely, the box says 'A deck of 82 cards based on the Rider Waite deck,' but the cards of this deck are so Thoth-y it hurts, as you'll see in subsequent draws this week. (The four extra cards are 'The Mentors', which apparently belong in the courts, but those who know me can well guess where they are. In the box.)

Each card has a Thoth-inspired image, number in upper and lower left corner (in pip cards the upper left is the playing card equivalent, which is nice), Hebrew letter, astrological sign, and a parrot in the lower right corner. In majors, he's singing a note that is apparently associated with the card in Golden Dawn tradition. (I don't know what the two Arabic numerals are next to the Hebrew letter, but I'm not deep into Golden Dawn, really.  I'll have to look those up.) In the pip cards, he's doing some sort of action that reflects the meaning of the card. The pips have Thoth key words.

Must rush this morning, but it least it looks like it's going to be a positive day! I drew The World!

Power in the Blood

Soul Cards 1, 2013

Blood here. Blood and leaves. Is this person leaning against glass? Are we on the other side? The hands could belong to the face, but they could also be the hands of unseen children. They aren't the same size. This image makes me think instantly of a song I grew up with, that I still sing, and that still stirs my spirit, though it has many complex meanings beyond its simple lyric to me now.




 Would you be free from the burden of sin?
There's power in the blood, power in the blood;
Would you o'er evil a victory win?
There's wonderful power in the blood.

There is power, power, wonder-working power
In the blood of the Lamb.
There is power, power, wonder-working power
In the precious blood of the Lamb.

Would you be free from your passion and pride?
There's power in the blood, power in the blood;
Come for a cleansing to Calvary's tide;
There's wonderful power in the blood.

There is power, power, wonder-working power
In the blood of the Lamb.
There is power, power, wonder-working power
In the precious blood of the Lamb.

Would you be whiter, much whiter than snow?
There's power in the blood, power in the blood;
Sin stains are lost in its life giving flow;
There's wonderful power in the blood.

There is power, power, wonder-working power
In the blood of the Lamb.
There is power, power, wonder-working power
In the precious blood of the Lamb.

Would you do service for Jesus your King?
There's power in the blood, power in the blood;
Would you live daily His praises to sing?
There's wonderful power in the blood.

There is power, power, wonder-working power
In the blood of the Lamb.
There is power, power, wonder-working power
In the precious blood of the Lamb.

Peacemaker

Soul Cards 1, D Koff-Chapin 2013

Powerful image. I see water and fire. I see a figure that is split between peace and wailing emotion. The starburst on the chest is halfway between the heart and throat chakras.

Today may be a day of both hope and conflict. May the truth from my heart be spoken from my mouth. And may I not forget my hands, so prominently displayed here, not clenched in fists or grasping weapons, but open and soft, prepared to give and receive that which will bless and not harm.

So mote it be.

Practice practice practice

Soul Cards 1 by D Koff-Chapin, 2013 

Today's card is from Soul Cards 1 by D Koff-Chapin (2013). These cards are not numbered or named, and there is no guidance offered on meanings, though there's some useful advice on how to find your own meaning in them.

I am drawing all cards this week with the simple question, 'What does the universe want of/for me today?'

In this image, I see a female figure in earthy colours kneeling in the kneeling-Isis pose. Her right hand reminds me of a mudra representing overcoming communication blocks. It may not actually be that mudra, but it reminds me of it. She looks up toward another figure that hovers above her and wraps around her. This figure is more colourful, and appears to have wings. The wings do not enwrap the female figure, but one wing crosses over her body, and the raised hand. The colourful figure has its eyes closed. The earthier looking figure has her eyes open.

The 'angels' are sleeping today. Do not be dismayed if communication attempts are not entirely successful.

This is not much of a surprise, as I enter afresh into a meditation practice. You can't have that breakthrough-to-another-level feeling on the first day. That's why they call it practice.

Big change - what now?

You guys, I've deactivated my Facebook account! It's not the first time I've done it. A hiatus from Facebook for me usually lasts about a year. Then when I go back on, slowly but surely, I spend more and more time on there until I realise it's taking up nearly all my free time, and so I deactivate. I deleted the account once and stayed off for a couple of years. I might do that this time, too.

Thought I'd do a read about it:

What am I leaving behind (or what do I think I've left behind)?
What am I really leaving behind?
What are the three choices ahead of me, my 'points of power'?

(Spread was found here. Sorry, I don't know anything about this site; stumbled upon by googling 'spread for a big change.')

Tarot de St Croix, Lisa de St Croix, Devera 2013

By deactivating my Facebook account I 'think' I've left behind Ace of Wands -- a source of inspiration, a place where I can make a difference. I was all into political stories and memes and petitions and so on, there. In addition to my kitten videos.

But what I'm really leaving behind is the Emperor -- Good lord, could I really have been 'working for the man' by using Facebook? I guess I was, really. I mean, I know Facebook saves everything about me, and alarming connections are made, like if I browse an item on Amazon or elsewhere, ads for it turn up on my FB feed or in the sidebars. There are even scarier ways Facebook (and Google, but one thing at a time, people) control and track us, that I don't even know about. So that's what I'm really leaving behind.

Now, what are my power points? Six of Swords, Four of Wands and Queen of Cups. Just for kicks, I'll string together the interpretation suggested in the Tarot de St Croix LWB:

I'm led 'out of the dark dungeons of my mind' and find my power through 'creating ritual and space' where I 'accept the flow of all emotions.' Once again I have a powerful card about capturing living water. I also like that the LWB describes it as 'flow'. Actually, these are the exact reasons I wanted to free up time by leaving FB.

Another thing I like about these power cards is how they are all facing to the left -- in opposition to the Emperor, who seems to be trying to point them toward the right. F*** you, Emperor! Not only are we going the opposite direction, we're ready to crash right into you in a clash of wills -- or fight for our souls, perhaps! We are gonna do what we want without your input. (Also -- see how the wand is pointing in the same direction the power cards are going? I thought I was going that way but I wasn't!)

That's 'now what'!

For TABI members. I've got some decks for sale on the forum here: CLICK. 

Lenormand Well-Being Spread

Another well-being spread from Chloe McCracken at Inner Whispers. (You can get the document free at Inner Whispers: Welcoming Wellness in 2017).

The heart of the matter is Rider, a card that to me means exercise and athleticism. Well, it's been a long time since I had either of those!

Things I've been dealing with: finding the solution to my blockages to exercise and fitness, and drinking more water for overall good health.

Current situation: Birds + Rider + Tree. Many messages about health. True. I have been thinking quite a lot about wellness in the new year. Tis the season! Using Chloe's health meanings, it pretty much looks walking is the way to go right now.

Past situation: Key + Mice + Clover. Motivation came from nervous fear. That's true. I was afraid to skip workouts because I was afraid if I missed a few I'd just never work out again. I was correct in this. Using Chloe's health meanings, I was lucky I managed to get enough nutrients and trace minerals. Possibly true. I was eating a very strict vegan diet.

Future situation: Fish + Snake + Mountain. Blocked by financial concerns. Oh great. I do not want to even follow that thread any further! If we use Chloe's health interpretations, it is saying I won't recognise the block created by not drinking enough water.

How is my physical reality affecting my well-being? Clover + Tree + Mountain. My luck in enjoying relatively good health is creating complacency so that I don't notice the low-level lack of wellness that leads to some of my small chronic complaints and general reluctance to move.

How are my thoughts affecting my well-being? I think I have it all figured out and just need to do it. This is probably holding me back from looking at who and where I am right now. I have talked about this a lot as being the key. I also hold onto the thought that there's plenty of time, thus I am more or less stuck.

Advised action to bring forward momentum: Birds + Mice + Rider + Snake + Tree. Stress and anxiety eat away at forward momentum and lead to an ill woman. Well, I guess that's a hint not to let stress and anxiety cause me to be an ill woman. In other words, be motivated by the prophylactic value of actively pursuing wellness. But how is this an action? What action do I most need to bring forward momentum? I'll try an oracle, The Secret Language of Colour:

'Blue activates healing powers, increases vitality, and has a calming effect when people feel nervous, manic or overexcited. Use the blue sword of light to assist you in healing your body.'

The nervous aspect is addressed in this card. I suppose that's what I should focus on. Calming and healing. So, frenetic activity, HIIT, intense cardio, that sort of thing is not right at the moment. Action that is calming and healing is what is needed. Right.

New Years Day - Reflect on joyful moments

Today's card of the day comes from an oracle deck, The Secret Language of Colour by Inna Segal.

'Today is the day for rejoicing,' says the guidebook. 'Remind yourself of all the golden moments you have experienced in your life. Find five joyful moments in this day. Wear something that is Apricot, or meditate on this colour.  Invite joy into your heart.

'Say: "Divine spirit, please awaken the joy, laughter, and spontaneity of my heart and soul." '

This is a lovely exercise for today. I'll be writing my five joyful moments in my Sacred Journey journal. (I've used this journal  for many years off and on, and wrote about it at times on previous blogs. Over the years, the way I've used this journal has evolved. Here's how I used it back when I was deep into a fitness regime, on my old blog, Dharma in the Dishes. This was before my tarot blogging days! In fact, my very first tarot reading is posted there. Dare I share? Oh go on, then. My first reading.)

What will you be doing on this first day of the year? :)