Growing plans -- 3 of Batons

Jean Noblet Tarot, Flornoy 2014

Three of Batons. Growing plans.

This card turned up as the focus of my reading on whether we should proceed with our house purchase. Is it becoming a stalker card?

In Dawn R Jackson's mnemonic poem, Playing Card Meanings for the Wytch of Poor Memory, Clubs (or in this case Batons, or Wands) are 'works, callings and plans'. Three 'shows things growing'. Camelia Elias in Marseille Tarot: Towards the Art of Reading uses Dawn R Jackson's interpretations of playing cards for the pips quite consistently throughout. I find the meanings quite useful, as well, when reading TdM.

Funnily enough, Yoav Ben-Dov gives the following interpretation of 3 of Wands in The Open Reading: 'Finding a way after a period of hesitation. Time to go forward.' And this is the interpretation that I gave to Knight of Wands in the home purchase reading. I've just had a look in the book this morning. Now that's kinda neat.

I notice the batons here are made up of the colours red and pale blue: passion and detachment. They are joined together by bits of yellow or gold, signifying optimism, material success, or plenty. Having good feelings for the situation while being able to remain somewhat objective about it...does not necessarily lead to success, but is held together or facilitated by a positive attitude. Not to mention the 'material blessings' to justify said optimism!

Affirmations for 3 of Wands: 

I live out my beliefs in all my acts. (Angel Paths)

Life supports my dreams and ambitions with great love and abundance. (Tarot Quest)

I am ready to expand my world. My potential is unlimited. (Tarot Lady)

My foundations support my progress. (Emma Sunerton-Burl)

Magical working

So about my spell. At the London Tarot Festival I attended a Tarot Magic workshop conducted by my friend, Chloe McCracken. Chloe and I have similar ideas about magic, and a similar approach to using tarot cards for spellcasting, so I was on familiar ground in her workshop (which I would highly recommend, by the way). We were asked to think of an area we would like to change, and to work on this layout:

1 - The Situation/Issue                        3 - Energy Needed                     2 - Desired Outcome

I have often used this layout both for tarot readings and for spell work; it is called a 'bridge' layout, because the card in the middle serves as the bridge to get you from where you are (1) to where you want to be (2).

I decided that what I'd like right now is 'motivation to return to exercise and healthy eating.' We then went through our cards selecting what card best represents our situation/issue. I settled on 8 of Swords, because I reasoned that it is my thoughts/attitude that keeps me trapped in this situation, and that I could certainly get myself out of it -- if I could break free of my self-imposed bindings. (I didn't yet realise what those were, but I was soon to find out!)

For desired outcome, I tried drawing for it, but I got a series of discouraging cards that to me were telling me now is not the right time to work a spell on this topic: Hanged Man, 10 of Wands, Death, Emperor. I gave up on drawing and just went through the deck and selected 7 of Pentacles, with the rationale that a good outcome would be the patience to keep going with a program that is progressive. For the middle card, energy needed, I couldn't select a card. If I knew what energy I needed to succeed, I guess I wouldn't need to resort to magic or tarot to solve this problem! So I decided to draw for it.

I shuffled the cards and fanned them out face down, closed my eyes and moved my hand above them slowly, feeling for that small tug of energy that would lead me to the right card. I drew Ace of Wands and laid it in the middle.

Ace of Wands! Oh! I don't need to 'return' to any program, I realised. I need something completely fresh. This clarified the 8 of Swords to me. I am trapped in thinking that what worked for me before is appropriate now. And believing that, I have become disappointed and discouraged with myself that I can't do the workouts that I did ten years ago, and that I have no interest in the kind of eating program I was on ten years ago. The Ace of Wands told me that I don't need to redo what I did before -- in fact, doing that is the exact opposite of what I should be doing. This also clarified all those odd 'desired outcome' cards. If I tried to do what I did before, the outcome would be unsuccessful, a burden, etc.

This of course meant that 7 of Pentacles no longer made sense in my spell. So I decided to draw for it. I repeated my process for drawing a card and drew -- 3 of Wands. This reinforced my belief that the cards were telling me to open myself to new ways of thinking and new ways of eating and new types of exercise. I must let go of the past and look to the future, see what's out there, see what is right for me NOW, rather than trying to repeat what I did before. This might sound obvious, but I actually never thought of it. I had just been telling myself, 'I know how to do this. I've done it before. I just need to do it again. Why can't I do it again?' And I was trapped in this circle, have been trapped here, for quite some time. So I did need the cards to wake me up to the possibility that there is more than one way to do this!

We were then asked to make a few notes on a ritual and to start a to-do list of practical actions to take in support of our spell. We ran out of time fast! But I came to some illuminating conclusions as a result of this simple exercise. My notes from the workshop:

I've been ruminating about this draw and this spell all week. I'm still pondering my approach to the spell, but my altar is now set up, and I am feeling ready this weekend to continue working on my practical actions list and to take the spell forward. 

Today, I thought it would be interesting to draw from the Devas of Creation about this spell. As I shuffled, this card lept from the pack and landed face down on the floor:

 It is the Deva of the Valley (Devas of Creation, Cilla Conway 2013). The card reinforces my softly-softly approach, my need to be gentle with myself and to take my time in this working. 'The Deva of the Valley indicates that we will find a place that nurtures, supports and protects us,' says the companion book. 'The Deva is here to show that everything is possible. It's a soft, fertile place of healing.'

I have a to-do list that begins with clearing away the old to make way for new discoveries. That is why I am not creating a dream board before I start this working. The dream board will be created as I discover each new technique and idea to incorporate into my new program of movement and nutrition. But I do have a central image now -- I will start to collect pictures of rainbows.

(ETA: I just found this old post about this very topic -- from two years ago! Examining Influences.)

(ETA again: Thursday 16 July is the New Moon, and a Blue Moon. The New Moon is in Cancer, and its associated is Chariot and Queen of Cups -- so an auspicious time for a spell about new starts, I should think!)

Who says life is what happens when you're making other plans? Focus, people!

Chrysalis Tarot, Brooks & Sierra 2014 

Happy Tuesday! We've got the 3 of Spirals (aka 3 of Wands) from Chrysalis Tarot today. The card shows a tree with exposed roots growing in spirals, and a sort of Buddha face emerging from it. Hmm.



Compare it to the 3 of Wands from two favourite and familiar decks, the Rider Waite Smith (left) and the Druidcraft Tarot (right). The mood is very similar. Key word for this card according to the LWB is 'Contemplation.'

My husband, much to my delight, has taken a sudden and intense interest in tarot and has been questioning me constantly about things. The other day I tried to talk him through the suits in a way that would help him find a basic sense of each card. I settled upon this story for the first three cards of the wands suit (images below from Druidcraft, his chosen first deck -- great choice!):



Imagine you are Adam, lying there, a lump of lifeless dust. God touches you and your flesh animates. That's the Ace of Wands. You take a breath and start to open your eyes, sit up, the life moves. That's 2 of Wands. You stand up and look around and think, whoa! I think I'll go THAT way. That's the 3 of Wands.

The 3 of Wands is contemplation of action, it's getting your energy moving in the same direction, the direction that you have chosen. That's the way I see it.

The other day on Facebook I saw a poster that I have written out with a big marker pen and hung on my wall:



Now if this language offends you, I'm sorry. But the sentiment, put that bluntly, is exactly what I needed to hear. The Buddha face (or 'thoughtful Cambodian monk' as he's described in the LWB to Chrysalis Tarot) is in the 'make a fucking plan' phase.

So my work for today is to contemplate my plan. Also to work on it.

Have you decided what it is you want? See above advice. And see you tomorrow!

Kundalini from behind the veil

Wow! This is one the more hallucinatory cards from Greenwood Tarot (Ryan and Potter 1996). It seems to me the deck is split into two, perhaps three, distinct styles: the colourful, soft focus style, and the fragmented trance style. This is one of the trance cards! (There are a few in the deck that I would call a 'warm fuzzy, soft cuddly' style, such as the stoat, the horse and the mama and baby bear cards...) I love both styles, but I am particularly fascinated by these fragmented ones. It's like Chesca Potter has painted energy, the aspect unseen. When I look at these cards, I feel like this is the true 'reality' of what's going on around us, the vibrations and energy and movement of all these atoms, all this energy -- all these 'strings' of string theory. :)

The companion book says of 3 of Wands: 'Nourishment from a spiritual source that gives inner security and joy. Goals and desires reached, making life rich with emotional security and a sense of completion.' And Chesca Potter has also written: 'A figure has stepped through the gateway of the two of Wands, arms open to receive the blessing of fulfilment. They stand in the healing radiance of the afterglow created after a loving polaric interchange. This is represented by the caduceus of intertwined serpents on their cloak (see Adder). This energised peace does not require another person, it can be achieved after an act of Creativity or Joy.'

The caduceus is also seen in two other cards in Greenwood Tarot: Adder, which Potter refers to, is the King of Wands, and also in my favourite card of the deck, Balance (aka Temperance).  The King of Wands shows two adders entwined beside a flaming wand. (It so happens that this card is done in the 'warm fuzzy' style I mentioned earlier). The Balance card is my favourite card in this deck. I would love to have a big framed poster of this image hanging on my living room wall. Temperance tends to be my favourite card in most decks, and this is probably my favourite Temperance card. It manages to combine elements from traditional tarot imagery (a robed human shape, water, an indication of two vessels, irises) with alchemical imagery (red and white entwining) along with hints of chakra balancing (the lotus-like suns), auras and an overall hallucinatory, shamanic feel. It is a remarkable card (and is a prime example of the 'colourful, soft focus' style I noted earlier). 

Three of Wands is the 'Lord of Virtue'. It's a word that has come to have many shades of meaning, but its root is the Latin 'virtus', meaning 'of man' or 'manly' -- strong, courageous, valorous, excellent, etc. When we view this card and contemplate it, it's like a snapshot of where 'virtue' comes from. I wrote about the 3 of Wands recently and said that the figure in the card is 'simply feeling the energy of her life and the physicality of knowing she is on the track that is right for her. It's almost like she is pulling energy up from the earth,' and today's card is like a snapshot of what that looks like from the point of view of the energy, instead of the point of view of the person experiencing the feeling. It's like a visual representation of the feeling of drawing energy into oneself from the universe and up from the earth, with the kundalini rising. Remarkable card. 

It says to me more than anything else today that I need to do some focused energy work. I think some meditation and perhaps even a nice long kundalini yoga session is in order for the day!

Getting your energetic bearings

This is one of my favourite cards from Spiral Tarot by Kay Steventon. I love this lady's dress, and the climbing vines on the three wands. It's a lovely card.

Golden Dawn call this card 'Lord of Virtue'. It represents our trueness to our own inner needs and aspirations. The 3s are all associated to Binah on the Tree of Life, the sephiroth of Understanding. In 3 of Cups, we have an understanding of happiness, in 3 of Swords, a first realization of our separate identities can bring a sense of loss or sorrow (it's about the thought life and how it can lead to pain--it's not just about a plain old broken heart or hurt feelings!), in 3 of Pentacles, an understanding of material works and craftsmanship. In 3 of Wands, we come to an understanding of our personal drives and energy, our motivations and needs.

The 'virtue' in this card that we are 'lord' of is being true to self, to our will and our own dominion.

So the lady is looking out on the lovely sunset (or sunrise) shining across the water and contemplating her goals in life, but more than that, she is simply feeling the energy of her life and the physicality of knowing she is on the track that is right for her. It's almost like she is pulling energy up from the earth, symbolised by the tangle of vines under her feet growing up the wands in a spiral.

Today I may be called upon to be true to myself. Or I may need to step back from the tasks of the day and check my personal moral compass, see that my activities are in alignment with my true self. And if they're not, I need to redirect myself. It's something we all need to do, periodically. Probably more often than we think.

Check the guidebook

Bonefire Tarot

The 3 of Wands from Bonefire Tarot combines my favourite elements of this card -- a winding path to the horizon, and ships sailing. Rather than seeing the back of the person in this card, we look from their perspective. Interestingly, instead of gazing thoughtfully out into the distance, we are holding a guidebook open to a picture of the scene. So! We've been planning this. We know where we're going. We have a source of information which helps lead us along the journey. I quite like this. The traditional 3 of Wands implies an internal compass, but the Bonefire Tarot shows us gripping and consulting it. The hand that holds it is aflame, a signal to me that this is a symbol. It seems that all symbolic objects in this deck are on fire.


The LWB says:

'*Plans are underway obode (sic) well
*To capitalize for further progress
*Help yourself to see bigger picture
*Preparedness for travel'

(It must be said, the LWB contains spelling and grammar errors and appears to have been hastily scribbled in pencil, like a shopping list on the back of an old envelope. If this bothers you, just don't use it. The meanings are all very standard, anyway.)

I just drew this card last Thursday, 30 Jan. I guess this must mean progress is being made toward my transition from my current job to my new one. The advice I take from it today - check the guidebook - reminds me that I better make sure all forms are filled in and everything is in order or else this job might not be mine! It's a conditional offer, all I need are a few forms and photocopies of my qualifications, but it's best not to be too complacent about this sort of thing!

Is your ship coming in? | 3 of Wands

You know that job I've been mentioning? Well, I found out yesterday that I got it! I don't have any idea yet when I start, but I was offered it and I accepted, subject to references, etc. :)

Today I've drawn 3 of Wands. Crowley was fond of the 3s. With 3s 'the ideas have become fertilized, the triangle has been formulated. In each case, there is certain stability which can never be upset, but from which a child can issue.'

Here we have the Sun in Aries. Wow, the power of the Sun, in the sign of the Ram. Now that's power!

'When this card comes up in a reading,' says Angel Paths, 'it is important that you cast aside doubts and fears, refusing to fall back into old habits. Instead you must turn to the future, trusting in your own power, making no compromises.'

Most 3 of Wands cards depict someone surveying their domain, or contemplating the horizon, or setting off on a long, crooked path. All of these images encompass the feeling of 3 of Wands. Hopeful. Full of plans, self-belief, confidence.

Miffed!

Wicca Moon Tarot

Does the tarot mock me today? I've drawn Three of Wands, which is one of the cards I've just discovered is MISSING from my new Robert Place Vampire Tarot deck.

I can't tell you how excited and chuffed I was yesterday, to receive the Vampire Tarot, on Halloween no less! The box is beautiful. The book is amazing. The deck is a fantastic creation...but...I carefully peeled the deck apart, having read elsewhere online that the deck arrives in a solid brick of cards and must be peeled apart. Then while watching TV I set to work rounding the corners. I rounded them all and happily began reading the book. I thought I was watching for all the cards while I peeled them apart, but to be honest at no point did I actually count them to see if there were 78.

This morning I began my usual new deck ritual of laying the cards out on the floor in groups of majors, aces, twos, threes, fours, etc. And I discovered that the deck is MISSING 3 of Stakes, 7 of Garlic Flowers and Knave of Knives! I've looked in the box under the plastic insert. I've looked all through the book. I've looked all around the living room. I've looked in the scanner even though I didn't scan any of them yesterday. I have picked at the cards to see if they might still be stuck together, but I rounded the corners and would surely have noticed it then. I think the simple sad truth of the matter is that I have finally got an imperfect deck. I've always been very lucky and never received a deck missing cards.

I have emailed the seller at Amazon and hope they are willing to help. To be honest, I'm miffed because I'm afraid even if they do send me another one, it will be missing cards as well. But perhaps that is unlikely to happen. And also--I'm going to have to round all those corners again! I suppose there's no chance they will send just the three cards. The deck is published by St Martins Press and they have no customer service contact. Their FAQs say if you get a damaged item, return it to place of purchase. Pfft.

So, the card looks happy and blue and full of butterflies, but I am miffed!!!

Musings on the Celtic Tarot: Wands

Celtic Tarot, Aquarian 1990

I received my second copy of the Celtic Tarot (Courtney Davis) the other day, and have been admiring it since. I believe this is the most beautiful pips-only deck that I have seen yet. In the photo above, I have arranged them so that the bottom row is Wands, next up Cups, then Swords, and the top row is Coins, with courts in a pile at the end of each row. You can see that the suits are linked by colour, inner border style, and in the case of the Coins, by shape of the design. The Wands all feature the Sun, Cups are contained in circles on a blue background, the Swords are red and feature diamond patterns, and the Coins have a green background with Celtic knot discs in gold. Unlike some pip decks, there are many cues to meaning in the design and coloring of each pip card, so it seems like a good idea to have a closer look at them.

Ah, a 3-day weekend

I've got a 3-day weekend coming up. Nothing booked, no real plans. Today I've drawn the Knight of Cups, 3 of Wands and Fool from the Touchstone Tarot by Kat Black (Kunati, 2009). The figure in the Knight of Cups stares straight out at us, and his body is turned toward the other two cards, receiving their energy. The figures in 3 of Wands and Fool both face in the direction of the Knight of Cups, but with their eyes cast into the distance (and in different directions from one another). To me this suggests hubby and I are going to enjoy a loved-up weekend, during which we don't bother with elaborate planning (see how the 3 of Wands figure has turned his vision away from the distance? If he were scanning the horizon, he'd mean planning the future to me, but as he's turned away, in this reading at least, I see it as not bothering so much with planning but instead focusing on what is closer, right next to him.). And then of course the Fool suggests all sorts of potential for unplanned adventure. So who knows what could happen. Maybe we'll impulsively take off to the hills for some walking, or fall in love with a car (we intend to do some more test driving) and buy it on the spot. No knowing! Looks like it will be a fun weekend, though.

Now to make it through today's work day...because the card I drew for today was Page of Swords! Oh no! Not Billy the Kid again!