Summer Solstice Reading

A reading for Summer Solstice. I found this spread at a blog called Indigo Spirit Tarot. It seemed like a nice spread, so I thought I'd try it out here as my Summer Solstice reading. 

1

2 ............... 3

4 ..... SUN..... 5

6 ............... 7

8

1. Live with passion. Embrace the power of the Sun.

2. Upcoming possibilities. The door to success is opened by...

3. Time to play. Enjoy this gift.

4. Time to be serious.

5. Welcome advice.

6. Beware what lies in the shadows.

7. How to improve, now that you're aware. 

8. A burden lifted. Let it go.

I've chosen to read with Tarot Illuminati (Erik C Dunne, 2013) because -- what's more appropriate on Summer Solstice than a little illumination? 

1. Embrace the Sun - Princess of Swords. 'If the Princess of Swords is anything,' writes Kim Huggens in Complete Guide to Tarot Illuminati, 'she is firstly the power of invention and secondly of revolution.' 

2. Upcoming possibilities - Five of Swords. We often look at this card as indicating defeat, but there's no reason not to sometimes see ourselves as the ones having the upper hand. Kim Huggens supports this, writing, 'If the other cards around it are positive and supportive, it suggests the querent has a unique advantage in the situation and they need to make the most of it.' 

3. Enjoy this gift - Eight of Wands. This card suggests that whatever I start in the coming months will progress swiftly. I have the gift of fast movement and swift progress. 'Often this card indicates that the querent will be involved in a number of events that could be described as synchronicity, carrying them forward in a series of coincidences that they could never have expected,' Huggens writes. 

4. Time to be serious - Ace of Pentacles. Time to be serious about good hard graft, and reminds me to cultivate, process and make use of all my resources to be applied in each situation. I'm seeing it as saying don't get ahead of yourself. Be methodical. First things first. 

5. Welcome advice - The Empress. The Empress advises me to nurture myself, my life, my surroundings, my projects, and other people. She advises me to indulge my creative impulses, which, like childbirth, require sometimes painful effort to reap the rewards. 

6. Beware what lies in the shadows - 3 of Swords. Huggens makes an interesting point about this card. It is not the card of personal heartbreak, which is better reflected in 5 of Cups. Rather, this card represents the suffering of existence, 'the profound sadness felt when seeing the state of the world and the suffering of mankind,' as Huggens puts it. It represents existential angst, a feeling with which I am quite familiar. 

7. How to improve, now that you're aware - Death. I suppose few cards confront and dispel existential angst as effectively as the Death card. Acceptance. 

8. Let it go - Five of Pentacles.  'Worry is a self-destructive behaviour that perpetuates the cycle of lack and loss,' writes Huggens. 'It keeps us firmly in the past or in the future, and never in the present: we rarely worry about this moment, right now; we only ever worry about something that has happened in the past or what may or may not happen in the future. As such, worry does not allow us to take proper action in the present.' So clearly I need to let go of worry about lack, loss, deprivation, hardship, instability, etc. 

Interesting.

Cleansing ghosts

Shining Tribe 

They emerge, they emerge,

the dark hidden healers, 

power from secrets,

visions from stones. 

Today's draw from Shining Tribe Tarot (Pollack) is a version of 5 of Pentacles. The artwork is based on drawings from the Horseshoe Canyon, Utah. Pollack writes:

'For many people, this card can signify a powerful healing process. Some may look at it literally and believe that actual Spirits have come to aid them in a crisis. Others may see it more as a psychological openness.' 

It is certainly different from the 5 of Pentacles familiar to us from RWS. In fact, I would say it bears little resemblance in interpretation as well. It does have to do with 'money, health problems, or a time when people must struggle to survive'. Of course you don't get that feeling from looking at this image, as you do when viewing the beggars in the snow outside the stained glass window. As with most cards in this deck, you have to read the companion book to figure out what's going on. That's okay! The book is a great read. 

'Meanings: Finding your own values, making discoveries, recognizing your own power. Changing a situation or the way you live because of inner conviction. Internal healing or spiritual realizations.' 

Here's the art Pollack used as inspiration for this card: 

Pollack says she found the pattern on the central figure's chest on a 'quiet road in Rhinebeck New York', and that the images on the rocks below the figures were found on rocks on the same walk. I assume she saw these patterns in the grooves and shadows and natural formations of the rocks, and not as cave art, as she says, 'Images of power do not have to come from recognized sites. When we train ourselves to look, the whole world - including productions of human work - can show us omens and inspiration.' So maybe it was artwork on a sign advertising a daycare center for all we know. :)

I like the interpretation of 'psychological openness' and 'making discoveries and changing a situation.' Those will do nicely today, thank you.

The safe choice?

Watch the clip from Jim Carrey's commencement speech to Maharishi University of Management Class of 2014. It's such an important lesson for us all, the lesson he learned by observing his father:

You can take the path that seems like the safe path, but there is no guarantee of safety there. As Jim Carrey puts it so well, 'You can fail at what you DON'T want...so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.' 

My bulletin board

And Here's the Tale as Told by Gaian Tarot

The world's a scary place. 

So you do the 'right thing' - take the safe and responsible option.

But guess what -- you can't keep lightning from striking the oak tree by stockpiling a few acorns! (You don't even like acorns, but they seemed like a safe bet...)

Well, surprise! All your 'safety' goes up in smoke. You didn't think this could happen. You thought karma would accept the 'noble sacrifice' of your dreams and give you security as a reward. Wrong.

You might as well have listened to your own heart, although it is scarier than gathering acorns.

And dared to dance a little too close to the fire, out in the open, where everyone could see you. Yes, you might get burned. 

But you might also find real joy. 

It's not too late. It's never too late. What have you got to lose that you couldn't lose anyway? 

The tongue is ever turning to the aching tooth

Every tooth in a man's head is more valuable than a diamond. ~Miguel de Cervantes

How could a more perfect card be drawn for today? The Greenwood Tarot offers me 5 of Stones (or Pentacles). 'There will be trials and there will be challenges,' writes Mark Ryan in the Wildwood Tarot companion book, 'Life is a contact sport and there will be bruises. The desire and willpower to survive and recover from setbacks is vital and necessary. Maintaining a resilient mind and retaining a sense of humour are most important to our health, along with the knowledge that the sun will rise on another day filled with opportunities.'

Now that I'm getting used to Chesca Potter's style, I can see that our point of view in this image is from inside a cave, behind the child figure. The child sits at the mouth of the cave, which is outlined in yellow. A fire is between the child and the mouth of the cave - a very sensible plan, as it will serve as a deterrent to any animals entering the cave! And outside, in the black night, a violent storm of lightning is taking place. The child, dressed in colours that mimic both the cave and the lightning, shelters on his own, waiting it out. I like that the child is clothed in these motifs -- This, too, is part of me, and I am part of it, it seems to say. The bad and scary things are not separate from me, but also part of me. They are not the enemy but part of the life experience. Even danger is a brother.

My lightning storm may seem trivial to some -- it's my recent dental woes. Yesterday I ended up having what was, for me, a somewhat traumatic dental filling. Most of the tooth is gone and it was a very large filling, but the dentist did advise against a crown at this point, as that would increase the risk of loss of root vitality by up to 15%. So she did a huge filling that required 4 separate shots of Novocaine and took over half an hour. She discovered decay on the adjacent tooth when she had removed the old material and now I have to go back on 28 April to have that tooth filled as well. This morning of course there is a lot of sensitivity. I'm hoping very much that I don't develop what she described as a 'horrible, throbbing pain' in that tooth, which would indicate a root canal is needed. I read about root canal. Basically, it kills the tooth entirely, the roots are cleaned out and filled, and so you are left with a dead tooth there. They crown it over and that's that. The main reason I don't want one is the thought of her drilling out all this material she put in makes me feel like running screaming for the hills...to hide in a cave, I guess.

After 8 weeks of trouble with this tooth, I've trained myself to automatically send food to the other side to be chewed on the right. I don't dare chew on the left for fear of breaking this gigantic filling. That's not something I was advised, it's just my instinct. It's sensitive today. I may confine myself to soup. It's quite sensitive to air, hot and cold.

Dental procedures -- surely a young person's game. When I think of the things they did to me when I was a kid with braces, oh my gosh. How did I stand it? Used to hurt so bad I would actually run a fever.

Anyway. I retreated into my cave last night by having a few drinks and going to bed at 9.30. I wish I could stay in bed all day today, too.

I see...trouble on the way

If you draw the 10 of Swords, is your first thought, 'Oh no!'?  Mine is. So when I drew it this morning from CBD Tarot, I quickly turned over the next card to find out more. 5 of Coins? You must be joking. Next, please -- Magician.

So...an interesting day ahead. There will be an exhausting and complex situation, probably conflict, caused by a disruption. There will be something discovered today which throws a spanner in the works. Someone is going to have to do some 'magic' to fix it. Hopefully, if it's me who has to do it, there will be others on hand to help out.

I like the way the Magician is looking toward the two troublemaker cards, and pointing the wand in their direction, too, in the attitude of a spear chucker! Zap! Take that! He seems to say. And his expression shows no fear whatever, but rather, more like amusement. From this I take courage that the 10 of Swords and 5 of Coins may be a tempest in a teapot or petty complaint from someone, that I will have to sort out for them. It will be a big deal to them and they will try to make it a big deal to me, but really it's nothing. This I can handle.

ETA: Well, the work day is done and things played out pretty much as predicted -- instead of it being a member of staff, though, it was a customer! I had an absolutely vile customer complaint via phone, which also pivoted around the number 5 (can't go into details of course), and though I managed the situation well, it did shake me up enough that after the call I went upstairs and to my surprise very briefly burst into tears. So there it was.

Note to self: Avoid throwing bull chunks at angry goddesses

    DO THIS                                      DON'T DO THIS

Important thing at work today. The cards seem to be saying to be logical and controlled, and not to worry about the outcome. I suppose the cards have a point. This is not a life or death thing here. Nothing is riding on the outcome of today's events. So why should I worry about it? I like the way the figure on the left is throwing the arrow over his shoulder, as if he's chucking the 5 of Disks over his shoulder with it. 'Psssh!' He seems to be saying. 'Away with you.'

Helper Bee

Servants of the Light Tarot, Aquarian Press 1991

I was going to do just a one-card draw today, but as soon as I turned over Giver of Staves in the Servants of the Light Tarot (Aquarian Press 1991), I had a strong impression that this reading is about Hubby's mum, and so I turned over the next two cards. The Giver of Staves in Servants of the Light is equivalent to Queen of Swords in regular RWS decks. This is because the elemental attributions of Swords and Wands (Weapons and Staves in this deck) have been switched, and with them, the traditional card means. Queen of Swords traditionally means a widow, so I thought of Hubby's mum. I turned over 5 of Spheres (5 of Pentacles) -- just this morning we learned that she fell yesterday and may have broken her hip (Hubby has dashed off to help out today). I turned over the next card, for outcome, and 10 of Staves is there. MIL is 89 years old, and we all know what a broken hip and that age can mean. It is very troubling.

Poor me. Whatever shall I do.

Today's card from Joanna Powell Colbert's Gaian Tarot (Llewellyn 2011) is 5 of Earth. I did actually draw this card for today's blog entry, but it was also the card in the 'underlying' position in yesterday's draw as well. It's a good representation of what's going on with me lately.

Let's take a close look. The woods. Autumn. Leaves blowing about in what looks like icy rain. There seems to be the beginnings of some snow in that precipitation. Bare twigs and stobbies sticking up everywhere. What looks like a pile of debris turns out to be a shelter constructed by the young man huddled inside. He looks pretty darn cold, probably already wet. It's going to be a long night...

I get the feeling, though, that he's not that lost. I don't know why, but there's just a sense that on the other side of those trees, there's a motorway or the edge of the suburbs. He's actually in a clearing, so it's likely he's made that shelter from some scrub that the owner of this land had already piled up. I think he's a short walk from other people, from warmth, from safety, from light and life. But for some reason, he's come out here to the woods and decided to sleep rough. Why? Why does he feel like this is his best option, perhaps his only option? Is it really? Has he really been shunned? Or is he just feeling sorry for himself? Maybe he's got it in his head that suffering here in the snowy rain will show everyone...somehow this is getting them back. I'll just sleep out here in the rough and catch a big bad cold, that'll show 'em! He's huddling up in a vividly blue fleece jumper (or maybe a blanket), and it looks like he's got a watch or a bracelet on his wrist...I don't think he's actually all that destitute. It's all in his head. But of course, it's certainly true that once something is in your head, it can be pretty darn powerful and take you right over.

Radiant Rider Waite (US Games 2003),  Tarot of the Old Path (US Games 1990), Vanessa Tarot (US Games 2007)

The 5 of Coins/Pentacles/Earth in the RWS system always denotes a time of material uncertainty and instability. It represents feeling unsafe, insecure, uncared for, left out, not knowing what is going to happen to your livelihood, your finances, your home, your health. It can represent feeling shunned or ignored. And it can also represent the worry about these things happening when they actually haven't.

Thoth Tarot (US Games 2006)

When you compare the Gaian Tarot's 5 of Earth to the 5 of Coins/Pentacles/Disks in other decks, you'd have to say the imagery is tame. I don't believe there is any danger at all of the lad in Gaian's 5 of Earth actually freezing to death. In fact, I'd say it's likely he'll rise early the next morning and brush the leaves off himself and tromp over to an International House of Pancakes for breakfast. That doesn't mean he isn't feeling what he feels, though, or that his feelings aren't valid or that they aren't affecting his life in profound ways. There is a sense, though, that this is a phase that will pass, whereas there is more of a sense of acute danger in some other 5 of Coins cards. That just has to do with the overall tone of the Gaian deck. This deck has a strong energy that no matter what may happen to us or what is going on with us, everything is going to turn out all right. Even the negative cards have an underlying air of a benevolent and even slightly amused parental presence watching over us. Well...it is called the Gaian Tarot!

It's quite obvious for my reading what this points to. I'm under threat of redundancy and we won't know until the end of October what is going on. So that is a worry for sure; it's always there lately, and that's why this card turned up in the 'underlying' position in my spread.

I know whatever happens, everything's going to be all right.

Open the scroll and recite

 

Today's Sol Invictus (by Kim Huggens and Nic Phillips, Schiffer Publishing) draw reflects my start on several new projects all at once. A group of friends and I have decided to band together to support one another over the next 12 months, starting from today, as we each work on our own individual goals. 

The central card, Ace of Swords, clearly represents this new beginning. The Egyptian god, Thoth, the god of writing, knowledge and wisdom, seems entirely appropriate, as the group is an online group and all our shared support will take place in writing. The heiroglyphs on the card read, 'Look, their words are set and writing. Open the scrolls and recite.' You can see a quill writing on a scroll. It has written: 'Lover of wisdom,' 'I think therefore I am,' and 'Dare to know' in Latin. These are all famous phrases. Can you identify the author of each? :)  So here I am on day one, with my written goals preparing to take wing and fly up toward transformation, as represented by the butterflies in the card. Spoken words have always been thought to have the power of creation. So the directive here is not just to open the scroll and have a look, but to open the scroll and recite.

BUT...

Change is not fun for human beings. By our nature, we don't like it. We resist it. Even if we are the ones who intiated it and wanted it, we easily come to resent it. We can easily start to think how 'UNFAIR' it all is, and how 'UNFUN' it all is. Poor us, so put upon. This is what the Five of Coins represents here. It's a card that signifies feeling left out in the cold, shut out from all things good and comfortable and familiar and safe. This particular version of Five of Coins shows Lucifer having landed, charred and despairing, in the snow just after being cast from heaven.  This is one way my new projects could go. I could start to think how HARD it is to eat well, exercise, discipline myself to daily meditation, and all the other goals I've set could quickly come to seem like a big deprivation and self-imposed banishment from all things lovely. 

On the other hand, I can approach my new project with a Four of Wands spirit, as seen in the card to the right. The card depicts the celebration of the harvest in the form of a sacrifice to Agni, the Hindu god of fire and acceptor of sacrifices. The Four of Wands always depicts a celebration of sorts, and the security of firm foundations having been set by positive action and hard work. The people at the celebration are thanking the gods, but that wheat is a creation of man, through many generations of agriculture, and that bread is a result of the hard work of man working in community. The gods didn't just hand it to the celebrants. So, I see this as a celebration of the bounty of nature that has the potential to bring forth bread from the earth, and of the spirit of man who has the drive and ambition, skills and fortitude to make it happen, while retaining the humility to give thanks to the gods for the results of his own stubborn effort. 

Which will I do? I have a choice, each day really. Will I fall into despair and rebellion and cast myself out into failure, or will I put in the work having faith that the result will be something worthy of celebration?

The words of the scroll in the Ace of Swords are pointing toward the 4 of Wands card, the prism of light refracting from the swords hilt leads toward the 4 of Wands, the tip of the quill points toward it, and even the butterflies are fluttering in that direction. Clearly I am steered toward putting in the effort, reaping the reward, and celebrating it with my community.

So, here I go! Where will I be in a year? I've written it down, and today I open the scroll. And recite.