Advice for the week

This is a reading for myself...but you could use the same technique for your own questions. First two questions are a 3-card draw (lines 1 and 2), final question is a 1-card draw (single card on right).

What is the best course of action to take this week to assure the outcome we want?
What is the best course of action for security in the future?
What is my best next step?

Tarot de Marseille Francois Chosson 1736, Yves Renaud

Be prepared to spend a lot of money; otherwise, the outcome is out of my hands.

Stability is the result of optimism, trusting in a partner, and going with gut feeling.

My next best step is to wait for the call. Nothing else to be done.

6 of Wands - You again??

Morgan Greer Tarot 

Look who's back. 6 of Wands is stalking me, so I'm using Pearl Annie's stalker technique this morning.

I've shuffled 6 of Wands back into the deck and divided the pack into five piles: Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Spirit. I found the 6 of Wands the 5th card down in the Earth pile. So the area of my life where the 6 of Wands has concern is Earth, the material, physical plane.

But what is his message in the material, physical plane? Could he be telling me there's nothing victorious about blogging at 5.30 AM on four hour's sleep and the best thing I could do is go back to bed? Maybe...

I'll ask him to write me a letter, which I learned at Over the Moon Oracle Cards:



Dear Seeker,

When I show up in your readings, I'm giving you a message about THIS (Card 1). I'm showing you THIS (Card 2) is what's happening and I want you to be/feel THIS (Card 3) about it. When I appear, I'm asking you to release THIS (Card 4) and embrace THIS (Card 5). When you see me, it's time to take THIS (Card 6) action.

Sincerely,

Tarot Card Stalker

Dear Carla

When I show up in your readings, I'm giving you a message about how your thought life traps you. I'm showing you that are focusing on the negative. You're so gloomy about stuff! I want you to be more grounded and optimistic -- explore aspects of your physical existence and world. Approach your life with the spirit of an explorer. Get back to basics. Make some new discovery. Make some mud pies, or whatever the grown up equivalent of that is. Whatever happened to those colouring books for grown-ups you bought?

When I appear, I'm asking you to release the need to be the one holding the reins and making things happen, and embrace taking a break from your whirling thoughts. Get some rest! When you see me, it's time to take quick action--move yourself from your thought life to quiet self-care, and don't waste any time about it! If you follow my advice, you'll feel more triumphant in your life. 

Sincerely

The 6 of Wands

So on that note, I'm going back to bed. 

See ya. 

What's the opposite of schadenfreude?

This card has been a key player in my draws since mid-April. Keeps turning up, once as a blockage card. The 6 of Wands is about victory, but not lasting peace. The 7 of Wands that follows it shows active defense, as the figure staves off an uphill attack from his position at the top of the hill. Still, there's no point in borrowing trouble. 'Be not therefore anxious about the troubles of tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof', as Jesus himself said in Matthew 6:34. For today, enjoy the success.

James Ricklef's book, The Soul's Journey: Finding Spiritual Messages in the Tarot, suggests aspects of this card I have not considered before. Ricklef says that the number six is about reciprocity, and that the 6 of Wands advocates gratitude for the encouragement others give us, as well as having more than a lukewarm or grudging praise for the success of others. (Sort of like the opposite of schadenfreude.)

The message I'm taking is that it's okay to feel successful today, but don't be surprised if another hurdle is thrown up in the future. That's the way life is.

Tarot of the Hidden Realm Six of Wands

Tarot of the Hidden Realm by Barbara Moore (art by Julia Jeffrey)

I actually forgot I owned this deck.

I joined a Facebook group about the fae and started thinking about faerie decks and saw images of this one and thought...I thought I bought that. Did I buy that? I think I remember taking it out of my shopping cart. But I got up and checked and there it was. Not with my other decks, but tucked elsewhere (because where I store most of my decks was full).

Shuffling the deck this morning, this card fell out, the Six of Wands. Like most cards in this deck, this one has a backstory that you're unlikely to come up with without reading the book. Apparently this lass has come out to the woods in the dark of the moon and stands there until a 'spark of starlight' enters her heart, then she dances and a bunch of fireflies fly out from her fingers. Yeah, I'd have come up with that. The divinatory meaning given reads, 'If you put yourself firmly in the situation, quiet your mind and still your heart, then you will find what you need.' This is different from the usual 6 of Wands, which shows the struggle over, the fight won, and the victor returning in glory. Not a wand in sight in this card. But at least you get boobies.

I can see why this deck got tucked away in a separate place. I think I'd really have to be in the mood to read this one. There are too many people in it, depicted in close-up, in poses that are a bit too ambiguous to be of much help. Style over substance, and Froud did it better.

I went ahead and drew another card, and got Ace of Wands. This card shows a close up of a fox. While the book describes how a fox can hold as still as possible (which seems to echo Six of Wands), the divinatory meaning says, 'an opportunity, one that will require swift action.' So...not much holding still, then. I guess it's about being vigilant for the moment when you should strike.

But you know, I don't like decks that make you do a lot of twisting of what's there to make it fit. It feels like the person writing the book had to try too hard to get the images to mean something. Sometimes writers are commissioned to do this. Sometimes they work in collaboration with artists. I generally suspect when interpretations puzzle me by not being wholly reflected in the image, that the writer was given finished images and told to make something of them. And I get that feeling with every card in this deck.

Oh well, off to work!

Magic carpet ride

"The battering rods [of the 5 of Wands] have united and become a fruit-bearing tree, a yielding tree, which grows from the battle-scarred landscape. The yield is a bloody fruit with light emitting from the centre. This fruit is offered up, via the white path of the magic carpet (the wings of ascension) to a higher force. The higher force symbolized by the appearance of the four-coloured diamond or octahedron (a pyramidal structure) in the sky. This higher force is four-coloured for the four planes of existence, and geometrical for balance. Looking at the diamond, you are looking into the pyramid of the 4 [of Wands], once again filled with the light of your own higher consciousness." - Tarot of the Spirit, p 91

And I thought that was a flying carpet.

To me, it looks like a decorative rug with a tree or something growing out of it, flying through the night sky toward this white light that has opened up, and that 'octahedron' has appeared there in the doorway, guiding us in.

'Cause it's Friday. And the 'bloody battlefield' of the week is behind me. And even though I have to work Sunday (boo!) I've got tomorrow off. And I finish today at 3.30. So I'm coming into the home stretch of the week. The weekend beckons.

Glory!

Here we go again

An opportunity has come up to do my current role full time in a different location. It would mean moving to a new town and stepping into an environment in transition. I thought I'd draw a few cards:

1. What are my chances of securing this post?
2. How will I feel about working in this role in this new environment?
3. What are the major challenges I would face if successful?
4. How would I overcome them?
5. What would be the biggest rewards of taking this role?
6. How would taking this job affect the overall quality of my life?

That is a pretty definitive answer to the first question! My chances of getting the job are quite good, as I have drawn the Six of Staffs, the traditional card of triumph depicting the homecoming of a victorious military leader.

The forward momentum of the first card, in which the figure has his left arm raised toward the rest of the spread, continues in the next card, Page of Staffs. In this role, I would feel energised and enthusiastic. The Page of Staffs in the Byzantine Tarot is a messenger, and this card implies that I would be busy following orders and acting as a go-between. This is actually in line with my job description and comes as no surprise. I do like the fact that Page has youthful energy; it implies a freshness. However, it also denotes a naivete and so it's possible I might bumble through the role oblivious to certain undercurrents -- and that's okay with me, too.

The third card continues to face right into the spread; this time the Knight of Cups holds the cup aloft -- toward the heavens? Toward his superior officer? There is a feeling of a Grail Knight about this figure, and we know what sort of life a Grail Knight led -- slogging lost through the wastelands seeking to do the impossible. Oh my! That's a big challenge to face. Perhaps the job might feel overwhelming, or I might feel that my personal commitment and dedication is not paying off in the way that I'd hoped or dreamed. I may feel called upon to 'gallant' behaviour, defending those who I feel are weaker than myself, in other words, always trying to stick up for those I supervise. I can see that.

The way to overcome this challenge is depicted in Ten of Swords. I will need to recognise lost causes and practice letting go of the fight. There is no point in carrying on with a battle that you can't win. I can see a real conflict between the Knight of Cups and the Ten of Swords here. The Knight of Cups clings fiercely to his ideals and his causes, which are quite often romantic illusions, no matter how passionately he feels about them. The Ten of Swords couldn't be a stronger message of how futile such battling would be. That is a stark warning. Do I want to get myself into a situation where I would constantly need to let go of my higher ideals, for my very survival? That's a question. But it could also be character building, in that it would involve learning to live in reality instead of illusion.

I get reinforcement for these interpretations in the next card, which answers 'What would be the biggest reward of taking this role?' Answer: Fortitude. The Byzantine Tarot depicts the Bible story of Jacob, who encounters a stranger (who in fact is an angel) and they engage in a wrestling match that lasts all night. Jacob gets him in a hold and won't let the angel go until he receives a blessing. The encounter leaves Jacob with a limp, but also a name change -- to Israel, and he becomes the patriarch of the Israelites. This has a different feel to the traditional image of the maiden overcoming the lion through the strength of her gentleness! In this Strength (or Fortitude) card, the man pays a price for his reward, and his strategy does not involve gentleness but iron will.

And as to how the job would affect the overall quality of my life, I have drawn Judgement! So the new job would pretty much change everything. It would be a transformation. It's interesting, though, that this card depicts the other side of the coin of Judgement Day that you don't see in RWS -- not everyone who rises gets into paradise. I take this to mean at the very least that the changes will be profound, and both good and bad.

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? 

Triumph of the will

I'm not sharing a spread today, even though it's Sunday. Instead, I'm making an announcement. I have a goal in a different area of my life that I would like to focus all my energy on. And so I am reducing my posts on this blog to once a week. It will probably be a Saturday.

Of course, even though I am only blogging once a week, my services as a tarot reader are still fully available and I will happily do tarot readings for you any day of the week! Please continue to order readings in the usual way, regardless of whether the blog has been updated.

I've drawn the 6 of Wands today, and that helps assure me that my decision is the right thing for me. The victorious warriors ride proudly, and so will I, when I return to daily blogging here having accomplished my goal.

I think I'll do a reading on this. Even though I have been featuring big spreads on Sundays, my favourite draw has always been and will remain the 3-card open reading, followed by a 3-card draw with card positions. Let's do that right now.

What are the three things I need to do, or what three areas must I cultivate, in order to be successful in achieving this goal?

There is a lot of fire here,which is exactly what I need to achieve the goal. My thoughts are confirmed. I need to focus on it, I need to move toward it with optimism and confidence, I need to see the bright side of it, and I need to settle in to a routine wherein I find the abundance within myself and my personal situation. I should take this fiery impetus and follow through on it, making the most of this time of inspiration. Strike while the iron is hot, and all that. And I also need to keep the iron hot, and keep striking it, like striking those gold coins in that 10 of Coins card. I see them repeated in the angel's halo in Ace of Wands, in the Sun, and of course in the 10 of Coins card. Now is the time, now is the hour, mine is the fire, mine is the power (to paraphrase a spell from a favourite movie of mine, 'The Craft'.) 

So! I am resolved. 

Meet you back here next Saturday. Many blessings to you. x 

V-I-C-T-O-R-Y

Aquarian Tarot, 2006

Hey, hey! It's the Six of Rods today! The Aquarian Tarot shows us a close up of the victorious soldier returning from battle.

This is a very auspicious card. It has to do with victory, success, triumph. Today is going to be a victorious day for me.

Victory is my key word for the day. :)

We are the champions

I do feel a bit like a champion this morning. I've just completed my fourth morning yoga practice in a row. I won't bore you with the details other than it was a 27 minute practice and when I finished it I felt like a switch in my brain had been flipped on. I still feel tired (I've not been sleeping well lately) but I feel mentally more alert.

Today's card, Six of Rods, from the Anna K Tarot (Llewellyn 2103) shows the feeling of triumph. The man standing on the podium with flowers at his feet does look to me like an athlete, in his loincloth with the laurel wreath on his head. Maybe he's just defeated someone in a wrestling match, or perhaps he's just completed a marathon. Whatever his achievement, he's worked hard for it, feels great about it, and the crowd around him is equally thrilled and chuffed for him.

What is it in your life that makes you say, 'Yaaaaaaaay!!!!' Look for it today. :)

Will I? What then?

Anna K Tarot, 1st edition

I'm just embarking on a new opportunity, which would be of 6 month duration. I thought I'd ask the tarot about it.

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.