Witches' New Year -- Reassessing our goals

Samhain marks the mid-point of the Air Tide (the period between Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice). The Air Tide, to me, is the 'season of the witch' -- it is a season of winds, swirling leaves, rustling treetops, electric storms, hanging mists, and glorious sunsets. At this time of year, I invariably find myself studying, reading, and immersing myself in learning projects. This sort of thing reaches a kind of zenith around the middle of the season, at Samhain, one of the four Celtic fire festivals (agricultural festivals). So this is the reason, for me, that I consider this the 'Witches' New Year'. We remember absent friends and family, particularly those who have passed beyond this veil. Also, in the old Celtic calendar, Samhain marked the beginning of winter, and I believe that is another reason some consider this festival a 'New Year'.

All I know is, this time of year always sees me feeling stirred up in many ways. I take stock of my direction, where I've come from and where I'm heading.

The advice here is to review past goals and set new ones. So...let's see what the cards have to say about this. I've asked five questions, in honour of the five-pointed star: 

1. What should I know about my past goals? Page of Swords

2. Which goals should I keep in the new year? 4 of Coins

3. Which goals should I abandon? 5 of Coins

4. What new direction should I go in? Devil

5. What can I do to support achieving my goals both old and new? 4 of Cups 

Lovers' Tarot, Jane Lyle 

 My past goals were mostly in my head and never got off the ground. The goals I should keep are those focused on maintaining the status quo in the material plane. I should abandon the goal of trying to feel comfortable in the material plane -- by that I mean, the goal of NOT feeling like 5 of Pentacles. Uncertainty is okay. In fact, I found a song about it yesterday. I'll just share it here:




'Be like a bird who, halting in her flight
On a limb too slight, feels it give way beneath her,
Yet sings, sings, knowing she has wings,
Yet sings, sings, knowing she has wings.'

(This turns out to be based on a quotation by Victor Hugo: 'Let us be like a bird for a moment perched on a frail branch when he sings; though he feels it bend, yet he sings his song, knowing that he has wings.')

Life is precarious; it is not certain. We long to feel that there is a solid foundation beneath us, but there is not. At any time we could lose a loved one, we could lose a livelihood, we could lose our health. But  whatever falls from under us, we won't plunge to our destruction. We can survive whatever ground or support disappears from beneath our feet.

What new direction can I go in? The Devil tells me to say 'F*ck it.' In fact, I just checked out a book from the library last week called 'F*ck It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way', by John C. Parkin. 'Up there so high in our Perspective Machine,' he writes, 'we realize our lives are just like that of a firefly. Except the air is full of seven billion fireflies. They're glowing beautifully for one night. Then they're gone. So f*ck it, you might as well REALLY glow. And there we go. Did you taste it? That was the brief taste of freedom. Sometimes it doesn't last very long, but it's an unforgettable taste. Personally, I've always tasted it when I've contemplated the utter meaninglessness of my own existence. It's a rush of freedom and it tastes good. If my life means so little, then F*ck It, I might as well go for it and just have a laugh.'

So how can I support this new devilish F*ck It philosophy? Refuse to be upset by trifles. The number 4 means 'things stay the same', and if Cups represent emotions, then that shows a pretty stable emotional response. Four of Cups in fact may be the ultimate F*ck It card. Four has the elemental affinity of Fire so 4 of Cups is Fire of Water. It takes an active choice to decide to say 'F*ck it.'  :)

Well, at least I've got my new motto for the year.

7 of Cups - it's not 'pipe dreams'

Tarot of the Spirit by Pamela Eakins 

Today's card is from Tarot of the Spirit by Pamela Eakins (US Games 1992, 2011). This deck is highly Thoth influenced, but that's all I really know about it at the moment as it just arrived on Saturday. :)

My card of the day drawn from Tarot of the Spirit is Seven of Water, aka 7 of Cups. Crowley calls this card 'Debauch'. If you look in the lower corners, you can see symbols, Venus on left, Scorpio on right. This card is Venus in Scorpio. As it happens, this card is also ruled by -- guess who? Knight of Wands. Yes, he's back.

Let's start from scratch. DuQuette offers this formula for dealing with minors:

ns + pz = sc

This stands for 'number of suit plus planet in zodiac equals small cards'. So in this card we have: 

7 of Cups + Venus in Scorpio

7 is associated with Netzach on the Tree of Life (Victory). Its elemental affinity is Fire, thus this card is Fire of Water.  It is considered an unstable number (as are most of the odd numbers). Venus in Scorpio seems key to the Thoth interpretation, so I've gathered some thoughts about it from various sources:

"Common types with Venus in Scorpio dissipate relentlessly and are frequently degenerates or drunks." -- Astrologer Joan Quigley, qtd in DuQuette, Understanding Crowley's Thoth Tarot

"Venus in detriment in Scorpio betrays its weakest qualities. Scorpionic passions plus the goddess of love equals 'I can resist everything but temptation' Oscar Wilde" -- www.mindfire.ca

"Venus in Scorpio worries about finding some much-needed stability in the emotional turmoil, so it pursues the deepest, most primal emotional connections it can find. It wants to cut through illusions and connect at a soul level, because when we connect at this deep level, we find peace and stability.' -- therealastrology.com

This understanding of Venus in Scorpio helps to explain why many tarot readers interpret 7 of Cups as being overindulgence, addiction, substance abuse, or as Crowley calls it 'Debauchery'. 

So while the 7 of Cups sits on Netzach (Victory), its planetary zodiac attribution makes it very unstable and the type of Victory seen is not that enjoyable. 

I have a sneaking suspicion what behaviour this card points to for me. My waist size and the topography of my thighs can attest to it. Whether I care about appearance or not, health is a factor that must be considered. What is the way out of 7 of Cups debauchery? Well, this card sits on Netzach on the Tree of Life. The way out of 7 Netzach toward 6 Tiphareth, the sphere of Perfect Equilibrium, is tarot major (or Key) 13 Death. It's printed right there on the Tree of Life Diagram: 

The route from Victory to Beauty is 13. Death. That's a pretty clear message, too. I can press my luck and further ask, What needs to die in order for me to move from debauchery to balance? Funnily enough, I drew Brother of Fire, Knight of Wands. I think it's telling me, stop with the questions get on with the action. 

The LWB says: 'Be careful, do not be too impulsive at this time of great revelation and change. Attune to the eternal nature of things, and your actions will endure.' 

Which being translated could be: 'Be careful, don't stuff your face with cookies and cake all day when you're just starting to get your head around the fact that you're lumpy and it's all your fault. Remember that calories in must be less than calories out, that's the eternal nature of things. If you remember that, you will hesitate long enough to keep your hand from going straight to your face with that biscuit.' 

Or something like that. 

Handsome lad

Tarot of the Hidden Realm (Llewellyn 2013)

I've drawn another Fire of Water card today, the Ace of Cups. The chap doesn't look terribly playful; in fact, he looks dead serious. (Though the companion refers to him as a 'she', with those eyebrows and mustaches, I just cannot see him as female! He reminds me of Dr Watson from Sherlock Holmes.)

FIRE OF WATER
Why choose Otter to represent the fiery inception of the Cups suit? (All Aces have the elemental affinity of Fire.) Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm's Druid Animal Oracle companion book describes Otter as a symbol of the 'strength of family ties', and recounts a tale called The Voyage of Maelduin, in which a family of kindly otters bring fish to seafarers who find themselves stranded on the Island of Otters. 'Here the otter is is portrayed as a friend of man, exemplifying the ideals of service, charity and helpfulness,' explains the book, which goes on to describe the many Celtic names for otter which show the man's-best-friend aspect: water-hound, brown-dog, water-dog, sea-dog. So, the otter can represent joyfulness, playfulness, and helpfulness, all of which must surely have their source in the Ace of Cups.

I learned about elemental affinities in Benebell Wen's book, Holistic Tarot. I already knew that court cards had elemental affinities, but I did not realise that all minors have them. The system comes from a book called Tarot of the Bohemians by Papus, published in 1892. (I've created a new page here called 'Online Reference Library'. There a link to it on the right sidebar under 'More Rowan Tarot'. This page contains links to the full text of classic tarot and occult texts. You can link to Tarot of the Bohemians from there.)

This otter I must admit doesn't look quite as friendly or cuddly as other depictions I've seen...but then, emotion is always warm and fuzzy, and the Ace of Cups does represent the source/inception of emotion, intuition and relationships in their many guises, not just the warm fuzzy ones. For the moment at least, this card is working for me.

Hey, that's no bird! 4 of Cups in Tarot of the Hidden Realm

Let's look at the elements at work in this 4 of Cups card from Tarot of the Hidden Realm by Barbara Moore and Julia Jeffrey (Llewellyn 2013).

At first glance, I see a faerie in a tree, with birds. But on second glance, those aren't birds, they're seals! Then it becomes clear it's not the wind lifting her hair but the water. And those aren't tree branches, they are seaweed. It turns out what we are seeing is a selkie, sinking back into the deep.

The selkie (or silkie) comes from Scottish and Irish lore of the seals. The legend is that some seals will come ashore and shed their skins and take the form of beautiful human males or females. I don't know much about the male version; I think they mostly came ashore to comfort wives whose husbands were at sea. The females would come ashore and fall in love with a man, and if he could get her seal skin and keep it hidden, she would stay with him forever, though she would often sit and gaze longingly out to sea. If she ever did find the skin, she would be unable to resist putting it on and returning to her seal form. Sadly, once back at sea, she would then feel longing for the land. So she was both happy and sad in both places. Always longing for one or the other, no matter where she was.

This strikes me as a poignant representation of the 4 of Cups, which we often hear interpreted as 'boredom', when in fact it might better be described as dissatisfaction or unrest arising from longing. (Though we may not often know what we're even longing for.)

FIRE OF WATER
The element of suit of Cups is Water, which corresponds to feelings, intuitions, relationships. The elemental affinity of the number 4 is Fire, which corresponds to passion, drive, vitality. Thus the 4 of Cups is Fire of Water. Boredom can't really be seen as 'fiery', but emotion can be. Not the emotion of anger, but of longing. And the element of Fire is an element of taking action, which the selkie does by leaving the sea and by returning to it. Why does she do this? The passion is what drives her to it. The love is what keeps her in place for so long in both places. 'Dissatisfaction with what you have and wishing for something you don't have,' is how Barbara Moore describes it, in the companion book to Tarot of the Hidden Realm. 'Humans pulling this card are not doomed to the selkie's torment.' (That's a relief!) 'This card asks you to open your eyes to what is before you and recognize the happiness that is right under your nose.'

Which is all well and good and very fine advice. It's the moments before we 'open our eyes' that the card depicts with such accuracy (even in the RWS version - though the 'open your eyes' aspect is more overtly shown by the hand offering the cup) -- not boredom, but deep unrest arising from dissatisfaction. Fire of Water.

The King of Cups - Fountain Tarot

Fountain Tarot, 2014

My card of the day is the King of Cups from the Fountain Tarot by Jonathan Saiz, Jason Gruhl and Andi Todaro.

This card depicts a man in a business suit, ankle across knee, a cup balanced on his knee. His hands are folded across his lap, and he smiles and looks to his left, as though another person were there with whom he is enjoying a conversation. He seems very personable. His bald head and glasses give him an elder, fatherly air. He seems to be a very powerful man, but one who is approachable. He is giving his full attention to the person he's speaking to; he is one whose 'open door policy' is genuine. His fine suit and casual posture, show us that he is confident, self-assured, diplomatic, and emotionally available. His demeanor is welcoming, but his body posture shows that he also knows how to engage in psychological self defense -- the crossed legs, the folded hands. He's open, but he's the one who is in control of the conversation. He's more of an empathetic listener than a sharer, just as he should be in his capacity as a professional man.

Traditionally, the King of Cups is seen as the father figure of the court cards. He is a loving and gentle male presence in the lives of his children and family.

Surprisingly, in its reversed position, the King of Cups can be reactive and veangeful, rather than, as one might expect, being depressed or self-condemning. This is explained by using a traditional way of determining the reversed meaning of  court cards, which is to look at their opposite elemental dignities -- The King of Cups is Fire of Water the opposite of Fire is Water. The opposite of Water is Fire. So that would be Water of Fire, or Queen of Wands, and she can be an absolute terror when crossed!

The companion book to Fountain Tarot doesn't give us any guidance on the geometric shapes that occur throughout the deck. I can't help but think there's some significance to the shapes. Here we have a circle on a triangle. The triangle inside a circle is a symbol that is more familiar to me, being used on US currency, a Masonic symbol, a symbol of creation, a symbol referenced in kabbalah, and in decorations in Catholic cathedrals (usually with an eye in the triangle). But what about a circle inside a triangle? In this card, the circle is slightly bigger than the triangle, but still. What is it? It is known as Solomon's Circle, or Solomon's Seal, which some occultists claim was on King Solomon's signet ring and contributed to magical powers.

Without going into it too much, you may notice that the inner circle spells out 'Mi-cha-el', or archangel Michael, and the lines represent Primeumaton, Anaphaxeton, and Tetragrammaton (AHYH, ADNI, YHVH). If you know the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, these will be familiar. If you don't and are curious, seek and ye shall find. (In other words, google it.)

But an even more salient meaning for the King of Cups, to me, is this one:

This is the Al-Anon symbol. King of Cups, for many readers, is associated with alcohol and substance abuse. The circle-within-the-triangle symbol represents Al-Anon, the support group for those affected by another person's alcoholism. It is the reverse image of the AA symbol: 

In both logos, the three arms of the triangle represent unity, recovery and service. The circle represents serenity, perfection and the source of unlimited potential. 

The stable shape of the triangle envelopes the symbol of potential and serenity in the Al-Anon symbol -- stability, fortitude, those are the things that foster an environment that will allow perfect peace to grow. Whereas the peace and serenity bring the stability for the substance abusers. It's a great representation of the interlocking needs of all involved. 

The King of Cups in Fountain Tarot sits upon a throne made of these symbols -- stability, unity, support, service, peace, recovery, serenity. What a great guy. Great dad. Great friend. Great boss. He knows how you feel. He can help. 

We've got the power and we've got some teaching to do

Today's draw from Wicca Deck (Morningstar 2014) and Old English Tarot (Kneen 1997) continues giving us messages about taking our personal power. Good!

In today's card we see the Athame, or knife, a Wiccan tool, also used in witchcraft, Druidry and other earth-based spiritual traditions. It's a beautiful image. The hand clutching the athame rises through rings of air (athame is the symbol of the element Air, direction east), and reaches up into the starry night sky where a mystical spiral sun burns up the night, a crescent moon watching from above. What an amazing scene.

The card is called Commander of Power. In practice, the athame is ritually used much like a wand, to direct energy. In the Wicca Deck, it takes on more authority, possibly because it is associated with masculine energy. (It is a phallic symbol in Wiccan ceremonies, where it is ritually plunged into the chalice, a female symbol). The card represents a commanding presence, a strong sense of self, and being in charge of one's life. A blade cuts through things, and so this image represents healthy boundaries. Now, that's the real fire!

And so that leads us to our supporting card for the day, King of Cups. Another masculine card, another symbol of mastery. This card, from Old English Tarot, features the king on his throne, surrounded by clusters of grapes. (Many Cups cards in this deck feature grape clusters). The card shows us where we need to set boundaries in order to become Commander of Power in our own lives--our emotions and our relationships.

Maya Angelou said that we teach people how to treat us. We lead them by example, did you know that? The way we treat ourselves and they way we let them treat us -- that's the precedent we create.

Time to set some boundaries then, and the place to start is with ourselves.

Ask yourself:

• Do I put myself down in front of others (or even just to myself)?
• Do I take the blame for things onto myself? 
• Do I put myself last? 
• Do I think other people deserve better than I deserve?

Now you know you need to use your Athame to cut out that behaviour. Set a boundary with yourself -- STOP belittling yourself, labelling yourself, blaming yourself, failing to prioritise yourself and feeling undeserving! Instead:

• Compliment yourself on something -- anything! And instead of putting yourself down in conversations, catch yourself before you speak and instead, use that breath you drew to pay a compliment to the person you're talking to (or about the person you're talking about. You heard me!)
• Think logically when things go wrong. Could you really have 'caused' what happened? Even if you were actually at fault, can you go back and do it over? And in 100 years, will anyone care? Let it go!
• Do at least one thing today that is just for you--and don't wait until everyone else in the house is finally in bed. Tell them they can wait and go do something for yourself. You're teaching them how to treat you, remember?
• Read this out loud right now - 'I am a precious child of the universe and I deserve every blessing it can offer.'

You've given yourself some thought, now let's look at others. Please ask yourself: 

• Am I in any relationships in which I feel powerless?
• What boundaries do I need in order to feel more empowered?
• How can I do so in a way that is respectful toward the humanity of the person and of myself? 
• What is one boundary-setting action I can take today? 

Take up that Athame of Power and look after yourself, lovelies. 

The space men have landed

Once upon a time there was a Nobel Prize winning author called Doris Lessing. She wrote, amongst other things,  a series of five books called the Canopus in Argos series (1979-1983). The books examine the history of the earth (or earth-like planets) and humankind (or human-like beings), from the point of view of alien intelligences. Doris's readers were disappointed when she turned from literary fiction to what she called 'space fiction.'

 'I would so like it,' Doris said, ' if reviewers and readers could see this series, Canopus in Argos: Archive, as a framework that enables me to tell (I hope) a beguiling tale or two; to put questions, both to myself and to others; to explore ideas and sociological possibilities. What they don't realise is that in science fiction is some of the best social fiction of our time.' 

One of the series is called The Sirian Experiments (1980). In this book, the Sirians have become quite advanced; in effect, immortal. So they get bored and develop a case of 'the existentials', and decide to go off and seed new worlds and have meaningful new spiritual and existential experiences. Of course the worlds are all ostensible versions of earth. A cult seems to have grown up around this.  Lessing said in an interview that its followers had written to her and asked, "When are we going to be visited by the gods?", and she told them that the book is "not a cosmology. It's an invention", and they replied, "Ah, you're just testing us."

Then along comes Patricia Cori, 'Scribe to Speakers of the Sirian High Council', in 1996, claiming to channel messages from a 'Sirian High Council'. I'm not entirely sure this comes directly from Lessing's books, but I strongly suspect so. Here's where I lose the thread a bit because this sort of stuff involves a lot of densely written text on websites having lots of flashing effects and scrolling messages and exclamation points, and reading it all makes me lose the will to live. Suffice to say that in 2012 Patricia Cori created a tarot deck, and in 2014, in a curious departure from the norm, I bought it. 

And guess what?  I really like it. No, really. I do. 

We'll have to turn to the LWB for more about the Sirians. Apparently, we are all 'starseeds' who have chosen to inhabit earth in this incarnation. I can't really tell if that makes us Sirians or if we are little starseeds in their cosmic petrie dish. The tarot structure can encompass the Sirian Starseed story the same as it can encompass any story, though, and it does fit beautifully. The majors of course contain the archetypes of any sort of journey, spiritual or otherwise, and they will fit anything, I'm convinced of this. They are the archetypes of every story. That's all there is to that.

The four suits have the names changed to chalices (cups), orbs (swords), crystals (pentacles) and flames (wands). The courts are called 'people keys' and are seeker, adept, sage and master (page, knight, queen, king). 

The art of the deck is photocollage. Some images are a bit clunky, but overall, I really like these cards. They are huge and very pretty and easy to read right out of the box, or at least that has been my experience. 

Sirian Starseed Tarot

Today's card is Master of Chalices (King of Cups). The People Keys 'can't be interpreted in simplistic terms and finite descriptions,' says Cori in the LWB. 'To understand them you will need to explore the essence of each suit' and then consider how each People Key embodies that essence. Masters (Kings) have complete authority over the suit and carry significant social responsibility for them. The suit of chalices represents 'the subconscious, emotions, love and relationships, sensuality...illusions, intuition, blissful celebration' -- and so the traditional card meanings exist very strongly in this deck. To me, the imagery is just a rather new way of evoking the traditional essence of each card. I like that. 

This the kind of deck that doesn't take a lot of wordy analysis. It can be experienced. Stare at the Master of Chalices. There is the ocean in all its depth, and the sky is filled with a pair of knowing eyes. It's all you need, really, to get a feel for the King of Cups. Very powerful card. 

I will master my emotions today. Particularly as I have had a toothache in that  demon seed tooth that caused me so much angst and misery in March and April. I am going to believe in my heart that this discomfort is nothing and will pass. I am not going to let my imagination or my emotions run away with me about it. 

A personal reading: leaving a job

I have requested to go back to my regular job 6 months early. Even though my regular job has its problems, too, and has its own risks, and even though the secondment paid a bit more, I really don't want to spend a full year doing that work. I certainly know that I would not wish to ever do the job permanently. There seemed little point in prolonging the matter. And so I decided to pull some cards, now that I've taken official steps to end the thing early: 

What results to my advantage from leaving this job?

I decided to focus my question on the positive side of this move. The cards I've drawn are tremendously encouraging. 

Tarot Illuminati by Eric C Dunne, companion book by Kim Huggens Llewellyn 2012

Despite my strong Queen of Swords aspect, I became more acutely aware of some things about myself over the last few months, and these are well represented by the King of Cups. As Fire of Water, the King of Cups is the action of emotion. My first (and hopefully last) taste of life in a corporate office has brought home to me my need for work based on my strong feelings about something. I have mentioned that all my work has been in helping professions - teacher, customer service, librarian. It's true that a Queen of Swords tendency to be organised and self-controlled certainly helps in these roles, but the crux of the matter is King of Cups. Without a deep conviction that the work I'm doing matters in a meaningful way to other people, I cannot muster enthusiasm for a task. I need to help. I need to be of service. Healer, counsellor, advisor, compassion, active emotions, care, spiritual wisdom, emotional experience -- all these are associated with the King of Cups, who in his most positive aspect represents all these things (and in the company of the two following cards, he is most definitely positively aspected).

'Mine is the power of active compassion,' the King of Cup declares in the companion book, 'the power to see pain and suffering and heal it, to purify the wounded and injured, and to guide the lost soul in times of trouble. I travel upon the ocean, because to swim in it would let it overcome me; I rule my emotions, not the other way around, and it is this which allows me to heal the wounded feelings and souls of others.'

It is a strong indication to me that I belong in work where I feel that I am helping other people -- directly helping other people, not doing back room work for an organisation that ostensibly helps other people. I need to be able to look in the eyes of the person I am helping, to see the connection I am making, to see that the work I do has a direct positive influence on someone's life. Dealing in abstractions about 'big work for a bigger good' is not fulfilling for me.

It's true that these things are more immediate and apparent in the jobs I will be returning to, but even more so in pursuing other goals -- and these goals are to expand on my deep interests and skills. The Alchemist, or Magician, is highly supportive of new beginnings, new projects and goals. The Alchemist has all resources at hand -- earth, water, fire and air -- and this is representative of having everything you need within you and without you to make your dreams reality. What you imagine can happen. The Alchemist tells me to direct my energy toward my goals. 'Sometimes it can indicate that something the querent is doing or working on seems to be inspired by or linked directly to a higher cause or power, as if they are channelling it and they simply are the messenger or means by which it reaches manifestation,' writes Huggens. Now is the time to pursue these goals, becoming more fully committed to helping others directly. So this would be another advantage of making this change in jobs - it provides opportunity to move in this direction. Just how it does remains to be seen...

Finally, the 2 of Wands is a card that shows possibility and forward momentum. I was struck by the words of the 2 of Wands in the companion book: 'The strong will, by necessity, must be expansive in nature, not happy to be cloistered and shut away...I know the limits of my dominion, and therefore I know what is not my dominion, and what is waiting for me. But knowing is not enough, because I also know that I have not yet expanded my will and desire far enough. I am the explorer, the entrepreneur, the leader, the conqueror. I do not seek to take from others, but my influence will be felt...' That is how I felt in a corporate office, cloistered and shut away, certainly not my dominion. And so, this card represents the expansion of will into action. The card encourages me to move in the direction of my will -- and my will is to do work that is truly and directly helpful to others. That is where my passion lies. It must said that 2 of Wands is a very auspicious card to draw in relation to business endeavours, and I so very strongly wish to do work that makes a difference in people's lives, that brings them comfort and enouragement and builds them up and makes them feel good and strong. I know that my gifts lie in that direction, and are manifested in card reading and spiritual counselling.

This is the direction I want to take. This is direction I will take.

Flying reindeer

More cups. We're off from work all week in honour of our big anniversary so this looks like a loved up thing...

Yep...Chesca Potter's comments bear this out: 'Drawing this card denotes companionship, deep friendship. A sharing of profound understanding, a mutual love of knowledge from the past. Possible creation of a home together, a sense of home-coming and enduring friendship.'  

Awww!

The two reindeer stand nose to nose in front of a tent made from wooly mammoth fur, tusks and bones. Wisps of homey smoke rise from the tent. You may wonder why there are fly agaric mushrooms featured in the card. Check out this clip from BBC Weird Nature:




That's pretty freaky! So maybe that happy home with the smoke coming out the top could also be a sweat lodge with a shaman inside having a vision of some type. Maybe that little bowl is his reindeer urine receptacle. LOL How silly. But I wouldn't be surprised at all, as the Greenwood Tarot is considered to be a shamanic deck. Let me just go check the book...

All it says is: 'The picture shows male and female reindeer as both have antlers. Male reindeer rut in autumn and the antlers are a potent symbol of sexual power. The fly agaric is also found at this time and the reindeer appear to eat this highly toxic  red fungi and seem to get 'drunk'. Some shaman drank the purified urine of the reindeer for its hallucinatory properties once the toxins had been removed.' Hmmm.  A little clicking around on the internet led me to some musings by a contemporary shaman who uses the Greenwood deck, Mi-shell of Aeclectic Tarot.

Mi-shell suggests that you should ask yourself this when you draw this card: What do you envision for the forthcoming future of your family -- your wishes, dreams, 'pipe dreams' and what should go to project status toward realization, how would you go about it and what help could the reindeer guardians offer?

At this 10th anniversary of our marriage, it's a good time for such stock take. And also a good time to appreciate all the positive aspects of the King of Cups, the master of emotions and relationships, the 'Lord of the Waves and Waters.'

I'd like to be, under the sea...

Spiral Tarot, 1997

...in an octopus's garden, in the shade.

He'd let us in, knows where we've been 

In his octopus's garden, in the shade.

I'd ask my friends to come and see

An octopus's garden with me

I'd like to be under the sea

In an octopus's garden in the shade.

We would be warm below the storm 

In our little hideaway beneath the waves

Resting our head on the sea bed

In an octopus's garden near a cave.

We would sing and dance around

Because we know we can't be found

I'd like to be under the sea

In an octopus's garden in the shade.

We would shout and swim about

The coral that lies beneath the waves

Oh what joy for every girl and boy

Knowing they're happy and they're safe

We would be so happy you and me

No one there to tell us what to do

I'd like to be under the sea

In an octopus's garden with you.

~The Beatles

I finish work early today and everything's fine. :D Have a nice weekend, everyone! 

Ancient Italian Tarot Pairs: Day 4

'Nobody's life is entirely free of pain and sorrow. 

Isn't it a question of learning to live with them rather than trying to avoid them?'

~ Eckhart Tolle 

King of Cups                                        The Emperor

Today the Ancient Italian Tarot (LoScarabeo) advises me to embrace the King of Cups and release the Emperor. It's more important to master interpersonal relationships and my own emotions than to take a distant, perhaps lofty or superior stance.

Perhaps the draw is a simple message:  feel more, suppress less. There's a difference between mastery and control. The King of Cups is a man in authority, a man of mastery, but he has not lost touch with his emotions. He acknowledges and accepts them. The Emperor, on the other hand, is in a position of authority, but handles it differently. He doesn't like to be seen as a creature of emotion, with possible exception of wrath. He can be dictatorial, ruthless, unbending. He takes pride in showing little emotion, in his iron rule of his empire.

Of course this draw must have to do with my own personal 'tapes' and thoughts about myself. But it could also be in my dealings with others.

What does the King of Cups mean in my life right now?

Alison at This Game of Thrones asks a new moon question: What does the King of Cups mean in your life right now?   For her, he means to 'go with the flow, endeavor to be kind and considerate, accept people and be diplomatic.'

What does the King of Cups mean in my life right now?

Michael Landon 

In my tarot courts world, the King of Cups is epitomized by Charles Ingalls from 'Little House on the Prairie' -- or at least Michael Landon's portrayal of him on the TV show. In most episodes, Charles has at least one scene in which he is overwhelmed by the beauty of life and/or the goodness of his fellow man and has a teary-eyed close-up, usually with a wry grin twisting one side of his mouth upward. Though his faith in the world and in man had been tested through the episode, at the end, everything works out. He knew it would. I thought for a long time about what TV/Film character to attach to King of Cups, and finally realised that he fits my idea of this tarot court character very well indeed.

Prairie Tarot 

What does the King of Cups mean in my life right now? It's telling me to be willing to reach out to other people. Don't be suspicious of people. Even if you feel the world's let you down, it's still more good than bad. Don't be so self-absorbed that you can't see other people in the world. Allow yourself to feel what you feel, and allow some of those feelings to be good ones about humanity. Be on the lookout for stories of triumph of the human spirit, and don't be so cynical about them! ('Oh, they always tack those on to the end of the news to try to make us feel better after spending the last hour telling us the world's going to hell and we're too broke or bent to fix it'...)

Give in to joy. It's okay. Be happy. Just stop being so analytical, critical, cynical and Queen of Swords-ical!