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.

Morgan Greer Judgment

Morgan Greer Tarot 

Awakenings. Rebirth. Realisations. Fresh starts. Renewal. Heeding a call.

The Judgment card from Morgan Greer Tarot intrigues me with its depiction of the nuclear family, facing us rather than away from us. The man and woman seem to have revisited us from Lovers and Devil, and the kid reminds me of the Sun card. They arise in shadow from a box which appears to be afloat on a yellow sea, and there's no angel in sight. Instead, the man appears to be holding a fiery trumpet in his upraised arms, or maybe it's descending from the cloud of fire in the yellow sky.

The woman has her arms across her chest. This is a traditional posture for being laid to rest, and the X has been associated in medieval and renaissance art with the coming of the Messiah. It is also a symbol of Osiris, an Egyptian god of regeneration or resurrection.

How are you feeling refreshed today? In what way is today a new start for you? If it isn't yet, how could it be? What are you awakening to today? In your life in general? What are you realising? What is calling you? Are you willing to heed that call?

Wake up, close mouth, enjoy the day for what it is

Llewellyn Tarot, Anna-Marie Ferguson

The Judgement card in the Llewellyn Tarot, which is based on Welsh mythology, depicts the 'Snowdon Sleepers'. The legend holds that Arthur's battle with Mordred took place in the shadow of Snowdon, and that when he was wounded, his knights carried him to a cave where they sleep on, waiting for the time when the horn will be sounded three times, and they will rise again. It does look like someone is about to blow the horn.

This is slightly different from the traditional RWS image, in which the horn has already been sounded and the dead are rising from their tombs.

What horn has been sounded, or is about to be sounded, in my life today? What am I waking up to, or about to be waking up to?

Let's see what Lenormand can tell me. I'm using the TABI Lenormand to answer the above question with a 3-card draw:

TABI Lenormand

And I've drawn Woman + Snake + Flowers. The TABI Lenormand does not include playing card insets, but I recall that Woman is Ace of Spades, Snake is Queen of Clubs and Flowers is Queen of Spades.

Woman + Snake + Flowers = 

Woman complicates gift.
OR
Woman complicates etiquette/good manners.
OR
Woman hurts on a personal level self image.

Ace of Spades + Queen of Clubs + Queen of Spades =

All black cards = negativity
Two black queens = gossip (source Caitlin Matthews 'Complete Lenormand Handbook')

Interpretation
Today I will have opportunities to wake up to the ways in which I overthink or over-complicate what is really a good thing, often through my words. I will have the chance to realise how my behaviour and words can hurt on a personal level, both myself and others. I would do well to wake up to good manners and appreciate my gifts instead of looking for things to criticize about myself, my life, and others.

This is a daily draw, so these things will be very subtle, but just the turn of a phrase or a random thought can make a big difference.

Let sleeping kings lie

The Llewellyn Tarot by Anna-Marie Ferguson (Llewellyn 1995)

Today we have Judgement, and the card is a departure from tradition. Here we see the 'Welsh sleepers,' amongst them King Arthur, not quite dead but more in a state of suspended animation, waiting for the call to rise up and fight once again. At the top of the stairs you see a man standing by a horn hanging from the ceiling. This is the horn that will wake the sleepers.

Who knows why I have drawn this today, the day of the London Tarot Festival. I've just renewed my interest in tarot after a long hiatus, so maybe today's events will be my call to return to the world of tarot fully. Or maybe I'll fall asleep on the train and miss my stop.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

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.

Tarot de St Croix Diamond Spread

A reading for this week at work

De St Croix Diamond 5-Card Spread

(from Tarot de St Croix LWB)

1. Signifier: What or who am I in this situation? - 6 of Swords
2. Unconscious: What is underneath or hidden? - 8 of Cups
3. Release: What do I need to let go of? - 8 of Wands
4. Conscious: What is on my mind, what do I already know? - Judgement
5. Receive: What do I expect or need to open to? - Hermit

The signifier tells me at least one and possibly all of the following: I am in a position to be a catalyst for change, I am in a position to receive guidance through this change, and this change will happen and will soon be a memory, all behind me. It would seem that it's up to me to determine how smooth the sailing is. The idea of moving on or turning into a new direction is seen in both 6 of Swords and 8 of Cups. Both cards imply that the turning away is caused by some pain (or is causing some pain) but that the transition is both welcome and inevitable. In other words, the situation has reached a turning point and there is no way a corner won't be turned this week.

Tarot de St Croix says this about 8 of Cups: 'Emotional strength is not about overcoming our feelings but instead immersing ourselves in them until we can release them.' There are many ways to read this statement - none of which seem to have much to do with traditional interpretations of this card. It's saying to feel what I feel and not deny it. It could also be saying that there is a time and a place to release emotions and to be aware of that (ie, be on guard against emotive outbursts).  Finally, I also see it as a reminder that I am not the only one with feelings and it might be useful to try immersing myself in someone else's feelings in order to understand them better and be of help to them.

I need to let go of urgency. The race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong, as good old King Solomon obligingly reminds us. It is probably time to listen more than I talk and by that I don't mean sitting in silence, but actually understand and accept the ideas and opinions of others in a way that may change the way I behave in the future. Listening may not always be expedient, but it is certainly more helpful.

I already know that a sea change is needed in my work place in order for us to survive. My grave concern is that certain others will not take seriously the precarious situation we are in. It is so important, for our very survival, that we make big changes in the way we do things, and this is where my sense of urgency comes from. I lose patience watching others going through the stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance) that go along with big changes. Some of us hear the trumpet call and ready to rise up renewed (RWS imagery), others still slumber in the tomb, as it were. The Tarot de St Croix depicts life changing moments in a cathedral: 'Look at your beliefs and decide if they work for you,' the companion book advises. I already know that I have been doing that, and I know that all members of staff need to do it, too.

I need to expect and be open to the fact that this will take time. The Hermit is Father Time and it is that aspect that I see applying here. I don't see how 'solitude' has much to do with anything, though the implication is there that I may not have many allies during this transitional time. I also must be prepared to receive that it's all going to take much longer than I would have hoped. I just hope it doesn't take so long that it becomes too late.

In summary, this spread is telling me that change happens slowly, it is complicated, it involves a lot of emotions, and being impatient is only going to complicate matters. It tells me to LISTEN and to empathise.

Long week ahead. LOL

How about a draw from The Wicca Deck (Sally Morningstar 2001) for a final word on the issue:

Okay, the companion book says and I quote:

High Note - Change is coming. Are you ready?
Low Note - Release; let go. Prepare.

So, that pretty much confirms all of what I said in the tarot reading. The book goes on to say that it is a time to draw toward you what you need to advance your position in life, and that you need to release something in order for this to happen. What I need is for staff to bring their practices in line with the rest of the service, and what I need to let go of is the desire for them to do it how I want it when I want it. As long as they do it, that's what counts.

Experiencing the spiritual

What does the Universe wish me to submit to today?

It may seem a strange question, but I know what I mean by it, and those of you who also know may appreciate today's draw. In answer to the question, I've drawn Judgement, which is traditionally interpreted as 'heeding the call' to a new direction, etc. This card is very different in appearance, though the meaning is similar. We don't see any angels calling the dead to rise to new life. Instead we see the interior of the cathedral in Sienna, Italy.The guidebook points out and explains the various things going on in the card. In the background, a man prays. In a sunbeam, a child plays on a pattern on the floor representing the Wheel of Fortune. The lady in the card, according to the creator of the deck Lisa de St Croix, is her mentor Carrie Paris, practising a meditation technique. On the floor is a black and white fresco. So we see three different approaches to a spiritual experience -- awed worship, pure joyous connection in the moment, and a more mystic and internalised approach. The guidebook says: Judgement asks you to look at your beliefs and decide if they work for you.

Actually, I have been thinking a lot lately about my concepts of how to connect with what might be called a 'Higher Power'. Today's card answers my question by suggesting that I let go of my determination to hang on to these ideas about spiritual practices, and give new or rejected ones another chance. Let go of my willfulness and find a new way of experiencing Higher Power.

Clean anger

 Karma. What a loaded word. So many people think 'karma' means 'paybacks'. No, no, a thousand times no. It does not mean paybacks. I've written about this before.

What's happening to me is not because I deserve it, or because of some 'sin' from a past life, or because my 'negative energy' has 'drawn it to me', or even because of some 'lesson' I need to learn. There is no cosmic tick sheet keeping track of lessons we all need to learn, and meting them out to us in different forms depending on how much pain we have 'earned'. That is bullshit! And I don't believe for one single minute that someone's 'soul' decided to it would be good to born profoundly disabled or to die after a few hours in this world in order to 'learn' some 'lesson'. Bullshit! Bullshit!

What's happening to me is simply what is happening to me. It's not happening for a reason, it is just happening. The way I choose to deal with it, the actions that I take in response, that is my karma. That is what karma means.

The word karma means 'action'. I will show you again the actual scriptural teaching on karma from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:

Karma Karma Karma Karma...

'Every thought you produce, anything you say, any action you do, it bears your signature.'
 ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

You know what? Karma doesn't means 'what goes around comes around.' That is a gross oversimplification. Karma is not about universal paybacks. Karma is not reward for good and punishment for bad.

'Karma' simply means 'action' or 'deed'. A man who performs good actions is a good man. A man who performs evil actions is an evil man. 'Anything you do, it bears your signature,' Thich Nhat Hanh says. Maya Angelou said it this way: 'When people show you who they are, believe them.' That is what karma means. You are what you do. You are your actions. You cannot do evil and say, 'I am really a good person though, so this doesn't count. I cannot be judged based on my actions but on my inherent worth as a human being.' It doesn't work that way. What else are you besides what you do? 'My actions are my only true belongings,' says Thich Nhat Hanh, 'I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.'

Now as a man is like this or like that, according as he acts and according as he behaves, so will he be; a man of good acts will become good, a man of bad acts, bad; he becomes pure by pure deeds, bad by bad deeds;
And here they say that a person consists of desires, and as is his desire, so is his will; and as is his will, so is his deed; and whatever deed he does, that he will reap.

                                                                        —Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 7th Century BC

In a talk, someone asked Thich Nhat Hanh about karma:

You never speak of karma. Why not?

'I speak of karma all the time. There is no moment when I do not speak on karma. Karma means action. The action can be in the form of a thought, or in the form of a word, or it can be in the form of a physical action. So when I speak about mindful breathing, that is good karma. Mindful breathing is good action to bring your body and mind together, so you can be there in order to touch life deeply. When I speak about the Five Mindfulness Trainings, I speak about karma, because karma is action—if you think, if you speak, according to the spirit of the Five Mindfulness Trainings, you will get good results: peace, joy and happiness will be yours. I do not use the word karma, the technical term, but I always speak of karma, and the food of karma, which is karmaphala. And also good karma and negative karma. Let us not be caught by terms, even ideas. Let us deal with our actual problems. Let us have real practice, and not indulge ourselves in too much speculation and too many ideas.'

So let's dispense of all this talk about pay backs through karma. Any pay backs in karma come only from within ourselves, and happen to ourselves. That is what 'Whatever deed he does, that will he reap' actually means. 

And what does this have to do with today's card? Even though the LWB speaks a bit in 'payback' language -- 'a time of reckoning' -- the spirit of karma as I understand it (as taught by Thich Nhat Hanh and the Birhadarankya Upanishad) is the same:

Do I walk my talk?
Have I learned how I have created everything in my world?
What lessons are to be learned? Have I learned them?
Am I ready for transformational epiphany?

Today is Independence Day. Free your mind from the pay back mentality of karma and look to your own actions. Your actions are the ground upon which you stand.

Let love rule

Wild Unknown Tarot, 2012

I love birds, particularly blackbirds and corvids of all types, so this card really appeals to me. It's the Judgement card from Wild Unknown Tarot (2012).

The image on the card today speaks to me of release. For true freedom to occur, there must be release, release of judgement, release of negative thoughts, release of resentment, envy, spite and hate. There is an inner light that we can allow to shine, represented by the glowing white bird at the top of the card, which can illuminate those dark corners, break them up, free them to fly away, so that they themselves can be dissolved into that light.

Let this happen first for ourselves. Let the light shine in ourselves, releasing our self-judgement, our negative tapes, our self-resentment, comparing ourselves to others, our self-spite, our self-hate. We can break it up, shake it loose, set it free.

The Judgement card is about heeding a higher call, a call to leaving behind a dead existence and exchanging it for a new one. We can make a commitment to doing that, every day.

Feeling salty today?

Tarot of the Sidhe, 2010

Well, yesterday we blew away the old, and in today's card from Emily Carding's Tarot of the Sidhe, we rise up again, renewed with card XX Judgement. 

The traditional Judgement card of course depicts the resurrection of the dead as prophesied in the New Testament:

Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall all be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, 'Death is swallowed up in victory.' O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? ~ 1 Corinthians 15: 51-55

Instead of the usual depiction of an angel blowing the trumpet and the dead rising from their graves in their new incorruptible bodies, we see here in this card a series of sidhe, mountain spirits perhaps, each standing on her own hilltop, sending out a similar call to awaken.

Still I rise

Cosmic Tarot, US Games 1988

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Rise up

Star Tarot, Cathy McClelland

I'm a little surprised at the overt Native American elements in this card from the Star Tarot by Cathy McClelland. There are a few in some of the other cards from the deck, but none so dominating as seen here.  I feel a bit uncomfortable with this sort of 'generic' Native American spirtuality. Upon closer inspection, though, this card actually contains an eclectic mixture of images.

Cathy calls this card 'Resurrection/Awakening of the Self'. 'It is a time when life becomes fresh again and all the burdens or limitations of the past break away, opening one to the beauty of universal love,' she writes, in the Star Tarot companion booklet.

Let the cards ask the question

West, US Games 2008

Halloween Day with the Halloween Tarot by Kipling West

Wow, another court card, and who better to greet us today than the King of Pumpkins himself. Today I want to try out a technique I read about at Aeclectic Tarot, in a thread called 'Using the Cards to Generate the Questions.' The technique was suggested by a member named Chiriku:

1. Draw a tarot card and contemplate it. What question does this card bring up in your mind regarding the situation you face, or even just the day itself?

2. Draw a second card which will answer the question suggested by the tarot.

The first card will trigger a question, issue or problem that is present somewhere in your mind. Images from the card will likely put a fresh spin on the question. Then the second card will give you a new way of looking at the question, a possible solution, a projected outcome--there are many possiblities.

A New Age Mash Up? Well, I love a good plate of mash.

Today's card, Awakening, from the Gaian Tarot (Joanna Powell Colbert, Llewellyn 2011) was the centre card in a 5-card draw in which I asked the question, 'What do I need to know or focus on today?'

I find this card very appealing. Major Arcana 20, traditionally known in Rider-Waite Smith decks as 'Judgement', usually shows various versions of the dead rising from the graves at the trumpet call of an angel, on Judgement Day. The image of a naked figure, viewed from the back, looking up, arms outstretched, is traditional. I like this card better than most versions of Judgement that I have seen.

First, I just enjoy the colours and the balance of the composition. The pink across the middle echoed by the pink of the lotus blossom, the orangey yellows in the sky reflected in the candles, the dark opening of the crypt at New Grange, the figures in silhouette outlined in white, and the cranes flying over--I like it all, I like the way it is all arranged. I enjoy symmetry of design. I like the way the card looks like it could have been made from magazine clippings during a therapy session. I like the mosaicy composition of the Buddha/Kwan Yin face in the sky. I just like the whole thing.

Universal Waite (US Games)

You know, people have criticised this deck as being too New Agey, and I suppose the New Age aspect comes through pretty strongly on the Awakening card in particular. It's like a spiritual mash-up: Celtic paganism, Buddhism, neopagan rites and ultimately a Christian concept of rising from the dead all converge here.

 Celtic paganism
The rock formation is New Grange, in County Meath, Ireland. It is a mound of about one acre across, originally classed as a 'passage tomb', but now thought to more likely be a temple of some sort. It dates from about 5,000 years ago, so it is older than Stonehenge. The bit featured on the card is the most famous aspect, carved with spirals. The remarkable thing about New Grange is the placement of a roofbox-type structure which allows the inner passage to be illuminated by the Winter Solstice sun each year on 21st December. It is like a celebration of the end of the longest night of the year. One could say, the rebirth of the sun.(New Grange is also featured in the Druidcraft's version of the Judgement card, 'Rebirth'. See below.)

Buddhism/Eastern imagery
The Buddhist aspects of the card are in the face in the sky, the lotus and the cranes. When you look at it, you can see it as either Buddha or Kwan Yin, or both. Kwan Yin -- sometimes Avalokiteshwara, Avalokita, Quan Yin, Guan Yin, etc -- is the bodhisattwa, 'the lord who looks upon the world with compassion. Sometimes depicted as male (Avalokita), sometimes as female (Kwan Yin),

Druidcraft (Worthington, St Martins Press)

either way, you can certainly see the compassionate aspect of this energy, figure or force, looking down on the activities of the people below. The cranes flying across the face of Kwan Yin are an ancient symbol of longevity or immortality, and remind us of our connection to the eternal. The lotus is a classic symbol of enlightenment, which is the realisation of both impermanence and essential oneness. The candles, at least in my mind, are closely associated with both meditation and magical rites.

Neopaganism
The image of people gathered in a circle holding hands has a strong sense of the neopagan for me. Even though a fire is not in evidence on the card, there's something about them being in silhouette that makes me feel that there is a fire in the middle of the circle. The white outline on their bodies reminds me of auras and raised energy.

Christianity
The original versions of the card showing human figures being raised from the dead by a divine power is definitely based in Christianity. As it says in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52  'Behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall all be changed' (Bible, English Standard Version). It is this scene that is depicted on the traditional RWS Judgement card, and in many other decks.

So what do I make of it in a reading? And what did I see in it today? It can be so many things. Fresh starts. A new beginning after a really rough time. Shedding outworn patterns or beliefs and opening up to the new. Heeding the call of a new path. It can even be something as simple as turning away from what troubles you and saying, 'Yeah, whatever. 'Cause look what delight there is in shere existence!  Look at all the love and compassion that surround me. So many good things, so many ways to start again.'

And that's the lesson I'm taking from it today.