How many swords of Damocles is that?

Servants of the Light, Aquarian 1991

I had to laugh when I drew this card from Servants of the Light Tarot, Aquarian Press 1991. I have to go back to work today! Ha. :)

Seriously, this is the card of bad dreams, sleepness nights, troubling thoughts. But as the Servants of the Light companion book says, it's all relative. If you've drawn a card asking about the outcome of your entry into the jam-making competition, chances are you'll come last. It's not likely, though, that you'll be decapitated for it. That made me laugh, I like that.So even though this card gets a bad rap, it's not as bad as it may at first seem.

I tend to see this card as overthinking, blowing problems out of proportion, worrying yourself into a corner (or a sleepless night).

Whatever happens today, I'm not going to let it worry me into a sleepless night. Nothing's as bad as it may at first seem.

May I keep perspective today, whatever may happen. 

Mantra: 'Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out. Breathing in, I live in the present moment. Breathing out, I know it is a wonderful moment. Present moment. Wonderful moment.' (This is the first mantra I ever learned. It is by Thich Nhat Hanh and beautiful beyond words. After the first repetition, continue by just saying 'Present moment' on the inhale, and 'Wonderful moment' on the exhale. Obviously it is a silent mantra, said in your head only.)

Flower essence: Mustard (dispels the black cloud overhead)

Jitterbug on a rainbow

Servants of the Light, Aquarian 1991

It's nice to draw this colorful, cheery Sun card from the Servants of the Light Tarot (Aquarian, 1991) on a grey, rainy day like today.

The card is dominated by the sun, which is nice to see, as a few decks don't really feature the sun in their Sun cards (I'm think particularly of Wicca Moon). Here we see the motif of the two young figures, this time a female and a male, clasping hands and dancing on a rainbow disk which is perched, phonograph record-like, on the top of a mountain. They do look like they're doing some sort of jitterbug, and it's funny to imagine big band music in connection with this card.On the side of the mountain, near the sea, there is a town, and above the town, the rainbow disk, then on this disk, our dancing fools, then above it all, the sun, bursting through the clouds in rings and rays.

The Sun card always stands for good things, and today I am embarking on a good thing, which I think will help me very much. The card certainly bodes well for it.

May the Sun shine on me in my endeavors today and for the coming year. 

Mantra: Om ravaye namaha, om suryaya namaha, om savitra namaha (Salutations to the Light of Compelling Radiance, to the Dispeller of Darkness or Ignorance, to the Light of Enlightenment)

Flower essence: Gentian (brings the ability to see that all things are working to the right end, thereby taking away dejection)

Boxing Day Bump

Servants of the Light Tarot, Aquarian 1991

Bump! Back down to earth we go on Boxing Day. The other day I heard on telly that from a kid's point of view it's the worst day of the year: 364 days until Christmas. Ha ha! When I drew this card today, it reminded me of bumping back down to reality. Bump!

The Servants of the Light Tarot (Aquarian, 1991) draw for today is Two of Spheres, or 2 of Pentacles. The usual RWS image shows a man juggling two giant coins or pentacles. In this image we see an arm holding a set of scales with two of this deck's glowing spheres balanced on each side of the scale. The cup on the left has the symbol for Jupiter , the lower cup on the right has the symbol for Saturn. Saturn is Time, and the laws of the natural world. Jupiter is our particular path through life, the way we pass Time's tests. The companion book says, 'Jupiter stands for Joy, Life and Wealth; Saturn stands for Death, Age and Want. Which will it be?'

I don't know if it's that simple, but I do know my weigh-in this morning was not good! The card suggests a little more balance is due today, but I have a feeling there'll be lots more nibbling of leftovers and Christmas pudding, so balance is going to have to wait.

Happy Boxing Day!

Joy to the World!

Servants of the Light Tarot, Aquarian 1991

It's Christmas Day!
I've beeeeeeen---
Off wooooorrrk---
Four daaaaaays!
And I 'm not going ba-a-a-a-ack
For three more da-a-a-a-ys
Let heaven and nature sing
Let heaven and nature sing
Let heaven, let heaven and nature sing!

Okay, enough with the rejoicing, let's have a look at the Servants of the Light Tarot's take on the World card.

The Fool has come full circle in this card, and it is traditional in its depiction of a half-male, half-female figure, emerging from a victory laurel wreath. The companion book says the figure is Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu, as well as Lakshmi, Saraswati and Kali, watched over from the corners by the Four Holy Creatures. What a lovely card.

Right, now I'm off to wing an improvised cashew and lentil nut roast because I have failed to plan my Christmas menu. I'm sure it will be lovely and after all -- it's only lunch.

May I feel the balance of the universe today.

Mantra: Om bhur bhuva swaha, tatsavitur varenyam, bhargo devasya dimhahi, dhiyo yonah prachodayat

Flower essence: Clematis, to avoid the fuzzy-headedness of being too much in the upper chakras. :)

User of Weapons

Servants of the Light, Aquarian 1991

Another one of the amazing court cards from Servants of the Light Tarot, Aquarian Press 1991. Here is the Knight of Swords, or User of Weapons. You'll notice the sword is flaming, and that's because the Swords suit is elemental fire rather than air. So this is the Knight of Wands to me. It would appear that the User of Weapons is battling to rescue the maiden in white who is chained to the rock (it turns out she's the Keeper of Weapons from the next court card, or Page of Swords, ie Wands). If my constant transposing of suits confuses you, just ignore it. And don't let my swip-swaping to deal with elemental switches put you off this magical deck. It really has something special going for it.

Peace and Plenty

'I still believe that peace and plenty and  happiness can be worked out some way. I am a fool.' ~ Kurt Vonnegut

We see the arm of a jester dropping white spheres into needy little hands in this card from Servants of the Light Tarot, Aquarian Press, 1991. It is the Six of Spheres, or Pentacles. In this deck, the User of Spheres (or Knight of Pentacles) is depicted as a jester, for some reason. He appears in five of the ten cards in the Spheres suit, and three of the court cards. He is called 'another manifestation of the Fool' in the description to the Giver of Spheres. 'He is the Earth Guardian, in many ways akin to Pan. He will walk the earth as its guardian, but alone he cannot do all that he hopes, for he must have the cooperation of humanity,' according to the description of the User of Spheres. It is by the power of the Maiden of Malkuth that he has become Lord of the Earth, it says in the description for Keeper of Spheres. So there's a nice little mystery running through the Spheres suit for one to unravel or meditate upon, should one wish to.

It certainly brings more depth to what appears to be a rather straightforward RWS 6 of Pentacles. I might give something today, I might get something today. Or is it some sort of higher cooperation that will be rewarded today? Could be any or all of these.

May I be open to opportunities to give and receive of earth blessings today. 

Mantra: Om mani padme hum (this mantra helps achieve the 6 practices, from generosity to wisdom)

Flower essence: Chicory (to balance possessiveness, greed, lacking of sympathy; positive aspect is unconditional love)

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.