Silicon Faeries 5

Faeries' Oracle 2000, Silicon Dawn 2011

Today's our last day of looking at Brian Froud's Faeries' Oracle (2000) alongside the Silicon Dawn by Egypt Urnash (2011). We see The Guardian at the Gate alongside the Ace of Cups.

You can see at once how they echo one another visually. Same shapes, lots of blue. Both have a flowy, watery feel. Both of the cards have to do with the free flow of emotion.

Silicon Faeries 4

Silicon Dawn 2011, Faeries' Oracle 2000

Today we've got 7 of Swords from Silicon Dawn and Epona's Wild Daughter from Brian Froud's Faeries' Oracle.

Silicon Faeries 3

Silicon Dawn 2011, Faeries' Oracle 2000

Today's cards are pretty powerful. We have 0 of Void from Silicon Dawn Tarot, and Honesty from Brian Froud's Faeries' Oracle.

Silicon Faeries 2

Froud Faeries' Oracle 2000, Urnash Silicon Dawn 2011

Tuesday's forecast: If you're expected to do the impossible, you better dig deep and find your inner Captain Kirk!

Silicon Faeries 1

I've decided to draw one card from Silicon Dawn by Egypt Urnash (2011) and one card from Faeries' Oracle by Brian Froud (2000) Monday-Friday this week. Originally I was going to alternate them. I sat and drew a card for Mon-Fri in the Faeries' Oracle, had a study of them, then drew Mon-Fri in the Silicon Dawn and looked them over. My intention was to select which card would be used for each day. Mon - Wed - Fri Faeries, Tue - Thu Silicon, I wondered? But then I noticed that the cards worked together really, really well for each day, so I'm just going to show you all of them.

Monday 12th Nov - 5 of Wands + Ffaff the Ffooter
When worries about the material start to oppress, ground yourself and get back in the moment!

Gimli? Is that you?

The Camelot Oracle by John Matthews and Will Worthington, 2012

Our week with The Camelot Oracle ends today, with Bercilak, the Green Knight. I read 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight' in Middle English back when I was in university, but alas, my Middle English ain't what it used to be, so I was glad to find a lovely Modern English translation online here:

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, 

translated by WA Neilson

I hope you do click through on the link and read the full story. As you read, imagine yourself in a medieval hall in candlelight, and read it slowly, hearing the clear, loud voice of an eloquent and expressive storyteller reciting it in measured cadences, and be sure to include the appreciative noises made by the audience around you.

Forgive him if he doesn't shake hands

The Camelot Oracle by John Matthews and Will Worthington, Connections 2012

Does this guy look like the sort of man who's in charge of the servants or what? From his squinty eyes to his scraggly mullet to his hand on hip posture, this man somehow has middle manager written all over him.

Sir Kay is Arthur's 'seneschal'-- a fancy word meaning he's in charge of the king's domestic arrangements and overseer of the servants. His character is well-suited to the role, as he is known to be boorish, mocking and cruel, all traits stereotypical of the job. Kay is rude and insulting to nearly everyone. For all that, he is a brave and fearsome knight in battle, and for this he is admired and honoured at the Round Table.

The Camelot Oracle companion book suggests that Kay has particular knowledge of court that only a domestic servant might be privy to, the dark secrets of the lords and ladies at court. When you're in charge of the washing and the cleaning, you can't help but see the dirt, I suppose. And it's this exposure to the seamy underside that lends Kay his cynicism and disinclination to hold back on his observations of the failing of others. Having seen it all, he has expected no better of anyone. Not even the Queen. You can't fool Sir Kay, so you might as well not even put on a pretense for him. Doing so is only going to make you a target of his vicious tongue.

What can he offer? Street smarts. He can anticipate the worst possible behaviour in a person, so his is a good energy to turn to in business negotiations. He is also useful for arbitrations between factions, because he won't be fooled into taking sides with either of them. He can also form a more complete, realistic picture of situations because he must both micromanage (being in charge of even the chambermaids) as well as understand and move within the more rarified spheres of courtliness and statesmanship. Not to mention military strategy.

So even if at first he seems like a cynical arse, he's actually quite skilled and a nice string to your bow.

Over at the Lancelot place (There's a light)

The Camelot Oracle (Matthews & Worthington, 2012) companion book calls The Hero's Path 'the most direct path to your goal.' Maybe this is why the symbol of the Hero's Path is a heart pierced by a sword. The straightest route can be the one that requires the most sacrifice, sometimes. It is often not the easiest way. Sometimes the straightest way to your goal is completely off a path, leaving you to cut your way through the wilderness on your own.

Still, eventually you come out onto the road seen in this card, that leads up to Lancelot's castle, Joyous Gard. Encyclopedia Mythica says this of the castle:

The castle of Lancelot, formerly called Dolorous Gard because of a sinister enchantment, is acquired when he captures it and breaks the spell. When he explores the castle, he comes upon a tomb with his own name upon it,and he knows that it is destined to be his home and eventual resting place. The name is changed to Joyous Gard after Arthur and Guinevere visit there as guests. When Guinevere is brought to Carlisle for execution, she is rescued by Lancelot and taken by him to his castle. However, the tragic strife that ensues causes it to revert to its former name, Dolorous Gard. After Lancelot's death, his body is taken there for burial. 

Because this castle has been a place of both joy and sorrow, it has become a place of balance, where both sides of an issue can be considered, and 'deep life enhancing choices' can be made (Matthews p. 86).

Knowing the history of the castle, the symbol of the heart pierced by the sword takes on more resonance. The joys and sorrows of Lancelot's doomed love for Guinevere and the bitter end that meets their affair are represented here. Still, it was a path taken without regrets. One can't help but think, given the choice, they'd have done the same thing again. The Hero's Path is not an easy one, but at least at the end of it, you know you've lived, you've tasted both the bitter and the sweet.

Perhaps the Hero's Path I'm on today involves diving straight into the Faeries' Oracle. And also some meditation/pathworking I've made a recent commitment to. Certainly the faeries would help balance out the rather serious energies I'm working with in meditation.

Into the mystic

The Camelot Oracle, Jonathan Matthews and Will Worthington, 2012

There are several characters in Arthurian legends known as 'Lady of the Lake'. It is nigh impossible to untangle these stories and give a clear identity to these various characters. The Lady of the Lake, as depicted in this card, is the one who gives Arthur his sword, Excalibur. Other Ladies of the Lake (or possibly the same one going by different names?) serve as foster mother to Lancelot, heal Lancelot of his madness when the fellowship of the Round Table breaks up, enchant and imprison Merlin, and take Arthur away to Avalon to heal him after the Battle of Camlan. There are many names given to these figures: Argante, Vivianne, Nimue, Niniane, even Morgan le Fay, all of them called 'Lady of the Lake.' You can get bogged down trying to sort out the details so just know this:

The Fisher King

Matthews & Worthington, 2012

The Camelot Oracle by John Matthews and Will Worthington, Connections, 2012

There are so many versions of Pelles in various Arthurian source texts that it can all get rather confusing. The main thing to know about him is that in all versions, he is wounded and completely helpless, waiting for someone to come to his aid and alleviate his suffering. He is a king, and as a king he is tied to his land, so that when he physically suffers, his land also falls into ruin and decay. In the versions where he is known as The Fisher King, he is so-called because his injuries make him unable to do much beyond  spending his time fishing near his castle, Carbonek. It's a fitting occupation for him. Fishing requires patience and in a way is a rather helpless pastime--one is dependent on the right fish coming along, just as Pelles is dependent on the right man coming along to help him. In his case, the 'fish' he needs to catch is the man who can achieve the Holy Grail, and use the Lance of Longinus to heal him.

In this card from John Matthews' Camelot Oracle (illustrations by Will Worthington), Pelles sits in a coracle, a small, lightweight boat of a type traditionally used in Wales and parts of western England (but now seldom seen except in tourist areas). The boat is known to be unstable because of its tendency to sit on the water rather than in it, thus making it tend to be carried easily off by currents and winds. So that even the Fisher King's means of transport renders him in some ways helpless, and certainly vulnerable.

When I grow old and losing my hair, many years from now...

Ancient Italian Tarot

Yesterday I received something from my employer about retirement benefits. I hate getting these reports because to be frank I do not understand them. When it comes to long-term financial planning, I seem to have been out of the room when they were handing out skills in that area. And so, as usual, I skimmed through it with furrowed brow, fretting a bit about my fears that I will be a homeless and hungry old lady.

So it doesn't surprise me that I wake up this morning and draw 5 of Coins as my daily draw. This card, for me, always points to money worries, the fear of lack.

It's always interesting to me how tarot picks up on the general energies. If you don't ask a specific question and draw, it will give you a snapshot of how you feel, and often times that is very useful, because silly as it may sound, sometimes we aren't sure what we're feeling, and finding out is a very good starting point indeed.

Then of course we want answers. I think it's a mistake to believe that the tarot will give you a pat answer in a single draw. It would be naive to draw three cards now and expect the tarot to reveal to me how to address my retirement plan. I don't need the tarot for that, anyway. I need to see a financial advisor, which is what hubby and I decided to do last night after I told him that for me, the end of my working life looms before me like some hunch-backed spectre. He's not the type to worry about these things, though it's my strong suspicion that neither of us has adequate provision for a life after retirement. It's not something you think about much in your youth, but at some point you have to realise you've got more days behind than you have ahead of you -- and with the best will in the world, your body may not be able see you through to working until you drop. And even if it did, you might not be able to find an employer willing to take you on past retirement age.

So, I reshuffle the deck and ask, how can I best address these feelings and concerns today? I shuffle, cut and draw:

Daily draw: Golden Tarot

Kat Black's Golden Tarot

What an auspicious card to draw for today! The 10 of Cups is called 'Lord of Perfected Success', and denotes happiness and good fortune. Even in a reversed position, the card is seen to bode well. So it's rainbows and smooth sailing for me today! I don't see any trouble ahead. 

I quite like Kat Black's Golden Tarot, although the super-laminated and extra slippy card stock leaves a bit to be desired. The images, collages made up of paintings from the middle ages, are all really quite good. 

Right, 10 of Cups. Domestic bliss it is, then!

ETA: Well, the day is done and it was entirely uneventful, save for some really lovely compliments from the hubby and a stroll to Lidl after work--holding hands! LOL Ta dah!

So much potential!

Touchstone Tarot, Kat Black (Kunati 2009)

My draw today from Touchstone Tarot is so encouraging! I drew three cards with no positional meanings (most of my 3-card draws are done without positional meanings, and read either from left to right, or using Robert Place's 3-card method. I'll do a post on that soon!)

The 6 of Cups suggests approaching life with childlike wonder and openness, while the two aces speak to me of potential energy in the two areas that have been of major concern to me lately, the material and spiritual realms. I love that both figures in the ace cards have wings, but are not using them. Again, the potential is there, but just waiting for the first flappings to soar away!

In the Ace of Coins, there is a dog, which always symbolises faithfulness and humility to me, loyalty and even a kind of nobility. The lily behind the winged figure reminds me of purity. I believe this to be purity of intention. The Ace of Coins figure faces the 6 of Cups, even is pointing one finger at it! So surely the message here is that in order to move forward in the material realm, I must access my childlike openness and wonder. For my exercise, to rediscover the joy of movement. For my nutrition, to be willing to learn new things and even to be retaught things I once knew. For my livelihood, to trust that I will be provided for by a loving universe. Now, that's truly childlike trust!

The Ace of Wands figure also inclines her head toward the 6 of Cupse, but the shoulders and torso point away. This suggests to me that in the spiritual realm, I must keep an openness, but may need more emotional maturity to move in the direction that I wish to go in. This makes perfect sense, as I want to grow and mature in my spiritual practice. The figure holds a wand and seems to be nurturing a bowl of hot coals. These represent to me smouldering potential, and also call to mind the practice of burning ground herbs and resins on coals in a cauldron or other vessel. The castle in the background on the hill reminds me of the attainment that awaits with diligent practice, and the humble cottage below reminds me that the day-to-day living of the spiritual path involves very little glory. And of course, between the figure and the castle, there's a very tangled wood to be negotiated. What are her fingers pointing toward? They both point away from the Ace of Coins. Maybe a reminder that the answer doesn't lie in materialism--like buying new decks and books every other day? (Ouch!)

May I remember the messages of this draw as I move through the coming week: retain my wonder, enjoy my physical existence, and begin the trek through those tangled woods of the spiritual realm. Hello, meditation cushion!

How the heck do you say 'Huitzilopochtli'?!

And why would you put him on the Ace of Coins?

Click here to hear it said

That was easy enough, but figuring out why Sol Invictus Tarot creators Kim Huggens and Nic Phillips chose 'Wheat-see-la-poached-lee' as the Ace of Coins is a bit more of a mystery. I must admit to being completely ignorant of Aztec mythology, so the name meant nothing to me when I drew this card this morning. I tried to read the 3 pages of densely packed text in the companion book explaining all about Huitzilopochtli, but I get very frustrated if I can't see an immediate connection between the back story of a card and its traditional meaning. This is why I usually dislike decks that are too heavily themed. I dislike when deck creators seem to have to labour hard to create a tenuous link to the traditional meaning, or worse, give elaborate back stories to the card illustration, then provide the traditional divinatory meaning which seems to have no connection to the illustration whatsoever. That's not to say this is what happens in the Ace of Coins of Sol Invictus, but it's the first truly frustrating card I've encountered so far in the deck. (Admittedly it's early days with it!)

To make a very long story mercifully short, 'Wheat-see-la-poached-lee' seems to have been the primary Aztec god, and was a god of war and the sun. Like many gods of various traditions, he sprang from his mother fighting his siblings, and slew 400 of them to defend her...each night he journeys to the underworld to do battle with darkness and emerges victorious the next morning to provide the day's light. Okay, that's familiar. But what has the sun god got to do with the Ace of Coins? Battle for earthly power, material wealth...possibly...I can sort of see that. But for this card to work for me, I'm going to have to make it work through imagery alone.

So, at the top of the card, the blazing sun, Huitzilpochtli, is actually a giant shining coin, hovering over a temple. In the foreground is a marketplace. There are small figures of people in the background walking, carrying things, greeting each other, trading presumably. On the market stalls we see food, drink, jewelry, weapons--all the things that would have been very important to this war-like Aztec culture, I would think. When you look at the card as a whole, it certainly reminds me of this image:

Eye of Providence

It's the 'Eye of Providence', seen on US currency. To my mind, this card instantly makes me think of money, wealth, commerce, material gain, etc, because it is so similar to an image from the currency I grew up with. So in that way, I can instantly associate it with the Ace of Coins, particularly as I also associate this image with the one dollar bill, the piece of US currency that is most in transaction and that is the basis of accumulated wealth. I mean, you can't have a million dollars before you've got one dollar, right? So...Ace of Coins. Beginning of the material realm.

The market stalls also help me understand the meaning of the card, because Ace of Coins is all about physical health (the food), abundance, competition for material success, pretty much anything to do with inhabiting a body and surviving on the earth.

So, I don't get why 'Wheaties' was chosen for the card, but the picture works for me, anyway. AND it's appropriate for my daily draw, as today is the first weigh-in for a weight loss group I joined online, and I've embarked on a personal challenge to complete 260 workouts over the next 365 days. All earthly concerns!

Give em the old razzle dazzle

I laughed when I drew this card this morning, because I woke up thinking about that used car salesman from yesterday and drew the card while still in the fug of my waking thoughts. I have always pictured the King of Wands as 'used car salesman', so when I pulled this card as the energy for today, my response was, 'What! You again!' The tarot is so adept at picking up the energies we are putting out in the moment, particularly if you have no focused question, which I did not. I was merely vaguely thinking, what's my card for today? And Billy Flynn turns up. ;)

In Sol Invictus Tarot, the court names have been changed from the traditional Page, Knight, Queen, King to Awakener, Quester, Nurturer, Master. These are apt descriptions of the nature of each. Thus, today's draw, Master of Wands, is the King of Wands. Traditionally, the King of Wands is sometimes called 'Fire of Fire', because the Wands suit is associated with the element Fire, having to do with action and boldness, will, energy, drive, passions, etc. I have always linked King of Wands to Captain James T Kirk from 'Star Trek'. He has all the qualities of the King of Wands--he is supremely self-confident, a maverick, convinced that failure is not a possibility, the kind of person who comes up with grand schemes but tends to leave the details for others to sort out. He acts quickly, trusts his instincts implicitly, likes to be the centre of attention and knows he deserves it. He takes what he wants, has a strong masculinity in the most literal sense. He must win out--failure is not an option. Even if he fails, he refuses to see it as a failure but as a 'temporarily unsuccessful' attempt, with the next attempt most likely already beginning. He has a sense of honour--but it may be unconventional and includes lying or cheating, particularly if it's cheating 'the system' and not an individual.  In the main, the King of Wands is a likeable rogue or rake. In his shadow aspect, he can be deeply deceitful, backstabbing and underhand in order to achieve the success and attention he craves.

I think it's interesting that deck creators Kim Huggens and Nic Phillips chose Giacomo Casanova to represent the Master of Wands. He is depicted standing squarely in the middle of the card, feet planted widely apart (clad in dashing bright red high-heeled court shoes), arms akimbo, holding aloft a glass of wine. At his side, an admiring fop, and all around him, masked ladies and gentlemen stare in his direction, hanging on his every word and movement. He is smiling broadly, his long curling locks flowing over his red velvet collar and ruffled cravat. Oh, how he deserves this adulation! That highlighted bulge in the front of his trousers is hard to ignore as well, and it isn't all caused by the mask stuck in his pocket, clearly! A complete creature of appetites and showman. That's the Master of Wands. Take him for good or ill, he is, as Casanova himself declared, a 'free agent'.

As for myself, I always willingly acknowledge my own self as the principal cause of every good and of every evil which may befall me; therefore I have always found myself capable of being my own pupil, and ready to love my teacher. 
~Giacomo Casanova, 'The Story of My Life'

All I can say to this draw is, we're off to the movies today to see 'Captain America' and may I not encounter a single used car salesman for the rest of this weekend!

Choices

Today I am drawing a card from the Sol Invictus Tarot, a lovely set that uses multicultural gods, myths, legends, and even real historical figures to represent the tarot through images of the Divine Masculine.

My card today is Two of Swords, Papa Legba. Two of Swords often depicts a blindfolded figure holding crossed swords in front of the chest, or someone sitting at a crossroads, or both! The card is associated with facing choices, having a decision to make, and usually a decision that once you've made it, it's difficult to turn back and retrace your steps for a startover--might even be impossible. You can see in the card, Papa Legba holds two keys to the gate and seems to be keeping watch or standing guard over the crossroads. You've got to pick one or the other, and the gate implies no simple way of turning back once you make your choice.

Papa Legba is a figure in the New Orleans voodoo tradition, who is seen as a keeper of the gateway between the worlds, who can remove obstacles and provide opportunities. What an interesting and appropriate figure for the Two of Swords.

I am facing lots of choices in my life right now, but today in particular I will need to use powers of discernment and decision-making, because we are going to test drive a few cars. And of course it is the case that buying a car is a decision that is not easily backtracked from! Once you've bought it, it's your baby, you can't just give it back. The card also suggests wariness in today's thinking...Papa Legba can be a trickster, so I must be wary of having my head turned by pretty colours, extra features, or the talk of sales people.

Papa Legba, open the way,
that we may see the truth
about the cars we test drive today! :)

It's now 6.42 pm. It was certainly a long day. We test drove 4 cars today. The first place we went was a Honda dealership, where the salesperson was lovely, low key and a pleasure to work with. The atmosphere was completely different in the Volkswagen place we visited in the afternoon, where we were served by a young salesperson who gave us the most high-pressure, most deeply flawed sales pitch in the history of car buying. It was a surreal experience during which he tried to demonstrate that a year's petrol if you drive 13,000 miles a year would cost £18,000. Things were pretty much down hill from there. The only good thing about the VW experience was we found that we loved driving both the Golf and the Polo. But I don't think we'll be going back to that particular VW dealership, even if we decide to buy a VW. Thank you, Papa Legba, for the warning and the discernment!