Unabashedly odd and loving it

I have to laugh. This deck is forcing me to deal with its court cards. The Chrysalis Tarot (US Games 2014) offers me The Dreamer, Knight of Mirrors (aka Knight of Cups). At last, a court card that makes sense to me. The Knight of Cups is surely the dreamer of the tarot courts. The Dreamer here rides his magic carpet through his many daydreams and romantic thoughts. The tiger leaping forward could represent his imagination. He reclines on one elbow, his hand to his chin, showing that he himself is more of a, well, 'dreamer' than a doer. But when he does decide to take action, he can be impulsive (like a pouncing tiger).

The Knight of Cups has positive aspects I'm sure, but mostly I don't have much respect for him, as I see him as a moony teenager in love with his romantic notions about reality, himself and the world.

BUT...

I need to ask myself today -- in what ways is it good to be a moony teenage boy, writing bad poetry to some girl in your 6th period study hall, listening to Morrisey, and smoking weed at the local socialist rally? Now that I think of it, it's probably good in every way! Why not dream? Why not?

We visited Glastonbury last weekend and I was greatly impressed by a man in one of the shops, a lovely bloke but wow! He was wearing a tie-dyed T-shirt decorated with a huge rainbow spiral, and on his forehead and wrists he was wearing copper coils. Yes, he was wearing a copper headband that put a spiral right in the middle of his forehead, and he stood there talking to us like it was the most conventional and routine thing in the world. We saw so many Dreamers in Glastonbury - a lone young  man in dreadlocks galumphing down the street with bare feet and robes tied about the waist with a length of rope, a lady selling raw chocolate confections that she claimed had a 'high vibrational frequency' (they were delicious by the way, and one bite seemed to thrum right through my veins), all these people openly and unabashedly being Dreamers. Hubby and I sat down on the steps of a statue in the square and ate floppy hummus and nut roast sandwiches and talked about how great it felt to be in the middle of a community where everybody is as weird as we are. We just aren't 'openly' weird.

Maybe the Dreamer card today is telling me -- why not be more openly weird? Why not ride the magic carpet a little more? Why not unleash that tiger in public a bit more?

Why not indeed!

Cunning folk

Chrysalis Tarot, Brooks & Sierra 2014 

Oh look, another court card from Chrysalis Tarot. This time it's Queen of Mirrors (aka Queen of Cups). Well, we won't worry about the fact that she's got a fire sign with her staff and an air sign with the owl but there is no mirror in sight (unless you count the moon) nor any water. Let's give her a chance.

You know, I can see I need to let go of the tarot courts when it comes to this deck. If the card says 'The Watcher', it is just going to have to be 'The Watcher' and I won't worry about how it could possibly be the Queen of Cups. Whew, that's a relief.

The Watcher is 'intuitive, contemplative, a mystic', according to the LWB. To me, she looks like the Cunning Woman of old. That's who she's going to be for me when I use this deck. The Cunning Woman. In fact, the LWB says she is likely the person interpreting your Chrysalis Tarot reading (though I doubt cunning folk had tarot decks. Maybe she's got some runes or ogham sticks in that pouch of hers).

The moon stands for the mysteries, the owl for wisdom. She's a crone, leaning on her stick. Yeah, she's the Cunning Woman.

I think the card is telling me today is a good day for divination. I believe I will do a reading for myself. If you would like a reading, click 'Order' above and let me know your question!

Who says life is what happens when you're making other plans? Focus, people!

Chrysalis Tarot, Brooks & Sierra 2014 

Happy Tuesday! We've got the 3 of Spirals (aka 3 of Wands) from Chrysalis Tarot today. The card shows a tree with exposed roots growing in spirals, and a sort of Buddha face emerging from it. Hmm.



Compare it to the 3 of Wands from two favourite and familiar decks, the Rider Waite Smith (left) and the Druidcraft Tarot (right). The mood is very similar. Key word for this card according to the LWB is 'Contemplation.'

My husband, much to my delight, has taken a sudden and intense interest in tarot and has been questioning me constantly about things. The other day I tried to talk him through the suits in a way that would help him find a basic sense of each card. I settled upon this story for the first three cards of the wands suit (images below from Druidcraft, his chosen first deck -- great choice!):



Imagine you are Adam, lying there, a lump of lifeless dust. God touches you and your flesh animates. That's the Ace of Wands. You take a breath and start to open your eyes, sit up, the life moves. That's 2 of Wands. You stand up and look around and think, whoa! I think I'll go THAT way. That's the 3 of Wands.

The 3 of Wands is contemplation of action, it's getting your energy moving in the same direction, the direction that you have chosen. That's the way I see it.

The other day on Facebook I saw a poster that I have written out with a big marker pen and hung on my wall:



Now if this language offends you, I'm sorry. But the sentiment, put that bluntly, is exactly what I needed to hear. The Buddha face (or 'thoughtful Cambodian monk' as he's described in the LWB to Chrysalis Tarot) is in the 'make a fucking plan' phase.

So my work for today is to contemplate my plan. Also to work on it.

Have you decided what it is you want? See above advice. And see you tomorrow!

Sir Pentacles, you've changed!

Chrysalis Tarot, Brooks & Sierra 2014

I've drawn a court card from Chrysalis Tarot today, 'The Illusionist' or Knight of Stones (aka Knight of Pentacles). I must admit, I find the court cards puzzling. They are conceived as a medieval 'troupe' of players which is a fun concept. It's just that I find that although the LWB claims that they correspond to traditional tarot courts, I don't find that to be the case, and particularly true of this card, Knight of Stones.

Now the Knight of Pentacles is a favourite of mine. I have blogged about him quite a bit. As I've said before, in my tarot world, the Knight of Pentacles is the firm, stable, slow-going, patient, hardworking, gentle-spirited, self-effacing one in the tarot courts. In the RWS image he is sitting firmly on his big, sturdy horse, well-rooted to the fertile earth, the sky awash with the glow of the life-giving sun, and bunches of lush greenery decorating himself and his horse's harness. He is well-grounded. 

I remember at the UK Tarot Conference a few years back, Rachel Pollack talked a bit about the Knight of Pentacles, how he is the responsible, sensible one who stands guard over his community, the person who is willing to take on the jobs no one else wants to do, the quiet one who understands the meaning of duty, takes his own time in making a decision or taking action. He's just a solid, nice guy. 

Then I draw Knight of Stones in Chrysalis Tarot and see a magician, and the LWB tells me he is 'spontaneous, confusing, a mystic' and that if I'm 'up for risky, raw adventure, follow his lead without reservation'. Who the heck is this guy? Because he's not the Knight of Pentacles. The LWB says the Illusionist's motto is 'nothing ventured, nothing gained'. The Knight of Pentacles I know would rather say, 'Slow and steady wins the race.' He is not a 'trickster', he is not 'filled with youthful exuberance'. I have no idea what's going on with this card. If the LWB said, 'we've created all new courts for you,' fair enough, but it says 'Our Troupe corresponds to traditional court cards'. Maybe that's just in name only, because I have looked at all the court cards and there are some stark anomalies. 

So which do I do, do I read according to the meaning conveyed by the LWB and the image of a magician, or do I read on my own understanding of the Knight of Pentacles? This is a decision you have to make when you get a deck that deviates from your normal tarot associations. Quite often I have ignored changes that don't work for me and just read cards according to the usual meanings I associate with cards (like with Tarot of Silicon Dawn, which finally drove me so bonkers I sold it. I mean, Pentacles as FIRE? I ask you!) Other times, such as with the Haindl, I cut the titles off and forgot about traditional court meanings entirely and just read according to what was on the card. So I don't know. As a single daily draw, I'm not sure what to make of this card. No doubt in a reading, it would become quickly apparent which way to go with the interpretation. 

For today I'll just go with what the book says (and chunter to myself about how it's not really the Knight of Pentacles). Well, I will admit that I agree with the LWB when it says the Illusionist is 'confusing.' CLEARLY I am not in the mood for 'risky raw adventure,' as just being confronted with this unexpected card meaning has made me a grumpy old cow. Apparently the appearance of the Illusionist is to spur me to action 'without a lot of confusing forethought' -- well I thought that was the sort of thing that helped you cross the street without getting run over, but never mind. This guy just sounds more like the Knight of Wands to me and I can't get past that. 

I'm going to go fume in the corner for a bit. See you tomorrow! 

What is the dragon that haunts you?

Chrysalis Tarot, Brooks and Sierra 2014

I've been off work for 10 days straight, on holiday. Tomorrow I have to go back to work. No surprise I've drawn the 5 of Spirals (5 of Wands) from the Chrysalis Tarot today, then!

I don't know why Sundays are usually miserable for me. I often feel grumpy, like a cloud of gloom is hanging over me. I guess it must be because the work week starts up again the next day, or maybe it's some residual guilt leftover from my Christian upbringing that I'm not in church -- though to be honest, I hated Sundays when I was a churchgoer as well. Even on perfectly pleasant days, there's always a feeling of gloom in the background for me on a Sunday.

The LWB of the Chrysalis Tarot gives this card the keyword 'Shadow'. It recommends that we 'shine the light of consciousness on your own shadows and subdue them'. That doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun for a Sunday, but obviously if you don't do it, your day is going to end up being even worse. Trust me, I know! 'Struggles customarily associated with this card are interior conflicts. With effort and diligence you'll vanquish any dragons that haunt you.'

The dragon in Five of Spirals (5 of Wands) perches on the cliff face above the abyss of the psyche, dropping his little love bombs of pain and confusion into the darkness below. Each one casts a shadow against the opposite cliff face. The dragon belches or vomits his sputum all over our bleak little souls -- nice, eh? It reminds me of the Beast from the PsyCards. Our poor little unsuspecting unconscious minds are being fed all this rubbish from the conscious mind, and they are defenseless! The unconscious mind cannot tell the difference between past, present or future, imagination or reality. It thinks all the fireballs we spit at it are real! Every negative thing we say, every negative image that crosses our mind might as well be 100% true and have actually happened as far as the unconscious mind is concerned. Poor little blighter.

So how to stop this dyspeptic dragon from spitting up into our pysches? The LWB says, 'The 12-petal lotus mandala provides an inviting focal point for contemplation.' Why, though? Typically, the heart chakra (anahata chakra) is thought of as a 12-petal lotus -- and this is the seat of love, compassion, acceptance, balance and forgiveness, not only for others but also for ourselves. It might be argued that our love, compassion, acceptance, and forgiveness of ourselves comes first, for without it, we cannot truly have it for others. The 12-petal lotus gives us a focal point for meditation, a lifeline for climbing up out of the pit of despond so that we can see the firebombs of self-hatred for the lies they are and let them fizzle out.

The next time you hear yourself saying or thinking a negative or judgemental thought about yourself, picture this dragon, and imagine the 12-petal lotus on his wing glowing and growing until it consumes the dragon, lights up the cavern below, and flies in a glowing ball of green light (the colour of the heart chakra) right into your chest, where it fills you with a glow of peace and radiant calm. The dragon carries on its own body the thing that will turn it from a bringer of discord to a bearer of light. You also have that same sort of equipment. Let's use it today. :)