Daily Draw - Four of Swords

Perhaps today I am being offered a solution for my disconnect. Take some time out to reconnect with the Source. I know that seems logical, but I need help with these things, you know. Sometimes I need a big ol' cosmic backhand.

I am going to cut this morning's post short and do just that.





This card is from the Rumi Tarot by Nigel Jackson for Llewellyn.

New Deck Interview - Rumi Tarot

I am doing FireRaven's New Deck Interview Spread again today, with my Rumi Tarot. I am quite entranced with the artwork of Nigel Jackson, so this has been on the wishlist since I first learned of it. It looks like so:

***** 5 ***** 6 *****
******** 4 *********
***** 3 ***** 2 *****
******** 1 *********

1. Tell me about yourself. What is your most important characteristic? Justice - From this card, I can assume that despite it seemingly sweet nature, the deck is very fair and balanced, and most interested in dispensing justice. I can always expect truth and integrity from this deck, and it will push me to be as honest with myself.






2. What are your strengths as a deck? Two of Staves- Again, two staves are very balanced, and this deck is good at winning. This deck can show me things in an entirely new way, ways that will surprise me, that I did not think was possible, much like getting sovereignty without war. It is powerful as well as gentle.






3. What are your limits as a deck? Queen of Staves- The deck is limited only by my own preconceived notions. I tend to be very stubborn at times, and often I just think I know what is right, what is. I am going to have to be open to going beyond what I think I know, so that I can actually learn new things, experience new joys.






4. What do you bring to the table - what are you here to teach me? Seven of Cups- (this was also my Daily Draw card this morning) Working with this deck will help me look beyond the veil, so to speak, and go deeper into the imagination of Spirit.






5. How can I best learn from and collaborate with you? Death- I will have to be willing to die to some old things, so that new and better ones can thrive. Some old habits have to go, and some new, better ones will add more to my life. Some of my old ways of thinking are due for a transformation, as well.






6. What is the potential outcome of our working relationship? The Fool- a type of Divine Madness awaits. Working with this deck can help me start a brand new, totally different journey and experience. I fond that easily believable.






Shadow Card - Three of Cups: Spirit is full of abundance, and I should remember that when what I think I feel most acutely is lack. There is no darkness in God, at all, and that way lies the path of the most intense joy.




So far, I like this deck. The minors are very small, and very detailed, and my eyes are very bad, but we are getting along just fine even so. This deck seems very spiritual to me, with no Coins (Pentacles) or Swords in this reading, and with the Persian mystic's poetry on every card.








These cards are from the Rumi Tarot by Nigel Jackson for Llewellyn.

Daily Draw - Seven of Cups

As a writer, I spend an immense amount of time in fantasy worlds, both those of my own making, and those created by others. It is a necessary part of the writing life, to be immersed in books, and the most basic question a writer must be enthralled with is what if?

I do not believe we were built to live in a world so fallen.

The Seven of Cups often means "choices" to me, and within those choices to be aware that not all is what it seems. I often get this card when I need to wake up and face the music, so to speak. I also often get this card when it is necessary to give up something good for the best, which is never an easy call to make.

I have been feeling a bit disconnected lately, almost as if I am walking through a dream. I work, I eat, I play with the kidlettes, we all do homework, but something is missing, something is not quite right. Perhaps it is time to do a reading to figure out what that is.





This card is from the Rumi Tarot by Nigel Jackson for Llewellyn.

Daily Draw - Five of Swords

Well, I am apparently having a very Swords week so far. I will be back later to talk about this card.

Later- okay, I am back. Not too long ago, I read The Third Jesus by Deepak Chopra. There was a passage in the book extolling the message Jesus gave about "resist not evil". The basic concept, as I understood it, was that we are not to fight the evil things that others sometimes do to us, because fighting is not love, and love is the only answer to the darkness of the world.

Now, I do not take this to mean that we should just let bad things happen to us, or other people, but rather that our energy should be placed on increasing the love in the world, not the hate. Even righteous anger does not always burn clean, and everyone who plays with fire eventually gets burned, innocent and not alike.

"Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars... Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only love can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." ~Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.






This card is from the Rumi Tarot by Nigel Jackson for Llewellyn.

Daily Draw - Page of Swords

Today, clarified by the Ten of Swords. Yes, I shuffled well, teehee. I believe these cards are bringing me the message that many of the things I have seen as destruction of something desperately wanted are in fact the seeds for what will bring me true delight. Both of these cards can sometimes be seen as "difficult" but Nigel Jackson's treatment of them in this deck has rendered them achingly poignant instead.





These cards are from the Rumi Tarot by Nigel Jackson for Llewellyn.

Daily Draw - King of Swords

Clarified by the Eight of Cups, using the new Rumi Tarot by Nigel Jackson.

The Rumi Tarot takes keywords one step further, going so far as to put snippets of Sufite poetry on each card to relate the image and the meaning to each other in a new way. I have not yet decided if I like this, or would rather it didn't happen.

My card today is the King of Swords, with a message that is distinctly different from that which I usually get from the steely old guy. As is my wont with court cards, I drew a further card to clarify the situation, which was the Eight of Cups. This card fits better into my general understanding of its' usual meaning. For me, today, these cards urge me to live more fully in the moment, letting tomorrow worry about itself, and not letting the past define me more than it must. I have a tendency to do exactly that, lose myself in worrisome thoughts and reliving past moments in a desperate attempt to figure out what went wrong. Sometimes nothing has went wrong, but the cycle is over and it is time to move on to bigger and better.





These cards are from the Rumi Tarot by Nigel Jackson for Llewellyn.

What Does This Four Want From Me?

I drew the Four of Cups again today, for the third time in a week, the fourth time in a month, so I decided it must have something to tell me that I am missing. I had better do a reading! I was using the Anna K this morning, but I want everyone to continue seeing the beauty of the Tarot of the Cloisters, so I have presented them both.

This was a three card Past, Present, Future, asking, "What do I need to know about the Four of Cups right now?"








Past- The High Priestess: The Anna K version of this card is a woman seated in darkness, studying the phases of the moon. She is turned away from the viewer. She wears somber tones, and she is utterly alone, though that does not always equate to lonely, for me, lately, it has. I have been deep in my studies, for school, of spiritual things, and of myself. I have been on a journey to discover what truly makes me happy, what really matters to me, so I can streamline my life down to those things. Of course, we all have to eat, so sometimes I find myself doing things at work that make me feel deeply the boredom and dissatisfaction of the Four of Cups. That is part of the sacrifice of learning to live authentically, and working towards the money and the dream coming together.






Present - Nine of Cups: I rather like the Anna K version of this! These people are having a party, thoroughly enjoying one another. It looks like I need to work on creating that kind of energy in my life now. The quiet of the High Priestess has passed, and now I am feeling a boredom because it is time to bring some of the raucous energy of that party into my life. The moppets certainly bring a lot of that, and funny, funny, Brother, and I am starting to know people in my new area, so I am hoping to cultivate some friendships and more joy in my life.









Future - Temperance: In the future, it will be necessary to strike a good balance between the serene and the jubilant chaos. Extremes are easy for me; balance is not. The problem I have most with the extremes is that change is also hard for me, with my Taurus sensibilities, so I tend to stay in the extreme for a long while, and I need a card to show up repeatedly to show me it's time to make the change.






These cards are from the Anna K tarot and the Tarot of the Cloisters.

Daily Draw - Ace of Swords

The Ace of Swords is the rawest, purest energy of thought, words, ideas. It would be good today to make some firm decisions, slicing through to the heart of the matter, and to base those decisions on logic and confidence.

Swords are drawn in troubled times, but Aces are tokens of positive beginnings. Writers can use adversity to their benefit, because there is nothing painful that happens to a writer (or anyone, if they know where to look) that is without merit. Clear thinking leads to clear writing, and as I work through some of my other issues, and become more confident of myself , my mind is emerging from the muddle anxiety has created for me.





This card is from the Tarot of the Cloisters by Michelle Leavitt for US Games.

Daily Draw - Four of Cups

See, now I am just starting to feel as though I am probably a rather boring person, drawing the Four of Cups again, with the Three of Cups yesterday. Or predictable, at least. I did not have any new earth shattering revelations about this card, but I remind myself that if I am bored, then I must do something about it, instead of waiting for Spirit to provide me with something, I must go after it my own self, seek it, get up off my duff and chase the dragon, if I would, or drink contentedly from the other cup I would choose.






This card is from the Tarot of the Cloisters by Michelle Leavitt for US Games.

Daily Draw - Three Of Cups

The Three of Vessels, or Cups, as I call them, appeared for me again today. I think this is the fourth time in the past couple months since I have been blogging that I have got this card as a daily draw. What I think about with this card is being grateful for all the good things that are in my life, and celebrating them with a full heart. So many times it is easy to focus on the bad things that happen to us, the bad things we sometimes cause, even, and we forget that true joy lies in not having what we want, but wanting what we've got (paraphrased from Soak Up The Sun by Sheryl Crow).

I am also going to my first Tarot Meetup this evening, and I am so excited to meet and connect with other people in my area who love tarot. I am so blessed with my little moppets and Brother in my life, and the friends I have online, but I have been feeling the lack of real life friends, not just acquaintances, so I am eager to possibly make some, and putting myself in places I might.

Update: It was a very fun evening, in a funky-cool coffee shop, so there was lots of drinking, and the energy of both the people and place was relaxed and fun. Very Three of Cups-ish! I am so glad I went, even though getting myself out the door can be an ordeal at times. I am not exactly shy, but meeting new people is painful to me at times.

This card is from the Tarot of the Cloisters by Michelle Leavitt for US Games.

Daily Draw - Two of Wands

The Two of Wands showed up today, at first glance a stark contrast to yesterday's Hanged Man, but maybe not so much. I think of Wands as the cards of passions, and spirituality. The figure in the Two of Wands, however much influence he may have, however many great ideas are floating around in his head, is still not doing anything. He is, however, on the verge of doing something. He has faith that future is going to be big.

The energy heralded by the Two of Wands tells me that today is a good day to take control of my surroundings, and make them into what I need in order to be productive, which is a fitting card to draw as I am about to begin a whirlwind of spring cleaning on my days off this week.





This card is from the Tarot of the Cloisters by Michelle Leavitt for US Games.

Daily Draw - The Hanged Man

The Hanged Man - Sometimes, in order to go forward, we have to give up, surrender even, to the experience. This goes against my nature. I fight, I scrap, I cling, I always go down kicking. Maybe now is the time for me to start embracing a philosophy that lets me realize, "That which yields is not always weak." ~Jacqueline Carey in Kushiel's Dart. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being strong, and fighting hard for what you believe in, but the appearance of the Hanged Man suggests that a softer, more introspective energy is what is needed at this moment. Today, this card reminds me that there is a time for everything, and that today is a time for yielding to the moment, whatever that may bring.





This card is from the Tarot of the Cloisters by Michelle Leavitt for US Games.

Daily Draw - King of Pentacles & The Wheel of Fortune

I think it is going to be a good day at work, where I will feel comfortable and in my element, in control, and good money to be made as I head out to my required one Sunday a month shift! I am lucky because it is a Sunday when I don't have kidkins to cope with.

As usual with my court cards, I had to pull a clarifier. Stinky courts *grin*

Update: It was exactly that kind of day, which surprised me for Sunday! So thankful!

These cards are from the Anna K tarot.

Daily Draw - Seven of Swords

This is not the happiest card in the deck, for sure. This card shows a sneaky thief, taking off into the night with the hard won treasures of others, the very height of dishonesty. No matter how you slice it, this is a very distasteful card.

The only problem is, I don't know if it represents me on some level, or someone else in my life.

My first thought is it might have to do with my old work, the one where I experienced so much drama and upheaval last month. The owners do not do things on the up and up, and I will not be surprised if I arrive to pick up my last check to find out something shady is going down with it, which is unfortunate, because I need the money. But there is no use worrying about it before there is a need to worry, so I am just not going to.

The second thought is how does this relate to me? I try to be very honest in all my dealings, but perhaps this is an extra reminder to be even more so today, which I have no problem with at all.





This card is from the Anna K tarot.

Daily Draw - The Empress

I like this Empress. She looks like Gaia to me, more so than the RWS Empress, like there is a ferocity abut her if you mess with one of hers, like a mother bear, nearly.

This was a fitting card for me to pull today. It is snowing in Colorado, and I had planned to knock out a great deal of spring cleaning, but I think instead I will cook and bake all day, since there is no point to spring cleaning when it is apparently still winter here. There is a pot of black beans simmering away, and banana bread in the oven. This will make a wonderful cozy meal for moppets and Brother when everyone convenes home again.

I'm content today to be at home, Empress-ing it up.




This card is from the Anna K tarot.

Daily Draw - Four of Cups

I thought I had conquered this attitude, but no, Four of Cups showed up again today, although with a different deck.

This man is being waited on hand and foot. The ladies are trying to tempt him with all kinds of treats and good food, and he is just having none of it. He sits there, sullen, intractable, and seeming rather ungrateful. The family has a warm house, nice clothes, good food. What else could he want?

Sometimes we suffer less from a malaise of the regular sort, and more from a kind of divine discontent, in which we are looking for something, sometimes unnameable, but more. More experiences, more life, more Spirit in that life, more passion, just more.

In Captivating, by John and Stasi Eldredge, the authors assert that the deep desires of our hearts are there because God has placed them upon, according to His plan.

In other words, we are allowed to be discontent and even bored from time to time so that we will seek out that which we relieve our discontent, forge new pathways, look further for that something more. Some of us don't do that; preferring to be comfortably miserable than uncomfortably seeking.

So which one am I? is the question I am left with for the day.






This card is from the Anna K tarot.

Daily Draw - The Lovers

*sigh*

This is the kind of love I want for myself, one that grows old and comfortable together, stable, and that never ends. They aren't the young, naked couple from the RWS image anymore, and they aren't locked in the passionate embrace of the Deviant Moon, but they are deeply, contentedly, happily in love, still, after years.

I think this card is a promise to me today, that I will have that. I believe that we choose each deck and each card but our inner knowing does what it's supposed to do, and knows. It's hard for me to admit that I want it, because we are supposed to be okay with being single. We're supposed to put on our big girl panties and walk around like we don't want to have to fold a man's boxers or sleep with the heat turned down. For me to be true to myself, though, I have to admit that, as flawed as my marriage was, I like being a wife. I am at my best when I have someone to care for, someone to cook for, someone whose shoulders I can rub, and someone who babys me for the 15 minutes a month I need that.

While I was shuffling today, I could not decide when to stop. This card fell out. I looked at it and thought, No way, and shoved it back in the deck. There is no way I am dealing with The Lovers today. I still never actually felt the tingle, or whatever tells me to stop shuffling, but I decided enough was enough, and there it was, The Lovers, again. Okay, okay, I get it. If you are a reader of this blog, you know this happens to me fairly frequently, as recently as yesterday. I resist, Spirit continues to gently prod.

For comparison's sake here are the images from the Radiant Rider, my Prozac deck of choice (haha someone at AT called it that today and it made me laugh so hard), and the beloved, dramatic, and above all, passionate Deviant Moon.







These images are from the Anna K tarot, Deviant Moon, and Radiant Rider Waite.