Daily Draw - Page of Wands, Two of Pentacles, The Fool

Well, look what we have here- the chrysalis from the Hanged One has fallen away, revealing this gorgeous butterfly, free form, free flying.  The combination of the Page of Wands with the Fool suggests some innocent fun in store for the day, and the careful balance of the Two of Pentacles expressing tacit approval.  I can manage the fun and the practical today.

These cards speak of the day ahead for me.  The Two of Pentacles looks like a yoga pose, and Sundays are my long session days.  The Pentacles in hand even remind me of the small balls I use at times in a strength exercise.  The Fool and the Page of Wands feel like pure joy, which is how I plan to spend my day.  Worship at church, which is so much more to me than showing up in a steepled building, and a fantastic novel to while away the afternoon.  It's summertime, and the living is easy.  Today at least.





These cards are from the Transparent Tarot by Emily Carding for Schiffer Books.

Daily Draw - The Devil, Queen of Wands, Judgment

Look how much fire in this set of cards!

The chains of the Devil can't hold back the fiery Queen of Wands.  She simply transforms to the phoenix of Judgment, which succinctly captures the essence of this card.

I have the feeling that the Lord of the Gates of Matter (the Devil) here is causing the Queen of Wands to be poorly aspected.  I do not read reversals, because I don't like looking at upside down images, but I do believe all cards have a range of meaning.  The Devil is not always "bad", and the Queen here is charismatic, dynamic, and passionate, and those are fantastic qualities, but they can also turn tumultuous at times.  The Queen of Wands is the Queen I least associate myself with, but she probably does represent me today.

These cards tell me it would be a good day for me to speak humbly, act humbly, work actively to shed some of the bad habits that I know are holding me back.  Doing so will be freeing to me.





These cards are from the Transparent Tarot by Emily Carding for Schiffer Books.

Daily Draw - Knight of Cups, Hanged One, Three of Pentacles

 In an eerily similar draw to this one, I have the dreamy Knight of Cups, the Hanged One, and the Three of Pentacles.

The Knight of Cups is turned away from the Hanged One and the Three of Pentacles.  Maybe not the most practical of the Knights, he prefers to pretend the sacrifice and the hard work of the other two cards do not exist.  It's okay, though.  The figure in the Three of Pentacles has his back, though.  He is helping the Knight, placing his work upon the errant Knight's heart.


 


These cards are from the Transparent Tarot by Emily Carding for Schiffer Books.

Love Reading - Cards Pulled July 6, 2010

This reading concerns my love life.  There seems to be a trend in tarot, or maybe it is just the circle I hang around with, to poo poo these kinds of questions.  I am not a fan of that thinking.  What matters more than love?  Of course we should be able to bring our concerns, thoughts, and questions, to the beloved, but that is not always practical, or easy.  My particular question on this day was, "Please tell me about love and my desire to have it in my life."  The first set of cards is The Situation, the second The Obstacle, the third The Solution.

The Situation - Nine of Pentacles, the High Priestess, Five of Cups.

There I am, all Nine of Pentacles content, me alone in the world, taking care of myself, and mostly happy to be doing so.  She can be haughty and proud, maybe a little cool, at times.  The High Priestess card shows how deeply introverted I can be, as well, how much time I spend lost in my own thoughts, my own world, and how little I generally let others into it.  The High Priestess also has an aspect of guarding to her, of either keeping something in or out.  The Five of Cups shows my discontent with the situation as it is.

The cards combine beautifully.with the figure in the Nine of Pentacles reclined gracefully, cupped by the outer edge of the moon in the High Priestess card.  This demonstrates my independence and that it is okay to be that way.  The Five of Cups shows that sometimes I see that independence as loneliness.  Mostly, I am okay being alone, and being alone does not necessarily equate to loneliness, but sometimes it does.  I believe this combination of cards shows me as okay with being alone, but wanting to not always have to be.

The Obstacle - Ace of Pentacles, King of Wands, The Magician.

This card combination is the most chaotic bunch,, the most discordant, which makes sense, it being the set that the issues and problems are based in.

The Ace of Pentacles, badly aspected as this one is, shows a lack of belief in the abundance of the world.  I often believe that yes, all the good ones are gone, and I have to admit that I often feel that I am single because there is something wrong with me, and that people I may potential date are single for the same reason.  This is not my only belief, but it is one of them.

The King of Wands is bold, and passionate, and mostly I am scared to be that way.  I am afraid, which is the antithesis of what the King of Wands represents.  Lack of King of Wands characteristics is a big part of my problem.  Confidence, charisma, charm, and self assurance would all go far towards solving my issues.

The Magician here represents my self doubt, and that I seem to be waiting for good things to come to me, rather than drawing them to myself, both in thoughts and actions.  I have to think positively, and I also have to do things.  The love of my life is nowhere in my novels or my bathtub, which seems to be where I spend the bulk of my free time.

The Solution - Justice, Knight of Swords, The Sun.

Justice speaks to me of balance, and karma.  The Knight of Swords is further a seeker of truth, and a man of action.  The Sun is positive, always a positive, energetic presence  in my readings.

The combination of these cards advise me to be very careful about my thoughts and actions, to be sure that they are serving my highest truths, and that I am careful with other people's feelings as I expect them to be with mine.  I have not always been so in the past, and though I have made a lot of effort towards correcting that character flaw, I may still have karma in that area which contributes to my current troubles.  It is also a work in progress kind of thing, where I take one step forward, maybe two back from time to time.

These cards tell me to think positively, to act positively, honorably, and with integrity, too.  They are cards that promise I will have what I seek, if I do these things, and they are immensely comforting to me.





These cards are from the Transparent tarot by Emily Carding for Schiffer Books.

Daily Draw - Ten of Cups, Seven of Swords, Four of Cups, + 3 More For Good Measure

Six card daily draw tells me this is more like a reading than a quick take on my day.  The first three cards came from the top of the deck, and the next three from the bottom.  I often have a little peek at the bottom of the deck, just for some extra insight, some hidden information, on the theory that I have placed what I most don't want to face furthest away from me as possible.

The Ten of Cups is a card I often get in readings, for myself and others, in the wish position, or the dreams, the possibility position.  In a recent relationship reading, it showed as outcome, which is lovely.  It is the happily ever after ending the fairy tales promise us, that so few of us seem to get.  I want this just as much as anyone ever has, and it can be frustrating to have it appear but not manifest.

The Seven of Swords appears again today, after showing up for my Comfort Me reading a couple days ago.  There it spoke of trying new ways, maybe unconventional ways, of thinking about a situation.  The more traditional way of interpreting this card has to do with deceit and dishonesty.

The Four of Cups is boredom, apathy, discontent with what one has.

These cards combine for me to speak of a recent situation that I was part of, wherein my happily ever after dream was crushed, well maybe crushed is too melodramatic a word, let's say postponed,  by dishonesty on both parts, and how that is currently affecting me- loss of interest in trying again, with someone new, lack of trust in people in general.

I am not proud of that.  I would like very much to be open, warm, and receptive to the possibility of love, but it's so painful to have that betrayed.

The next set of cards speaks of that deep anxiety.

The World shows completion, deep satisfaction and contentment, everything is as it should be, as it was meant to be.

The Nine of Swords is mental anguish, torment of the mind.  In particular, for me, this card appears when my anxiety is running especially high and I am having troubles processing it in a healthy way, or at least a non-damaging one.  I continually beat myself up for these romantic failures, for failures of all types, telling myself if I had done this, not done that, lost 20 pounds, or kept such and such to myself, things would have been different.

The Lovers speaks of union, of perfect balance and integration.  It's the two halves that together make a whole, and even more.  It is choices we make, choices that bring us to wholeness and healing, the following of the heart that brings perfect bliss.

These cards combine to speak to me of how I worry about finding that, about being complete, about how I often feel I don't deserve that, and as long as I believe that, it won't be possible for me to find.

I feel I should say here that I do not believe I need a partner to be happy and fulfilled in life.  But I do believe I want one, and there should be no shame in that, but it is often seen as a sign of weakness for a woman to admit she would like to be with someone.

I am also aware that at times I share more of myself here than I strictly need to.  I don't know any other way to be, though, and I promised myself I would not censor, if I was going to write, it was going to be real, come from the heart, no holds barred.





These cards are from the Transparent Tarot by Emily Carding for Schiffer Books.

Daily Draw - Six of Swords, Wheel of Fortune, Ace of Swords

My cards for today are the Six of Swords, Wheel of Fortune, and the Ace of Swords.  Check this out, the Six of Swords sails blithely towards the Wheel of Fortune, with the Ace of Swords leaning into it.  Some cuts are beneficial.

They combine in a way that lets me know that the way things are unfolding is part of a plan.

The Six of Swords is a journey, whether of the mind or in actuality.  The kidlettes and I have just physically moved house.  The Six of Swords is moving to a safe place from a tumultuous one.  In my case, often I don't want to move.  I would often rather being comfortably miserable than make necessary change, which is probably a large part of why I seem to have so many Tower moments.  I am making an effort to make choices before they are made for me, though, and this move was one of them.  This is where we are supposed to be.

Heeding the call that has brought us here is freeing.  That Ace of Swords is poised, ready to slice away at old thought patterns, relationships, habits we no longer need.

So, we have moved here, because we were supposed to, and now something new is about to begin for us.


 


These cards are from the Transparent Tarot by Emily Carding for Schiifer Books.

Comfort Me- Page of Swords, Seven of Pentacles, Seven of Swords

Lately, I have been trying a new tactic with tarot.  Instead of asking a specific question looking for guidance or a glimpse of the future, tonight I have shuffled simply thinking, "Tell me something comforting."

Page of Swords, Seven of Pentacles, Seven of Swords.  My first thought was, "There is more than one way to skin a cat." which is patently ridiculous since I would never do such a thing.  I guess it's a product of being raised by old people with their sometimes funny phrases.

The Page of Swords is a sweet little girl in this deck, but one should not mistake her cuteness for lack of keen intelligence.  She is a sharp thinker, and a quick study.  On her shadow side, she can be a bit sneaky and devious.  She urges a new way of thinking, and that one should actually think, as opposed to just making decisions based on emotion, or even worse, simply reacting to what is happening around them.

This idea is further enforced to me by the Seven of Pentacles, as the figure carefully gathers up the ripening harvest.  We are able to reap because we have sown, and it's important to remember that the seeds we plant today ripen in time.

The Seven of Swords displays another form of gathering, the figure discarding the Swords that are no longer useful, as we must sometimes abandon thoughts and ideas that no longer serve us well.

Interestingly, both the Swords cards in this reading can often refer to sneakiness and dishonesty, the Page as a bit of a spy or gossip, and the imagery of the Seven of Swords often depicting a theft.  This is an example how phrasing of questions affects a reading.  Since I asked for comfort, I doubt these cards are warning me of dire plans, either my own or someone elses ill wishes for me.  Swords being the realm of thought, I see in these cards the need to carefully cultivate what I allow into my mind and also what I allow out of it, in the form of words I tell myself and others right now.

Sevens are active cards, where things are happening, but the querent is not always in as much control of those things happening as they may wish.  The Wands depicts the coming battle, the Cups with the many choices to be made, the Swords with the warning of possible deceit, and the Pentacles with the harvesting when the plants are ready, not necessarily when we are.  Seven is an inherently magical number, lucky even.

In specific, there is an area of my life that I am very frustrated with, and these cards urge me to begin to actively think differently about it, outside the box, and to be patient while I learn to do that and reap the rewards of my new mindset.




These cards are from the Transparent Tarot by Emily Carding for Schiffer Books.  Pre-order her Tarot of the Sidhe today, too!

Daily Draw - Hanged One, Empress, Three of Pentacles

This week I am working with the Transparent Tarot by Emily Carding for Schiffer Books.  This is a favorite deck of mine, and one I will never be without.  This deck offers more than a quirk of tarot, but is a genuine evolution in the way cards can be read.  I adore this deck, to say the least.

This morning I have The Hanged One, The Empress, and the Three of Pentacles, which are, of course, all 3's.  Threes are now, and their energy leaves no room for compromise.  The Empress as Mother Nature, as Spirit upon the waters of creation, is incredibly immediate and intimate.  The Hanged One is just as focused, but inward rather than outward.  The Empress bursts with exuberance, love, and creative energy, and the Hanged One focuses those same feelings inward.  Both work for great change.  The World is the manifestation of these inner and outer changes reaching completion and perfection.  In the Minor Arcana, the Threes are all intense as well, and right now - the Wands with the ships hurtling towards shore bringing something long awaited, the joy and celebration of the Cups, the heartbreak of the Swords, and the hands on work in progress of the Pentacles.

The Hanged One speaks of sacrifice, both willing and not, and of staying in one place, whether for good of stability as a lesson is learned or for stagnation.  The correlation to Odin on the Tree of Life, and Jesus on the cross, is strong, and justified.  Historically, the card probably also referred to shame and self recrimination, as the first decks would have seen the Hanged Man as a traitor or criminal.  The cocoon imagery in this card reminds me of the more positive aspects of this card, and while I can't imagine it is either comfortable or painless for a caterpillar to transform, we all know it is for the greater good.  A worm, lowest of creatures, confined to the dirt and shadows, becomes a butterfly, a beautiful flyer, who lives on the nectar of beauty.  The butterfly is one of the reasons I am certain God has a sense of humor, and a mighty fine one at that.

My Hanged One energy manifests as I learn to let go of what once was everything, even though I don't want to, and even though it hurts.  As I learn to release what I want in favor of what I need, as I accept that growing pains are very real and unavoidable, I come closer to the day I can burst forth from the cocoon and spread my wings.

The Empress is Mother, and there is no way around that.  I come from a religious belief that often downplays the feminine aspect of the Divine, but the Church is full of humans and subject to human error and lapse of judgment.  The Empress is the nurturing, creative aspect of God, the Goddess who loves Her children and cares for them in abundance.  She embodies the Spirit of creation, dancing across the first few verses of Genesis, the birth of a beautiful world, created in love and joy.  She knows no shortages and denies Her children nothing that is good for them.

And she is love, love without end and with no conditions.

The Three of Pentacles is work, hands-getting-dirty-it's-gotta-get-done-no-one-wants-to-hear-yer-excuses-let's-just-git-'er-done work.  Traditional images often portray artistry as well, but everyone who creates anything knows that you throw away a lot of rough drafts before you get to the masterpiece.  And that is how it should be.

These cards together create a poignant picture for me today.  I see my shame, my self doubt, and I see love and compassion as well.  I have to suffer right now, and God(dess) has to allow me to.  It is for my own greater good, and it is done with that in mind, not a vindictive glee that so many people see God as taking in their pain.  I also see that transformation sometimes takes physical steps.  So many times the ways we are changing are internal, but the physical act of changing our habits and the things we do is an important piece, as well.  I need to work hard, and not just on my mind, but on my body and my surroundings as well.  I won't be left alone, and She will meet me, but there are some steps I have to take on my own as well.

I see myself, offering my pain and my willing sacrifice, willingly submitting to what has to be, in trust and in love.  I don't have to take joy in it, probably am not able to, but I can do this, and in the doing can expect an alchemical reaction that triggers my butterfly transformation.





These images are from the Transparent Tarot by Emily Carding for Schiffer Books.