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offering the sixteenth: the Moon [16 Jun 2005|03:29am] [ mood | calm ] [ music | "Big Love", Fleetwood Mac ] The Moon is often viewed as a negative card, and, depending on placement, it can be viewed in that particular light. Drawing the Moon means one is reacting sequentially, over choosing to act independently; subconsciously assessing, not consciously directing; possibly experiencing bouts of disorientation over clarity. None of these are precisely bad things in and of themselves. It's all in how the card is placed, and what else is happening within the reading. Comparative Tarot says " The Moon is often associated with women in various aspects, with emotional and intuitive personalities, hormonal cycles, and with all of the feminine mysteries that men throughout history have found alluring, frustrating, and even frightening about the female archetypes and personalities. It is associated with passive and reflective light, with the yin, and with the subconscious." I'd add to that that most traditional interpretations of this card feature water of some kind, from some source, thereby indicating emotional issues that need to be addressed. The addition of the half- or full-moon placed above the water source to reflect light upon it is easily interpreted as the Querent seeking to reflect his or her emotional state onto everyone who surrounds them. This, also, can be either good or bad. On the truly negative side, the Moon can bring a great deal of self-deception into the picture--looking into the reflecting pool is not interacting with the world, and should not be taken as such. Delusion, contradiction, misapprehension, distraction--it's all there if one only focuses the totality of consciousness away from interactive reality. From here, anxiety, panic and insanity arise, outlandish behavior and ideas build upon themselves, and eventually, the reflection in the pool will be too strong to overcome and one may, in fact, drown--metaphorically speaking. On the positive side, the Moon indicates a need or an unformed desire to embrace the shadow self, integrate dark with light within the personality. There may be a need for vivid dreaming, or lucid dreaming, or vision states; there may be a need, simplistically speaking, for therapy. Overcoming fear and anxious self-doubt, overcoming self-deception and distortion, these are all good things for the consciousness to consider. Learning Tarot tells us: "The Moon is the light of this realm - the world of shadow and night. Although this place is awesome, it does not have to be frightening. In the right circumstances, the Moon inspires and enchants. It holds out the promise that all you imagine can be yours. The Moon guides you to the unknown so you can allow the unusual into your life." Embrace the different. Release fear. Integrate the shadow. Dream richly. These are all good lessons of the Moon. roll the bones

offering the fifteenth: the Star [16 Jun 2005|12:38am] [ mood | contemplative ] [ music | "A Little Respect", Erasure ] The Star, as it is traditionally depicted in standard decks, was a card I could never wrap my mind around. I continually confused it with Temperance; moreover, since perfect tranquility, openness of heart, and harmonious joy are not generally values I hold dear, it was also hard for me to connect with this card. But the Star is very simple, at its heart. It is just that--simple. Symbolic. Easy to understand. The Star is the light at the end of the tunnel. The Star is the fleeting brief hope that keeps your feet moving, one in front of the other, when all you want to do is fall down and never get up again. The Star is the guiding glow for every wandering bark. The Star is hope. What the traditional figure--presented as a female, to symbolize the creative spirit, and nude, to symbolize innocence and openness--pours out from her ewer into the pond, can be seen in many ways. It can be seen as love. It can be seen as creative output. It can be seen as inspiration, creating ripples spreading outward in the pond. Hope and inspiration frequently go hand in hand, and without one, the other often fades. The Star. Hope. Receiving answers, if one is willing to listen. Giving back gifts to the universe, giving back freely. Holding your heart open and free--and that's hard, that's so hard, but that's also part of the lesson of this card. Belief and faith in those things that inspire and challenge you, that's also part of the Star. And never giving up, never letting yourself surrender. Captain Malcolm Reynolds, when he saw the derelict Firefly-class starship sitting on the scrub, he knew in his heart that would be his ship. He'd named it before he'd taken three steps towards it. Named it after the moment in his life that burned all his faith and hope and openness away. But by the end of those twelve short episodes (as of this writing, the movie hasn't opened yet), he'd managed to regain some of his faith, a narrow sliver of his hope, and there was a slender, silver sliver of his heart exposed to air. Maybe it's enough, sometimes, to start healing. Maybe the Star points our way, sometimes, when it's all we have and the night is dark. Because not everyone lives with the gates of their hearts swung wide, and some of us...for some of us, the gates have rusted shut from disuse. Another use for water, of course, is lubrication. To help those gates swing open. roll the bones

offering the fourteenth: the Tower [18 Jun 2004|01:16am] [ mood | calm ] [ music | "With or Without You", U2 ] As shocking as a lightning bolt, the Tower emphasizes sudden, irreversible change. Whether desired or destructive, the querent's life will change, and almost certainly in unexpected ways. This card indicates a period of chaos and disarray, from a simple whirlwind redecorating one's house to the hand of God flattening a small town with a tornado. Anything and everything is possible, good and bad things both, and the only truth in this card is that alteration will occur. Most readers see the Tower and flinch away, as many flinch away from Death. As the Death card indicates change, however, so does the Tower, and not all that the Tower brings is intended to harm. Granted, 'sudden upheaval' doesn't work for many people. They prefer their revelations small, their disarray minimal, their upheaval periods short. The Tower denies these desires, bringing change with the force of Thor's hammer, bringing chaos with the sweep of Death's blade. Humility is a part of the process--those who stand against the Tower's force will be brought down, as the Tower itself is seen to fall in most decks. It sweeps all before it in the force of its own collapse--ego, assumptions, ideals, illusions. It reveals the truth hidden under the earth, inside the structure, truths that cannot be revealed in any other way. The Learning Tarot site says, "Sudden crises are life's way of telling you to wake up. Something's wrong, and you're not responding. Are you too full of pride? Expect a blow to your ego. Are you holding back your anger? Expect the dam to burst. Are you stuck in a rut? Expect a surprise." The Tower reveals the difference between the jeweler with his small pick and chisel, cracking delicately through the facets of a diamond, and the construction worker with the console and the blasting caps, tearing the past down in large chunks of dust and masonry. There is nothing precise or delicate in how the Tower works. It is blunt, it is charmless, and it will shatter the querent's life completely, leaving that soul free to rebuild as it chooses. It is the flash flood, the forest fire, the tidal wave of consequence, and it cannot be avoided, bargained with, or postponed. The drastic personal upheavals inherent in this card can be alleviated slightly, but only by total acceptance. The querent must accept that their life will no longer be the same, that explosive, chaotic change is coming their way at speed, and will most likely leave no two sections of the querent's soul paired and in the same place. With this acceptance must come understanding, as well--for the querent was too rigid of thought, too self-important, too filled with grandiose thoughts of their own perfection in the world--else the Tower would not have been drawn in the first place. Whereas Death strikes without warning, the Tower arrives with intent. Accept this intent, prepare for change, and what the Tower brings can be survived. Deny the Tower, and the querent will watch as every aspect in their life they thought could be relied upon...vanishes into smoke and ash. Deny the driving forces behind the Tower, and the querent might as well try to deny the air breathed in, the water rushing to the sea, the deep tremblors in the earth...and the querent's own daily life. Dreaded or not, change is coming, and all that remains is the call. And whether the querent is awake enough to perceive it. 2 bones| roll the bones

offering the thirteenth: the Devil [19 Mar 2004|06:08pm] [ mood | groggy ] [ music | "Home", Sheryl Crow ] The Devil, as traditionally shown, is one of the most direct cards in Tarot. Whereas some cards choose to slide the main points of action to one side, off in the corner, or far in the foreground, the Devil card is bold, confrontational, and in a skewed way, very centered and intent. Many Christian interpreters of Tarot point to this card as the one that most accurately portrays evil in human lives. I, among other Tarot commentators, profoundly disagree. The Learning Tarot site has this to say concerning this card: "From our human perspective, we see the world as a struggle between light and dark. We want to vanquish the bad so the good can prevail. In fact, good and bad cannot be separated, just as you cannot separate a shadow from its source. Darkness is simply the absence of light, and it is caused by errors that hide the truth." The Learning Tarot site lists three major errors of perception that this card can indicate to the querent. Ignorance: Ignorance is the largest error that this card portrays. The type of ignorance that allow people to embrace theories over reality ("The world is flat"; "No one's actually been to the moon"; "Humanity is composed of different races", for example), or pretend that the elephant is not, in fact, in the room with the rest of the family. This type of ignorance can lead to beliefs that are inflexibly set in stone, over ideas that are more flexible, more fluid, and expand to contain new realities. Materialism: This is the next error that this card portrays. What is truly important in life? Is it achieving happiness, finding a measure of peace, or owning that silver Lexus with the burgundy leather seats? At its heart, this card is about choosing the physical over the spiritual, the pleasures of the flesh over the joys of a spiritual life. It does not, as other commentors have stated, indicate sexuality is evil, that acquisition is always a bad thing. But it can point out a willful blindness to the spiritual that can drag the querent down into denial, addiction, dependence, enslavement...and it all starts out with denying what is only felt, not seen, and embracing the material over the spiritual. Hopelessness: Hopelessness is the last error this card portrays. That a joyful, rich, peaceful life should be sought for is not in question; that the spirit can despair and falter along the way is not in question. But this card points up the basic flaws of living in despair--how easy, it says, would it be to give in, accept that things will never improve, compromise to a lesser evil, impair one's principles and beliefs...Hopelessness is key to all these mental states. By accepting that one cannot achieve the heights of dreaming, the soul begins to despair. Draw this card in a reading and it's a very clear message from the universe. Break the cycle of addiction. Pull yourself from your depression. Never give up. Never give in. You can achieve your dreams, but not if you ignore your spiritual self. Just as the physical body has needs, so too does the soul. And neither can exist without the other. roll the bones

offering the twelfth: Temperance [26 Nov 2003|08:45pm] [ mood | content ] [ music | "Turn, Turn, Turn", The Byrds ] Temperance, at its core, is all about balance. The necessity of balance is a wide ribbon that runs through the entire Tarot, both major and minor arcana, reinforcing our very human need for it as a principle. Temperance is the face of balance: balance between earth and spirit, between intuition and reality, between dream and being. Temperance stands there, eternally pouring water from the pitcher, equalizing the balance between what was taken and what is given. The Queen of Pentacles site tells us, "Temperance teaches us that balance is not a matter of 'self-control' but of true freedom to be ourselves and react to the world in a healthy, spontaneous manner." Balance is not about repression, or not simply about repression, but expression, in ways that feel true to ourselves and to the world. In this view there is room for joy and grief, light and darkness, truth and misdirection. This is also a card of mediation, of bringing two sides together in a disagreement, of bringing opposing forces together to seek a resolution. This card indicates consolidation, synthesis, centering and moderation. Temperance is the centerpoint, the stillness in the eye of the hurricane, the middle ground between two extremes. With temperance, there is balance, health, stability and integrity. Without it, there is discord, strife, excess and over-indulgence. Find the middle ground. Find the balance. Find temperance. roll the bones

offering the eleventh: Death [11 Nov 2003|01:06pm] [ mood | blank ] [ music | "Don't Fear the Reaper", Blue Oyster Cult ] Death. Heavy, dark, turgid card surrounded by images of funerary trappings and black mourning veils. The problem is that the Death card in Tarot has never indicated physical, impending demise for the querent. Oh, it can, depending on circumstance, but for the most part, Death indicates radical, foundation-shaking change. It can be a card of voluntary sacrifice, a card of initiation--the querent choosing to give up certain aspects of their life in order to evolve and change in other areas. It can be a card signifying an end of some sort--a chapter closing in one's life, something that was once important falling into the past. In many ways, the Death card in Tarot can be seen partially in the light of the rune Hagalaz, in the sense of great change, endings that bring new beginnings, the hailstorm that breaks through the ground, revealing great treasure. All things must end. Destruction must precede creation. The Death card in a reading reveals to the querent that that destruction is coming, but it will be followed by new growth and creativity, a life spangled with bright things. All things must end, and thus begin again. roll the bones

offering the tenth: the Hanged Man [12 Sep 2003|12:45am] [ mood | recumbent ] [ music | "On My Own", Les Miserables soundtrack ] The ultimate one-line definition for the Hanged Man is 'life in suspension'. The Learning Tarot site says drawing the Hanged Man reveals that the questioner should "surrender to experience". This is the card of retreat, in the sense of relaxation and stillness. This is the card of sitting in one place, breathing slowly, listening to yourself and the world around you. This is the card control freaks fear. This card indicates that at some turn in their life, they have wrapped themselves too tightly in the trappings of the world. Now is their time to release, let go, live uncontrolled and undirected for a time. Living without urgency, without a sense of time. Definitely something most control freaks would abhor--living off the clock. Receiving this is the universe's way of telling the questioner to upend their priorities. "Pausing to reflect", says Learning Tarot, but it goes deeper than that. This is the card for paradigm shifts, for upheavals of all kinds, for complete turnarounds if it is what the situation requires, when the situation requires it. "The main lesson of the Hanged Man is that we 'control' by letting go - we 'win' by surrendering." And that's a hard lesson indeed, for many, many people. "When we most want to have our own way, that is when we should sacrifice. When we most want to act, that is when we should wait. The irony is that by making these contradictory moves, we find what we are looking for." Indeed, that is the heart of this card, and the paradoxical nature of the wisdom contained within. Hold fast by letting go; control by releasing; and learn to live in that still, small space within until you hear your true heart's calling. roll the bones

offering the ninth: Justice [12 Aug 2003|11:54pm] [ mood | lethargic ] [ music | "Don't Give Up", Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush ] Justice is one of the simpler cards in the Tarot. Invoking honor, discipline, fairness, strong ethical structure, it stands up to its name Usually portrayed as a young, fair-haired man or woman holding a set of scales in one hand, and a sword in the other, seated on a throne. In some decks, she or he is blindfolded, to indicate that Justice must be impartial. This is a serious card of rules and regulations. It doesn't always indicate a courtroom visit, but it always brings with it the trappings of Justice itself--the need for level-headed decisionmaking, the need for rational argument, the need to understand the situation in a non-emotional way. The Learning Tarot site indicates that this card is one of "fairness, impartiality and the quest for truth...In readings, Justice often appears when you are concerned with doing what is right or making sure you receive your due. This card can also appear when you are feeling the impact of a past mistake or good deed. The cause you set in motion at one time is now returning to you as an effect." This is the time to take responsibilities for your actions, or they will come back to haunt you later. Acknowledge responsibility; accept blame or the consequences of your actions; shoulder your responsibilities and bear them with head held high. This is who you are. This is what you have done. Accept it. In this way, you will know how to do what's right. This card can also indicate, by virtue of the cards surrounding it, what the matter needing adjudication is. Do you need a more rational outlook on your home life? Your job? Your relationships? Watch where the card falls in the reading, and you will understand. roll the bones

offering the eighth; the Chariot [06 Aug 2003|11:38pm] [ mood | intrigued ] [ music | "On the Shoulders of Freaks", Henry Phillips ] The Artist's Inner Vision Tarot site says "Often in life, situations arise that require every bit of our energy and concentration to conquer and rise above. There is a play of forces that make it necessary for us to muster our resources and overcome the challenge that has been placed before us. There is conflict arising from two natures within us." This is the essence of the Chariot card. In most depictions, the Chariot depicts an individual, usually male, behind the reins of a chariot, cart or carriage, with two animals tied to the reins. One is traditionally black, one traditionally white, in most decks. No matter where the Chariot appears in the reading, it signals a conflict. Where the conflict arises is detailed by where the card is found--internal, external, conflict with family, conflict with nature--it's all there, based on where in the reading the card lies. The Chariot indicates battle, but not on traditional terrain--it will almost always indicate that a pairing of forces will reveal the path. Good, evil, black, white, kind, cold--these are all distinctions of the individual that must be put aside. Every path we choose causes another branching, another set of opportunities left behind. We walk in the debris of choices made and unmade, carrying ourselves as creatures formed entirely by our experiences within the world. For good and bad, our environments penetrate--psychically, emotionally, mentally and genetically. Thus, conflicts can and often do arise. Between what we want to do and what we should not do; between what we know is good and what we feel is wrong; between what we desire and what we suppress. Conflict. The nature of the Chariot card is found within this conflict. This is not a card of stasis and waiting, however--this is a card of drive and energy. It takes power and commitment to hold the reins of two opposing forces and keep everyone on the path and moving forward. It takes even more power and commitment to pair such opposing forces and get everyone to agree on the correct action to take at any given time. This card indicates drive, sacrifice, power, will, and ultimately, perserverance--and you'll need all of these any time you take on two such opposing forces. Conflict is frequently painful, debilitating, and draining, but nearly always, it leads to further growth. Learn what types of conflict you avoid and why. Understand why conflict might be necessary. These things will prepare you for the next time you draw this card. roll the bones

Offering the seventh: the Lovers [05 Jul 2003|11:52am] [ mood | lethargic ] [ music | "When You Were Mine", Prince ] As traditionally portrayed, the Lovers card in Tarot features three individuals, not two--the man gazing adoringly at the woman, the woman gazing thoughtfully up at the cherub, and the cherub floating overhead. At its heart, the card represents choice, not love, and what those choices can bring to us, both for good and for ill. The Artist's Inner Vision Tarot site says "Love is always a choice and remains a series of choices, a series of compromises that are made between two people." I would tend to agree with that, and agree also that "Life does not remain in a static form; it flows and moves in many directions. One must make choices before fate makes the choice for you, which is one of the negative aspects of this card. Another is the pain that can be inflicted through choices." This card in a reading will always indicate a relationship choice which is upcoming. For good or bad, that's up to the querent to decide--but it always indicates that some choice is being presented, and if the querent does not consider the question, and make the choice--any choice, any movement further along their path--the choice will be made for them. I chose Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Tara (Amber Benson) to represent The Lovers because their relationship perfectly illustrates this card. Willow was making choices Tara could not support. Tara asked her to make a choice that could strengthen their relationship, not further damage it. Willow made her choice, and then reneged on her deal with Tara. And Tara ended up leaving. In microcosm, that loss was reflected through their relationship, whether together or estranged, up until the relationship's final end. This card says to the querent to consider their choices carefully. Now is the time that they will come visibly into play. If they don't take the right step, everything could dissolve around them, leaving them with nothing. And if they take no step at all, the card says, fate will intervene and make the choice for them. Which, often as not, is the wrong choice for the querent...at least, on the surface. Look deeper at loves and losses, look deeper at relationships and bonds with the people around you, and hopefully, you will have enough information to make the correct decision possible. roll the bones

Offering the sixth; the Hierophant [18 Apr 2003|01:09pm] [ mood | content ] [ music | "Pushing the Needle Too Far", Indigo Girls ] The Hierophant is a card about authority, but more than that, it's a card about teaching and learning. It emphasizes the group over the individual, the truth over the pretty deception, and the value of community and society over anarchism. The Hierophant, like the Hermit seeks a deeper, greater understanding of the world around him...but where the Hermit seeks that understanding alone, the Hierophant seeks that understanding within the group, within the places of structure. University professors, teachers, lawyers, doctors, librarians, even book-store owners--all can easily fit the basic description of this card as well as clergy and church officials. The Hierophant is interested in all forms of knowledge, not simply religious. The card as usually depicted features a robed bishop holding a crossed staff, one hand upheld to two novice priests, eager to learn. It reflects in many ways the later Devil card, and couldn't be a better parallel: where the Hierophant card emphasizes the mind over the body (the mental, or 'Apollonian' approach to learning), the Devil card emphasizes flesh over mentation (the purely physical, or more 'Dionysian' approach). But the Hierophant, as usual, is broader and deeper than the initial card's image. Just as most learning was confined to the Roman Catholic church when the Tarot cards again became popular, so that learning should be the understanding today, not the overtly religious trappings of the card as usually seen. Faith, discipline, training, orthodoxy, established conventions: these are all the trademark tools of the Hierophant. This card can represent what is good as well as what is bad about pure social order: both the restrictive and the freeing. It can also represent commitment to a cause or belief, working as part of a team, working towards a larger goal (such as, a group of artists working on a statue, a group of authors putting together a short-story collection, a group of students defining the terms of the experiment to come), working for the good of all over the good of one. Learning Tarot says about this card, "Except in rare cases, every human grows and develops within a culture. We learn by living with others." Our behavior is representative of what we see, hear, feel and touch every day. We are patterners; we learn by observing; we learn by doing what we see and seeing how it works in us. There is value in the individual, the Hierophant says, but there is greater strength in the group as a whole. If the Hierophant turns up in a reading, he could represent a teacher that already exists in the querent's life, or indicate a teacher to come. Conversely, he could indicate the stifling restrictions of institutional thought, and that the querent needs to break free of such societally-approved constructs and think for themselves. It depends entirely on where the card appears in the reading, and to which other cards it falls closest. Never forget the twin powers of the Hierophant: conformity and education. One lifts up the segment of the group; the other frees the individual mind. It's a delicate balance that the Hierophant struggles to preserve. roll the bones

Offering the Fifth; the Emperor [13 Apr 2003|11:25pm] [ mood | worried ] [ music | "We Are The Champions", Queen ] The Emperor represents stern authority, at its most flattering--and unflattering. The noble patriarch, the protective source of security and comfort, the man with all the answers, the 'Defender of the Faith' This card emphasizes tradition, confidence, goal-setting, direction-setting, and the strength of the male in his prime. This is the man who will bring order out of chaos, and do it with a firm hand. This is the man who will provide shape and form to the formless, bring organization and categorization to the disorganized, bring systematic reason to those places where the breakdown has begun. He wages the battle against the darkness of unruly nature. He coordinates. He establishes. He controls. He leads by example and by action. He commands. He is the established order of things. If he represents an actual person, not simply the idea of control, he is generally an older man, in a position of authority, an official with a specific job title who holds a position of strength and skill. He could represent a judge, a police officer, a lawyer, a general, a naval commander. In most decks, the Emperer is seen either looking straight out of the card, overseeing the effects of his actions. He sits on a carved stone throne, his back straight, his carriage proud. He wears a stern, commanding face, and is either wearing royal robes or armor. His eyes meet ours directly without wavering. He is confident of his ability--and his authority--to command. Where the Empress represents a lush, natural fertility, the Emperor represents structured order. Learning Tarot says: "The Emperor represents structure, order and regulation--forces to balance the free-flowing, lavish abundance of the Empress. He advocates a four-square world where trains are on time, games are played by rules, and commanding officers are respected. In chaotic situations, the Emperor can indicate the need for organization. Loose ends should be tied up, and wayward elements, harnessed. In situations that are already over-controlled, he suggests the confining effect of those constraints. "The Emperor can represent an encounter with authority or the assumption of power and control. As the regulator, he is often associated with legal matters, disciplinary actions, and officialdom in all its forms. He can also stand for an individual father or archetypal Father in his role as guide, protector and provider." The Emperor is the nature of authority distilled into human shape. It is up to the querent to decide if this authority comes to help them, or to hinder them. He is the father figure incarnate, the officer behind all desks, the teacher to all scattered souls. The Emperor will maintain his empire...at all and any costs. roll the bones

Offering the fourth; the Empress [08 Apr 2003|03:22pm] [ mood | melancholy ] [ music | "Bring Me to Life", Evanescence ] The Empress Giving birth. Creativity. Life, possibility, new beginnings, the start point of the circle. Fecund, sexual, sensual; nurturing, understanding; natural and fruitful. Enduring, persisting, patient, tolerant; respecting all life, and earth, and time. The passion of the mother, the archetype of the bride, this is the Empress in full flower, at the height of her abundance. She sits on her grain- and flower-bedecked throne, beckoning, always beckoning. She is the Seducer as well as the Mother, the Healer, the Teacher, in the most primal sense of the word. She is the innate strength of womanhood which cannot be shattered, which always finds its way back to the center of the universe. After all, take away the fruit and the vines and the wheat and the velvet and the tapestry pillows, and the throne the Empress reclines in is carved from the heart of bedrock--unyielding, cold as space, devoted to doing the right thing even if it causes pain, so that the lesson will be understood that much more deeply by the student--who is also her child. Again we see (in most decks) that her gown is decorated in pomegranates. She also is crowned, with the soft and subtle glitter of stars, not the harsher clarity of sun. She holds a rod, traditionally the symbol of male power, loosely within her soft hand. At her feet rests a heart-shaped shield, usually painted with the Mirror of Venus. Generally, she is seen in a field of ripe wheat, or, less often, an orchard, the branches of the trees heavy with fruit. Where the High Priestess represents the scholarly side of woman, the Empress represents the physical and sensual. Both have great power; but more men are tempted by lush actresses, or beautiful, flexible dancers, than by well-read reliquarians, dusty with age. The Aeclectic Tarot page says this: "The Empress is a creator, be it creation of life, of romance, of art or business. While the Magician is the primal spark, the idea made real, and the High Priestess is the one who gives the idea a form, the Empress is the womb where it gestates and grows till it is ready to be born. This is why her symbol is Venus, goddess of beautiful things as well as love. Even so, the Empress is more Demeter, goddess of abundance, then sensual Venus. She is the giver of Earthly gifts...Of course, the Empress can also be the worst aspects of an attentive Mom; she can smother, not know when to let go, be possessive and jealous of those who would take away her 'baby'. It is important for the Querent to realize that plants can die from over-watering as easily as neglect. "This card tells the Querent that if they want their new romance, new career, new business, new creation to grow into all it can be they have to pay attention to it, baby it and be willing to let it take those first steps when it is ready. Most of all, like any pregnant mother or good gardener, they have to be patient. All things need time to gestate and sprout." Think of the Empress card as the archetypal Mother; define where it came up in the querent's reading; and you will know how to relate the reaching out of feminine protectiveness, nurturing, fertile loving, or rabid smothering, to the querent's question. Mother issues? This is the card to use to deal with them. roll the bones

Offering the third; the High Priestess [02 Apr 2003|04:11pm] [ mood | indifferent ] [ music | "Save Me", Remy Zero ] The High Priestess, in most decks, sits with the moon at her feet, crowned in the sun. Two pillars frame her throne, one black (Boaz) and the other white (Jachim). Some decks just keep the color symbolism; others detail down to alphabet letters--'B' and 'J', or to the Hebraic characters added very, very long ago. She wears a blue gown that appears to be turning into water, and the water of her interior knowledge flows through many of the remaining tarot cards. At times she is depicted holding a book. At times she holds a pomegranate, inviting comparisons with Greek Prsepnei, the goddess of Death, later re-invented as Persephone and relegated to the status of kidnap victim. At other times, the High Priestess is depicted wearing a cross. In fifteenth-century tarot decks, the High Priestess card was called La Papesse, or, the Female Pope. One explanation as to why lies in the legend--true or false--of 'Pope Joan'--which was popular at the time. Another explanation can be found on this tarot site: "The Papess image may also represent a Sibyl. The Sibyls were pagan prophetesses who were believed to have predicted the Virgin Birth and other aspects of Christianity. Although unfamiliar to us, the Sibyls were an important part of late medieval and Renaissance culture because of the Sibylline Books, the earliest dating back to the 4th century. Cohn (The Pursuit of the Millenium, Oxford University Press, 1970, p 33) points out that 'uncanonical and unorthodox though they were, the Sibyllines had enormous influence'--indeed save for the Bible and the works of the Fathers, they were probably the most influential writings known to medieval Europe." The High Priestess represents solitude, reflection, mystery. The price of learning as demonstrated by inaction. Not because she cannot act; but because she chooses not to act. It is an important distinction. The High Priestess can also indicate the effects of the subconscious on the conscious mind. She is the principle of intuition. You know something is wrong but you do not know why, or how you know; this is your subconscious speaking to you, whispering words you cannot consciously hear, arming your heart to step away from the dangerous places. Getting the High Priestess card in a reading can mean the querent needs to put more trust and faith in their intuition, needs to listen more closely to their 'inner voice'. It can indicate a need to access dreaming and the unconscious, to wait and listen as the universe unfolds. It can indicate a need for patience, for trust, for allowing inner skills, talents, and abilities to blossom naturally, unfettered by any intellectual thought that this might be 'wrong', or 'bad', or 'evil'. The Priestess also indicates that the shadow self must be embraced, and brought to a place of seeing--not dragged into the light of reason, but acknowledged as a formative part of the Self, a real and necessary half of the personality. Put at its simplest, this is what the pillars--and the animals generally seen pulling the Chariot--mean--the unification of the conscious and the unconscious, the unity of the Self that walks in the light with the Shadow Self that knows the secret being. From the Learn Tarot site: "The High Priestess is the guardian of the unconscious. She sits in front of the thin veil of unawareness which is all that separates us from our inner landscape. She contains within herself the secrets of these realms and offers us the silent invitation, 'Be still and know that I am God.' "The High Priestess is the feminine principle that balances the masculine force of the Magician. The feminine archetype in the tarot is split between the High Priestess and the Empress. The High Priestess is the mysterious unknown that women often represent, especially in cultures that focus on the tangible and known. The Empress represents woman's role as the crucible of life." Where the Empress is the lush feminine, fertile and overbrimming with sensual life, the High Priestess is the silent, restrained Anchoress, seeking revelation from within, waiting to pass truth on to others. 'The teacher will come when the student is ready' is one saying. The truth works the other way as well--the student will come when the teacher is ready to give. In this light, the High Priestess is both teacher and student--eternally teaching, eternally learning, the mysteries surrounding all. roll the bones

Offering the next; The Magician [31 Mar 2003|02:29pm] [ mood | calm ] [ music | "Cities in Dust", Siouxsie and the Banshees ] The Magician The first card in the Major Arcana, the first position, is usually held by the Magician. In some decks he's right-handed; in some he's left-handed; in most, he's male. We progress from the Fool starting the journey to the Magician, representing mind in training, concentration yoked to will, intellect over instinct. This is truly a card indicating self-reliance. Generally indicating an individual, though not always a male, this card indicates an individual with skill and training, working towards or already having achieved great personal clarity. To put it in Westernized terms, this is the frontier spirit, the drive to understand and control, the drive to map out and realize. Ideas into actions, thoughts into deeds, the Magician brings the desire to communicate on all levels forward, along with a significant amount of will needed to enforce such changes. The Magician card can indicate new projects, new job or home interests, or it can plainly indicate spiritual growth and power, occult knowledge, intellectual drive. To put it in comic terms, Lex Luthor is much stronger in terms of the Magician card than, say, the Emperor. Illusion is part of the Magician's powers; but in general the card is not about deception and trickery. Any means can be used to achieve the desired ends, and illusion, deception, and misdirection can be part of the means, but in general, the Magician is very straightforward. Examine the principles behind the Jewish Qabala, the Gnostic practices of Europe, ceremonial magery in all countries--these are fairly straightforward, intellect-driven styles of organized, regimented magic. The Magician uses order, organization, concentration and will to surmount basic emotion and desire. "To dream the impossible dream..." Such an idea only works if will and action are taken after the dreaming. roll the bones

Offering the first; The Fool [29 Mar 2003|11:21am] [ mood | calm ] [ music | "Building a Mystery", Sarah McLachlan ] The Fool. Card 0 in nearly all tarot decks, though occasionally found in slot 22. In the classic decks (Rider-Waite and its descendants), the Fool is shown as a young person of indeterminate gender (though we are invited to assume male) with a small dog. "His" head is tilted upwards, watching the clouds dreamily, while at "his" feet the dog barks, trying to pull his owner back from the cliff--and potential certain destruction. Will disaster be averted? Will "he" step off the cliff? Will "he" plummet to his doom, or fly away? The Fool, in this depiction, hovers in the moment of indecision. "When the time comes, as it always does, when the old rules, conceptual structures, prejudices and beliefs are not longer adequate to the challenges at hand, then a Divine Maniac is needed. He or she lives in a private world, and so is not bound by the shared conventions, preconceptions or norms of the society. The Gods--or Chance--select the Idiot who will become the savior who will transform society. He is elevated to King for a short time (for only so much madness can be tolerated), and must undergo many transformations before, with luck, he rejuvenates the world. "On a personal level, there are times in all of our lives when customary thought patterns have outlived there usefulness. Then it is time for Divine Madness (mania). There are no rules for this, for it is the rules that are bankrupt. The only escape is inspired frenzy and the blind leap into the abyss. We may hope for the best, but there are no guarantees." --The Pythagoran Tarot This is closest to the interpretation of older Tarot decks; with the publication of the Rider-Waite tarot deck in 1909, the Fool came to represent a kind of ageless child, a foolish dreamer and believer in dreams who would walk off a cliff face rather than turn around and listen to a higher, more Apollonian conscience. This was not always so. In tarot decks existing before Rider-Waite, the Fool--numbered either 0, to indicate the start of the soul's journey, or 22, to indicate the prime evolved power of the mage--the Fool represented two archetypal characters in society: 1. The Beggar The beggar is seen as a crafty person by some, a pitiful, miserable figure by others. In certain societies, begging is an art form and beggars are seen as the most visible manifestation of God, so as to create in any observers a desire to be generous and supportive of their fellow humans, in any condition. In most more industrialized cultures, beggars are viewed as non-contributors who are leaching off the body politic as a whole, and must be rooted out and eliminated. Myself, I prefer the first view, that of beggar as metaphorical reminder: There are those in greater distress than you; give what you can, when you can, when you feel you must, and remain true to your faith in God. However the individual perceives such a higher power. 2. The Jester The Jester, the Cosmic Dupe, the Holy Fool--all these are titles for the archetypal trickster, the incarnate being who, through pranking and jesting, brings the individual to an understanding of metaphoric truth. The trickster and the Cosmic Dupe are two sides of the same coin--the trickster pranking the dupe, the dupe getting tricked, back and forth throughout all times and cultures. The reason royalty relied on jesters was not just because it's fun to laugh; the jester was able to comment about the king, and about the kingdom, in ways the peasantry weren't allowed, and as the king's minion, would not receive punishment for bringing up these points. In this way, the king heard the views of the people, and was able to most properly gauge if the kingdom was a happy one. Jesters, tricksters, god-touched fools--the wisdom of the world is found in their most casual utterings. Truth in madness, it is said, and truthfully so at times--madmen are occasionally aligned with the most basic universal set of teachings. Read the Fool card in most modern decks as the Soul on the first step of the Journey; the most basic representation of the Self; the true Heart exposed to the elements. Depending on where this card lands in the reading, it usually represents yourself on your journey. roll the bones

So here I am [21 Feb 2003|11:52pm] and what the hell, I'm here. And why the hell am I here? No real clue, really. Still figuring that out. Enjoying lots of ice cream and embroidery while I do. Talking to people to gain additional clues, or to set them off on their own strange quests, or just to cause massive confusion and gum up the works. You? Why are you here? 2 bones| roll the bones

ignoble [19 Feb 2003|10:43pm] [ mood | apathetic ] [ music | "Verres Militares", Rondellus ] new journal site. new journal entry. soon, new purple hair but little for new life direction. it might be interesting, save for it's so very less than I wanted from the past week. still. here. and here might be good. -- DeityDiva is responsible for the star-pattern background to this journal. roll the bones

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