A Brief Pause
Please forgive the lack of posting. My father passed away on Sunday.
May he rest in peace.
I will resume my card-a-day postings next week.
King of Bats
My card this morning was the King of Bats.
I’ve been bats all week this week. I guess I’m living in my head these days.
I don’t know whether this card reflected my day, or is admonishing me about my day. I do know I did a lot of planning, but I don’t feel that I really made much headway with all my plans. It’s as though I made tons of lists in my head, that all seemed perfectly reasonable and necessary, and then simply tossed them all away and made a fairy necklace. I took a walk. I chatted with the ladies in the bead store. Then I bought some beads I really can’t afford, and bought some candy that my body definitely Does Not Need.
So much for behaving logically.
Maybe the King is yelling at me. My husband often comes up in readings as the King of Swords. And he does his share of ‘yelling’ at me to get organized and Get Things Done. He of the logical brain, and me with my head in the clouds.
Okay my husband does not really yell at me. He’s very sweet about it actually, and tries to encourage me in the efficiency department. And I feel bad, and feel like I’ve let him down, when I can’t seem to get my act together. And to be honest, the King does not look like he yells at anybody either. I think maybe he just wants folks to get on with things. Straighten up and fly right and all that. Doesn’t he seem that way sometimes?
Still, I made a very pretty necklace today. Maybe the King can let me off the hook this time. Just this once…
Page of Bats
I had to consult the Halloween Tarot book to learn that those are x-ray specs that she is holding in this artwork.
This one is a trooper. She is ready with her spy gear, her boots on and her scarf against the evening chill. She is on a journey of discovery.
Whenever I see this card in any deck, the illustration from the Robin Wood Tarot always springs to mind. There you see a young woman running fast, sword at the ready and spyglass on her hip. Her eyes fixed on the horizon, she is determined to get to the bottom of things and will let nothing stand in her way.
The Halloween art is not quite so dramatic. Still the message is clear. I should have been more attentive, and perhaps would not have wasted the day trying to force creativity in my workshop, and simply read the book that I have been trying to finish. Some days, you simply cannot compel yourself to do what you think you should be doing. I know I have a lot of work ahead to fill my jewelry store with new designs, and therefore sat myself down at my table and struggled. I accomplished nothing, and felt bitter afterward. Meanwhile, a wonderful book about magic that I have been reading was left on my night table for another day. When I went to bed I saw it there and regretted that I didn’t make time to read it. Sometimes the cards are telling us that we need to do something different than we had planned. I did not pull the Eight of Pentacles (or pumpkins in this case) to encourage me to work with my hands that day. I pulled a card that told me it was time to seek answers, to gather information and knowledge and let nothing stand in my way. A missed opportunity and a wasted energy.
Three of Bats
Yesterday I pulled the Three of Bats as my daily card.
The overall tone and mood of this artwork reflects the artwork of the standard Three of Swords. In the Halloween Tarot, Bats are the ‘Swords’ of the deck and related to mental things and many of the challenges that we face in our lives. The standard artwork of the Three of Swords is very similar. Both cards show a heart suspended in a rainstorm. The feeling is one of gloom and, when the swords are seen piercing the heart, also pain. The ever-present black cat in the Halloween deck is crouching beneath the stormy night sky, glaring balefully out at the reader, conveying discomfort and looking depressed. The bats are holding and surrounding the heart in the sky.
The Card a Day exercise does not usually deal with larger issues, but by it’s very nature, the small mundane events of the ‘every day’. (Unless the card you pull is one of the Major Arcanas, in which case it may portend a life-changing event on a small scale). Yesterday for me was a series of physical ills… headaches, cramps and general irritation at my body. Even though Swords represent the element of air and thought, this card conveys discomforts and pains, which is basically how I felt for the entire day.
When I read, Threes represent the divine, personal power and first foundations. So generally this card doesn’t mean major pains, sadness or illness. It’s bumps and bruises, not broken bones or death. It’s aches and pains, not hospital visits. This aptly described my day, where I was spending more time tending my aching, complaining body than completing the work I had planned.
In this deck, you can see the Bats as the mind overcoming the pains and stresses. Today I see the bats are gathering around the heart in an attempt to shelter it till the storm has passed. Our thoughts have a profound effect on our reality. While we may not be able to eliminate the pains and stresses, we can remain positive and we can think our way through any situation. We can use our mind to overcome small pains (and sometimes larger ones), and to overcome a tendency toward depression or sadness. These bats are the power of the mind protecting and supporting the tender heart from the elements that threaten it.
—
Today is a new day. This morning I have pulled the Page of Bats, and we shall see later how this card relates to the coming day.
A Card a Day
Since it seems to be a matter of some difficulty for me to write here lately, I have decided to begin an exercise to not only require me to write on a daily basis, but also to refresh and renew my skills in reading the cards and reacquaint myself with some of my lesser-used decks. I’m hoping also to help to teach others how to learn to interpret the Tarot (and any other Cartomancy system) for themselves.
One of the most basic ways to learn to read Tarot is to pull a card a day, and then review how it relates to the events of that day. Starting today, I am going to pull a card every day from one of my decks, post it here, and then in the evening (or the next day if necessary) write about how it related to my day. Also I will include any insights discovered in a particular card and pretty much anything else that pops into my head. After all, isn’t that the way we learn to read intuitively?
So, today I pulled the Three of Bats (Three of Swords) from my Halloween Tarot. Later today I will post my comments on the day as it relates to this card. Those of you who are regular readers here will probably know that wrote about this card in my Dreaded Card series. There are certainly ways of finding a positive spin on any card, no matter how dire it may appear at first encounter. I may or may not apply those ideas here. It depends on what all happens today.
Whatever else you can say about it, it’s an interesting concept. See you later this evening with my thoughts on the Three of Bats.
