Updates and Musings
First, I have put the Tarot of the Carnival on hiatus again for now. There have been a couple of entries over the past few weeks, but always just one for any given Carnival. Most weeks I’ve had no entries at all. I’m just not getting enough interest to keep it going right now.
Second, I want to express how grateful I am to my friends and readers whose words of encouragement have helped me get through the tough times I’ve been having lately.
Third, I am thankful that I have my cards to guide and encourage me as well.
I won’t go into the gory details. But the good news is, my financial situation has finally begun to improve. We actually have a bit of money left over each month now, and are beginning to accumulate a meager savings. It’s nice to have a bit of money left in the bank after taking care of necessities for a change.
There is still a personal situation that is giving me trouble. But there is a solution to this problem, as there always is, but it will take time to accomplish what needs to be done to remedy it. But in about about four months things should improve considerably.
I asked the cards about this today. I used the French Spread from the book Power Tarot, and using my trusty Gummy Bear Tarot.
The card positions in the French Spread are:
- Things happening now
- Hopes and dreams
- Strength and security
- Support or opposition
- Something in the future that may surprise you
Card One is The Chariot. This pertains to this current difficulty with someone. In fact, every time I’ve done a reading about this situation, this is the card that shows to represent them. It fits them perfectly.
Card Two is The Moon. I’ve felt sharply separated from my inner quiet and meditative self since this problem has started. In fact, I’ve been unable to meditate for any length of time or with any real feeling of peace since this problem started. I hope to restore my inner peace and reconnect with my subconscious again soon.
Card Three is Seven of Swords. This is the one I’m not sure about. For me, this card usually means to be secretive or to get away with something. I haven’t yet been able to discern how this can be my strength and security. It will take more thought.
Card Four is Ten of Cups. My support. My family. The love that my husband has for me and I for him. He is always my strongest supporter. Without him I don’t know how I’d have coped through all the stress lately.
Card Five is Four of Wands. I will have reason to rejoice soon. A happy home, stability in my life. Opportunity for growth and new challenges. The future looks good, I am happy to say.
All in all, it’s a very encouraging reading. It has put a positive spin on my day today. This is one of the primary reasons I read the Tarot. I find hope, encouragement and new ideas in the cards.
Here’s to the future!
The Winner – Six of Ghosts
The winner of Simple Fortunetelling with Tarot Cards is Apo who chose the Six of Cups. In the Halloween Tarot, Ghosts are used to represent Cups.
Congratulations Apo! Please email me with your address so I can send you the prize. I’ll have the book in the mail to you this weekend.
Thanks to everyone for playing. I’m hoping to have another contest soon.
Happy Halloween, everyone!
Darkness and the Devil
I love this card. It’s from the The Halloween Tarot, and it’s probably the only Devil card I have ever seen that I would describe as cute. But in reality, there is nothing really cute about the Devil.
There has been an interesting discussion going on in one of the Tarot forums I use. Someone started a thread concerning the Devil, and the ensuing discussion got me thinking about it. This card has rarely come up in any reading I’ve done so far, and when it has it’s been pretty straightforward in meaning. But I think it goes a lot deeper than issues of personal bondage or enslavement to material things.
In this forum discussion, questions were raised as to the nature of the Devil and whether he is ‘within’ or ‘without’ ourselves. I think it can be both, and sometimes at the same time. But more often than not, I see it as a tendency inside oneself to be destructive and negative. It is the desire to turn away from the light, because it is the easier path to take in a given situation.
Another way I see it, is a need to confront something dark and scary about our own nature. To accept it and shed light on it. If you drag your inner demons into the light and fresh air, they often shrivel up into nothing and blow away. Sometimes they may put up a struggle, but you will have the advantage when they are in the open like that. In some cases, they may never go away, but they become so small and powerless that you can easily control them. The important thing is to bring them into focus and shed Light on them so that you can see them for what they are. If you can do this, you will no longer fear them. Even better, you will no longer project that fear outside of yourself. Essentially and eventually, you will fear nothing. (This card is from the Universal Waite Tarot Deck.)
Now that sounds very simplistic, and I don’t mean it to be. It’s very hard work to confront your own darkness. There is a spiritual healing process called Shadow Work. It’s not easy, and it may take years to complete. Christien Jette has written a very good book about using Tarot for this work, called Tarot Shadow Work: Using the Dark Symbols to Heal.
Powers of Dark and Light exists in each of us. The Yin Yang symbol depicts this. It is human nature to contain both, and this is often a theme in stories.
There is an interesting passage in one of Terry Pratchett’s witch books, Wyrd Sisters.
I find this an intriguing theme in stories, movies, poems and songs. As I am fascinated by the complexities of human nature, I also find the Devil to be one of the most intriguing cards in the Tarot.
Books
I have become quite distracted by a book called Pure Magic
The other major distraction in my life is the new Harry Potter book
Not that that’s a bad way to spend the weekend. 
~
Harry Potter Update: I finished Deathly Hallows Sunday night around 8:30. In case you’re wondering, I did not ’speed-read’ any of it. I simply did little else but read it, seriously neglecting husband, cat and household duties. I’ll be spending today catching up on tasks that I normally accomplish on the weekends. But it was worth it!
It was a good finish to a great story. Parts of it were awesome. While I wouldn’t call J.K. Rowling a great author, I can certainly can say she is a great storyteller. She is very adept at plot twists and creating strong, complex characters.
The main themes of love, loyalty, sacrifice and courage that have run through the series are prominent here, along with forgiveness. I do think the book could have benefited with a bit of editing in the some of the slower sections. But overall it was a pleasure to read and I’m very happy with it.
The Last One
I recently read that Llewellyn plans to discontinue publishing their 2008 Tarot Reader (Llewellyn’s Tarot Reader)
I’m sorry to see it go. I have all the previous editions and they have been an invaluable source of information, advice and entertainment. I discovered some good spreads and advice that has been very useful in my own Tarot reading and studies. It’s too bad there will be no more.
I’ll be purchasing the next one when it’s published, of course. It will go in place beside the others on my bookshelf.
Three of Swords
This will be the first post in a series I’m calling Dreaded Cards. There are cards we all hate to see turn up in a reading, be it for ourselves or others. My idea is to take each of these cards and see what I can discover about them that will take some of the fright out of them.
I use the Tarot as a tool for insight and answers. I like to think that there is always something positive in every card no matter how negative it may first appear.
This is the Three of Swords from the Rider Waite Smith
My initial reaction is to cringe. It hurts to look at it.
Here is part of the interpretation to be found at tarot.com:
General Meaning: Traditionally, the Three of Swords signified separation or the breakup of a significant relationship, including the tragic emotions that come along with such an event. Some cards show the horizon filled with storm clouds and flashing lightning.
This past week I read a book called Stories in Stone
A particular passage caught my attention in the section on religious symbolism. It states,
In religious and cemetary symbolism, a flaming heart symbolizes religious fervor, a pierced heart indicates repentance and devotion, and a heart wrapped in thorns is associated with the Great Promise of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. (Italics mine).
It got me thinking about the Three of Swords in a different way. Yes, it would still represent pain or difficulty but not necessarily sorrow or grief. If you see it as repentance and devotion, perhaps it symbolizes this to a degree of completeness signified by the number three – as represented by the three swords that pierce the heart. Maybe in a spread it could be speaking of self-sacrifice because of devotion to the point where it hurts. It could also be speaking of true and absolute repentance that affects not only the mind but the heart as well. That the heart is seen in the clouds could show that it takes place on a higher level of consciousness. The rain can represent tears, not of sorrow, but of true repentance that truly seeks forgiveness. The tears could be of the higher joy that comes from sacrificing everything out of devotion to a person or a higher cause, or of the kind of religious devotion that strips away everything but the love that emanates from God.
Depending on it’s position in a spread it could be asking the querent to make such a sacrifice or choose a path of devotion. It could the cause of a situation, the reason things are happening they way are. It could be warning, if someone is giving too much in a relationship out of a false sense of devotion, not realizing they are hurting themselves in the process.
These are just a few ideas, and I’m sure it could be elaborated on with further study and reflection. I find comfort in this new way of seeing this card, because it can mean something positive resulting from something that may seem at first read to be negative. That pain and difficulty can sometimes serve a purpose for good. It’s the silver lining I was searching for in this particular cloud.
The Priestess of Delphi
As a practitioner of divination, it was only natural that I would be drawn to a book called The Oracle. This is a fascinating book by William J. Broad about the ancient Priestesses of Apollo, and their strong influence on Greek culture and government. This is followed by another history of modern-day men who fell under the charms of the ancient prophetesses and went in search for answers to how and why they were able to prophesy and advise. The answer may seem simplistic, but certainly does not discount the mystical aspect of the Oracle and her role in the formation of Western culture.
Written in an informative and lyrical prose, this book is inspiring and leaves you with a sense of wonder about the workings of nature as well as the human mind and spirit.
