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.
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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.
Halloween Tarot
I know it’s still officially Summer, but I can feel Autumn is very close. In fact, the Autumnal Equinox is Sunday. This is the time of year that I always use my Halloween Tarot Deck.
Even before I get out my fall decorations, I begin using the Halloween Tarot for my daily readings. I know there are some readers who use this deck year-round. It is certainly a fine deck any time. It’s cute, yet under the cuteness it is a very practical, honest deck. It has fun with the symbolism, but not to the detriment of the interpretation. It’s like receiving serious council from someone with a wry sense of humor.
There is a little black cat on every card. You feel as though he’s your constant companion as you journey through the deck, often commenting on the card in his expressions or posture. I also like the use of the moon’s face in many of the cards, also reacting to the events in the image. It gives the deck a friendly, conversational feel.
So as the days get shorter, and the air grows cooler, I’ll be making a cup of tea and spending some time with my Autumn friend, The Halloween Tarot.
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.
