Hierophant – Daily Draw
The problem with pulling a Major Arcana card for a daily draw is that the issues it addresses are so huge. The daily draw is meant (for me) as a meditation on the events in a given day. When I am visited by an archetype, I have a hard time rendering it in terms of a twenty-four hour period of minutiae, and making sense of the randomness of life.
Or seeming randomness.
The Hierophant asks me to teach, or to learn something, of a holy nature. He brings with him a moral sensibility, ideas of right and wrong, deeply rooted traditions, and reverence for concepts of Truth and Beauty that are so much larger than our individual selves.
Of course, that must be the message for today.
While I look to the daily draw for the everyday, sometimes the Tarot wants to give me a nudge. Drifting off course can be disastrous. A tiny deviation from a set course can eventually bring you to a place that is miles away from your intended destination. As it is in the physical life, so it is in the spiritual (as above, so below). I have certainly veered away from my spiritual studies, meditations and prayers, due to various stresses and distractions. Today the Tarot tells me, ‘enough excuses’. Truth and Beauty are calling, and it’s time once again to strive to put my feet back on the path that leads to them.
Pretending
It’s fortunate that I’ve never pulled the Tower for anyone I’ve read for besides myself. Not yet. I will really have to mask my reaction when it does happen, because this is the only card that provokes a strong negative response in me.
When things are out of alignment in one’s life, in a relationship, a job situation, financial or health issue, etc., it is very easy to ignore it and just continue in an undesirable direction. It is human nature to ‘let sleeping dogs lie’ and pretend that everything is okay, because it is easier than doing the work needed to clean up the messes we make, or allow others to make.
Sometimes changes must occur, sometimes the changes are needed. A sudden but relatively quiet upheaval can allow much-needed light and air into one’s life. It may be painful, but one can then breathe a sigh of relief and get on with things. Usually this is what the card Death signifies. But sometimes the circumstances to do not occur quietly. The situation can suddenly adopt the attributes of a raging wildfire, and one can feel things spinning rapidly out of your control. Quite often this is because they have been ignoring the misalignment of energies in their life. This is when the Tower might make an appearance.
Of all the cards that I might pull from a deck when reading for myself, this is the one I really do not ever want to see. I’m a quiet, private sort of person. I’d rather see Death in a reading for myself, because at least I know the pain will be private, and the healing will be personal. The Tower will have none of that, it always demands cannons firing and bombs bursting in the air. It may very well be my own fault that the Tower rises out of the earth at my feet to fix the mess I’ve made by pretending everything is okay. However, that doesn’t make it any less traumatizing.
The Tower only appears when it is needed. Focus on getting through it. Once the storm resulting from the fire and thunder of the Tower passes, the sun does actually emerge and the birds will begin to sing again. This is important to remember if you find yourself in the middle of a Tower storm. Just remember to keep breathing, and continue to trust that things will be okay. In fact, it is likely that your situation will be improved by the energy of the Tower, however difficult that may be to believe while you are while in it’s throes. The earth may shake, but it will stop shaking eventually and you can rebuild whatever was destroyed. And when you rebuild, it will be an improved design, stronger and safer, as long as you take to heart the lessons to be learned from the Tower.
Death
We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.~Joseph Campbell
Hanging on to the past, holding a grudge, reliving injustices in your mind till you can’t function; these are all examples of a life where the energy of the Death card would be a welcome relief. But what about a life that is coasting along just fine?
Living in complacency can be a trap as much as dwelling in a negative head-space. Sometimes you think you have what you want, and it is only when something comes along and shakes up your world, that you realize that you have been allowing yourself to be held back from a richer, more fulfilling life.
It doesn’t have to be the earthshaking energy of the Tower card. Sometimes it’s far more subtle, and it sneaks up on you. Sometimes while you’re crying in the dark over some dear thing that you’ve lost, you began to feel a small bud fight to emerge from deep underground. Don’t let the pain you’re experiencing overwhelm it, let it grow.
This is the power of Death acting in your life.
Weather Report
The Sun came out today. It was a glorious thing to see. If you live in the northeastern region of the United States, you’ll understand. We’ve had a rough time of it the past couple of weeks. The reappearance of the sun has been a most welcome development.
After lunch today, my husband and I went out to local ice cream stand. We walked to the park and ate our ice cream in the sun and watched people in the center of town, walking dogs and riding bikes and just generally enjoying the day. During the long cold winter months you can forget just how good the sun can feel, and how much you appreciate warm air and blue skies.
This is a good way to understand one of the aspects of the Sun card. It can have different meanings in different spread contexts. But by itself, one of it’s strongest meanings is just that feeling you get after a long cold stretch, whether it be physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. It’s a deep feeling of well-being and contentment. Time slows down and you smile a lot. Things that seemed like troubles suddenly become minor annoyances. You feel like you can handle anything. It feels good to be alive.
Ice cream certainly enhances that feeling, of course. 
The Sun card is from Hudes Tarot Deck
A New Venture
My husband and I have been discussing an idea we have for a new business venture. One that we can work on together and will allow us to replace our present incomes. Using the Hudes
The first two cards show the inner and outer manifestations of the situation. I see the King of Pentacles representing the comfort level we had achieved with our employment situations crossed by the Five of Swords. This card is basically the “cheating” card. It’s a card of those who want to win at all costs, no matter how much they must lie and cheat to do so. On one level it reflects the strange circumstances under which my husband was laid off. But another level, and speaking more to me, shows my attitude and primary motivation behind my wanting this venture to succeed… an unhealthy desire to ‘get even’ with people who have wronged me at my workplace. This is not the best foundation for a new venture and it’s something I need to change in my heart.
The outcome card, the Wheel of Fortune, is noncommittal. The outcome of our new venture is purely up to chance. Perhaps if I change my primary motivation for wanting to start this venture, the outcome card would also change. My primary motivation should be to benefit our family and to find satisfaction in my tasks – not to get back at people.
The past is very clearly stated here – The Devil – security through enslavement. It’s ‘easier’ to stay in a job that makes you unhappy because of the illusion of security. The fact that you know a paycheck is coming from someone you are working for vs. earning money by working for yourself in a self-employed situation. This is in the past and it is time to move on.
The Nadir card, or spiritual past, is the Nine of Cups. This is often called the ‘wish fulfillment’ card and it’s nice to see it in this spread. However, in this position I think it reflects the a deep heart’s desire and basic motivation to become self-employed and to be successful.
The Zenith card, or spiritual future, is the Page of Pentacles. This reflects the learning experience involved in starting a new venture, along with the idea of starting over again financially. I interpret it this way as a result of a comparson with the King of Pentacles, which represents the level of comfort we have achieved through employment. The Page is representing new financial growth, with the goal of eventually maturing to the King that lies in the heart of the reading.
I think a change of attitude and motivation on my part will result in success. I will need to meditate on this further to bring about this change in my heart.
What’s That I Hear?
Is that the sound of cards shuffling?
Why yes, yes it is.
And what card have a I drawn for this evening?
The Star
What a lovely vision. A woman emerging from the deep, dark water into a magical starry night. Her face is serene and content. One can imagine her rising from the water to stand on the shore and stretch her limbs and yawn after a long and peaceful sleep. What sort of dreams was she having? What knowledge does she now possess that she did not before her long sleep in the water?
Only time will tell…
The Star card is from the Hudes Tarot Deck
Star Light, Star Bright
I think my favorite Major Arcana card is the Star. Most of the decks I’ve seen have lovely Star cards. My all-time favorite might be the Star from the Hudes deck. (I say ‘might’ because my favorite ‘anything’ changes according to my mood and experience.)
This card strongly evokes a recurring dream of mine. When I see this card I get a very strong memory of that dream – the way it feels… the sounds, the colors, the sensations… almost as if I’m having the dream again. Tarot cards and dreams have always had a close relationship in my life, but this one is as close to any one dream as a card can get – at least so far.
This has affected the way I read the Star when I see it. I know many people see the Moon as representing dreams and the unconcious, but for me the Moon has more to do with instinct and heeding your inner voice. The Star has grown to mean dreams to me, especially ones that are more like memories than fantasy. The ones that mean something and connect to something difficult to access in waking life.
