Weekly Card – King of Cups

This is the second time in as many days this guy has shown up. Yesterday he showed up in a 3-card spread I did for myself with the Wild Unknown deck.

All the kings are associated with fire, the cups are associated with water. So here we have fire of water. He’s a man of deep feelings, passionate emotions. I suddenly feel like I’ve encountered him. Maybe in a dream recently. I’ve had so many wildly vivid dreams recently. If only I could remember. Kings aren’t normally seen as bearers of messages, that’s usually the pages’ job. Still, there’s something nagging. It’s like I can almost hear his voice. Whatwhatwhat? Help. Protection. Clearly I’m not getting the message. Again. I expect more odd dreams now. Perhaps my Him. Perhaps my muse urging me on.

Well, I’ll puzzle out my own situation. Hopefully the King’s qualities of compassion and solicitousness, tender feelings and love of the arts, poetry, and love itself will manifest for you this week. A little nurturing of the soul is always welcome.

 

Weekly Card – The Star redux

Well. Here we are again. :::drums fingers::: Looks like somenone’s not getting the message, or it’s taking longer than we’d hoped/anticipated for things to right themselves.

This is from the Ansata Tarot. It was first published in Germany in 1981. The deck was drawn to accompany a book, “Astrologie und Tarot” by B. A. Mertz, painted by Paul Struck. It’s heavily laden with astrological symbolism. I’ve never been much for astrology, though. Too much math for me. I don’t have Mertz’s book, which is a shame because I’d love to know more about the cards. Like the skeletal face up in the top right corner, reminds me of the “dark mark” from Harry Potter, although this deck predates HP by by almost 20 years. The LWB (little white booklet) that came with the deck says this:

“The Star corresponds to Venus. It symbolizes love, heavenly happiness, the muse or any other gift of heaven. It is mostly a lucky card because it depends on an inner harmony, on an inner openness towards the heavenly powers. The card is therefore often a symbol of hope and of a healing miracle (but neighboring cards may make a big difference). It is the card of femininity filled with happiness.”

I like to read different authors’ takes on the cards, every reader will find something different in the same cards. This one is vastly more slanted towards a spiritual interpretation than many. So what can we draw from this? I think the focus on inner harmony is the salient point here, transcend the mundane physical world to find that happiness. Possibly it’s a sign to pay more attention to spiritual matters if they’ve been neglected for awhile (cough*whome*cough).  It’s been ages since I’ve taken the time to meditate. Maybe now’s a good time to start again.

I’m also going to spend more time writing and probably far less time on Twitter (sob*). It’s sucking up all my writing time. Not that I don’t love chatting with everyone, but time is a precious commodity right now. Going to have to get tough with myself. I am determined to get through editing the vampire novel and get it out for a second round of beta reads. The next few weeks will be tough since I’ll be working both the day job during the week and the Ren Faire on weekends. I’m not entirely sure this was the best decision I ever made, but we’ll see. Maybe the Star is a good omen for how it will go.

So, how is everyone doing?

Weekly Card – Temperance

Temperance from the Victorian Romantic Tarot 2nd edition from Baba Studio is our card this week. This deck is exquisite, with many beautiful cards, but this one is transcendent.

Temperance is precisely that, in the sense of moderation, not total abstinence. It speaks to us of keeping things in balance in our lives, avoiding overindulging in food, drink, even the need to remain faithful to a sexual partner. It’s combining opposites, symbolized by the two different goblets held by the angel, one silver, one gold. One for the subconscious and one for the conscious, a blending of the spiritual and material worlds. In order to be at peace with ourselves we have to come to terms with our dual natures as both physical and spiritual beings. Easier said than done. Some try to eschew the physical and focus solely on their spiritual lives, giving up most interaction with the world, and denying themselves any sort of physical pleasure. Others do the opposite, denying their spiritual sides in pursuit of a hedonistic life.

Most of us fall somewhere in the middle.

Temperance is the alchemical blending of opposites, refining and distilling them. The blending of fire and water. Temperance is the synthesis of the Empress and Emperor who have sacrificed their egos and joined into one being. When we let go of our egos we can transform ourselves.

Wishing  you a week of peace, healing, and transformation.

 

Quick Card Draw for the Week

So I don’t send you all off into the week ahead without the weekly draw, here she is. This week’s card is from The Wildwood Tarot by Mark Ryan and John Matthews, illustrated by Will Worthington. Our lovely card for the week is the Queen of Arrows:

Her position on the Wheel of the Year is entering the Spring Equinox. Arrows correspond to Air/Swords, the mind, the intellect, thoughts, creative tendencies. This is the watery part of air, lots of emotion caught up in these thoughts. This card tells of feeling alone, having to go through something by yourself. The Queen of Arrows is solitary, but she’s one of those women who is often alone by choice, and strong enough to survive on her own. From the book:

“A state of separation may exist, bringing with it sorrows, privation and misfortune. You may need to break old bonds and find new rivers in which to swim if you are to move beyond this place of darkness and loss.”

Well, not exactly cheery, but totally where my head is right now. I’ve been home from work while sick for a few days, tomorrow will be my first day back in a week. I’m not looking forward to it, and am doing everything I can to find another job and carve out a different way to live. I’ve been on about this for a long time, I’ve never been happy at this job, and am finally seeing some possibilities for getting out of there. The lovely, graceful swan is a strong and regal protector.

Perhaps others need the encouragement that things can change? Just keep swimming, just keep swimming… Hope you find some inspiration.

Embrace Your Inner Wolfiness

Well. I have to admit I groaned a little when this card came up in my draw for the week. Why, you ask? Because I’m fed up with every pseudo newage (rhymes with sewage) shaman adopting the wolf as their totem animal, as if it elevates them to some super spiritual rockstar level, because they’re so special they have a unique connection to the wolf, which they see as the most noble, the most ‘human’ of the animal kingdom. Wolves are wild animals, not domesticated dogs, and they will not turn into a pet because you think you’re so special. They don’t care about you.

Be that as it may, I pulled the Wolf, from the Druid Animal Oracle.

Oddly, this is apropos to the season. The Wolf, or Faol in Scottish Gaelic, is pictured here near the source of the river Findhorn in Scotland. The last wolf in Britain was killed there in 1743 (according to the book). I had no idea there were no wolves left there. We’re coming up in the pagan/Wiccan/Druid year to Imbolc/Brigid, February 2, shown here by the snowdrop, a symbol of it. The card is associated with the Wolf Moon (natch), the final two weeks of winter, and the first weeks of spring. Ok, that’s a ways off yet, so maybe this card is a ‘heads-up’.

The Wolf indicates inner strength, learning, a need to cross boundaries, take some risks and get out of your comfort zone. It reminds me of the Hermit from traditional Tarot, a time to do some soul-searching and inner work, spend some time alone.

From the companion book:

Just as Merlin found companionship in a wolf, so can we, if Faol becomes our ally, find closeness and spiritual companionship with this most faithful of animal guides. Above all, Faol will teach us, through our experience, to trust ourselves and not to fear or reject those parts of us that we do not yet understand or know.

Spiffy. Despite all my protestations, somehow I need to make peace with the wolf as a totem and guide.

Well, embrace your inner wolfiness, I guess. Just don’t blame me for the fleas.