Hurry Up And Waite....I Know You, Rider... ;)

January 20, 2012: The Hanged Man--Rider-Waite Tarot

I ran across the folder for my old Rider-Waite deck yesterday, and it so wanted to be here, so here's today's draw. It's the beginning of the year, we're on the edge of Spring in some places, it's the beginning of tax season, it's the time when we begin looking at the yard and the house with an eye to spring cleaning--it's all beginning again, hurry hurry hurry let's get started.....NO.

The energy of the Hanged Man is contemplative, still, in a listening posture. Really think about it--do you think hanging upside down like that is comfortable? Of course not-- but it does radically alter your view of life, dunnit? The winter is passing, the cold and snow may be leaving, the holidays are over with their attendant glitter and glisten, and life is just becoming so daily again. So of course we want to hurry madly towards the next new thing. Spring, Easter, flowers, bunnies, grass, no more ice on the roads--hell yeah! But--not so fast....

Today's card is reminding us that there is no unimportant moment, no useless experience, nothing that 'doesn't matter'. Indeed, sometimes thinking something is insignificant makes us miss its real resonance. So, for today, in accord with this card--slow down. Stop. Think. Don't be in a hurry to get from here to there--just be here. Now. Be Here Now. Be in your present moment. What is important? What just happened? Why? What is going on RIGHT NOW? What might you be missing, if you don't Pay Attention?

There. Just hang there. Tomorrow is a dream. Yesterday is a memory. But today is a Gift. That's why they call it the Present. Odin got the runes, hanging there. What are you getting?

Two-Fer--Thanks, SOPA/PIPA NOT....

Yesterday, I was offline--doing a personal "blackout" in conjunction with the Internet blackout protesting SOPA and PIPA. So, today, we'll talk about yesterday's card, and then today's card.

January 18, 2012: Six of Earth--Utah Mannini Three Tarot

Here's the description and interpretation of this card by the creator, Astara Blackthorne:

Card Formation: This is a petroglyph in Sego Canyon, of six human figures. It has gotten much discussion over the years, because the eyes on some of the figures look the way people say aliens might look. As such, to me it becomes a symbol of both the past and the future, which fits the meaning of this card. I also think the cave art of Utah and the history of primitive peoples here are a wonderful manifestation of the Goddess Utah. One of the things that is unique about this representation of the six of earth is that this is very very ancient art. So, we might think of it as that which endures through time, and the meaning of the six of earth is about what is built on the foundation.

Card Interpretation: This card is about the second level of achievement of a goal....three on three. It is significant, if you get it in a reading, of some way in which you need to alter what you are doing to take the next step in your process. It is as if the Universe were saying, "ok, so now that's done...now what?" You must always think, when drawing this card, of how many different ways there might be to continue on the foundation you have erected, and you must choose the one that has structural integrity, and will enable what you are building to endure through time.

January 19, 2012: Ten of Wands--Utah Mannini Two Tarot

Here is a card from the second of our three Utah Mannini Tarot decks. Interpretation and card discussion by the card's creator, Marina Wells:

Ten of Wands by Marina

The Ten of Wands is about carrying thoughts with you, and getting to a place where you can set them down, and deeply consider them, in peace and quiet, so that they do not burden you but can be brought to becoming useful ideas. This card is created from a photo I took the weekend after my grandmother died, when I went up to Mirror Lake, which is a special place for me where our family used to camp. I just sat and thought about Granny, and then the sun started to set and I took some pictures.

I cut this one so that there were only five trees showing, because I wanted to convey that thoughts are things. The reflection of what you think about into your life is as real as any material thing could ever be. We make our lives with our thoughts. And of course even if it is upside down it is still the same picture. You might want to think about that.

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So, yesterday we get structural integrity, and the idea that what we build endures through time, and today, we remember that thoughts are things. So--what are you thinking about today, and how is that thought, enduring through time, going to affect your future? Hmmmm......

Sadness, In Its Place....

January 17, 2012: Three Of Swords--Mourning -- Haindl Tarot

A bleak, featureless landscape, holding scarcely a single object to look at in its desert blankness...only a wound in the bare sand, dropping a single tear. And before it, three swords, in an interesting configuration--most cards which represent threes, especially swords, balance them, making some kind of a symmetrical figure, but in Haindl's card, one sword stands slightly apart from the other two. If you see this as a progression from the preceding card, the Two of Swords, which is "Peace" and shows two swords reminiscent of the twin pillars of the High Priestess, then the image conveys even more directly the idea that one's peace has been disturbed, that things are out of balance. And when that happens...what then?

To correctly interpret this card, one must look at the entire image. Unfortunately, swords, as Rachel Pollock explains in the companion book she wrote to this deck, are man-made objects with no resonance of Nature, as are stones, water, and fire, the elemental representations of the other three suits. Swords are not only the one tool used in this deck which is man-made, but also, as Pollock points out, are the only tool created entirely for use as a weapon, whether of defense or offense. Spears and arrows and knives are all used for hunting, or as tools. But "A sword was possibly the first weapon designed entirely for human combat. Bows and arrows, like spears, were used for hunting. Axes and knives served as tools. Swords existed only for heroic noblemen to battle each other." So one sees the end result of human conflict in this image: Things are out of balance, a tear falls from the torn fabric of creation, and even the I Ching hexagram, "Retreat" echoes the image of the one sword moved away from the others--sometimes we just need to step aside, to mourn, to let ourselves feel the way we feel.

So, for today, let's think about this. Haindl says that this card represents as much mourning that covers societies and generations as it does the "mourning" of an individual's loss. When I read that this morning, I began thinking of the state of our world. The economy sucketh, there is war and conflict, the political picture in our country is ever more bleak, and the general state of affairs doesn't say much for the positive aspects of human nature. And yes, I do believe, sometimes we do need to step aside and think about these things. Martin Luther King's birthday was celebrated yesterday, and I found myself thinking of all the ways in which that for which he worked tirelessly, for which he even gave his life, has yet to come to pass. So--what does this card give us as an avatar for the day? How does it help us to "dwell" on the sorry state of affairs? What kind of energy is here, that we can use, so we don't spend the day sitting in mourning?

Well--that's just it. I see a threefold message in this card. The first meaning is the obvious one. There are, on both the cosmic and the individual level, things to mourn for. So...feel what you feel. Be real. Accept, embrace, be one with, your feelings, your thoughts, your state of mind. Acknowledge them. What you shove to the back of the closet sneaks out the cracks and comes barreling in the front door, usually at the worst possible moment. So--be real with yourself. Know where you are. And then--second stave: decide on action. Maybe you need to write that sympathy card. Maybe you need to apologize. Maybe you need to remember Aunt Mary and light a candle. And maybe you need to vote, or contribute to a cause, or take personal action in honour of someone or something that matters to you. So--first Be. Then, Act. And thirdly--?

Thirdly, move on. Don't pretend whatever you are mourning didn't happen. It did. But once acknowledged, it is only a thing that happened. And you are more than that. You are a force, an energy, an avatar of life. So...let the wheel turn, let the season of mourning pass, and come forth into the spring once again. That which passes, returns to life anew. And so will you.

Turn, Turn, Turn (the Byrds--lyrics by Pete Seeger)

To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

A time to build up,a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together

To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing

To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time for love, a time for hate
A time for peace, I swear it's not too late

Slow DOWN, Already!

January 16: Nine of Rods, Tarot of the Old Path

Ever hear the expression, "Too much of a good thing"? Well, that's the situation facing you when the Nine of Rods shows up in your Path--or, might we say, blocks it? Too many responsibilities, but you love what you're doing. Too many distractions, but they're all so interesting! Too close to the end of this project to get sidetracked like this, but maybe this new information is important...you get where we're going here? Nowhere, fast, because we just ran into a thicket of blooming trees and we can't see the path....

Well. Hmm. Let's think about this...The Charge of the Goddess reminds us, "If you find not what you seek within yourself, you will never find it without." Inner stamina is the watchword here, and the remembrance of your own inner resources. When we're "busy", we're usually outwardly-focused, and sometimes we don't even pay attention to that Inner Child whose voice is clamoring for attention. So s/he has a tendency to toss all the toys out of the playpen so we keep tripping over them, in an effort to force us to stop and Pay Attention to what is really going on.

When you get the Nine of Rods, you're being told, "Your wonderful ideas and hard work have gotten you this far, but there's something you're not realizing. Before you take another step here, sit down and think. You're almost there, you're going to do it, but you need to take a deep breath and slow down, and make sure you have all the details in a row." This card has somewhat the resonance of the Hanged Man, who says, "All things come to him who waits," and reminds us that before we get DONE with something, we need to make sure it is COMPLETE, and FINISHED. Otherwise, we'll just be doing it all over again. So--sit down, right now. Breathe. Look around you and see where you are, what you're doing, what is bringing itself to your attention. You can't see the forest for the trees, here. So, do that. Pay attention. It will make the last steps of the journey so much easier--and you might not fall on your face!

Full Immersion...

January 15, 2012: Knight of Wands --Daniel's Bootstrap Tarot

Today's draw is a card from a "private deck" created by my dear friend, Daniel Webster Christiansen, founder of the Utah Mannini Tarot Project. It is the Knight of Wands, and a more telling imagery to illustrate the intent and meaning of this card has scarcely ever crossed my path.

The Wands in this deck are Fire, and Daniel describes this card as "Fire of Fire". This is a Priest of Voudoun, fully invoked, so being ridden by the Orishae. He's not there any more, but the Deities are. He's immersed himself in the Doing, and the Being, of manifesting his Will...Daniel calls it, "Ecstasy. The ultimate immersion in Doing..." And of course, for me, to Do is to Be, and to Be is to Do, DoBeDoBeDo.... So here we are with a day, and a day in which the Knight's sword and spear are not hanging on the wall, but are fully engaged, fully involved, in the Work. So--what are you Doing today? What/whom are you Being today? And do you know what you are Doing and Being is really by your Will, or are you Doing the Will of others? Time to check it out, and time to engage...FULLY!

Well, Finally....

January 14: The Lovers -- Tarot of the Old Path

A beautiful day in the neighborhood--'would you be mine'? There they sit, Adam and Eve as ever was, luxuriating in the Garden. Look at all that fruit! And each single one of those fruits and flowers has been carefully chosen for its arcane and traditional symbolic meaning: From Den Elder, in his writeup on this card from "Tarot Passages", we have the following analysis: "The fruits on the tree are supposed to represent the Tree of Life with its seven fruits. Apples, love and immortality; Cherries, are connected to Love Spells, remember the song... 'I gave my love a cherry'? Grapes, also connect to fertility; Lemons, connect to purification and a mundane use of being a germicide; Oranges, love and lust and wedding nights; the Orange might be a Peach, then it would represent love and fertility; Pears, too are love and lust; and what might be a Strawberry, which is considered a love food, that is - an aphrodisiac. Also note the little dove flying above the tree - purity and peace. Then there's the healing flowers surrounding the pair: Bluebells for constancy, orange blossoms for purity, white lilies likewise, and of course, forget-me-nots...and there's that bright shining Sun, glowing down upon them, telling them this is IT, this is THE ONE....so, for you, and me, today, here, now, what is this card about? Even the akashically-tattooed angel isn't saying much--and this card is just so luxuriant and romantic and lazy, that if you're not in that space, you might find it hard to relate to this one. So, how about this take--step back from the literal meaning of "lovers" and let's think about it symbolically and philosophically--even "witchily", eh? Opposites melding, union of disparate elements to produce a whole greater than the sum of its parts--take joy in the beauty of life, make yourself a place of repose with all the luxuries and comforts, so you can have a place to go when life is too much--maybe the concept of looking for someone or something with which to share. Unity in diversity, passion for life, appreciation of beauty, focused concentration on the Other, and above all, knowing that Love is there for you to take--just reach out your hand....

Four-Fer...

Well, life caught up with me. Tarot draws done every day, and not enough time on the computer to put them on the blog. So, here we go, Friday the 13th as ever was...we'll do a four-fer-all, here, which oddly enough rhymes both with farfaral and folderol...look 'em up (first one's archaic from the Middle Ages so good luck), and you'll find they both fit...
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January 10, 2012: Ace Of Rods (Tarot of the Old Path) Love, love, love all the "new beginnings, springtime" imagery here...bright, rising Sun, brand-new butterfly, blooming Rowan staff, all bespeaking new beginnings, fresh starts, and all that wonderful "It's the New Year" stuff that we crave, especially in the dark of winter when everything is dead, cold, or worn out. So--let's get on it, let's begin it...but let's also look at WHERE this amazing new beginning is taking place...yep, Stonehenge as ever was. Maybe the oldest known site for those who cherish old ways, as well as an avatar of mystery (where DID it come from, and who set it up, really?) So--yes, new beginnings, but please remember you can't cancel your past. Whether you are building on solid foundations of long experience, whether you are trying to remember not to make the same mistakes, or whether you are going to try a new take on an old set of problems, in any case you still need to recall that there isn't any part of your past experience that you can simply refuse to acknowledge. You get to transmute it, you get to decide how you'll use it, you can wrap it up in a blanket and put it on the back shelf of your "closet" if you need to. But in your new beginning, please remember that it has shaped and formed you to this very minute. So...new beginnings, fresh start, built strong and steady on old roots. Works.
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January 11, 2012: Nine of Stones, Haindl Tarot

The Nine of Stones is a lovely layering of images...the Nine Stones, set on a USA western desert background in the shape of the Kabalistic Tree of Life with an I Ching hexagram centering the top row...lovely reiteration of unity in diversity here. And this card is a lovely beginning to the year, as well, because it bespeaks financial security, having all one's ducks (or stones!) in a row (or several!) and reiterates the notion of cosmic balance and the union of opposites to produce beneficial results. I notice here that the central stone, at the bottom, looks more fully "rounded" than do the others, and several ideas come to mind here--one is that the central stone is at the bottom, and that humility rather than arrogance is a more likely tool with which to produce gain, either material or of other kinds. The other idea was the concept of diverse kinds of "material gain", not just money. Stones aren't coins or pentacles, the more traditional objects typifying "earth" in the Tarot. No, stones are bedrock, foundation, they are natural objects, and they don't look at all pretentious, nor do they need an explanation as does an arcane symbol like a pent. Nope, stones just ARE--and "material gain" can mean a better world, more care for Nature, more food for everyone, fewer poor and homeless--I don't think this card's message, for your Tarot Witch, is just about money. It is about bringing "gain" of all kinds to our material world, so we can all live better. I like this.
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January 12, 2012: Three of Coins, Utah Maninni Tarot ONE

This card was created, in 2005, by Borilar Elrond, who was a member of the Utah Pagan Community at that time (and still is, under another name.) It portrays the lightning of the West Desert shimmering behind the triangle of balance, and the copper coins which mark the corners are joined by three distinctive stone faces...the imagery here is Kabbalistic and also refers to Mormon legend and history, and it all bespeaks "balance in the face of disruption." Here we have a structure being assailed by the forces of Nature, and serenely withstanding the onslaught. So the three of coins reminds us that not everything in our lives will come to us smoothly and in an orderly fashion, but we are charged with maintaining our balance when circumstances become unbalanced, and giving ourselves the foundation we will need in order to maintain our structure in the face of difficulties. There's a reason the coins here are pennies...not only is copper a Utah product, but the penny is America's smallest denomination of currency. To remain stable in the face of difficulties, start small, begin at the beginning, and build on that.
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January 13, 2012: Temptation, Tarot of the Old Path

I will be using this deck in a Tarot Circle this evening at Stealth Coffee, so I chose it for today's daily draw--and I am giggling with delight here. It's Friday the 13th, and I draw, "De Debbil" (this card is the Devil in the traditional Tarot). What could be more perfect? The Devil is about all those things you shouldn't do, but do do...all those times you fall to your bad self and don't live up to your own, or others', expectations...and on a day which has centuries of "bad ju-ju" what could be more telling than to draw the "avatar of evil"...and prove that it is, in fact, no such thing! The "Devil", or "Temptation", either one, has a side we seldom consider--the concept of choice. The Devil, or Temptation, either one, is not likely to get you in a head-lock or trip you to fall headlong on your way to the bus. Temptation, the 'wrong way', the 'I-know-I-shouldn't' thing--they seduce us, they tempt us, they suggest, but they don't waylay us. We have to CHOOSE. We have to decide whether, this time, we will take the left-hand path and do something we know might be dangerous, wrong for us, against our ethics, forbidden by law or shibboleth, or just stupid. And drawing this card on this day reminds me of an old adage, "things are not always what they seem". The Devil is the purveyor of fear. "Don't go there, it's dangerous"...and do we really know that for ourselves? IS the number 13 bad luck, or is it a lovely avatar of the mystical? If the "left-hand path" is so evil, why do so many Traditional Witches (including yours truly) follow it by preference? IS it dangerous to become a Witch, or is it perhaps a Gift of the Blood? Is it "wrong" to leave one's religion of birth and walk one's singular path, or is it perhaps necessary? All I want to say in interpreting this card for you today is--one man's Devil is another man's Horned God. Do your own deciding. Look, research, make up your own mind, CHOOSE FOR YOURSELF. That is thinking like a Witch, and that is the Way of Wyrd. Go, pay attention. Live your life. The Devil you don't know may be more dangerous to you than the Devil you do.