Tarot Blog Hop: "The Joy Of Giving." Yuletide Is Here--What Gift Will You Share?

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The JOY OF GIVING, Tarot Style
The  Yuletide Season is the time of giving gifts of joy and love,
And so I join my tarot friends in gazing at the skies above
Where shines a wondrous Yuletide star, the symbol of the year's rebirth,
And think to my Self, "How can I receive and give more Peace on Earth?"
 I'll follow this thought with a list of questions I will answer here,
The Yuletide Hop's great theme, a focus on the giving, far and near,
Of love and peace and understanding, and I'll use my cards to share
Each facet of the "Joy of Gifting", and what symbol draws us there.

If I could give the World a gift, what would I choose? What would I do?
I draw a card, and here I have a symbol of a dream come true
For me, and others. For it shows the Chariot, a boat, afloat,
And standing on the deck, a Being clothed in white. I had to note
The Water, meaning flux and flow, the angry clouds of grey above,
And yet the Being stands with arms outstretched, denoting Peace and Love,
And Balance, dealing with one's life with Strength within, with harmony,
Instead of sailing over others, selfish, cruel, and carelessly,
Demanding what one wants. If I could give our needy World, this day,
A gift, I'd change things so that everybody dealt with life this way.

What gift would I want from the World? What do I hunger to receive?
I think about the many Peoples of the World, and I believe,
Despite our differences of language, heritage, and core belief,
To see ourselves as kin and family would provide a great relief
From war and conflict. In this mindset, once again a card I draw,
And I receive the King of Cups, my perfect wish, without a flaw.
Here Odin hangs, upon the World-Tree, giving up his Godly powers,
Instead of working HIS Will, letting Life work on HIM. In those hours
Of his listening and learning, he received the Holy Runes.
And I would follow His example. Though we sing in many tunes
And languages and cultures, I would sit here quiet, watch and learn,
As Odin the All-Father did. And with what joy my soul would burn!

What gift has brought me joy? There are so very many answers here,
But I love to reflect upon my blessings at this time of year,
And I do know the cards will find a way that I can specify
Something that was a gift so great that when I think of it, I cry
With Joy and Gratitude. And so, once more, I reach into my stack
Of cards, and find the symbol of the gift, to me, that's given back.
And there it is! The perfect card, so perfect that I'm lost for words,
Regarding Isis, gazing peacefully, the Daughter of the Swords.
She represents a woman in Her power, confident, but calm.
Knowing her strength for those beyond her Self will be the healing balm
To right the family's unrest. And I know for certain this is right,
Because the gift above all gifts which gives to me the most delight
Is mothering my children, now adults, who show me every day
That sharing peace and power with one's kinfolk is the only way
To happiness. And Isis here reminds me of the priceless gift
Of motherhood. And that's my deepest, ever, joy. You get my drift!

What gift have I, then, given that has brought me joy? What can I say?
Because the gifts I have to share I try to give in every way
That I can think to share them. I am not so sure that there is one
That brings more joy than others. Doing everything I do is fun,
Rewarding, maybe  life-sustaining. But I know the cards will tell
Which of the gifts I've given is the one that's served me most and well.

AHA! And once again, the cards tell me something I did not know
About my Self. The Nine of Cups, subtitled "Fortune", is the show
Of my true Gift, the divination that I do for others, when
They can't decode their lives, or something puzzling has come 'round again...
Then I can bring the cards to bear upon their question, and I find
That when they leave, "Good Fortune" is the thought most often on the mind
Of each of us. I try to show them how their cups may overflow
With bounty and with blessing. And this gives ME joy. So, now, I see
The Gift of Giving, that which gives me Joy to tender forth. It's....ME!

Now, one last thing that I would like to share about this joyful season....
No matter what your holiday, the Winter Light is still the reason
For the gifts, the parties, all the laughter, peace, and joy. We care.
It's winter-dark. It's cold and bleak. It's sometimes lonely. So we share
Our own small sparkle of the Light. A fire, a tree, a carol sung,
A candle, or a jingle bell. Some way to echo what has rung
Through all our lives the year that's past. Some way to give, some way to be
The Light, the Star, the flowing wassail, all the gifts, the glowing tree.
We all are what we give. We are the Gift. We are the coming Sun.
We love, we give, we show our kith and kin that life has just begun
In coming out of darkness. So, remember, it is always true,
The reason-for-the-season isn't gifts, or God, or feasts. It's YOU.

© Aisling the Bard, 2014 All Rights Reserved.


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Four-Card Friday--It's Elementary, Watson....

Today we're looking at elemental energies, those four basic parameters that source our behaviours and affect every situation we experience. So, four cards, one for each of the "elementary elements" that influence our opinions and behaviour...

Air: Inspiration (or breathing)...What do I need to KNOW here? We get the Page of Swords from the Tarot of the Old Path, and he stands carefully balanced, sword at the ready, protecting the harvest of mushrooms he has just gathered...Mushrooms represent awareness of hidden truth, due to their shamanic and mind-altering nature in early societies, so this Page seems to be guarding the knowledge he knows he is acquiring, his personal gnosis, from being interfered with or stolen by a perceived enemy...So, what you need to know about your situation is that your Truth is YOURS whether or not it agrees with what others think, and you need to guard your mind from being corrupted by outside influences...

Fire: Will, Passion: What Must I DO with this knowledge? The Queen of Swords stands guarding her armload of lavender. She holds her sword, not in a defensive position, but upright like a ceremonial blade, and the haughty but calm expression on her face seems to indicate that her power and self-possession are such that she knows she will not need to use the sword--for those who may approach her, simply seeing it will be enough. She holds eight stems of lavender in her hand--lavender, the aegis of healing, inner tranquillity, and personal focus, and eight stems, representing four doubled, building on a stable and secure foundation. The card is saying, "You know what you must do. Your Will and Desire are balanced with healing and protective energy, so you needn't be aggressive with your Will. Simply focus on your desired Intent, and do, calmly and peacefully, what you know you are supposed to do. It will be all right."

 

Water, Intuition, Emotion: How do my feelings guide the situation?: Of course, you have an emotional investment in any action you propose to yourself, and you always know how you feel about your proposed course or direction...or do you? Here sits an elderly man, sadly contemplating the three spilt cauldrons in his lap, not noticing that there is a fourth one, brimming over, sitting safely on the table...And there is his son, behind him, either raising a fifth cauldron in excitement and celebration, or preparing to mischievously dump it over Daddy's head....and therein lies our lesson. We do, all of us, have more of a tendency to focus on our perceived failures and become emotional about what we have not accomplished, than we do to simply rejoice in, celebrate, and use (or even have fun with!) that which we have accomplished. So, the card says to us..."Count your blessings, feel GOOD about your success even though it may have been preceded by failure. Don't "should on yourself" and don't focus on the negative. Notice what you have achieved, and center on that."

Earth: Manifestation, Health, Prosperity: What will come of this situation? The Queen of Cauldrons sits serenely in her blue robe (the color of peace and tranquillity) with her purple cloak about her shoulders (the color of spiritual evolution). In her hands she holds that filled cauldron from the last card, still overflowing with potential, and a peach, the symbol of arcane wisdom. She is contemplating her realm with serenity and a quiet joy on her face. It looks as if the realm is at peace, abundance and wisdom are to be partaken of, and she is calm and at rest. Looks as if things are going to turn out just fine. Go do it!

FFF & F,

Aisling, the TarotWitch

Looking Back, Looking Forward

Hello, friends;

Not online most of the day today, so the "daily draw" didn't happen first thing in the morning. So tonight we have an interesting phenomenon--the "wtf" draw (name of which was inspired by someone who had a reading recently and was asked what the topic of the reading was to be--"wtf!" was the answer!) But it doesn't only stand for its usual not-too-pretty abbreviation....this time, it actually means, "where to focus". Look back at the events that happened today for you, and look forward at the day to come, and here is a one-card draw that will give you a way to find the common thread in the day that has passed and the one that is to come...what is the Universe trying to show you, teach you, draw to your attention, and what do you do with that information?

And so... the single card that pulls together what happened today and what is going to come to you tomorrow is...






Don't completely freak out, now..."Death" in the Haindl Tarot is very much less terrifying and far less final than one might think. Look at the picture and you see the boat, which is perhaps the barge to the Summerlands or the craft of Charon, but might also be the bark bringing new life to the shore of the world. Indeed, that boat is the origin of the cradle in which one places a newborn. Look at the grass and plant life, the bones of the earth, the animals and birds, and the only human figure in the card, the ferryman. The peacock's eye regards you, the reader, as you must look at the truth of the situations which may be leaving your life or just entering it. All that you have is going to end at some time, and all that you lose will make space for that which is to come. Indeed, the rune on the card is Beorc, the Birch, new beginnings. So--what is leaving your life, (that might be yesterday's message), and what is to come with the new dawn, and how are they connected to one another, and what is the lesson for you?

FFF & F as you look at your own life and apply the symbolism. See you next card!

Aisling