Well, our creative wrangler for this Hop, Ania Marczyk, has reminded us that this is the time of the year when we "close the books" on last year's finances and look towards paying the "toll" (i.e., the tax man) for the income of the preceding year. And so, her topic for this Hop has some definite creativity in this regard:
THEME: "So we come to the theme for this Hop…Tarot and finance. (Sorry, no lambs or bunnies this time around because we've been there and done that!). How do you use the Tarot in relation to matters financial? Do you make a living from it? Do you sometimes have a sneaky peek to help you pick lottery numbers or have a flutter on the gee-gees (and have you had any luck)? Do you take the risky path of advising others on financial matters or is filthy lucre a no-go area? Is it just the Pentacles for money matters or do you associate other. less obvious, cards with this area?"
This one really made me think. Reading Tarot and other Oracles has been a wonderful experience for me for over 40 years, and one of the ways that has been true is that it has been my "job" for a great deal of that time. I consider the money people pay for readings to be the "energy exchange" that is vital for there to be balance and positive results of any metaphysical experience. I also know that when one reads and interprets an Oracle for another, it is truly a compelling and comprehensive area of expertise, the kind of thing for which a person "hires an expert" in the mundane life (you wouldn't try to rebuild your own car, would you?) So I feel as if this skill and passion I pursue is not only done because it is my calling, but because it is also the way the Universe has chosen to give me a tool with which to pay the piper and support my own life.
I do not simply use the suit of Pentacles for discussing matters of money, for the simple reason that my own preferred deck for readings, the Haindl Tarot, does not even use Pentacles, but is sourced in the worldwide cultures of the four directions, and uses Stones for the tangible focus of Earth. And I feel strongly that the most important way to advise people in matters of finance is not simply restricted to using the "money cards" to talk about getting and keeping one's money, but, as is the preferred interpretation of the Stones, speaking about that which is foundational and that which is built, or that which is used to build. The concept of money and resources is far-reaching and includes not only making profit, but ethical questions, the concept of give-and-take, "paying it forward", and knowing what will, and will not, bring success..and therefore several of the Major Arcana cards fit into the mix for me. Most frequently encountered in readings of finance are the Emperor, Judgment, the Chariot, the Mage, the High Priestess, Justice, and sometimes the Fool. ;) And of course, the Father, Mother, Son and Daughter of Stones, the family who holds the tangible resources of our lives, often make an appearance.
Just for the fun of it, today I drew a single card for our Blog Hop community, asking the question, "What do we need to know about money and reading cards?" And I received this card:
The Nine of Wands, reversed. And it spoke to me immediately, reminding me, "Reading cards for other people or even for your Self does not equate to having Power over them or their decisions. And thinking of the financial side of the reading in too high a place on your list can give you the illusion that "money is power", either over those who pay you for readings, or in their own lives causing them to use their money to exert power-over. That's not what Tarot and money mean to one another."The most significant part of having the discussion about money matters during a reading is to make it abundantly clear to the Querent that my way of reading is not "fortune-telling". Too many people expect a psychic to be able to wave the finger and point at the future and say "there it is, here ya go, no problem". My own focus is always on the Querent, and what that person will need to do, think, remember, forget, focus on, and contemplate in order to bring forth their OWN future--because all the information in the reading is there from, and for, the client, and I see my job as a reader to be very similar in scope to that of the tax-man.... I can organize and focus the "books" and help the client interpret the "spreadsheet", but in the last analysis, what to do and how to do it is the choice and privilege of the Querent. After all, folks, I may be the "expert", but when all is laid out on the table...they may be my cards, but it's YOUR money!
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