Did I Win?

February 22, 2012: Six of Stones (R) Haindl Tarot

Today we have a card that demands our focus, because at first glance the message is scary and perhaps even negative. But always in the tarot approached through the lens of Witchcraft, things are never merely as they appear on the surface. So let's take a deeper look.

The card is a circle of stones in the depths of a cave, suggestive of the Inner Landscape. The stones form two triangles, an upper and a lower. These are reminiscent of the top two triangles of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, as well as the separated figures of the Star of David which bespeak "as above, so below". The center of the figure, however, is a hole in the cave, somehow reminiscent of that empty place which is often present at the core of our success.

However, Haindl did not mean to imply this, and that is why there is a golden light shining through the center hole. This light tells us that the "space within" does not signify emptiness at the core, nor does it mean to suggest the idea that our joys and successes are meaningless. On the contrary, the light tells us that we can find the true source of meaning, the glorious nothing of the Fool, within the happiness of daily life. We do not need to abandon the pleasures and satisfactions of success, at least not for now. Instead, we need to become aware of the Center, the light shining behind and through the solid things of this world.

But, we exclaim, our card is reversed!! So, doesn't this in fact mean that there really is "nothing" inside the emptiness? Not necessarily. In your Tarot Witch's experience, the reversals always surprise us, and that's the point. Reversed cards do not necessarily mean the opposite of what the card means in its upright position, but rather cry out "PAY ATTENTION! You're MISSING something here!" The reversal of this card forces our eye to that hollow center, and implies that we may have lost sight of spiritual values, seeing only the outer realities of wealth and success, and discounting or not nurturing the light at the center.

I use the phrase "Wholly, Holy, Holey" to describe the profound and sacred act of active not-knowing, not-doing, remaining clear, plangent, and empty so the light can shine through. The message of the reversed hexagram indicates the need to simplify, perhaps to look for values beyond outer success, or to take a more modest approach to other people and to life in general. When you look at life upside-down, only the center is right-side up. Especially if its empty.

So, in this case, because the card is reversed, the "hole" in the center is even more striking, and compels even more of our attention. The hexagram pattern, perfect balance, and especially the hole in the center, urge us to see the inner truth within the external delusion of material happiness. Riches and security are not "success" if your center is crying out for sustenance. Use this so-called success as a tool--having more security on the material level may leave us free to pursue more arcane foci, thus making our material security a true means to wisdom.

Serendipity....It's (c)up To You!

February 21, 2012: Ace of Cups, Utah Maninni One Tarot

Again, a repeated card...if I draw the same card twice in a 2-week cycle, it stands out as a message. Here I see the liquid flowing into the cup from an unknown source above, and the Guardian watching carefully, and I read: Your emotional triggers DO come to you, often, from outside your Self, but what you DO with the feelings is always up to you. Your cup is what it is, it is the shape it is, and you are the one who forms and shapes the contents. So be like the little Guardian avatar here, watching carefully as the cup is filled but not reacting as of yet--he's still considering. No matter what flows into your cup today, you are, as always, completely in control and response-able for your own emotional response...No one else holds your cup. No one else "makes" you feel any way at all. You are in charge of your feelings today. You always are.

And Again...

February 20, 2012: Strength, Utah Maninni One Tarot

When the same card shows up so often I know something important is happening...

I have no words. Let's look at this and decide--am I the mouse, or am I the cat? Am I strength by action, or strength by silent inaction? And what does that have to do with me, today? Because, it does...

Miaou!

February 18, 2012: Cat, Druid Animal Oracle

I am experimenting with random draws online, and today we didn't get a Tarot card, but a totem from the Druid Animal Oracle. The Animal totem for today is "Cat". Since we are using the Druid Animal Oracle, let's do some research on the concept of "catness" from Celtic cultures. There are numerous Celtic references to Cats, but these do not refer to the domestic feline, which only arrived in Britain with the Romans, but to the wild Cat, a larger and more aggressive creature, which still inhabits the Scottish highlands. The Celts believed that looking into a Cat's eyes would enable you to see fairies, or peer into the otherworld. Cat's eyes change according to the levels of light, imitating the waxing and waning of the moon, which may be the origin of the Cat's strange reputation. Along with its nocturnal hunting habits, this made the Cat a totem of the moon goddess. The Cat is a creature often associated with magic, from the sacred Cats of ancient Egypt to the archetypal storybook Witch (and, in my experience, real-life Witch) with her Cat familiar.

So, what is the silent prowl of the Cat at your heels trying to tell you for today? Aloof, knowing, and mysterious, her eyes seem to promise secrets. When Cat prowls into your cards, she indicates hidden knowledge and mysteries that may only be revealed by using your intuition or your psychic senses. Whatever it is you are hunting , whether it is a job, a lover or knowledge itself, you can learn from Cat. She does not waste energy chasing here and there and everywhere - she might miss the clues that reveal her true target. She listens to every whisper on the wind, sniffs the air for every scent and watches carefully for the slightest movement. She waits quietly until she sees what she really wants, and when it is within her grasp, she moves like lightning, and with one graceful pounce clasps it within her paws. Cat tells you that there is power in stillness, and beauty in dignity. Watch, wait, scent the currents around you. When it is the right time, you will only have to pounce to achieve your goal.

Inner Fire

January 17, 2012: Seven of Wands, Haindl Tarot

Seven spears alight, rising from the rocks, standing like either a barrier of flame or an illuminated gateway. Which kind of courage will we need today? Oh, you say, there is more than one kind of courage? Well, let's see what the primary commentator on this deck, Rachel Pollock, has to say in her dissertation upon this card. She is speaking not only of the illustration, but of the I Ching hexagram which is part of the picture. She says:

"The hexagram is Liberation or Deliverance. It calls for firm action to overcome anxiety in the self and conflict with others. The commentary for the hexagram cites the image of a thunderstorm clearing the air on a hot day. The image stresses relief rather than conquest. The purpose of courage is not to subdue others, but to remove problems. Often we need the deepest courage to look honestly at ourselves, rather than judge enemies or blame others. The reversed hexagram, Obstruction, would seem to be the simple opposite of deliverance. However, it does not just tell us that something blocks our liberation, it lets us know that perseverance will overcome the obstruction."

Going on, Pollock also speaks of the photo. Here I have interspersed ideas from her discussion with some thoughts of my own (in italics): "The picture shows rocks at sea. The scene is peaceful, the sky appears gray with clouds, indicating a possible storm. Courage at sea is different than courage in battle; in a storm at sea, the sailors must all work together to survive. The spears rise out of holes in the rock, like lingams rising from yonis. The spear symbolizes active humanity striving upward, traditionally a masculine value. The rock symbolizes nature and our eternal ties to the Earth, which is often thought of as feminine. The rocks appear vaguely like stone faces or statues so old they have lost all detail. This emphasizes the universal nature of courage, and the idea that sometimes courage means "act" and sometimes it means "be still". We have a tendency to believe that to be courageous means to DO something. In many cases, however, courage equates to stop, think, and figure out what is happening, and whether or not I should do something. In readings the Seven of Wands emphasizes its fundamental attribute—it shows a person with courage and daring. The way he or she uses the courage can become a vital issue. Is it for conquest or personal development? Does it lead to something important, or just a love of battle? All situations call for courage. Sometimes we need to recognize weakness, limitations, or an impossible situation that cannot be saved. Courage may mean the courage to retreat. In its deepest sense this card means having the courage to use one’s own power for transformation."

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So here we are, today, looking at our lives, at that situation which demands courage. But which kind? Act, or be still? Speak, or be silent? Do something, or do nothing? Only you can decide which course exemplifies courage for you today. But you do have the inner fire, the courage, to do that.

Fill Your Cup!!

February 16, 2012: Ace of Cups, Haindl Tarot

Cups is the suit of Water. Water is shapeless, constantly changing, so that it represents feeling, which is not rigid or solid, but always shifting. We each pass through many emotional states in a single day, even a single hour. For most of us, our moods change so subtly and quickly we usually do not notice all the variations. The cup holds the water, contains it in a form that evokes the idea of giving some form and understanding to shapeless emotions. Water, the element itself, is a mystery, the sea represents the unconscious, the rise and fall of emotion, and the salt within it as "sel", the Self, because your emotions are never the same as my emotions, even if we call them by the same names. Whereas the element of Water is amorphous and fluid, the tool, the Cup, gives Water a more recognizable meaning; that is, the cards in the suit of Cups deal with emotion shaped and formed by circumstance and experience. The cup is meant to be used; an empty cup is a meaningless tool. At the same time, that "use" is passive rather than active--the cup does not have to do anything except contain and shape the liquid within. It fulfills its purpose simply by receiving the water. Therefore, the suit of Cups is receptive, peaceful, at rest rather than moving or aggressive. If a cup moves too rapidly, it spills the water. However, a cup not holding water is not fulfilling its purpose. And the shape of the cup forms what it holds within. If we create perfect forms and structures in our lives, but these forms contain no real content of feeling, they become meaningless.

ACE OF CUPS
The Ace in the Haindl Tarot is the Holy Grail itself. Here is some background on that relic, written by Rachel Pollock in her book on the Haindl Tarot.

"Christian myth describes it (the Grail) as the cup from which Christ drank at the Last Supper. Later, Joseph of Arimathea used this cup to collect Christ’s precious blood as He bled on the cross. Joseph then took the Grail to Britain, landing at Avalon. Joseph later was wounded, and because he had come to embody the spirit of the land, the country all around him became a wasteland, a barren desert, as long as Joseph remained ill. And nothing could heal Joseph, nothing could make him whole, until the Grail knight, Parsifal—or in some stories Galahad—achieved the quest of the Grail. For even though the land was wounded, the Grail kept it alive until that moment when the holy knight could restore the king (the story has many variants; this version gives the essentials). There are many interpretations of this story. Most people agree that it goes back before the Christian versions to ancient Celtic myth or ritual. Avalon—usually identified as Glastonbury, in southwestern England—was the entrance to the Otherworld of the Fairies, the spirits. The Grail was probably the cauldron or feeding pot of the Great Mother, inexhaustible, always giving food to the Mother’s worshipers. The image of a pot symbolizes the Goddess’s womb, source of all life. The food was spiritual as well as physical, for the Mother fulfills our souls with joy as well as our bodies with nourishment. The wounded king represented the land in winter, or in times of famine, but also the cycle of decay, death and rebirth. Rebirth came through the young knight who brings healing by giving himself to the Grail, to the Mother. Remember the surrender of the Hanged Man..."

So for us, today, the Ace of Cups stands upright, and let us think of it as empty. You will, today, be the source, and the Shape, of your own feelings, your own emotions. Your Cup may be empty, but you will fill it--the question is, with what? Today, you have a choice. Your own feelings and emotions belong to you, and you may shape and form them as you will. You have a right to feel your feelings, but they are subject to you, to the shape of your Cup. No one can "make you feel" anything or any way at all. You hold the Grail, the source of your own Healing, and the choice is yours, always. Fill your Cup!

I Shall Not Be Moved...

February 15, 2012: Strength, Utah Maninni Three Tarot

This card was contributed to the Utah Maninni Tarot by Magpie Rainsinger, Doyenne of MountainShadows Clan of Toteg Tribe in Salt Lake City. Here is the description and interpretation of the card as submitted for the deck:

Composition: This card is pictures I have taken on MountainShadows Clan outings in and around the Salt Lake Valley. None of the photos is anyone else's work, and none has been altered.

The Goddess Utah: These pictures were taken in Affleck Park, the Great Salt Lake, the redrock country, and up Millcreek Canyon. All of them represent the Goddess in her strength and power.

Card Meaning: The photos I chose may represent enduring strength in Nature, those things that cannot be defeated, even by time. Strength is more endurance than power, more persistence than aggression. If you receive this card in a reading, upright it represents the need to maintain your position, your integrity, your focus. If reversed, either you are falling into a position of bullying rather than strength, or you are exerting your power on the wrong object.

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Today, this card comes on the crux of the waning moon, moving from the second quarter of Rowan to the Dark Moon of Ash. It resonates with your TarotWitch to the tune of "take your power!" We have come out of the darkness of winter and are moving towards the fashioning of tools for our journey into the new spring of a new year. I think of the Celtic Triads, "Three things from which never to be moved: One's oaths, one's Gods, and the Truth." You have your own Truth, reader, and your own oaths to your Self, and the help of your Gods. Be strong, be not moved. Take your Power! and do with it what you Will....