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.

Be-Ginning...

January 9, 2012, (Full Moon of Birch)

Today's card is the Hierophant, from the Utah Maninni Three tarot deck. The card design and the information below is by Katie Herrin.

Building: An old type country store commonly found on many Utah roads, owning to the great distances between cities in this once largely uninhabited state. It is symbolic of the safety that we seek and find in structure. However, even structure must, at some point, be left behind as can be seen from the path in the back of the building. We don't need to enter the wilderness unprepared, as the products found within the shop give us the tools we need to go forward into the unknown.

Sign: Written above the door to the building in the Deseret Alphabet, harking back to Utah's past, is a sign that reads "Mercantile"; an obvious sign but written in cipher to demonstrate that sometimes the most obvious signs are unrecognizable.

Porch: A place to contemplate the future and find the comfort of family and friends, the porch stands to either side of a narrow path, large enough for only a single traveler. It reminds us that our lives are our own. It also reminds us that there are always excuses to not move forward; family, friends, priest, distractions of every sort. On the heels of comfort comes stasis and stagnation.

Three Windows: The three windows offer a glimpse into the store, a peek at what lay within, tempting the traveler to enter, with the promise of filling all the traveler's needs. If the traveler is not careful, he may become trapped within the structure, like the figure in the window. We must remember that answers do not come pre-packaged.

Man with Broom: Standing on the porch outside is a man with a broom. He wears a smile on his face and nods to all who enter his establishment. Like all proprietors, he takes great pride in his store, offering his blessing to every customer. The traveler must be wary, however, that he does not visit so often that he gets to be on a first name basis with the owner, if he does, he may become trapped by the comfort of stasis

General Card Meaning: Upright: Learning, Structure, Sureness of purpose, Awareness Reverse: Stagnation, Dogma, Thick-headedness, Arrogance

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Today, you are invited to think about "Teachers". What are you learning, what do you need to learn, what will be your best teacher in the circumstance you find yourself facing today? What is it to be your own teacher? Whom can you learn from, and whom/what should teach you how not to do it? The Hierophant is about learning, but also about learning how to learn. Even a "bad" teacher can teach you something. The Full Moon of Birch is "Inception", the beginning of this year's Lunar Wheel of Life. What will you Learn, and how will you teach yourSelf?

Look to the Stars....

January 7, 2012: Today we have drawn the Star, and the cards are from both the Utah Maninni Three (the Goddess Utah), and the Haindl Tarot. The Star may be said to be the avatar of one's personal interaction with one's deck and one's divination--in a very real sense, you are the "star" of your own life and therefore when the Star appears in a reading, it is all about you. I enjoyed comparing the two interpretations of these cards, the first by Aaron Sorenson, who created the Star Card for the Utah Maninni Three deck, and the second taken from Rachel Pollock's book on the Haindl Tarot. I believe they work very well together. My own interpretation follows:
Maninni Star: (for the sake of information, I have also included the reversed interpretation as given by Aaron) Media: Digital Photograph, words added in Paint. Taken at the Midsummer Campout, which is the connection to the Goddess Utah. Definition: The Star is a card of hope, may the Goddess bless you and bring hope and healing from unexpected places. The light of The Star shines to illuminate your path as you walk with the Desert Goddess through the trials; the desert winds will bring change, the fires will cleanse and the waters will heal. Allow time to run its course and see The Star as the Goddess' favor shining upon you. Reversed: The Star shines hope into dark places, but be cautious; just out of the light lies a deeper darkness. Stay closely on the path to receive the Goddess' blessing for hope and healing.
Haindl Star: The meanings for the Star are as direct as the picture. They speak of optimism, hope, openness. They say that you either already have these qualities, or that you can have them. Sometimes the Star comes after a period of troubles or a Tower-like upheaval in life.The Star is a card of renewal. You have a chance to start over in some long-standing situation, or a new beginning becomes possible. The Star may require that you go back to basic principles. If life has become over-complicated, then the card says to discover what really matters. What do you actually want? What has worked in the past? Can it work again? Have you cluttered your life with unimportant commitments, or with desires that only seem important? Has a relationship gotten bogged down in too many minor arguments, too much, "I did this, you did that"?

The Star says to find the most basic elements, the bare rock of reality and the flowing water of feeling. Notice that these recommendations go in a different direction than Justice, for example, which calls for a careful examination of history. The Star goes back before all the history to find what truly matters. Both cards are valid but at different times. One reason to do readings is to get a sense of what approach to take in a given situation or as situations change.This return to basics involves a cleansing. If you have suffered or feel wounded in some way, you may want to look for a way to wash away the pain. This may mean a ritual, done alone or with friends. Or perhaps it will mean finding good things in your life, especially things that give you a sense of simplicity and hope. The appearance of the Star means renewal. We need to allow ourselves to experience it.The Star means humility. It says to avoid acting out of pride or arrogance toward others. Humility does not require the attitude,"I don't matter. What happens to me is not important." Instead,humility tells us to recognize ourselves as part of something greater. This is the underlying basis of the optimism of the card. We can believe more easily in a future that does not depend entirely on our own efforts. When we see the Star, we know that life is on our side.
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Today is only today. But today is all there is, today. In a similar fashion, you are only you. But you are all of you, all that you are, and who and what you are is the central meaning of your life. It is time to look clearly at your own Shining, at the way you fit into the grand scheme of things. It is time to remember that you Matter, to the Universe, to your friends and family, to your Self. You ARE what you ARE. You are essential. You have the right to Be, and the need to Become.

"You are a child of the Universe. No less than the trees and the stars, you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy." (taken from "Desiderata" by Max Ehrmann)

Father Knows Best

January 6, 2012: In the calendar of the Christian Church, today is Epiphany, the feast which commemorates the visit of the Three Kings, otherwise known as the Three Wise Men, to the Infant Jesus. It seems fitting in an ecumenical sort of way today that our daily Tarot draw is Brahma, the King of Wands in the Haindl Tarot. Brahma is the avatar of Wisdom, representing not only the equivalent of the Holy Trinity in Hindu theology, but also all four directions, the four Yugas (periods of eternal Time), and the innumerable gifts of the Father God--Brahma, in this deck, is called the "Father of Wands in the East", and in the East is the rising sun, the new Day, the beginning of life. An Epiphany, in other words. And, perhaps not so coincidentally, (do those with the Sight even believe in coincidence?) this day is also in the three-day arc of the Full Moon of Birch, the bursting forth of new beginnings. Indeed, every omen of this morning works together, indicating gifts, richness, beginnings, new life, achievement, and the sacred and holy in each and every manifestation of Living. There is no better way to interpret this confluence of omens than to simply say, "The All-Father, the Wise Man, is looking out for you, as you begin this day, this year, this Lunar Cycle, your own life, fresh and new each and every morning. Go forth, then, and BECOME!"