Daily Draw, Jan. 23: Friday "Fool"ishness

The Fool is a card about which many contradictory things have been written. But the main idea is simply that the Fool is someone whose number, zero, is a 'placeholder' and that, whether or not intelligence is at work, the Fool is an open circle of possibility, awaiting some kind of insight or information, and not expecting anything in particular. So, today, we're going to use the Fool as our 'placeholder' in the deck, and see what particular kind of information is going to fall into our circle. Here's the plan:

Today, numerologically, is a five. 1/23/2015. So...first, we take the deck, and we shuffle it well. Then, we turn over one card at a time until we find the Fool card. There it is, and we remove it. Now, we do a focused draw. If, when we drew the card from the deck, it was reversed, we count back five cards. If it was upright, we simply continue from where we found the Fool, counting five more cards. And either way, the fifth card in either direction from the Fool is today's message. When I did the draw, the Fool was upright. So, five cards down the stack, here's what I drew:

  Today's card is Justice, and it contains, symbolically, some pretty good insight for our waiting Fool-self.  The Hebrew letter on the card, in the upper left corner, is "Lamed", the ox goad; this symbol represents what needs must happen moving forward, whether we wish it or not. And the Norse rune, Nyd, N, necessity, reminds us that on a cosmic scale balance is always the ultimate result--it is necessary that the Universe remain in balance, and this is what will happen, no matter how long it takes. So there ought to be no surprise that the astrological symbol on the card is Libra, which is the primary manifestation of balance, and whose name, "libra", is the root word of "liberty", since "the truth shall set you free". But what of the image itself? In the card, two separate images of balance are shown, one by the scales in the foreground and the other by the cluster of peacock feathers. The scales hang from an invisible holder, unchanging, the cosmic balls suspended above the pans. This signifies that Justice always exists in the universe as a perfect principle. The feathers exist in a much more precarious balance; a breath of wind would disrupt them. In the world of ordinary experience, Justice often seems remote. The feathers appear rooted in a tree trunk, suggesting that spirit does not exist apart from nature. Their "eyes" signify seeing our own emotions. And their presence behind the scales, seemingly carefully arranged and artistically balanced, holds the deep message of the card for the Fool...Justice is the cosmic balance of the Universe, and in the current situation, no matter how far and remote it may appear to be from the present moment, Justice will be done, and we shall receive the balance required to move forward with our lives. So--there you have it, Fool. This Fool is going to believe it, and walk securely into the future of the day and the week, knowing that what is supposed to happen is indeed what is happening.

Walk in Beauty,

Aisling the Bard

Daily Draw, Jan 22: Who Are You, Anyhoo?

In many Tarot classes or books, one is told of the "significator", the card which represents the person for whom the reading is being done. Many people change their significator monthly or yearly, or with the individual reading, or not at all, and there are some people who don't use one, ever. But the concept of the significator is a useful one, for the simple reason that the Tarot deck is made up of archetypal energies, and together the 78 cards can deliver a deeply nuanced picture of the human psyche. Indeed, one of my most genuine and respected guides, Mary Greer, has written a very wonderful tome, Who Are You In The Tarot, which might be a great help to you in the signification process. But one must start somewhere, of course, and we're here now. So--today, let's ask the Universe a double-significator question. Who am I today? And--who might I need to be? For this draw, we're using only the Major Arcana, to simplify the process.

Who Am I Today, And What Does That Mean?

  The Chariot; Moving freely over the waves of change and flux and flow of my very complicated life, knowing there is danger behind me but also knowing I have the tools I need to escape it, and standing firmly balanced as I ride the waves of Fortune, knowing I can get where I need to go.

Who Might I Need To Become?

  I have had, or am still having, quite the ride. Something is telling me, though, that because I am so busy "keeping my balance" out there, I might be neglecting the quiet moments of gazing within, the need to understand the "star" of my own life, and gathering far too much of the energy of other people and situations, possibly losing my Self in the process. So--we see here where you pause, washing your hair in the flow of the quiet stream lit by the rising star of Aquarius...this act is the symbolic representation of "clearing the mind" and the woman, Gaia, in the deep contact with Earth and Water, knows the "star" she sees reflected in the pool is her Self, the person in whose situation she must and will take the most notice. Become the Star of your own life, focus on the Deep Self, leave the rushing craziness of the outworld behind for a time, even though you have proven that you CAN keep your balance, and gaze deep within to find the Inner Child, and tend to hir...you can do this.

Walk in Beauty,

Aisling the Bard



And, of course, this draw is done by me, and you are reading it--so perhaps this card might not seem to fit you. If not, when you've thought it through, draw for your Self and see