Tarot Card ~ April 30

Knight of Shields

Bors

Fortune Cookie: Know your goal, believe in yourself and in your ability to attain it. Don’t jump through hoops for anyone; move at your own pace. But be sure you do move and keep moving.

 

Another card that last showed up for us back in November. [Although I keep dreaming that this is the card I’m posting for you, right regular like. Hmmm…]

Typical readers would find in this card such things as rectitude [which one of my spirit-guides calls “retch-itude,”], utility, and responsibility. One has even suggested it predicts a message of good news to someone who really needs it. [Over here! Over here! Yo! Toss it my way! Over here!]

Can I see a show of hands from all the other folks who vote for that one?

See Tarot reader get knocked over by great

Whooooosh!!!

Mmmmmm hmmm……

So anyway, see how all that might fit into your day today.

Anna-Marie Ferguson, creator of the Legend deck I use, writes of an honest hard-working man, a supporter of tradition and order, and solid, steadfast progress. If any of those describe what you need for the day or the times to come, keep an eye out for them or, better yet, embody them. BE THEM. Don’t get caught up in any whirlwinds blowing through, and fergawdsake, don’t create the suckers!

In this card I see [and you should take as a role model]

one who considers himself — rather objectively — the most powerful knight in the forest,

with NO doubt whatsoever that he will meet his goal,

no doubt he will achieve his quest,

no doubt he will do whatever he has set out to do.

None!

How much?

None!

Therefore, he is calm.

He is in no hurry.

He feels no need to seek to impress anyone for any reason,

no need − ever − to leap over a tall building in a single bound just because somebody else might like it.

He goes slowly, perhaps almost plodding at times, just putting one foot in front of the other to get where he needs to go.

HOWEVER, he is always conscious of his goal,

always aware of what will be necessary to get there,

and always in motion toward his target, until his mission is accomplished.

So, once again:

Know your goal,

believe in yourself

and your ability to attain it,

don’t jump through hoops for anyone,

and move at your own pace.

But be sure to move and keep moving.

Bright blessings, slowly, surely, constantly!

Quote for the Day: Keep your sense of humor, my friend; if you don’t have a sense of humor it just isn’t funny anymore.~ Wavy Gravy

(Worth a repeat, these days.)

Today’s Weather: Under the bridge. Over the hill. Far, far away. (Right here.)

On This Date: 1900 – Casey Jones dies in a train wreck in Vaughn, Mississippi, while trying to make up time on the Cannonball Express. [You KNOW I had to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQF8CILMt8c ]

 

 

April 30 is the 120th day of the year.

 

Tarot Card ~ April 29

Nine of Swords

Lily Maid of Astolat

 

Fortune Cookie: Be careful today not to overextend yourself in unfair –especially to yourself — or unhealthy ways. And hold solid, healthy boundaries!

 

 

 

Okay! Okay! I admit it. It’s another looooooong post.

 

This is a card that’s comin’ around right regular of late. We last saw it just about three weeks ago. And a bit over two weeks before that. And as I said both those times, in our codependent, enmeshed and embalmed (embombed?) culture, it’s always good to be reminded of what this card has to say.

 

And to read it. And print it out. And post it next to your bathroom mirror. And every mirror you own. Including mayhaps the rear view mirror of your vehicle. And send it to yourself as a text message three times a day. And stuff.

 

[Finishes pontificating. Wipes sweat off of jowls. Or at least most jowls. Gets down off soap box. Makes a feeble attempt to tidy hair and looks around for… Tidies hair and… Tidies… Aw buggrit! Tosses brush out window, accidentally nailing a groggy blue jay. Looks around for coffee. Asks, “Where was I?” Where, or who? Oh. Right. Where!]

 

Okay.

This is a card of warning, plain and simple.

 

Different readers vary the focal issues being dealt with here, so I’ll give bits and pieces of other perspectives before moosing on in with my take on things.

 

Betty – those of you who read this blog rather regularly will remember — was my long-time teacher and friend. She used to turn the elucidation of this card into a real piece of performance art. When Nine of Swords would come up, she’d shake her head, give a low whistle, shake her head again, look closely at the card, look up mournfully at me − or whoever she was reading for − and say softly, “You gotta be careful. Something here is nearly DEAD.” Got me whimpering every time. Even when I was just watching her read for somebody else.

 

So if that’s the interpretation of the card we’re working with, one of the things to be careful about − depending on exactly what’s being examined in the reading – is that you and/or a situation may be about to seriously pass the point of flameout or burnout and you need to pull back, regroup, rethink things and really recover before you go off the deep end or go up in smoke.

 

So please, today, give that possibility some serious thought throughout all major aspects of your life. [Except those that involve reading this daily card. No sense going overboard, then, is there?]

 

Some readers find this to be a card of delay, deception and disappointment − or worse. [Charming!] Others indicate that it betokens fear and dread for the future, and it implies you should take a course of action that will still and calm the mind to help instill courage. [Yeah. That there is a sentence that would really help ME calm down, you betcha! Yo! Waiter! Bushmill’s triple here. Straight up!]

 

Other sources say the card recommends finding a path of extra alertness and wariness, along the lines of “cover your back [or, uh… you know],” for now, anyway.

 

Anna-Marie Ferguson, creator of the Legend deck, writes of pining for a loved one, fretful dreams and obsessions. Her interpretation that I’m most interested in (on your behalf) is depression blinding us to the possibilities and beauty that surround us. (Don’t go there! You DO NOT need to be in that place!!!!!)

 

My take?

 

When this card turns up in a reading for a client, I say things like, “Okay, several levels of meaning here, and you need to pay close attention to each one.”

 

First, this is a card that says be very careful to NOT take on the emotions of others. You may choose to be kind and be a shoulder for another to cry on. But understand that to do so does NOT involve letting someone else’s disappointment or depression take you over; you are NOT meant to be anyone else’s emotional and psychic trash bin.

 

If you’re one of those people who lets a friend come over and dump all his baggage on you so that he can then just skip away, free as a bird and back in the groove while you need to go hide behind the couch – STOPPIT! That’s unhealthy behavior. It’s not kind. It’s not even really helpful to you OR him.

 

Second, do not take responsibility for other people’s emotions. Yes, we all do things that disappoint others, including those we love. But their emotions in response to the situation are THEIRS to deal with and work through.

 

I remember overhearing a woman in a store, talking to her four-year-old daughter, saying, ‘If you keep acting this way Daddy’s going to divorce us, and it will be all your fault!’ [Just. Plain. Vile!!!!] It’s obvious how false and manipulative − not to mention cruel − that is.

 

Whether we like it or not, EACH OF US is responsible for OUR emotions and HOW WE RESPOND to all the situations in our life. That’s true for everybody else as well. So don’t let anyone bamboozle you into thinking different.

 

Third, don’t take responsibility for anyone else’s life or life choices. If you’re in a position to help someone when they’re lost or down, and you CHOOSE to offer that, do so – if you can do it in a way that’s safe and healthy, non-manipulative, non-addictive, non-codependent, with healthy boundaries. It’s like they say on an airliner: if you’re traveling with a child and the air masks come down, put yours on first, THEN put on the child’s.

 

So:

 

~ Be careful today not to overextend yourself in unfair (especially to yourself) or unhealthy ways.

 

~ Hold good boundaries.

 

~ Be compassionate, but don’t be a doormat or a crying towel.

 

~ Double-check your own energy to be sure depletion isn’t closer than you may have realized.

 

~ If it seems depletion may be near, do what you need to do to take care of YOU!

 

Bright blessings, healthy boundaries, good choices and discretion!

 

Quote for the Day: Burnout is nature’s way of telling you you’ve been going through the motions; your soul has departed you’re a zombie, a member of the walking dead…~ Sam Keen

 

Today’s Weather: Intramural gonzo squonching. Yech!

 

On this Date: 1968 – The musical Hair opens on Broadway.

 

Tarot Card ~ April 28

The Chariot

Battle of Mount Badon

Fortune Cookie: Go after what you really want – aggressively. But don’t let yourself get pulled out of balance (physically, emotionally, spiritually or in any other way), or lose your cool at a critical moment.

 

Wowie-Zowie, boys and girls! We last saw this card about two months ago! A lotta that going on this week, no? I assume that means something. So list ye with an attent ear and sh… stuff.

This is a great card for enny time o’ year, because the insights it offers are strong, clear and very important.

And, I might add, it’s a superb card for incorporating into a early Spring booster, no matter what spiritual path you walk.

Traditional readings for this card include things like succor, providence and triumph. Or something along the lines ofmake a choice, stand by it and carry it through. Or maybe even willpower, and recognizing that you have the ability to focus your will to accomplish amazing things.

Anna-Marie Ferguson’s Legend Tarot deck has The Chariot indicating victory, leadership and controlling a situation of conflicting sentiments, among other things.

I tend to interpret this card based on the counsel that has seemed most helpful to my clients when it has shown up.

When The Chariot appears, I say:

Okay. Regarding what you’re asking about, what you want, or whatever the case may be:

Go after it. Go after it aggressively. Not even assertively. Aggressively!Full tilt, run ’em over if they won’t cooperate, surrender or get out of your way kinda aggressively. But…

Make very, very sure that in going after what you want, you do not let yourself become pulled off balance or pushed out of balance – or otherwise become out of balance – physically, emotionally, financially, spiritually, or any-other-ly.

And keep a cool head.

Here’s the analogy: When you’re driving a war chariot into battle, once you’re committed to the fight you’ve gotta push, drive, plunge. But, if you lose your balance, you’ll get bounced out of the chariot and right onto the point of a spear.

And when you’re go in battle, you must fight hard but remain cool and focused. If you give over to wild emotion, you may lose sufficient awareness of what’s really going on around you, and become raven kibble.

So, today: Go after what you really want – aggressively. But don’t let yourself get pulled out of balance, or lose your cool at a critical moment.

Bright Blessings, balance, focus and Charge!

Thought for the Day: How many people here have telekenetic powers? Raise my hand. ~ Emo Philips

And: Some mornings, it’s just not worth chewing through the leather straps. ~ EP

Today’s Weather: Szechuan frog’s breath. Tendril kabobs and short, drooly fritillaria.

On This Date: 1253 – Nichiren, a JapaneseBuddhist monk, propounds Nam Myoho Renge Kyo for the very first time and declares it to be the essence of Buddhism, in effect founding Nichiren Buddhism.

 

 

Wowie-Zowie, boys and girls! We last saw this card about two months ago! A lotta that going on this week, no? I assume that means something. So list ye with an attent ear and sh… stuff.

This is a great card for enny time o’ year, because the insights it offers are strong, clear and very important.

And, I might add, it’s a superb card for incorporating into a early Spring booster, no matter what spiritual path you walk.

Traditional readings for this card include things like succor, providence and triumph. Or something along the lines ofmake a choice, stand by it and carry it through. Or maybe even willpower, and recognizing that you have the ability to focus your will to accomplish amazing things.

Anna-Marie Ferguson’s Legend Tarot deck has The Chariot indicating victory, leadership and controlling a situation of conflicting sentiments, among other things.

I tend to interpret this card based on the counsel that has seemed most helpful to my clients when it has shown up.

When The Chariot appears, I say:

Okay. Regarding what you’re asking about, what you want, or whatever the case may be:

Go after it. Go after it aggressively. Not even assertively. Aggressively!Full tilt, run ’em over if they won’t cooperate, surrender or get out of your way kinda aggressively. But…

Make very, very sure that in going after what you want, you do not let yourself become pulled off balance or pushed out of balance – or otherwise become out of balance – physically, emotionally, financially, spiritually, or any-other-ly.

And keep a cool head.

Here’s the analogy: When you’re driving a war chariot into battle, once you’re committed to the fight you’ve gotta push, drive, plunge. But, if you lose your balance, you’ll get bounced out of the chariot and right onto the point of a spear.

And when you’re go in battle, you must fight hard but remain cool and focused. If you give over to wild emotion, you may lose sufficient awareness of what’s really going on around you, and become raven kibble.

So, today: Go after what you really want – aggressively. But don’t let yourself get pulled out of balance, or lose your cool at a critical moment.

Bright Blessings, balance, focus and Charge!

Thought for the Day: How many people here have telekenetic powers? Raise my hand. ~ Emo Philips

And: Some mornings, it’s just not worth chewing through the leather straps. ~ EP

Today’s Weather: Szechuan frog’s breath. Tendril kabobs and short, drooly fritillaria.

On This Date: 1253 – Nichiren, a JapaneseBuddhist monk, propounds Nam Myoho Renge Kyo for the very first time and declares it to be the essence of Buddhism, in effect founding Nichiren Buddhism.

Wowie-Zowie, boys and girls! We last saw this card about two months ago! A lotta that going on this week, no? I assume that means something. So list ye with an attent ear and sh… stuff.

This is a great card for enny time o’ year, because the insights it offers are strong, clear and very important.

And, I might add, it’s a superb card for incorporating into a early Spring booster, no matter what spiritual path you walk.

Traditional readings for this card include things like succor, providence and triumph. Or something along the lines ofmake a choice, stand by it and carry it through. Or maybe even willpower, and recognizing that you have the ability to focus your will to accomplish amazing things.

Anna-Marie Ferguson’s Legend Tarot deck has The Chariot indicating victory, leadership and controlling a situation of conflicting sentiments, among other things.

I tend to interpret this card based on the counsel that has seemed most helpful to my clients when it has shown up.

When The Chariot appears, I say:

Okay. Regarding what you’re asking about, what you want, or whatever the case may be:

Go after it. Go after it aggressively. Not even assertively. Aggressively!Full tilt, run ’em over if they won’t cooperate, surrender or get out of your way kinda aggressively. But…

Make very, very sure that in going after what you want, you do not let yourself become pulled off balance or pushed out of balance – or otherwise become out of balance – physically, emotionally, financially, spiritually, or any-other-ly.

And keep a cool head.

Here’s the analogy: When you’re driving a war chariot into battle, once you’re committed to the fight you’ve gotta push, drive, plunge. But, if you lose your balance, you’ll get bounced out of the chariot and right onto the point of a spear.

And when you’re go in battle, you must fight hard but remain cool and focused. If you give over to wild emotion, you may lose sufficient awareness of what’s really going on around you, and become raven kibble.

So, today: Go after what you really want – aggressively. But don’t let yourself get pulled out of balance, or lose your cool at a critical moment.

Bright Blessings, balance, focus and Charge!

Thought for the Day: How many people here have telekenetic powers? Raise my hand. ~ Emo Philips

And: Some mornings, it’s just not worth chewing through the leather straps. ~ EP

Today’s Weather: Szechuan frog’s breath. Tendril kabobs and short, drooly fritillaria.

On This Date: 1253 – Nichiren, a JapaneseBuddhist monk, propounds Nam Myoho Renge Kyo for the very first time and declares it to be the essence of Buddhism, in effect founding Nichiren Buddhism.

Wowie-Zowie, boys and girls! We last saw this card about two months ago! A lotta that going on this week, no? I assume that means something. So list ye with an attent ear and sh… stuff.

This is a great card for enny time o’ year, because the insights it offers are strong, clear and very important.

And, I might add, it’s a superb card for incorporating into a early Spring booster, no matter what spiritual path you walk.

Traditional readings for this card include things like succor, providence and triumph. Or something along the lines ofmake a choice, stand by it and carry it through. Or maybe even willpower, and recognizing that you have the ability to focus your will to accomplish amazing things.

Anna-Marie Ferguson’s Legend Tarot deck has The Chariot indicating victory, leadership and controlling a situation of conflicting sentiments, among other things.

I tend to interpret this card based on the counsel that has seemed most helpful to my clients when it has shown up.

When The Chariot appears, I say:

Okay. Regarding what you’re asking about, what you want, or whatever the case may be:

Go after it. Go after it aggressively. Not even assertively. Aggressively!Full tilt, run ’em over if they won’t cooperate, surrender or get out of your way kinda aggressively. But…

Make very, very sure that in going after what you want, you do not let yourself become pulled off balance or pushed out of balance – or otherwise become out of balance – physically, emotionally, financially, spiritually, or any-other-ly.

And keep a cool head.

Here’s the analogy: When you’re driving a war chariot into battle, once you’re committed to the fight you’ve gotta push, drive, plunge. But, if you lose your balance, you’ll get bounced out of the chariot and right onto the point of a spear.

And when you’re go in battle, you must fight hard but remain cool and focused. If you give over to wild emotion, you may lose sufficient awareness of what’s really going on around you, and become raven kibble.

So, today: Go after what you really want – aggressively. But don’t let yourself get pulled out of balance, or lose your cool at a critical moment.

Bright Blessings, balance, focus and Charge!

Thought for the Day: How many people here have telekenetic powers? Raise my hand. ~ Emo Philips

And: Some mornings, it’s just not worth chewing through the leather straps. ~ EP

Today’s Weather: Szechuan frog’s breath. Tendril kabobs and short, drooly fritillaria.

On This Date: 1253 – Nichiren, a JapaneseBuddhist monk, propounds Nam Myoho Renge Kyo for the very first time and declares it to be the essence of Buddhism, in effect founding Nichiren Buddhism.

Tarot Card ~ April 27

Seven of Cups

The Questing Beast

Fortune Cookie: Go after the joy. Seek it, quest after it, demand it! And for pity’s sake, at least be sure you can actually define what it is − or what it would be, if you had your druthers − for you.

 

What a great card for an early Spring day! And it’s a GREAT and also actually useful card for consideration any day at all. At all. Any. Day?

So are we ready to pay attention? Huh? Huh? Eh?

That’s good, because it’s an important card with a very solid reminder. A reminder of what?

A reminder that we [most of us who are over five years old, ennyway] really need to work on joyfulness in our lives. I know. Sounds couter-intuitive. Right? Well, toobadpayattention.

So. Joyfulness. My advice would be to stop reading this, have a Guiness or a Mimosa or a tequila sunrise or an Irish coffee or some God Bud pancakes or strawberry cough brownies, or a…

Oh, wait. The blog police are zooming around the office. Sniffing for fumes. [Creeps.] But that doesn’t mean YOU shouldn’t enjoy yourself in any of the ways suggested.

 

 

 

Anyway, we really need to work on joyfulness in our lives. Really.

This is another card where my interpretation may diverge a tidly, tadly bit [or a monster bunch] from that of other readers. And I’m pretty joyful about it.

Some see the Seven of Cups as recommending opening to visions through contemplation. [My astrologer Mary Ellen tells me this is a big year for me in that realm. Guess I better clean out the meditation room.] [Where did I leave it?] [Pyeah. It’s behind that pile of books on Feng Shui.]

Mustn’t argue with that opening to visions through contemplation, ever, unless you’re ready to have the Storm Troopers of Light come kick yer butt all across the floor, not to mention several dimensions, with at least one of them being Texas. And gold lamé spacesuits with emerald wings and ruby go-go boots first thing in the morning is more than I can handle.

 

 

Told ya!.

Some readers find the card dictates that the querent (questioner) has a choice to make, and must decide upon one of various options. [Like where to put the old canoe, kayac, Yuletide tree and life-size statues of Grover Cleveland and Teddy Roosevelt and pile of books on Feng Shui now that I’m clearing out the meditation room?]

Anna-Marie Ferguson, creator of the Legend deck, sees this card as betokening – among other things − fantasy, whims or perhaps a bizarre turn of events. Right up my alley. [My office cat refers to my desk as the Bizar Bazar.]

I see the Seven of Cups as the card of utter, total complete joy and joyful abandon.

There may be some need to stay at least a bit grounded, so you DON’T go completely off into the realm of fantasy in a

“҉ ҉ ҉ Wow, look at all the pretty colors! ҉ ҉ I’ll betcha I can too live on air and rainbows and weird pancakes ҉ ҉ ҉ !” kinda scenario.

But [but! but! but! but! but!] this is also the card of Fairy Favors, creativity and clear vision around attaining true desires. [Legally.] (And, as I said to a client in a recent reading, it really does imply that you’re going to do some meaningful work on defining and owning what your TRUE desires in this life actually are!)

Right?

And this can be a great, great time to do some wishcraft around becoming reacquainted with the Green Fey Friends down the garden way now that Spring is finally really here, and work to re-earn the Fairy Favors they offer.

So go after the joy. Seek it, quest after it, demand it! And for pity’s sake, at least be sure you can actually define what it is − or what it would be, if you had your druthers − for you.

Let yourself renew your belief in and commitment to your happiness, and be open to the myriad magical ways the universe may offer to bring it to you. Let yourself be open to surprises and miracles in that regard. And open to a little Fairy Magic today!

Joy! Joy! Joy!

And JOY!!!

Bright blessings!

And don’t forget joy!

Quote for the Day: Too many people live the lives other people think they ought to, following orders they don’t agree with, for causes they don’t believe in. They live lives that don’t matter, that touch no one and change nothing. ~ Simon R. Green

And: What is the world coming to, when you can’t even trust a rogue vicar and her demon lover? ~ SRG

Today’s Weather: Hyacinths. Blue jays. Intergalactic double-plays.

On This Date: 1810 – Beethoven composes his famous piano piece, Für Elise.

(In celebration. Sort of. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X20woQAh-c4 )

April 27th is the 117th day of the year.

Tarot Card ~ April 26

The Fool

Percivale

Fortune Cookie: Follow your bliss! Follow your bliss! Know what your bliss is!!! Follow your bliss!

 

Isn’t that a GREAT picture?

 

Okay, Y’all: We last saw this card in almost exactly two months ago. Therefore, we’ve all had plenty of time to work with its good counsel and direction.

So which one of you is still holding out on following your bliss? Hunh? Hunh?

Not!! Good!!!!

Anyway, I’m always grateful when this card comes around again, for prolly more reasons than I can count. Sometimes I think this may be the most important card in the deck, for us and for the world in this time. It is in fact the FIRST card in the deck, which should give you some idea of the weight it carries.

Just as significant, it’s the antithesis to that common state I see so very often: folks lassoing their own private gloom clouds, knotting them in place just above their heads and walking around beating themselves with a stick [riding crop, electroshock device, or small laser, if budget permits] while chanting that ever-so-helpful mantra, “Life sucks. The world is doomed. Life sucks. The world is doomed. Life sucks. The world is doomed, and I’ll probably be first in line to get whacked.”

If these are in fact transformational times [and they are], then that is ZACKLY the wrong thing to immerse yourself in! No? Yes!

So, back to the card.

 

Da Ful: this card does not mean that you are a fool or are inevitably going to be foolish today ~ at least not in the normal way our culture perceives foolishness.

I call this The Joseph Campbell card. It’s the card that says, “You. You. Yeah, you!! FOLLOW YOUR BLISS. NOW! With joy, hope, excitement and expectation. NOW!!!”

This is therefore the card that offers you permission to go off on your own great and profound personal quest, just like Percivale did. (And he became one of the three greatest knights of all, y’all!)

The important aspect (and for some of us, the hard work) is:

to actually KNOW what our bliss is (or would be/could be) if we would own it.

Because you see, when we get kinda down or times are tough, THAT is often the first knowing or believing or hope that goes RIGHT out the window.

So, as I have written before, this is the somewhat rambling response I’ve given to a few clients when they’ve asked,

Follow my bliss?

What the hell does that mean?

You start by knowing what your heart’s true desire is [provided it’s moral, of course. At least mostly. And pretty close to legal.] If necessary, take some time to hone your understanding of what that means to you, for today, anyway. Do it over an extra cuppa if that’s all the time you have. But do it.

Do!! It!!!!

Then, no matter how impossible or illogical it may seem, like −

I’m gonna write a children’s story about an orphan boy who goes to a school for wizards, and it’s going to be so beautifully done it’s going to earn me enough to support myself and my family for the rest of my life. In fact, it’s going to make me the first person to ever earn a billion dollars from writing fiction! [Like THAT could ever happen!]

 

− take your first single SMALL step on the path that follows your bliss.

And see what that leads to.

Then take the next step.

And see what that leads to. And so on.

The difference between The Fool and some other Tarot cards that offer permission to follow your own unique path is that The Fool in particular says,

“Stay connected to your heart, moment by moment.

Know that your heart may change, and so your direction may change, moment by moment. But DO NOT allow yourself to think less of yourself, your efforts or your path because of that. Go where your heart tells you and you will achieve more than most will ever even hope for.”

This is the card of the Sacred Fool, the Holy Fool; the one who is open to divine inspiration and honors it by following his or her bliss, harm to none and love for all, always.

IF we know our hearts truly truly;

IF we honor that which truly resonates for the Highest and Best,

which is always one with OUR Highest and Best;

IF we

follow

our

bliss.

Wishing you a day of magic, and the sacred, and your true path.

Brightest Blissings!

Quote for the Day: Imagine…. ~ John Lenon

Another Quote: … a new poll showed a majority of likely voters agreeing with the statement, “Donald Trump being sworn in as President would be a great last scene in a Planet of the Apes remake.” ~ Andy Borowitz

Today’s Weather: All the people sharing all the world. Foole-ery. Foole-ery.

 

On This Date: 1986 – Chernobyl.

 

Well… Sometimes we CAN be foolish.

 

Tarot Card ~

 

Taking a few knights off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blessings, all!

Tarot Card ~ April 18

Strength

Percivale’s Vision

Fortune Cookie: Trust in your strength and draw on it. Manage it well when you must, but draw on it. Believe in your success. And let your vision of WHAT CAN BE guide you higher and higher beyond the norm of what has been.

 

 

We last saw this card almost exactly two months ago. It’s always a fortunate card to turn up — and it usually shows up not a moment too soon! [So, by the way, what were you up to around February 20, and how might that energy be cycling back into your life now?]

Obviously, this card betokens its own name: Strength, as well as courageand vitality. Plus magnanimity − both toward you and emanating from you – [so feel free to send your favorite Tarot reader a beautiful and rare European antique-anything-expensive. Thank you.] [This smarmy message brought to you by the committee to help Neal look and live more like a grownup.] The card can also indicate perhaps the most perfect light touch of luck.Yesssss! Puleeeeeeze!

Really pretty good stuff, then. So TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT! ALL!! OF!! IT!!!! [Otherwise what are you reading this for?]

Where was I?

[Come to that, Who was I?]

 

Dear, Sweet Apollo on a tricycle!

 

Sigh…

The Strength card is one of the most utterly positive cards in the deck. And it does offer a few useful, specific recommendations.

It is very important that you do not underestimate your physical and emotional strength at this time, or doubt the power and durability of your connection to Universal Life Force – God, Spirit, The Big G, Mr. Dylan, Lady GG, Peter O’Toole, der Cheney-Fuhrer or Whatever-You-Name-It.

In other words, don’t down yourself out or assume less of yourself than you may actually be able to handle. If opportunities come, REACH! If challenges come, PUSH BACK! Don’t just crawl under the bed and hide.

Believe in your ability to succeed and to attain that which you most desire, particularly in areas of physical healing and achievement and/or emotional connection and healing.

Draw on your inner strength, which is greater than you may give yourself credit for. So haul that butt up from under the bed.

Right now!

I mean it.

We’re all waiting.

 

Come on…

Now!

Much better.

Like many of us, you may need to begin investing some ongoing effort toward actually identifying and functionalizing your connection to your inner strength. Our culture ain’t so good about that, unless you have forced yourself to march to the same “inner drummer” as everybody else. Get to know your OWN connection to Source, and work with it.

We have in us the brilliant, beautiful and eternal power of stars. It’s up to us to find and focus it.

Anna-Marie Ferguson, creator of the Legend deck, feels this card indicates having the strength and vitality to realize one’s goals, and also ambition tempered with serenity – a gentle yet full strength.

When I work with clients, I advise them about an additional level of meaning to this card in this particular deck. I find this to be the card of the visionary – the individual who can see higher, farther, and deeper than others can.

Sometimes, even more important, this is the person who can see (distinguish clearly) the trees for the forest and the forest for the trees. So give yourself credit for being able to see things more clearly, and define things more accurately and truly, than the madding crowd around you.

Own your ability to be the visionary who can, as Robert F. Kennedy so beautifully put it, “…dream things as they never were, and say why not?” Or see things as they really are, and say, “Nuh-unh sucker! We don’t play that way NO MORE!”

Trust in your strength and draw on it. Manage it well when you must, but draw on it. Believe in your success. And let your vision of WHAT CAN BE guide you higher and higher beyond the norm of what has been.

Bright blessings, light, clarity and joy!

Quote for The Day: Some words have a power that has nothing to do with supernatural forces. They resound in the heart and mind, they live long after the sounds of them have died away, they echo in the heart and the soul. They have power, and that power is very real. ~ Jim Butcher

Today’s Whether: Mild goblins with intermittent nixies among the larger puddles. It is spring, after all.

On This Date: 1775 – American Revolution: The British advancement by sea begins; Paul Revere and other riders warn the countryside of the troop movements.

And: 1783 – Fighting ceases in the American Revolution, eight years to the day since it began.

Tarot Card ~ April 17

Seven of Swords

The Sword in the Stone

Fortune Cookie: Own your power and reveal it to the world. Be yourself. All of yourself. No ego. No apology.

This card used to show up just about monthly, and I thought of it as one of those cyclical reminders I’m grateful to see, because I think the information and direction in this card is SO tremendously important for all of us.

It last appeared around ten weeks ago, and I’m glad it’s back, because the clients who have turned this card in a reading, and really honored what it gives, have benefited tremendously.

So −

As I ask whenever this card comes up for us,

We all remember the story of the Sword In the Stone, right?

Well, sort of. Maybe. A bit. You think?

What’s important for our understanding of the Seven of Swords is to know that Arthurian legends contain at least two sword-in-the-stone stories.

This one takes place long after Arthur has become king, and involves the introduction of Galahad to the court of Camelot. It’s a story that has been known in and told with a number of variations.

Here’s the essence of the story as it has come to me in my own Shamanic journeying. [And stealing from various ancient sources.]

The Camelottish folk were all gathered for the Christian feast of Pentecost (or Whitsun ~ the 49^th/50^th day after Easter) when they saw a haayyyuuuuge red marble boulder come floating serenely down the river and right up to Camelot dock, as it were. Gleaming and protruding from said big red stone was an ornate sword so beautiful and magical it had an aura of its own.

In some versions of the tale the rock was engraved with the words,

“This sword shall only be pulled out by the Best of Alle Knightes.”

Of course, pretty much every guy lined up to have a heave at it, jostling, grunting, bragging, swearing, betting, whooping, loudly discussing potency inducers, passing around bottles of Armor All, quietly discussing horseback hemorrhoid and chafing remedies ~ about what you’d expect of boys in chain mail in groups.

They all had a go. And failed. Failed flat. Game over.

Then a new, completely unknown young guy quietly walked up to the stone. Without a word, a hesitation or a glance in any direction, he took hold of the sword and pulled it from the stone like light piercing deep, clear water. He then simply turned, walked back up to the castle and took a seat at the Round Table.

Thus was Galahad’s presence and stature made known to all, and thus did he rightfully sit in the Siege Perilous, a seat at the Round Table so strictly reserved for the Best of Alle Knightes that it was fatal to anyone else who sat in it. (There were beefcake bimbos who tried. Of course.)

Which brings us to the interpretation of the Seven of Swords. [You did trust I’d get around to it eventually, didn’t you?]

Traditional readings of this card are pretty much downers, with words like “dishonor,” “futility,” and “lone wolf” tossed about. Some readers talk about a person who is intelligent but unorthodox [that would be me], or suggest that it recommends vigilance against unexpected danger.

Me, I see wonderful and positive things in this card, especially as it is portrayed in the Legend deck. Anna- Marie Ferguson, creator of the deck, by the way, sees it as betokening inspiration, enthusiasm, and the instilling of hope, faith and strength.

[Anybody out there NOT up for that? If so… GET HELP. Now. NOW!]

When I work with a client and we turn this one up (and it’s amazing how often it shows up in the career section of a reading), I say,

“Own your power.

Own.

Your.

Power.

Own it WITHOUT EGO

but also WITHOUT APOLOGY to anyone.

Be yourself.

All of yourself.

Be who you really are.

And get going at it.”

The Seven of Swords indicates that it’s truly time for you to own your skills, abilities, gifts, potentials, intentions ~ your POWER ~ and let yourself begin to move in a new direction with new purpose.

Now that we are into the early days of spring, with all its unique magics, opportunities and challenges it is good to remember this:

we honor our Creator and The Earth by becoming more and more who we truly are for the highest and best of all.

Own your power. Reveal it to the world. No ego. No apology.

Bright Blessings!

Quote for the Day: Hope is a force of nature. Don’t let anyone tell you different. ~ Jim Butcher

Today’s Weather:Wild ocarina salad. Slabs of notes, a creamy side of glissando. Courage in the song. Play!

On This Date: 1397 – Geoffrey Chaucer tells the Canterbury Tales for the first time at the court of Richard II.

In celebration! [Sorta.]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE0MtENfOMU

Tarot Card ~ April 16

Two of Shields

Castle Pendragon

Fortune Cookie: Honest and open dialogue is important today. So is networking. Get out and meet new people. Make new connections for your potential benefit.

 

We last saw this card just a few weeks ago. So it’s back in part to remind us that what we were working on then is still important. [Or if we kinda ignored the issue last time around, to get off our… Well, you get the idea.] Let me reemphasize that networking and communications might be kinda sorta important all the time. So please keep that in mind DAILY. [Reader gets down off soap box. Replaces soap. Carries back to warehouse from which it was pilfered. Makes note to be taller next lifetime.]

Some readers see this card as betokening recreation. [So do take at least a little time to celebrate something today, if you please.] Others find it to be about receiving news in writing. Some say it indicates that the querent is juggling a lot of things at the moment, and must work to keep things on an even keel. [‘Scuse me. Anybody NOT experiencing that? Anybody? I dare you to admit it!]

Anna-Marie Ferguson, creator of the Legend Tarot, writes of successfulhandling of fluctuating fortunes, employing creative maneuvers and the reevaluation of plans.

So, dear readers [y’all], if any of those things resonate for you based on what you’re experiencing lately, or expect to experience in the near future, by all means take advantage of this card’s confirming insights and make some skillful moves on your own behalf. Don’t sit there like a deer in the headlights!

 

In working with clients over a number of years, I find a couple other recommendations to be useful when this card comes up.

First, it shows up as a card about networking. Get out and meet new people, learn about them and have them learn about you. Do. Not. Hide. [Tarot guy grumbles and throws things at the monitor. Then realizes HE’S the one who just typed that.]

On a deeper level, it’s a card about honest and open dialogue. You must speak your truth − calmly, calmly if possible – directly to those who need to hear it and/or those who can help you follow through with what your truth requires. But then you must ALSO patiently, quietly, compassionately listen to the responses of the person you have addressed, and take their honest words into serious consideration.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly for all of us at any time, this is

The card of

the Kozmic Giggle.

[That’s the aspect portrayed in the Legend deck. When Uther, Arthur’s father, came to possess Castle Pendragon, he felt it was hard to defend. He and his chaps dug a moat and diverted the River Eden to fill it, to help make the place harder to get into. Well, long story short, the River just wasn’t having any, and each morning Uther found the river running exactly where it always had. He eventually accepted the situation, laughed at how the Kozmos will have its own joke, even on a king, and went on to work on other things.]

So it’s also a card that counsels us to retain a sense of humor when done in by mishaps. And even in a loving universe [and despite our best efforts], there will surely be some!

 

 

 

 

 

 

See?

So network. Engage compassionately in honest and open dialogue. And try to keep it light!

Brightest blessings!

Quote for the Day: If we don’t succeed we run the risk of failure. ~ J. Danforth Quayle

Today’s Waethyr: A great Kozmic hickey. Defend and heal yourself with Entenman’s Intergalactic Multiplanar Wow-I-Just-Saw-God brownies.

On This Date: 1178 BC – The calculated date of king Odysseus‘ return home from the Trojan War. [I know it’s true because you can buy his old boarding pass on eBay. With a certificate of authenticity and everything.]

Tarot Card ~ April 15

Four of Spears

La Cote Male Tale & Maledisant

 

Fortune Cookie: What is your perfect marriage?  What steps will it take to get you there?  How can you begin, at least with a baby step, today?

 

 

 

 

Okay, kids.  That’s two days in a row.  Do ya think MAYBE the universe is offering a wee tiddly-taddly suggestion that the energy and wisdom this card offers might be of some value to YOU?

   

In most Tarot decks, the Four of Spears would be seen as a card of harmony, prosperity, happy social occasions and perhaps even romance.  So, although this is a Thursday, I hope you will find a way to have all that on tap for today, or at least for this evening. By all means go after them… in any way that won’t get anybody arrested.  

When I’m working with a client, I tend to perceive the card as having a stronger energy than those attributes listed above, wunnerful though they are.  In fact, I feel this card makes makes a pretty powerful demand on the person I’m reading for. 

Because of Anna-Marie Ferguson’s illustration for this card in her Legend deck, and the story it portrays, I call it “The Card of the Perfect Marriage.” 

If I were reading for you − as I am just this sec, no? [now that I’m sober enough to think of it] [Wait… Am I?  Uhhh…  Guess I must be.  Okay.] – I’d suggest you take a few minutes this weekend for a good, hard, close look at all the major areas of your life, especially the ones that register as REALLY important to you just now – whether business, spiritual path, health, and yeah, even relationship – and ask yourself honestly:

What would it take — from everyone involved — to help the situation so that it can evolve into a “perfect marriage?”  Or, what will it take to be honest with yourself and accept that a perfect marriage in said area really-prob’ly-utterly-just-ain’t-gonna happen?  And what are all the implications either way?

 

And remember that, at least as it is represented archetypally,marriage is a coming together of opposites. 

 

So think about how something that seems completely the opposite of what you’d normally expect — or would normally want to try or would normally think could succeed — might create the harmony, the prosperity, the health, the partnership, the opportunities, the “perfect marriage” you seek.

 

In the areas of your life most important to you today: What is your perfect marriage?  What steps will it take to get you there?  How can you begin, at least with a baby step – perhaps in an unusual way or unusual direction – today?

 

Bright blessings and happy realizations!

Quote for the Day: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a sane employee in possession of his wits must be in want of a good manager. ~ Charles Stross, from The Fuller Memorandum 

 

Toady’s Whether:  Wee tiny reticulated… thingies. Saint Misbehavin. Winkly prisms.  

On This Date: 1923 – Insulin becomes generally available for use by people with diabetes.

And: 1452 – Leonardo da Vinci is born.