Tarot Card ~ May 16

The Hermit

Lancelot in Exile

Fortune Cookie: Find the pure and beautiful light within you, acknowledge it, engage it, and begin bringing it out as a gift to and a healing for the world.

We last saw this card in the beginning of October.

As I’ve said before whenever this card came up:

This would be a good time to remember that

~ each Tarot card hasmany facets to its meaning and

~ it can be important to tease out as many of the meanings as you can for yourself

~ including meanings that seem to contradict themselves

~ to get a sense of what you might need to be aware of on any given day

Is that sufficiently unclear?

Okay, let’s try it from another perspective.  As I have also said before:

There are lots of different Yous going on during even a single morning, let alone a whole day, a whole career, etc.

Although you perceive yourself to be pretty much the same from morning till night, and day in and day out,

~ You’re likely a very different person with the paper boy who leaves your paper perfectly where you want it [you remember what a newspaper is, don’t you?]

~ than you are with the cats who keep lovingly flopping on the movie reviews as you try to read them. 

~ And you’re a different person with them than you are with the partner who always manages to be just a few minutes later moving his/her car out of the way so you can head for work than you would like. 

~ And you’re different with her/him than you are with that whiney but important client who demands that you see her half an hour earlier than you see anyone else (and then shows up 45 minutes late).

~ or the lovely but dotty neighbor who always drives a bit over the edge of your lawn but gives you potted plants and flowers at least once a month, perhaps in apology

~ and the other neighbor who is wonderful but keeps throwing chum out for the zombies, who grab it and eat it on (and throw leftovers all around) your porch.  Yum!

See?  LOTS of different Yous.

And that’s not even on a day fraught with emotional charge, elevated hopes, escalated fears, fat, sugar and alcohol.  Oh, waitaminnit.  Mother’s day is over.

So what does that have to do with The Hermit?

Wait.

Wait.

Wait.

It’ll come to me. 

Wait.

Ummm…

Oh.  Yeah.

So…

As I’ve said before, you’d assume a card with a name like The Hermit would be pretty self-evident in its meaning, right?

Well, sort of. For once.  In this case, anyway.  I mean, if you’ve been aching for some alone time away from the madding crowd to recuperate, get grounded and centered, this is definitely your card of permission in that regard.  [So, yeah, you can tell your boss it was all Neal’s fault you didn’t show for mandatory fun with your coworkers at the company SpringFest Jelloshot Jeopardy Competition and Witch Hunt this afternoon.]  But be sure to createand take advantage of favorable energies if you let yourself have time and space for yourself today. [Don’t just hide under the bed.  Like I would.  Use the day of freedom fully and wonderfully! It will be valuable and helpful.]

But…

But, but, but, but, but!!!  The more specific applicability of The Hermit on any given day is that, when this card shows up in a reading, I’m most likely to say to a client,

Ah.  Yes. Hermit.

It’s time to go really deep within yourself and do some much needed soul-searching.

The intent will be to find the pure and beautiful light within you, acknowledge it, engage it, and begin bringing it out as a gift to and a healing for the world.

Please see whether you don’t really resonate to that aspect of the card today.  In fact, go out of your way to try to resonate with it.  It’ll help you get through the day.  And your vibe will probably help everyone else in the process.

By the way, this card can also indicate a meeting with a wise person.  So don’t let that slip by if you perceive a likely opportunity.  [Maybe you know, like, a pretty good, uh, Tarot reader or somethin’?  Or you could just buy a new Magic 8 Ball?  Or flippa coin.]

In any case:

Find your light.

Shine it in the world. 

Bright BRIGHT Blessings!

Quote for the Day: I don’t care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members.  ~ Groucho Marx

Today’s Weather: Rickenbangle jangles all over the leafyy freakin’ meads.  Mind the peonies.  And the leafy porch crawlers.

Text From Last Night: …do we own a ladder // …We do not. // …then how am i on the roof

Tarot Card ~ May 15

Queen of Spears

Dindrane

Fortune Cookie:  What is your unique personal sacred quest?  How can you recommit to it, know it more fully, and take a concrete step toward it today? How can you open to that in you which is compassionate, kind, healing, artistic, gentle, honorable, mystical – and let those qualities become the pillars of your strength?

We last this card on December 1.   

This is in fact such a valuable card for our world at this time, and congruent with what I’m seeing as a big need for many, many clients — it even turned up for a guy I read for late last week. I’m grateful to have it come ’round again.

Some readers find the Queen of Spears to be a dark, kind, friendly and honorable woman, or any person whose energy reflects those qualities.

Not. Even. Funny.

Nope.

Others see her as a person of deep spiritual strength, one who encourages the higher aspirations of others.  I like that.  Still others find her to be the archetypal shepherdess,  or one known for mysticism and visionary experiences.

Okay.  This one I can work with.

I perceive the Queen of Spears to be the card of the feminine sacred quest.  Although most people don’t know it or remember it – even the ones who have read Arthurian legends since childhood – there was one lone woman who was among those great seekers who traveled and quested for the Holy Grail.

She was Dindrane, Sir Percivale’s sister.  A princess and an anchoress − in Christianity, a woman who chooses to withdraw from the world to live a solitary life of prayer − she was a most helpful spiritual director, motivator and advisor to the only knights who did in fact ultimately achieve the Grail quest. 

In our culture, as in most cultures over the past 5,000 years, it is generally the guys who go off questing, pursuing the sacred, etc., etc., etc. blah, blah, blah.  Or at least it’s the fellas whose stories get told.  Time for that to change, and also time for us  penile Americans to aspire to, embrace and foster the divine feminine.

?

  ??

I may weep.

Sigh.

Although, now that I think about it…

Nemmind.

THEREFORE today, and throughout the remaining month of spring at the very least:

Ladies: each of you, what is your unique personal sacred quest?  How can you recommit to it, know it more fully, and take a concrete step toward it today?

Gentlemen [and I use the term loosely]: how can you open to that in you which is congruent with the energy of the Divine Feminine — compassionate, kind, healing, artistic, gentle, honorable, mystical – and let those qualities become the pillars of your strength?

Today, mind!

Bright blessings and the touch of the beautifully and deeply sacred!

Quote for the Day: The fey wonders of the world only exist while there are those with the sight to see them. ~ Charles de Lint

Today’s Weather: Sparkling fairydust and windhorse stallions. Deep blue seasprites.

Text from Last Night:  …ramen still too hot to eat …eating it anyway …stoner dude feel no pain

Tarot Card ~ May 14

Seven of Shields

Castle Of Wonders

Fortune Cookie: Find a goal that is worthy of your efforts.  Know what it is, and why you have chosen it.  Keep pushing once, twice, AS MANY TIMES AS IT TAKES till the opposition is eliminated or finally just gives up and goes away.  And know that your most beautiful dreams can come true.

Hmmm…  mmmm…  Mmmmmm…  Last saw this card in August.  It is in fact a timely card, especially for one client who drew it earlier this week.  And for me, as it emerges…

Let’s cut to the chase on this one.  It’s a card that says (in my perception)

Try, TRY, TRY AGAIN!

And it’s a good card right now, I’m thinking, when people may be experiencing some Holy **** how-did-it-get-to-be-May-already?-type confusion and even depression and maybe some fatigue ~ compassion fatigue, rain AND drought and cold fatigue, baseball  fatigue,  perpetual Kardashian fatigue, trying to send healing & light to the crazies fatigue, trying to send healing & light to yourself fatigue, recession fatigue, mild end of recession maybe fatigue, Ohcrap!I’vegotthefluagain fatigue, my boss is a twit fatigue, life sucks fatigue, Neal drones on and on like an old goat  fatigue ~ whatever.

Well, too bad.  Because, you see, the potential for you to experience goodness and goodies far beyond your brightest hopes is right there in front of you IF you screw up your courage and connect with your dreams and 

Try, TRY, TRY AGAIN!

[Do I need to do that lunacy one more time, or have I made my point?]

The Seven of Shields in my deck is a card that requires a Nealio’s sprained-bashed-and-mangled faerystory version of the legend behind the card.

So listen to da ol’ storytellah here:

[Hmmmm…  That IS the haircut I had through most of the 70s. Gawd.]

As usual, my version of the story may be a bit different than what you will find in some — if not most — Arthurian mythologies.  And my interpretation of the card veers a bit from the norm as well. So, depending on what you can best handle at the moment, grab a mug of hot something, a bottle of whatever, a hookah or a few of those cute little mushrooms the seven dwarves used to sell on market day, and away we go!

Sir Gawain found himself in hot pursuit of an outlaw knight.  He chased the cur over hill and dale [sorry yet again, Dale] until at length the outlaw rode into the courtyard of a great castle, and then right into the great hall of the castle itself.

Gawain galloped on in hizownseff.

As Gawain entered the hall, he began being pelted by a huge indoor storm of sleet,  iceballs and stones.  Being a prudent man, Gawain reined in his worthy steed, thinking, “Hmm….  ‘There’s more here than meets the eye,’ as Ringo once said. Or will have once said some day. Maybe I better just go back and tell the lads I lost track of the blighter, and I’ll hunt him down another day.”

But being a brave soul and one of the leading lights of the flower of chivalry that was Camelot, he pulled himself together and said, “Nay then. ’Tis my quest, and meet it is that I pursue it come what may.”  Or something with a bit more testosterone and fewer letters. Beginning with F and ending with T. And he began pushing his way through the storm.

At which point the storm simply stopped. 

And he found himself confronted by an entire army, blocking the path of pursuit.  Again he took pause, thinking, “This here is some weirdness here, y’all kin bet ready money on that!  Maybe it’d be better to jist come back another day and see wossup then.”  But again, he screwed up his courage [see verbiage above], pulled out his trusty sword and launched himself against the foes.

At which point they disappeared.  Ha! Hahaha!!

Only to be replaced by a huge lion and griffin who – um, which?  Nah, who − blocked his way.  This time Gawain really took a step back, thinking, “Okay.  Look, magic is one thing, but this is getting ridiculous.  I could end up a hot steaming lunch here.  And, they’re protected species, aren’t they?  I’m just not gonna.…   I’m not….  Aw, bugrit!”

And again he remembered his quest and his solemn vow to his droogies from the Round Table, so he pushed forward, hard.  The lion and griffin disappeared.

And as Gawain moved forward into the center of the immense hall, A GREAT MAGICKE occurred.  There was a shimmer, and a shine, and a wrinkle in reality.  It became a doorway into a realm of wonders, goodness and healing.  It was a place which offered many amazing, magical things, along with major cash and gems, which the goodlye Knighte gathered up and took back for the benefit of Camelot.    

So, what has that got to do with the card?

I thought you’d never ask.  [Just like you thought I’d never finish that damn story.]

Okay, some readers see the Seven of Shields as betokening money, business and barter.  Other say it means it’s time to re-evaluate one’s Mission Statement.  Anna Marie Ferguson, creator of the Legend deck, writes of treasures, bounty, persistence and the steady, methodical removal of obstacles[some of which may be in-laws, coworkers or bonehead politicians, I’d guess].

When this card shows up for a client, I’m likely to say,

Okay.  What it comes down to now is

~ knowing what you’re really going after, and

~ why, and

~ refusing to give up.

You may feel overmatched, overwhelmed, afraid and even a tad hopeless.  But if your goal is REALLY important to you, remember what it is, screw up your courage, dig in your heels and push back or push on.  Hard!

Hard!

And if you really have chosen a goal that is worthy of you, and important to you, have faith in yourself.  You will succeed beyond your brightest dreams.

Find a goal that is worthy of your efforts.  Know what it is, and why you have chosen it.  Keep pushing once, twice, AS MANY TIMES AS IT TAKES till the opposition is eliminated or finally just gives up and goes away.  And know that your most beautiful dreams can come true.

Bright blissings and great wonders!

Quote for the Day:  Not everything has to mean something. Some things just are.~ Charles de Lint

Today’s Weather: Great gingy garglers of boggly wallah. Wind dancers.  Abdominal snow…persons. Borecole.

Text From Last Night:  …its mothers day, and I woke up with 12 bar stamps on my face …holding blood orange juice and a box of mylanta gas… this can not be happening…

Tarot Card ~ May 13

Eight of Cups

Chapel Perilous

Fortune Cookie: Refuse to be confined, repressed, dimmed by anything or anyone – especially yourself!

Boy… This really IS a Monday kinda card. 

It last popped up for the blog almost exactly five months ago to the day.  It’s one that has a lot of helpful direction to it.  It is, however, another one of those cards that sets clients awhimperin’ just from the visuals.  [Except for those who are superGoth.  They still always ask for directions so they can find the place.  And whether there is an app for the thing. And where they can buy ‘shrooms.  And GOOD eyeliner.]

Anyway…

The card, you see, (at least in the deck I use) portrays a wayfaring knight who has ridden into a lonely chapel to protect himself and his steed from a furious storm. He notices that the altar is without any adornment, save for a large, brightly flaming   candle. As he waits, and drips, he sees a giant, clawed, monstrous hand reach in through the window high above the altar and make to extinguish the light.

What a swell and encouraging image.  Yes?

Anyway, some readers believe the Eight of Cups conveys either turning away from felicity and celebration, or the exact opposite [I guess it depends which side of bed the Tarot reader fell out of that morning].  Others believe this is a card that calls for the querent (questioner) to look for a deeper meaning in life; it betokens a time for soul searching. [Preferably without the distraction of a giant, clawed, monstrous hand, would be my guess.]

Anna-Marie Ferguson, creator of the Legend deck, finds this card to be about abandoning a path, a change of plans, and escaping an unhealthy situation, among other things.  I can work with those meanings, and if you feel that applies to your life in any way at the moment, please take the insight to heart.

Of course, I have my own particular take on the card.  When it turns up for a client,  once I have gotten them to calm back down from the impact of the visual, I usually say things like

~ Do not let anyone or anything – especially yourself − put a bushel basket over your light.

~ Do not allow anyone or anything – especially yourself or your perception of your self − hold you under its thumb.

If necessary:

Leave.

Move.

Go elsewhere. Hastily.

Try something else.

Reach out for other options.

Rework your priorities and take life from there.

SET YOURSELF FREE!!!

So:

Today, refuse to be confined, repressed, dimmed by anyone or anything – especially yourself!

Bright blessings and an open path to your true self!

Thought for the Day: I’m sorry, if you were right, I’d agree with you. ~  Robin Williams

Today’s Weather: Snatches of bander, semi-colon, the frumrious sort, period.

Text from Last Night:  …best part about drinking boxed wine… you can blow up the bag and use it as a pillow…

Tarot Card ~ May 12

Justice

Lady of the Lake

 

Fortune Cookie: Know what is just, equitable, honorable, hopeful and balanced.  Use that as your guide. Work firmly, calmly, directly but in a balanced way toward that today.

 

We last saw this card in October.  And it’s a very interesting card for Mother’s Day in the US.

 

As ever, I like to begin my interpretation of this card with Richard Pryor’s famous quote,

 

“You go down there looking for Justice; that’s what you find: just us.”

 

And follow it with Lenny Bruce’s,

 

“In the halls of justice, the only justice is in the halls.”  

 

And then, I offer a picture of the Code Of Hammurabi   (one of the great milestones, no pun intended, in Earthly law) along with one of my favorite laws from the code, verbatim in translation:

 

If anyone brings an accusation against a man, and the accused goes to the river and leaps into the river, if he sinks in the river his accuser shall take possession of his house.     “Ummm…  Mr. Ryan?”

 

Simple, really.  

 

For those of you who actually NEED an explanation about a card entitled Justice, let’s just take a little look together.

 

‘Kayso:

 

Many readers would say something to the effect that Justice betokens equity, “rightness,” and justice in the consequences of past actions.

 

However, as Hamlet noted,

 

“Use every man after his desert, and who should ’scape whipping?” 

 

Fortunately, most of my clients STILL don’t own whips. And I continue to be grateful.

 

Other readers would say the card portends that a fair decision will be made in your favor. 

 

Or they might encourage us to remember that justice is intended to foster peace and order, not revenge. [Not an easy concept to keep in front of us these days. At all.]

 

Anna-Marie Ferguson, creator of the Legend deck I use, writes that the card bespeaks total honesty, just rewards, equal partnership and coming to agreement, among other things.

 

And me?  When Justice turns up for a client, I usually say something like,

 

Regarding the situation, first of all, be sure you treat all justly – including and especially yourself. 

 

Work toward a truly equitable solution or situation. You must not discount your needs and hopes, but neither may you let your goals be overbearing, overweening or overwhelming. Overandout.

 

Remember the ancient symbol of Justice is a scale weighing the balance of things.

So this is one of those cards that counsels:

 

Do what is necessary to keep yourself in balance, physically, emotionally, financially, spiritually, etc.  And seek outcomes that are balanced, harmonious, bringing peace of mind to all. Be confident such is possible — because it is.

 

Know what is just, equitable, honorable, hopeful and balanced.  Use that as your guide. Work firmly, calmly, directly but in a balanced way toward that today.

 

Bright, happy and balanced blessings! 

Quote for the Day:    No one is to be called an enemy, all are your benefactors, and no one does you harm. You have no enemy except yourselves. ~ Francis of Assisi

Today’s Weather: A mild presumptuous spumoni-like incantation.  Chomp!  [And an extra bit for Mum.]

 

Tarot Card ~ May 11

 

Queen of Swords

Morgause

Fortune Cookie: Be very strategic. Be clear about what you want, why you want it, the impact it will have on you and your world, and what it will take to attain your goal.  Then follow the plan that comes naturally from this knowing.

Hmm….  We last saw this important lady back in January.  So, as she’s here again, she must have sompin’ important for us to hear.  Y’know?

Besides, it’s always good to bear in mind the insights she offers. [I say that even though I’m an Aquarius, and the idea of doing anything logical, plan-oriented and strategic makes me look like I’m about to cough up a gerbil…. Make that two gerbils.]

This card certainly betokens being strategic in our lives and in our world – as I’ll talk about in a bit.  That could, if you let it, lead to the question, “What is the difference between strategy and tactics?”

[God knows, I confuse the two about every chance I get.  Which helps explain why I still drive an old Toyota instead of a new BMW, dunnit?]

Strategy is the big picture look at a problem, situation or goal.

It focuses on the sea-change-sized thing that needs to be achieved.  Defeating an enemy, preserving the ecology, earning a living as a Tarot reader − those are strategies.  Concepts like objective, maneuver and security are among the principles of strategy.  Sun Tzu’s The Art of War teaches strategy.

Tactics vary with circumstances, time and technology.

As I’ve written before when this card has appeared, if I were to guide you in marketing yourself as a Tarot reader for the eighteenth century, I’d suggest you get a beautiful snug little cart, paint it in wild and wonderful colors, and travel the roads from town to town to town in order to find new clients. And stay ahead of the sheriff.

If I were advising you to be a Tarot reader this year, I’d talk about blogs, e-books, web sites, apps, podcasting opportunities, corporations having you on retainer and maybe even securing sponsorships to help find new clients.  And stay ahead of the sheriff.

[As you probably suspect from this blog in general, I really do still think that snug little cart thing sounds pretty good.]

So, tactics present a small picture perspective where individual trees are in focus, and dealing with them one by one is the action. Strategy focuses on the big picture of the entire forest, and whether to preserve it, napalm it, or something in between.

Got it?

Goodie!

Me? I’m as lost as ever about this sh… material.

Where was I?

Oh.  Yeah.  Believe it or not, this all has to do with what the Queen of Swords would tell us about our day, and possibly our future.

As I always say to my clients,

I love the Queen of Swords.  If anyone ever crosses her, disappoints her or gets in her way, she doesn’t get mad.  She just has them beheaded.  ‘Nothing personal,’ she’ll say. 

(That is a tactic to eliminate an obstacle.  The strategy behind the tactic is to ensure that her reputation will precede her and scare absolute hell out of those who might think to oppose her, or mess her about in any way.  With a Queen of Swords, that usually works.)

The Queen is a master of BOTH strategy and tactics. And your ability to work –consciously — with strategy and tactics is what you are being asked to explore within yourself and your situation today.  The Queen is intelligent, and may in fact be a scholar or have a strong scholarly bent, especially when circumstances dictate she must. She will do what is necessary to learn what may be essential for her to succeed. 

So, if you need to learn something new beginning today, don’t resist.  Get started!  It will be worth your while.

Most importantly [at least as I have experienced this card in working with clients], if the Queen wants to get from point A to point B, she will take the time to clearly and accurately understand WHY she should do that (strategy), and determine every baby step necessary to move her from where she is to her goal (tactics).  Just as important, she will exert the will to hold herself to every single step.  She’ll take unexpected breaks if they come her way, but she’ll muster the grit to grind it out every inch of the way if she must.

So be clear about

~ what you want,

~ why you want it,

~ the impact it will have on you and your world,

~ and what it will take to attain your goal. 

~ Learn what may be necessary to help you succeed.

~ Then put yourself on the path to your goal. 

~ And if anyone gets in your way, don’t take it personal. 

   Just have ’im beheaded! 

[Ummm… I mean, just find a way to cut him out of the situation.  And keep on moving on.]

Bright blessings!

Quote for the Day: It’s wildly irritating to have invented something as revolutionary as sarcasm, only to have it abused by amateurs. ~ Christopher Moore

Today’s Weather:  Lyres of Ur with the odd Egyptian arghool, Arabian mizmar and atomic tambourine at midnight.  Blackberry butter. 

Taext From Mars: …woke up to a lot of blurry photos of a swan i must have chased …and a wallet full of gummi bears

Bumper Sticker of the Day

Tarot Card ~ May 10

Seven of Spears

Arch of Twelve Kings

 

Fortune Cookie:  What do you want?  What would your victory be?  Assume today is the day that you begin to move toward sure victory.

Okay, kids. This card last turned for us Way back in November.  So, I ask again, (and again, and again) most humbly (and more or less numbly)…

who’s not gettin’ their vik’try thing on?  Huh? 

I mean, lookey here… Reincarnation and all that is fine.  But, in this lifetime, you only GET this one lifetime to get what you wanna get. So GET IT! Know what it is, and GET IT!  Start.  Now!!!!!   

Grumble, grumble…

As I have said before, this is of those cards we should work with regularly to help us keep track of who we are and who we hope to be.  [Who? Whom? Whoeeeee cares?] It really is very helpful.  And so it’s back again.  [So know what you want, and GET IT!  Know what it is, and GET IT! Start. Now!!!!!] [Back Igor, back.  Down boy!  Down!]

Ahem.

The Arch referred to here is a monument created by Merlin’s magic in celebration of the defeat of twelve lesser kings who rebelled against Arthur early in his reign.

As I’ve asked before: do the twelve kings sound at all like the chaotic, nagging, self-defeating things we get stuck thinking about ourselves, our talents and abilities, even our lives?   Isn’t it wearying to find ourselves so often in rebellion against our higher and better selves?  What a waste of energy, time, peace of mind, hormones, talent and… energy!

So listen up, y’all!  I consider this to be the card of utter, total and complete victory.  It may be victory after a loooooooong, tedious and/or hard-fought series of challenges.  But it’s victory, absolutely, nonetheless.

Some readers indicate the Seven of Spears to be a card of bravery and success.  Anna-Marie Ferguson, creator of the Legend deck, says it speaks of promoting unity for the common good and gaining the confidence of others, among other things.  If any of those indicators fit what you’re trying to be about lately, assume you’ve been given a green light and MOVE!

As we look at what this card is prompting, let me ask this old chestnut:

If you were absolutely certain that you would

ultimately achieve the victory you want

− maybe after considerable time, maybe after considerable strategy and straining, heaving endeavor, maybe after having to release some things in order to ultimately gain what you want –

WHAT

DO YOU WANT?

WHAT

WOULD YOUR VICTORY BE?

~ How long are you willing to work toward it?

~ How long are you willing to go after it again and again and again?

~ How will you strategize for it?

~ With whom, and what will they bring to the table?

~ What endeavors will you put forth to achieve it?

~ What help will you seek, from Spirit and from those around you?

~ What would you give up, release, put aside to have it?

WHAT

DO YOU WANT?

What

would YOUR victory be?

Assume today is the magical day that

if you answer those questions honestly

if you answer those questions fully

and begin to put into play the elements

of your responses

you will move toward sure victory.

Bright blessings and victory!

P.S.  Just as a corollary:  What do you want to be remembered for one hundred years from now?

Quote for the Day:What is true of the individual will be tomorrow true of the whole nation if individuals will but refuse to lose heart and hope.  ~ Gandhi

(Dear Gandhi-Ji: from your lips to God’s ear. ~ Neal)

Today’s Weather: Slithey tovariches. Green tambourines.  And Linnets. Madeira.  Imaginal cells.

Text From Last Night: …you know you need to take better care of yourself when shaving reminds you of sheep shearing…

Tarot Card ~ May 9

Nine of Spears

Wind Harps of War

Fortune Cookie: Own and honor your intuition.  It’s one of the finest gifts Spirit offers humans. And let yourself explore whether there isn’t someplace better for you to reside ~ physically or philosophically.

Hmmm… A card we last saw… at the end of October. And useful for strategizing upon the turning of the seasons, at least as we find it in northern Ohio. 

Traditional interpretations of this card run along the lines of strength in preparedness for battle or strength in the opposition you will be able to mount if you choose to, delays, things like that.

In Legend, the Arthurian Tarot, Anna-Marie Ferguson finds such meanings as anticipating hostility, preparing for upheaval, outwitting an adversary, and foresight – the last two of course being my favorites.

For those of you of an historical bent, the objects depicted in this card were giant wind harps erected on the cliffs above Britain’s shores in anticipation of invasion.  These great instruments, when “played” by the sea winds would give forth the shrieks and howling of the guardian spirits of the land.  They would break the courage and disrupt the magic of invading forces.  I’m thinking of setting a few up around the outskirts of the liberal suburb in which I reside.  Or maybe I’ll just use some old Vox SuperBeatle amps playing George Carlin at full volume.

Nine of Spears as I perceive it has two principal meanings to guide you.

First, this card indicates

You have a very capable, solid

intuitive early warning system.   

It gives you good, actionable information in advance that there might be, for example, problems over the horizon on a particular project, or that a person is other than what he is presenting himself to be — in a way that ain’t good.

BUT, this card also says,

you’re most likely to second-guess yourself out of

honoring and thus using the very fine and helpful guidance you have received.

Stop that!  Right now.  Right.  Now.  NOW!!!

If you’re going to take the trouble to read a Tarot posting, I’d guess it’s because you find intuition to be a valid tool that can help in your daily affairs.  Well, if MY intuition is good enough, so is yours ~ or it can be, once you stop second-guessing yourself out of what you’ve been given and start trusting and working with your inner guidance.  So there! (Great.  Now I’m out of a job.)

Second, this card says

“Don’t get too comfortable where you are ‘living;’ you may choose to move.”

I put living in quotation marks because Nine of Spears doesn’t just mean that you may sell your cottage in Chagrin Falls and move to a condo overlooking Erie in Lakewood − although you might.

This card can also indicate a significant change or evolution in your personal philosophy, your spirituality, your career path or your understanding about what physical health means to you and what you must do to maintain or enhance it.

So, based on the two meanings of this card, keep an intuitive eye peeled for glimmerings of those kinds of insights and possible changes as they come your way beginning today.  And they will.

Own and honor your intuition.  It’s one of the finest gifts Spirit offers humans. 

And let yourself explore whether there isn’t someplace better for you to reside ~ physically or philosophically.

Bright blessings and blissings and all good things!

Quote for the Day:  There’s more magic in a baby’s first giggle than in any firestorm a wizard can conjure up, and don’t let anyone tell you any different. ~ Jim Butcher

Today’s Weather:  Maytime willows.  Mildish biosignatures. Intermittent Nureyevs, too.

Text From Last Night: …the real reason i can’t work… it’s thursday… i get really wasted and watch buck rodgers on thursday…

Tarot Card ~ May 8

Queen of Cups

Britannia

 

 

Fortune Cookie:  Keep an eye out for a wise, fair, caring woman who may be able to give you a hand.  Own your artistic and intuitive nature.  Honor and care for The Land, its creatures and its Spirit.  And have compassion – for others, yes, but especially for yourself.

This card last turned for us just about mid-December.  

And, especially in this

lastMinnitOMYGAWDIT’SSPRINGANDMY GARDENLOOKSLIKECATBARFSeasun,

can we all take a moment to honor the  “Yo!  Will you PLEASE just TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF FOR A BIT FOR A CHANGE?” message here?  Made sense ennytime, and makes extra sense for most of us now.  So… Pretty please?  With sprinkles?

 

Most readers respond to this card by predicting things like happiness, pleasure, or a good, fair, honest and devoted woman who will serve the querent − the person having the reading.  So if those things fit in with your needs, reach out for them; let yourself receive them.  And if you encounter such a person, by all means engage her now on your own behalf.

 

One reader finds this card embodies the nature of St. Clare − the founder of the Poor Clares – the feminine counterpart of St. Francis who embraced poverty, simplicity and service with great love and compassion for all.  Always an 

ideal worth espousing.

 

Anna-Marie Ferguson, creator of the Legend deck, sees the Queen of Cups as many beautiful and wonderful things, including an Otherworldly woman with a wealth of artistic ability who trusts her psychic abilities.  Also a poetic person of vision and intelligence.  So, by all means, EMBODY THOSE THINGS in yourself and your life.

Britannia is the Spirit of the Land of Great Britain, and (in my interpretation of this card) reminds us that we bear an obligation of loyalty to our land, i.e.,  to our environment and all the creatures who continue to live among us, as well as to those we have displaced in our creation of “civilization” and ecocatastrophes [which, on this planet, may well have become redundant]. So put out some goodies for the birds and squirrels for a change.

 

In working with clients over the years, I have also come to know the Queen of Cups as a card of compassion – especially compassion for the self.

 

One of the most persistent pop psychology tenets of the 70s went something like,

“You can’t reee-eee-eeeelly love anyone else unless you love yourself first.”

 

Well, I’ve found that this card cautions something like that.

 

When it turns up for a client, I remind them that, whatever may be going on in their life, it would be well if the whole magilla were seen and understood through the perspective of compassionate contemplation.

 

And, just as important, it is necessary to be compassionate toward the self during times of stress or turmoil.  That way, we’ll be more likely to take care of ourselves well enough to be an appropriately compassionate helper to others if/when we are called to.

 

So:

 

Keep an eye out for a wise, fair, caring woman who may be able to give you a hand.  Own your artistic and intuitive nature.  Honor and care for The Land, its creatures and its Spirit.  And have compassion – for others, yes, but especially for yourself.

 

Bright blessings and a beautiful, gentle day!

 

Quote for the Day: Compassion will cure more sins than condemnation. ~ Henry Ward Beecher

 

Today’s Weather:  Osiris, Mithra and Sugar Plum Fairy walk into a bar…

 

Text From Last Night: …her one night stand followed her to mass …this is too funny for real life

Tarot Card ~ May 7

 

King of Cups

The Fisher King

Fortune Cookie: Do your work.  Do it brilliantly.  But know that you must WITHOUT FAIL build in play time (as YOU perceive it), recovery time, recharging time in order to be fulfilled in your life, and in order to fulfill your promises to the world at this time.

Oopsie.  Just a tad late today.  SORRY!

We last saw His Highness almost exactly a year ago. An’ I s’pose I’m needin’ to pay a little attention, here fersure.

So, then…

 

A lovely, mellow and healing card. A card that reminds us to take time for and attend to healing. And a powerful card, too. 

The Fisher King is, according to Arthurian legend, the hereditary guardian of The Holy Grail, which has rested within his family’s castle for generations — if not centuries.  There are many versions of why he has the title, Fisher King; some of these old Celtic stories actually precede the Arthur legends by a long, LOOONG way.

Anyway, in my Nealio’s sprained-bashed-beatup-and-mangled faerystory version of what you need to know about him:

The Fisher King is a kind, brave, generous, creative and well-balanced ruler who has a mystical bent and a deep respect for the sacred –  which is hardly surprising.  After all, he is about as much A PART of the sacred himself as a person can be. So keep an eye out for such a person over the next few days. [You’ll probably find that he’s making plans to move to Austria. Or the Netherlands. Or Toronto, anyway.]

And see what you can do to emulate more fully those characteristics yourself. [Editorial comment:  Boy, could this country use a dose of THAT for the coming years.  Not being more “religious,” mind, but emulating more fully a kind, brave, generous, creative and well-balanced ruler who has a mystical bent and a deep respect for the sacred.]

         

Yep. Yep. Yep.

As if.

Anyway…

At one point, The Fisher King took a magical wound, a wound that was unhealing.  In some traditions, the characteristic of this unhealing wound would, in and of itself, mark him as a shaman, or at least shamanically inclined.

According to legend, the only time he was completely free of the wound’s ravaging pain was when he would go out alone in his little boat, fishing.  So he would do that at some point, if possible, every day − and then go back to his labors as guardian of The Grail.

And that begins to bring us back to the card itself.

When this card turns up for a client, I usually say something along the line of:

Look.  This is a period during which you’re going to be very busy. You’re probably going to have lots of responsibilities and have to go in a number of different directions all at once.

And you’ll care enough about it all to want to do it ALL really well.

So, from the outset, remember to be fair, kind and generous to those who work with you and those who are around you in your life.

Be brave about going after what you really need in order to be able to do things well, and about going after what will really be for the highest and best of all concerned.  [And make sure you have a good, honest, OBJECTIVE view of what that means.]

And remember to be fair, kind and generous to yourself as well. 

Plan from the beginning to build in – and use − specific, regular times for rest, recuperation, re-inspiration and whatever is necessary for you to be recharged, refilled and fulfilled. 

Do your work.  Do it brilliantly.  But know that you must WITHOUT FAIL build in play time (as YOU perceive it – for some of us, that’s a good, dream-filled nap), recovery time, recharging time in order to be fulfilled in your life, and in order to fulfill your promises to the world at this time.

Brightest blessings!

Quote for the Day:If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it’s not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever. ~ Dalai Lama

Today’s Weather: Mild and scattered periodic intermittence. Crusty old wizards.  Standing stones.

Text from Last Night: Okay… uhhh… more importantly… someone in a chicken costume just stepped in front of my car and started breakdancing…