What Tarot Can Do For the World

This morning I asked, “What can Tarot do for the world?” I wanted to know if Tarot had anything to offer us in the 21st Century. By us, I don’t just mean tarot lovers; I mean the world at large and people in general. I wanted to know if Tarot could save the world.

The answer I got, drawn from the Aquarian Tarot, was the Seven of Pentacles. Which is such a perfect answer if you think about it. The Seven of Pentacles is the pause button. Tarot gives us the opportunity to pause, to evaluate our lives. I have spent the past six, almost seven months, stuck on play (occasionally on fast-forward). I’ve had very little time for Tarot. Almost every day I have questions I’d like to ask but don’t. Instead, I just get on with things that need doing, leaving the questions unanswered.

Having an unanswered question or two doesn’t sound so bad. What that really means, however, is that I daily have thoughts and feelings that go unexamined. I repeat the same mistakes because I don’t make time to understand why I’m messing up or to work out how I can do better. I’m making big, huge, major decisions – moving house, finding childcare for my daughter, falling out with my parents – without sitting down to consider how I really feel. I am being swept along by my life instead of stepping out ahead of it.

I’m not saying I need tarot cards to tell me how I feel. But when I sit down to do a tarot reading some kind of switch goes off inside. It’s the intention: by taking the time to do a tarot reading and putting the rest of my life on pause I’m saying this – this issue, this situation – is important to me. It matters enough to warrant careful consideration. Without tarot cards, I may think endlessly about the same problem, but not in the same way. I think in circles. I might think about it as I’m washing up, bathing the baby, cooking dinner, working, but without Tarot I don’t have an excuse to sit still and only think. Tarot takes the problem out of my head and spreads it in front of me. It freezes it so I can walk around it, look at it from all angles, see what’s really going on. It’s these moments of stillness in life that allow me to check my progress, to make sure I’m still on the path I want to be on.

In the 21st Century, everything moves at the speed of light. Tarot gives us the opportunity to slow down – not to stop, but to pause, check where we’ve been and where we’re heading, and make navigational adjustments if necessary. Or, as Ferris Bueller says:

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

And that’s what Tarot can do for the world.

Uncertainty Spread

Last week I got the Tarot of the Imagination, an OOP Lo Scarabeo deck. It’s very colourful, very striking, but also a little odd, a little foreign to me. Reading it, I think, requires me to “suspend my disbelief” – a term used frequently in my Theatre Studies classes way back when in school. “Theatrical” is a good word to describe it; “impressionistic” is another. The images were painted/chosen to suggest a mood – as such they often veer wildly from typical RWS depictions. It’s a challenge for me as my reading style is very logical.

A few days ago I wanted to try a reading with it. The situation I was reading about was a nebulous, shifting situation. My thoughts kept going round and round in circles, bouncing from hope to fear to sadness to optimism and from question to question to question, without finding any answers. I needed to impose some sort of order to do a reading but didn’t know where to start so I came up with a new spread, one designed specifically to loosely hold the impressionistic images of this deck.

It seems like it would be a useful spread for any time you need to try and pin down a confusing situation.

The position meanings are:

1 – THE DREAM, what I hope for the situation

2 – THE NIGHTMARE, my fears for the situation

3 – THE PAST, where the situation has come from

4 – THE FUTURE, where the situation is going

5 - REALITY, what I need to accept is true about the situation

6 – FICTION, what I need to realise is false

7 – THE PATH, the way out of the situation

Hudes – 5 of Pentacles

Thinking about this reading, two things have struck me about the Hudes 5 of Pentacles today.

The first is that the stained glass window appears to contain an Escher-like optical illusion. Look closely and you will see that snow has settled on both the lower sill and the upper arch. Yet if you look even closer it seems that the lower sill recedes, which means there should be no upper arch for the snow to rest on. Did the artist knowingly include this? To me, it suggests something about this card. Pentacles, the suit of Earth and the physical realm, combines here with the number five, which challenges, disrupts, and breaks the box. In this optical illusion, we see something that is physically impossible. It challenges our perception of the world; it hints that there is more to life than what can be touched and held. It’s significant that this optical illusion appears in the stained glass window of a church as it introduces a magical or spiritual element to an otherwise mundane scene.

The second is the two figures at the bottom of the card. The central figure – the figure in grey – looks miserable. He is huddled, clutching his cloak tight against the cold, and his face bears a pained expression. The figure in brown is different: her head is only slightly bowed and the expression on her face is calm. Her closeness to the grey man and the positioning of her body suggests to me that she is guiding him, perhaps with a hand placed gently on his arm or back that we can’t see. The grey man is so wrapped up in his misery that he doesn’t even seem to know the brown woman is there. It’s as if she’s his guardian angel, invisibly supporting him in his time of need. It reminds me of the “Footprints” poem, where God says, “During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”

Feb 1 – Feb 7

As I don’t seem to have time to draw daily cards at the moment – let alone think or write about them – I thought I’d try this: a 3-card reading for the week ahead which I can think about and write about in dribs and drabs (maybe).

I used the Hudes, which is my Deck of the Month for February. I’m warming to this deck day by day.

1 – Opportunities – 5 of Pentacles

2 – Challenges – Page of Swords

3 – Advice – 9 of Swords

Thoughts on this to follow (hopefully)!

Daily Drawing With Intent

I keep changing my mind about daily draws. Lately, I’ve got into the habit of drawing a card in the morning but I tend to draw it blind. That is, I don’t ask a question or ask for advice for the day or anything like that. I just draw a card at random “to ponder on”. As you might expect, this has mixed results.

I’ve tried drawing daily cards for advice in the past but either a) I spend most of the day trying to figure out what particular situation the card is giving me advice for, or b) I go through my day thinking very little about the card and forget to follow its advice!

Anyway, as I was walking the dog this morning, it occurred to me that I could be using this daily card a bit more constructively. My idea was to decide what it is I want to achieve that day. It might be something practical such as complete a particular task at work or make some progress on my book. Or it could be something less tangible like be supportive of a family member. I guess it could also be something negative, like “I don’t want to waste so much time clicking around forums today”. Then I draw a card to give me advice on how best to go about achieving my goal for the day.

I quite like this idea. It’s less random than a random daily draw, and it makes me ultimately responsible for the content of my day. As well, since I’ve been doing this Deck of the Month doo-dah thing, I’m invariably using a deck I’m not that familiar with so this method of “drawing with intent” gives me a better chance of getting to know the deck. I find it much easier to understand what a card’s telling me if I have some kind of context in which to interpret it.

Okay, so let’s put this to the test shall we? Today is a lovely sunny Sunday in December and now the work stuff and chores are out of the way, I’ve got the rest of the afternoon and evening to spend however I like. So what do I want to achieve today? Well, at the forefront of my mind is the fact that baby is now 8 days overdue. I’ve got a hospital appointment tomorrow where I’m sure they’re going to start talking about ways to hurry things along and that makes me nervous. What I really want to do today is try to relax and regain the patience and “what will be, will be” attitude I had a few days ago. What will the Lunatic Tarot advise?

King of Wands

Well, I have to admit…I was expecting something a little more calming. But this makes sense. The reason I’m starting to panic is that I feel the consultant I’m seeing tomorrow is going to steamroller me. I feel that they’re going to start dictating what needs to happen and when, whereas I still want to allow more time for baby to arrive when she’s ready. The King of Wands tells me that I need to retain authority over my personal realm, i.e. my body and my baby. They can’t make me do anything I don’t want to so I need to go in there with my own ideas and not be afraid to be assertive. This king looks very sure of himself and very much in control. Also, with his red hair and white beard, he doesn’t seemed concerned about going against the grain.

Whilst this might sound like a reading about what to do tomorrow, it does help me today. If I’m confident that nothing will happen tomorrow that I don’t want to happen, then I’ll be able to put any worries out of my mind today.

A (Rather Hesitant) Prediction

Well, this is an apt post to follow the last one. I don’t usually go in for trying to predict what might happen or when but in a moment of weakness on Sunday, as I was shuffling my new Lunatic Tarot, I wondered when baby might put in an appearance. And so I drew a card…

The card I drew was the 4 of Wands. The image is based on the familiar Rider-Waite scene but drawn in the unmistakeable Lunatic Tarot style. At the very top of the card there are four stick-like trees, and next to that are two figures and a castle-like building. A long, straight path leads from the trees all the way down to the bottom of the card.

To me, this card is predicting baby will arrive this Thursday – the 4th of December. I usually associate Wands with days (because of the link with the element of fire, and therefore the sun). And Thursday is four days away from Sunday, which is when I drew the card. There’s also the rather obvious correlation of four with the 4th.

Okay, so it’s shaky at best, but as I said I don’t usually do this type of reading. I thought I’d post it here though for fun and giggles, to see if anything comes of it. (Because, of course, if it does turn out to be correct, no one will believe me if I say so after the fact.)

Watch this space…

Lunatic Birthday Reading

For my birthday this week, Hubby gave me the beautiful Lunatic Tarot. This is going to be my Deck of the Month for December and, although December’s still a couple of days away, I didn’t see any point waiting to get stuck in. So I did a birthday reading, using this spread I created for Tarot Stripped Bare:

Much as I really like the Lunatic Tarot, I’ll be honest and say there are some cards that don’t seem to have much to offer interpretation-wise, at least at first glance, and two of those cards came up as the first two cards in this reading. On the other hand, there are plenty of cards – like the 3 of Pentacles – that have a fresh take that offers new insights into the card’s meaning. I think my main challenge with this deck over the next month will be to glean something from those cards that don’t give much away.

Anyway, onto the reading…

LAST YEAR – THE MOON
This card shows a girl in Victorian-style dress in front of a large, yellow crescent moon. In my mind, she’s standing on a rooftop, although there’s nothing really in the image to base that on. The girl’s facial expression is perhaps the most telling part of the image – her mouth is turned down at the corners and she looks rather forlorn and lost. The sky behind the moon is mottled and cloudy, which could be a nod towards the idea of “confusion” that’s ordinarily associated with this card.

Depiction aside, I understand why this card would come up to represent the last year for me. The Moon is not a card I usually draw for myself but it has come up several times over the last few months, since I’ve been pregnant. Understandably, pregnancy can be a confusing time, full of unfounded fears and worries, a time of hormones and mysterious changes in the body. It’s also a wonderful, magical time which signals entry to a strange, sometimes bewildering but also enchanting new world. So I’m taking that to be what this card stands for here, even though the image itself doesn’t really seem to relate.

LET GO OF THIS – 3 OF WANDS
This card shows a long-haired man standing in front of two wands. The third wand is barely visible as he’s holding it on the other side of his body. His head is bowed and I can just about make out a cross on his chest. Some kind of bird – a dove, maybe, or perhaps a bird of prey - perches on the left-most wand. That’s about it.

I’d usually associate the 3 of Wands with forging ahead on new projects, being pro-active, creative and visionary. Yet there’s really nothing in this card to link with those meanings. In fact, the image seems to suggest almost the opposite as the man’s posture is like that of a soldier on patrol. Along with his bowed head, the cross and the straps on his clothing, the image seems to speak more of conformity. I really don’t like diverting so far from an accepted meaning though – not without good reason anyway.

Usually, with a card like this where I’m really not sure what the deck creator was getting at, I’d turn to the LWB for a clue, but this is the first deck I’ve ever owned that didn’t come with an LWB – not even a Chinese one. So what’s a girl to do? If anyone has any thoughts on this card (or any of the cards in this reading), please feel free to comment.

GIFT – 10 OF WANDS
This card is thankfully not so oblique as the previous two. It shows a young man, again with a cross on his t-shirt (I think it’s a common symbol in this deck), holding ten wands or, rather, a bundle of long sticks. He is weighed down by them, leaning back so much that it looks like he’s about to be blown over by a gale-force wind. It seems impossible for him to move forward any more. In fact, it’s hard to tell, but I think he’s being pushed back against a wall.

I’ll be honest, I’ve had better gifts…Then again, I think perhaps this card is being literal. My baby is now due so in terms of burden, I’m carrying around quite a big one! And ten also suggests the end of a cycle – the last big push (ha-ha) so I guess my gift is that my little burden of joy will soon be born.

If I were to think away from baby for a moment, to what other kind of “gift” this card could represent, I might be inclined to think of it as a challenge. Throw everything at me, so that I can prove to myself and others how I won’t crumble under pressure. Actually, that’s not really so far removed from having a new baby…the burden isn’t going to end with the birth. In fact, I’m pretty sure the burden’s going to get a lot heavier – so far, it’s been easy, but add in sleepless nights, dirty nappies and constant feeding and I’m probably getting warmer as to what gift this card is giving me.

EMBRACE THIS – 3 OF PENTACLES
In this 3 of Pentacles, the three people all have their backs to each other. There’s a guy in a top hat and monocle – he’s presumably the money. Then there’s a guy at the front in white with a cross tattoed on his face – I’m guessing he’s the lead singer of an 80s pop band. And then there’s a guy behind him – I’m not sure who he is, but he’s looking at the guy in front resentfully, so he must be the drummer. There seems to be a grudging kind of acceptance and teamwork. They each need the others in order to support what they want to do and achieve, but they don’t seem to particularly like each other or, at least, they don’t like being so reliant on each other.

This card seems to have a nice, straightforward message. And perhaps it helps to shed some light on the 3 of Wands as well. Looking at the 3 of Wands and the 10 of Wands together, both those figures are leaning backwards, trying to do it all on their own. Whereas the three figures in the 3 of Pentacles have a strong triangular formation and they are all standing upright. So what I need to embrace is the support and help of others so I don’t get overwhelmed. It sounds pretty obvious but I don’t particularly like accepting help so this will involve me having to let my guard down a bit.

NEXT YEAR – QUEEN OF CUPS
Well, this is nice isn’t it? The court cards in the Lunatic are not only very striking and very different to the rest of the cards in the deck, they are also very different to each other. Each one seems to express their individual personality perfectly. The Queen of Cups has a kind, open, sympathetic expression on her face, and her body language is very open too. Again, I think this has a very simple and obvious message. It’s easy to imagine how my Queen of Cupsness will be brought to the fore with having a new baby to look after and love.

So there we have it. Not bad for a first reading with a new deck.

Universal Fantasy – 4 of Wands

Universal Fantasy - 4 of Wands

I found this card quite depressing when I drew it this morning. It seems to be a very accurate visual representation of my life at the moment. The card shows some kind of structure – a building – high up on stilts, but the structure is very topsy-turvy and rickety-looking. It looks like one stiff breeze will send the whole thing crashing down like a house of cards. Several things in my life at the moment feel like they are held together with nothing more than some sticky-back plastic and chewing gum so this card seems rather apt.

Overall though I don’t think it’s intended to have such a bleak meaning. It’s supposed to represent the idea of completion – of a stage in the journey reached. So what that the building isn’t very sturdy – at least it’s finished. Someone’s even gone to the trouble of slapping a couple of laurel wreaths on it for a job (well) done. Meanwhile, two figures swoop between the stilts on giant blue birds. They may be celebrating or they may just be stopping by on a much longer journey.

The LWB is rather astute on this one: “A job is well done when all we have done is what needed to be done and no more.” So I guess this is actually quite an important message for me today. We’re very busy at the moment – entering the busy retail season and trying to finish some other big projects at the same time, all with the big baby clock ticking in the background. Every day feels like an uphill struggle just to clear the essentials – let alone make any headway in other things. Maybe this card is just telling me “it’s okay, you’re doing enough”. Or maybe it’s saying “do what you have to do to keep it together but don’t worry too much about everything else”.

Universal Fantasy – 8 of Cups

The 8 of Cups is another one of my favourite cards from this deck. It shows a young man mounted on a white bird. He is waving goodbye to a giant. The giant holds out his hands as if to say, ”Why are you leaving? Don’t go”.

On the floor are eight cups full of jewels and riches, presumably to show just how much the young man is leaving behind. But he doesn’t seem too bothered. He’s off to seek new adventure. Like the Littlest Hobo, he can’t stay in one place for too long. This has been one chapter in his life, that’s all, and as far as he is concerned, bigger and better things await.

The card actually tells two stories. That of the young man and that of the giant. The giant’s open hands make it look like he is releasing the young man, the way one would release a dove to the sky. Whereas the young man looks happy and excited, the giant seems heartbroken and seems to be losing someone he is very fond of. Now the giant is left with all the riches but is missing something far more valuable.

I like it from the giant’s point of view…it’s very poignant. Whilst the young man shows us someone who is moving on to pastures new - which is closer in meaning to the more “traditional” 8 of Cups – the giant represents the need to recognize when it’s time to let go. It’s hard to do, but something we are called on to do numerous times in our lives, especially the older we get.

It occurs to me that there is an (albeit tenuous) link between yesterday’s card and this one. The Ace of Swords raised the question of high ideals and perhaps could pose the question, “What high ideals are important to me and have I recently forgotten them?” The 8 of Cups raises the issue of priorities. Am I following my own path or am I letting myself be held back out of loyalty to someone or something else?

Universal Fantasy – Ace of Swords

My first daily draw with the Universal Fantasy is the Ace of Swords – one of my favourite cards in the deck.

A single sword is displayed in huge echoing halls. I can hear footsteps and silence. The sword points up, to high ideals, and is fixed to the wall. Truth is eternal? Yet displayed here, in this museum-like building, suggests that the sword represents an ideal that is difficult to aspire to in everyday life. It is like a relic of some great but long-forgotten empire. One can walk round it and admire it, but not hold it in one’s hands.