Howarth-Olds gathered 22 Tarot luminaries and asked them each to write a letter to someone in the past. The letter was to be Tarot related, but beyond that, the sky was the limit.
After all the letters were written, she put them together in a very limited edition book, hand-made and absolutely gorgeous.
In the video below, Moore shows us the book, and reads the letter that she wrote, which wasn’t just to a figure from the past, but to a fictional figure from the past.
Moore wrote to Sherlock Holmes and told him that he’s a lot like the Tarot. And she makes a good argument. If he were ever alive, I’m sure he would agree with her.
I’d love to read the other letters too. The list of participants is impressive.
It’s a good time to get to work. Nothing exciting, just keep moving forward step by step. It’ll go a lot faster now that you’re seriously on your way.
Enjoy this building process. You’re making steady progress. If you keep moving like this, you’ll reach your goals soon.
And if you’re feeling a little dull because all you do is work, work and plan for more work, that’s okay. That’s what the energy is right now and you might as well go with it.
Creating stability is worth the effort. There’ll be plenty of time for fun soon enough.
I posted about the book a while back while it was still in production. It explores the story behind the 23 Tarot images Waite commissioned stained-glass artist J.B. Trinick to create.
There are over 80 colour and black and white plates in the book, commentary on the images, biographies of the main players, and a peek into Waite’s mystical system for spiritual development.
Only 250 copies of this first edition will be made, so it’s kind of special. I decided to treat myself to an early Christmas present and ordered one. I can barely wait to see it.
Hopefully it’ll be published in a mass-market form soon as well. And what I’m really hoping for is a printing of the deck itself.
The Moon moves into Aquarius today and stays there until Thursday.
Described in Tarot cards, this transit would be like the High Priestess is dressed as the Star. In other words, her robes are gone and she’s naked as the bird in the tree behind her.
The Moon in Aquarius, or High Priestess in the Star’s clothing, can sometimes be emotionally stressful. Hope may be in the air, but it’s a cautious hope.
Emotionally you feel like sharing, bubbling over with dreams for the future. But your mind keeps getting in the way, reminding you that dreams can sometimes be nightmares.
Try not to spend what could be a nice time double guessing yourself or listing off all the reasons things could go wrong. They might. But they probably won’t.
Be real, but not a wet blanket. Rather than smothering your dreams, direct them with intelligence.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
#2 – The High Priestess
This is a good day to give your spirit some serious attention. Take a little time by yourself to think about what it is that you believe. What do you think of the world and your place in it? What ultimately gives your life meaning?
It’s also a good time right now to pay attention to the messages other people have been sending you. Let yourself absorb the world around you without feeling the need to jump in right away and take action. This is a better time to sit and receive than to act.
Observe, listen and think about what it is you’re doing. Through reflection you’ll start to see all sides. Through this wider perspective you’ll find the priorities and direction that can help you on your path.
This past September, I posted about proposed new regulations for professional psychic readers in Babylon Village, Long Island.
The proposals included obtaining a license, being fingerprinted, buying liability insurance, and locating in the industrial part of town.
Last week, Babylon Village trustees decided to drop these proposals.
According to Newsday, village attorney Joel Sikowitz said the decision was based on ‘investigation, input from the public, and analysis of the facts.’
Though the regulations have been shelved for now, Mayor Ralph Scordino left the question open, with the possibility of revisiting it some time in the future.
Hopefully, they won’t find that necessary. I think they made a good decision.
Waiting and watching will probably be a bit of a preoccupation today. You’ve begun the process and have done all you can for the moment.
This might be a good time to review the steps you’ve taken so far. Make sure that you’ve got yourself balanced before the real journey begins.
Virtue is likely to be a key concept. Virtue here means being true to yourself within and between all your layers – mind, body and spirit.
Are your emotions in line with your thinking? Are you acting in a way that accurately reflects you’re beliefs and feelings? Explore these questions and relax. Your ship will arrive soon.
Symbolically, Saturn is about structure, authority, and the organization of our world. It’s the rule-maker, or task-master in astrology, sober and stern.
The Vulture Goddess Nekhbet is associated with this planet, so you can imagine it’s kind of heavy.
The World
In Tarot, Saturn is represented by #21, the World. At first glance, it might seem odd that this dancing girl is connected to such a serious planet.
But with another look, the wreath around her might remind us of the rings of Saturn, as well as the boundaries it’s so famous for enforcing.
And as might have been deduced by the Vulture Goddess reference, Saturn is symbolically connected to death, and to the changing of the old guard.
In mythology, Saturn overthrew his father Uranus, while his son Zeus (or Jupiter) overthrew him.
The World card in Tarot identifies the end of a long cycle as well, and the revolution into something brand new. It’s the card that ends the Major Arcana, and prepares us to become Fools once again.
storms on Saturn
I got to thinking about Saturn after reading reports about the massive storms that have been raging there for over 200 days, well beyond the previous record of 150 days back in 1903.
They’re gigantic storms – eight times the surface area of the Earth. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has caught pictures of them, and from far away they’re beautiful.
But what I’m interested in is the metaphor of storms on Saturn, and what it might mean to the energies associated with that planet here on Earth.
If Saturn represents authority, stability, and structure, storms there might suggest disruption in all those areas.
And looking at the world these days, it kind of makes sense.
Since the storms began there’s been the Arab spring, rioting in Europe, mass demonstrations in Wisconsin, and the birth of the Occupy Wall Street Movement.
Rupert Murdoch and News International was shaken up, Wikileaks and Anonymous broke through cyber blockades, and faith in the nuclear industry was shattered with the devastation at Fukushima.
Not to mention Osama Bin Laden, Muammar Gaddafi, and Steve Jobs, have all passed. Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was scrapped, female first-borns can now inherit the crown in Great Britain, and neutrinos might travel faster than the speed of light.
What once seemed like really solid structures are collapsing. It’s kind of like the storms on Saturn are identifying the chaos we’re experiencing in our Saturn energies here on Earth. Space weather synchronicity.
If there is any connection, even metaphorically, I hope the storms calm down soon.
Change is obviously in the air, and on many fronts I support it. But transitioning to new structures is hard for everyone. Saturn doesn’t like to be messed with.
The Moon moves into Capricorn today and will stay there until Tuesday.
If you were to describe this transit using the Tarot, you might say that the High Priestess is wearing the Devil’s clothing. The virginal goddess has gotten downright beastly.
The Moon in Capricorn, or High Priestess in the Devil’s clothing, is a period of potential internal conflict. The physical world might seem to draw you away from what you typically believe to be right.
You might feel driven or compelled by behaviours and attitudes that go against the grain of your morality. It could be liberating or disturbing, depending on your secrets.
Whatever’s going on though, don’t be too hard on yourself. Get obsessions out of your system, and learn what you can about yourself while you do so.
You should be ready to move on soon. There’s nothing wrong with a little focused physicality. Just don’t get stuck.
It’s a wonderful day to say thank you – to your family, friends, and even your enemies.
Nostalgia and happy memories might fill your head and it’s worth remembering all the love there is around you. Take pleasure in acknowledging it and grateful to extend it further.
Giving and receiving are two sides of the same joy. Take pleasure in both and don’t be shy to tell people how much they mean to you. You’ll probably be surprised by how much they love you back.
With close relationships, this is an especially important time to remember the history and strength of your time together. It’s these ties that have helped you through your most serious moments – both good and bad.
Don’t take them lightly, close friends really are special, and not as common as you might think.
