In honour of Earth Day tomorrow, and more specifically, Mother Earth herself, I thought I’d draw one card to ask what we can personally do to make the planet a little greener this year.
The card I got was the 10 of Wands. It pictures someone carrying a heavy load of sticks. The person is slightly stooped and seems to have quite a distance to go before they’ll get to their destination.
Typically I tell someone who pulls this card to consider decreasing some of their responsibilities, delegating tasks, and/or asking for some help.
The load has grown too heavy and if they continue as they’ve been going, they’re headed for a collapse of sorts.
Looking at this card from the perspective of my question though, it strikes me that we’re being asked to lessen our load on the planet. And in particular, our energy load, as the suit of wands is closely associated to energy in all its forms.
Moving forward as we have been is too much for the earth and collapse is likely if we don’t make change.
Furthermore, I think the card might be indicating that we’ve got some serious work ahead, and that there’s a distance to go before we can claim victory.
I see optimism here though, even in the midst of what the Thoth deck calls ‘oppression’. All the tens in Tarot suggest the end of a cycle, and we’re likely facing one as a society right now.
How can we start making change today? What old ways of doing things can we leave behind in the past, and where can we look to find inspiration for the future?
I should probably pull some more cards on those questions too …
Tomorrow is April Fool’s Day, and in honour of positive foolishness everywhere, I’ve put together a Tarot spread aimed at releasing your own inner Fool.
Try it out …
A Fool’s Spread
1. Why do I need to play and to be a Fool sometimes?
2. What hinders my sense of play and shuts down my Fool?
3. What helps support my Fool and helps me to play?
4. Where can I find more fun and positive foolishness in my life?
5. Right now – how can I most positively act the Fool?
Happy April Fool’s Day Everyone!! Be free, adventurous, and have some fun!!
In the video below, Scott Grossberg, creator of the Deck of Shadows, demonstrates a reading technique he calls the Hands of Truth.
He describes the method as being similar to using a pendulum in that ideo motor responses from the body direct the reading.
In Grossberg’s technique, a reader randomly chooses two cards from the deck and turns them up. He or she then passes them to the querent who holds each card face up in each hand.
The reader then tells the querent that one of their hands is going to rise, while the other will get lower. There’s no rush for this to happen, but typically it does.
The reader then takes the card from the lower hand and reads it as being an energy the querent is leaving. The card from the raised hand represents where they are likely headed.
It’s an interesting twist on a two-card reading, and really allows for the querent to be involved.
I think I’ll try it out with someone soon.
Scott was a guest on Beyond Worlds back at the end of 2010. He spoke about his Deck of Shadows and a lot of other interesting and magical things. You can listen to the show here …
On Christmas Eve, I posted a piece about the Star. Today I came across a magic trick that seems to turn everyone (or at least every card) into a Star.
Though card tricks aren’t typically my thing, I like the way this one plays out. The Tower, the Devil, and even Death are all miraculously transformed into the Star.
I don’t know if the magician in the video is aware of Tarot symbolism or not, but he chose his spread well.
The Star card represents renewed hope and healing after the darkest hours. And certainly Death, the Devil, and the Tower represent some of those dark times.
By changing them into the Star, it’s like he’s transforming darkness into light.
It’s a pretty nice message.
And not only does it manage to turn disaster, obsession, and grief into optimism and healing, it reminds us of something equally wonderful – that we’re all made of stardust.
In preparation for the upcoming Solstice, you might want to try the Winter Solstice Reflection spread demonstrated below by Angelo Nasios and created by Bonnie Cehovet.
Here in the Northern Hemisphere, this year’s Solstice is on December 22nd and marks the shortest day of the year.
Though winter will just be getting under way, the days will slowly but surely be getting longer, and before you know it spring will be back!
Within the darkness, a new light is being born.
If you don’t celebrate Solstice, you can use this spread just as easily as a New Year’s reflection, or really any time you’re in the process of starting fresh.
Take a look at the video, or visit Tarot Elements to see Bonnie’s post from last year. She has this spread there, as well as a more involved 19 card spread.
Or if you just want a quick Solstice Snapshot – pull three cards and ask:
•What do I want to take with me from last year?
•What do I want to let go of?
•What new light is being born in the upcoming new year?
Though the holidays can be a time of good will and good cheer and all that happy stuff, they can also be a time of stress.
From gift shopping to party attending, it’s fun, but exhausting. And the parties themselves aren’t always so easy to navigate.
We gather together with people we love, or at least share something in common with, and practice giving and receiving and generally making merry.
But sometimes despite our best intentions, the gathering of family and friends can set off more emotion than intended.
It’s not unusual for toasts over turkeys to quickly transform into brawls that bring the tree down.
So just in case you’re anticipating unintended fireworks at any of the celebrations you might be attending, I’ve come up with a spread to prepare for potential problem areas.
It’s called the Make It a Merry Holiday Spread, and is meant to be done before setting out to your next party or holiday event.
______________________________________________
1. What person or situation are you concerned about encountering at the event? Or more directly, what worries you most about this party?
2. What’s at the heart of your issue with this person or situation?
3. What would be your usual response to it or them?
4. Is there a response you might try instead?
5. Where can you find a unifying bridge between you and the other person or the situation itself?
6. What advice does the ‘Holiday Spirit’ have to help make this the merriest event it can possibly be?
A Tarot reading can be a wonderful tool for deep psychological insight, finding direction, or hashing out the details of a particular situation you’re confronted with.
And most often, that’s what people are looking for when they come for a reading.
Having said that, it’s also true that a lot of people just want a simple answer – yes or no.
Typically, I discourage the yes/no type question, partly because it seems to take away from the idea of individual choice. It’s like the querant expects fate to decide, while they wait around for the decision to be made.
But I also don’t like such questions because the Tarot is capable of so much more with its rich visual imagery and archetypal triggers. Each card has a myriad of possibilities in it. To confine it to yes or no seems to miss the point.
Instead of definitives, the cards are perhaps better for questions like how did I get here, what’s it like, and where do I want to go next.
If there’s a choice to be made, I’d much rather draw a few cards representing the energies around particular options than to force the deck to declare if something’s going to happen or not.
But even so, sometimes a yes or no is still all you want, and the Tarot is happy to oblige.
A quick web search will bring up all sorts of spreads to try, but I’ve posted a couple of videos below demonstrating two techniques I like. The first involves reversals, while the second seeks out the Aces.
Both are straightforward, yet allow for additional exploration of the issue once yes or no has been answered.
GS Warren put together the first video. The second is a demonstration by Jennifer Jordan of The Broom Closet.
Mercury will be going direct on Friday, so if communication, calculation, and travel have been a bit crazy lately, don’t despair, things should start getting back to normal soon.
And not only is the retrograde ending, but with September on it’s way, a new season is about to begin.
It sounds like a good time to get organized, at least for me. Things are likely to start getting busy again and I want to be prepared.
The 2 of Pentacles from the Rider Waite Smith deck came to mind when I started thinking about what the Tarot has to say about getting organized.
In the image, a man in an unusual hat is holding a couple of pentacles in front of some water. Boats go by behind him, rocking with the waves, but staying afloat.
I typically see this card as representing harmonious change, like the movement from one season to the next. It points to taking care of the little details necessary for the transition to go smoothly.
It’s a busy rather than a heavy time, though the water behind the man does indicate a certain emotionality.
When there’s a lot to do and not much time, emotions can get stormy. Ride the wave and hold on, you might get wet, but you don’t have to get swamped.
This card reminds us to find a flow and take things step by step, even see our tasks as play if we can, quite literally as juggling. It’s easy and fun once you find the rhythm.
What needs organizing might feel overwhelming, but just break it down into smaller pieces. It’s likely a lot more manageable than it looked at first.
From the ideas in the 2 of Pentacles, I’ve put together a Get Organized Spread. It takes a look at what area in your life might need some organization, what’s in the way, and what might help.
Get Organized
1. What area of my life is in particular need of organization?
2. How is my attention being divided from my tasks in this area?
3. How can I find the flow to maximize productivity in this area?
4. What emotions might be getting in the way?
5. Is there any way to make my work feel more like play, while still getting things done?
