Full Moon Reading

Using my personal reading deck, the Vision Quest Tarot, I did my traditional reading for the full moon. Pretty much everything here made sense right off the cuff except for the Medicine Man as running the show for environmental influences. I’ll have to dig deep to figure him out. He’s probably my main message. (Click on the image to enlarge, use your browser’s ‘back’ button to return) Here’s the spread and my results:

— 5 —
1-2-3-4
— 6 —

What’s Running the Show?

1) Emotionally? Son of Earth
2) Spiritually? Son of Water
3) Physically? Five of Earth (Insecurity)
4) Environmentally? I – Medicine Man
5) How am I likely to be perceived? Five of Air (Fear)
6) Best way to maximise/focus my potential? VII – Spiritual Warrior

Son of Earth conveys serenity, maturation and harvest. He planted his garden, tended it and has now reaped the bounty with a full basket. It’s time to enjoy the fruits of his labour. Emotionally, that’s rather fitting. I put work into restoring my emotional health (which was in a sad state for a while) and I made sure to continually channel effort into healing, and lately I have indeed been enjoying a stable balance. I did hit a bump in the road over one issue that I just couldn’t seem to work out, But like magic, it resolved itself and everything right now is just great. This card is an affirmation of my resolve to get back on level ground, and a reminder of how good it is to be there.

Spiritually I have been working with my intuition to bring peace and harmony to my home. Part of that is for my sake, and part of it is for the sake of my other family members. Like the young man in the card who stands in the flowing stream under the astral light peering deep into the water-filled vessel he holds, I have been using the astral connection to peer into and connect with family to promote understanding between arguing factions. The water also hints at creativity, which I have been using in my proposed peace solutions. In the spread, the Son of Water looks toward the Son of Earth, the two working toward a common goal.

I have not been taking proper care of my health (still) and the neglected basket of corn being pecked away by ravens certainly reflects that. The corn with kernels pecked out reminds me of my skin, with it’s red marks where I have left on medicine patches for days too long, causing infections. The scraggly appearance of the husks mirrors my look at times. I feel old and worn, decrepit, like the building in the background. I have a very negative attitude about my health and and physical state, reflected by the card. It really should be a wake-up call, but it’s nothing new. What I need is a plan of action and to put in effort as I did with my emotional health.

Environmentally, the Medicine Man appears as running the show. He’s a messenger. He stands in the card with his symbols of power and looks directly into my eyes, offering me the peace pipe. This is now the time to take charge. BE the power, the energy and the creativity. I have essentially relinquished power over my environment since we moved in late March, something very unusual for me. My personal space, my study, is a disaster. I keep saying I’m going to unpack and organise, but I never do, and it bugs me. I have very little to do with the rest of the house, leaving the decisions to my wife. The move was traumatic for me so I used avoidance to deal with it. Now that I’m over that trauma I need to reclaim my personal power to ‘do’ and ‘be’ with regards to this house.

Fear, the Five of Air, is no surprise here. I have been avoiding doing things, important things, for no good reason. I just don’t want to deal with things. The card shows molted feathers. They have been shed, quickly arranged, and left. Nothing else has been built. A dark bird of prey flies overhead. The bird is ominous, but it really has nothing on which to prey, because the landscape is desolate. The inhabitants are fearful and have hidden themselves. That’s pretty much me, hidden away in my study the majority of the day, rarely seen outside of it’s confines. It’s time to get out of this hole and onto the surface, to re-inhabit the landscape.

Card VII – Spiritual Warrior, is a great card towards which to aspire. Looking at the rest of the reading, this card makes a great deal of sense in this position. It’s about paying attention to your inner being which leads to self-actualisation in the outer world. I don’t have much more to say than that!

Daily Meditation – King of Cups

After a bit of a hiatus for health reasons, New Tarot has returned. After asking my usual question, shuffling and making the draw, the Ghost Tarot presented the King of Cups. The shining specter sits on his throne, holding a chalice that does not have a foot. His stance indicates movement; he is actively listening. His garments are rather plain for a king, although his crown is more befitting. Perhaps he was buried away from his lands without the benefit of regalia? His expression gives away nothing. We know not what he thinks or feels. His throne is somewhat ornate and padded for comfort. Behind him are stormy rain clouds, representing the water to which his suit is linked.

What can we expect when the King of Cups shows up in a reading? What characteristics does he beckon us to embody? Kings indicate mastery of and maturity in their suit qualities. In the case of Cups, emotion and spirituality, intuition, and occasionally creativity. This King gives a sense of calm and collect. He is in charge of his emotions. In a confrontation or an emergency, he will keep his cool. Situations are handled with diplomacy. The King of Cups is an active listener and a wise adviser. His patience and listening skills help him identify core issues and resolve them. This King has a caring heart, and actively works to help those in emotional and spiritual need. Like the storm clouds behind him, he is a master of relegating his own emotions to the background to keep them from interfering in important matters. Taken too far, he will put his emotions so far behind him that he ignores them completely and avoids emotion altogether. Though he is great at helping others, he may not ask for help when he himself is in need.

The King of Cups is a card I aspire towards. I have a difficult situation today in which these qualities will be very much needed, and I’m glad this card showed up to suggest ways in which to act. I will carry the card with me as a reminder, the King and his Cup as a guide if I get overwhelmed!

Daily Meditation – III The Empress

After shuffling the deck and concentrating on my question, “What is the best lesson to carry me through the day,” the deck presented me with card III – The Empress. I was pleased and amused. During my last reading I remarked that I wished I had drawn The Empress, and for her to show up in the following reading is kismet. She sits alert in her throne, which is decorated with the five-petaled rose, nature’s pentagram, and a wheat motif. The shield of Venus leans against it. She wears a deep green gown, the colour of growth, and holds a scepter tipped with green that symbolises her authority. She is crowned with a halo of 12 stars representing the zodiac, the cycle of the year. She rests her pregnant body against a pillow, and at her bare feet is a hare which alludes to her fertility. In front of her are full ripe stalks of wheat, and in the distance are lush forests from which issues a running stream.

What does The Empress mean when she shows up in a reading? What does she represent? The first things that come to my mind are abundance, fertility and birth. Fertility and birth can be literal or metaphorical; a time when a woman is able to conceive or her baby is due, a time when ideas are germinating in the mind, perhaps creating new artwork or laying a foundation on a new house. In regards to abundance, The Empress is both giving and receiving. We are free to ask for and accept what we need, and we should be generous with our resources with those who are in need.

She is Mother Earth and the Earth Goddess; feminine authority and nurturing motherhood. As a representation of the natural world she could point to any ecosystem in which humankind finds themselves; a nature reserve, a public park, a back yard garden. She beckons us to follow in her footsteps as stewards of the Earth.

She is feminine beauty; sensual, seductive and sexual.

The Empress is one of my favourite cards. It’s more of a ‘being’ card, less of a ‘doing’ card. It’s also a ‘feeling’ card to my sensibility. I have a good bit of yard work to do today before it gets hot, being the steward of the nature that surrounds my house, and enjoying it at the same time. I also have some creative projects, some birthing of my ideas to put into action. I also plan to walk the dog instead of just turning her loose in the yard…we live a few blocks from a dog park and I have yet to take her there. We’ve been here a month now and it’s about time I did. Today is the perfect day to do so!

Full Moon Reading

 

As we’re under a full moon I did a general reading using the Witches Tarot. I like to use this deck during the full moon and new moon because of the design on the reverse of the cards. I used my standard spread for general readings; you can enlarge the image by clicking on it, and return using your browser’s ‘back’ button. Here’s the layout and my results:

— 5 —
1-2-3-4
— 6 —

What’s Running the Show?

1) Emotionally? XV The Shadow Side
2) Spiritually? IV The Emperor
3) Physically? Page of Swords
4) Environmentally? Page of Cups
5) How am I likely to be perceived? VIII Strength
6) Best way to maximise/focus my potential? Five of Wands

Wow! Half of the cards (3/6) are majors, and of the three minors, 2 are court cards. I do draw a lot of courtiers, so I guess that shouldn’t be so surprising. And the Page of Cups showed her face, again.

Having The Shadow Side turn up as my major emotional influence surprises me. Generally speaking, I’ve been doing tremendously well in this area. The only fears I’m not facing are around starting my businesses and making a few simple phone calls, both of which I find a bit stupid. Hmm. That’s probably why this showed up. I have almost everything in place for one business, I just need to advertise it, simple enough to do. The second one just needs a web page, also simple enough to do. I’m certainly capable enough to handle these enterprises and we do need the income. I’m not sure why I haven’t proceeded. Fear of success? Fear of losing my ‘me time’? I also need to make those phone calls. They’re important and why I’ve been anxious about making them I don’t know. All I’m doing is notifying them of our change of address, but for some reason I get butterflies in my tummy when I think of calling them. Silly! I do give a lot of power to my emotions and I tend to let them rule, so having a major here makes sense. OK, Shadow Side, I get the message.

The Emperor influencing spirituality pleases me and displeases me at the same time. I like the aspect of wisdom, balance, nurturing father and control over the natural aspects, but at the same time I feel too much control. That may be The Shadow Side to his left. Overall things are going better than OK but not awesomely in this department. I think I need to be a little less controlling and more feeling. I have been working in this direction, but being a control freak it’s been slow going. This isn’t a bad card at all, but I would have been happier to have his consort. Silly. My personality is much The Emperor than The Empress. Control does have positive aspects. I can embrace those. In the larger picture, I have been the authority when it comes to religion at home/family life. We have been making some changes and my wife has been turning to me as the decision maker rather than the two of us discussing things and coming to an agreement together.

I have not been ‘on guard’ with aspects my physical well being, and the Page in the card stands with his sword drawn, ready for action. He’s inexperienced and impulsive, and I’ve been eating impulsively which is not good. If the Page acts impulsively with his sword he can cut a man down, and that’s what I may be doing to myself with bad eating habits. I need to get back to tracking my food and counting calories, using my mind and intellect when I eat. The sword he raises is heavy and has weight; lifting it is exercise. I have not been exercising either, something I need to re-institute. He is also vigilant, even if he is at times immature, and I have been vigilant in taking my medication, so that’s good, at least.

It’s funny that the Page of Cups should show up as running the show environmentally. This card almost always represents my 12-year old daughter. She does run the show environmentally. A lot of my day does, in some way, focus around her, much moreso lately. I have been doing a lot of picking up and cleaning up after her, which is ridiculous given her age. She also is afraid to go into certain parts of the house alone and has me fetch things for her. (we recently moved to a new house) I’m also doing a lot more driving on her behalf since we moved. I have noticed that I’m doing more for her, but I haven’t really weighed it heavily before.

Strength as how I’m likely to be perceived does not surprise me. I have shored up my psychological problems and become stable, I’ve become much more physically active and able, I’ve taken a more decisive role in life in general, and people have noticed. They are turning to me for my opinion, guidance, help and decision making. I feel like a different person than I did two months ago. I have tamed the beasts that were downtrodding me with quiet courage. I handle tough and stressful situations with a calmer approach and the results have been so much better. I no longer crumble when I get upset or stressed out; I have fortitude. It’s been great.

Maximising/focusing potential with the Five of Wands: Fight the good fight, pick your battles. That’s exactly what I’ve been doing with great success. There will always be disagreements, and when they come up, it’s all about the approach. Will you bicker and argue or will you discuss and try to reach an amicable solution? Sometimes it’s better to let the other person win. Look at the end result of your actions…is it worth it?

 

Choosing a Deck

This is a bit of a departure from the normal fare on New Tarot, and it came about after this morning’s reading from the Ghost Tarot (an unusual deck) and a subsequent dissertation in learning tarot. For those of you who are considering buying a deck and learning the art of tarot reading and interpretation, or if you are at the beginning of your journey and are wondering if it’s time to branch out with another deck, this post is for you. For the illustrations I am using (l to r) the Golden Universal Tarot (Lo Scarabeo), the Witches Tarot (Dugan/Evans) and the Ghost Tarot (Lo Scarabeo). Images can be enlarged by clicking on them, and using your browser’s ‘back’ button to return. I’m going to reference while writing from the posted images because they do not capture the glittery-ness the Golden Universal has in person.

The first card up is XIX The Sun. At first glance the leftmost and center cards are very similar, and the rightmost card is quite different. Let’s start with the first two…both depict golden-haired children on white horseback under the shining sun, and sunflowers prominently placed in the scene. Yet, these cards have a subtly different feel. The child on the left appears unreal, a miniature adult and statue-like to me, and his horse looks startled, as though the child has unexpectedly ‘jumped for joy’ while on it’s back. In the center card the child is very realistic, and rather than having a look of glee as on the leftmost card, he’s more subdued with a sly knowing smile, and his horse appears angry to me. There is also a key element missing from the center card – the wall. Walls can imply many things in a reading, as can being in an open field, as the riding child in the center card appears. The rightmost card depicts two youths rather than a child and a horse. Instead of soaking up the sunshine they stand behind a curtain which blocks the sun. The older girl looks wistfully, wishing she could but go into the sun’s rays but she cannot; the younger boy droops his head looking away…it is too painful to even think about. They remember life, how good the sun felt, and they are drawn to the edge of the curtain to get as close as they dare. One card, XIX The Sun, yet three different cards (Which if you’re reading by keywords alone you’re going to miss a lot.)

XIII Death – a favourite card of a lot of people. Again, the leftmost and center cards have some common elements while the rightmost card is very different. One difference that you may not think influences us, but it can, is the title on the card. The center card spells out ‘Death’ while the other two reference it by Roman numerals alone. The written word can have quite an impact, especially with a sitter unfamiliar with the various possibilities the card can offer. The first two cards show armour-clad Death on his white horse bearing the standard of the white rose, but we see him from different vantage points. In the leftmost card we are observers as he interacts with the variety of people in front of him; in the center card he is coming toward us, but we have been granted a (temporary?) reprieve as he has been distracted by the offering from the young boy. In one card the sun rises between the towers, in the other the towers do not bear the sun. The rightmost card is a traditional grim reaper in the moonlight, and there is no horse. He appears before an open(ing) gate. When I listen to these three cards I get silence from the third one, whereas the first two impart words to me – there is interaction, a priest praying, a horse neighing, rumblings of destruction, the creak of armour. Perhaps you hear crickets in the rightmost card, I do not, but these are things to consider.

Lastly, XXI The World, and three very different cards. I’m not going to divine, describe or contrast them; I encourage you to do that and see what you come up with. Back when my second deck arrived it was so very different from the one I began learning with I felt completely lost trying to read with it. It was (and is) gorgeous, but I had not stopped to consider the differences and what it would mean to learn it, read it and make meaningful interpretations. I was unprepared. As a result it sat unused for a while before I felt comfortable enough to dare using it. That deck is now my personal reading deck and I do not use it to read for others, so it worked out well in the end.

There are several websites, some of which I will list below, which allow enthusiasts to browse decks before buying them. I highly encourage you to do so before jumping in and buying; it can prevent a disappointment and you might discover a jewel. Take time to consider your personality and how the ambiance of the cards affects your mood. To which colours do you have a positive reaction? Is the style of the artwork too primitive? Is the deck ethnically diverse enough? Will it bother you that all the women have the same body type? When I bought the Fenestra Tarot, which I still like, it did not occur to me that due to my colour-blindness and cataracts I would have a difficult time reading it. The colours are of a very limited closely-matched palette and the images relatively small, which together make it hard for me to discern what’s happening in the cards. Take everything into consideration!

Websites for deck exploration:
My Divination
Ask the Cards
Tarot.com