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Weekly Card 10 of Cups

July 2, 2015
150702 10 of Cups INner Child 10 of Hearts
Inner Child Tarot

Aah, the big rainbow of 10 of Cups . . . .

We know rainbows from the biblical promise of “never again”. We’ve learnt what we needed from the deluge and don’t need that experience again as a species. Within Tarot, we know it from a reference in XIV Temperance, which we haven’t yet looked at. Iris, the messenger of the gods, brings heaven to earth with her rainbow.

Here, we’ve got the rainbow in the arena of connectedness: our emotions, our relationships, our creativity. We’ve come through a cycle, successfully integrated the emotional experience, successfully built a solid relationship, successfully carried our creation to completion. And now there’s time for celebration and appreciation of the cycle that’s just past.

150702 10 of Cups RWS
Rider Waite Smith Tarot

Importantly, we become someone new at 10 of Cups. In the Rider Waite Smith image, we see gratitude, welcoming the future with open arms, dancing with others (like there’s no one watching). In the Inner Child image, we’ve got the 10th heart (corresponding to cups in this deck) on the forehead of the mermaid, native to this suit. She’s become the healer of the winged heart, able to touch the sky.

Along with preparing to jump off into our new cycle of connection, we’re charged to share what we’ve gained with others, to expand our community, to demonstrate our deepened capacity for connection.

So . . . where will you share this week? And where will you go next?

Weekly Card 10 of Wands Revisited

June 25, 2015
150625 10 of Wands Crystal
The Crystal Tarot

You know those times when something you really believe in suddenly seems like a lot of work? Welcome to the world of 10 of Wands.

Sometimes our values, passions and beliefs are a heavy encumbrance. We’ve looked at that energy before. In the Crystal Tarot, we have shapes and structures to consider in relation to the 10 of Wands.

As always, there are many layers and many points along the “good-bad” spectrum.

We’ve got 4 of the 10 wands in the Crystal Tarot image making a pathway from rocky earth to a light-domed sky. Building on the belief structure we already have, we can find our way to a life with meaning. Or is the pathway narrow and restrictive, with the reflected triangles obstacles on our way?

Those triangles add up to a diamond, one of our western cultural symbols for precious value. Has mundane ambition supplanted values based in spiritual truth? Or does the diamond indicate pure values that have been tested under pressure?

They’re also alchemical symbols for fire above water. If we place our values above our emotions, we live true to our more lasting self. But we need to work through our transitory emotions to discover our values.

Do the structures on the image lead you forward to the re-evaluation of the weight of 10 of Wands to find the higher Ace that will encompass the entire group?  Is the wand structure a gate to pass through to a higher level or a barrier to keep you out?

What would be the response of the Page of Wands, were she to find herself encumbered by the 10 of Wands? How does her fiery, youthful energy help her to move forward to the Ace? Does it hold her back in any way?

What if you, personally, found yourself embodying the 4 of Cups, with 10 of Wands demands being made on you? With more fire than water, how do you keep from turning to steam?

How would the three 0 The Fools we met recently respond to 10 of Wands? Does 0 The Fool naturally follow or lead into the 10 of Wands? Or neither?

Back to your life this week, how can you use the 10 of Wands to support you or move forward?

Weekly Card 10 of Pentacles Revisited

November 26, 2014

 

141204 10 of Pentacles Dali
Dali Universal Tarot

 

We know from Tarot . . . It’s Easier Than You Think that 10 of Pentacles is about completion or establishment in the material world, in health, or in finances. We’ve talked about the spiritual development behind that attainment in an earlier post.

So what on earth are we to make of this bevy of unclothed beauties at ease in a rich, red environment? And why is Dali’s “signature” taking up so much space on the card?

Let’s talk about the artist’s signature first. When an artist signs a painting, it’s finished, complete. Very 10-ish. Making the signature a big part of the image emphasizes that sense of accomplishment.

Remember that the higher the number of the suit, the more of the general character of the suit is involved. So 10 of Pentacles has LOTS of material stuff, LOTS of health, LOTS of wealth. That red fabric looks very rich, doesn’t it? The whole scene looks very luxurious. From one perspective, this reminds me of the kind of wealth that could keep a harem. From another, the red connects to the traditional colour for the root chakra, the one that corresponds to our material selves.

But what’s with the nudity? Having a sense of comfort gets connected with wealth. And when we’re comfortable in our own skin, which is where the 10 of Pentacles’ spiritual development has brought us to, we don’t need outer artifice. We have the luxury of gathering with others of our community without hiding. Exposure is a good thing. The nudity in the card also puts the body — our personal material world and the scene in which our health is played out – into our awareness.

And then we have the butterfly wings, significators of transformation, covering a good deal of the group scene. I always see a magic carpet, ready to carry the women away. 10s have the connection to the next cycle, the jumping off place for continued growth and development. These women will be carried into the next cycle of experience in the material world by the transformative energies of the 10 of Pentacles.

Find the places this week where you’re at ease with yourself and with your community. Celebrate your shared wealth!

 

 

If you’re looking to learn more about Tarot, I’ll be teaching level 2, Tarot 2 . . . We’re Not in Kansas Anymore, on Friday, 12th December, through the Berkeley County Adult Ed program.  Call 304-267-3585 for more information and to register.

And you know where to find me for phone, email, or in-person tarot counseling.

 

Weekly Card 10 of Swords Revisited

November 25, 2013
131212 GDR 10 Swords
Golden Dawn Magical Tarot
(aka Golden Dawn Ritual Tarot)

Oh, it just sucks when we see these kinds of cards, doesn’t it?

Especially at this time of year.

But that’s the way it is, isn’t it?  Difficulties show up when we had something completely else in mind.  (Really, how often do we actually ask for trouble?)

We’ve looked at this card before, so we know there’s a message that our way of thinking just isn’t working.

And we already know the perspective we can take to get to the next cycle.

Since we’ve got holidays to attend to, how about we jumpstart that by looking at 10 of Swords at the energetic level.

10 of Swords is a complete disruption of energy.  You can paint yourself a picture of that, can’t you?    You’re on an agenda, running through your list for the day when – bam!  — something goes rogue.  So much for the smoothly oiled machine you had going for you.

Once you’re done pitching your mini-fit, what do you do about that disruption?

If we look at the astrology connected with 10 of Swords, we can find a clue or three.  We’ve got Sun in Gemini, which is not the Sun’s “favourite” sign to be in.  All that strong Sun energy that’s so good at getting things done is dissipated and weakened by the airy Gemini duality.

So we can look to see where we’re not being singled minded about our objectives these days.  And where are we being less than authentic, where are we stuck in thinking that’s been imposed on us from other times and other people?  Where are we downright over-thinking things?

We can also look to see where we’re overloaded.  What can we delegate – who can finish any part of the agenda you have to drop to handle your rogue element?  And what can we drop off the priority list for the meanwhile?

Even though things may not be going your way . . . .

Breathe!  There’s a better idea coming.

 

Weekly Card 10 of Wands

October 25, 2013
131114 Golden Dawn Wang 10 of Wands

It’s going to take more than one pair of hands to manage all this!

131114 RWS 10 of Wands
Rider Waite Smith Tarot

Here we have the minors in Wands at their most passionate and enthusiastic.   Is our Rider-Waite-Smith character someone who’s taken on as much as he can carry?  Or it he someone who’s taken all the toys and is going home with everyone’s stuff?  Or is this just someone who’s happily carrying all the resources he needs for his current project?

The 10 of Wands level of passion can lead to any of those scenarios.  We can be so ambitious about getting something done that we forget we’ve only got so many hours and so many hands.   Or we can believe so passionately in our agenda that we steamroll others or press them into service.  Or we can be so involved in what we’re getting done that we recognize almost anything around us as a resource for our aims.

As with all the 10s, we’re being pressed to recognize who we really are on some level.  With Wands, it’s all about recognizing our purpose.  What is it that really holds all those wands together into a cohesive bundle?  What directs all those hands in the Golden Dawn 10 of Wands toward a single end?

It’s time to focus at 10 of Wands and find the unifying factor.  The big questions to ask are, What are my values?  What’s really important to me right now?

And then make sure you’re not hiding behind those values — or projects — to avoid interaction with the world around you.

The good news with all that enthusiasm, when it’s focused and based on meaningful values, is that the goal will be attained, the values will be realized, and the resources will be there.

Get up and get going!
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