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Weekly Card Celebrating the 3 of Cups

May 14, 2015
150430 3 of Cups Yoga
Yoga Tarot

Wow! We’re getting the Tarot version of 2×4 between the eyes (anybody else have that dent there from calls to pay attention?). It’s been less than a month since we last saw the 3 of Cups.

So what does it mean when we repeatedly see the same message in the cards?

150514 3 of Cups Gilded
Gilded Tarot

One possibility is that we’re being shown places where we’re stuck in a rut. I have to say, 3 of Cups isn’t such a bad rut to be in.   Of course, we can get caught in celebrating heart connections (the dancing women in the Gilded Tarot) when we have practical things to do. Or we can be overly emotional (those overflowing cups in the Haindl image) when what’s called for are rational decisions. Or we’re putting our creative ventures on public display (Yoga Tarot) right when there’s a big media storm to blow our projects away.

150514 3 of Cups Haindl
The Haindl Tarot

Another is that we’re in a long-term process. We’re not in the habit of being highly sociable or expressive and creative or of letting our emotions flow. It can take time to un-make an habitual hermit or logical Spock or repressed artist.

And a third is that, although we’ve got 3 of Cups in our repertoire, we’re focusing elsewhere. It’s the “hey, over here!” attention call.

How many times have you put aside social connections because you’ve just got too much to do? Or decided that now is not the time to celebrate; your problems are way too big and pressing? Or shelved creativity in favour of the sure thing to please the boss? And we all know that emotional stifling is the order of almost any day in the life . . . .

Here the message is, despite the apparent strong demands in other directions, the useful action or useful focus is to choose creativity, to choose time with your heartfelt friendships, to choose joy.

So which is it for you: long-term process, an unrecognized rut, or a repeated call to re-focus? And, since life is a many-layered thing (why am I thinking “cake”?), it could be all the above.

Celebrate the loves in your life!

Weekly Card 3 of Swords

May 1, 2015

This post is part of a Tarot Blog Hop.  You can find the previous blog here, the master list here, and the next blog here.

150501 3 of Swords RWS
Rider Waite Smith tarot

Oh, we so don’t love to see these kinds of cards . . . the “sad” ones, the “bad” ones. We’ve had a couple of encounters before, here and here.

And here, at the 3 of Swords, we’re encountering sorrow at a very personal level. How much more clear an illustration of heartache can we get?  Since we can’t spit it out, how do we deal with this distasteful card?

Look back to the heartaches in your life. What brought them on? Loss of a love? Loss of social standing? Loss of a cherished pet? Loss all around, isn’t it?   Nothing we would have asked for.

Then again, when have you heard yourself say “he certainly asked for that one”? We could look at any situation and see how the ending had its seeds in the beginning. Heartless as it is, I’ve had people tell me that I was just asking for trouble by living in an hurricane evacuation zone.

And there’s the opportunity in the 3 of Swords. We’re putting our mind – the mental world of the swords – into our hearts. Rather than dissociating our thoughts from our humanity, we come to a deeper understanding of why it’s worth making connections regardless of the inevitability of endings.

For a writer or an artist, this can be a brilliant opportunity, this meeting of intellect with emotion. What needs to be expressed? Is there a story to tell? Is there a sorrow to be danced, painted or composed?

For the rest of us, the lemonade out of lemons involves developing compassion. For ourselves. For others who’ve travelled a similar path. And that requires taking heart in the positive sense: courage. Courage to believe in a life that continues. Courage to look outside ourselves again.

150501 3 of Swords Baroque Bohemian Cats
Baroque Bohemian Cats Tarot
150501 3 of Swords Haindl
Haindl Tarot

But how do we deal with the pain? You’ve got lots of clues in the multiple images for the 3 of Swords. The sad grey puss in the Baroque Bohemian Cat image finds the pain too difficult to take in. She has her angel holding the pierced heart. It’s still close at paw, but she’s got assistance. Who are your angels?

The Haindl Tarot image speaks to the isolation that pain can bring. Is that necessarily a bad thing? Time alone to mourn the loss, to replace what’s no longer there with tears, is a healing action. Recognize where your paradise has come to an end and grieve. It’s not necessarily fun, but healthy grief helps us move forward, back into life and connectedness.

150501 3 of Swords Gilded
Ciro Marchetti‘s Gilded Tarot
150501 3 of Swords Contemplative
Contemplative Tarot

By getting to the heart of our sorrow, by understanding what happened and who we’re becoming as a result of our loss, the Gilded Tarot image offers us the possibility of enlightenment. Our old way of thinking, our old way of expressing ourselves has cut us to the heart. As we recognize the old ways, we can move into the light of the new.

But not too quickly, says the Contemplative Tarot image. Life is possible, says the vine around the bleeding heart – and life with love, says the heart shape in the vine. It’s even going on around us. But so is the fish out of water, belly up in the cloudy sky. It speaks to the discomfort of no longer being the self we recognize. Allow the new life of connection to grow out of the wounded self, in its own time.

In your own life this week, what has pierced you right at the quick? How can you use your mind to get to the heart of the matter? And how can you express yourself about it all?

Let your mind and heart work together to keep compassion in the foreground this week.

 

This post is part of a Tarot Blog Hop.  You can find the previous blog here, the master list here, and the next blog here.

Weekly Card 3 of Cups

April 16, 2015
150409 3 of Cups Crystal
Crystal Tarot

What a beautiful card for a spring day (at least, for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere – those of you in the South can lift a cup to spring days yet to come)!

3 of Cups is a social, cheerful card saying, Celebrate! And find your best friends to celebrate with you.

You’ll remember, from Tarot . . . It’s Easier Than You Think, that 3s are expression and expansion, and Cups are emotions, relationships and creativity.

So how can you express your emotions? How can you expand your relationships? Your creativity?

Looking to the Crystal Tarot image, we’ve got the three Cups (or Chalices) enclosing an egg, symbol of fertility and creativity. This one is many layered and includes a design that makes me think of the beautiful pysanky from the Ukrainian Easter tradition. Floating above the stable triangle is the fluttering butterfly of transformation. We’ve no shortage of blooming flowers here, with lots of heart-based green and turquoise from the higher heart – that place where expression comes from the heart.

150416 3 of Cups RWS
Rider Waite Smith Tarot

For Tarot 2: We’re Not in Kansas Anymore, let’s introduce 3 of Cups experiences to a couple of Court Cards. Start with the Knight of Cups. We’ve got the airy Knight stirring up the watery Cups in a situation of the same element. Remember, he keeps moving. As long as things are expansive, is he likely to stay? When we look at the stability of the 3, how is he likely to react? What happens when we’ve got too much water and it’s all being stirred up?

Bring the practical Page of Pentacles in. How do earth and water get along? Pretty neutral, aren’t they? But how long is this Page likely to stick around if the party just keeps going, particularly if it’s celebration for celebration’s sake? The Page may not have much impact on the situation, but the situation may not have much impact on the Page either.

If you were a Court Card, who would you be? And which Courts might best represent some of your friends? Now, which ones do you want to invite to the party?

Are you running out of patience and ready to be out creating and socializing?  Have at it!

Celebrate!

 




You can sign up for Tarot 2: We’re Not in Kansas Anymore with the Berkeley County Adult Ed Program.  The fun happens Friday, 1st May, from 6 to 8pm.

Expressing Integrity

April 23, 2015

1504 Numbers

There’s a special push to put things into form this month. Building projects that have been on hold resume construction. Businesses that have been a nebulous idea are finally incorporated. Sculptors love this energy, because they’re all about expression through form.

The energy can be summed up as expression with form and integrity. In the arts, this is also a satisfying energy for dancers and choreographers, as long as they’re not trying to overdo and push their physical limits. Focus on the beauty of the line and what you mean to express with it.

For the rest of us mere mortals, attending art exhibits or any of the performing arts (with especial emphasis on sculpture and dance) will allow us to be witness to those remarkable moments of artistic genius.

Expressing ourselves through our businesses and through the businesses we choose to be associated with is also a strong encouragement this month. Again, it’s a time to ask whether our business dealings express who we are; what’s our integrity in the world of commerce?

The energy is social this month and can favour cliques and societies. That can cause sore feelings amoung outsiders. If you’re on the outside, find connections with others by speaking your truth with consideration for the differences in people. In fact, that’s great advice for everyone this month! If you’re an insider, enjoy your special connections but be sensitive to exclusivity or superiority complexes.

Whatever the opportunities, express yourself!

 




Your personal month insights are available; just let me know you want them.

Weekly Card 3 of Pentacles Repeat

July 24, 2014
131219 Osho Zen 3 of Rainbows
Osho Zen Tarot

Welcome to the world of meaningful work!

131219 RWS 3 of Pentacles
Rider Waite Smith Tarot

3 of Pentacles, as a 3, is expansion and expression; as a Pentacle, those exes are happening in the material world, the world of health, and the world of finances.  (Not to bring to mind those you’ve left behind.)

Or maybe we do want to . . . .

When 3 of Pentacles appears, we know we’re on the road to perfecting whatever it is that we’re up to.  We’re looking to improve our status.  And that means we’ll be changing our relationship to anything that holds us back.

On the positive side, we can be so focused on our aspirations that we take the steps needed to attain those heights.   We’re dedicated to what we want to achieve: it comes from within, from our inner guide.  We gather a team that shares our vision and brings what we need to the table.  We understand how to work from a plan and how to learn new skills when we need to.

And the implication of 3 of Pentacles is that there’ll be a reward for quality work that’s faithful to the vision.

On the negative side, we can be so focused on the idea of “the best” that we use others to climb to the top.   Not a pretty picture, and not necessary to achieve our goals.

Osho Zen is one of the tarot decks that uses alternatives to Pentacles, Cups, Swords and Wands.  Here, we have Rainbows corresponding to Pentacles, Water to Cups, Clouds to Swords, and Fire to Wands.

To strengthen your understanding of 3 of Pentacles, imagine it in response to questions about home improvement, about a health or diet plan, and about investments.  How can you apply the concepts above to those arenas?

Then imagine the story you’d tell if 3 of Pentacles is paired with 10 of Swords.  And what’s the very different story that might result if it appears with Ace of Pentacles?

Now’s your chance to follow your inner guide to a better world!

 

I’m on holiday this week, so this repeat post is filling in for a live one.  Yes, you can still schedule a personal reading or lesson with me here.

Weekly Card III The Empress

July 17, 2014
140717 Dreaming Way III Empress
Dreaming Way Tarot

One of the reasons I love the Dreaming Way Tarot is that the people in the pictures look like the young folk we might meet on the street.  It puts Tarot right where it belongs: in the middle of our daily lives.

So who’s this young beauty, ready to burst with the life inside her?

140717 RWS III Empress
Rider Waite Smith Tarot

III Empress is the archetypal mother, the outer feminine (with II High Priestess as the inner feminine).  Energy just pours through her.  She’s fertile and nurturing, with the wisdom of seeing the forest as well as the trees added to the understanding of how the system works.  Gaia, the Earth mother.

Literally, pregnancy can show up under III Empress.  Metaphorically, that translates into creativity.  There are plenty of resources to sustain the creation until birth, and all the natural wisdom needed to nurture the creation along until its natural end.

Lots of nature there, you notice.  This is nature just pouring itself all over the place.  If you’re gardening, you love to see III Empress show up.  It’s like the hardy plants that grow up even in places that have been paved over: life will prevail even through the asphalt.   Don’t even try to contain it: just let it burst on through.

This is the week to tap into your life-giving passion.

 

Expressing the Sacred

December 30, 2014

140506 Sacred Expression

We all have a way of expressing ourselves.   And we express ourselves differently in different areas of our lives.

Some of us talk about our feelings; some of us cry or laugh or yell.  Some of us tell people we love them by doing things for them; some of us give the people we love a big old hug regularly.

This month, the area to examine your self-expression is, guess what, the sacred.

Are you a church-goer?   Do you have personal rituals?   Is your quiet time in nature sacred?  Do you sing in the choir?

Are there daily tasks that are sacred expressions?  Is there an area or items in your home that are sacred expressions?

Are you restrained or ecstatic in your expression?  Or somewhere in between?

Apply your creativity to the sacred this month.  Discover new ways to express yourself about sanctity.  Or re-discover old ways and put them to use.

Whatever your style, get out there and be a big glowing ball of sacred self-expression this month.

 

Yes, numerological counseling is amoung the services offered here.

Here‘s where to find all the Numerology posts for 2014.

Weekly Card 3 of Pentacles

March 5, 2015
131219 Osho Zen 3 of Rainbows
Osho Zen Tarot

Welcome to the world of meaningful work!

131219 RWS 3 of Pentacles
Rider Waite Smith Tarot

3 of Pentacles, as a 3, is expansion and expression; as a Pentacle, those exes are happening in the material world, the world of health, and the world of finances.  (Not to bring to mind those you’ve left behind.)

Or maybe we do want to . . . .

When 3 of Pentacles appears, we know we’re on the road to perfecting whatever it is that we’re up to.  We’re looking to improve our status.  And that means we’ll be changing our relationship to anything that holds us back.

On the positive side, we can be so focused on our aspirations that we take the steps needed to attain those heights.   We’re dedicated to what we want to achieve: it comes from within, from our inner guide.  We gather a team that shares our vision and brings what we need to the table.  We understand how to work from a plan and how to learn new skills when we need to.

And the implication of 3 of Pentacles is that there’ll be a reward for quality work that’s faithful to the vision.

On the negative side, we can be so focused on the idea of “the best” that we use others to climb to the top.   Not a pretty picture, and not necessary to achieve our goals.

Osho Zen is one of the tarot decks that uses alternatives to Pentacles, Cups, Swords and Wands.  Here, we have Rainbows corresponding to Pentacles, Water to Cups, Clouds to Swords, and Fire to Wands.

To strengthen your understanding of 3 of Pentacles, imagine it in response to questions about home improvement, about a health or diet plan, and about investments.  How can you apply the concepts above to those arenas?

Then imagine the story you’d tell if 3 of Pentacles is paired with 10 of Swords.  And what’s the very different story that might result if it appears with Ace of Pentacles?

Now’s your chance to follow your inner guide to a better world!

 




I’m delighted to help you find your guide through tarot.  Get in touch whenever you need.

Weekly Card 3 of Wands Revisited

September 26, 2013
131003 Herbal 3 of Wands
Herbal Tarot

Since we’ve met the 3 of Wands before, let’s focus on that ship out on the horizon.

Are you waiting for your ship to come in?

Have you cast your fate to the wind?

Am I out of clichés yet?

Which do you think is going on in the 3 of Wands?  Has our character on the hillside set his sights on the ship because it’s on its way in, or because he’s invested in it and it’s on its way out?

Either way, his fate is in the hands of others.

We often like to act as if our success or failure is all up to us, as if it doesn’t much matter what goes on out there in the world.

3 of Wands tells us it just ain’t so.  At 3 of Wands, we’ve made our contribution to the world.  We’ve expressed ourselves in some way.  We’ve shared our hopes and potentials with others.

And now we’re beginning to see the return.  Sometimes we’re a roaring success when our expression connects with others.  Other times, not so much.

And sometimes we can adjust our expression in response to feedback.  Other times, what’s done is done.

In both cases, we want to ask ourselves if we believe in what we’ve done so far.   If you do believe — whether your belief is in faeries or spooks — stand by your mission (and, maybe, your Tinkerbell or Cowardly Lion).  Keep sharing with others and watch what happens.

Let your spirit sail into the wide world this week!
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