majors Archives - Transformation3

XII The Hanged Man Reconsidered

December 23, 2015 December 23, 2015

151223 XII The Hanged Man Mythic — Mythic Tarot

I love it when the cards are this literal!

Here we are, at the winter solstice when the sun seems to hang in the sky, not moving from its ever-changing trajectory. And XII The (immobile) Hanged Man shows up.

When we’ve looked at XII The Hanged Man before we’ve seen a slightly different image. All the images so far have had a person hanging upside-down from a tree.

In the Mythic Tarot, we have Prometheus chained to a cliff as punishment for bringing fire to humanity.

One of the gruesome things humans have done to each other is to hang traitors or other perceived criminals upside down by one leg. Yes, it’s a method of execution. And that is how XII The Hanged Man is perceived in some branches of Tarot.

Prometheus would certainly fit the definition of “traitor”, if we’re looking from the perspective of Zeus, who designed the punishment. Of course, from our point of view, Prometheus is a rebel fighting for a worthy cause.

It’s all about perspective.

And that’s got a lot to do with XII The Hanged Man: taking a pause to view the world from a different perspective. Stopping the current forward momentum to assess and change direction.

Kind of like what the sun is doing right now.

For those of you celebrating Christmas, I wish you a blessed and hope-filled holiday.

XIX The Sun’s Flow

November 20, 2015 November 20, 2015

150723 XIX Sun Blake — William Blake Tarot

Last year, it seemed XIX The Sun was showing up regularly. It’s been almost exactly a year since we’ve last seen it.

Have you noticed times in your readings when particular cards show up over and over? You know, kind of like the kids poking you in the arm, “Hey, Mom”, “Hey, Mom”, “Hey, Mom”.

Well, it’s exactly like that. You’re continuing to resonate with a particular energy and your higher self is letting you know it’s an important thing to be aware of.

Sometimes it’s stuff we don’t really want to pay attention to. But you know that’s exactly when the kids poke at you harder, right? Or go off and get into big trouble that takes even more of your time and attention. And we learn we’d have done better if we’d just interrupted the course we were on to attend to the pokey kids.

XIX The Sun is usually a welcome interruption (especially at this time of year, here in the northern hemisphere). Unless you’re terribly shy and hate being seen out in public. Or unless you’re really comfortable putting on the dog and hate being seen for who you are.

In the William Blake Tarot, we’ve got the sun on the horizon of the river of life. We’re encouraged to jump in the river, to immerse ourselves in life, in our most naked, authentic and vulnerable state. It’s as if we can go with the flow and follow the river right to the blessings of that sun.

It’s the participation in life that is really the reward of XIX The Sun, being out in the glorious world, sharing from our natural inclinations, being received for who we are in spirit.

Shine it on!

Non-Judgemental XX Judgement

October 16, 2015 October 16, 2015

150730 XX Judgement Wheel of Fortune Aeon — Wheel of Fortune Tarot

As you’ve probably noticed (hello, anyone out there?), this is no longer a “weekly card” feature. It’s a “whenever I can make the time for it” feature.

And hey, no judgements.

Except this one.

I much prefer Aeon to Judgement as a title for the XX Major card (which we’ve seen before).

We’ve got all those geological ages – Pleistocene, Jurassic, Cambrian and all that lot that you remember from Science classes or cinema dates.

We define what our seniors patronizingly called “stages” by the big things that happen.

And XX Judgement – or Aeon – lets us know that we’ve completed one of our own defining eras.

At the end of eras new things evolve. Or, for us, new characteristics and potentials are revealed. From behind the veil.

Most of us have places where the froufrou is hiding our real selves. “Putting on the dog”, we used to call it. XX Aeon describes us when the froufrou is a true expression of ourselves or it’s just g.o.n.e. Gone.

We have a sense of black and white about what’s our “job” and what’s somebody else’s, of what we want to do with our time, of where our mission lies. Rather than dress things up to flesh them out, we’re deciding me/not-me much more in line with our true nature, our true calling.

So dress yourself up, take yourself out for a stroll (minus the dog) and have at your new era.

Weekly Card The Captivating Fool

June 4, 2015 June 4, 2015

150604 0 The Fool Bellydancers — Tarot of the Bellydancers

We’ve all met 0 The Fool in our lives. And we’ve all been 0 The Fool at least once or twice. (One of my favourite expressions is, “Mama didn’t raise no small fool”.) And, with a little less embarrassment, we’ve met 0 The Fool here a couple of times.

So let’s finesse 0 The Fool with 3 different images.

First, from Tarot of the Bellydancers (yes, really!) we have this smiling beauty offering us a pure white lotus with the promise of a dance. The lotus – and her little dog – are pure, unsullied by the journey. Is this dancer at the start or end of her dance? Is the red bag waiting for gifts or full of the gifts from her performance? 0 The Fool is sometimes placed at the beginning of the cycle of the Majors and sometimes at the end. Does the unopened lotus necessarily mean this 0 The Fool can’t be at the end of the cycle?

The leaping 0 The Fool from the Yoga Tarot has a monkey face, the reflection of his chattering monkey mind. And the outside world is no help, with another monkey pulling at him. Here we have an unrefined 0 The Fool, pulled here and there by the multitude of distractions in life and in his mind. Any banana will do to entice him on his journey.

150604 0 The Fool Renaissance Williams — Brian Williams’ Renaissance Tarot

0 The Fool from Brian Williams’ Renaissance Tarot is a more serious contender. This Jester is dressed for court and ready to entertain the aristocracy. He alone can criticize the ruling class with impunity. With his staff of grapes, he brings Dionysian wildness with him. The skull of mortality tops the staff, acknowledging that the journey of life has an end. Live life while ye may . . . .

What if V The Heirophant meets our mysterious bellydancer 0 The Fool? Will the meeting be the same as with the monkeymind 0 The Fool? Or the Renaissance Jester 0 The Fool?

How about the rational King of Swords? How will the Sky Kitty get on with the bellydancer and her dog? With the monkey? Anyone else hearing a whole lot of yowling and scratched noses, so far? The Jester may have more of a place in the court of the King of Swords.

Or put the various aspects of 0 The Fool through a 3 of Cups experience. How do they colour the situation?

You can see that comparisons of multiple images can bring to light various points on the spectrum of a card’s energy. Do you relate more to one of the 0 The Fools that we’ve seen so far than to the others? How do you think of 0 The Fool? What can you add to provide depth to the character?

Get out there and dare to be a Big Fool this week!

Weekly Card The Tribal Conscience of V The Heirophant

May 28, 2015 May 28, 2015

150527 V The Heirophant Renaissance Lyle — The Renaissance Tarot

When was the last time you ran into someone wearing a woolly, horned headdress? It probably wasn’t at any of the places you’d imagine meeting V The Heirophant.

So what’s going on here, in Helen Jones and Jane Lyle’s Renaissance Tarot image?

For starters, it can be helpful to step outside of our culture to explore spiritual traditions from other times and places. Where there are groups of humans, it’s natural that structures grow up to addresse the non-visible aspects of our existence. This isn’t an element of “high civilization” or “asphalt world”.

The fur and horns bring to mind animals of the natural world. There’s our physical nature right up there at the top of V The Heirophant. So we’ve got spirituality in the natural world, not in some abstract or ideal construct. This is our guide to the non-visible within visible life. Those horns can operate as antenna for messages from the divine, direct to the natural self of our guide.

It also brings up some of the elements of life that will return again and again in our journey through the Major Arcana. We may have developed a spiritual approach within an existing tradition, or designed one of our own. But we’ve still got those parts of ourselves that are wild and unknown, out of control. We’ll get lots of opportunities to come to terms with our wild selves in any lifetime.

Recently, we looked at VII The Chariot. We saw another hint of internal conflict there. What if we bring this wild and woolly V The Heirophant into one of our VII The Chariot situations? How much impact do you think V The Heirophant has had on building our various societies?

What happens when V The Heirophant is in the room with the King of Swords? We’ve got earthly authority meeting spiritual authority. What is the ultimate authority in your life? Does it vary from situation to situation? What cultures have given V The Heirophant domination over the King of Swords?

How does V The Heirophant relate to the celebratory occasions of the 3 of Cups? What are some of the small-scale ceremonies and rituals in place in the celebrations and joyful social structures of your life? Is there room for the wildness of a woolly headdress?

This week, look for the ways your traditions and rituals honour your natural, untamed self.

Weekly Card VII The Chariot

May 7, 2015 May 7, 2015

150423 VII Chariot Renaissance Williams — Brian Williams’ The Renaissance Tarot

It’s good to have some of the gaps in our tarot view filled in this past month. Since this is (mostly) a random draw, the past two years have seen repeated cards, so not all 78 have been covered yet.

Time to meet VII The Chariot.

150507 VII Chariot RWS — Rider Waite Smith Tarot

How do we relate to someone in a chariot? Especially someone armoured? Most of us have absolutely no experience of that in our lives.

Or do we?

When was the last time you were in commuter traffic?

Being in commuter traffic ties in with having a role in society, one of the indications of VII The Chariot. At that point in our developmental journey, we head out into the world with something to offer. The world receives us well, saying, “yeah, we can use what you’ve got; we’ll make sure you’re compensated for it.”

But things can still be black and white at the VII Chariot point (notice the light and dark horses or the black and white sphinxes). There can be conflicting forces to manage. They can add to the spirit of adventure that’s connected with VII The Chariot. We may have found a societal role that works, but the adventure’s just beginning.

We’ve still got those internal conflicts to work out. Stay tuned: the Majors will addresse those – it’s worth clicking the “Majors” tag to look at some of the places we’ll go from VII The Chariot.

And those conflicts keep us moving forward. That’s why travel is often associated with VII The Chariot.

So is “progress”. Sometimes it’s straight ahead progress, as we keep the light and dark forces balanced. Other times it’s a zigzag hopscotch between the two, struggling to keep both wheels on the ground.

And then there’s that armour. Like a crab shell, it keeps the soft stuff protected – that stuff where we’re vulnerable while we struggle with our personal black and white. Think about your public self. Mostly your public persona does that for you, doesn’t it? It’s a way of being guarded but mobile and functional.

So, this week, where are you moving forward? Where is the progress straight ahead? Where do there seem to be obstacles? How could your internal conflicts be creating the stuff out there that you have to go around?

Define your role in society and use it to make progress!

Yup, we can definitely lose control of our personal light and dark steeds. When that happens, tarot is a wonderful tool to help train the team to make progress. You know where to find me.

Weekly Card VI The Lovers

March 26, 2015 March 26, 2015

150326 VI Lovers Thousand and One Nights — Tarot of the Thousand and One Nights

Can it be? In the 2 years we’ve been looking at a card each week, we’ve never seen VI The Lovers?

Finally, here it is!

Which is often the way people feel after encountering the choice they’ve been waiting for. The one they recognize as truly “theirs”.

Wait! “Choice”? Not “person?

Yah-hah.

150326 VI Lovers RWS — Rider Waite Smith Tarot

VI The Lovers can absolutely mean a soul-deep love when that’s what we’ve focused on. But it’s a much bigger energy than that. It’s about recognizing any element in your life as peculiarly germane to your singular journey. A career choice, an education choice, a geographical location choice: these can all fall into VI Lovers territory.

The thing you’ll recognize is that you feel there really is no choice at all. There’s something you have to do, someone you have to be, because of the calling of your soul.

The down side is that there’s usually something else to be left behind. In the case of relationship, we may not have the freedom we did when single. For an education choice, we may be leaving friends behind by choosing a faraway college. Any choice has its ramifications, doesn’t it?

Here in the Tarot of the Thousand and One Nights we have the choice of the Sultan to love Scheherazade. Quite a brave choice, even given the thousand and one nights of brilliant story-telling. All that story-telling doesn’t necessarily mean the Sultan won’t get hurt again. Scheherazade could be cunning enough for treachery if she’s clever enough to keep interest by story-telling. (Of course, I’ll put in a vote for the happy ending!)

VI Lovers isn’t our happy ending; it’s our meaningful beginning. There’s still the “ever after” part left to live.

So bring it down to the level of your own life: where do you have meaningful choices to make? How can you connect with your soul at the crossroads? Recognize that you’re at the very beginning of the paths you can choose between.

Choose soulfully and begin the adventure!

We all have times when we need help recognizing our options and hearing the voice of our soul. Tarot’s a wonderful tool for those times and I’m happy to help you use it. Get in touch with me whenever you need.

Weekly Card O The Fool Shows Another Face

March 5, 2015 June 3, 2015

150305 0 Fool Contemplative — Contemplative Tarot

Wow! Who’s this guy?? Dire straits and a real mess, this one!

You’ve probably noticed the bare butt hanging out of his jester’s leggings and his matching (?) jester’s hat. There’s a lynx hanging onto his leg with tooth and claw and a very interested crocodile about to grab the other leg. His sack is very full, but of what, we don’t know. Were you as surprised as I to see the tie with his shirt? And did you notice that his shoes don’t match?

He’s been travelling through a desert and it seems to have gotten the best of him. His tongue is hanging out of the side of his mouth and his position implies an extremely unbalanced gait. Everything’s leaning to the right, the rational side. But this dude doesn’t look even remotely rational.

Do you ever have days like that? Days when you can’t get it together and you’ve got problems nipping at your heels while you walk into a big-ass mess, all while you’re completely depleted, with no resources around you.

Or is this guy out of resources? That big sack on his left shoulder, his intuitive side, sure is full of something. And that’s just where 0 The Fool tells us to look: within, to our still, small voice.

Last time we looked at 0 The Fool, he wasn’t in such dire straits. Sometimes it seems this is the human condition. We’ve leaned too hard on our thinking mind and now we’re being asked to use that great store of internal treasure to get us out of the mess we’re in.

So where are you feeling bone dry and all et up with problems? This is your opportunity for a new adventure. Start by opening your personal rucksack right where you are, before you take another step. What’s in there? Remember, this isn’t about your rational self, this is about your innocent internal self. Let go of your concern with the outer world and go within for your next lead.

Who knows, you might find you can fly!

If you’re stuck between your own lynx and crocodile, tarot is a wonderful tool to help you find your inner wisdom. Here’s where to find me.

Weekly Card X The Whirling Wheel of Fortune

February 19, 2015 February 10, 2015

150219 X Wheel of Fortune Spirit — Tarot of the Spirit

Do you ever look at a card and go, “huh, what?” (Yes, I know, for those of you at the beginning of your journey this can feel like a constant state!)

How about circumstances? When things change around you, do you have trouble orienting? Confusion can easily take over.

Well, as we talked about before, and as you learned in Tarot . . . It’s Easier Than You Think, X The Wheel of Fortune is all about change. And we can easily put ourselves on autopilot and lose track of changes in life. Even when we know that change is a constant, we can find ourselves with lots of elements whirling around us, leaving us dazed and not at all sure what’s going on.

The Tarot of the Spirit X The Wheel of Fortune captures the feeling of confusion brilliantly. There’s so much going on: energy’s whirling all over the place, there are lots of elements and images, many of them unfamiliar without a background in the esoteric.

But, like change, when you sit with the image for a while, you begin to get your bearings. You start to isolate elements of the image, even if you don’t understand them all. You find personal responses to those elements, even without knowing the intention of the artist.

And then, perhaps, you doubt whether your interpretation is the “right” one. If you’re feeling very tenacious, you’ll do a little research to find out what the symbols “really” mean. The companion books with complex decks can be very helpful. This is definitely a deck I’d recommend using with the book until you’re very comfortable with the advanced imagery.

If the Tarot of the Spirit imagery is one you want to work with, I’ll bet you’ll eventually find that your original interpretation has a place within or alongside the intentions of the creators, Pamela & Joyce Eakins. That level of experience with the tarot will give you the solid central core of stability within all the very busy elements of each reading – or, even, each card!

This week, discover which of your past experiences give you your supportive spine. Use them as a reference point to observe the changes around you. There’s always something changing for the better as well as for the worse.

Join the dance!

If your life has you whirling and wheeling, I’m more than happy to help. Spin on over when you need!

Weekly Card XVII The Stars in All Their Glory

January 29, 2015 January 15, 2015

150129 XVII Renaissance Alligo — Tarot of the Renaissance

We’ve looked at the basic Tarot . . . It’s Easier Than You Think idea of XVII The Star as a calling. And we’ve talked about how unlikely the elements of your personal mission can be. So what does Giorgio Trevisan’s beautiful image from the Tarot of the Renaissance have to teach us?

I’m most aware that we can see this Star in all her beauty through her garment. She’s not at all concerned with her visibility.

It’s very much like that when we become comfortable with our true calling. People can see us for who we are. We’re not wearing a social mask. What we do no longer hides us.

This Star pours from a pitcher and a cup. We know Cups as the suit of relationships, emotions and creativity, the suit of the heart. Our mission is never in isolation; there’s always service and connection to others involved. And there’s certainly creativity: no one else has our mission. We’re making it up as we go.

Quite often I’ve heard from clients who think they’ve found their mission when they’re doing what they “should be” doing, even though they hate it. Our missions satisfy us, even emotionally. If you’re not in love with what you’re doing, you’re still earthbound. Aim higher.

In this deck, XVII The Stars is a multiple. Our detailed Star is just one of many glowing in the firmament. Her halo glows brightly, and so do those of all the stars that surround her. We are one of many with a personal mission. Other stars shining brightly don’t dim our light. When we see others being a light in the dark, we can welcome their success, knowing that we’re doing the same, that we’re also being recognized for our inspiration by those we serve.

Take your place amoung the stars!

If you’re not feeling very star-ish, tarot provides an excellent tool to help you connect with your calling. You know where I can be found.