When It shines, it Changes the appearance and the FEELING of everything in its vicinity.
In the Modern Witch Tarot, take a closer look at the sunflowers.
Most are stretching towards the Sun, eager to embrace Its Light and Warmth.
Some are curious about the child astride the horse, enjoying her joie de vie….
But one sunflower…. looks away.
Is it just one step behind the others, as I sometimes (okay, all the time) am in a structured dance?
Is it just ADD and caught up looking at something else that has its attention? (Because we ADD/multidimensional people do that too)
Or is it purposely turning its back on this Sun’s warmth, out of bitterness, pain, anger, or stubborness? (I’ve done that too ….)
The Sun does not discriminate. It shines impartially on All. In this deck’s imagery, It focuses only on carrying out its calling.
It’s up to the individual to choose how they utilize Her Light.
It’s up to each of us at any given moment in time, to either soak it up or decline its warmth. Right or wrong, each of us makes the decision we need for ourselves.
“Behind the chariot flows a wide river, symbolic of the need to be ‘in flow’ with the rhythm of life while also charging ahead toward your goals and intentions . . .
“The Chariot is a card of willpower, determination and strength. You have discovered how to make decisions in alignment with your values with the Lovers card, and now you are taking action on those decisions.”
“The Chariot is an invitation to draw upon your willpower and home in on what’s essential to you, so you can push past the obstacles in your way . . .
“If you are curious about whether you have what it takes to achieve your aim or complete an important project, the Chariot is a sign you will be successful so long as you keep your focus and remain confident in your abilities . . .
“You need to use your willpower and self-discipline to concentrate on the task at hand. You can’t cut corners or take the easy route, or you will fail. Instead, see this endeavour as a test of your strength and conviction, and recognise that victory is within reach, but it’s up to you to follow through . . .
” The Chariot calls you to assert yourself and be courageous. Be bold in expressing your desires and laying down your boundaries; otherwise, you will not get your way. You need to have faith in yourself and know fundamentally who you are and what you stand for (thus building off the personal belief systems and values established through the Lovers card).”
Taken from the Biddy E-Blast with my notes inserted: The card drawn for this week is the The Chariot reversed :
“Do you ever feel like you’re banging your head against a brick wall as you try to force your way through obstacles that are standing in the way of what you want? Trying to move forward with projects when everything seems to be getting in the way?”
This has been my whole life.
“The Chariot reversed indicates that it may be time to back off, regroup and consider whether you need to change direction.”
***
I seem to be a week or so ahead of the general energy lately. I did this (advice) a few weeks ago and have already begun to resolve my issues and situations regarding this. So the Chariot reversed for me seems more like one of the interpretation methods where you take the upright card and apply it INTERNALLY, or those energies HAVE BEEN applied internally already.
This is what I’ve already done recently:
“Before taking action, the reversed Chariot may be a hint that you are focusing your energy and attention on your internal processes, such as self-discipline, inner determination and personal commitment. You may home in on the intentions that align with your Higher Self. Or, you can use visualisation and meditation to make sure your energy aligns with your goals. These internally focused actions are essential so that when the time comes to act, you will be ready.”
“If you’ve lost your motivation for something you were once passionate about, and no longer feel as committed to the outcome as you did when you started, take some time to tune into your intuition. Re-evaluate the situation and check in to see if this requires a course change or if you just need a refresh.
Then ask the Tarot:
“Is there a deeper reason why things have become more challenging? What lesson can I learn here?”“
Testing for accuracy. Test Running a spread. Also shows the thought process behind my readings. Shows how the Tarot can be applied as a tool to the simplest of situations and questions. This is why I only charge 5US$ sometimes, depending upon the simplicity of the question.
Thoughts and Interpretations from readers welcome!!!
The Question is “Is my (missing) paycheck forthcoming soon (in the mail, etc.) and I just don’t know it?”
I didn’t think to clarify as I was shuffling that “is it forthcoming without my having to call HR first?” So I may have to do this again.
I did a Three Card Spread:
1. Truth of the Situation 2. What I Need to Know 3. Answer
I pulled the cards that are shown below:
1. King of Wands 2. Queen of Pentacles 3. Nine of Cups
The Answer to the Question
So, of course, the first thing I looked at was the Nine of Cups as the Answer card, and it’s a great card for a Yes/No question, most usually means a resounding “YES!” So I”m happy with that. I take that to mean my MIA paycheck is on the way and I’m just not aware of it yet.
So maybe check is in mail, or maybe I have to go up and get it, who knows. I’m double checking on that now.
The Nine of Cups is a smug, happy guy; he’s gotten what he wants. That bodes well for me in this case.
Truth of Situation
The next card I look at is the first one, the Truth of the Situation, the King of Wands.
The first things that pop into my mind are that Kings are about Authority, and Wands are about Passionate Feelings. This King is angled away from the viewer with his left arm presenting. The left arm is controlled by the right brain. (Which is how I deal with Left and Right sides symbolism in my readings.) The Right Brain deals with intuition, spirituality, Creativity, the Arts, etc. This King is sitting and just thinking about things, or about something.
He’s not about action yet. He’s not using his Fire actively or externally yet; he is more contemplating what he should do for the moment. I’d say that’s accurate to what I am doing right now. I didn’t see my pay deposited Friday; I waited til today (Monday) to see if maybe it was in the mailbox before taking any action, and now I am contacting employer to see if maybe I was supposed to go pick up and I just didn’t know it.
It’s worth noting that he holds his Wand in his Right Hand, denoting the Left Brain and Logic/Reason. When he does take action, it will be logic ruled. This also is accurate for me.
Sometimes the Truth card will tell you Truths you are not aware of. So far, this one is only telling me where I am on my part, which I already know, but which validates that I shuffled effectively and that the rest of this spread is most likely accurate as well. Which is always nice to know.
This King has a lot of power but also a lot of self control, as all the Kings do. This tells me that I am handling this situation in the right manner and that I”m right to evaluate before taking action.
Finally, this King if facing away from the Nine of Cups. He’s not focused yet on making his desires manifest. He’s more waiting and seeing if the situation will rectify itself before wasting time and energy trying to force the issue. Again, this is accurate for my frame of mind and response.
What I Need to Know
And finally we have the Queen of Pentacles in the What I Need to Know position.
The first thing that comes to mind with her is that she also, is facing away from the Nine of Cups. Does this mean I”m too overly focused on my material security? More than I need to be, perhaps? This Queen has a very fertile kingdom but she doesn’t realize the Nine of Cups is right there next to her, it seems like. She’s angled towards the King of Wands, who is contemplating what action to take. The rabbit, a symbol of fertility, is also not just pointed away from the Nine of Cups, but actively running away from him.
Which does reinforce for me, the feeling that this may be advice to not worry and that worry is needless. No one in this card is acknowledging the Nine of Cups at all. They’re not seeing that it will be resolved very satisfactorily. They’re very comfortable and in no danger of poverty in this card. This Queen is also looking down at the huge pentacle she holds in her lap, which to me also could be a symbol of focusing too exclusively on material security. She’s not even looking at the rabbit, much less at the Nine of Cups. She’s not looking at anything around her. Just the pentacle in her lap. The over-sized pentacle in her lap.
So as far as I can tell, What I Need to Know most likely means “Stop worrying.”
And again, a look at their comparative positions to one another:
This spread is made of three different elements, which means it’s fairly well balanced. The only element lacking is the Swords, which means I may be focusing too much with my emotions, my passionate feelings, and my material concern than with any kind of overtly logical thought. Though I picked up on “logic” when I was looking at the King of Wands, so that makes me not too concerned about that.
The summary would be that waiting is fine, nothing is in any peril, and it will work out in the end. Which tells me to go ahead and wait til I hear back from my employer regarding my inquiry about it. If I don’t hear back from them, say, by Friday, I will go ahead and call HR. In which case, it will certainly be the Nine of Cups in the end, because I KNOW HR will resolve this if the individual store does not.
So we’ll see how accurate this pans out to be as the situation unfolds.
And if anyone else has any thoughts to offer, please do!
Little bit of a different take on the Six of Swords… not just leaving something unsatisfactory behind for a new future, but leaving something unsatisfactory to the extent of being dangerous … in favor of traveling to somewhere safe.
And the journey itself not being quite as serene as the card imagery depicts … but really emphasizing the choppy waters on the right of the craft … the journey itself being dangerous the whole way through.
And then … in the following story … the ending isn’t what you are traditionally told to expect in the Six of Swords. It’s a very Swordsie ending.
***
“And now indeed I felt as if my last anchor were loosening its hold, and I should soon be driving with the winds and waves. “ – Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens
***
And taken from Chapter 52 of the same:
‘I have thought it over, again and again,’ said Herbert, ‘and I think I know a better course than taking a Thames waterman. Take Startop. A good fellow, a skilled hand, fond of us, and enthusiastic and honourable.’
I had thought of him, more than once.
‘But how much would you tell him, Herbert?’
‘It is necessary to tell him very little. Let him suppose it a mere freak, but a secret one, until the morning comes: then let him know that there is urgent reason for your getting Provis aboard and away. You go with him?’
‘No doubt.’
‘Where?’
It had seemed to me, in the many anxious considerations I had given the point, almost indifferent what port we made for – Hamburg, Rotterdam, Antwerp – the place signified little, so that he was got out of England. Any foreign steamer that fell in our way and would take us up, would do. I had always proposed to myself to get him well down the river in the boat; certainly well beyond Gravesend, which was a critical place for search or inquiry if suspicion were afoot. As foreign steamers would leave London at about the time of high-water, our plan would be to get down the river by a previous ebb-tide, and lie by in some quiet spot until we could pull off to one. The time when one would be due where we lay, wherever that might be, could be calculated pretty nearly, if we made inquiries beforehand.
Herbert assented to all this, and we went out immediately after breakfast to pursue our investigations. We found that a steamer for Hamburg was likely to suit our purpose best, and we directed our thoughts chiefly to that vessel. But we noted down what other foreign steamers would leave London with the same tide, and we satisfied ourselves that we knew the build and colour of each. We then separated for a few hours; I, to get at once such passports as were necessary; Herbert, to see Startop at his lodgings. We both did what we had to do without any hindrance, and when we met again at one o’clock reported it done. I, for my part, was prepared with passports; Herbert had seen Startop, and he was more than ready to join.
Those two should pull a pair of oars, we settled, and I would steer; our charge would be sitter, and keep quiet; as speed was not our object, we should make way enough. We arranged that Herbert should not come home to dinner before going to Mill Pond Bank that evening; that he should not go there at all, to-morrow evening, Tuesday; that he should prepare Provis to come down to some Stairs hard by the house, on Wednesday, when he saw us approach, and not sooner; that all the arrangements with him should be concluded that Monday night; and that he should be communicated with no more in any way, until we took him on board. These precautions well understood by both of us, I went home.
In this climate of opiod devastation, I thought it would be appropriate to share parts of a newsletter I receive. The advice given below seem to me to be valuable for anyone struggling with regret in general as well.
Practice praying silently as a steady background whenever and wherever you can. Personalize and vary prayers such as this example derived from the St. Francis Prayer: Make me an instrument of thy well-being. See yourself always summoning the energy of well-being from your spiritual Source.
“Start right this minute by offering a silent prayer of gratitude for your liver, your heart, and your brain.”
– Wayne Dyer
2. Love Your Addictions
If it’s food, love it. If it’s cocaine, love it. If it’s painkillers, love them. If it’s cigarettes, love them. These are some of your greatest teachers. They’ve taught you through direct experience what it is that you no longer wish to be. They’ve taken you to the depths for some reason. This is an intelligent system you’re a part of. There are no accidents in a Universe supported by omniscience and omnipotence. Be grateful for these teachers.
If you hate them, curse them, and attempt to fight these addictions, you tip the balance toward hatred and fighting. You then continue to chase after what you don’t want because you’re in a weakened state. Fighting weakens; love empowers.
So tip the scale toward love. Be grateful for the addictions that have taught you so much. Send them a silent blessing. By doing so, you shift toward the love that you are.
3. Love Yourself
This is the natural outgrowth of choosing to love your addictions. Think of your body as a sacred temple, and extend reverence as a form of love. Be aware of, and grateful for, every organ, every drop of blood, every appendage, and every cell that constitutes your body. Start right this minute by offering a silent prayer of gratitude for your liver, your heart, and your brain. Just say: Thank you, God, for this glorious gift. I treasure it, and with your help, today I will begin the process of loving it unconditionally. If you still feel attracted to substances that you despise, say this silent prayer before ingesting them. Love will ultimately become the added weight that rebalances your life.
One of my favorite American poets, Henry W. Longfellow, tells us: “He that respects himself is safe from others; he wears a coat of mail that none can pierce.” When we truly respect and love ourselves, it’s as if we have a shield of flexible armor made of metal rings and loops of chain that protects us from the addictive otherthat’s been a part of our life.
4. Remove All Shame
You’ve done nothing wrong. You haven’t failed—you’ve only produced results. The question isn’t about how bad you’ve been; it’s about what you intend to do with the results you’ve produced. If you opt for shame and guilt, you choose the one emotional reaction that will disempower you more than any other. Whatever your present-moment status in relation to your addictions, it’s all perfect. You had to go through the traumas you went through. You had to disappoint the people you’ve mistreated. You had to get this far down. You needed this out-of-balance energy in order to aid you in generating the energy to get you to the higher place where you’re now headed.
You are still a Divine being in the eyes of God, despite any weaknesses that you feel are incongruous with God’s love. You needed all of those experiences, and now that you’re contemplating leaving them behind and rejoining your spiritual Source of well-being, shame will only hamper you and send you back to that absurdly imbalanced world where you never get enough of what you don’t want.
5. Live from a New Knowing
Finally, create a space within yourself, somewhere very private that only you and God are privy to. In this inner space, post the words I Know. This is your invisible connection to God, where purity and well-being define your new addiction-free self. Regardless of how many people distrust you and remind you of how many times in the past you’ve failed to live up to your promises, this is your space of knowing.
From this unshakable space, ask for Divine guidance. Ask to have the ecstatic energy of purity and well-being flow directly to your heart. If you slip, retreat immediately to this space of knowing. Forgive yourself and see yourself surrounded by God’s love, holding you in balance once again. As a man who has been there, I can promise you that you’ll be provided with all of the guidance, direction, and strength that you need—and you’ll get what you dowant rather than what you do not want.
***
To learn more about the Devil Tarot card, see Biddy Tarot’s take on it here.
***
To book a Tarot reading for yourself or your pet, email Fiery K. at fiery.kaleidoscope@gmail.com or phone/text 410.490.6357 if you are in the United States.
from Betty Ford: First Lady, Women’s Advocate, Survivor, Trailblazer, by Lisa McCubbin:
That night, Clara cooked pot roast, and the family had dinner together. “It was like the family was a family once again,” Susan recalled. “It was like everything had been torn down, and there was nothing to hide anymore.”
They’d walked through fire and come out alive. Now it was time for the truly hard work to begin.
When I had exhausted the garden, and a greenhouse with nothing in it but a fallen-down grape-vine and some bottles, I found myself in the dismal corner upon which I had looked out of the window. Never questioning for a moment that the house was now empty, I looked in at another window, and found myself, to my great surprise, exchanging a broad stare with a pale young gentleman with red eyelids and light hair.
This pale young gentleman quickly disappeared, and re-appeared beside me. He had been at his books when I had found myself staring at him, and I now saw that he was
inky.
‘Halloa!’ said he, ‘young fellow!’
Halloa being a general observation which I had usually observed to be best answered by itself, I said, ‘Halloa!’ politely omitting young fellow.
‘Who let you in?’ said he.
‘Miss Estella.’
‘Who gave you leave to prowl about?’
‘Miss Estella.’
‘Come and fight,’ said the pale young gentleman.
What could I do but follow him? I have often asked myself the question since: but, what else could I do? His manner was so final and I was so astonished, that I followed where he led, as if I had been under a spell.
‘Stop a minute, though,’ he said, wheeling round before we had gone many paces. ‘I ought to give you a reason for fighting, too. There it is!’ In a most irritating manner he instantly slapped his hands against one another, daintily flung one of his legs up behind him, pulled my hair, slapped his hands again, dipped his head, and butted it into my stomach.
The bull-like proceeding last mentioned, besides that it was unquestionably to be regarded in the light of a liberty, was particularly disagreeable just after bread and meat.
I therefore hit out at him and was going to hit out again, when he said, ‘Aha! Would you?’ and began dancing backwards and forwards in a manner quite unparalleled within my limited experience.
‘Laws of the game!’ said he. Here, he skipped from his left leg on to his right. ‘Regular rules!’ Here, he skipped from his right leg on to his left. ‘Come to the ground, and go through the preliminaries!’ Here, he dodged backwards and forwards, and did all sorts of things while I looked helplessly at him.
I was secretly afraid of him when I saw him so dexterous; but, I felt morally and physically convinced that his light head of hair could have had no business in the pit of my stomach, and that I had a right to consider it irrelevant when so obtruded on my attention. Therefore, I followed him without a word, to a retired nook of the garden, formed by the junction of two walls and screened by some rubbish. On his asking me if I was satisfied with the ground, and on my replying Yes, he begged my leave to absent himself for a moment, and quickly returned with a bottle of water and a sponge dipped in vinegar. ‘Available for both,’ he said, placing these against the wall. And then fell to pulling off, not only his jacket and waistcoat, but his shirt too, in a manner
at once light-hearted, businesslike, and bloodthirsty.
Although he did not look very healthy – having pimples on his face, and a breaking out at his mouth – these dreadful preparations quite appalled me. I judged him to be about my own age, but he was much taller, and he had a way of spinning himself about that was full of appearance. For the rest, he was a young gentleman in a grey suit (when not denuded for battle), with his elbows, knees, wrists, and heels, considerably in advance of the rest of him as to development.
My heart failed me when I saw him squaring at me with every demonstration of mechanical nicety, and eyeing my anatomy as if he were minutely choosing his bone. I never have been so surprised in my life, as I was when I let out the first blow, and saw him lying on his back, looking up at me with a bloody nose and his face exceedingly fore-shortened.
But, he was on his feet directly, and after sponging himself with a great show of dexterity began squaring again. The second greatest surprise I have ever had in my life was
seeing him on his back again, looking up at me out of a black eye.
His spirit inspired me with great respect. He seemed to have no strength, and he never once hit me hard, and he was always knocked down; but, he would be up again in a moment, sponging himself or drinking out of the waterbottle, with the greatest satisfaction in seconding himself according to form, and then came at me with an air and a show that made me believe he really was going to do for me at last. He got heavily bruised, for I am sorry to record that the more I hit him, the harder I hit him; but, he came up again and again and again, until at last he got a bad fall with the back of his head against the wall. Even after that crisis in our affairs, he got up and turned round and round confusedly a few times, not knowing where I was; but finally went on his knees to his sponge and threw it up: at the same time panting out, ‘That means you have won.’
He seemed so brave and innocent, that although I had not proposed the contest I felt but a gloomy satisfaction in my victory. Indeed, I go so far as to hope that I regarded myself while dressing, as a species of savage young wolf, or other wild beast. However, I got dressed, darkly wiping my sanguinary face at intervals, and I said, ‘Can I help you?’
and he said ‘No thankee,’ and I said ‘Good afternoon,’ and he said ‘Same to you.’
Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1942. Print.
Waite, Arthur E.. “Radiant Rider-Waite Tarot Deck.” Smith, Pamela C., Designer,
(Reissued in collaboration with Miss Sybil Waite and Rider & Company, London),
U.S. Games Systems, Inc., 2003, Stamford, CN.
This card may surprise you, because its not a card traditionally associated with feelings of conflict. That being said, its a card I have come to personally associate with those things. I think I first interpreted it this way for a client’s reading, but then later realized it applies to me with regard to certain things in my psyche as well.
Radiant Rider Waite
It’s because of the conflict between the horse and its rider, the Knight. The horse is more than ready to go; the Knight not so much. The Knight is reining the horse in. The horse is fighting it.
In my personal life, this applies to my journey through healing and learning to work around and work with, PTSD from various sources. And even to normal grief work. I tend to want things to be accomplished faster than they sometimes can. And when I push myself too hard or too fast, it backlashes on me and I end up struggling unnecessarily. I am learning to maintain a better balance in that.
Some interesting imagery in the Rider Waite version of this card, which is the deck and the card I am basing this interpretation on, is the desert sand the Knight is traveling. Perhaps the horse is eager to get where he is going because the land is so barren here. Maybe he wants to get to where things can be planted, and grow, rather than just be moved through. But what the horse maybe doesn’t realize, is that all that barren brownness is also soothing to the eye and thus to the mind as well. Because there’s nothing to be done there but just keep moving, and appreciating the moment … there’s no additional stress to be endured. It’s just a relaxing walk or journey. Or can be, if permitted. Maybe they need to REST more than they need to DO.
Perhaps this is just an area of land that happens to be part of the journey to where the Knight and horse want to go, and it just has to be tolerated in order to get there. And there’s no use fighting it.
There’s also the point that, in a desert, where water can be far and few between, it’s probably a better idea to pace oneself rather than gallop full out and then fall down exhausted with nothing left and still far from water and rest. It is possible the Knight knows this and the horse needs to just trust him. Or at least trust his higher knowledge.
The Knight is carrying his wand with new growth in it. He’s got what he needs for when he gets where he is going. And the Orion pyramids are behind him, watching over his journey. Maybe he doesn’t need to rush so much. Maybe Time is exactly what is needed, and the desert affords and gifts that to them.
When I pull this card in answer to what’s going on with my Depression, Anxiety, or PTSD, it’s usually a call to slow down and stop pushing myself too hard or fast. And to not fall into the trap of thinking I have to take all action RIGHT NOW. To remember that it’s okay to let things unfold in their own time. To remember that I’m safer than I feel I am.
That there will be plenty of time later, to be here:
And later, here:
And finally, here:
(I find it interesting that two of these knights are facing left, (the past? Left brain?) … and two are facing to the right. The two hell bent on running are the ones facing the left and the two controlled, measured ones are the ones facing the right.
But that’s for another whole blog post.)
Thoughts welcome from you readers out there! And what does the Knight of Wands mean the most, to YOU?
Fiery K. Tarot 