The Ace of Wands - Work Vs Drudgery

 I'm in the thick of what I call my painting project adventure. It would be easy to feel overwhelmed, that I'm about to go doolally thinking about what this involves, but my approach is, one painting at a time, one brush stroke at a time. It is the the same outlook I have about life. It's an adventure, one day at a time. It's not all fun and games til someone gets their eye poked out. It's about fun, discipline, work, balance and living life to the fullest. the good, bad and the ugly.

So, drawing the Ace of Wands embodied in the mythic figure of Zeus, is certainly an affirming card for me today. It speaks of having abounding energy for a new project, enterprise or course of study. I certainly can use all the creative energy I can get right now!

I often hear it said, when you have a job that you love you, you'll never work again. Well I don't agree with that statement. There is work, then there is drudgery. Whatever your vocation or chosen career,  I believe it is vital to one's happiness and health, that you have a passion for your work or at least feel it gives you a rewarding kind of satisfaction, and is not drudgery. But doing what you love does not mean it is not work. There are always going to be days when you'd rather being doing something else, or nothing at all, regardless if you are very happy with what your work is.

Even having the worst jobs in the world, you can always find something positive about it I think, but who wants to be spending all their energy doing work you don't love or enjoy or you can't stand. I've had a few jobs that were pretty rotten, like repairing stinky, maggot filled milk stainless steel tanks. We've all had a crappy job, because we have to work to sustain ourselves one way or another. These jobs always build character and you learn what you're made of. They also make a person very appreciative and grateful when you do find employment that not only suits you, but is very meaningful in some way, especially if it is a vocation.

Work should not be your life nor should life be about work. I have heard it said, that workaholic-ism is worse than alcoholism because you are never home at all. If you are sloshed at home, well you are home, and maybe not sloshed all the time. I know that might sound crazy. It sure as heck is not the ideal home life and both of these behaviours are extreme. I speak from personal experience.
Having a good balance between life and work, makes all the difference to your well being.

My work is my art that I create. As an artist, creativity is my lifestyle, the way of thinking that gives me a sense of freedom and purpose. Being creative is really what makes me happy. If I choose not to create art, I still don't have to be an artist to be creative, because it is a way of thinking, a lifestyle and as the Ace of Wands represents, a force of nature.

Eight of Cups - Freedom From Death - Freedom To Live

Cups representing the emotional life, here in the Eight of Cups we see the descent of Persephone (Psyche) which is dreaded and dark, but one that is taken by many of us at some point in our lives. Persephone is descending down the stairwell of the underworld. Despairing in the knowledge she may never return, as it is the last task Aphrodite has given her, which is death. She has voluntarily given up hope in achieving her goal of relationship. She must let go, as she can do nothing else, but submit to the will of the divine, the great goddess of love Aphrodite. Persephone goes empty handed into the unknown.
This is The Heroine's Journey.

The descent to the underworld or the unconscious, is a time when everything is about to change whether we know it or not.

We don't like the change and want to refuse or deny the changes, being fearful, insecure, and perhaps feeling a sense of obligation, or any range of reasons why we cannot let go of our current circumstances.

Once circumstances are accepted, suddenly help or spiritual guidance appears and is then provided.

 Finally crossing the first threshold to the new adventure, filled with unknown dangers, limits and rules, it is at this time there is an overwhelming sense of hopelessness, and this the lowest point in the journey, despairing as there is no one to help us.

 It is like being in the belly of the whale, separated from ourselves and the world as we know it. But it is now where we begin to embark on the metamorphosis, dying to the old self, and are transforming into the new self, with a willingness to transform.

At this point, there are an initiation of sorts including many tests, trials and ordeals to undergo, in order for the transformation to begin.

After facing these challenges, we can return transformed, experienced, with a deeper understanding of unconditional love, the balance between the material and spiritual world, comfortable and competent with the inner and outer world. Being unified within ourselves, we need to integrate the wisdom imparted to us through our journey, and figure out how to share our experience strength and hope with others.

The mastery that is achieved from this journey leads to freedom of death, and in turn, gives us the freedom to live.

King of Cups - No One Loves The Man Whom He Fears - Aristotle

Having an affinity with the King of Cups and is for me about loving men who are not afraid of relationships or of their own emotion or emotions expressed by others. I also admire women who have the same capacity. That said, I also identify very much with the King of Cups, with being fearful of his emotion and of relationships. I have experienced both kinds states of mind and perceptions, living life accordingly.

When I see this King, I think of the Queen of Cups, who feels and drinks deeply from the cup of life, but unlike her, this King feels deeply, and may want desperately to partake in his feelings, but he holds back in fear of fully participating in relationship with himself, with others, and even with the God of his understanding. He is disconnected from life when it comes to his relationships. He can feel very much alone, in a crowd.

His fear of intimacy is the avoidance pain, however in reality he actually creates for himself, the pain he is trying to avoid at all costs. But the price he pays is great. He has a kind of living problem, or what I call a hole in the soul. Loving another is just to risky.

Until the King of Cups can find a way of uniting and his male and female nature within, he is not a man fully alive. There is still a apart of himself that does he is unable to accept that does not allow room for love. The result is a constant underlining unhappiness, unacknowledged, misunderstood, and unchanged. He lives in a kind of lonely, dark underworld psychologically, that can culminate in mental health problems, such as deep depression , break downs, or even suicide.

He can immerse himself into to his rich creative life for comfort and escape, but for whatever reason he is without the ability to share openly through an intimate relationship, with someone he is willing to trust as a confidant. There is now a fertile environment laid and the antecedent for addictive behaviours that can threaten his very life, mind, body, and soul.

 Addiction is a disease of the emotion, and a living problem. Life is full of hurt and disappointment. Life is also very full of love and joy. If we cannot accept and find a way to cope and accept life on life's terms it is impossible to find happiness within.We cannot experience the love and joy without feeling the weakness of disappointment and pain. This is what gives us our strength and power.

The Celtic Cross

I didn't draw a daily card today. Instead I did that personal reading I have been wanting and needing to do for myself. I have been really wanting clarification on a particular concern and situation.

I thought it might give readers of my blog some insight, as to how I approach Tarot and readings. The way I do a reading for myself is basically the same way I read for my clients.

As a Tarot reader you are continually learning through study, but with each reading comes more insight, and you are constantly honing your skills and intuition, developing a relationship with the cards. This is the reason  why I do a daily card draw, in order to deepen my relationship and understanding of the meanings of each card. Learning to read Tarot involves intuition, study, and skill. Intuition gets better with trusting it and practice, skill you are shown how, you try it, then you practice, and you are always studying and learning.

Memorizing the card meanings is pointless I believe, although this does not mean you don't end up remembering the meanings. But this comes from doing regular readings, more than from memorization. It's a good thing too, because my memorizing ability is like what I think Gerald Ford once said, 'I forgot what it was supposed to remember!' 78 cards to memorize? Forgetaboutit!

Before I do my readings, I say a prayer or invocation. Maybe light a candle. Everyone has their own personal routine or ritual in order to get focused and into a present mindfulness. Here is I think, a beautiful invocation I often say, called The Invocation of The Orchard. I know it is from the Cabala but I have no idea who wrote. it.

Invocation of The Orchard

     
 "I pass through this orchard remembering that what I may learn, and what may pass before my 
eyes will be for the purpose of healing the world, and bringing Unity into this dimension, into the plane of human awareness. This orchard is the transition point between the transcendant and the imminent - the abstract and the concrete.
My personal path can adapt and absorb this forest slowly, and as it sees fit. My basic personhood remains intact, while sampling the myriad forms and concepts in the grove. Drinking from the river of delights of the Creator's house, my own specific root into the infinite is a path of emanation along which I can safely and respectfully traverse.

"All the world is a very narrow bridge - but the point is to be fearless."

Sepher Malchus is the grounding point, where I am centered, and where I will return after contemplating the trees, springs, fragrances, and many-faceted gems in the enclosure. Sepher Malchus is the point of connection and return to my personal concrete reality and viewpoint, to my ideal stability."

*  Sepher Malchhus relates to the Earth.

When I am ready, I ask an open ended question, as opposed to a closed question, which would result in a simple answer, yes or no. I avoid starting the question with Will… When… and Should.

An example of asking an open ended question instead, this starts with What…, How… and Why.

i.e. 1. What has been blocking me in finding a new job and how can I release these blockages?

     2. What can I do to create the love life I truly desire?

And so, I had a general idea of what I wanted to ask, but I needed to get clear, and specific about my question. The more specific the question the more specific the reading.  I turned off the radio, sat down at my kitchen table, created a space,  I got relaxed and quiet. I tried to clarify my question as best I could, and shuffled the cards.

When I drew my 10 cards, and laid them out in the ancient Celtic Cross layout, I did a quick scan. My first thought was, oh frig, this isn't going to give me much information, and I felt a little down. This inner critic pops up every now and again. I ignored my negative inner critic and refocused. I began to further clarify and deconstruct the question. I got down to bare bones of what I was really asking, and I wrote the question  down in my Tarot journal.

The spread I use, the Celtic Cross, I find, enables me to tell the story of what the cards are saying, in depth.  Scanning the overall layout, I made note of the number of Cups, Swords, Wands, and Pentacles, Aces, Pages, Major and Minor Arcana, and made some initial connections between the cards. After looking at the meanings of each card in my mind, figuratively I could past or connect the cards together, like pairing or grouping the cards, i.e.  4 Swords , 3 Pentacles, 2 Pages etc., and relate each one in accordance to the meanings of the position within the Celtic Cross layout, as I've listed below

Position One - Signifcator
Position Two - What Crosses You
Position Three - What Crowns You
Position Four - The Base of the Matter
Position Five - Past Influences
Position  Six - Future Influences
Position Seven - Where You Find Yourself Presently
Position Eight - How Others View You
Position Nine - Hopes and Fears
Position Ten - Final Outcome

 I then began to carefully decipher, interpret, and connect the meaning of each card, one card to another, and as a whole, to tell the story of my reading. Oooo it was an interesting story too! But I dare not tell!


Without going into the details of my reading, because I don't think it is of any interest to any one but me, well  maybe one other person who shall remain nameless. However, I will share these two particular quotes I found, that really resonated with me, and I directly relate them to my reading. I think they will give you a feeling for my overall reading. and I think and hope you will be able to identify with, and relate to each one.

" Until we can receive with an open heart we are never really giving with an an open heart . "
                                                                                 
                                                                                - Brene Brown

" What's difficult in life is to stay centered when somebody does or says some thing that tempts us to close our hearts, because their heart is closed. That is hard. But that is also how we grow, We go through those circumstances in order to evolve into people who can hold on to out loving center no matter what the world throws at us. 
                   
                                                                              - Marianne Williamson

The Magician - Let The Adventure Begin!

The powerful energy of the mercurial messenger of the gods, the master of all elements, the Magician is embodied in mythical figure of Hermes, son of Zeus, who directly follows and offers inner guidance, and wisdom to The Fool, through the journey in the Major Arcana. The Fool is about to naively embark upon the journey of life, not knowing what lies ahead, he without the tools needed to help him along, but is neither concerned or fearful.

The Magician has all the tools at his disposal, and his life force energy connected to heaven and the earth which gives him great courage, strength, power, and insight. He is the harbinger of good news, in that he offers and advises The Fool to take hold of these tools, so he will be prepared for life.

However The Fool is innocent, without the experience to know how to make wise choices, and so he continues on his way, not listening to the Magician. The Fool sees the world through rose coloured glasses and magical thinking so to speak, and functions on an instinctual level through his impulsive behaviour, a wild thing really. The Fool is blind, and lacks any tangible insight.

When we are young we can't help but have a naive perception of life, and we are not in control of the future. We need to be prepared by having the right tools, this however comes only through experience. Upon meeting the Magician at the precipice, after leaving the safety of the cave, The Fool clearly knows the journey is possible, and there are many capacities to be explored and developed. The Magician will provide wisdom in all the spheres of life - intellectually, creatively, emotionally and physically. Let the adventure begin!

Four of Swords - Living Alone

 
Yesterday was a busy day for me, today is not, and I am glad of that. It's a good feeling, and  a gift to me, to know I don't have anywhere I have to be, and I can choose to do nothing if I want.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about living alone, as opposed to living with a partner. After many years of single life, I seriously wonder if I'd ever be able to live with anyone, or even if I want to. I love my solitude, my own space, and my own home, are some of the many advantages I enjoy of being single, and living alone. Of course there are pros and cons to living alone, or having to live with another.

Women seem to fair better being on their own then men, and I found an interesting article about it in the Huffington Post called, Women Living Alone. 

The Four of Swords speaks of taking a break, being at peace, reflecting and withdrawing from the business of life, and the noisy chatter inside the mind. Being retired I spend a lot of days to do just this, which feeds my creativity, and inner spiritual life. If I wasn't comfortable in my own skin, didn't enjoy my own company, I'd never be able to do this. Mind you, it can get noisy in my head. Not that I hear voices, just my inner critic.

The way I feel today, I am enjoying solitude, and withdrawal, with rainy weather, though the sun has come out again, regardless, I am taking the time to withdraw and accept the solitude, because today it feels good for my soul.. Heck I might even have a nap! Probably not, because, I don't do naps these days, but if I did I could! Instead I'll get outside and enjoy the beautiful Spring weather, because the geese have arrived and they mate for life. Wished I was a goose.

Seven of Pentacles - Generousity

 It's a beautiful thing when someone generously gives the gift to another from their heart, without expectation of return. I'm fond of the saying it is not the gift of the giver that is important, but the giver of the gift. In other words, it is in the giving where the value lies, not in what is given materially.

Generousity is one of the seven gifts given, that are the teachings of Indigenous peoples, along with Honesty, Humility, Courage, Wisdom, Respect and Love.

The Seven of Pentacles portrays Daedalus being offered the seventh golden pentacle by Queen Pasiphae, who is King Minos wife, and for whom Daedalus has a position of royal favour, that he has worked hard to obtain.

Pasipae, out of desperation is making Daedalus an offer that is tempting, and difficult to refuse. However there is a risk in the decision to be made, and may result in a dangerous, possibly 'immoral' outcome, as it means that he will have to betray the King Minos and risk all that he has gained. On the other hand this offer could result in personal growth, and hoped for success. Daedalus has a difficult decision before him and needs some discernment in this situation.

When we're made an offer of generousity, perhaps the intention of the giver is not pure intended generousity, but there's a hidden agenda, in that the giver is looking unscrupulously to get something in return. This is not using the gift of generousity with honesty, courage, wisdom, respect or love.

 In the words of a Lakota Elder, "You should be able to give away your most cherished possession without your heart beating faster."

I believe when we're offered something, we have to take into consideration the intention and motive of the giver, as we must consider our own intentions when we give, and our hearts will not beat faster..

Circle of Courage - Martin Broken Leg