The Ghetto Tarot - Alice Smeets - Atiz Rezistans

The Ghetto Tarot - Alice Smeets - Atiz Rezistans

'Cubby Buddy' is what I very affectionately call my sweet friend, because we were in art school together, and shared a studio space that was about an 12x12 foot cubby hole, while we were in second year. Today she sent me this, about a photographer, Alice Smeets who collaborated with a group of Haitian artists,  “Atiz Rezistans” to  produce a series of inspiring and empowering photographs called The Ghetto Tarot.


One of the many things I love about the Tarot is seeing how many artists are directly involved with creating their own cards, producing art work through various creative, innovative and imaginative expressions.

Granted it is a labour intensive endeavour, but so rewarding. I am in the beginning stages myself of creating paintings to the 78 Tarot cards based on the Mythic Tarot Deck, that I use for my own readings.

Tarot is about the The Fool (us) on the creative journey of life. To witness artists that create, who are bringing the Tarot to life is an inspiring, wondrous, and beautiful thing!

Two of Pentacles - The Adventure of Little By Slowly

Daedalus stands at his table working on his skills and using the tools of his trade. Decisions are to be made and decisions made in the past have lead to his present circumstances that have benefited him.

Having the tools in hand, to get the job done, we can continue to build a good foundation, one the skill at a time. The challeges ahead will be accomplished if we use discernment in choosing the right tools, and apply ourselves to achieve our goals.

 Sometimes it is easy to get impatient, and ahead of ourselves. We want everything yesterday or immediately, and may even want to give up, especially when we are closest to our goal. Slow and steady wins the race. Little by slowly we can reach our destination. Perseverance, trust and a little prayer goes a long way.

There is always a risk involved if we want to grow.  Adventure in growth is often scary. We can't control the outcome, and the unknown can cause us to be fearful, especially when there are road blocks and hurdles along the road.

Regardless if we succeed or fail life lessons will be learned and confidence will be gained. True it can be a balancing act, in that we should weigh the pros and cons. Sometimes we have to throw caution to the wind, have faith, we need to trust and believe in ourselves.

Three of Swords - Lighten Up!

Upon seeing this card initially, of course I have a kind of visceral reaction to it, because well lets face it, the poor dude that has being impaled, is dead in the water, has come to his demise and end of life in a very undignified and gruesome way.

The Three of Swords is the culmination of what went wrong in the Two of Swords, a  kind of paralysis or standstill, dictated by fear, when it comes to making a decision, and moving forward.

This Minor Arcana numbered card, has come to be one of my very favourites, because it isn't about death, it is about life and recovery. It represents the end of a solitary journey of the soul, like Persephone, embodied in the mythic figure of Psyche to descends to the underworld, who has come out the other side transformed, and the healing can now begin. Now the stream of goodness, a new path can be taken, that leads to infinite light, that the individual tries to find a way to share through one's experience, strength, and hope with others.

Though this card may appear dark, and the journey taken may be very daunting, there is an abundance of light to be found at the end of the tunnel.
Humour is the great gift waiting, that we are also given in this transformation. We learn to laugh at ourselves, after having feelings of self-pity, and ego-feeding deceptions. We learn to lighten up, not take ourselves so seriously, and we begin focus on our recovery, and healing.


   “When love is lost, do not bow your head in sadness. Instead, keep your head up high and gaze to heaven for that is where your broken heart has been sent to heal.” ~ Author Unknown.

 Cat Reading Tarot Cards -  B.Kliban

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