Page of Swords - Curiousity and Energy

Curiousity paired with energy, represented in the Page of Swords, is a great combination when used for good, and is a powerful force for change in this world.

The mythic figure of Zephyrus, the youthful ruler of the West Wind and brother to Boreas ruler of the North Wind, embodies the primitive beginnings of the element of air. Independent mental activity and the formulation of ideas come together at the forefront.

At it's very core of creativity, exists curiousity, from which energy is generated and actualizes change. Curiousity fuels our passion for learning and cultivates creativity. For me it's the very best way to live, as it enables us to share our own personal stories. This is when we encounter empathy, and understanding can then be imparted to one another, making for a better world.

This Easter season, I pray that there will be a renewal of the human spirit through curiousity, energy and creativity.

King of Swords - Primed For Action

Like the King of Swords, I certainly was  primed for action today, to fight the great Burdock Beasts again, this time in my front garden. They are now gone! Unlike the King, I am not exactly an authority, particularly when it comes to burdock, but I was determined in my attack strategy to rid my garden of this invading interloper. I dug out the roots and got them by the kahunas! I may not of succeeded in completely conquering them as there are others around that I can't get at, who will not doubt spread their seed, but these ones will not return! I know burdock do have great medicinal qualities, but I couldn't care less, because they have become my nemesis this week!

 I replaced them with transplanted sunflowers, nasturtiums and some wildflowers. Come Fall I will plant Foxglove, bulbs, and transplant a few perennials from my larger garden that is burdock free.
It's very hard work fighting the Burdock Beast, but so worthwhile to have my flower garden back again!


The King of Swords exists within us all, embodied in the mythic figure of the hero Odysseus. He fought terrifying sea-monsters and escaped the call of the sea Sirens who sang men to their deaths. He was driven by determination, foresight, cleverness, with the most impressive strategic skills of the human mind.

However the character defects found in the King of Swords is his lack of empathy for others and the  disassociation from his feeling. Paradoxically this is an individual of high principle in spite of his lack of empathy for others and is a contradiction of terms.
We may not be authorities but with determination, clear thinking, and by using our intellect we can find strategies to overcome our inner monsters.

The Burdock Beast

King of Cups - Emotional Balance Versus Desperation

The King of Cups, a perfect card for me to draw this morning, as it's caused me to reflect on emotional balance and the way I behave. In the past, I've been a person who'd panic when it came to certain situations. Don't get me wrong, this can still be my default, and I really hate that feeling.

Physiologically everything I feel can seem like it's speeding up and about to implode. My heart races, blood pressure goes up, breathing becomes shallow, I can't think straight and simultaneously, everything is in a kind of painful slow motion.

 I think my mind's try's to slow down in order to think, but the monkey brain seems to be more powerful. The fight or flight instinct takes over. I still can find myself reacting this way, but with experience comes wisdom and new skills in order to handle seemingly crisis situations with less muddled thought and more clarity and peace of mind.

As a SCUBA diver I know and understand panic is what kills people. Similarly, the same can be said for most, if not all crisis scenarios. For instance getting a call from an intimidating, rude and threatening bill collector might not cause your imminent death, but there are those who suffer from addictions like gambling, that can cause suicidal thoughts or worse because they can't meet their obligations and responsibilities,and might actually act on these thoughts, which is a tragic. They've reached that jumping off point, where they can't live with the addiction, nor live without it. This is the worst kind of desperation.

The King of Cups embodies the kind of individual who is an em-path, who easily demonstrates compassion toward others and is a kind of healer, but doesn't seem to have the ability to help or heal himself. We all have to learn how to help ourselves in order to do this. Most of the time we need to put our false pride aside and reach out for help. Many who are in the helping professions match this kind of personality type, an empathetic counsellor who is the Wounded Healer, with a kind of hole in the soul.

 When we call upon the authority of the King of Cup's, we can calm the turbulent waters of our emotions that carry us away, which leads us to feel like we're out of control, as we're reacting negatively to our panic.

Life experience enable me to reach out for help, to learn how to be proactive in my daily life. After many years, I finally found preventative tools that center me, slow me down, and bring serenity to the core of my being.
Doing a daily reading or meditation, getting enough sleep, exercise, eating well, and generally living a healthy lifestyle all help to draw on that authority of the King of Cups, which can calm the volatile waters of emotion. In turn I can trust life enough to take it's course, and not cheat myself.

Seven of Pentacles - The Highest Virtue & Mummenshanz

I have been teaching an art program at our local school called PAINTS with an impressive group of little artists in grades 3 to 5. They never seize to just amaze me. They are full of insightful vision and absorb and they retain so much, like little sponges. Yesterday we had lots of fun making art and talking about masks, generousity and empathy. 

The Seven of Pentacles brings generosity and to mind. When we offer generousity to one another we ultimately decide how to respond to it and understand what motive is intended. If our response and intentions are pure I don't think we need to concern ourselves with this. We simply accept the gifts offered and say thank you, our we give without any thought of getting any thing in return. We give, simply to give.

Generousity in and of itself is the highest virtue. This of course does not always mean that the gifts given or received are material ones. These gifts can be in the form of kindness, listening to another with our hearts, showing understanding, compassion and empathy.
This is a card of faith, profit, vision and of investment.

When we have faith and vision, it enables us to invest in the highest virtues of generousity, and empathy.

Many years ago in the 80s in Toronto, I studied Commedia dell'Arte. This involved Mime and mask making  for a year, I found out about this incredible Mime and Mask Theatre group from Switzerland called, Mummennshanz. I shared this video with the kids yesterday. They wanted to watch it twice they enjoyed it so much.

Ten of Swords - What Gets You Singin'?

Athene is giving those Furies the finger, telling them that's enough, back off, and has read them the riot act. The Furies have beat this poor bugger down to a pulp, and he appears to be dead in the water, without hope.
The Ten of Swords might look like a card of dread, defeat and victimization. And it a way it is, but there is hope and relief ahead. Oretes unconscious on the ground, is symbolic of a Christ-like kind of figure. Some might see Oretes as being symbolic of a victim.

There exists in this universe a life force for good, that helps us to find inner strength, and enables us to rise above our seemingly hopeless situation. I know this to be true, because I am speaking from personal experience. You don't have to look very far in this world to see examples of such horrendous circumstance that many have overcome. They come out the other side, and not only to lift themselves out of their situation, they will often help others to do the same through their example their own experience of strength and hope that comes from a power greater than themselves, from this life force.

I remember years ago, sitting in a living room with an elder, who I had so much respect for and greatly admired. She had been through so much suffering in her life. She was so strong, full of compassion, wisdom, humility, and gratitude. I put the question to her. Why is it many seem to get through life without suffering, and others get more than their share?

She had no pat answer, but she did share this. She said people who do experience more suffering are often able to experience compassion and empathy toward others, and have a depth of character that is often lacking in the individuals who don't experience this kind of walk in life.

I read the other day a comment the struck me, from another wise and spiritual woman. She stated that the Divine is not found in suffering but is found in joy. I've thought about this, and I asked myself is there joy to be found in suffering? I don't think so. But perhaps there is beauty and hope not because of the suffering itself, but because of what a person believes and how it changes them, and then they begin to can feel joy and the Divine.

I don't have the answers to this, but I know there are many important life lessons to learn through the struggle and heartache that comes with life. I do believe the God of my own understanding comes in through my wounds. We have the opportunity to decide how we respond to those wounds. We either lay down and give up, or we sing a special song, and maybe we even dance till the end of love.

I think Leonard Cohen said it best in his song You Got Me Singing.

Demystifying The Tarot Reader

Do any of you remember Miss Cleo? She use to be on late night TV. She was one of the worst so called Tarot reading psychics that really got on my nerves, because I knew this was nothing but a scam..  I guess I watched it every now and again when I couldn't sleep. I found it to be pretty much bad theatre it was so ridiculous and she was so over the top.

This was many years before I 'd ever even been introduced to Tarot, but it wasn't  rocket science to figure out it was all fake, and unfortunately there were many that were duped before the show finally went off the airwaves, never to be seen again.

It's people like Miss Cleo or whatever her name was, she had many aliases, that give those authentic and honest individuals who are ethically study metaphysical matters, a really bad rep, which contributes to the kind of destructive myths and misconceptions surrounding Tarot readers, that can be very damaging.

And so it's a good thing to demystify, and deconstruct these myths and untruths. It's also good advice to use  discernment in choosing your own Tarot reader, before deciding to go ahead and have a reading done, because there are many in this world who's intentions do not reflect a professional integrity.

 
I have found meeting other Tarot readers and getting to know their personalities, one of the fascinating aspects of Tarot. Something else that I have found out, is that some Tarot readers usually have a real interesting story to tell about how they came to be Tarot readers.


The personalities of Tarot card readers are as varied as a deck of Tarot cards. Most that I have met are honest, regular and exceptional folk, empathetic, creative, intuitive, perceptive and intelligent individuals. They have a good sense of humour and are thick skinned philosophers, who love people, and are humble.

Today I learned about one such Tarot reader who wrote an article for the New York Times by the name of Jessa Crispin, She shares her story of how she became a Tarot reader, and I really appreciated her candid, entertaining and very human introduction into the world of Tarot.

We all have a story to tell whether it be our life story or how we became Tarot readers. What's your story?

Five of Swords - Acceptance

I have hairy toes! I've never admitted this publically, but I've come to accept it, and no, I am not a hobbit. But even if I was a hobbit, I'd have to accept this too.

We all have to accept our limitations of what we can and cannot do. This is what the Five of Swords represents.
It can be difficult to understand or empathize with another person's struggle in life, unless we have had a similar experience, or unless we have walked their path, or seen the world through their eyes.

 Many of us experience rejection for one reason or another. It may be for the way we look, how much money we make, our race or religion, who we are related to, or what side of the tracks we grew up on.
The worst form of rejection I would say, is not being able to accept ourselves, the positive and the negative aspects of our personality and circumstance.

I have come to believe that acceptance is the key happiness. It enables us to understand, and to come to terms with people, places and things. When we can accept, and love ourselves, we become real like the Velveteen Rabbit.


 “Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. 'It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.'

'Does it hurt?' asked the Rabbit.

'Sometimes,' said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. 'When you are Real you don't mind being hurt.'

'Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,' he asked, 'or bit by bit?'

'It doesn't happen all at once,' said the Skin Horse. 'You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.”
― Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

King of Cups - The Wounded Healer

Synchronicity has caused me to draw the King of Cups today, after having drawn the Queen of Cups yesterday. The Wounded Healer is the best way to describe this King, as he cares and helps so many, but some how is unable to care for, or heal himself.

Like many of us that work in the human service professions, or simply in our everyday lives we can make great allowances for others, and do as much as we can to counsel and or assist them in whatever way we can. This is a wonderful gift to have empathy and compassion toward others.
However there is a problem that arises, when we are not the same way toward ourselves. It leads to burn out, and you can easily be taken advantage of, perhaps because there is a problem with being able to say no. Self-care and taking responsibility for our own happiness is essential, if we are going to be in a position to really help another.

The message is an important one in the King of Cups. It is not healthy to project our problems and unconsciously try to work them out, through others.

We need to be able to trust in our own personal life, so we can have fulfilling relationships.  To do our own healing by seeking help, and doing what is necessary in order to get healthy and happy, is the only way to ensure that one does not cheat the self, otherwise we will do more harm than good, and perhaps lose the very thing we desire.