There is No Puppet Master!

I took the notion to pull cards for myself this week and do a personal reading based on the question I had for 2018. With this new moon in Pisces coming up on March 17th 2018 and Spring right round the corner it's the perfect time to do my own reading, which I liken to a personal inventory for me. It gives me a chance to take stock of my life and what direction I'm going in. I ask myself what I want and need to change or to improve upon.

Many folks choose not to do their own readings as they might feel or think that it's difficult to remain objective. I don't find this to be the case. That said I'm not frequently doing full 10 card Celtic Cross readings for myself, as this does not enable discernment, but simply creates confusion, instead of real clarity and understanding of myself and my present situation.

Drawing a daily card, I do for study reasons. This daily discipline and practice gives me the opportunity to continue to develop my relationship with each card and I can meditate on it's meaning and how it relates to my daily life. No one should have readings done constantly, as each the reading covers a period of three to six months.

Some folks can become dependent on Tarot in an unhealthy way as a result of feeling we lack control over our lives. This isn't true, we do have control over many parts of our lives. Certainly there are also many things in life that we can't control but we do have control over our behaviour and the choices we make. But the fact is there's no weird puppet master pulling our strings.

This week's reading is an affirmation and a confirmation of the last reading I did for myself in October 2017,  and I was happy and very satisfied with the outcome and what the cards in the Celtic Cross indicated today. I'm sure looking forward to the months to come. However it's very important for me to remember, to really enjoy living my life to the fullest and mindfully in the present moment and to look hopefully to the future.

Page of Wands - A Gentle Kick in the Butt

This card the Page of Wands has come up twice in five days. When this happens, drawing the same card, initially I get a little frustrated because I just posted the same card. But, I know there's some kind of message for me and because Pages are messengers, I'd better pay attention.

This means digging a little deeper and taking a personal inventory of the positive and the negative. It's time to take a closer look at the areas in our life, examining some of the positive and looking at our character defects, that perhaps we're not quite ready or want to change.

 As I'd stated in a previous post about the Page of Wands, it is a card about personal creative growth, moving forward, with action and enthusiastic discovery. It's a good thing to nip things in the bud that you are already aware of, so as to prevent  more serious problems that might be harder to overcome in the future, and to build upon our existing strengths. I've learned a lot of hard lessons that way, but wished I could have found a ways to have avoided cutting my nose off to spite my face sometimes, but I don't regret my past.

The discoveries we make might be found out the hard way, but hopefully we learn an important lesson. We're the ones who ultimately decide what action we're going to take to improve our situations or if we'll stagnate in a regressive way.
That said, I've learned not to be judgemental, and to be sure that I extend compassion toward myself, like I would any one else, because progress is the goal not perfection.

So I'll contemplate this card today as I think the Page of Wands is an encouraging good kick in the butt.

Judgement - Eeek Mummy!

Whoa! After seeing all those wrapped up mummies the first time I saw this card, this was my reaction. My first impression was to think about extreme thinking about a final judgement, hell and damnation that much of our western religions have been inundated with historically. This kind of extremism is full of judgement, guilt and shame, which does nothing to foster real change in a positive way.

The meaning found in this Major Arcana Judgment is not in reference to extremes but simply to remember that there are natural consequences to the behaviour and choices we make in life.  As well transformation and renewal of life is also symbolized in this card, indicating the hope for new beginnings, that emerges out of the past, where we can be true to ourselves after taking a kind of personal inventory.

Four of Pentacles - Order Out of Chaos

 "When the student is ready the teacher will appear." This is a statement attributed to a number of sources. It's a wise one regardless of who said it, and it has born out to be true in my life.

 Sometimes the teacher resides within ourselves. We learn from our mistakes, we let go of the people, places and things we have been holding tight to our chest, be it material possessions, our looks, our health, home or relationships etc.

We see in this card the apprentice and the teacher. The teacher is holding tight his pentacles seemingly threatened that his position might will be usurped in some way. He doesn't want to let go of what he has worked hard for to get.

Most of us aren't really welcoming of change and we get comfortable with a certain status quo or situation. When we see others making progress and positive changes, this can cause us to compare ourselves to others or it can motivate us to take an inventory of our own lives. This action can be an opportunity to grow and move forward. It's our choice. Change is inevitable. We either move forward or backward, never staying still..

And so taking a personal inventory of ourselves can be a teacher and if we can accept ourselves as we are, as human beings with grace, humour and humility we learn to be our own best friends, and finding serenity in the storm, and making order out of chaos. Art and creativity help me to do just that.

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