The Knight of Swords - Our Knight In Shining Armour!

The Knight of Swords is a court card in the Minor Arcana. Knights represent young men, usually single or older men, those of us who are young at heart, or emotionally dynamic. He is that knight in shining armor! The skilled warrior charging into battle, and like Sir Lancelot, is the defender of chivalry!

Being the hopeful romantic I am, when I see this card come up, I tend to get a little excited, and my heart does a turn around jump up and down, because I think for one second, oh, maybe there's a good guy on the horizon for this person, for whom I am reading.
This is not the case, but it is a lovely romantic thought nonetheless.
 I don't mean to burst every one's bubble, and I am not saying there aren't any men that are warriors, and our own personal kind of heroes, there certainly are.

This knight has a charming nature, that gives him an ability to get himself out of scrapes, and somehow always appears, just when you need him! However, often he doesn't weigh the consequences, and charges in like the proverbial bull in a china shop. Oh no! Now there's a problem, in spite of his good intentions. He may be good guy generally, but he also may be dangerous, so be forewarned,  proceed with caution. His arrogance and head strong attitude guises as confidence, but don't be fooled, you need to use discernment and good judgement. He could be a Don Juan like, romantic figure, and not the best choice for having an intimate committed relationship with, as he is emotionally immature, and could break a heart or two, or three!

Being of a great mercurial mental energy, which describes the Knight of Swords, often no feelings are taken into account, due to his preoccupation with a particular thought or idea without regard or thought of anyone else, which results in the hurting of another.
The Knight of Swords embodies the impulse of the eternal youth and may have problem growing old gracefully!

The Knight of Swords also heralds a time for the seeker to be prepared for sudden changes, disrupting and upsetting the normal patterns of our lives.

To conclude on a positive note, the gift of the Knight of Swords, is the ability to adapt, and to move with change, and with turbulence can bring forth a clearer vision of life, our horizons are expanded and, when one door closes, another is now opened.

Queen of Pentacles - Perspective and Understanding

The secure, simple, and stable life is what motivates the Queen of Pentacles. One of the four court cards in Minor Arcana from the Tarot Mythic Deck, she represents the mother figure, and adult women  in our lives, or can be symbolic of this aspect of our own personality. She takes care of herself, avoids change, and does not want to take chances in life, but prefers  things to stay consistently familiar, and predictable. Life however, is not always predictable.

The message here, is to go with the flow, live life as a loose garment, accepting change and listening closely to that still quite voice, is what the lesson is here, to be learned. It's about getting the right kind of perspective and understanding  of what is really important in life and that is, your relationships, not only with yourself, but with those you love. Life is short, so it is important to get your priorities right. Life is not all about working to get the things we want.

It is a very pleasurable thing to enjoy abundance, and to share it with others. However the tendency to focus too much attention on material things, and establishing a solid foundation in all areas of life, can be a negative preoccupation. There is a need to let go, and to sacrifice some things, that take too much time, effort and work. Simplicity and practicality are the order of the day, but not at the expense of developing an emotional life.

We are asked here to listen to our gut, and to improve our relationship with ourselves, and with our loved ones. Embrace change, follow and listen to your heart, get your priorities straight.

Three of Pentacles - The Blue Bird of Happiness?

Today I drew The Suit of Pentacles. The gold coin represents the earthly plain, the ancient element of the earth, which is both, our beginning and our end. Pentacles relate to the all things within the material world , be it issues surrounding the physical self, the home, or financial matters.

The Three of Pentacles are being offered to the man at the top of the stairs, by the three men at the foot of the steps. The gold coins indicate a particular task completed, and here is the reward for his labours.

People look up to, and admire this individual as a mentor, and  a good example, who has achieved success in business and is at the pinnacle of a profession, though there is still work ahead. Consideration is needed, for the future,the work to come, the capacity to handle it, all dependent on one's character. This is a stage within the process, that will hopefully lead to more permanent rewards.

Although we certainly need to have our basic needs met, the material world alone, and things are not the Blue Bird of Happiness . These cannot truly bring us a fulfilling life, and we cannot loose site of this fact.

The Minor Arcana and Creative Donkeys

I have been drawing a card a day in order to help me to learn about, and to get familiar with the cards. Today's drawn card was very appropriate for me, and I definitely got the message!

In the days to come, each day, I will be going through and posting each of the remaining 56 cards, which are called the Minor Arcana, these 56 cards, out of the 78, from the Mythic Tarot Deck  and workbook written by Liz Greene and Juliet Sharman-Burke, tell of the common events in our lives - the people, events and forces we encounter every day.

As you can see, working with 78 cards in a deck, there is a lot to remember! It's essential to study, and become familiar with the cards, however it's not about memorizing each card, and meaning. I am pretty hopeless when it comes to memorizing, and have always been this way, so I can't blame it on my age! You could memorize each card and meaning, but a good reader, this does not make, nor does it make for a good reading necessarily.

There is an intuitive relationship with the cards, that happens over time, with experience, encountering each  card, and with regular reading, as often as possible.  Giving a reading with too much information, is overwhelming for the seeker, and for the reader as well I believe, so I want try to keep it simple, succinct and hopefully we will learn together.

Today's drawn card was very appropriate for me, and I definitely got the message!

The Six of Wands is a card that symbolizes reaching a goal worked toward with great effort, and finally it has been achieved. It's vital not rest on your laurels, because there is still lots of work to do!

The suit of Wands represents growth, creative energy, action, ideas and expression of spirit. Creatively moving forward, results in fruitful rewards and benefits.

I won't get too personal here, suffice to say, I know there is an important message here for me to internalize and actualize. I will to pay attention, listen and apply the suggested message given!
I'm a creative donkey!

The Ace of Pentacles - The Card of Spring

The Ace of Pentacles is the card of Spring. Pentacles or coins represent rewards for past efforts. Here come pennies from Heaven. This is the time of new and tremendous growth. It augers the season for renewal after a long hard Winter. Spring brings with it new energy, and a fresh start. New opportunities and the fruit of your labour is manifested through continuation the life force and cycle, through a new beginning.

The Zodiac Signs and the Tarot

Aries (March 21 - April 19) 

The Emperor, represents your sign, demonstrating a great sense of loyalty, commitment and resolve to always be there for you when you are in need of help.  Like the royal figure, your authority and powers to analyze people, places, and things enables you to help others and to accomplish your objectives and goals.

 

Taurus (April 20 - May 20)

The Hierophant, represents learning from wise and knowledgeable mentors, those who can help you seek the path of enlightenment through traditional means and insights. These learned souls and teachers will direct you, and reveal profound  important life lessons, for your heart and for your soul.

 

                                    

Gemini (May 21 - June 20 ) 

The Lovers embody and represent of the dualistic nature of Gemini. Often you find yourself torn between taking one path or another, being at the crossroads at different points in life, which means you must make a moral choice. This card augers a time for you to weigh carefully, all options available to you, both pro and con, that are be based on your own personal integrity.

 

 

Cancer (June 21 - July 22)

 The Chariot is driven by you with a steady balanced hand and life's conflicts are being handled intuitively with strength and power, rising above it all the obstacles the life throws at you. Security is important to Cancers, but they also love the freedom that enables them to use their intuition in order to be victorious.

 

 

 

Leo (July 23 - August 22)

Strength is representative of your physical strength, like that of the Lion, on your card . As well your strength of body, mind, and spirit is very evident, which is giving great courage to rise above, and overcome  whatever difficulties you face.

 

Virgo (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22)

The Hermit, signifies you often you need  to take an inventory and the time to withdraw, and to introspectively focus on your life's purpose and vocation. Like the old wise man on the Hermit card, you are wearisome of the world, and seek the inner path, the road less traveled. When you become meditative and reflective, a transformation results in openness and innocence, after having explored the inner path and mysteries of the spirit. This transformation leads to great healing, self-knowledge, and awareness.

 

Libra (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22) 

Justice asks you to understand and objectively consider, what you want, and what it is you need, in order to come to a fair outcome, as it is only you who holds the scales. Once indecisiveness is overcome with clarity, and discernment, you will  be enabled to do the right thing, to help yourself and others.

 

                  

Scorpio (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21)

Death, welcomes transformation, as do you. Like the snake that sheds it's skin, and becomes anew, you  search for renewal, release and rebirth. Letting go of attachments it easy for you, that can often keep others bound and captive. You easily change your mind, and who you are, in terms of your identity. This makes you a very mysterious enigma to others, and they want to understand you and your behaviour.

 

 

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 21)

Temperance, is the mediator, and your share this gift, in having the ability to find tangible, real understanding, balance, and finding the middle ground between often opposing forces which is achieved in this way.
The old adage, slow and steady wins the race, applies to you as you work through whatever obstacles you come across obstructing your way along the road.

 

 

Capricorn (Dec. 22 - Jan. 19)

The Devil card is about spiritual transformation. Here you are encouraged you to embrace what Carl Jung refers to, as being the shadow-self to gain knowledge by taking a realistic, personal self-inventory; both the positive and negative personality characteristics, in order to spiritually transform. That said, the suggestion is to not dwell on the negative, but to have confidence, and a strong belief in yourself, to fulfill all of your capacities, and potential, as a whole and complete human being.

 

Aquarius (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18)

The Star, is all about your optimism. You have great confidence, and belief in fulfilling your inner most desires and wishes. Your vocation in the world is instilling and giving hope to others to believe in their dreams, and their own ability to achieve them. You optimistically impart this to others, through by your spiritual example, and sensibility..

 

 

Pisces (Feb. 19 - March 20)

 The Moon, like you, is always changing moods, and you are always attuned to nature's cycles. The Moon rules the emotions, and so you naturally and very easily use your you intuitive powers, and emotions to help others with great compassion.

History, Origins and Myths of The Tarot

Before I began to learn about Tarot cards, I had some preconceived notions. Notions about the implications of being a reader, the meanings of the cards, how their meanings were relative to my life, and to the life of others.

In the late 1960s, was the first time I had gone to a reader, in my teens, many years ago, close to my neighbouring, small, Nova Scotian town. My friends and me, nervously anticipated meeting the woman we'd heard about, and whom we thought, was going to " tell our fortune ". She was a very sweet old woman, living all alone in a very old house, a top a steep hill we had slowly and persistently trodden, then to finally reach and enter with trepidation, into her old, dimly lite home, that had that old wood smell.

 We had decided to go and see her, just before leaving for a big road adventure, hitchhiking to visit one my friend's sisters, who lived in the city Ottawa, Ontario. It was going to be a very long trip. I remember only two things about the reading. Sure enough, she first did tell me, I would be going on a trip, which is often the proverbial thing people say they would hear, when going to a so called "fortune teller".  Then next thing she said I thought was ridiculous . She added, "And you are not the world's best packer." I laughed and pondered for this for a minute. I was confused and I couldn't figure out why in the world she would say such a thing.

Finally reaching Ottawa, and once over the initial excitement upon our arrival, now in the big city, I promptly began to unpack the contents of my backpack, only to find very little in the way of everyday clothes, that I should have brought with me. I did bring probably twenty pairs of socks.Why I did that I still haven't figured out. I still have a laugh about this now and again, but I am a much better packer now a days!

I just thought I'd share that little story, however what I really wanted to do is to let you know some of the misconceptions, history and the origins of Tarot.
The link Villa Revak is a great site that does provide a great deal of clarification. It will help you to discern and better understand some of the many preconceived ideas, accuracies and inaccuracies, about Tarot. It is very educational, has a plethora of information, and references to explore.
And if you're going on a trip, just a word to the wise, don't take too many socks.