This is the 500th post on this blog.
I’m celebrating by doing this…
Continue readingFriday Fun: Celebrating 500 posts
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Category Archives: Cups
Throwback Thursday: The Eight Cards
The Eight cards in Tarot signal a shift in the journey through each suit. They ask that you dig deeper inside yourself than you have before. They ask you to be brave. To face challenging situations full-on. Take a look…
Continue readingSunday Spotlight: The Ace Card Enigma
Tarot cards are similar to playing cards. In fact they both turned up around the same time during the fourteenth century. Clearly, they’re related somehow.
Which has got me wondering…
Continue readingThe Tarot of Happily Ever After
Who hasn’t wished for a happily ever after?
Hollywood has been promoting this possibility for over a century. Two people madly in love reunite and the screen fades to black. That’s where the story ends in our most popular movies and books.
Belief in this ideal has become ingrained in our DNA.
Which reminds me of this Tarot card…
Continue readingMonday Musings: Making Time For Joy
We live in a fast-paced world and it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the tasks we have to do.
We can also become overwhelmed by the negative tone of most media information.
Which is why we need to keep this card in mind…
Continue readingThe Tarot of New Year’s Resolutions
We often start our year doing this…
Page of Swords: Setting goals
Sometimes we tackle them like this…
Knight of Swords: In haste
In which case we might…
Ten of Swords: Burn out fast
In other cases, we need to do this…
Knight of Wands: Summon up courage to take action
Or you might approach your goals like this…
Knight of Pentacles: Laying solid groundwork
In which case you’re more likely to…
Six of Wands: Experience success
Maybe a goal you’ve chosen this year involves this…
Knight of Cups: An act of love
You might feel this…
Judgement: A call to serve others
In which case you’re this…
King of Wands: My hero
My resolution this year was this…
Three of Cups: Start up a dinner club with friends to experience the amazing food we have here in Melbourne.
However, this happened…
The Tower: Omicron
And my friends…
Eight of Cups Reversed: Don’t want to go anywhere outside their comfort zone
So I joined a bushwalking club instead…
The Empress: Enjoying nature
This week my youngest daughter said she would join my dinner club. We went to this high-energy Japanese eating house in the city, Yakimono, where I enjoyed the most wonderful smoked paprika raw tuna steak AND spent precious time with a child who is always super busy…
Nine of Cups: Feeling sated
So I get to participate in two new hobbies this year #win
Did you make a New Year resolution?
What was it?
Feel free to share in the comment section below.
The Different Stages of the Christmas Season
We’re in the pause between Christmas and New Year. A time many have off from work. In some ways, this is my favourite part of the Christmas season. The manic rush of Christmas has passed and there is time before the New Year to reflect. But maybe you prefer another part?
Let’s explore the different stages of the Christmas Season…
We decorate the house…
Ten of Pentacles: Taking part in valued traditions
Catch up with friends for a drink…
Three of Cups: Socialising
Buy presents…
Six of Pentacles: Giving and receiving
Rush around like mad at the end to get everything done…
Ten of Wands: Being overextended
By Christmas Eve, you hopefully begin to feel this…
Ace of Cups: Spiritually renewed
Beit through your faith, by listening to carols, or by spending time with loved ones.
On Christmas Day we spend time with family.
Hopefully, it felt like this…
Ten of Cups: Counting your blessings
Rather than this…
Three of Swords: Reigniting old heartaches
Maybe by the end of the day you experienced this…
Nine of Cups Reversed: Food coma or other over-indulgence
We now have a week between Christmas and New Year.
Which is a great time for this…
Four of Swords: Restful contemplation
Before the new year comes around.
When we do this…
Ace of Swords: Set a clear direction for the next twelve months
What is your favourite stage of the Christmas season?
The Tarot of the Most Locked Down City in The World
Yes! I live in the place that has been crowned the most locked down city in the world over the past two years: Melbourne, Australia!
It’s been a journey, to put it mildly. We’ve endured six seperate lockdowns, each one more miserable than the last.
Right from the start, our state government did this…
The Emperor: Imposed strict rules
It was actually amazing how compliant everyone was!
We started off like this…
Page of Wands: Developing new skills
Baking sourdough, taking up crochet, improving our ability to work and play online.
We made lots of this…
Page of Swords + Temperance: Plans to improve our work-life balance
Some did this…
Knight of Wands + The Empress: Moved to the country
Many felt this…
Judgement: A call to serve others
People set up Facebook groups to support their community, gave money to charity, reached out to neighbours.
Some made the experience harder…
Knight of Swords: Sections of the media
With their sniping on the sidelines and their personal political agendas.
But others made it easier to do this…
The Star: Hold onto hope
Medical scientists and healthcare workers, those who went above and beyond to help through this crisis, friends on WhatsApp groups.
That was 2020.
2021 has been much worse.
There was a lot more of this between political leaders and from media commentators…
Five of Wands + Ace of Wands: Fighting for ideological supremacy
Which…
Judgement Reversed: Shattered our sense of community
And was a factor in increased…
The Tower: Mental breakdowns
And for some led to this…
The Star Reversed: Despair
People were either…
Five of Pentacles: Feeling poor
Due to businesses being unable to trade and government subsidies being withdrawn.
Or this…
Ten of Swords: Mentally drained
From being asked to work under challenging conditions.
I’ve worked six days a week for the last two years, as well as writing, and I’m in the latter category.
Up until September I felt I was doing this…
Two of Pentacles: Juggling my responsibilities nicely
But then I finished The Empress and suddenly barely had the energy to publish it, let alone write any more.
My brain just stopped working…
Ace of Swords Reversed: Unable to think clearly
And it’s only just coming back online now.
The inability to think on a deep level is definitely a symptom of this…
Nine of Swords: The ongoing stress of managing life in lockdown.
Which is why I won’t be publishing the next chapter in my Tarot series tomorrow.
I’m not sure when I’ll finish it. Maybe by the end of January, maybe not till next March.
Which is kind of funny, considering the next chapter is this…
The Emperor: Meeting deadlines
Guess this is a card I need to work on in my own life, lol!
More than anything in Melbourne, we have felt this, especially during the past six months…
Three of Swords: Brokenhearted
From being unable to spend time with friends and family – again!
From missing much-needed holidays we were looking forward to – again!
From being cooped up at home alone – again!
My Christmas wish for this year is that you get to do this…
Four of Wands + Ten of Cups: Spend the holiday season with family
Thinking of you all!
The Tarot of Prince Phillip’s Passing
The death of Prince Phillip, consort to Queen Elizabeth, has made news around the world this week. Let’s dive into the Tarot of this a little bit, shall we?
With his passing, Britain has been plunged into this…
The British press has been united in lauding him…
Even though they spent years doing this…
Prince Phillip was definitely…
However, he was also…
I currently run a Duke of Edinburgh club at the school where I teach. Prince Phillip created this award scheme to encourage personal growth in young people. It has been incredibly successful in this endeavour for many decades, and I am proud to be a part of it.
But perhaps his greatest achievement was this…
It wasn’t easy for him to always walk two steps behind the queen, but he did.
He had to give up this completely…
His experience must have felt a lot like this at times…
Vale Prince Phillip!
May he rest now in peace!
The Tarot of Good Friday
On Good Friday, we remember the story of Jesus’ death. He was crucified on a cross. Nailed by his hands and feet to the wood. Struggled to draw breath for hours on end. Until eventually he passed away.
It is said that he suffered on that cross so all of us may live. That God loved us so much, he sent his only son to suffer public humiliation and death. This belief is at the very heart of Christianity.
Which seems like a strange notion, when you think about it! Why did Jesus have to die to heal our broken relationship with the divine? Wouldn’t a lifetime of preaching and miracles have been equally as affective?
Traditionally, Good Friday is celebrated by Christians as this…
The death on the cross always reminds me of this Tarot card…
Which doesn’t seem a really good fit for the story of Good Friday on the surface. Although it does proceed this card…
And Jesus’ death did precipitate a major change in world history: It spawned a whole new religion!
But for me, this event feels more like this card…
The Son of Man himself did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28).
Sacrifice was an important notion in the ancient world. A central creed. By the prehistorical era, it had been twisted into acts of animal, and even, human sacrifice. Jesus’ death was the ultimate example of this. But before we lost our memory of the origins of human civilisation, back when we lived in the forest and worshipped in the cave, it wasn’t an obligation imposed by our gods. It was an act of appreciation. A nod of recognition to the plants and animals that gave their lives in our food, so that we may live.
This was the original meaning of reconciliation.
Our ancestors wrestled with the knowledge that our lives came at the cost of others. To resolve that conflict they maintained an attitude of gratitude towards every creature that provided support and nourishment for humanity. Created customs to formalise that acknowledgement. Life is a great gift. And when we lived in nature, we were much more cognisant of that fact.
Which puts me in mind of this card…
When we appreciate the magic of our very existence in this universe, when we treat every being on this planet, beit animal, plant or mineral, with respect, we will find ourselves on a richer and more fulfilling path.
That’s what Tarot teaches us!
The Tarot Teaclub 