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…
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Pamela Smith Coleman is the genius who designed the images on the Smith Waite Tarot deck (commonly known as Rider Waite Tarot).
But did she have an issue with the swords cards?
Let’s take a look at them…
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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…
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The Four of Swords and The Hanged Man both involve men having some kind of rest.
So what’s the difference between them?
A key to this difference is their location in the Tarot deck. The Four of Swords is part of the Minor Arcana, which deals with everyday situations. Whereas, The Hanged Man is part of the Major Arcana. A much more profound part of Tarot.
Let’s look at them more closely…
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Ever feel like the news is too much?
Too much chatter.
Too much disagreement.
Too much misinformation.
Too much pain and sorrow to absorb.
Then you need to follow the advice in this card…
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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.
I’ve started doing a ritual on the solstice before Christmas – the true New Year – whereby I choose a Tarot card to represent the year that is coming up.
This year I got the Two of Wands.
Not a card I’m super familiar with.
It signifies…
Having power over others
Wielding influence
Being a pioneer
Investigating a new opportunity
Stepping outside social expectations
Figuring out the way forward
Note: Wands involve action. So the figuring out occurs by doing, not thinking.
But my favourite meaning is…
Being bold!
Choosing your own path!
Taking a risk!
Do you know any other meanings for this card?
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 celebration of the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere has ancient roots…
The Moon: Hidden Depths
Going back thousands of years, possibly tens of thousands of years, maybe even hundreds of thousands of years, into prehistory.
And it’s not hard to see why!
December 21st marks this…
Wheel of Fortune: A turning point
It’s when the Earth pauses in its tilt away from the Sun, before heading back towards the light.
This is a truly significant moment in the year and would have had deep meaning for our ancestors.
The Earth turns towards the light just before the northern hemisphere is plunged into the bleakness of the most challenging winter months, when the weather is freezing and food scarce…
Five of Pentacles: Hard times
The winter solstice commemoration was created to remind us during the darkest of times that the world is turning back towards the light.
It is a celebration of this…
The Star: Hope
And is the true origins of the Christmas festival we now celebrate at this time of the year.
Jesus is another symbol of hope for us.
Of a way we can move forward towards the light.
Just as Tarot is too!
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 Teaclub 