Nine Of Wands: Self Defense (You Won’t Believe This Invention!)

Posted on December 12, 2012 by tanlee3

Nine Of Wands: A man stands holding onto a wand looking ready to defend his territory. The bandage around his head suggests he has experienced heavy fighting. The line of wands at his rear are the skills he has drawn on during these battles. Now he has chosen one in particular to lean on. He may be beaten and bloodied but he’s not bowed. This is a card of strength and determination. It suggests that even though you may feel like you’ve come to the end of your fighting powers there is strength in reserve. You can attain victory through courage and endurance.

I thought of this card when reading a story doing the rounds on Facebook this week about a remarkable new invention. The story goes like this…

A medical technician in South Africa named Sonette Ehlers never forgot a rape victim saying, ‘If only I had teeth down there.’ Rape is a pandemic in South Africa. Some time afterward a man came into the hospital in excruciating pain because his penis was stuck in his zipper and Ehlers had a lightbulb moment. She developed a product named the RAPEX. It’s a hard plastic tube with barbs on the inside. A woman inserts the tube like a tampon. Any man who rapes her impales himself on the barbs and must go to hospital to have the RAPEX removed. When critics complained that it was a medieval punishment Ehlers replied, ‘A medieval punishment for a medieval deed.’

The RAPEX is like the wand the man is holding in the card above. It is the last line of defense against rape for the women of South Africa. Im(humble) opinion someone should give Ehlers a Nobel Prize. Think of the pain and suffering she is going to prevent.

What do you think of the RAPEX?

P.S. I tried to post a picture of the device in this post but it didn’t work. Will leave a link on my Facebook page if I can or you can just google it if you’re curious.

The Tarot Of The Kate Middleton Radio DJ Phone Prank Tragedy

Posted on December 10, 2012 by tanlee3

The big news in Australia at the moment is about the Radio DJ prank that went horribly wrong. The story goes like this…

The Empress: Prince William’s wife Kate Middleton falls pregnant.

The Star: Unfortunately she suffers from a little known pregnancy condition called Hyperemesis Gravidarum – otherwise known as ‘living hell’ to sufferers – that causes severe vomiting forcing her to be hospitalised for bed rest and rehydration.

The Magician: An Australian radio production team comes up with the bright idea to ring up the hospital where Kate is staying for a lark. The two DJs pretend (badly) to be Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles.

The Wheel Of Fortune: In an unexpected development the radio DJs are put through to Kate’s room by a nurse who was filling in on reception where they hear personal details about Kate’s condition. The radio station broadcasts the phone call.

The World: The prank captures the attention of the world. British paparazzi are miffed that two obscure antipodean DJs got the scoop ahead of them. One of the DJs boasts on Twitter that he will never ever top this success in his future career.

Five Of Swords: We are far away in Australia and not as obsessed with the royal family as the British but it seems that the two nurses who spoke on the phone must have been put under enormous pressure either by their superiors or by the press. This is the only thing that can explain what occurred next.

Death: Unfortunately, tragically, one of the nurses who spoke on the phone is believed to have committed suicide. (Note: If you’re feeling emotionally fragile while reading this post please contact a health professional.)

Judgement: As a result the two DJs who performed this prank are themselves now under enormous pressure to explain themselves. Yet there are many people who contributed to this tragedy: The station manager/lawyers/owners. The press who whipped up the story. Those who passed it on.

What we all really need is…

Four Of Swords: Time out to reflect on the situation. The radio station that the DJs work for has released a statement saying that prank calls will cease immediately across all its networks while a comprehensive review takes place. It’s the least they can do in the circumstances.

Six Of Wands Reversed: There are no winners here. Kate’s privacy was invaded. Two nurses were humiliated in front of the world. Two young DJs are now being persecuted. And absolutely worst of all: A woman has died. My thoughts are with her husband and children at this time.

What are your thoughts on this terrible tragedy?

The Eight Cards: A Deepening Of The Tarot Journey

Posted on December 4, 2012 by tanlee3

The Eight cards in Tarot signal a shift in the journey through each suit. They ask that you dig deeper inside yourself than you ever have before. They ask you to be brave. To face challenging situations full-on. Take a look…

Eight of Wands: Being rewarded for the effort you’ve put in and now having to step up to the plate in some new aspect of your career/life e.g. A bank finally gives you that mortgage you were after and now you’re going to commit yourself to actually buying a house. Yikes!

Eight of Cups: Leaving behind a relationship/career/home to search for something better. It’s never easy to let go of something, no matter how unsatisfying it may be, when you have nothing in particular to replace it with.

Eight of Swords: Fighting your own negative self-beliefs. The hardest critic to ignore is the one who lives inside your own head.

Eight of Pentacles: Working harder than you’ve ever worked before. Because you’re committed to some goal you want to achieve and nothing is more important than that. As my new favourite saying goes: You don’t get what you wish for. You get what you work for!

Even in Life Lesson Tarot the number eight signifies a deepening of the Tarot journey. It’s the step from childhood into adulthood.

Strength: Standing up for yourself.

So if you get a number eight card be brave. It won’t be easy. But know that Tarot wouldn’t give you this card if it didn’t think you were up to the challenge. And the reward is a significant one. Inner strength. Empowerment. Feeling like a proper grown-up in other words. In charge of your life. A fully fledged adult!

Ten Of Wands: Christmas Overload!

Posted on November 27, 2012 by tanlee3

At this time of year it’s easy to feel overloaded by all the tasks we have to perform in order to be ready for Christmas. There are presents to buy, seasonal functions to attend, get-togethers with loved ones to organize not to mention the big day itself, which as we know can be mighty tricky to arrange what with everyone being so emotionally attached to their own way of celebrating Christmas. In Australia it’s also the end of the school year so we have the tasks associated with that on top of everything else.

Enter this card: Continue reading →

Eight Of Wands Reversed: Failure To Launch

Posted on November 21, 2012 by tanlee3

Well there was much to-do in the Australian media this week about an online shopping event that was created by a local industry group to prevent us Aussies spending too much of our Christmas shopping dollar online O.S. In particular during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales coming up this week in the U.S.

Called ‘Click Frenzy’ the event was a 24 hour shopping sale which was scheduled to start last night at 7pm. It was billed as ‘The Sale That Stops A Nation’. Well the nation did stop alright because Continue reading →

Tarot: So Much More Than A Fortune Teller’s Tool

Posted on October 27, 2012 by tanlee3

I had a comment on my blog the other day (yay a comment!) asking me to predict somebody’s fate, her doom even. I declined of course, being the non-psychic Tarot card reader that I am (As if I’d want to predict someone’s doom anyway. What the?) As I’ve said before that’s not what this blog is on about. I mean, yeah, sure, you can use Tarot cards to predict the future if you want (I keep warning you but that you can get into trouble if you do. Feel chained to a particular outcome. Mind you, that doesn’t stop me doing it now and then, ha!) But as I cannot emphasise enough there is more to Tarot than that. Clearly the message needs to be hammered home with triple exclamation points: Tarot is so much more than a fortune teller’s tool!!!

What kind of more you ask? Well, for starters… Continue reading →

The Tarot Of Meetings

Posted on October 22, 2012 by tanlee3

I have to attend a long meeting after work tomorrow and already my spirits are sinking at the thought. So just to amuse myself (and hopefully you too) I thought I’d contemplate the Tarot of meetings. Continue reading →

Ways Of Being Successful According To The Good Book Tarot (Part 1)

Posted on October 18, 2012 by tanlee3

You can achieve success in various ways according to the good book Tarot. Here are the ones that stand out for me from the Everyday Tarot part of the deck.

Four of Wands: Success at bagging yourself a partner or getting people to generally wish you well using your social skills.

Six of Wands: Success achieved through natural talents or skills developed over the years. You experience this type of success after being in a job for awhile. It’s when you’ve learnt how to work the ropes to get what you want in the workplace.

Six of Pentacles: Success thanks to another party. Maybe you win Tattslotto or get an inheritance.

Seven of Swords: Success by being a master tactician or sneaky bastard. And if you’re both the world is your chupa chup (my daughter insists I say this, she doesn’t like oysters). A shout out here to our friend Lance (see previous post)!

Eight of Wands: Success at achieving something you’ve been working towards. Such as getting funding for a business idea. It’s the kind of success that comes out of the blue after a hard slog.

Nine of Pentacles: Success achieved all by yourself.

Nine of Cups: Just generally feeling successful.

As a teacher I employ many of these scenarios. I use my experience (6 Wands) and strategy (7 Swords) to maximise learning in the classroom and have benefitted from being well looked after by my bosses (6 Pentacles).

Are you experiencing any of these types of Tarot success right now in your life? You know the drill, please share.

The Lance Armstrong Story Tarot Style

Posted on October 16, 2012 by tanlee3

Lance Armstrong is all over the news at the mo so I thought it’d be fun to tell his story Tarot style. You know, as it’s been reported. I’m not his judge and jury.

Seven of Swords: The Tactician. Otherwise known as The Sneaky Bastard.

Six of Wands: The Winner. In a reading this card would come up in the past position for Lance.

Wheel of Fortune: Experiencing ups and downs. And when you’ve been way way up you’re bound to fall way way down. But kudos to him for beating cancer and getting back on his bike. There is still something to admire there.

The Tower: The fall from grace. Breakdowns (that would be his team-mates). Revelation (that would be about him).

The Devil: An obvious choice. Living in denial. Making winning your god.

The Moon: Revealing hidden depths. And boy are they murky. Makes you want to take a long hot shower when you listen to his team mate’s stories.

The World: And this is all happening on a world stage.

Three of Swords: There is real grief being felt over Lance. People feel like they’ve been stabbed in the heart, and fair enough say I. He was our hero. Note how the swords in the card don’t drip blood i.e. The wound isn’t fresh. This is because the betrayal occurred in the past.

I feel a multi-million dollar tell-all confessional book contract coming on. But what would I know being the non-psychic Tarot reader that I am? Sometimes my intuition is spot on and other times I couldn’t hit the future with a ten foot pole if I tried.

Feel free to add your own suggestions re the Lance Armstrong story in the comments section below. Anyone?

Jobs For The Boys (I Mean Kings)

Posted on October 13, 2012 by tanlee3

This is an equal opportunity blog so it seems only fair to do to the boys what was done to the girls yesterday, keeping tongue firmly in cheek as we ask: What kind of man does each King card represent? What kind of job might he have?

King of Wands: A man who wants to be his own boss or live on the wildside. The small business man. The self-employed. The entrepreneur. The media magnate. The high-rise window-washer. The wildlife warrior. The fireman. The emergency services worker. The primary school teacher. The demolitions expert. The film director.

King of Swords: A man who cuts through the crap. The butt kicker. The CEO. The lawyer. The accountant. The judge. The justice of the peace. The salary man. The human rights activist. The humanitarian. The writer. The philosopher. The journalist. The blogger. The academic. The army officer. The diplomat. The linguist. The researcher. The scientist. The detective. The computer programmer.

King of Cups: A man who acts from the heart. The team player. The tortured artiste. The stay-at-home dad. The doctor. The over-stretched social worker. The musician. The pub owner (and the alcoholic). The priest. The anti-hunting protestor. The childcare worker. The communist. The vet. The actor.

King of Pentacles: A man who respects traditions. The business man. The tradie working with his hands. The hard working employee. The board member. The president of the local Rotary club. The parliamentarian. The bishop. The historian. The TV newsreader. The sugar daddy. The suit and tie. The Republican.

Any other suggestions?

The Tarot Teaclub

The Tarot Guide To Popular Culture And Everyday Life

Category Archives: Wands