This is one of three cards that came up for me during the spread I did on my last birthday to represent the overall themes of the year ahead.
I have been taught to believe that this card represents Continue reading
There were 3 sayings written in the stone on the temple walls at Delphi in Ancient Greece and the first and most important was: Know Thyself.
You’d think knowing yourself would be easy, wouldn’t you? Continue reading
Sometimes when you are reading the cards they turn up upside down. There are some Tarot teachers who ascribe a different meaning to the card when it does. Personally, I’ve never paid much attention to upside down cards but it is certainly interesting to contemplate the possibilities.
If the Eight of Wands means you are about to see progress for your efforts when it’s upright maybe when it’s upside down it means it’s time for you to put in a lot of effort. It’s a kick up the bum in other words. You need to shoot those wands (your skills and talents) up into the sky, put them out into the world, if you want to see progress.
What do you think?
I love getting the Eight of Wands but it doesn’t happen often. This card means things are going to happen for you quickly. Look at the imagery. Eight wands are flying down to earth. Buds blossom from the wood. The land is green and fertile primed for new growth.
Once you get into your 30s and 40s life becomes pretty dull and routine. Not that this is a bad thing, I love my dull routine. But it’s good to have something change every once in a while. Keeps you on your toes. And with the Eight of Wands it’s change that you have actually been working towards. The sky suddenly opens up in an area of your life where things have felt stalled. It’s like receiving a gift. Like Christmas for grown ups.
I’m working towards publishing novels. That is the Eight of Wands change I am seeking in my life. What about you? What would you like to grow?
I’ve never liked the phrases ‘Minor Arcana’ and ‘Major Arcana’ which are used to refer to the two types of card you find in Tarot. These terms are meaningless to a modern audience. As a writer I believe strongly that it is important for words to conjure up the things of which they speak. So I’ve been raking my brain to come up with more contemporary titles.
The Minor Arcana consists of Continue reading
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The code above is for the benefit of another site. Makes no sense to me because I don’t speak-ah dis language. In the same way learning Tarot is like learning to speak another language. Each card represents a letter and when strung together the cards spell out a word which tells you something about yourself or your life.
You just have to learn the code to crack the secret message. Cool, huh.
The Hanged Man doesn’t look comfortable does he? And yet even though he is twisted up in knots he doesn’t seem too bothered by the strange position he finds himself in. There is no struggle, more like resignation. If anything, he looks like he is away with the pixies, meditating maybe. (Might be all that blood rushing to his head!)
There is a myth associated with The Hanged Man. Continue reading
I’m not big on fortune telling. By that I mean, reading the cards for other people. I’ll do it if I have to, if you twist my arm, but I’d a million times rather help you learn to read the cards for yourself. The thing with Tarot is that the meanings of each card shift depending on the person and the situation they are referring to. That is why the 10-card Celtic Cross is a popular spread: the more cards, the clearer the message. But ultimately the best judge of what the cards are saying will always be YOU.
It’s kind of like how dreams can have different meanings for different people. Dreaming of fabric means creativity for one person and represents mum for another. Only you can truly say what the dream has meant.
I do believe that there are people out there who are incredibly intuitive/psychic/call-it-what-you-will who are able to tell people things about themselves and their future. But I don’t know that it’s always appropriate to do so. Or helpful.
Fortune telling can be damaging.
You can spend years waiting for the man you’re meant to have 3 kids and a big house with to materialise and in the meantime stop working for those things yourself. And then maybe they don’t happen. Life can pass you by that way. I don’t think you’re meant to lie back and let Tarot do all the work.
I’ve never forgotten the well-known numerologist at a New Age expo who did my numbers and my now ex-husband’s numbers and told me I was a bitch. I mean, sure, fair cop, I was young and had a lot to learn about relationships but (a) I don’t think that advice was helpful and (b) I don’t think that was a complete summary of my personality at that time. And it’s hard to wash those words out of your psyche once they’ve been said by a so-called professional.
What about you? How helpful or not have you found Tarot card readings?
The Major Arcana cards read like a book that follows the journey of a human soul through life.
The first volume covers childhood:
The Fool – The soul waiting to be born
The Magician – The newborn who seems perfect in every way and has so much potential.
The High Priestess – The baby living off instinct during the first months and years.
The Empress – The child at play
The Emperor – The child being disciplined
The Hierophant – The school child forming ideas about the world
The Lovers – The teenager beginning to make choices about what they want and who they want to be with.
The Chariot – The young adult striving for success.
That’s one way of looking at it anyway. There are many more. That’s the beautiful confusing thing about Tarot. It’s like a diamond. Every time you turn it in your hand you see another side.
What about you? What’s your take on the first 8 cards of the Holy Book of Tarot?
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