The Wheel

Thanks to Mary Greer who posted this on her blog: Rosanne Cash - The Wheel (Official Music Video) - The most popular videos are a click away This is The Wheel by Roseanne Cash and its chock full of tarot imagery. Too cool! Enjoy!

Death Waits

It was a gorgeous spring Sunday that felt very much like summer. While I was relaxing at home, the phone rang with an unfamiliar number on the caller ID. I let the voicemail receive it and heard, "Ginny, it's Caitlin...you need to call me, it's about Mom." Her mother was in poor health and I assumed she was probably in the hospital and she was calling me because I live in the same town. I'm close by, accessible, and can more easily offer assistance when needed. I was not prepared to hear her say, "Mom passed away this morning." "NO SHE FUCKING DIDN'T!!!" And the Tower crashed and burned and I fell from the windows. "Yes, Ginny, yes...she did." The third sword pierced my heart and in that instant my heart bled tears of overwhelming grief and a cry of agony escaped my lips as if that sword was an actual steel blade invading my chest cavity. Jonna was my friend. For thirty years we shared our lives, from the halls of the high school we attended together, through boyfriends and lovers, marriages (my two, her one), our children's births (my four, her two), moving houses, through her mother's serious illness, her father's death, my divorces, our friendship remained. Our relationship embodied the 2 of cups, the 3 of cups, the 5 of swords, the 5 of wands, the 6 of cups, the Sun, the Moon, the Wheel, the Fool. She was the Queen of Cups and I the Queen of Swords. We sometimes clashed and I'd get pointy and she would cry and pout. Yes, she drank too much, too. Her favorite tarot card from all my decks was always, without fail, the Ace of Cups. She wore her emotions on her sleeve, her face, her whole self was one big emotion. Her laughter was hearty and contagious, her tears deep with sorrow. When she felt something, it was big. My mother had a phrase for people like her. She'd say, "They're just too too!" The woman was intense. My airy Libra self needs people like her. I do seem to gravitate towards watery folks. They keep me in touch with my own emotions even if I do tend to wonder what all their fuss is about. In the last week since she died, I have experienced a wide range of emotions and thoughts that, were I to align them to tarot cards, not one of them would align with Death. Our friendship hasn't ended. It still lives on as long as I live to love her. It has changed, yes. I won't be able to call her with some silly bit of daily, mundane news or frustration. I won't hear her voice on the other end of the phone anymore. I won't be wrapped up in her deep, soothing hug. I won't share another toast, a cigarette, a moment when we look at each other and just know what the other is thinking. I hope to see her again, but until then, this part of our relationship is different. But it isn't over. I still remember. I still love. This is why, I think, the Death card doesn't often show up to herald physical death. Maybe the Tower. Maybe the Wheel. Maybe even the 6 of Swords. But not Death. Because although her physical life has ended, the reading would have been mine, not hers. What I am experiencing is a kind of ending, yes, but more a change, a hurt, a loss, sadness, a rush of memories, a need to connect with old friends, a grief. There are many other cards that better describe what I am feeling and doing and Death isn't one of them. Five of Cups is a big one. I am for sure feeling a whole lot of regret and deep, painful sadness. I don't know how to do this, to lose my best friend. We had a rather rocky relationship and had grown a bit distant these last two years. That was my doing. As her health declined, those that loved her tried persistently to help her to help herself. She was still drinking, still addicted to prescription pain meds. Depressed, she spent most of her days in bed. She laughed less and cried more and when she would call I wouldn't pick up the phone until she left a voicemail so I could see if she was sober or not. She had verbally attacked me last year for not calling her when I had actually left several voicemails on her phone. Afterwards, she didn't remember yelling at me. It had begun to feel crazymaking. I knew she was losing some of her self. I couldn't bear it. Then other times she would call, sober, and we'd talk as if nothing was different. She would remember things. We would get all caught up on each others' lives and then get silly and stupid and laugh just like we always do. The last time I saw her I helped her do her nails, gave her a pedicure, and helped her choose her outfit for her daughter's rehearsal dinner. I guess it was my own denial that wouldn't allow me to really take in the seriousness of her condition. I remember her daughter holding her mother's face in her hands and saying, "Mom, look at me. I need you to BE HERE with me tomorrow. (Her wedding day) If you can't be with me I don't want you there at all. I'm not trying to be ignorant. I'm not trying to be mean. I NEED YOU. BE WITH ME. BE HERE." Caitlin looked at me and I could see the desperate worry in her eyes. I understood, but I knew Jonna. She was a fighter, a survivor. She could drink any drunk under the table and still dance on top of it. She had tried to overdose on her pain meds before and couldn't. I said, "Don't worry, Caitlin. She will be fine." And she was. She attended her daughter's dinner and wedding. She stayed sober. Her husband lost his job and with it went the health insurance. She couldn't get her pain meds, so her addiction was broken. I talked with her last Friday night. We were supposed to get together the next day. I said, "I sure wish you were here so we could have a drink." I knew she was an alcoholic, but I also knew she wouldn't stop drinking, so if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. She said, "I don't really do that so much anymore." "Really?" I asked, incredulous. "Yeah, well...it causes...problems." I knew instantly she meant problems with her husband. "Yeah, I bet it does!" I said. "I still do, every now and then, but not so much." "Well good. I can't wait to see you tomorrow." "Ok hon, I'll call you when we're on our way, so you'll know when to be there." "Perfect," I said, "We'll catch up then." "Ok, I love you, hon." "I love you, too. Bye." I do. I love her still. So it is not Death. It is not over. Maybe I'll see the Death card before I go, but for now, he will have to wait until our friendship ends. If I have anything to say about it, he's going to wait a good long time. I think the Death card doesn't show up for us when we might expect it to because if there is still one person carrying on, the relationship is not dead. If we had ended our friendship, yes, Death comes in. Now, I still believe Death does and can mean literal, physical death, and I think it does show up in some readings to mean just that. But see, that's obvious. We wonder more why it didn't show, why we didn't get the obscene and blatant warning. Besides the fact that even a tarot warning would not have sounded as loud as her declining physical, mental and emotional state anyway, the experience of her death has been anything and everything but an ending. Or maybe I'm still in denial. It doesn't really feel like denial. I know she's gone, I accept it. I am grateful she is now no longer in pain, she is at peace, she is with her beloved grandmom and dad. I will miss her and yet I accept that she is gone from me now. It's just that it doesn't feel like it's over...because I remember my friend's love for me and know that part, the important part, lives on.

Wow

My 17 year-old son, Than, plays the guitar in a very unique way:

Opinions?

I don't know why it didn't occur to me until today. I mean, I've been recording podcasts for The Tarot Connection for a while now, I have a sweet new mic for the computer, I like talking, so why not offer audio readings? Email readings have their benefits, too. If your computer cannot handle a rather large mp3 download, maybe an audio reading isn't the best option. A lot of email programs won't even allow such large attachments. In which case, I could upload the audio file onto a file storage site and direct you to it to download. Hmmm...I need to test this out some more. But I think an audio reading may personalize the reading more and give a different feel to it. What do you all think? Are audio files a doable format for most folks these days? What do you feel are the pros and cons of email versus audio readings? Feedback appreciated! Thanks!

Fortuitous Fortitude

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face... The danger lies in refusing to face the fear, in not daring to come to grips with it... You must make yourself succeed every time. You must do the thing you think you cannot do." - Eleanor Roosevelt Someone once told me to be very careful when asking God for strength because, sure enough, a situation would arise that would severely test one's resolve. Lately, I've been thrown quite a few situations where the cardinal virtue of Strength has been tested and whether or not I've passed is unknown, but these virtuous muscles are aching. In my case a lot of the situations have surrounded a generalized inability to say "No." I thought I'd gotten pretty good at using that word, given my rebellious and stubborn nature, but apparently I need more practice. When two cardinal virtues are standing toe to toe making rude gestures at each other, which does one choose? Does one choose Charity over Fortitude? Or is holding one's ground more loving in the end? Moral dilemmas suck. The Major Arcana includes three out of four of what is known in the Western philosophical tradition as Cardinal Virtues: Prudence - the ability to judge between actions with regard to appropriateness in particular situations Justice - moderation between self-interest and the rights and needs of others Temperance - practicing self-control, abstention, and moderation Courage or Fortitude - forbearance, endurance, and ability to confront fear and uncertainty, or intimidation While Justice, Temperance, and Strength are featured in Tarot, Prudence is suspiciously absent. It's kind of integrated with Justice, but not highlighted as the other virtues in its own card. There is a deck that includes it, the Minchiate Etruria, but this deck is not considered a true tarot deck and includes many "extra" cards representing the virtues, zodiac and elements. I have no idea why Prudence was exempted from Tarot representation. There are some theories bantied about, but the one I find most compelling is that in reading medieval texts, one gets the idea that Prudence is distinguished from the other virtues. It is often lauded as the highest of the cardinal virtues almost as an end result of combining all the other virtues in a human being. One text close to the earliest trionfi cards illustrates this - the funeral eulogy for Gian Galeazzo Visconti, written by Petrus de Castelleto in 1402. Petrus compares Gian Galeazzo to "Twelve Stars which are twelve virtues". In his sermon he names a virtue, and then describes how Gian Galeazzo exemplified it. He divides the virtues into four sets of three: 1. Faith 2. Hope 3. Charity 4. Justice 5. Fortitude 6. Temperance 7. Prudence 8. Piety 9. Mercy 10. Magnificence 11. Intelligence 12. Humility The second set are the three Virtues found in Tarot. Note that Prudence belongs to a different set of three. But I digress. Interesting stuff, but rather than dive any deeper into the extremely large pool of philosophical pontificating on the ordering of virtues, I'll try to rein in my inclination to run off in miscellaneous directions. Strength is the card of the day today. As I was saying, Strength is one of the four Cardinal Virtues and it represents fortitude, or courage. It is exemplified by firmness of spirit, steadiness of will in doing good despite obstacles. Fortitude limits inordinate rashness and fear in the face of major pain. It is considered one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. The others are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, piety, and fear, or reverence, of the Lord. The iconography of Strength commonly shows a woman, a pillar, and a lion. Virtues were often personified as women even though the etymology of the word virtue means "manliness." A relief on the tomb of Pope Clement II in the Bamburg Cathedral in Germany depicts the four virtues. Strength is shown as a woman grasping a lion by its jaws. Given that Pope Clement II died in 1047, this image predates tarot by a few hundred years. Fortitude is also known as Courage which is the ability to confront fear, pain, risk, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. There are generally two different types of courage. "Physical courage" is courage in the face of physical pain, hardship, or threat of death, while "moral courage" is the ability to act rightly in the face of popular opposition, shame, scandal, or discouragement. (Given this definition, one can understand why Prudence would be needed to first distinguish the right action before mustering up the fortitude to actually do the right thing, thereby elevating Prudence over all. One must first posses the virtue of knowing what is right before exercising any of the others.) That said, in looking at the meaning of the tarot card Strength, resist the prevailing modern custom to oversimplify this card to mean only a suppression of internal vice or urges. It encompasses a whole heck of a lot more than that. I blame Waite for this dilution of Strength's meaning. He ascribed words such as self-control patience, compassion, perseverance, moderation, kindness, gentleness, slowness, softness, serenity, discipline, and inner strength to the Strength card. While these qualities may be needed in a situation involving courage, I do not feel they truly describe the virtue nor the actions or attitudes primarily associated with it. A lot of those words would better describe Temperance and Love. This would explain the changes one sees in the earlier historical tarot Strength cards and the later, more modern ones. Earlier cards often show the woman engaging the lion directly, taking control over the beast in a very overt, aggressive way. Later cards commonly show a more peaceful coexistence between the lady and the lion, as if the lion were a domesticated kitty. The struggle and challenge, as well as the obvious risk and danger is absent in the later cards. This is one of the reasons I really love the older decks. The symbolism is more faceted and inclusive. For example the Strength card from the Tarocchino Milanese, first published by Gumppenberg in 1835, shows a woman in the very "unladylike" position of straddling a lion's back while taking firm hold of its mouth. She's quite determined to tame this beast and is not opting for Waite's more subtle or gentle approach. The Robin Wood deck, on the other hand, a much more modern deck, shows a smiling maiden and a smiling lion having no issues whatsoever. Even if one were to limit this card to meaning a struggle with one's own "internal beast" or Freudian "id" you would think there would be more to the contest than smiling at it and watching it roll over for a belly scratch. While it is very true that sometimes the most courageous thing is to do nothing, to smile and walk away, there are also other times when facing the danger head on and attacking the issue with force is the right approach. If there is no real challenge then there is no need for Strength. If the situation holds no potential for injury or harm, why invoke courage? During a very fearful time in my life I was told that courage was the act of feeling afraid but doing it anyway. Understanding that fear was a natural response to danger and courage was not the absence of fear helped me exhibit the qualities of Fortitude during a time when it was crucially important to both mine and my child's lives that I grabbed that lion's mouth and shut it. The later cards show no hint of fear, no sweat. In essence, Strength in tarot has been reduced down to one mustering up the courage to refuse dessert rather than facing down terror or threat. No mattter the source, be it internal or external, and no matter the type of courage needed, whether physical or moral, the implication of risk must be present in order to even need the virtue to be displayed. While lions are wild and not domesticated and imply a sort of risk, so could my bathtub when wet, yet I don't see drawing the Strength card before my morning shower. I always cringe a little when I see the Strength card in a reading, much like that prayer for Strength uttered when feeling weak may invite more struggles, it is like a warning sign: Danger Ahead. It always seems to indicate there will surely come a situation in which you will be tested in ways that you feel are beyond your present abilities to overcome. You will be challenged, you will feel fear, you will be at risk, and you may be injured in the process. Even if you do the right thing, even if you stand firm, even if you go in head first and grab that lion by the mouth, those teeth are sharp and you're liable to come away with at least a few scrapes and bruises. Although the gentle approach may be required, it's not going to be easy. This is not a tame lion you are dealing with no matter if that lion resides inside of you or is an outside influence and you will have to find the inner fortitude to not only determine the right course of action but then to follow through on that course. "Courage does not always roar. Sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.' "

For Shame: The Hanged Man

This is one of my least liked tarot card trumps. I'm not sure it's anyone's favorite given its uncomfortable depiction of torture, but my main beef with this card is not only does it tell me that what I want requires a very long wait, but in the meantime I'm not going to be enjoying that wait. Unlike the Star that also depicts that my goal is afar off, this card says the intervening time is pretty much going to suck for me, though I will learn a lot from it. Bah. Take your life lesson and hang that from a tree, ok? To even attempt to understand the meaning of this Major Arcana card, one really does need to get the historical perspective. Times have most certainly changed since the creation of Tarot and this card references something that people of the 1500's would have readily recognized that we in the 21st Century have no current context. Well, we do, but not in this manner. This picture of a man hung upside down by one foot is what was known in Italy as a pittura infamante, a defaming portrait. It was used as a kind of rag publication that showed thieves, traitors, those guilty of bankruptcy or fraud in this punishing position and displayed in centers of public view. Those paintings weren't literal, in that the depicted victims were not actually hung in this manner but were shamed by the portrait. They were akin to our political cartoons except that they were approved and even requested by the municipal civil authorities as a form of public punishment. They began to lose popularity when they began to be appreciated more as an art form, like the political cartoon, rather than be seen as a form of punishment. The intended effect, shame, was lessened, and the practice diminished. But why use this particular positioning of the figure to shame someone? That answer can be found in even earlier paintings of a more religious nature. Religious art from the 13th through 15th centuries, before the creation of Tarot cards, show various scenes of the Last Judgement and the unrighteous receiving their eternal damnation. In many of these scenes one can see people dangling from their feet over the pit of Hell. In one particular fresco by Giovanni da Modena in the cathedral of San Petronio in Bologna, Italy there is a striking similarity in the figures shown hanging to the modern Hanged Man card. In this picture of a portion of the fresco, you can see the hanged men in the upper right corner and their positions, particularly with the hands bound in back and the leg crossed, mirror the tarot card image almost precisely. Given this painting predates the origin of Tarot, images such as this most definitely had to be the card's inspiration. Or at least the inspiriation for the pittura infamante, from which the tarot card image is likely derived. The inference of showing someone hanged in this position then would be that the person is deserving of hell. Some have said the card is derived from the story of Judas whose betrayal of Jesus for thirty pieces of silver prompted his suicidal hanging, which would align with the cards in which the figure is shown holding bags of money or with coins dropping out of his pockets, but Judas hanged himself by his neck, not upside down. The money bags probably reference the shame portraits of thieves or those guilty of defrauding others out of money rather than Judas. There is another prominent Biblical figure who met his death upside down, but he was crucified rather than hanged. The apostle Peter requested that his death sentence be carried out in an upside down fashion because he didn't feel worthy to be executed in the same manner as Jesus. The humility shown by that act is something often transferred to the Hanged Man's meaning, but the depiction doesn't truly reference that event just as it doesn't reference Judas. The early players of Tarocchi likely did not think of Peter or Judas when they saw that card, but would have seen someone shamed and humiliated for his crimes. If the punishment was implied and not literal, as would be the case in the shame portraits, the idea would be towards rehabilitation, in a sense. The warning would be clear, that the subject is in danger of eternal damnation unless he gets a clue and changes his ways. Hence in the later renditions of the card we see the spiritual illumination that surrounds the head and the more meditative, serene facial expression. The card was to be taken as a life lesson, a warning, especially because the next card in succession is Death, which all knew to be the "wages of sin." This card would then be a prompt to take a moral inventory because none of us know when the Grim Reaper will call, so rather than end up singeing your head in hell's flames, maybe you need to rethink your actions and direction in life. Meanwhile, I have no doubt that 16th century card makers would have politicized this card depicting a particular public figure as the Hanged Man that those using the cards might easily recognize, just as a political satirist might do today, less for punishment than humiliation and to bring a recognizable face and circumstance to the meaning of the card. And just for laughs. Understanding the historical, artistic, and symbolic roots to the imagery of the Hanged Man allows us to be more precise in the given meaning to the card and then permits us to extrapolate to the reading and circumstances at hand. If someone was to be hung in this position unto death, it would take an exceedingly long time for the person to die. If it was merely for punishment's sake, hanging there for any amount of time in a public square would be torturous. To bear one's body weight only by one's ankle would tear the ligaments and joints, break the skin, rush the blood to one's head and generally mess with the spinal alignment and heart functioning. And it's just a very demeaning position to be in. Embarrassing. Humiliating. Helpless. For these reasons the card's meaning implies a longer time period during which one is relatively helpless to change anything about one's situation and which is fraught with discomfort and pain. Is there anything to like about this card? Well, yeah, though it is small comfort. The warning the shame portraits give is similar to this card's advice. Though you may have wound up in this position by your own unfortunate choices and decisions, and though you may not have much or any control over how things are playing out for you now, you can use this time for good as you re-evaluate how you got here and what you will do when you get down from here. Hanging upside down might be uncomfortable but it offers a very different perspective on things. One certainly gets a different view on life and circumstances and people while upside down. Haven't you done this as a child? Hanging by one's knees on the playground monkey bars or, like I used to do, hang upside down over the edge of the living room sofa, watching everyone walking on what now looks like the ceiling and you alone are walking "upright." Everything around me looked like Alice's view through the looking glass. So while you're dangling, give yourself a chance to see things from a different point of view. Only in this way will you be able to gain the objectivity, while in pain, to come away from this time with the necessary change in your thinking that will allow you to avoid these kinds of humiliating experiences in the future. The Hanged Man illustrates one of those life learning experiences that none of us really choose to endure but, through our own previous choices, have landed ourselves in nonetheless. We can simply endure it and learn nothing, blame those who strung us up, and feel utterly victimized or we can use the experience to our betterment. I really hate that kind of advice when I'm in the midst of some really hard emotional experience, so I hesitate to give it, at least without first empathizing with the pain being endured. It sounds canned and patronizing, too. "What doesn't kill us will make us stronger," blah, blah, blah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Shut up. Which is another reason I'm not pleased with this card because, as a reader, it sort of forces me to, while explaining its meaning, give that sort of advice. And it's not that it's Bad Advice, not really, it's just that we don't like to be told that in the throes of agony and helplessness. Because the person in the Hanged Man's position is likely to be feeling quite victimized, it almost feels like blaming the victim, which I really do not like to do. So there you have it. While there are other nuances of the Hanged Man that I haven't begun to cover, this at least explains the "Ugh!" reaction that many have to the card. Because even the positive aspect feels a bit humiliating. What do you do with a card like that?

O-M-G!

I know you know at least one. I know you've probably even been one at some point, though it may be embarrassing to admit. At least once and probably many more times you have made that proverbial mountain out of a molehill. You Drama King/Queen! It's ok, really. I have a side that inclines toward the dramatic. Ok, maybe more than a side. A whole flank of my being perhaps. Enough that a friend of mine, who also relishes the fair amount of drama sprinkled through out her life, will call me out, "O! M! G! You're being so drama!" At least we recognize it in ourselves and can laugh at it when it rears its entertaining head. This fact makes us decidedly not Drama Queens. The true Drama King or Queen does not accept the fact that he or she is being ridiculously melodramatic nor do they seem aware that they are consistently creating situations that result in exhausting drama for themselves and others. So my friend and I were talking last night when she wondered aloud, "Which tarot card would represent drama?" We had been discussing the Moon card and the dramatic side to that card and the question made us both stop, mid-convo, and mentally rifle through the deck. At first we were rather nonplussed. I said the Fool and Moon combination would make me think "drama" but I wasn't satisified with my answer. We continued our conversation and somehow the Ten of Swords was mentioned and she interjected, "There is the drama card!" I laughed, "Oh yeah! For sure!" Talk about over the top, that card screams "Woe is meeeeeee!" Recently my twelve-year-old daughter asked me what labels we used for various cliques in high school. Of course we had those we called "Jocks." She said "Jocks are perennial." (Yes, she is twelve with a very broad vocabulary.) I said we called "Stoners" by a different name, "Freaks." We had "Nerds" which would probably be "Geeks" or something like that today. We had a group we called "Grits" which were closely related to the "Redneck" in that they liked to race their souped-up cars and dress in leather jackets and grease their hair back in 1950's style. As she tried to find modern equivalents for the late 1970 era categories she asked, "Did you have Emo kids?" "No! Because ALL teenagers are EMO!" I bet your most embarrassing drama queen/king incident happened when you were an adolescent, right? And if it happened later, you probably felt like an angst-ridden teenager. As adults, we're not immune to our emo side and will occasionally exhibit distinctly self-absorbed, overblown emotional displays, especially while inebriated. It's ok, I forgive you. We're all entitled to occasionally wax melodramatic over some insignificant thing. Like that time I was trying to get ready for work and the new kitten I had just brought home had gone on a spastic kitty frenzy and climbed the curtains in the bedroom and brought the whole curtain rod down and for some reason this event rendered me incapable of going to work that day. Or that Christmas Eve scene I had with my first boyfriend in which I dramatically broke up with him, slapping him full in the face a la Joan Crawford, held back the tears until I burst through the door at home and ran to my mother and collapsed in a soppy, bawling mess in her lap. My mother was entertaining a date at the time. I didn't notice that the lights were low, all but the Christmas tree lights were off, there were wine glasses on the coffee table. So, I put the question to my tarot deck today. Which card represents that inclination in people to be so self-focused and hungry for attention that they create interpersonal drama? The first card that I pulled was The Devil. Hmmm...never really thought about that, but isn't it true? This card speaks of OCD, addictions, obsession, unhealthy attractions and pretty ugly ulterior motives. It's the hedonist card, plain and simple. Feeling on a roll, I pulled another card. Six of Cups? How in the heck? It's such a sweet card, so giving and generous...oh, but wait...these are children. Childish. Those I've known who are drama addicts also tend to be very immature and although they have chronologically outgrown the time of their lives when they are expected to be narcissistic, they haven't matured emotionally past that. Next one I pulled was The Hanged Man. I laughed. Talk about the ultimate martyr! And look at the delight he is obviously receiving from his discomfort, he is enjoying what most people would take great pains to avoid. Is he a masochist? No, he is a victim, but not a completely innocent one. Some believe he is a thief for the coins that drop out of his pocket in a few older renditions of The Hanged Man. The precarious and even torturous position he finds himself in is probably due to his own making, the consequence of his actions. And he smiles. Like the cat who ate the canary. Ok, this is getting interesting. Is it possible to find aspects of "drama piggyness" in every card? I pulled another. The Ace of Wands. Ha! Tempers flare then die out quickly with this card. It's a major blow up over something small, a matchstick that lights a straw fire that blazes hot then extinguishes in a moment. Does that remind you of any drama queen or king that you know? Umm hmmm...me too. One more. I pulled the Six of Wands. I love tarot for its sense of humor. This card is one of the most positive cards in the deck, usually. But what about its conceit? Its "look-at-me!" attitude. The seeking of the approval and, most of all, the attention of others, along with the playing to the crowd that is evident in this card. This card shows someone who seeks the attention, thrives on the attention, and can't even take a trip home without drawing a crowd of onlookers. So I think I get it. Human inclinations, personality flaws, irritating aspects of us all, can be found throughout the tarot deck. It's merely a matter of perspective when you look at any card. You can probably find what you're looking for if you look deeply enough, cock your head to one side, take in the whole of the card, not just what you think it means.

Yes We Can

Usually I keep at least a corner of my eye on presidential political races but not this time. I had become so cynical, so tired of the same old, same old, that when Senator Clinton lost the primary, I had no further reason to care. Just a couple days before this election, I started paying attention. The night before Election Day my boyfriend, who, though he does not read tarot, is quite intuitive in his own right, said Senator Obama was going to win. Of course, given the polls, that wasn't such a grand psychic revelation. Still, I had my cynical doubts and thought it was just wishful thinking. I'm not impressed with either party anyway, but between the two evils, I'd have to say I'm definitely more Democratically inclined than Republican. Election night we drove my daughter back home after she'd spent a few days here and I wasn't following the votes at all. As we drove into Virginia I made the statement that although Obama might win, he won't take Virginia as it has always historically gone Republican in presidential elections. When we got back home and I called my daughter's father to let him know she got home safe and sound, I casually asked, "So what are you doing?" He said, "Watching Obama win Virginia." "WHAT?" I said, shocked. "Yeah," he said, "he's taking Virginia." Any Democrat that can take Virginia is worth my attention. I'm still cynical, but I am quite frankly amazed at the election of a president of the United States that is not white. I am relieved and have felt something for this country that I haven't felt in a very long time: Hope. I harbor no illusions that this or any president can significantly better things. Still, this election speaks volumes in many different ways. It's not only about electing a Black president, which is historic and encouraging, but also displays the extreme dissatisfaction so many of us have had with the current administration. Hope for the state of affairs in this country and in this world is something I haven't felt in a long time. While it still irks me that we have yet to elect a female president, and this election lends a whole lot of credence to something feminists have said for a long time -- that men, all men no matter their race, are more privileged in our society than women -- I acknowlege that this is a profound change in the right direction anyhow. My hope is not tied to this president-elect, nor to our government, but to the people that voted for progress and change. And since I came very late to this election process this year, I missed the speech Senator Obama gave in New Hampshire. I listened to it the day after he was elected and was inspired most by this: "We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics who will only grow louder and more dissonant in the weeks to come. We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope. But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope." How true is THAT? Now, I don't know who wrote his speech, but that hit me right where it matters. It reminded me of something attributed to the Apostle Paul in the book of Romans in the Bible: "For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." (Romans 8:24-25) Hope differs from faith as this quote from the book of Hebrews explains,"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1) One can hope without faith, without being sure what they hope for will come to pass, but honestly, what good is that? And if you know anything about the Law of Attraction and manifesting your own life, hoping without the faith that your hopes will come true is practically useless. But I think we do that sort of thing all the time. We possess this random, floating, aimless hope that things will get better...someday. In respect to tarot, I think tarot readings, whether you do them yourself or have someone read for you, place your hopes in context and can empower you to focus that hope and have faith in that hope as well. We often look to tarot readings for advice and insight into a situation. When a good tarot reading confirms that which you already know in your own gut, it allows you to focus your energies towards the outcome you desire. If the reading shows the current of events flowing in a direction you really do not want, you can shift your hope and focus your faith in a different direction. Tarot can be a really helpful tool in shaping your own destiny by clarifying your hope and reshaping it from a formless, airy wish to something with active energy and power to actually change your life. Because once we have that focused hope we then tend to make choices and act accordingly. We literally then step into our hope because we now have faith in it. See, it's not that a tarot reading is telling you what will happen. It's more like a weather prediction that, based on the past and present conditions, it more than likely will rain tomorrow. Certainly we have all experienced weather predictions that have not come true, but given the prediction, we can at least prepare ourselves by taking an umbrella. We cannot control the weather and we cannot control all the various acts and decisions and so forth that come into creating the circumstances of our lives. But we can hope. I may disagree with President-Elect Obama on many things but I fully agree with him that there is never anything false about hope, particularly when it is accompanied with faith and action.

Squirrely Intuitive Readings

I just don't understand where some people come up with certain meanings for tarot cards. As far as I'm concerned they just pull them out of their underwear and parade them around like it should be perfectly evident from looking at the card that it means just that. So many times I just scratch my head and think: WTF? Let's say the Three of Wands shows up in a predictive position and the reader goes, "Well, she's going to go out and buy herself a new pair of earrings." Um. Mkay. Whatever. So then I start, painfully, trying to fit that interpretation to the card. I think, well, it is Wands and it could mean she goes out to actually do something. But it's a three, not a two, so I don't know where the pair of earrings comes into play. And it's not pentacles, so what's with the tangible purchase? And earrings? Ok, so maybe the card being used has a figure wearing earrings, what do I know? There are so many decks out there, maybe the reader honed in on the earrings in the image. So I try, hard as I might, to fit that to the Three of Wands. Finally I throw up my hands and give up. I can't do it. It feels wrong anyhow. So then I hear, oh, it was an INTUITIVE reading. There. Now everything's all better. Hell not! Most people who know me would say I'm very much an inclusive, live and let live, no rules tarot reader. I'm open to practically everything where tarot is concerned because I believe the practice of reading tarot is a fluid, ever-evolving thing, but even I have my lines, my boundaries. I am a very intuitive reader. Any good tarot reader certainly utilizes their sense of intuition to a great degree but...and how can I say this without being misunderstood or without alienating my fellow intuitive readers...I believe the interpretation of the card must be somehow hedged in, based on a foundation of traditional, historical, symbolic meaning of the card in question. I think fully intuitive tarot readings are great for firing up the intuitive neurons. It helps a reader look at all the various elements in a card image and begin really tapping into that place a bit to the side and beyond the card where actual reading of the cards happens. But I tend to look at it as an exercise, not an actual tarot reading. A fully intuitive reading doesn't need tarot cards. You could do it with a picture book, a magazine, toothpicks, stones, pig entrails, you name it. It's a reading, yes, but it's not a tarot reading even if you use tarot cards to do it. I'm a big fan of those flashes one gets while reading, but if the flash of intuitive insight bears no relation to the cards in question I would certainly deliver said flash to the querant but I would preface it with, "I don't see this in the cards, but I feel I need to tell you..." Maybe its my respect for the history of symbolism, of tarot, of having a tradition based on something rather than making it up as we go along that fuels my stance, but I feel very strongly that without these historic meanings, tarot is no more than a deck of pretty, or not so pretty, pictures. Why use them if you're not going to use their meanings? I mean, it's not like the pool of historic meanings is not deep or wide enough to swim in. There are some pretty off the wall traditional meanings, too. And I don't even really care where you derive those meanings be it the Marseille tradition, Waite, Golden Dawn, Crowley, or the freaking little white book. Ok, forget the little white book, that's going too far. But you get my point. Intuitive readings are very suitable for oracle decks. I particularly like Froud's Fairies, personally. Those fey folk chatter and dance and give all kinds of messages you might not hear in a tarot reading. I love playing with those cards and they allow full rampant, random reign of my intuitive senses. Tarot, on the other hand, well...God forgive me...there are Rules. Ack! Did I say that? *sigh* Yes I did. I don't know if they are rules, per se, but they are a kind of framework, a tradition, a tried and true kind of consistency of semi-agreed-upon understandings. In looking into the number symbolisms, for example, I was amazed to find that, cross-culturally, numbers mean very much the same thing to people in different civilizations in different time periods. Same goes for colors and other symbols. When applied to tarot, these symbols actually mean something, have meant something for a very long time, and I see no sense in tossing all that out in favor of something you pulled out of your underwear just now. Your underwear may very well be psychic and that woman may very well go out and purchase a new pair of earrings, but you didn't get that from the tarot card in question. No, you didn't. It annoys me, too, because there is such a wide and vast array of tarot meanings to pick and choose from, why pull something else out? That Three of Wands is not going to mean the same thing in every reading anyway, so why spin something else off it? Also, I might see something different about that card than another reader, all within the traditional framework, depending on the question, the spread, the position, and whatnot. It's vast, I tell you, utterly vast. I see no reason to muddy them up with random intuitive things that have no relation to the card. These random intuitive things may be very relevant to the situation, absolutely, so don't get me wrong here and think I'm against such things. Just don't say these things are in the cards, they're not. Unless your deck has a Happy Squirrel card, that is. A few decks actually do include this card and its from an episode of The Simpsons: Episode 2F15 "Lisa's Wedding" Written by Greg Daniels Directed by Jim Reardon Woman: I've been waiting for you, Lisa. Lisa: [gasps] How did you know my name? Woman: Your nametag. ["Hi, I'm Lady Lisa"] Would you like to know your future? Lisa: Heh, sorry, I don't believe in fortune telling. I should go. Woman: What's your hurry? Bart and Maggie and Marge are at the joust, and Homer is heckling the puppet show. Lisa: [gasps] Wow, you can see into the...present. Woman: Now we'll see what the future holds. [turns over a card from what looks like a Tarot deck] Lisa: [gulps] The "Death" card? Woman: No, that's good: it means transition, change. Lisa: [relieved] Oh. [the woman turns over another card] Lisa: Oh, that's cute. Woman: [gasps] "The Happy Squirrel"! Lisa: [timid] That's bad? Woman: Possibly. The cards are vague and mysterious. [Image from The Happy Squirrel card from Victoria Regina Tarot copyright © 2000 Sarah Ovenall] An ironic parody of the melodrama often shown in film regarding the Death card in tarot readings, the Happy Squirrel pokes fun at our own practice and keeps us from taking any of this too seriously. I love that some deck creators have included it in their decks. While I'm ranting about some readers not reading the cards themselves, please know that it's not all that serious. None of this is. It's tarot reading, for heaven's sake. Still, I can't help but be bugged when I hear some interpretation that is so obviously random. Do that, if you must, with the Happy Squirrel, but please refrain from that with my beloved tarot cards.

Ooooh It's So Shiny!

This is simply the coolest microphone ev-AH! It makes such a huge difference in the sound quality of my podcast recordings for Leisa ReFalo's Tarot Connection and there's nothing like a new toy to inspire, so we're about to release my 78 Notes segments for the Tarot Connection on their own, separate from the show, so they can be downloaded and even purchased on their own. I will likely be re-recording old segments as well as the series on The Tarot Court. I was talking with Leisa on the phone last week, which is always so enjoyable as we seem to spark ideas off one another like fireworks, and got jazzed about some possible ventures into recording tarot lessons/exercises/experiments in a format that one could purchase and use. Not sure about video. The webcam that came with my laptop is pretty crappy and video editing is tedious, but at least the sound would be GREAT thanks to this jammin' Snowball mic! And speaking of sweeeet new things, there is a brand spanking new Tarot organization called Tarot Professionals. Founded by Marcus Katz, former chairman of the Tarot Association of the British Isles (TABI), this organization promises to meet the pressing need for the networking and professional growth of tarot enthusiasts around the world. According to the first issue of the organization's professional newsletter, Oracles and Auguries, to which I got an advance looksee as an ACE member, quite a few recognized names in the tarot community have joined Tarot Professionals as Honorary Members: Rachel Pollack, Mary K. Greer, James Wells, Art Rosengarten, and Naomi Ozaniec. The article continues, "ACE Members also include some of the most innovative designers and experts in their fields; Emily Carding (Transparent Tarot), Cilla Conway (Intuitive Tarot), Maja (Maroon Tarot), Ginny Hunt (78 Notes to Self Blog) and Lyn Birkbeck (Watkins Guide to Astrology, the Astrological Oracle, Understanding the Future). Join us in what the tarot world has been waiting for! Tarot Professionals has a number of membership categories, whether you are a new student, tarot reader, professional, or an artist, academic, or therapist with an interest in tarot. We are actively promoting inter-disciplinary study of tarot and work/play across boundaries. Join us now to contribute your talent and take tarot to new levels!" I'm very excited about the possibilities of this new organization and how much more interconnected the tarot community will be as a result of this endeavor. Granted, I haven't had a lot of time to devote to tarot in the last year, but these two things have really reignited my enthusiasm. It's not so much that I lost enthusiasm for tarot...well ok, I did a little, but in all honesty my life had undergone such a radical change that I couldn't keep my balance. I took that Fool's nosedive off the cliff and I'm finally regaining some firmer footing. So I'm taking some of those sparks Leisa and I shot off as Aces of Wands and we'll see what can be done with them.