January 19, 2012

This waning moon cycle has been a doozy for me! Lots of endings. Things that I have done for many years have ended. There are years or times that your life needs to clear itself to make room for more interesting and more important things for you to do. But all of this got me thinking.... what tarot year am I in?

Well I was born with the Sun (19) as my Soul Card reduced down to the Wheel of Fortune (10) and finally the Magician (1). I went over this in a previous newsletter. The Sun is my personality card - so I am clear. I am strong. I am bright and I can be so bright that I burn. I am fun and I enjoy playing but I can be quite serious. You know where you stand with me there is no hidden agenda. I am the master of my own world and I refuse to be controlled - nor am I all that good with constraints and rules especially if I don't see a purpose in them. I am creative. My Soul card is the Wheel of Fortune and my shadow card is the Magician. All this tells me is how I approach life - outwardly (SUN) how my Soul is predisposed (Wheel) and what my lesson in this life is OR how I am inwardly. The wheel of fortune is Jupiter. I am optimistic and expansive. Jupiter is very strong within me and within my astrological chart. I don't get stuck in a rut - in fact I am always moving and learning and doing. The magician is my shadow - how I react deep down under. For me I am the Magician which is Hermes the messenger/communicator/guide. It is associated with Mercury and being a Virgo I am ruled by Mercury. I have the gift of logic and clear thinking. I am also innately magickal. When I give my full focus I can do what I set out to do. I am a communicator and guide. This is my purpose in this life. To communicate. To write. To be a messenger. To guide. To stay in focus.

I came to these associates by adding the day and month of my birthday to the year I was born.

So for example if my birthday was January 29, 1964
1+29+1964 = 1994 = 1+9+9+4=23= 2 +3 = 5  This person is the Hierophant. The fifth card of the Tarot. This person is family oriented and her life is full of tradition. She is grounded and people look to her for counsel when they have problems. She may act as a therapist or spiritual leader or just a reliable friend with sound advice. She has a very strong sense of right and wrong and she is constantly keeping things in balance. She has a very strong spiritual center but it is not necessarily steeped in the dogma of a particular faith. She builds a bridge with the spirit and the mundane for herself and her friends. She teaches them faith and perseverance. This is her personality, mission in life, and soul's purpose.

What I am talking about today, however is my tarot year cycle. My birthday is September 11th. My last birthday was in 2011 so I ad 9 + 11 + 2011 = 2031 = 2+3+1 = 6  I am in a LOVERS cycle this birthday year until 9/11/12 when I will enter a Chariot year. Lovers is about choice. The choice based on the need of the moment or the long range goal. This is a year of choices - changes - beginnings and endings - most of which will be dramatic. Friendships and relationships may begin and end..... anything done in this year will most probably be permanent. Anything that has been wobbling will be done with in this year. I have already seen dramatic endings and I am only on the 4th month.....  but as the ever optimist - the sunny one - I feel these endings are happening so that I can open my life up for some spectacular new things coming. :-)

Our Aquarian above..... her year is 1/29/2012 = 2042 = 8  She is approaching a Strength year. Yes, it could be Justice but I go with the rider waite/thoth methods where Strength is 8 and Justice is 11.  This is a year for her to come into her own. To get comfortable in her skin. She will be the lion! She will roar. She will be attentive to her needs. She will be powerful, courageous, passionate, calm and confident. She will become her true self! :-)


Year Cycles:
2 - High Priestess - this is about dealing with your deepest secrets and revealing your mysteries. It's a return to oneself. It's independent and self resourceful. It is about your sexuality - The high priestess is the moon. It is your unconscious and your dreams. It is your intuition. Learning to trust yourself and your inner guide. This is a powerful cycle - one that will wake up your psychic powers.

3 - Empress - this is about creating. What are you nurturing or gestating? Pregnancy. This is your home. This is about abundance and grounding. This is about the wisdom of nature and about beauty. The empress is venus. Be careful not to be lazy. Be aware where you suffocate. This is about Mom and being mothered. Being around friends and helping them or allowing them to help you. It is a feminine energy no matter your sex.

4 - Emperor - this is about inspiration and just doing it! It? Whatever it is you have in mind. This is about security. A year of independence and manifestation. It is about Father - it is a masculine energy. Very mars and fire like. You will have the strength and power to meet whatever challenges you are faced. It is a great time to finish projects. To power through them. You will have great spirit and self respect. You will be the king of your world. Harvest what you wish.

5 - Hierophant - I explained above. It is a year that demands that a lesson be learned. You must heal your wounds. Bolster your faith. It is taurus.... be aware of where you are stubborn and fixed.

6 - Lovers - I explained above. - is gemini - mercury - communications.

7 - Chariot - It is cancer, water. You will learn cause and effect. You will learn balance and how to focus and direct your energies for the creative good. Harness aggression and direct it toward a creative end. It is a masculine energy and will bestow you with an iron will and great courage. There will be unexpected news. You will work through your demons and fears. You will be able to move fast in a chariot year as long as you get things in balance quickly and point it toward your goal.

8 - I explained this above.

9 - Hermit - Virgo - this is a cycle of going down deep inside of you and to seek to learn things about you that are below the surface. It is a time to be alone - alone with your thoughts. This is all about self illumination. It is about learning to trust yourself.

10 - Wheel of Fortune - Jupiter FIRE This is a year of sudden changes. Gifts will come! Obstacles will be removed from your path and if you have the courage necessary you can make tremendous inroads. During wheel years you should take chances. Keep yourself open to opportunity.

11 - Justice - Libra - this is about balance. Balanced mind and thinking clearly. This is a year to watch how you make your decisions. Set your emotions aside and look at the issues with clarity and analytically. Be diplomatic and clever. Be logical. This is also a year where karma may come back to bite you if you have been too out of balance. There may be legal battles - keep yourself in balance.

12 - Hanged Man - It's like a Saturnian return - which can be felt in your 29-31 years and again in your 59 - 61 and 89 - 91. It is about sacrifice. It is about cleansing. Purging your liver. It is about a higher sense of consciousness. It's about putting your whole being into blind faith mode. Facing your doubts, giving up control, opening yourself to the vulnerability for the greater good. It is about integrity and transition, surrender and acceptance. It is a creative year. It is a year where you can actually see another's perspective. Turn yourself upside down and look.... allow yourself to be enlightened. Do YOGA!

13 - Death - Scorpio - Transformation. Creation. Destruction. Renewal.  It is about irreversible endings. The past is over - your are stepping out of the womb! These changes will give birth to liberation. New opinions. New ideals. New Hopes. New life.

14 - Temperance - Sagittarius - Co dependence. Balance - yet again but in a different way - mixing opposites together. Rainbow, harmony, color. Integrating our experiences. Pregnancy. This is about patience. This is about being feeling but not emotional. This is about diluting yourself.

15 - Devil - Capricorn - Now this year can be a crazy hot mess! You will have passion and give into your carnal lusts in the hopes of finding a balance. This is a year that your deepest shame or deepest core of who you are will come to light and be set free. You need to release these shames and addictions, obsessions, etc. Your darkest points will come up and you will have to acknowledge them and set them free. This is a year of self awareness. Change your attitude about you. See your temptations and greed for what they are and let them go.....

16 - Tower - BIG Changes! It's time to get yourself to reality's ground. Time to crumble the walls that you have built around you to protect your ego. Time to come out and be! This is a liberation!

17 - Star - Aquarius - After the tumultuous tower year the Star is about hope - a knowing hope. It is about profound forgiveness - of you and of others. It is about who we are and what is important to us. It is getting back to a more idealistic you. It is revelation. Quiet faith and centering.

18 - Moon - It is about the unconscious. It is about dreams and being in a dream world. It can be a year where you will have difficulty keeping yourself rooted in reality. It is about exploring worlds with no boundaries. It is about following your intuition. It is about being in the shadows. Very very creative if that is the route you go. Be careful of overindulging in drugs and alcohol. Write your dreams down.  Transform. Be brave. Be mystical!

19 - Sun - Good health, wealth, confidence, fearlessness - a spiritual awakening. Tremendous motivation - success - illumination.

20 - Judgement - A rebirth. Resurrection. Be aware of the patterns you repeat. Make fair witness on your life and habits. You are responsible for where you are and where you are going. Rise up and make the changes you need to and get yourself on the right track. The people you meet this year will be people you have known in previous lives. You will have the opportunity to achieve a goal and realize the existence of another. It's about renewal. It's about your personal consciousness bledning with the universal consciousness.

21 - World - this is about unity and consciousness. It is about closure and achievement. It is a sense of your o2n individuality and wholeness. This is a year where you will make great financial strides and strides in becoming famous if that is what you wish.

22 - Fool - Pluto - expect to be transformed. Be courageous and take a leap of faith. There will  be many opportunities to do this. Do things you would never do. Be impulsive and change!

What does all this mean? It can shed a little light on the forces that are working on you for your year and maybe give you the opportunity to go with the flow and make the most of it. Now that I know that I am in a Lovers year - I will pay extra attention on the choices I make. I will take a moment and think things through clearly and concisely. Hasty decisions are a problem in lovers years.... you are apt to make a choice quickly based on the need of the moment without thinking through all of your options..... sound like me? Uh.... yeah! But so far in this birthday year I don't believe I have done that. Each decision I have made was done with tremendous thought and a lot of conversation with my ground... my husband who is born as Strength 8. Very apropos. :-) This is a Chariot year for him! He has been more gung ho! :-D

So add up your soul/personality tarot card and your current birthday year and see if it helps. 

Published in the August Issue of Tarot Reflections Magazine http://www.ata-tarot.com/reflections/08-05-11/embracing-the-infinite.html

There was a recent thread, on a forum, about reading with the Thoth Tarot that got me thinking. The person who posted asked how people negotiate through all the symbols, dignities, kabalistic paths, numerological and astrological correspondences etc. etc. etc to read the Thoth "properly." She asked that only those who actively use these elements and combinations thereof post and not those who read the deck intuitively. I didn't post because while I may know the meanings of the symbols et al., I have always read the Thoth intuitively. I don't understand the prevailing view of trying to turn the infinite into something finite. Why not leave it be and embrace it?

The Thoth is a technical deck with many layers of symbolism. Each color, element, object etc was chosen for a reason. Crowley was very precise and meticulous and he directed every brush stroke of Harris'. But he did it all with a whole picture in mind, with a feeling and with intent. Some cards were redrawn many times before Crowley was satisfied. The cards are tremendously evocative and magickal. I fell in love with the deck at first sight. I opened the box, shuffled and BAM! They set my intuition on fire! The cards were created in such a way that you could look at the same card a hundred times and get an endless number of interpretations. I understand the impulse to dissect and digest each piece but not at the expense of losing your sight or losing sight of the whole picture. The images are quite powerful but not when taken apart. It's like looking at a painting that was creating using pointillism. If you constantly focus on the tiny dots you miss seeing the whole picture.  

The person who posted on the forum is a friend of mine, I told her that I didn't post because she didn't want anyone who reads the Thoth intuitively to respond. She laughed and said but you are psychic, we mere mortals need to rely on the symbols and decans etc. I can't disagree more. I believe anyone can read intuitively and anyone can train their psychic sense. The key is focus. If you focus on the minutia you won't be able to see the patterns that emerge in each throw or the change in colors, or the similarity or contrast in the cards, or elements. You won't be able to read the signs and you will never be able to connect the dots. You need to be open and willing to see, feel, hear, smell, taste and sense the message to find reason in the chaos. You can not choose to control the unknown you must surrender to it thereby embracing it. 

So what is a person who is new to Tarot and Divination or the Thoth to do? Dive in, You'll learn how to swim. Understand that intuition trumps meanings. The best readings I have ever had are with people who trust the divine and listen to their soul. When I teach Tarot or Sortilege, I want people to begin reading immediately, to look at a few cards or cast thrown and feel their way through their first readings, to trust their instincts. This is the most powerful way to learn in my opinion, by doing.  I want them to tap into their subconscious and learn to trust it. They are raw and natural at that stage. They are feeling around in the dark with just their intuition to guide them. PERFECT!

Learning to trust is not easy. The only way I know to do it is to meditate and practice. When you are reading, sit with your cards or throw, silence your self consciousness and allow your soul to speak uncensored. When I was learning how to do this I made sure I would use unfamiliar cards. I especially loved diving into oracles or obscure methods of divination to throw me out of my comfort zone. I got into Sortilege - casting lots - around this time and it really helped me open my psychic pathways and develop trust. With Sortilege you are forced to do this from the beginning. There isn't a set meaning of a cast of sticks, stones or junk. You cup, cast and concentrate and are left to your own insight! Cards are at once different and the same! Learn the meanings and symbols but never lose sight of the whole.

 

By Frances   printed in the July issue of Tarot Reflections Magazine

The shadow or base card is the card found at the bottom of the deck (tarot, oracle or otherwise) after you have shuffled and are ready to lay the cards out for the reading. Not everyone who reads uses it but I find it truly invaluable. When I first learned to read I was taught that this card would give me insight into the true nature of the reading or may reveal some hidden factors I might not have considered. That was a great start, but for me this card is so much more. I believe it sets the stage for the reading. 

Reading professionally can be tricky. Sitters have preconceived notions about how a reading is supposed to be conducted and what you, as the reader, should be told by them. Some feel you should be able to read their minds and tell them that their deepest, hopes and wishes are coming true. Some are frightened that their darkest secrets and shames will be exposed. Beliefs are highly subjective and vary greatly from person to person but very often I will get a new client come to me with a terribly pressing issue and refuse to tell me a thing. Most times they'll sit with their arms folded across their chests in an almost combative way. They need help and empowerment but they are terrified to ask. That is their prerogative, of course, but it would be so much more productive if we could cut to the chase and dispense with the games. This is where the Shadow or Base card comes in extremely handy. It always cuts to the heart of the matter.

Typically I will begin a reading session by asking a sitter if there is something on their mind that they want to focus on. Sometimes they deny having anything on their minds, a statement that always gives me an invisible chuckle. OK, no worries. I shuffle and have them cut the cards while I tune into them. The first thing I do with the deck is look at the card at the bottom. I lay it on the table and see where we are or rather what is the subject of the reading. I will often say something like "Ah so this is about XYZ." The obstinate sitters or the fearful ones in denial, will say Nope before I even finish my sentence, which gives me another invisible chuckle. It rarely makes a difference to me whether they agree or not because No doesn't mean that the answer is actually No. When I first began to read professionally this type of naysaying would throw me for a loop. I would get very flustered but I have learned to silence my ego and let the messages come in as they may. Quite often they have not put the pieces together or I haven't articulated the message succinctly either way we continue.

The beginning of a session is always about me finding my way in the dark. The base card helps illuminate the path.  If the card is a court, I might find this is the person the sitter is worrying about or involved with or how the sitter is being perceived at this point in time. They may ask me about their failings in love and the base card turns out to be the Queen of Swords.  The message may be that they have detached themselves from their emotions and they may need to get in touch with their watery side. If the card is a major arcana card, we can see what is going on in the subject's life. If the base is a pip we can usually glean from the suit and number what is directly effecting the subject. For example, if the base card is the 5 of Cups it might indicate that the sitter is depressed or sad about something. This doesn't have to be about a love, it could be about anything. If the base card is the Tower, we know it is something dramatic and life changing. It could be that all hell is breaking loose or the sitter has had a major breakthrough personally or something just rocked their world like the best sex in their life. :-) It all depends on what our antennae pick up. The base is just another piece of the puzzle.

Over the years, I have expanded on this practice of reading the base card by looking at the cards preceding it, until I "know" it is enough. Most of the time one or two cards may be added to the base to give it more depth of meaning. Other times I may add five or six or more cards. I lay them in order down from the base. It is like mining for gold. You keep going until you have exhausted the resource which is when you can't see how the next card would fit. Revisiting the 5 of Cups example, what would you think would be revealed if the Tower were behind the 5 of Cups and possibly the 2 of Cups behind that? It could signify a major disappointment or betrayal with a new love. Something may have shattered the sitter's world. 

The other day I was reading for a person and while I can't remember the base I remember that preceding it the sitter had ten Major arcana cards. As I laid each card down they fit like pieces of a puzzle weaving a story about where she had been and what she had come through. By telling her what had been going on I disarmed her immediately. She visibly relaxed, which allowed the session to flow better but reading the back of the deck added significant depth to her reading. I trust that Universe will reveal to me what I need to know to help the sitter in their current situation. It is hard to make sense of a moment in time without a little backstory. The base cards fill in the blanks by setting up a foundation for the reading. Why not give them a try.....

A Junk Oracle is just that, reading junk or found objects. Sounds odd, I know but stepping out of your comfort zone of a familiar deck or oracle is fun and exciting at times and it stretches your mind and intuitive muscle. Reading different items builds your psychic pathways and takes you to places you never knew you could go.

I dove into casting through pessomancy and lithomancy which are casting pebbles and stones or gems and crystals. At first I would just grab a handful of stones into my cupped hands, think of my question and drop them on a dark cloth and read the pattern they made. My method is a form of augury very much like reading tea leaves “tasseomancy” or coffee grinds or sediment from red wine or even a flock of birds or some clouds. I began with pebbles I found at the beach or around our home but as time went by my method evolved and I added crystals and shells and other natural objects. I realized I didn't need to limit the medium, I could literally grab a handful of anything and read it. I read the image that emerges, the picture and the flow of the items so what does it matter if it is a stone or a candy heart?

My first readings utilized pebbles that were not polished so they didn't reflect light, their colors were muted and while there were variations in color there were no dramatic differences. While I paid close attention to the shape of each stone there wasn't much to interpret with color and light. However, when I added polished crystals and gems to the mix I added light and color and a new dimension to my readings. I love crystals and embrace their magic and as such their specific meanings also seeped into my readings.

When I first tried my hand at Junkomancy I looked around my home in search of …...  what? My only criteria was that it be smaller than a quarter. I like shiny, colorful, pretty things but I didn't limit my search, I collected whatever I felt was small enough to be mixed into a bag. I have a 6yo daughter at home so you can imagine the treasure trove I found in a matter of minutes - a dolls shoe, a dolls panties, a small poodle, a metal leaf, a tiny mirror, marbles, shells, tiny money, a clothespin, toy birds, a snake, bat, tiny playing card, thimble, beads, skeleton, stamps, etc. I add to my pile of junk all of the time. Just the other day I found a couple of loose buttons and added that to my bag. When I add an item I look at it for a moment and think about what it could mean. One of the buttons was green it reminded me of Venus. Last night I found this tiny Lightning McQueen race car – perfect!

There are many ways you can approach Junkomancy. You may pick a set number of items and assign finite meanings to them or you may just grab a bunch of junk, drop them on a cloth and leave it up to your mind to map out. Some people create a unique casting cloth with specific patterns and they pay close attention to where an item lands. The pattern may be an astrological wheel or the image of the Qabalistic tree of life or a map of chakras or it may be as personal as a wish or dream board. They read the spot on the cloth as well as the item and then the combination of the two. I am a freeform kind of gal and despise putting any limitations on myself and my gifts, so I choose to reach in my bag,  pick a handful of random junk, drop it on a blank cloth and see what I see. Remember that there is NO wrong way to do this - if there is another method that resonates more with you, than by all means, go for it. My method is far more simplistic and in my opinion, a highly intuitive approach ..... clear your mind, breathe, still your thoughts, think lightly on the question or subject, shake the items up in your cupped hands and drop them on a blank cloth. What do you see?

With Junkomancy I still read the pattern the throw makes but I also incorporate meanings I associate with different objects, with where they have fallen on my cloth, how they interact with each other, with colors, with how the light hits an object and anything else that hits my eye. Each object may mean something different to each of us and it is this unique set of meanings that sets our readings apart from one another and makes the whole process personal and extraordinary. You may look at something and it conjures deep archetypal meanings or you may just remember where you found the object and that may become it's meaning.

For example, I have a green butterfly that to me speaks of spring and creation. There is a glass bead that I have that looks like there is a dragonfly imprinted on it. There isn't but that is what I see. In some cultures dragonflies are frightening, harbingers of evil. To me they are whimsical and symbolize purity, strength and power. They are tenacious and represent change, renewal and self realization, also stopping and being present and in the moment because that is what happens when I see one. I stop and watch for a moment and forget where I am. This is what they mean to me, what do they mean to you? It  is also important to remember that while this is what I may associate with a dragonfly on it's own that may change when I see it in a throw with other items. It may take on a more sinister meaning or  something all together different. I might just focus on the blue color of the bead rather than the imagined dragonfly. Keep your mind open. Sortilege is deeply personal. It is what you see, associate and feel.