Nine of Swords: Everything will come up smelling of roses (eventually)

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 'needless worry' i.e. It is telling me that I am worrying about nothing. Yet that has not been my experience of it. The problems I have been facing recently have definitely needed my attention. They have not been problems I could ignore. Not been phantoms of my night-time imagination. So 'needless worry' just doesn't cut it for me as the best description for the Nine of Swords.

Just look at the picture. There are a lot of swords hanging over that bed i.e. the problem you are facing with this card is not a little one, it is huge, mega. It is a problem that keeps you awake at night. But the telling detail for me comes in the bedspread which is covered in roses. Despite the incredible difficulty now being faced the person who gets this card can be sure that everything will come up smelling of roses - eventually.

What about you? How do you interpret the Nine of Swords?

Tarot: The one-step do-it-yourself know-thyself kit!

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? And maybe when you're a kid it is. You know what makes you happy (ice-cream with chocolate syrup and sprinkles mashed together with a spoon, sorry, was that just me?) and what makes you mad (your sister wearing your clothes without asking permission, my daughters in this case). But as you grow you get imprinted with the expectations of others - parents, friends, teachers, boss, the media, husband/wife - and it's easy to get confused about what it is you really really want from life. It's easy to forget what makes you happy (although I highly recommend starting with a good cup of tea).

That's where Tarot comes in. Ask a question and pull a card (or ten, if you know how to do a spread) and it will give you an answer. And whether you believe it's divine guidance or your subconscious or nothing at all guiding the fall of the cards in interpreting the message you are forced to dig into your psyche and thus get to know yourself better.

Tarot: The one-step do-it-yourself know-thyself kit. Have you tried it yet?

Eight of Wands: A Kick Up The Bum!

(If I knew how to turn this image upside down I would have. Can anyone help me with this on Blogger?

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 8 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?

Eight of Wands: Christmas for Grown Ups!

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?

Everyday and Lifelessons Tarot

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 cards that deal with day-to-day situations and don't have so much weight so I've decided to dub it Everyday Tarot.

The Major Arcana was harder to sum up and I'm not sure I'm happy with what I've come up with: Life Lessons Tarot. And should lifelessons be one word or two? These are the heavy cards that encapsulate a major life experience.

What would you call the Minor and Major Arcana if you could rename them?

The Holy Book - Volume 3

And now we come to the scary part. The cards that will shake, rattle and roll your world. The last 7 cards of Tarot's Holy Book are the most intense to live through. But if you can manage these energies in a positive way you get to hit the jackpot: You get The World!

The Devil: Living in denial

The Tower: Reaching breaking point

The Star: Finding sanctuary

The Moon: Revealing hidden depths

The Sun: Being fully yourself

Judgement: Being called into action

The World: Being at peace

Most people are scared of The Devil but it's The Tower that can really crush you IMHO. What do you think?

Hanging Around with The Hanged Man

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. It is the story of Odin. Odin was a North European god who hung himself on a tree in a sacrificial ritual which was meant to revitalize him. As he hung about he noticed some stones with magical writing lying beneath him. With a great deal of effort he managed to grab one and was immediately released from the tree.

What are the themes here?

Being pushed outside your comfort zone

Making sacrifices

Resignation

Reflection

Waiting for a sign

The Hanged Man is that niggling emotional state you can’t shake when you know something in your life has to change, you’re just not always sure what or how. But in your search to discover that something you will need to move out of your comfort zone and make some kind of sacrifice.

It is the card of preparing to move house or leave your partner, pregnancy and home renovations. When everything in your world can be literally turned upside down.

Can you relate?

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