The Star: Sheltering From The Storm

I'd like to clarify something I said yesterday. I suggested that The Star could signify someone leaving their husband or wife. That's not quite right. It's more the period straight after you've left them. Let me explain.

The Star card is part of Life Lessons Tarot, the incredibly profound inner book which traces the significant experiences we all have as human beings. It comes after The Tower card and before The Moon as follows:

 

The Tower is the card which represents the actual break up whereas The Star represents the release and relief and unreality you feel after you have left (or been left, The Tower can cut both ways) before you start to deal with the repercussions. It's like the eye of the storm. You know there's more grief coming but you don't deal with it just yet.

It's the phone call to your girlfriends after you've been dumped and they remind you what a loser he was.

It's shutting yourself in the study after an argument with your wife.

It's the comfort you feel in church.

It's the refuge for battered women.

It's the turning your stereo up loud in your bedroom after a fight with your parents and losing yourself in the music. (However, if you lost yourself in drugs and alcohol that would be The Devil card.)

It's the angels who deliver food to your doorstep or take care of your children when you're ill.

It's the fire truck coming to put out the flames in your house. The cavalry arriving to take the weight off your shoulders.

It's a time when you might not have your head straight but you get some relief from the anguish. You don't deal with whatever the problem may be. That's Moon card territory.

I expect to be clarifying my posts a lot. Because as I've said each Tarot card comes in 50 shades. I'm hoping you'll help clarify them too. How do you shelter from the storm?

This Versus That

To understand Tarot it helps to compare cards with one another. We've met the cards below in previous posts. They both signify that it's time to have a break in some way. Let's explore their similarities and differences shall we?

The Four of Swords is from the Everyday Tarot end of the deck which indicates an event that's common (everyday, get it?) The Star however is a Life Lessons card which suggests a significant event. One you'll definitely notice in the scheme of things. It'll kinda stand out.

The Star is urgent, the Four of Swords is not.

The Star deals with feelings (notice the cups), the Four of Swords with thoughts (that's the sword part).

The Four of Swords comes up when taking a mental break from something will be helpful to you. The Star comes up when you desperately need to take an emotional break from a situation because you just can't take anymore.

And then there's the Hangman. He's taking a break as well, just look at him hanging around.

How does his version of time out differ? Well, he's a Life Lessons card so we know for a start that he points to a significant issue. What's he doing up that tree? He's sitting on something like the Princess and the Pea. Waiting for something in his situation to shift. A process to end. For his world to stop feeling like its upside down.

To sum up:

Four of Pentacles: Taking a mental break.

The Hanged Man: Waiting for some major life change.

The Star: Possibly having an emotional break-down.

Watching TV. Renovating your house. Leaving your husband or wife.

Comprende? Or is it all as clear as mud? What say you teaclubbers?

Five of Pentacles: It's a Beautiful Beautiful Life!

Two people in ragged clothing walk barefoot in the snow looking mighty sore and sorry for themselves, ignoring the lighted window of what looks like a church (stained glass window) in their vicinity. It's all very doom and gloom. As so many singers have sung, 'Oh baby, it's cold outside.'

As I mentioned yesterday this card has been turning up in my readings for years. I was taught to believe it means 'poverty consciousness' i.e. feeling poor. Which I do. All the time. There's never enough is there? Whenever I got this card I felt like I was getting a good hard shake. A reminder to stop being so woe is me. Fair enough. There's always someone worse off.

Anyhow, last night I had a revelation. Every Tarot card has a positive and negative expression and so as I was writing about the Five of Pentacles I began speculating for the first time what its positive expression might be. You know, cause I never pondered that before, cause I always just assumed I was being told off for being pathetic and deservedly so. Yet sometimes I have got this card and haven't been feeling hard done by. So what else could it mean?

I'm thinking it acts as a reminder that there is beauty and light in your life. And just by looking in a different direction, seeing things in a different way, you will find the reassurance you seek. Sometimes you need to hear about your blessings from a third party in order to notice them. This being the FIVE of Pentacles, not one, two, three or four, there must be several things that are bringing you happiness without you noticing. How wonderful is that?

At the moment I'm a mass of food intolerances. It's like the new Western Civilisation disease. And for a few months there I had to give up milky tea, my great love and one bad addiction (I like it very very milky, preferably frothy, you might have heard). But I've discovered a new milk I can drink without digestive repercussions. There's a Five of Pentacles example if ever there was one. I might not be able to eat heaps of food but I can still have my cups of tea. I'm drinking some right now, toasting you beloved readers, who are here giving a new kid on the blog block a go.

Let's toast the Five of Pentacles as well. A reminder that despite our hardships it's a beautiful beautiful life!

Do you have any Five of Pentacles moments you could share?

Tarot: Your Agony Aunt In A Box

Psychics at fetes and fairs read Tarot cards to tell others their future, often in great detail. As I've said before I think this can be both blessing and curse, reassuring but also a map you can feel compelled to follow. It kind of quashes your free will, your freedom to choose another destiny when you feel locked into one already.

The rest of us non-psychic mortals can use Tarot cards for peace of mind. About the little everyday things and occasionally those big scary ones (but I'd stay well away from asking about your entire future if I was you, see note above). It's like keeping an Agony Aunt In A Box. And who wouldn't want one of those around the house? Advice peoples. We all need advice from an impartial third party from time to time. And what's more impartial than a deck of cards? Sometimes friends and family just don't cut it especially when their agendas conflict with yours.

The great thing about Tarot, the amazing incredible thing, is that it stops you lying to yourself. You might be able to tell porkies to your shrink but Tarot will never let you get away with it. You'll find the same cards turning up again and again. And if you meditate on those cards you'll discover things about yourself you never realized. Tarot prevents you from living in denial. As I've discovered for myself...

I cant deny I need a lot of time alone to process things when I regularly see the Two of Swords.

I can't deny I can be a cheapskate when I get the Four of Pentacles looking grouchily at me every couple of months or so.

I can't deny I have strong poverty consciousness when the Five of Pentacles keeps turning up.

I can't deny I have a rich life when the Nine of Pentacles frequently graces me with her lovely presence.

And I can't deny I'm a Love Zombie when The Devil keeps answering the question, 'Will my ex ever come back?'

To paraphrase the Statue of Liberty (really really badly), Tarot says, 'Give me your questions, your problems, your huddled fears yearning to feel peace.'

And if you don't understand what the cards are saying then come here to discuss it and we'll prize out the answer together. That's what this blog is for.

The Celtic Cross Tarot Card Reading

You might have heard of the Celtic Cross. It is the most common type of Tarot card reading. Most common. Most famous. Most comprehensive. And my personal favourite. It looks something like this:

Note: You might need to click on the image to read the numbers and titles which I will explain below.

1. Significator: Who or what the reading is about.

2. Present: What is happening with the situation right now.

3. Helps/Hindrances: What makes the situation easier and harder to deal with.

4. Basis: Reason for the situation.

5. Past: How things have been in the immediate past.

6. Life Lesson: What you need to do to improve the situation.

7. Next: How things will be in the immediate future.

8. Self: How you are acting in the situation.

9. Environment: How people around you are acting.

10. Hopes/Fears: What you hope will happen but are also secretly afraid of. This hope/fear is impinging on the situation in some way.

11. Outcome: What will happen in the long run if you keep reacting in the same way you have been.

Cards A & B: The next two cards from the top of the pack which clarify card 11.

12. Clarifier: Card from the bottom of the deck which gives you an idea of the deeper forces at play.

To do a Celtic Cross reading: Think of a question. Shuffle the deck. Drop into 3 piles. Pick piles up in order they were dropped, putting each one underneath the one before it. Lay out Celtic Cross. Have a go at reading the cards.

IMPORTANT: Don't take them too seriously. They are only a guide. Not the word of God.

Please share your experiences of using the Celtic Cross below.

Fifty Shades Of Tarot

I know, I know. This blog's title is a shameless ploy to hop on someone else's gravy train, isn't it? Well why not I say! It's true. And I'm not talking about Tarot as a whole, no siree, it's bigger than that. Every single card has about 50 different shades, 50 different versions of what it means. So my blog title may be shameless but it's also appropriate.

How's that work you ask? Don't the cards just mean what they mean? Well, the thing is, there's positive interpretations and negative ones (notice the plural 's' here). There are occasions when a small detail in the picture becomes the focus. The message can also be thrown into a whole new light by the situation you are dealing with or the question you have asked.

Confused? That's normal when you start exploring Tarot. It employs a different method of conveying information than we are used to in the western world. But that's what makes it sooo interesting. And after awhile you find you can pick up on the different shades of meaning for yourself.

Let's look at 50 shades (or maybe a few less) of cards we have discussed before.

The Six of Cups can refer to...A situation in the past. Meeting up with someone from your past in the present. Being in love. Living in a fantasy world. Being emotionally unbalanced (This may be me but I just don't trust that guy in the dwarf hat.) Feeling nostalgic or sentimental. Being naive. Shall I go on?

The Four of Pentacles. The cheapskate. The possessive. The scrooge. But also. The budgeter. The family provider. Having good financial reserves to draw on. As well as. Protective. Materialistic. The control freak. And so forth.

The Hanged Man. Making sacrifices. Being pushed out of your comfort zone. Looking for answers. Meditating. Reflection. Suspension of your driver's license. Resignation (both types). Engagement. Pregnancy. Renovations. Having your world turned upside down. Waiting for a sign. Time dragging. Plans being put on hold. Martyrdom. Indecision. Yoga.

Yep. All these possibilities from one little man.

Have you got any more to add to the lists above? Cause there's always more when it comes to Tarot. Please feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section below. I look forward to hearing from you.

9 Pentacles: Independent Woman!

Here is another card like the Six of Cups with a golden glow. But in this case the glow represents happiness not fantasy. How can you tell? Because the figure in the picture appears human not dwarf-like and the scene looks realistic not fairytale-land-ish.

I love love love love love this card. It's one of the few I get on a regular basis that makes me feel good about myself (sigh, so many faults and only one small lifetime to rectify them all.) This woman has made something of her life. Look at the beautiful garden she has grown, the animal she has tamed. The richness of the vineyard and the large house in the background accentuate her material success. And she looks like a class act in those clothes, right? A wealthy lady of the manor. Whenever I get this card I am reminded to be grateful for all that I have. It's so easy to get caught up in the green grass on the other side of the fence and forget how verdant your own pasture is.

The Nine of Pents can also represent someone who is happy in their own company, who doesn't mind living alone. It can refer to a man as much as a woman of course but women do tend to be the ones who are happier on their own, don't you reckon? Older women usually stay single after their partner passes while many an older man has been known to remarry in haste. I don't have a partner myself. I think that's one of the reasons this card comes up so much for me. It's the Tarot of the single parent ha ha (not that I'm really a single parent, I co-parent with my ex-husband, but you know what I mean.)

Another possibility this card can refer to is contentment with your lot. You can see why I like it, hey. Who doesn't want to feel good about the life they have created?

Ah, so many meanings for just one card. Stay tuned for my post on this topic tomorrow: Fifty Shades of Tarot.

C'mon, fess up. Are you as fond of this lovely lady as I am?