The Empress: Hello Mother!

The Empress isn't a card I relate to real well being the multiple swords woman Queen of Wands live-in-my-head kind of gal that I am. She and I really need to work on our relationship. So to that end I thought I'd spend some time tonight conjugating her meanings. Off the top of my head, here goes:

She's your mother.

She's the nourisher extraordinaire who likes to bake. Muffins and cupcakes her specialty.

She loves babies. But she can be the nester from hell. Her baby nursery straight from Vogue Living.

She's creative. Maybe an artiste.

She's good at growing things. A gardener par excellence!

She likes to knit or sew while watching TV at night. Her hands can't sit still.

But she can also be lazy. Have a cleaner or just lets things go. She finds chaos creative.

She'd walk a mile to help a girlfriend in trouble.

She likes being pampered. Chocolate, massages and spas are three of her favourite things. In fact if she could, her staple diet would consist of chocolate and champagne. Yep, you guessed it, she's a bit on the fleshy side (fleshy, chubby, whatev!)

She's the bubble wrap mother fighting her children's battles for them.

A girl's girl who likes a bit of glam and dolling up. Pass the make-up please.

She's super sexy. Loves doing the deed. In fact you'd be lucky to have her as a partner because she'd be tres` inventive in bed.

But watch out because she can make you feel smothered. In which case you need to run, fast!

She's more your hotel kind of girl than camper. Likes soft sheets and breakfast in bed. Likes to stay in her dressing gown half the day. But she enjoys looking at nature and will go bush if there's someone to do the hard yakka for her.

She likes to party all night. Play. Have fun. Enjoys cocktails on the beach at sunset.

She spends a lot of time lying on the couch reading fashion magazines and shopping online. She's a frills and lace kind of girl. Dresses not jeans.

She loves nothing more than a natter with friends over a good cup of tea.

This is not definitely not me (I live in jeans and t-shirts and drink way too much tea 'cause I'm too lazy to cook) but does this sound like you or someone you know? Please share.

The Lance Armstrong Story Tarot Style

Lance Armstrong is all over the news at the mo so I thought it'd be fun to tell his story Tarot style. You know, as it's been reported. I'm not his judge and jury.

Seven of Swords: The Tactician. Otherwise known as The Sneaky Bastard.

Six of Wands: The Winner. In a reading this card would come up in the past position for Lance.

Wheel of Fortune: Experiencing ups and downs. And when you've been way way up you're bound to fall way way down. But kudos to him for beating cancer and getting back on his bike. There is still something to admire there.

The Tower: The fall from grace. Breakdowns (that would be his team-mates). Revelation (that would be about him).

The Devil: An obvious choice. Living in denial. Making winning your god.

The Moon: Revealing hidden depths. And boy are they murky. Makes you want to take a long hot shower when you listen to his team mate's stories.

The World: And this is all happening on a world stage.

Three of Swords: There is real grief being felt over Lance. People feel like they've been stabbed in the heart, and fair enough say I. He was our hero. Note how the swords in the card don't drip blood i.e. The wound isn't fresh. This is because the betrayal occurred in the past.

I feel a multi-million dollar tell-all confessional book contract coming on. But what would I know being the non-psychic Tarot reader that I am? Sometimes my intuition is spot on and other times I couldn't hit the future with a ten foot pole if I tried.

Feel free to add your own suggestions re the Lance Armstrong story in the comments section below. Anyone?

Reading: The Tower + The Six Of Cups

Today we're going to explore what The Tower + The Six of Cups signify when they turn up together in a reading. Let's look first at the shades of meaning each card carries.

The Tower: Reaching breaking point. Having a breakthrough. A dramatic shift in circumstance. Being blasted out of your comfort zone. Being woken up. Destruction. Your foundations being shaken. Enlightenment.

The Six of Cups: First love. Living the fairytale. Living in a fantasy world. Being delusional. A person or event from the past.

Note: The order the cards appear in affects the message you're being given.

The Tower + The Six of Cups:

Someone breaks up with you but you refuse to accept it.

Breaking up with someone and running home to your parents.

Experiencing a difficult life event which makes you delusional.

Receiving money from someone out of the blue and using it to fund your dream life.

The Six of Cups + The Tower:

Breaking up with your first love.

Meeting up with someone from your past which triggers a revelation about yourself or your past.

Being delusional which results in a serious incident.

A fantasy novel you've written gets published.

Any other suggestions?

Why The Devil Card Is Your Friend

There's a numerology trick you can do with your birthdate to work out which Tarot card rules you each year. I've found this formula very reliable and will share it with you one day (if you ask me I'll share it with you tomorrow.) Next year I'm going to be living under the influence of The Devil card and I'm nervous about that.

Last time this card ruled my year I met a guy who broke my heart and was utterly miserable. But here's the thing, eventually I was forced to acknowledge that it was my choice not to be in that relationship. He did things that didn't sit well with me. This caused me to reluctantly break up with him the first time and criticise him so that he broke up with me the second time. There were more times than that but I won't go on. Pathetic isn't it. That's who you are in The Devil card. Are you listening Rihanna?

I am the queen of what I call 'Relationship Interruptus'. In other words, my relationships have been very short-lived. But that particular experience taught me that I'm responsible for this situation. That it has been my choice. Because I'd rather write than have a partner.

I also got my weight under control for the first time in my life during that year. Because I was so miserable I undertook a strict diet that changed my body chemistry. And that brought me a great deal of satisfaction. The Devil card contains great power if you can tap into it. That's his gift. This is how The Devil is your friend. As well as the fact that he acts as a massive warning warning danger danger alert card to prevent you from making terrible mistakes. And we all need one of those, don't we?

As for next year, well, I have very strong poverty consciousness so I'm guessing I'm going to be hit where it will hurt most, in the wallet. I'm planning renovations in April-May and am worried this is going to chain me to a debt burden I'm not currently equipped to manage. The Devil card would suggest this is indeed the case. I'd be much better off waiting until the following year when I'm under the influence of The Tower card to do my renovations. The Tower represents breaking down old structures, loll. But the issue will be whether I can wait. My house is falling apart and is uncomfortable to live in and I feel under pressure from my daughter to make it nicer for her too. The Devil often involves social pressure. He says you should never let others make choices for you but when it's your children it's hard to say no.

People are scared of The Devil card for good reason. It's hard to face up to your weaknesses. I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it or not. (But if any of my friends are reading this post no doubt you'll remind me and thanks for that.)  The Devil card needs to look good and scary or you might not pay attention to him.

How do you feel about The Devil card?

Jobs For The Boys (I Mean Kings)

This is an equal opportunity blog so it seems only fair to do to the boys what was done to the girls yesterday, keeping tongue firmly in cheek as we ask: What kind of man does each King card represent? What kind of job might he have?

King of Wands: A man who wants to be his own boss or live on the wildside. The small business man. The self-employed. The entrepreneur. The media magnate. The high-rise window-washer. The wildlife warrior. The fireman. The emergency services worker. The primary school teacher. The demolitions expert. The film director.

King of Swords: A man who cuts through the crap. The butt kicker. The CEO. The lawyer. The accountant. The judge. The justice of the peace. The salary man. The human rights activist. The humanitarian. The writer. The philosopher. The journalist. The blogger. The academic. The army officer. The diplomat. The linguist. The researcher. The scientist. The detective. The computer programmer.

King of Cups: A man who acts from the heart. The team player. The tortured artiste. The stay-at-home dad. The doctor. The over-stretched social worker. The musician. The pub owner (and the alcoholic). The priest. The anti-hunting protestor. The childcare worker. The communist. The vet. The actor.

King of Pentacles: A man who respects traditions. The business man. The tradie working with his hands. The hard working employee. The board member. The president of the local Rotary club. The parliamentarian. The bishop. The historian. The TV newsreader. The sugar daddy. The suit and tie. The Republican.

Any other suggestions?

Yo Girl, Which Queen Are You?

Court cards are complicated. I'm talking page, knight, queen and king. They seem to have a lot of different meanings which I'm still coming to grips with. One of the things they can definitely represent is people. People you know or you yourself. I thought it would be fun to take a tongue-in-cheek look at the Queen cards and guess what kind of woman they would be in real life. Keep in mind that Queens represent the epitome of womanhood for each suit. They're not girls they're mature women in their prime.

The Queen of Wands: The ultimate multi-tasker. She's the working mum at her ferocious best juggling lots of different balls in the air. Her heart lies wherever her children can be found. Happy to be at home or away. Sporty. Might play tennis once a week to catch up with friends and keep fit. Killing two birds with one stone is her speciality.

The Queen of Swords: Ms Career Woman. Focused like a heat seeking missile on the task at hand. Able to shrug off distractions with a single shrug of her padded Armani suited shoulders. She's the one you want arguing your case in court. A stickler for keeping on schedule. Her office is her stronghold. Kids go to creche and eat dinner in front of the television (yes, my hand is up for this last one, guilty as charged your honour.)

The Queen of Cups: Your basic hippie-hearted Earth mother who lets her kids run around barefoot in winter and stay up until they fall asleep on the couch. She probably also talks to them like their adults, lol. Always running late for appointments. Artistic but never makes any money out of it. She builds castles in the air. Loves animals.

The Queen of Pentacles: She's the one running the PFA, volunteering for school canteen duty and tut tutting over those mothers who let their offspring run wild at cafes and restaurants (See Queen of Cups above). Bakes a damn fine muffin for afternoon tea and always has dinner ready when hubby comes home. Probably expects everyone to eat at the table to boot. Her spick and span house is her castle.

Of course there's more to it than that but I'm feeling flippant today. So girls, which queen are you?

Three Of Wands: Go For It!

 

I want to focus on the Three of Wands today but I've included a photo of the Two of Wands because the two cards are very similar in some ways and I want to look at that.

In the Three of Wands a man stands looking out at the horizon holding onto a wand with two more at his back. As I said yesterday, wands represent skills, talents or enterprizes you embark on. The number three stands for growth. Like in the Two of Wands the man is holding a wand while contemplating the horizon as if searching for inspiration. You feel like he's still weighing his options. But here his horizons, the possibilities, are far wider.

The difference this time round is that he has some runs on the board. There are more wands at his back. And look where he's standing: On the ground not atop some airy-fairy castle. His tattered and torn garments also indicate that he's been around the block.

And notice how you can't see his left arm. This suggests he's considering leaving behind the wand on that side. Whatever it might represent.

Receiving this card in a reading means that you are facing a situation where you have the opportunity to grab something new. But in doing so you may have to leave something behind, something you're good at. Maybe a particular job or a whole career or just the way you make the bed. Not always an easy thing to do. Especially when you've experienced success in that area of your life. Habits are hard to break and the familiar feels safe. But wands ask you to be brave. (I folded a mean hospital corner on my bedsheets as a kid but heck when fitted sheets and doonas came along it seemed crazy not to go with the fluff and run school of bed-making. I've never looked back.)

This card says go for it. Your ship is literally coming in, several of them in fact. Lol.

Can you think of any examples of a Three of Wands situation you have recently faced in your life?