Wand Revitalization - Find Your Spark

There are days when we're struck by malaise.  Last night's

2 of Wands is about personal power.
We're safe where we are, but the view
beyond our walls is intriguing. From
Ciro Marchetti's "Legacy of the Divine Tarot"©

dishes are still setting on the counter and you shove them out of the way to make room for tonight's dishes.  You've been out of your regular underwear for a week and are now reduced to using your reserve underwear - the ones that creep up your bum, or that were a bad idea to start with. All that's needed is to spend a couple of evenings doing basic housework and the world will come back to order, but first you have to get off the couch and that feels like a pretty risky proposition. Down time is one thing - prolonged lack of inertia, something else.

In tarot, things begin to happen with the appearance of Wands.  They are the call to adventure, a message of an action to be taken and a demand that we change the status quo of our lives.  They are creative action born of fire. The ball is in our court and we'd better get moving.  Too often we try to revitalize our lives through outward contrivances - use a special tea, a juice, or the latest vogue item that will change our perception of ourselves and our lives.  Renewal starts inside of us - in the trenches.  That's where it's messiest because that's where we dump the real clutter.

The 3 of Wands is the call to adventure.
There's opportunity on the horizon. Just take
the first step. From Ciro Marchetti's
"Legacy of the Divine Tarot"©

Wands tell the story of engaging life.  First comes the perception that there's something more to life beyond the boundaries of our own experience (2 of Wands).  We take the initial foray past our fortress walls and discover a whole world of potential (3 of Wands).  We join others and begin a celebration of life through interaction and mutual experience (4 of Wands).  It's hard to choose from so many new options and we can find ourselves confused and in conflict with others striving for the same goal (5 of Wands).  When things fall into place (and they do more often than not) we enjoy our victories and others look to us as an example (6 of Wands).  We hold tightly to our successes and work hard to maintain the ground we've claimed as our own, be it right or wrong to do so (7 of Wands).  Suddenly, a new opportunity arrives, a message that changes the world of the familiar (8 of Wands), but we are engaged now and though it's not easy, we will persevere with our goals, knowing that in the end, we will succeed (9 of Wands).

But first there's that whole getting off the couch thing.  When

The 8 of Wands advises us to wait for the perfect
moment because timing is everything. The moment
is at hand from Lo Scarebo's "Tarot of the Pagan Cat's"©
Incoming!!

you're looking for motivation, start with the view from #2.  Look past the self-imposed boundaries of your life.  What's out there?  What are you missing? Odds are that you're missing a lot.  Now, make a move.  It doesn't have to be perfect, or even right.  Just make a decision.  The rest of the numbers follow one right after another.  Sure, it's safe on the couch, but if you were really happy there, you wouldn't have the sense of missing out to begin with.  Each day is a gift, a chance to create and start fresh.  With an opportunity like that, why be content to sit watching someone else's story.


LADY ORACLE

Here's another blog about using the Ace, 2 and 3 of Wands to kickstart changes in your life! "Lights, Camera, Action!"

#1, The Magician or, "Linking Merlin With the Divine"

#1, The Magician - my personal
favorite depiction from "The
Wizar'ds Tarot"© by Corrine Kenner
and John J. Blumen

In tarot, The Magician bears witness to the fundamental truth he we are always connected to our divine creator.  The depiction of the Magician in RWSC decks shows us a wizard standing at his work table.  He has the power of all the elements literally at his finger tips as symbolized by the suits in tarot’s Minor Arcana: Wand, Cup, Sword and Pentacle (fire, water, air and earth respectively).  

The Magician represents consciousness, directed action and intentional creation.  He stands at his work table, his wand held aloft while his other hand pointed to the earth.  He is a living conduit between the power of divine consciousness and Its physical manifestation on earth.  He embodies the words on the Emerald Tablet, “As it is above, so it is below.”  Unlike Fool, the Magician doesn’t nonchalantly toss his consciousness over his shoulder, moving through life on a whim.  He takes responsibility for his

life force and his gifts by using them to shape his world.  Flowers grow around his table - signs that the power of his potential is in full and directed use.  He blooms where he’s planted.  He shows us that our gifts are the currency by which we purchase our dreams. If you waste your gifts, or let them stand idle, you not only bankrupt yourself, but you squander all of your potential.

We are conduits for cosmic energy.  It passes through us for

use in creating actualities - job, lifestyle, or to effect lasting change in the world around us. Our personal power must be allowed to flow freely guided by our directed thought.  Otherwise we create chaos in our lives and the lives of those around us.  Often we want to hold fast to our power base, fearing it will disappear.  However when you act as a conduit, you carry current from an infinite source - a universal power plant if you will.  Think about the batteries you bought last year for your emergency flashlights.  They are still in the package, their power contained.  What is their shelf life? Are they still good?  Just as the charge in an unused battery will eventually dissipate, so will the consciousness or cosmic power you struggle to contain.  As with water, electricity and air, there must be a flow through.

From "OSHO Zen Tarot"© by Deva Padma,
we see the #22, The World - a culmination
of the hero's journey.

Today ask yourself: Am I part of the Divine flow?  Do I direction to my power and manifest things that benefit myself as well as those around me, or do I react to whatever direction life takes me and create chaos in my wake?  This is a magic day and you get to decide what you will do with it. 

LADY ORACLE

The Drive To Strive - Astrological Trends For January 2013

You know it's been a quite the holiday season when Weight Watchers sends you a mailer before the first of the year.  Do they have cameras at the buffet tables, or something? How did they know you received a Chocolate of the Month gift basket and have already eaten your way through June?  Thank Heavens for elastic waistbands.  And also thank Heavens for that tried, but true process we annually endure called the New Years Resolution.  This January we are getting an extra hand from the cosmos to help us define, refine and implement direct changes to our lives.

This month is a great time to kick start your goals.  Saturn is in Scorpio and Pluto is in Capricorn at sextile (a 60 degree aspect) and they are very good buddies.  While the energy ebb and flow may get a little intense this month, certain signs (Scorpio, Capricorn and those with planets in their houses) are going to thrive with this type of planetary turbo boost.

Returning to reality after the holidays (particularly when recovering from the alcoholic frenzy that is New Years Eve) can be a jolt.  We all become high minded about changing our lives in the coming year.  Hence, resolutions.  To put January's energy to the greatest good, however, work on shaping the material world around you and leave the spiritual retreats and deeper meditations for another month.  Success this month means you are required to be present and to be in the moment to seize January's opportunities.  From the 1st of the month through the 14th, focus on direct actions that will have direct effects on your life.   Now here's the tricky part:  Don't sit there. Do something.  A small, but consistent action will do more to move your life forward than some grandiose gesture that's here, then gone and leaves nothing lasting in its wake.

Remember the goals your worked so diligently to assess and clarify this summer?  You also had some great astral energy this fall which helped you start putting your plans into effect.  This month you have a chance to push past your preconceived limits about your own abilities.  Don't hinder yourself with phrases like, 'too ambitious,' or 'getting in over my head.'  Ambitions are a good thing and you swim best in deep water.  You are much more capable and resourceful than you give yourself credit for and the Universe knows it.

When working with tarot, pay particular attention to the suits of Wands and Pentacles.  Fiery action and earthly gain.  What cards are you pulling and where do they fall in the particular spread you're using?  Think of your first card reading this month as an opportunity for you to run a systems diagnostic.  Find out what you need to release and what you need to pursue.

January 6th and 7th are good days for being more reflective than active.  The moon is in Scorpio and conjunct Saturn.  Saturn likes to teach through challenges and things might get a little too challenging for you on these days.  Just breath and regroup.  On January 11th we've got that new moon energy shining strong in twenty-one degrees,  forty-six minutes of Capricorn.  Sit down with a skinny latte' and your smart phone for a little research and development.  Take a little time to review your accomplishments this month and to affirm your direction before you start moving again.

On January 26th we will have a full moon in Leo - another dose of energy that helps us celebrate who and what we are.  2013 is starting at a brisk pace folks.  Take advantage of this month's energy shifts to propel yourself forward.


LADY ORACLE