Tarot's Four of Swords - “Practicing Stillness”

4 of Swords from RWCS

Life can make you crazy and conversely, you can make your life crazy.  It’s an art to know when to take action on something and when to let it lie.  The four of swords asks us to gear down and ease our frantic mindset by sinking into silence and stillness. It is only in these states of tranquility that can true wisdom can enter our minds.

The suit of swords deals with ‘daggers of the mind,’ or in science fiction parlance, ‘monsters from the id.’ A classic depiction of the four of swords shows us a knight, or nobleman resting in much the same pose as a figure atop a tomb from the middle ages. His hands are clasped as if in prayer, representing his supplication and request for Divine guidance. Three swords hang suspended over his head and torso. They hover above three chakras points: The third eye (ajna), where his intuition, or psychic connection lives; his heart chakra, (anahata) where he feels and expresses his love and lastly, above his solar plexus (manapura) where he houses his personal power, fear and anxiety. These swords represent the areas where obsessive thought patterns can root themselves and make us miserable.

Our knight’s eyes are closed and he lays death-like with the

4 of Swords from "The Wizard's Tarot"©
by Corrine Kenner and John J. Blumen

fourth sword resting below him as a decoration on the side of the slab. This fourth sword represents a mind at rest, heedless of the day to day travails suspended above our hero in the conscious world.  Below, in the world of the subconscious, or the meditative state, all is tranquil.  

Stillness is not a natural state for most of us.  Sometimes it makes us so antsy that we take on other projects simply to avoid the stillness in our own mind. Tarot’s four of swords challenges us to still our minds, our emotions and fears in order to reach that serene place inside each of us that connects us to Source and holds our inner wisdom.  You can’t hear a whisper in the middle of a maelstrom, though. The answers we seek come in the silence of our souls and through our ability to hear inner wisdom through our connection to the Divine.

In readings this card indicates a need to rest and recover, to draw in and quietly prepare for actions to come, as well as to contemplate reality past emotion and ego. Use the four of swords to help guide you as you sort through life’s difficult situations. Taking time of rest and recoup makes you stronger in the long-run.

LADY ORACLE


Vive La France!

October 23, 2014 Sun and New Moon in Scorpio With a Solar Eclipse - “Insight, Passion and Respect in the Morning”

Scorpio is an edgy sign.  It’s known for dark, brooding passion

"OSHO Zen Tarot,"© by Deva Padma
shows us the fiery flowering that is
Scorpio's power to tranform

and a laser sharp intensity that never suffers fools gladly, or otherwise.  Intentionally injure a Scorpio and you will live to regret it, no matter how long it takes them to construct their revenge. They live life with little, or no middle ground.  The sign of the scorpion teaches us the power wielded by coupling keen intuition with a tremendous ability to focus.  On October 23rd, our Sun moves into Scorpio, creating a New Moon while going conjunct with Venus. Did I mention the solar eclipse? That’s right.  During all the emotional rip tides caused by these power players in the house of Scorpio, we’ll also be dealing with a solar eclipse that in effect, pours gasoline on this combustable cosmic alignment.  

The vibrations, or patterns of a solar eclipse remain with us for six months. They show themselves as newly discovered personal issues, insights and motivations. That’s why it’s extremely important that you pay attention to the themes and patterns emerging in your life during the next few days. They’ll be with you for a while, along with the consequences of your responses to them. This New Moon and solar eclipse combo will be most keenly felt by those born under the sign, Scorpio, those who have the moon, or other planets prominently in Scorpio and people born in the other water signs (Cancer and Pisces). Also those born underTaurus will feel the pull of this configuration because of Taurus’ oppositional place against all the scorpion action.  Now that we understand the dynamics, let’s look at the energetic fallout.

Scorpio’s exoskeleton protects a tender underbelly where

The 8 of Wands reminds us
to pay attention to messages and
also to pick our moment. From
Lo Scarebo's "Tarot of the Pagan Cats"©

they store their emotional vulnerability. They use those legendary claws of theirs to dig deeply into the meat of issues until they find the answers they seek. While scorpions keep their revelations private because of their secretive nature, they don’t shy away from confronting what they discover.  Expect to have more need for privacy for a  while. The next six months will be a good time work on addictive behaviors, particularly those dealing with sex, money and power struggles. Eclipses break old patterns. They are the harbingers of endings, but most importantly, of new beginnings as well. 

Scorpios may have one of the baddest reps in the Zodiac, by there is more than one side to them. Granted, all of their sides are very passionate.  Scorpions are highly spiritual beings. Of all the signs in the Zodiac, they are most willing to let the hidden come to light. They are very creative and intuitive and they possess the ability to narrow their focus into a scorching beam of light and wisdom.  They love deeply and are loyal to a fault. We can borrow these attributes during the next six months and use them to refine and achieve our own goals. 

"Inner Voice" represents The High Priestess,
tarot's card for the moon. From "OSHO Zen Tarot"©
by Deva Padma

This New Moon with an eclipse combo offers us all the chance to start anew – projects, jobs, life re-invention – you name it.  However, this is strong, primal energy we’re tapping into.  It takes courage to steer a ship into heavy weather, but we must remember that our vessel was designed for this purpose. This human shell that we all wear, came with the resources we needed to survive this journey.  Use your instincts when pulling Scorpio’s energy, but follow a few safeguards as well.  Stay grounded through meditation and time alone.  It’s up to you to provide those opportunities for yourself, no one else’s.  As with the energy of our last Full Moon, think things through three times and only speak once.  Remember that when you expose wounds to the light, the idea is to let them heal, not remember old grievances that hold you hostage to your own fear and pain. Let them go. Lastly, this is a time of great transformation. Use it boldly and with love.  Besides, the view from a crest of a wave is spectacular.  

LADY ORACLE

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Tarot Reading at Public Events – Keep Calm and Think of Monty Python

The perfect mindset for public tarot
reading! From "OSHO Zen Tarot"©
 by Deva Padma

You’ve picked your reading venue, run your ads, packed up your table cloth and your favorite decks. You show up to your event twenty to thirty minutes early so you can clear your space, ground and acclimate your cards. It’s show time and you are ready. You’ve thought of everything. Business cards, notepads, a gift for your event host – now all you need is a querent. You sit at your table with an open and welcoming smile as you greet passersby.  Then the unexpected happens. A couple strolls towards you. One of them looks rather upset, points a finger at you and yells, “I know what you’re doing. I know what’s really going on here! You’re a witch! Witch!” Sounds completely over the top, doesn’t it, accept that it actually happened to me during a public reading event at a bookstore. I looked around half expecting Michael Palin to suggest they build a bridge out of me, or at the very least, Terry Jones wanting to see if my weight was equal to that of a duck’s.

 Public reading events aren’t every reader’s cup of tea. You can try to prepare for every contingency, but when you choose to read for the general public weird stuff happens and you have to learn how to roll with it. How calm you remain and how quickly you can think on your feet determines the success or failure of your reading event. In my case, the witch denouncer backed out of the shop, taking their friend with them as they continued to condemn my mystical proclivities.  I looked at the people around me who were nervously awaiting my reaction. I grinned at them and responded, “Was it something I said?” People started to laugh and before I knew it, everything was back on track. The truth is that the majority of people out there want you to succeed. They came to watch you succeed. However, they take their cue from you at an event, so it becomes very important to put their comfort above your own, because to varying degrees, they have already put their faith in you as a reader simply by showing up. 

Stay in the moment
another great reminder from "OSHO Zen
Tarot"© by Deva Padma

Most readers have expectations of a venue host. Usually they are completely reasonable – a discreet reading area, the ability to display your business cards, posters, someone to help steer querent traffic, etc.  However, some also impose their own bias on the people they serve.  Some refuse to read for children, claiming their energy is too chaotic. Seriously? Children are charming to read for – all wonder and excitement. Others won’t read someone who’s consumed any alcohol whatsoever. What are you going to do? Have them fill out a questionnaire first? Some of the most successful and joyful events involve reading for children.  Restaurants with full-service bars are another good venue selection.  It comes down to trusting your host to support you while you support their clientele to the best of your ability.  It serves no purpose to offend a business’s clientele with high-minded principles. Don’t confront customers about their belief systems. You’re not there to win an argument, you’re there to entertain and no matter how difficult it may be, never let your audience see you stressed.  Yes, you heard right, entertain and audience, because believe it or not, your readings are a performance.  

There are tarot readers who take issue with being likened to

Don't forget to enjoy yourself. it's
your party! From "OSHO Zen Tarot"©
by Deva Padma

an entertainer.  They are welcome to because that’s all the more venues for me.  Liberace once stated in an interview that, “Good piano players are a dime a dozen.” So ask yourself what makes you stand out?  “My readings are clear and I’m honest with my querents,” you say. “I work to enlighten them while I respect their feelings. I have integrity.” So do the majority of readers.  What makes you so special?  Simple answer – you do, your presentation, the personae you project.  You have ten seconds or less to engage a potential client.  Within that time they will judge you on appearance, perceptions about your attitude and whether, or not, their inner guidance system believes you to be ‘safe.’ Be aware, be present and don’t use their reading to seek validation.

The reader sets the tone at an event. It is their responsibility to put people at ease. Do it with style, do it with grace, but most importantly, do it in a manner authentic to you as a person. I use humor and when that fails, I pull out the Paula Dean brownies. I have no mercy.  

LADY ORACLE

Between Reader and Querent – Ending the Tarot Relationship

"The Source" from "OSHO Zen Tarot"©
by Deva Padma

Most relationships alter over time and the relationship between a tarot reader and their client is no different.  In a healthy relationship, both parties grow and become more than they were when they first met.  So it is with a good tarot relationship.  The basics are pretty standard.  Keep everything confidential.  When you’re with your client, be present and pay attention to their needs. Always tell the truth.  Know what is your baggage and don’t impose it on the querent’s spread and never let them impose their baggage on you. Boundaries, people, boundaries.

The whole keeping your own baggage sounds like plain, common sense and therefore a no–brainer.  It is common sense, but it is more difficult than it sounds for a reader new to professional tarot reading.  Tarot readers are intuitive and each one of us has his, or her, own process.  We are also empathic and here in lies the difficulty.  To ‘read’ for someone you must tap into their energy flow and in doing so, allow it close enough to yourself without letting it overwhelm you. With that flow comes the querent’s fear, their skepticism, their frustration, confusion, anger and any number of thoughts and feelings.  Our job as readers, other than to lay out brightly colored pieces of card stock, is to see past those emotions and interpret what the cards are saying. 

The Celtic Cross spread delivers a lot of information and most

From Corrine Kenner and John J. Blumen's
"Wizard's Tarot"©

 readers use a variation of this format.  The most insightful positions in this spread are position #7, the querent’s view of the situation, or their mindset going into the reading, and position #9, what the cards want your client to consider about themselves or the situation – what can’t, or shouldn’t be ignored.  These positions strip the reading down to its essentials and are more important in a sense than the outcome cards, #6 and #10.  When properly viewed, these positions can have a lasting, positive effect on the client.  They are also the positions where the querent gets slapped in the face with their issues, if slapping is required. Sometimes, when the slap is too hard, or the information too difficult for the querent to face over the long-term, the querent will decide to end the tarot relationship.

Readers are people, highly sensitive, open people, but still people.  When a client is dissatisfied we tend to look inside ourselves first.  Sometimes that’s appropriate, but more often than not, it isn’t.  Long-term clients leave readers because either the issue that lead them to the reader in the first place has resolved itself, or the card patterns in the readings haven’t significantly changed over time and the querent becomes dissatisfied with the readings.  As tarot readers, we know that the card patterns haven’t changed because the querent’s responses and actions in the situation have not changed. Definition of insanity: continually repeating the same actions and expecting a different result. 

It’s important for the reader not to take on more than their share of responsibility for the end of a relationship with a querent.  Consider the components of the relationship I mentioned earlier.  Use it as a checklist. As a reader, did I show up on time? Did I give them my full attention?  Did I judge them by my own standards?  Did I keep a respectful distance between the querent’s issues and myself?  Did I honor the boundaries of professional conduct?  If you did all those things, then release your client with love and move on.  They have taken another step in their journey and you are not meant to go with them for whatever reason.  Know that you helped as best as you could and that you operated from the highest of intentions.  As tarot readers, we stand by the path and hold up a light. Whether or not someone chooses to use our light to help them find their way is always their choice and never ours.  

LADY ORACLE