Tarot’s Aces – Wild, Up Your Sleeve, or In The Hole

 

Ace of Cups from Rome Choi's
"Dreaming Way Tarot"©

Aces are considered a positive sign in a tarot reading. Theycapture the central theme of their suit and the subsequent cards explore that theme in a variety of aspects.  Aces herald the beginning of something new and in certain spreads can be used as an indicator of time.  Wands represent autumn; Cups, summer; Swords, winter and Pentacles, spring. 

The Ace of Wands starts of the big show.  It represents an idea, a realization that brings enthusiasm for a particular course of action. It is in essence, that spark of Divine creative force  sweeping through us.  It emboldens us to ask an age-old question much like in the opening three notes of Richard Strauss’, “Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30".  The following two notes of that piece denote the ‘aha’ moment.  The awareness is set and now our curious mind demands action.  Strauss’ work is the Ace of Wands set to music.  The appearance of the Ace of Wands in a reading is the call to adventure, the request that you take stock of your life.  Are you playing it too safe, or ignoring potential growth for the sake of convenience?  Follow the ace and go a little wild.  (See blog: “Lights, Camera, Action” )

Cups shows us a challis over-flowing with water, tarot’s

Ciro Marchetti's Ace of Wands from
"Legacy of the Divine Tarot"©

symbol of emotions.  This is a deep, spiritual well of emotional force, a direct link to your intuitive self.  As with all aces, the Ace of Cups signifies the essential element of its subject – in this case, love.  Ace of Cups declares the need to establish a connection with our higher selves, past ego and outside influences.  It asks us to open our hearts because in doing so we not only gain a greater capacity to give and receive love, but we also gain an entirely new understanding about the of very nature of love.  When the Ace of Cups appears in a reading it can show us an unreserved out-pouring of emotion. It can ask us to open ourselves to the possibility of forgiveness.  By extending the olive branch we develop a more loving nature.  On the spiritual side, this ace also asks us to open our consciousness, to understand the intricacies of the world around us and to use our link to the Divine.  

Ace of Swords from Lo Scarebo's
"Tarot of the Pagan Cats"©

Swords is the suit of the intellect and communications The Ace of Swords brings forth questions of truth, justice, attitude and mental prowess.  The ace asks us to expand our thinking, to face our problems with new awareness and make a commitment of fairness towards yourselves and others.  It is in essence, the idea of higher thought.  The appearance of the Ace of Swords in a reading can signify that it’s time to consider your mental outlook and view issues truthfully.  This ace wants you to be ready to cut away attitudes that have kept you from moving forward.  It promises resolution of situations once we’ve cleared away the thoughts and emotions that cloud our judgement.

The suit of Pentacles represents the material world.  This ace

Ace of Pentacles from"Shadowscapes"©
by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law

introduces the concepts of prosperity, material gain and common sense.  When you look at the Ace of Pentacles ask yourself, “Why not me?”  Understand the correlation between goals, conscious thought and direct action.  The Ace of Pentacles promises that if you prepare your foundation by using common sense and practical application, you will succeed in turning your dreams into reality.  

Welcome the appearance of tarot’s aces in your readings.  They bring awareness, growth and the chance to start an exciting new journey.

LADY ORACLE

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Venus in Sagittarius, October 7th to November 5th, 2013 - “Room to Bloom”

The Empress in tarot's card for Venus.
I love this depiction from "Steampunk Tarot"©
by Barbara Moore and Ally Fell

It’s nice to find some sparkle and pizzaz amongst all the somber notes of this month’s astrological forecast.  Meet our new best friend, Venus in Sagittarius.  When Venus visits The Archer, she becomes fun-loving, whimsical and seeks out relationships that spur personal growth and enrich her life.  Although it’s not necessarily the best energy for finding love to last a lifetime, Venus in Sagittarius builds hardy friendships that are long-lasting – lots of them. 

Venus loves the spontaneity and sense of freedom she has in Sagittarius.  Although she’s open to adventure and sees nothing wrong with a mild flirtation or five, she makes no false promises.  Sagittarius is known for honesty, after all.   Venus and The Archer produce an expansive energy that makes us want to explore our options and our boundaries.  We’ll flirt a little, or a lot, depending whether or not Venus in Sagittarius is in your birth chart.  However, we’ll do so in a way that expands our experiences and deepens the subtext of our lives.

Temperance is the card for
Sagittarius, The Archer, again from
the marvelous "Steampunk Tarot"©
by Barbara Moore and Ally Fell

Venus in Sagittarius asks, “Why not?”  This is great energy if you’re starting a new project, or revamping an old one.  Venus’ natural sense of style, her vibrancy, loves a new direction.  The next few weeks is a great chance for some out of the box thinking in forming partnerships.  Sagittarius carries lots of philosophical energy and surprisingly, our party girl Venus truly appreciates deep thinkers – even engaging in the practice herself.  Just watch out, as Venus in Sagittarius can become a tad judgmental.  It’s that honesty standard – high minded, but relentless.  

As far as romance goes, Venus in Sagittarius is light-hearted and giddy – the quintessential ‘hopeless romantic.’  Even those of us who are not normally given to romantic gestures may find ourselves purchasing a single rose for a loved one, or surprising our partner with a romantic escapade. That’s the spontaneous influence of Venus in Sagittarius.

Make time during the next three weeks to explore and enjoy the world through the eyes of Venus and The Archer.  The view from behind a pair of rose-colored glasses is both optimistic and heartening.  Enjoy!

LADY ORACLE

Tea, Tarot and the Fellowship of Like Minds

"OSHO Zen Tarot"© by Deva Padma gives us
an excellent depiction of  the
fellowship of like minds

The University of Tarot covers the entire world and all methods of learning.  There's independent study; you, your deck and a notebook, formal lectures, classes taught by tarot scholars and, my personal favorite, the informal seminars held at a friend's home where tea and really good cookies flow like mana from Heaven.

Once you get the meanings of each tarot cards under your belt, you start looking at the symbolism within each card depiction.  You start to look at the numerical themes and their significance as they travel suit to suit.  For example, sevens express aspects of victory according to the qualities of the individual suit.  The Seven of Pentacles shows us victory over toil and routine as our harvest, not only comes in, but becomes self-perpetuating as well.  The Seven of Swords examines the use of stealth and cunning to accomplish a goal when assistance, coupled with a more honest and direct approach would have met with greater rewards.

As different personalities view the same spreads, different

The Queen of Wands who knows, like she knows,
like she knows.  Creative fire energy from
Ciro Marchetti's "Legacy of the Divine Tarot"©

things stand out to each reader.  As key words and impressions fly around the table, each reader is exposed to nuances in the spread that they may not have previously considered.  The group energy expands and an intuitive synergy occurs.  I always come away from these afternoons with fresh insights and less likely to fall into what I term a 'readers rut,' where you, as the reader, jump to a conclusion about what a particular pairing in your card deck means, simply because this is what your deck always gives you when revealing a similar situation for you.  Yes, your cards are tuned to you, but no matter how linked you are with them, you can never assume their intention reading to reading.  Otherwise, you might as well use flash cards.  

Learning to trust your inner voice is essential
to effective tarot reading. The right group will
help you grow.  from "OHSO Zen Tarot"©
byDeva Padma

There's a trust that develops among tarot groups, weather it's based on friendship, or the more transient bond of a class.  You have a wonderful opportunity to watch each other grow and stretch your awareness – your intuitive skills.  I recommend you try this group process.  If one group doesn't click for you, that's okay.  Just keep searching for that magic mix and most of all, have fun and enjoy the process.



LADY ORACLE


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The Care and Feeding of Tarot Cards - Practical Advise For People New to Tarot

“These are my Tarot cards.

There are many others like them,

but these are mine.”

                                Apologizes to “Full Metal Jacket”

It’s thrilling when a new Tarot deck comes your way.  There’s that moment of flirtation when you first spot each other across a crowded card display, (“Hello, good-looking! Do you come here often?”) or when you pull them from their shipping box and your new deck sees you for the first time.  In either case, you pick them up and feel that lurch in your chest that tells you there’s a connection between the two of you.  Maybe your hands start to burn, maybe you get lightheaded, but in some way the energy of a new card deck makes itself known to you.  

Clearing and waking a new card deck is pretty simple.  Place your cards in your writing hand.  You write with your dominate hand and it’s also this hand that receives energy from the universe and senses changes in the energy fields around you.  For example, when you’re testing a crystal’s vibration, you place it in the palm of your dominate hand.  You do the same thing with your deck.  Your other hand sends energy.  Focus for a moment and imagine white light gathering in your sending hand.  Now pull your hand into a fist and rap it sharply on the deck in your opposite hand.  

Turn your deck face up so you can see the images in each card.  This is the best part.  Your cards are in order and they may never be in order again - unless you’re OCD, that is.  Starting with The Fool, pass each card from one hand to the other as you study the images.  As you review the cards, imagine a beam of white light coming from your third eye going directly into each card.  Think, or even speak the word, ‘clear’ as you go through the deck.  Your deck is now clear of residual energy from idle handling in transit to you.  

There are many ways to establish a connection with your new deck.  The methods are as many and as varied as the decks themselves.  Some people like to sleep with their new decks, or carry them on their person for a while until they feel a bond has formed with their deck.  If that works for you great.  I like to show my new decks my reading table, introduce them to the crystal balls and the other decks.  Then I build them a nest.  

I usually have a bag handy, if I don’t, I make one, or wrap the cards up in a cloth.  I like to think of a card bag as a comfy chair for decks - somewhere they can put there feet up and forget a hard day’s work.  Weird, maybe, but I like knowing they can relax and sigh contentedly in their nests as they let go of the day’s events and come back into their own energy.  Don’t we all feel better doing that?  I put sprigs of lavender and a small piece of black tourmaline in each card bag to calm them and clear away negative energy.  I sometimes also include a clear, quartz crystal or a piece of labradorite to assist in raising the vibration level around the cards and make it easier for them and me to reach a higher state of consciousness during a reading.  

After a public event, where I’ve read multiple people, I pass the decks and bags (I always take two to three decks with me) through smoke from either a sweetgrass or sage smudge and run the crystals under cold water.  I place the decks on my reading table with my selenite tower.  Once they are cleared and contented, I tuck the decks away for a day of two.  I never use the same decks for consultations two days in a row.  

When you teach, students often bring decks to you that they can’t connect with, or don’t feel are a proper fit for them.   It’s sad to see orphaned decks, particularly if you, yourself have enjoyed working with the deck in question.  Many people don’t like reading from a used deck and I would never endorse purchasing second-hand cards from an unknown source.  However, if you know the person giving you the cards and, more importantly, know and like their energy, there are good methods for clearing and balancing slightly used cards. Once properly cleared, you can reclaim an orphaned deck and pass them along to someone who is able bond with the cards.  The deck is no longer an orphan and both cards and their new reader go on to live happy and productive lives together.  I use the same method to clear orphaned decks as I do for ones I use at a public reading.  I also take the extra step of misting their bag with Dragon’s Blood oil.   The deck will be less likely to pick up your energy that way and will stay clear until you present it to its new owner.  One important clarification:  Clear means clear of all outside energy not natural to the cards themselves.  Repeat clearing steps until you feel nothing but the energy of the cards themselves.

Cards are sensitive to moods and atmosphere.  Even though we know this as readers, it’s very easy to forget.  If you take the time to regularly work with your decks and keep them clear, you not only deepen their connection to you, but also maintain their flexibility  for working with friends or clients.  Together, you and your deck will accomplish amazing things.

LADY ORACLE