The April Fool

The Fool in all his haphazard brilliance
from "OSHO Zen Tarot"© by
Deva Padma

There's a line in Tracy Chapman's song, "Fast Cars" that says, "Starting from zero got nothing to lose."  That pretty well sums it up for our hero of the tarot, The Fool.  The sun is at his back, the sky is clear, he has everything he possesses in a bundle and good Lord, he's about to walk straight off a cliff!

Before we get too concerned about his dire predicament, let's remember that Fool is divinely protected.  Most of you will agree with me on this - at least you will if you drive freeways.  Our friend Fool represents new beginnings, innocence, openness and limitless potential.  Fool simply puts one foot in front of the other on his journey.  He hasn't figured out that he might come to harm or might not succeed.  Those concepts, or rather lessons are much farther down the road.  Right now it's enough to be out in the glorious sunshine where anything could happen.

I like thinking the innocence of The Fool protects all of us when we begin a new endeavor.  Otherwise Hannibal was just some insane freakazoid shoving elephants over the Alps for fun rather than a brilliant military tactician.  Though personally, in his case, I favor the freakazoid theory.  Still, when we undertake a daring or difficult act, isn't it nice not knowing that failure should be a certainty?  How many acts of genius were originally thought to be the workings of madmen or madwomen?

Six years ago, on April 1st, my husband and I committed a

Ciro Marchetti gives us a more cosmic
Fool whose experiences are no longer confined
to the cliff. There's a universe of possibility here.
From "Legacy of the Divine Tarot"©

 reckless and foolish act, or so many believed.   We bought a 40 foot sailboat sight unseen on Ebay for $2000.00.  We had the option of inspecting it before handing over the money and although we had coached ourselves on keeping emotion and excitement to acceptable levels during the inspection, we fell hopelessly and hideously in love with The Enchantress.  That's right, we walked right off that cliff.  We are still hopelessly in love with her.  Rebuilding her became a magnificent obsession - though not always a wise one.   Had we been able to fully understand the nature and depth of the commitment we were making that April Fool's Day we would never have clicked the Bid button.  And I firmly believe we would have been all the poorer for lack of the experience. (Read more about our boat project in blog: "Case for Divine Justice)

We're about a year from completion.  Yes, there were a lot of missed vacations and parties, new high-tech widgets that we couldn't afford, but she's ours - every plank we sanded, nail we hammered.  So, I thank the lesson of The Fool.  He isn't bound by popular convention or actuarial tables.  He goes with his gut and more often than not still comes up smelling the rose.

Lady Oracle




ladyoracle56@yahoo.com


Your comments are always appreciated 

The Bridge To Somewhere

I may have told you before that my favorite spread is an augmented Celtic Cross.  Instead of drawing the traditional tens cards, I draw eleven.  For those of you who think I'm referring to getting around the Point Guard for the Boston Celtics, let we briefly explain.  The Celtic Cross tarot spread is a great snapshot of your life as it is, as it was and as it will be.  Celtic Cross is the spread of choice for a lot of tarot readers and the brass ring for most of my beginning students.  It looks like this:


                                    4                                                   10

                           5       1 -  (2 lays across 1)     6               9

                                    3                                                    8
                                                                                       
                                                                                          7

I place an eleventh card to the left of the 10 spot.   I'm not sure why, except an extremely gifted psychic taught me to read cards that way and it's stayed with me.  Most client's like the the double outcome.  I like to think of it as a universal do-over, or one to grow on.

1 and 2 represent you in the present moment, 1 being the card that signifies you and 2 being what crosses you.  What crosses you can be a challenge, a trait, a personality quirk or gift.  Like most readers, I don't like labeling things in tarot as either good or bad.  Face it, that's what mothers and best friends are for.

I call the number 2 position (the one that crosses you in the present moment)  "The Bridge."  You see, 5 is your past and 6 is your future in my version.  And it's in 5 and 6 that you face where you've come from and where you're going, respectively.  What crosses you is a clear indicator of the baggage you drag from the past and insist on carrying valiantly with you into the future.  In a lot of cases you carry good stuff - adversity that helped you grow, a loving and supportive environment or maybe a keen intellect.  Then, of course, there are the challenge cards, the cards that recur in our journey towards self.  These cards can show us our less than desirable traits.

The 4 of Pentacles is my personal nemesis -  possessiveness or refusing to relinquish control, blocked change.  Who? Me? Yup, there he is holding his coins, guarding himself and refusing to let the light shine through.  That's tarot my friends, in your face and on your table.  Uncompromising yet nevertheless endearing.

The Bridge shows us the best and the worst we carry from past to present to future.  Ultimately we choose what we take with us on our soul's journey and our view from the bridge provides us with an opportunity to decide whether or not our burden is worth the price of the fare.


Lady Oracle
             

Mercury Retrograde, Tarot And You – March 2012

I make it a point to check the retrograde calendar without fail...well, usually.  This present one (March 12th through April 4th)  snuck up on me -  complete with missed appointments, various and sundry mechanical failures and an overall feeling of being stuck wearing somebody else's dirty gym socks.  At least I passed through the eye of the storm in not so blissful ignorance.  And when I finally realized the cause of all snags and snarls in what few organized systems I possess, I said, "Well, of course, retrograde!" We have just a few more days...a few more days.  Repeat it with me, a few more days.


If you're not familiar with Mercury retrogrades, I'll take a minute to explain.  Each year as Earth orbits the Sun, it overtakes Mercury three to four times.  When we pass Mercury, it creates the optical illusion that Mercury is actually reversing it's orbit.  This optical illusion is a metaphor for the mishaps and misstatements that punctuate our lives during this period.  It's also proof that the Cosmos has a twisted sense of humor.

Are you drawing more swords than usual in your tarot readings?  Hmmm.  Could be old Mercury messing with your mind.  Do your cups runneth over?  You know the culprit.  So how go I stop saying the wrong thing at the worst time, or stop spending hours wallowing in emotional quagmires?  Worse yet, how do I get my cable remote to work again, you ask.

The key to a successful Mercury Retrograde is preparation.

1) Know your yearly retrograde dates, relax and breath into them.  Meditate.
2) Keep you expectations low during this time, both personally and professionally.  If possible, try not to     enter into new contracts or negotiations.  Don't decide to have air-clearing discussions with friends and family.  Communications of all kinds are highly influenced by Mercury's illusion.
3) Remember your  "R" words.  Renew, revisit, rest, re-plan, re-figure, renovate.  Things that are already in progress can benefit from a Mercury Retrograde revision.  Those are safe to do.
4) Keep your favorite tarot deck handy and plenty on sage and sweetgrass incense about for cleansing as needed.  Swords may caution you about over-thinking or living in your head.  Cups will point out over-indulgence of angst and remind you that there is, indeed, a morning after.

Follow these steps and while life won't necessarily be a breeze, it will be much easier.

Retrograde Dates for 2012


March 12th  to April 4th

July 14th to August 7th

November 6th to November 26th


Lady Oracle

The Knight of Swords

I generally wince when the Knight of Swords comes calling.  Then I try to accept his patronage with gratitude, though I don’t like being reminded of my faults anymore than anyone else does.  This particular knight often warns us of the folly of being carried away by our own wit and sense of refreshing honesty.

The temperament of tarot knights is said to be that of teenagers - enthusiastic, sometimes adventurous, according to the character of their suit, and sometimes - on the less pleasant side - brash, cocky and reckless.  Yesterday the Knight of Swords came calling.  And by mid morning, I was glad I'd received his message.

Positive keywords for the Knight of Swords include:  Incisive, knowledgeable and logical.  On the dark side we have: Blunt, cutting and opinionated.  When a co-worker rounded on me for a misstep, I was a heartbeat away from verbally skewering her with the knight’s blade.  Instead, I thought better of it.  What would I really accomplish by a cutting remark?  I would hardly win her undying admiration for my keen wit.  And frankly, in the morning, my wit is likely to be more along the lines of,"Oh ya?!"  Hardly noteworthy in the annals of retorts.  I pulled back hard on the reins of the knight’s horse, understanding that my co-worker’s reaction was less about me and more about her personal issues of that particular moment. I let the moment pass and twenty minutes later, all was forgiven and forgotten.

The beauty of this age’s electronic communication is our ability to reach someone quickly and effectively.  Click a send button and your opinion flashes across time and space.  Clearly, something I like.  We can’t always choose the sort of messages we receive by text or email anymore than we can chose what people say to us face to face.  However, we can always choose whether we react or respond to them.  When you react, you click reply, or open your mouth and let your judgments and emotions fly where they will.  You may momentarily feel better, but in the long run, fifteen seconds of pure reaction can leave lots of carnage behind.  

To respond to someone is to listen, to determine what their actual need is and whether there is anything you can do to assist them.  Easier said than done in the heat of battle, but absolutely essential to honest communication.  And after all, isn’t the suit of swords about communication? 

Yours In Light,

Lady Oracle

The Full Moon Effect

Today is the eve of the full moon and I have my abundance and prosperity candles ready to go.  I’m burning my incense and sowing the seeds of manifestation like crazy.  I’m a great believer in manifesting ones reality.  How, you ask.  I start with two simple words.  “I can.”

My Aunt Margaret used to say, “Acting always leads to something.”  She was right.  Actions produce results.  It’s that simple. Positive actions yield positive results and negative actions - well, you know where I’m going with this.  And lest you miss the point here, pure thought is nothing but mental action.  So ask yourself: “Where are my thoughts focused today?”  Are you thinking about the big pile of bills in your drawer?  Are you wondering why everybody get something new and you don’t?  If you are, you’re living with the results of your thoughts. Hey, I don’t make this stuff up.  This is just a universal rule, so deal with it.

Never focus on what you don’t want - especially at this phase of the moon.  Instead, turn your thoughts toward what you do want.  “I want to get a new job.”  Now couple that  statement with an action. Type up a resume or fill out the applications.  There, now you’ve told the Universe exactly what you want and you’ve backed up your statement with an action.  Treat yourself to a second action and actually turn the applications in.

Negative images pour into our lives every day and they erode our belief in possibility and worst yet, our belief in ourselves.  Ultimately, you are the only one you can depend on.  You came into this world alone and you’ll leave it alone, so counting on yourself is a pretty safe bet.

In her ground-breaking book, “Living With Soul,”*  teacher and energy healer, Linda Jane Becker, says, “Reality is defined by our individual focus.”  She’s right.  Change your focus, change your life.  Give it a try today and tomorrow.  If you have any questions, post a comment, or email me ladyoracle56@yahoo.com.  We can talk about it.  You can also visit my webpage at  www.ladyoracle.net Hey, I’ll even pull a card for you!

Yours in Light,

Lady Oracle

*check out Linda Jane Becker at www.livingwithsoulfoundation.com   

Monday - August 1st - The Ten of Pentacles

This morning I shuffled my tarot deck for my daily message.  I often go for the single draw when I don't have time for the full spread and face it, very few of us are running ahead of schedule on a Monday morning.  Today's message came in the form of the Ten of Pentacles.  Affluence and material success.  Cool.  Maybe someone should tell the government.  Still, if I'm seeking a message for the beginning of the work week, affluence is a great one to get.  

We hear a lot about the winners attitude and that if we wish to be a success in life, we need to emulate the habits of successful people.  True enough.  It's important to stay positive and continue to focus on what you would like to see more of occurring in your life.  I once worked with a salesman who refused to believe in the term, luck.  He said that LUCK simply stood for Laboring Under Correct Knowledge.  I don't completely agree with him.  His view of luck discounts the odds of chance in the Universe and that's something I would never do.  Luck also happens when you live in the moment and focus there so intently that you, not only see the opportunities as they present themselves, but also have the presence of mind to act upon them. And acting on an opportunity makes all the difference.

So today I am endeavoring to stay focused in the present and look for the opportunities.  Probably nothing too huge like founding my own country will materialize, but after all the biggest events can grow from the smallest seeds.  My message today: Stay focused on the possibilities and believe in the magic of random chance.