Crazy 8s - Tarot's Movable Feast

In tarot’s Minor Arcana, eights are concerned with aspects of

8 of Wands Lo Scarebo's "Tarot of the Pagan Cats"©
Very much tarot, but oh, so, catlike!

movement within your life.  Movement refers to change that shifts you into a different set of circumstances, either internal or external.  The RWCS deck depicts the Eight of Wands as wands that have arced through the sky and are now coming back to earth.  This card signifies information or news that leads to the successful completion of business matters, affairs of the heart or a particular goal.  Depending on the situation, this message can feel like “Skyrockets in flight,” or “Incoming.”   There is also an element of timing implied with this card. Let the timing of the situation reveal itself to you.  Don’t rush your fences and your outcome will be successful.  

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

Cups deal with emotions and spiritual aspects of life. RWSC shows you eight cups stacked into a prymid form and setting on a beach.  They are not stable.  What else can you expect when you try to build a structure on shifting sand?  In the background we see a figure leaving.  He glances over this shoulder at the cups as he departs, indicating regret.  Here’s the deal.  The situation, or relationship is over.  Stick the proverbial fork in it.  This card also comes with a promise.  You’re leaving behind a situation or relationship that was not a good fit and you are heading onwards and upwards where solid ground will allow you to build a firm foundation.  Bigger and better, baby, bigger and better.

Swords - gloomy doomy and in your face.  Swords show you

8 of Swords - the restricted lady
from RWCS by US Games®

the patterns in your mind with all their subtle shading and complexities. Swords can be upsetting to us in a reading because we are often not comfortable with what we see in the images that they mirror.  Still, mirrors are valuable.  They keep us from leaving the house with spinach in your teeth if nothing else.  In RWCS Eight of Swords we find a damsel in distress - captured, bound and encircled with swords.  Restriction.  What ensnares you?  Why, nothing less than your own fruitful imagination.  Look at the lady again.  She’s blindfolded, but her bonds are loose enough to break.  The swords do not completely encircle her and to top it all off, there’s no one around to prevent her escape.  That’s the truth about most restrictions - you create them in your own mind.

8 of Pentacle from the incomparable
"Wizard's Tarot"© by Corrine Kenner
and John J. Blumen

In Pentacles, the eight shows us an apprentice working hard to become a craftsman in his own right.  Financial growth through industry and mastery of skills.  He’s got a lot of pentacles there and he’s worked tirelessly to produce them.  The deeper lesson here is gained by asking yourself two questions:  Am I working for the end product, or for a deeper sense of satisfaction?  Am I so attached to outcome, that I’m missing the significance of my journey?  How you do something tells you more about why you do it in the first place.

Tarots eights hold promise for you.  They can reassure you, unlock your potential and give you a completely new take on a situation.  The important thing to remember is that all forward movement counts.

LADY ORACLE

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January 26, 2013 - Full Wolf Moon In Leo

A Full Wolf is better than a Not So Full Wolf.  Ask Red Riding Hood if you don’t believe me.  This January’s Full Wolf Moon or, Old Moon, as it’s also known, occurs in 7 degrees, 24 minutes of Leo.  What makes this interesting is that the Sun, which is in direct opposition to this Leo Full Moon, happens to be in Aquarius. This means is that people with signs in either Aquarius or Leo may feel the pull of this Full Moon a little stronger than the rest of us.  That’s not a bad thing in this case.  All of us will get a tremendous boost to our creative sides this moon and enjoy finding new means of self-expression.

While Aquarius remains objective and more regimented this Full Moon, Leos will give vent to their free-spirited side.  Self-expression and proud individualism give Leo a winner’s attitude. Although these traits are also part of Aquarius’ makeup, this time Aquarians are surrendering some of their 'go it alone philosophy' in favor of letting the whole team play.  Oddly, it’s romantic Leo who claims that, not only should we spell team with an ‘I’, but that there's really no need for the rest of the players to leave the dugout. This is the perfect moon for Lions to rise and shine.  

For most of us, conflicts on, or around the 26th will center on personal needs versus the good of the whole.  In tarot readings consider any of the Minor Arcana’s  5s that show up in your readings. %s are conflict cards. Where are they placed?  Are they the root of the matter, or simply a contributing factor?  Major Arcana’s #15, The Devil, might make a rather heavy-handed appearance.  Draw assistance from #14, Temperance, or the 2 of Pentacles for balance. In positive positions, The Queen of Wands and the ever abundant #3, The Empress will bring in their creative energy.  Look for assistance from the Knight of Wands to make things happen.  If you have questions about your tarot readings, email or message me here, or at on FaceBook - Lady Oracle Tarot.

Oh...and don’t go taking your goodies into the forest after dark.

LADY ORACLE

Nine of Cups - Let the Good Times Roll!

9 of Cups from RWSC by US Games©

My single card draw for today yielded none other than the 9 of cups, or as we call it in tarot reading, "the wish card."  In Rider Waite, the 9 is depicted by a rotund gentleman - I think of him as a merchant prince - seated on a bench in front of a table holding 9 goblets.  It's any one's guess what's in the goblets, but the self-satisfied expression on the merchant's face sure says wine to me.  Also, the suit of cups has a spiritual aspect and wine is the breakfast of champions, spiritually speaking.

The 9 denotes fulfillment, satisfaction, obtaining goals and being contented.  Dreams coming true.  That's only the surface message.  As with all tarot cards, there is layer upon layer of subtext from which we can detect the card's particular significance in our own lives.

Looking beyond the keywords for the 9, we ask ourselves, what is it that people always tell us about wishes?  Be careful what you wish for.  If you for working to manifest your dreams, be certain about on what and where you focus.  Scientific principle dictates that for each action there is an opposite and equal reaction.  Does that mean if we act for our own good we will eventually accomplish something that is bad for us?  Not at all.  What it means is there is effort and reward.  And there is a consequence.

Millions of individuals act each day without thought to consequence.  The most dramatic acts make the nightly news.  Nevertheless consequences happen even when we're engaged in consciously working on our own behalf.  We want a new job.  We set our intention, we move forward by acting on that intention and we're hired for a new job with more money and benefits than we expected, however, we have to relocate across the country.  Maybe not such a bad deal, but still a consequence.  Have a clear idea in your mind what consequences are acceptable to you and what are not as you set your goals.

And what's with 9's smugness?  Is he showing off all his cups

9 of Cups from Lo Scarebo's
"Tarot of the Pagan Cats"©

basically to say, "I have all, you have none?"  Joan Bunning, in her book, "Learning the Tarot," likens 9's smugness to the proverbial cat swallowing a canary.  Bunning cautions that sooner or later people notice all the feathers around the mouth and the peculiar lack of canaries in the area too, I'd wager.  Nobody likes a gloater.

There's no harm in being pleased with the results of your hard work.  However, there is harm in gloating that you were smart, quicker, more ambitious, etc., than everybody else and therefore the prize is yours.  Gloating is for the insecure, who don't see themselves attaining a goal simply because they choose to attain it.  A goal isn't a race, or a bet.  It's a commitment to and an extension of your centered self.

The 9 of cups offers us the assurance of our dreams as fact.  How we take that assurance is determined by who we are.  By making conscious decisions, weighing their consequences and finding the risks acceptable, we can make room for ourselves at 9's table.  Go ahead, take a drink.  He's got plenty.


Lady Oracle