I took my Witch's Tarot deck with me out of town this week, so it's still in my bag, and my Robin Wood deck is sitting here on my desk. I picked up the cards, shuffled, and drew the Three of Cups:
Friendship and community, two things I always feel when working on Daily Kos diary rescue...great people! :-)
balance between the physical and spiritual...Yes, this is me today. It's a good day, I'm getting through my to-do list nicely, and it's a good balance of personal and work projects.
Two children are depicted on The Sun card in the Witches Tarot. The one on the left is long-haird and standing in water, the large orb of the sun in the upper left corner. The child on the right is short-haired and standing on land, the orb of the moon covering his? legs in the bottom right corner.
Both children are young enough that they're very androgynous. The left-side child could be a long-haired boy, and the right-side child could be a short-haired girl, or vice versa. They're holding hands, a stone wall behind them.
Ellen interprets the card as the search for knowledge, a decision to seek knowledge. That works with two things I've been working on over the last few days, one spiritual/religious, the other technical.
I'm up for doing some readings with my Witches Tarot deck, if anyone's interested. First three to reply via comment, and I'll read for you.
Most R-W decks show this as a man carrying a bundle of ten wands as if they're a heavy burden, usually on his back. The Witches' Tarot depicts the ten wands as a fence in front of a brick house. The wands are set in line in a low brick wall, then there's a nice green lawn separating the house from the fence. A figure barely visible on the left side of the card is holding a photo of the second floor of the house. The figure appears to be standing on the other side of a stream or creek. The low wall has a small break in it, where a gate might have been at one time, but it's separated from the figure in the card by a very rocky stream bank.
The book interpretation from Ellen of this card says, "Manifestation of thoughtforms. That which the mind has built will come to pass. Discrimination."
Something different hit me with this card. I did a meme earlier about "what university fits you," and that inspired me to make an icon for my school, University of New Orleans. While surfing for a good image to use, I was having a splendid flashback about my college days. UNO is only about three miles from my high school, on the same street. I became very attached to the Gentilly neighborhood, and seeing how much of that neighborhood was destroyed by the storm still breaks my heart.
The figure holding the photo in this card looks to me as if they're trying to go back home. I agree with Wolfe on the general principle that "you can't go home again," but I do believe that some folks are able to do so, if they're willing to make a very serious effort and significant sacrifice. This card illustrates this. The seeker has to cross the water, then navigate a very rocky path. Once there, they have to get past the fence of wands to the very small opening in the wall. It's not a casual day trip to get back.
Today's card is the Six of Swords.
It's an interesting card in the Witches's deck. In most Rider-Waite style decks, the Six of Swords depicts a boatman pushing a boat cotaining six swords across a body of water, usually indicating a journey by water, or the crossing of a gulf meaning. Ellen's deck is totally different. The card is divided in two diagonally. In the top diagonal is a Phoenix Rising; in the bottom diagonal is a "Pelican in its Piety" (think the Louisiana state flag). The two images are separated by six simple swords.
While the usual interpretation of the Six of Swords deals with the "journey" aspect, either specifically by water, or a journey in general, other decks depict the six swords in a circular or "star" configuration and offer an interpretation of "earned success" or "mind focus."
Ellen's interpretation is self-sacrifice leading to re-birth. The pelican feeds her young by plucking at her own breast, self-sacrifice. The phoenix is the ultimate symbol of re-birth.
I've been working on my invoices and blogging at this starbucks this morning, while contemplating things I need to catch up on. I was reminded of those when a fellow Mason stopped in, saw me, and said hello. I've been significantly absent from Masonic activities since I've gone back on the road, and it's going to take a bit of self-sacrifice to get back into the swing of going to Lodge and Consistory. It's all too easy to plead work and family to stay away when, truth be told, it's more that I just get lazy when I'm home.
I "reversed" my Witches Tarot deck this afternoon. I've always kept the cards facing the same way, because that's how I use my Robin Wood deck. Over the last week, however, I started thinking about some of the meanings that Ellen attributes to reversed cards in her deck, so I decided to see if they would work for me.
So, I did my usual ritual for choosing a daily card, by letting my mind go for a moment, free-associating while shuffling. I had just spent some time blogging and reading my f-list, and I cut the deck in half, turned that half upside-down, and continued shuffling. I cut the deck again, flipped again, then began slowing down to see if a card wanted to talk to me.
One did: The Lovers.
I don't think this instance refers to a particular person or pair, so I started looking a broader meaning, and it's not coming to me just yet. In Ellen's deck, there are three figures on this card, the man and woman, but also what she calls a "heavenly" figure looking down at them both. This figure is totally androgynous and ethereal. The man's eyes are on the woman, but the woman is looking at this angelic figure. I'm struck by this triangular relationship.
The Star
This is the same woman as in Temperance, who was balancing her emotions, now releasing them, by pouring them out into the waters of the Earth.
On a personal level, it's no surprise that these two have come up in sequence. A couple of friends of mine who have been struggling for balance have decided to release their feelings, for better or worse.
After several weeks away from home for work, Temperance is a card I personally should take to heart. The urge to "catch up" on things in New Orleans is strong. It's important for me to remember all things are best in moderation, particularly since I only have a week before going back on the road.
These results are interesting:
A STUDY conducted at Bath Spa University suggests that young people are increasingly drawn to witchcraft, it was revealed this week.Conducted by Denise Cush, professor of religious studies at the university, the report showed there had been a notable rise in the number of young people identifying themselves as witches.
Cush argues that witchcraft remained particularly attractive to women because of its strong feminist values.
“Paganism and witchcraft appealed because of their clear feminist credentials and absence of homophobia,” she said.
“A main attraction is the positive valuation of women in comparison with other religions.”
My first thought when I read this (via Wren's Nest News) was a mental flash to a tarot card, Robin Wood's "The Hierophant:"
While many decks present The Hierophant in a very positive light, Robin's depiction is that of a stuffy Anglican bishop. He's just the type of cleric who might turn off young British women from the Church of England and pique their interest in witchcraft.
