November 23, 2012 · 19:54

The Tower XVI

No, I haven’t been slacking on my work; this one strikes a little too close to home. Changes, massive upheavals come in many forms and the Tower forewarns us of the coming apocalypse, wherever it manifests.

The Tower is destruction of something we thought was solid, something that was a keystone of our foundation – material, psychological or spiritual – it is a rending, a breaking down. Not a wee tear that we can sew or glue back together; this is destruction.

Being a part of or watching the devastation pictured in the card is not an easy spot in which to find oneself and it is only through the growth that we experience from our birth as the Fool through to this point in our life journey can we withstand the awesome destructive force of this representation.

The choice is always our own and depends on what we have chosen to learn from our living road; we can allow ourselves to be buried under the bricks and mortars of the foundations we, ourselves have laid or we can learn from what has happened, create a larger, stronger structure from which to base ourselves.

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November 17, 2012 · 20:33

Art XIV

Art is something born deep inside of ourselves. It is something we conceive, on our own. No one else can direct our Art.

Death takes everything away and leaves us with a potentially blank canvas on which we can create a masterpiece. Anything we wish to manifest is available to us; imagine every colour imaginable, at our fingertips, in whatever medium we choose – all of them, if the mood strikes.

Art is a unique quality of mankind.

Art tells us that every day can be a blank canvas where we can express who we are, what we want, what constitutes our desires. Yesterday dies at day’s end; yesterday is death, today is Art. Creative flow of energy.

Looking at Art’s placement can tell us if the individual is ready to take on the challenge of creating their own life – to become their own Star.

If Art is ill-defined by the cards around it; we can reckon that the individual is not ready. Creative energy is being repressed or worse, that energy is being channelled into destruction instead of construction. Again, depending on placement, this could be a dire warning of someone or something that is intent on taking something away – happiness, joy, love? Read the spread carefully and the answer will be there.

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November 17, 2012 · 13:53

Death XIII

First, I’ll tell you an insider secret – the Death card is never good. A reader – to whom you’ve paid cash – may put a bright spin on it because, after all, who wants to pay money for bad news; this is a kind of “Don’t shooting the messenger” thing.

Death is death; the end, game over – bucket kicked. The only real question is how an individual interprets the end. Death could be the bottoming up of a relationship. Could be the death of a style of life. Death can also mean, absolutely that – death. Readers shy away from this card more than any other. It’s a scary deal, even for the reader. Death is, probably, the most taboo of subjects for a good lot of humanity but that’s a topic for another conversation, at another time.

Death can represent the end of a situation but beyond death, there is rebirth but the rebirth in this context is under the complete control of the individual. When the card indicates an actual death, end of a life – we can drown in the inherent grief or we can undergo a rebirth of our own. Some find a renewal of their beliefs, some find a new system of beliefs but the key here is the moving on past death and creating something new, finding something in the death that we can turn around into something vital and alive.

Nothing that is thrown in front of us is without reason; every situation can be used as a tool toward a better life, a healthier psyche, a stronger individual. Particularly death.


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November 17, 2012 · 12:16

The Hanged Man XII

Hanged Man. Interesting guy. He’s telling us that we are stuck in a situation of our own making. We need to do a little of the overcoming work – could be our ego or attitude, could be an unhappy relationship, could be a dead end job.

The Hanged Man is the individual who whines and moans because life is so unfair, yet makes the same errors in judgment, over and over again. Swinging in the wind and seemingly, oblivious of the obvious. Get out of the wind. No one is going to come along and build you shelter from the storm; that’s on you.

He is our true friend, the Hanged Man. He is the honest kick in the butt. He gains nothing if you pay attention to him or not. It is, however, in your best interest to heed his message.

Time to change, time to shake off the chains that we – ourselves – have forged or allowed to be forged by our own unwillingness to take a stand for what is to our benefit.

His lighter image shows us that a new world view is within our reach, we have only to loosen the ties that bind, on whatever level and head to that new vision.

This song is perfect for the Hanged Man.

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November 14, 2012 · 15:19

Fortune X

Fortune is often, incorrectly, interpreted as a change in fortune, hopefully for the better. This is a major Arcana card and is not concerned with such mundane issues as money and material fortune.

Consider the construction and obvious method of movement the wheel represents. The wheel is in perpetual motion, forward and reverse. If the wheel is not in form, then the progression is greatly impacted if not halted completely.
We are only as complete as our acceptance of new experiences. With each turn of the wheel; we are offered a choice and it is up to us whether or not we choose to roll with the punches, gain momentum and move forward.
The wheel rolls with or without us; we can delude ourselves into thinking events depend on us but the wheel will prove us the poor fool – the fool lacking in spiritual wealth. No one is as poor as the individual who lacks awareness and has no concept of potential.
In its most positive, Fortune represents someone who has deep self-knowledge and is always ready for whatever the next turn of the wheel presents, be it good or “notta-so-good”. This individual understands that every situation presents a chance to learn. If the card is placed in such a way as to not indicate a person but rather a potential event, something is in the wind for us. Check the surrounding cards for clues as to origin or potential.
In its shadow element, Fortune is willful stasis, fatalism and an unwillingness to search out self-awareness, knowledge. In other words, a thumbing of one’s nose at the fates/universe. Never a wise move but we all have free will, how and when we use it, depends on our acceptance of Fortune as the wheel.

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November 13, 2012 · 04:59

The Hermit IX

I love this card. This one, we can take at face value; The Hermit. He is telling us that it is time to take a break, to go into seclusion for a while.

Life is so complicated, so rushed that often, when in pursuit of our goals, we lose touch with ourselves on that all important inner level. The Hermit reminds us, in no uncertain terms, that we need to stop and re-access. While we may be acquiring things outwardly, we are not acquiring what we need inwardly. We aren’t wrong to have that outward goal but it can’t be at the expense of our inner light.

True success and personal growth can’t happen unless our progress is inner as well as outer. The deep person. The inner voice that speaks to us and reminds us that we are not the answer to the world’s/our employer/our S.O’s problems.

The Hermit manifests when, while we may seem to be busy little bees, “getting ‘er done“, we have a sense of superficiality to our lives. Something isn’t right, there’s an overwhelming sense of “Is this it? I have that new wide screen 3D state-of-the-art television but something is missing here…”

When we take the shadow side of the Hermit, he manifests this darker side as the desire to fill our lives with more THINGS, with more people, but the feeling persists. Something is missing.

And something is, we are multi-dimensional – we are a structure if you prefer. If we do not maintain the foundation, keep it in good repair, the other levels are weakened.

The Hermit wants us to take it all down a notch and re-evaluate our lives. He isn’t going to give you more material wealth, he isn’t going to clear the career path – he will help you to find something far more valuable. Yourself. He is there to remind us all, we were nothing and to nothing we will return. It isn’t depressing – it is a solid statement of fact, all the things in the world can’t change the inevitable. A huge bank balance can’t buy the inner happiness and peace that we all seek.

You can see the shadow side of the Hermit in many of the famous and infamous people who flood our newspapers, our televisions, sound systems and magazines; the ones who are always out there buying more and more, drinking more and more, carousing on grand levels until their castles built on clouds in the sky, start to fall to earth as do they.

They are searching; something isn’t right in their world. They have a gnawing need for more but haven’t clue #1 as to where these missing pieces of actual satisfaction can be found. In their fever to find this level of happiness that they thought would, magically, appear with fame and fortune, their own inner voices are becoming more and more faint, replaced by that overwhelming need to fill a void, to attain something…although they are not so sure about what the “something” might be. The desire for more, more, more becomes an overwhelming addiction. They are chasing the dragon.

They should serve as a lesson for all of us. These people who seem so much larger than life. They are simply balloons, blown up out of proportion, with no solid foundation or substance and when they leave, they will simply shrivel and disappear.

The Hermit can apply to relationships as well but not as often. If he appears in regard to a relationship issue, he indicates to us that either we need to find ourselves before committing to someone else or that the relationship, as it stands, requires more work on the foundation. Roses and dinners are fine but they don’t sustain us when we are alone, together. We must be able to connect on a far deeper level than just physical attraction and we can’t do that unless both parties are stable on all levels, conscious, sub-conscious and spiritual or the unseen, if you prefer.

If the Hermit graces your reading, take the step back, seclude yourself and re-assess what you are doing, in all facets of your life. Are you truly happy or are you just amassing the things that the material world tells you, will make you happy? Direct your goals to the less tangible. Find, nurture and maintain the inner self – the rest will, eventually, fall into place without taking over and forcing you to be the hamster on a wheel of perpetual motion.


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November 12, 2012 · 10:19

The Devil XV

*Synchronicity at its finest…I always have music playing when I write; a random playlist.  I am sitting here, putting my words together to start the piece and what starts to play?  The Number of the Beast – Iron Maiden; blew coffee on my monitor…too funny!”

The Devil.  The scapegoat of the religious and fearful.  The fall guy for the coward.  But, this isn’t his domain in Tarot and this card, perhaps above all others, requires that the reader approach without preconceived notions of the Devil.  Religion changes as the world moves forward.  The concept of the Devil must change as well. 

This card is the ultimate expression of irony.  We create our own realities, in this realm and thenm, we end up wailing, moaning and fighting against what WE created. 

The representation here shows the Devil as a goat, grinning out at us and he, absolutely, deserves that grin; our own concepts, our own magnum opus, is taking control.  The Art is on a rampage.  Instead of the masterpiece existing as our creation, it is now a dominating force.  

Consider Frankenstein and his monster – the initial dream, the theory was good but it quickly spiraled out of control devouring all sense of equilibrium, of our internal sense of balance.   

This is a loss of perspective.  We’ve created something and we’re now obsessed with making it bigger, larger and to hell with anyone standing in our way. (Pun not intended, just kind of happened).  In other words, we’ve lost sight of ourselves. 

It was all good and then suddenly, it has all gone all bad – out of control and there is no one to blame but us.  No scapegoat, no fall guy.  This is our own personification of the concept of the Devil but as he does not truly exist?  We must understand that we are to blame, we are our own Devil.  Creating our own monster.

The Devil dominates this realm and can allow us to completely enjoy the material and human desire but the risk of losing sight of perspective walks with the Devil, holding hands. The two are inseparable.  We embrace the creative energy of Art but must always guard against the creative force taking control and turning a situation at best or us, at its worst, a destructive force.

The Devil, in the Tarot, can be a really funny guy – he represents our own human desires but in balance and giggles away as we allow them to take control, thereby becoming our own “devil” per se.

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November 10, 2012 · 11:22

Adjustment VIII

You go when the cards call you, hence, the “two-fer”.

The Chariot tells us we are on the right track and moving forward. Adjustment tempers that gung-ho environment by reminding us that we have to tune things up, regularly; tighten the bolts, examine the chassis for fault lines, make sure the our steeds are healthy and strong and do a thorough check of the wheels.

Human beings are often off-balance and we should all take a few moments, every day to ensure that we are as tuned up to move ahead as we can be. Freud illustrated the mind’s balance using the precept of the Id, the Ego and the Super-Ego. The Id is all about want – the Ego is all about making the Id happy but does his best to show the Id the pro’s and the cons of this “I WANT!” thing through reality checks. The Super-Ego is the conscience. The Super-Ego expects the Ego to do its job with the Id and prevent narcissistic choices based on the Id’s attempts at immediate gratification. Sometimes the Id gets out of whack and dumb choices are made simply because we WANT.

For example:

  1. Buying the pair of shoes we cannot afford and in an amount that would pay a week’s groceries,
  2. The fling with the co-worker even though we have a S.O. in our lives.
  3. The “one for the road” while we are fully aware that this will put us over legal limits.

These are common examples of the Id pushing its way past the Ego and duct taping the Super-Ego’s mouth shut however, luckily for us, in these instances, when all parts are functioning as a workable personality unit – the Ego would come along and gently pull the Id aside for a word:

  1. Come on now, these are way too expensive and we need to fill the larder. The cupboard is bare. The shoes may go on sale and if we put a little aside, we can buy them later.
  2. Not a good plan, old chum. This can lead to all sorts of problems. This is betrayal. The S.O. would be devastated. What if the fling is the Fatal Attraction type? Getting one off is not worth blowing up our home life. Stop, think and maybe we should walk away from this one.
  3. Another one would taste good, for sure, but if we get into that car, we can get into big trouble. We could well lose our driving privilege. We’ll have to take that shoe money and pay for that “one more” to the nth degree. This is breaking the law and really? We could always have that “one more” in the safety of our home.

The Super-Ego is the conscience that sits in judgment of the two buddies – Id and Ego. He is the one that can annoy us the most – he’s “I TOLD YOU SO!!” The voice we really don’t want to hear.

So Adjustment tells us to make sure our three personality parts are getting along. The Id perfectly welcome to his/her I WANT…after all, if we don’t want, then we don’t strive forward. The Ego allows us to determine if that “want” is viable and keeps the Id as choice as opposed to action. The Super-Ego holding watch and not getting too holier than thou, allowing for choices based on sound decision making principles before pronouncing judgment.

All forward motion requires us to ensure that we are on the right path and we haven’t deviated at all, through selfishness, greed or any other less than stellar impulse. This is the card of being reasonable and balanced in all aspects of life, from our work-a-day to personal relationships, even our health. This is tune-up card, a reminder card that we aren’t all that and a bag of chips – that we need regular rest stops in order to check our personal maps and make damn sure we’re still heading forward, on the right road.

In the shadows of Adjustment is the Super-Ego taking over and creating, in us, self-righteousness. Or the Id, causing us to make stupid choices based on unbridled want, un-tempered desire. It’s the decision taken purely because it is to our advantage with the knowledge that it places others at a disadvantage, purposely. It is narcissism at its finest. ME AND MY WANTS are more important that the right choice.

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November 10, 2012 · 09:39

Chariot VII

I like this card. This is the path found. Moving forward, with strength and determination, confident that the universe is unfolding as it should and the individual has his/her place in the cosmic play.

The “found” self with a plan, set in motion. This isn’t an esoteric designation per se – it is a material card. Found self has balanced out and found the road to be travelled and is doing so with courage and fortitude. This card tell us the we can overcome all obstacles, the inner shadows the prevent us from growing, the dark sides of our psyche that keeps us tethered in place, can be harnessed and used to fuel the, absolutely, necessary forward motion of self. Those big wheels will keep us rolling as long as we have our road planned out before us. This is a card of success – homework done, preparations completed and off we go!!!

Trouble is indicated if the card is ill-defined in its placement because Chariot can also show us a situation that is steamrolling ahead with no plan and as a result, the journey will end badly. The wheels will fall off this particular trolley. The trip was not properly planned out, the Chariot runs roughshod over anything in its path until that path either throws up an immovable object or the path simply disappears into oblivion – the Chariot and rider falling into the abyss.

Most of us have had the Chariot, in its ill-defined placement, carry us off. This isn’t a kidnapping. We allow ourselves to be carried off. This is the situation where people beat their breasts and cry out that “Things just escalated!!” The consequences are not their fault! Oh yes; yes – I’m afraid they are. This is impulse, unimpeded by common sense or logic. Going off half-cocked, to battle, with an empty holster and bare ass hanging out; impulse. There is a difference between being spontaneous and being an impulsive knothead. The Chariot warns us of the difference. Spontaneity can be the excellent paintjob on the Chariot, the streamers or cool reins to the horse but impulsiveness in the Chariot without a proper circle check – the bolts not tightened or the reins uneven. A stone in the hoof of our horses that will bring the journey to an abrupt halt, all because we didn’t move forward with thought and logic. Crash and burn.

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November 9, 2012 · 21:16

The Lovers VI

This one is tricky. When someone sees this in their reading, right away the breath hitches and the eyes get starry – a tall dark stranger is on the way! Hold on up there, Hoss. The Lovers, like all the cards in a deck and particularly the Thoth deck, is complex and multi-dimensional representation.

The interpretation is totally reliant on the position of the card in the spread; the cards that “surround” the Lovers must be taken into consideration.

Looking at the card, there is the joining of the forces – the light and the dark. In the corners of this card stands Lillith and Eve; the light and dark side of the feminine and the message that love is balanced as are all things above, on and below our awareness. Love has to be tempered with this balance, otherwise we may end up with obsession or if too much of the light – we can see our partner through rose coloured glasses, a projection of what we want the individual to be as opposed to reality. Or worse, turn ourselves into martyrs for love or the need for love. Love, itself, is not a fantasy or dream state; it is a viable emotion but one that must be tempered with logic and rationale.

This balance, when the card appears in such a way as to not pertain to a relationship, indicates the need for clear headed decision with all factors weighed. An emotional response to a life situation is not a bad thing, as long as it has been examined rationally. Yes, this is entirely possible and is the best way to make this sort of decision. Cold logic is not conducive to a successful personal or interpersonal life. One must always temper emotion with logic and logic with emotion. The balance, the twins coming together.

In the area of relationships or the search for a soul mate, the Lovers remind us that in order to be two, we must be one first. In other words, we have to understand ourselves, our inner being otherwise we risk projecting what we want on to someone else and end up disappointed when they don’t live up to or rather mirror the image we have created. The Lovers are one, that come together to be two with deep understanding of each other but each as an individual as well.

The lighter side of the Lovers will indicate free will and decision based on the joining of the heart and the head – not one to the exclusion of the other.

The darker side of the Lovers is particularly nasty – obsession and projection of self/desire onto someone else – this would be common in a stalking situation. Someone who has unreal expectations of another, setting them on a pedestal and then reacting badly when it becomes obvious that the individual is simply human. This is an ill-conceived decision card, warning the individual that more balance needs to be injected.

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