Tag: tarot reading

17- The Star

This article is part of a series of posts that will compare each card in the Tarot across different decks in order to study and explore each archetype and concept more deeply. This is not necessarily meant to be a teaching tool for others, but if you like to study the Tarot as much as I do, I hope you find it interesting. Enjoy!

For more on the decks referenced here please see this page in my blog: Tools of the Locksmith https://wordpress.com/page/theramblinglocksmith.com/163

A major reference for this study was “Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom” by Rachel Pollack.

The Star

As we move along the road of the major arcana we now come to the Star after the Tower. The Star is the calm after the storm. It represents hope and maybe a little emptiness as you take the next steps after a big upheaval or loss from the Tower. Its a little bit like Temperance coming after Death, where you have undergone a major change and are now dealing with what you have left, only The Star is on another level.

In the Star a major structure in your life has fallen away, and you are no longer experimenting with what your medicine and you path are as with the Temperance card. In the Star you have clarity and connection with the path and important truths discovered by the Tower falling. At this point you are taking a brief pause to sit with this peace and this clarity before continuing.

Standard images from Rider-Waite in the card include:

  • Naked and relaxed figure representing freedom and relief
  • Two vessels of water being poured
    • One is being poured back into a body of water representing the faith that any contribution of your energy will always be supplied with new energy
    • one is being poured on the land representing the energy freed from the Tower flowing outwards as well as inwards
  • A pool of water even if small with the figure stepping into it – representing easy access to the subconscious. The figure still has one foot on the land representing the connection between the two
  • An ibis – symbol of the Egyptian God Thoth – an inventor of all arts.
  • Eight-pointed stars – reference back to the number 8 in the strength card now raised to a higher level. Also there is one main star, but its surrounded by 7 others.

The Way Home Tarot shows only the path and the 8 pointed star. In this way you can envision yourself in this scene instead of trying to relate to a figure already present in the picture. It also doesn’t show you the source or resolution of the path, just the path itself in the clarity that comes with the dawn after a long dark night of the soul.

What does clarity look like for you? Have you found it or are you still searching for peace? Are there more towers that still need to fall and choices that need to be made before you can see yourself in this card? What are they? Would it help if you try to only see the path itself?

The Artist Decoded Tarot visually highlights the Star itself and its proximity to the figure. It feels like the figure is connected or being pulled by the Star in a strong way. It gives the impression of an unmistakable sense of purpose that can no longer be detached from the self. Its so materialized and clear its almost heavy.

Have you ever felt this way about your own purpose? Do you feel this way now? If so sit with this feeling of being grounded and having extreme clarity at the same time. Let your muscle memory absorb it. You may need to remember it further down the line.

In the Sufi Tarot the start is prominent and patterned, and the figure contributes her own emotional and spiritual energy to the path leading to it. The two themes that seem to emerge here are weather the patterns in the star are newly formed and how much the person drawing the Star card is contributing to their own path.

Have you made a major change to your process or beliefs, so much so that you are able to see a new pattern emerge for yourself? Did you contribute to that change and are you still doing so? Is it a pattern you have fully embraced, or are you still getting used to this change? If so take the time to settle into it so it can stick, but embrace it. You did the work and you continue to do the work. Its your path, you built it with your own blood, sweat and tears.

The Brady Tarot embraces the Ibis as the central figure of the Star. And why not? All the other aspects of the card are almost identical to the Ride Waite Smith card except that the landscape is brought out in the block print artistry of Emi Brady representing the Everglades, where the separation between land and water is unclear.

If the Ibis is the inventor of all arts this card focuses on a renewed sense of creativity that is connected to your life’s purpose, maybe even a move toward a more creative path in your life. Would you like to be in more creative control of your life, or be allowed to use your creative side in a much stronger way? What are some ways you can see clearly and what are the steps you can take to get there? You are the writer of your own path, pick up the pen and draw where you want to be next.

The figure in the Star of the Santa Muerta Tarot has been here before. This person has been through so many iterations of this path that they are fully submerged in it and its work. They keep being reborn into it in fact. In this version of the life they keep repeating they are finally fully immersed in their environment and full of hope. They are not treading water, they are so deep and grounded they stand on the foundation of the emotional waters themself, and they can now move the water in subtle and important ways.

What iteration of your path and purpose are you on? Are you able to be fully submerged, and make your own waves, or are you still tiptoeing in the shallows and wondering if this is your true purpose? Stop wondering! Dive in! Be who you were born to be.

The Voyager Tarot Uses the figure of Kuan Yin as the prominent image in the Star. She is the water bearer of the universe and a Buddhist boddhisatva of compassion who pours out life giving waters and nourishes the universe. This card represents the law of luminosity in this particular deck where you recognize that you are the light that can lead others forward toward their own hope and their own path. You are the guiding light.

How do you relate to Kuan Yin? Are you looking for a version of her in your own life to help you find your way forward? Or have you realized that you posses your own light, and that you more than anyone else can show you the way? Or are you on a path that allows you to light the way for others? Reflect on how you relate here and above all recognize your own inner light in the process.

In the Osho Zen Tarot the moon is the star and the third eye of the figure floating through the universe. Its not on land, its not in the sea, it just is. The inner peace of the figure is fully met with the that of the Universe. The only resonance that is sought here is peace.

Are you in a peaceful place? If not what would it take to get there? Your minds eye needs silence in order to light the way for your intuition and show you your path. Surround yourself with environments and other people that have found a way to resonate with silence, and you will find your Star.

16- The Tower

This article is part of a series of posts that will compare each card in the Tarot across different decks in order to study and explore each archetype and concept more deeply. This is not necessarily meant to be a teaching tool for others, but if you like to study the Tarot as much as I do, I hope you find it interesting. Enjoy!

For more on the decks referenced here please see this page in my blog: Tools of the Locksmith https://wordpress.com/page/theramblinglocksmith.com/163

A major reference for this study was “Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom” by Rachel Pollack.

The Tower

The tower card features a bolt of lightning that will cause an existing belief structure in our life to explode and come crumbling down. This happens not because we are being punished, but because it has to and because we are ready for it. This tower is not serving a purpose anymore, if it ever did, and its time for it to fall to make way for truth, clarity, and a more solid foundation. The card prior to the Tower is the Devil in which we are trapped by the illusions of the material world, and in the Tower these illusions are blown away and removed in dramatic fashion, like the lightning that struck the Buddha under the Bo tree and brought forth enlightenment.

The Tower in many ways is a more difficult card than any other. The Death card and Devil cards are triggering because of the images put forth by society in connection with them, but the tower card has the largest amount of sudden change associated with it. Though the change is inevitable and unstoppable, it might come with some personal wounds and the need to grieve. Its hard to come away from a big explosion of truth unscathed.

Lets explore all of the different types of towers and the ways that they fall.

Standard images from Rider-Waite in the card include:

  • Lightning as an arrow representing a stroke of divine insight or revelation with a the tower as a prime target
  • The tower as a structure that gives us a false sense of security
  • Fire seen throughout the tower as a destructive but cleansing force
  • Two figures of the conscious and unconscious free- falling as the veil between them is destroyed
  • An unstable foundation at the base of the tower showing it was never going to last
  • Smoke surrounding the tower obscuring what lies ahead

The Lua Tarot shows the tower as a volcano exploding and showering all the surrounding land and water with ash and rock. In the words of the Lua Tarot author – the volcano “awakens in the night”. Its the break through that needed to happen to allow a new idea or landscape to surface and grow.

New ideas can’t be built on something that is old, crumbling or shaky. What shaky structure are you trying to build on? What will allow you to see that it doesn’t work? What are you willing to let explode and fall away so you can see what does work for you? What will it take for that volcano to awaken for you?

The Ancestral Path Tarot shows a tower made of several ancient structures. There are ancient stone temples upon which idols to Egyptian gods are built, and on top of that columns from ancient Greece and Rome , and on top of that a tall church reaching high to the sky but made mostly of stained glass. The lightning sees through all of the layers back down to the root, and it is going to clear the way back to that root.

In this case its more than one old structure that needs to fall clear back to the root structure, even back down the the essential elements of matter. This card shows how complicated things have gotten for us as a society, and also for each of us as people when we can no longer see or feel the ground beneath us.

Sometimes it takes a catastrophic event to break things down to simpler forms that can be understood and actioned. Is there something this complicated in your life that could be better seen and understood by breaking it apart?

The Brady Tarot shows the tower as a tree that is home to a number of pileated woodpeckers. The tree was already on fire and now a bolt of lightning has struck its base and it is falling.

In this card the emphasis is less on what the tower represents but more on the individual woodpecker’s response to this falling tower. Some have already left in anticipation, for some it took the lightning to leave and not just the fire, but they are in the process of moving on, and some are still in denial and cannot admit that the tree will fall.

What tower is falling in your life, and what is your response to this? What is the response to those around you? If you are in denial, what will it take for you to see things as they are? If you have clarity, who can you help to bring clarity to so they move on?

The Tarot of Mystic Moments shows a particularly heartbreaking image of the Tower. In this case the woman cannot move on to grieve the loss of this cherished home or institution. She continues to embrace and try to hold together something that is about to be blown up, and allows herself to become part of the destruction.

Sometimes grief is too strong an emotion to allow ourselves to feel, so we convince ourselves that the thing we need to grieve hasn’t left us. But it has. And not moving on doesn’t bring it back. And it prevents us from healing and participating in the present moment.

Is there trauma in your life that you never allowed yourself to feel deeply? Is there a loss that is too great to move on from? In this case you will need help moving on. You should not try to do this on your own. You aren’t really here experiencing life, you are in the past and hurting instead of healing. No one should live this way. Reach out to a therapist, spiritual advisor, trusted friend or family member. Its time to start the healing process from this incredible loss.

In the Santa Muerte Tarot there is a twisting and turning maze inside the tower that never leads anywhere. In this case the only way to escape the maze is to blow up the tower and leave it. Any energy or wisdom that might exist is stuck in this maze and is unable to be accessed. The tower is internally confused because the balance has somehow been altered in preparation for this impending explosion.

Is there an area of your life where leaving the existing structure feels like going against the current? Have you felt a shift in the energy that is hitting your intuition and telling you its time to go? Listen to this instinct. You may need to go against the current because the current is confused and following it will not lead anywhere good for you. Destroy old structures without fear to liberate the energy that is stuck in this maze.

In the Osho Zen Tarot this card is called Thunderbolt instead of Tower. It focuses on the Lightning that is coming to the tower instead of the emotions and meaning of losing the tower itself. The Lightning is a form of light and energy that is bringing new awareness and new knowledge. The meditating being is able to experience it with detachment. Instead of seeing destruction they just see a change and they don’t attach any emotion to that change. Its more about observing and feeling the flow of energy pour through them.

This is easier said that done for sure, but what would happen if you decided to step back from any large change or shift that either has happened recently, is happening, or seems like it is about to happen. How would you experience that change differently, and how would your perspective change? Would it change permanently because of this shift in awareness? What can you do to try this out even if in a small way?

The Patakis of the Orisha Tarot the scene shows the aftermath of the tower falling. There is one new sprig growing up out of the fallen tree representing new growth, the sun is out representing hope, and the axes are shown representing Shango, the Yoruba God of Lightning and Thunder, who will fight for those in these situations. There is a hook representing irrational action of trying to catch what is no longer there due to the grief of things falling apart.

Which are you able to focus on in the aftermath. Can you see the sunlight? Can you see the support of those like Shango who are here to help you? Can you see any new growth occurring? Or are you trying to use a hook to catch something that isn’t there?

14- Temperance

This article is part of a series of posts that will compare each card in the Tarot across different decks in order to study and explore each archetype and concept more deeply. This is not necessarily meant to be a teaching tool for others, but if you like to study the Tarot as much as I do, I hope you find it interesting. Enjoy!

For more on the decks referenced here please see this page in my blog: Tools of the Locksmith https://wordpress.com/page/theramblinglocksmith.com/163

A major reference for this study was “Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom” by Rachel Pollack.

Temperance

The word temperance at its Latin root means to mix or combine. In the tarot temperance is referring to the ability to mix elements of life, personality, inner and outer elements so that there is flow. We all have a tendency to fragment our worlds into parts, but each part individually does not make up our true authentic self. When we reach Temperance we are asked to consider how it would look to integrate these parts instead and experience living inside your true whole self.

If we are able to mix these worlds and elements we are able to use each part as we need to in moderation depending on what situation arises. This produces a sense of harmony and peace which is the true goal of the card. How do you mix different elements of your life – both internal and external worlds – to create that sense of harmony, and to also enable you to manage obstacles and problem solve in creative ways?

The elements of Rider-Waite have keys to what unlocks our own ability to live our life with the flow of temperance below, but the cards from the decks that follow dive even deeper and have beautifully varied concepts of this. I hope you enjoy this walk through all the threads around Temperance with me.

Standard images from Rider-Waite in the card include:

  • One cup of water flowing into another cup of water representing all the elements of life flowing together. The lower cup is not directly below the upper cup showing a magical flow between the two cups that defies gravity
  • An angel standing with one foot on land and one foot in water representing the ability to stand in the unconscious and the “real world” at the same time and the ability to link the two realms.
  • Sunshine in the background and the halo of light around the angels head represent finding this “medicine” after coming through the Death card which precedes this one and releasing the “ego” through that fearful experience.
  • There is a rainbow that stands for a sign of peace after a storm, reminding us that this new understanding has come after some hard work or potential hardships

The Tarot of the Divine chooses to use the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara is the Bodhisattva of Compassion whose goal is to liberate all creatures from suffering. Avelokiteshvara was able to move between genders, ages, and shapes in order to provide the perfect combination of forms for each situation.

When you look at this card, does it allow you to reflect on all of the different forms you are maintaining, and weather they flow together, or if you maintain separate faces throughout the day? How can you blend elements of your authentic self with each one to be more present?

In the Sufi Tarot the card for temperance is given the Arabic word “sabr” which translates more or less to patience and even more so total surrender to the present moment. Its a form of acceptance that connects us directly to our own spirit. Practicing sabr teaches us to blend dualities and bring together that which may seem disparate. There is a Sufi saying that “God is to be found where opposites meet.”

What about yourself do you need to accept in order to be more present and for the parts of yourself to become less separate? What would it mean to surrender to this version of yourself and what prevents you from doing so?

The Brady Tarot calls out Temperance as medicine by showing two snakes entwined around a tree forming the caduceus symbol where one snake is touching its tail to land, and one to water. The two energies are being combined to create new growth for the tree. The Raven (dark unconscious life energy) and the Eagle (light and higher consciousness) are also in balance above the willow tree.

What energies or aspects of yourself that you currently keep separate would create new growth for you if you were able to use them at the same time or balance them?

The Voyager Tarot has one of my favorite words for Temperance – Art! Art is medicine, and the creation of medicine is art. In it we see many versions of different processes being used to dissolve old forms and recombining them into something else.

One of my favorite ways to envision this is through cooking especially for family. Individual components are cut up and changed through heat into new delicious forms.

What can you combine to form new artistic medicine? What creative opportunities can you see if you could take two separate pieces of yourself and combine them?

The Afro Brazilian Tarot uses the Orixa of the rainbow – Oxumare. Its the medicine you learn when you come through a major cycle or ending that brings a new strength to your life because you were able to learn something important about integration during that cycle.

What cycle have you recently been through that forced you or allowed you to shed a separation and surrender or learn how to be more whole? How can you use that intentionally as a new strength?

The New Era Elements Tarot portrays Temperance by showing a young Indian man offering water to the sun as part of his morning bathing ritual. Its a morning rite practiced by Hindus for thousands of years which focuses on the elemental marriage between fire and water allowing the devotee to start the day with a profound sense of equilibrium.

Is there a daily ritual that you practice that can help you find equilibrium on a regular basis?

Weekly Reading, April 5, 2021

The Mother of Roots

This week my reading is a three card spread using the Brady Tarot. I think it may be a doozy, but lets see.

My original intention was to do a spread representing the root, the heart and the crown, and I drew a root alright, the Mother of Roots who correlates to the Queen of Pentacles or Coins in more traditional decks. More on her in a bit, but I think you could read this two ways, one as a story with a beginning, an action and a result and one as a root, heart, crown. Lets dive in!

First lets focus on the Mother of Roots as she is the star of this reading, and if were to pick a card of these three to take into the week with me its this one. Here a Mexican Honeypot Ant queen and drones is shown. The queen is holding up the an egg that looks like the number for the fool, ready to start the souls journey. She has built the most nourishing environment and sacrificed her wings for the good and preservation of the colony. She is a person who readily sacrifices for the good of others.

There are three ways to look at this person, one is as the ant showing mindful preparation:

  • The ant in the grass hopper and the ant fable
  • The Hopi creation story where the Ant people hid the Hopi people underground during the destruction of the first two worlds by fire and then by ice, going hungry themselves

A second is the ant as a messenger. This mother is about the send the fool out to communicate with who? It could be the world, it could be her own heart and crown. There is a Wiyot Native myth about the ant as a messenger that a large earthquake is coming because the ant once beat the earthquake in a long and arduous game and after this became the messenger to man.

Last this could be someone who is sacrificing too much and denying themselves spiritual or other nurturing medicine.

Which one of these Mothers of Ants do you recognize either in yourself or in those around you? This matters when we look at the rest of the cards so choose wisely!

The very literal reading of this spread is that a lack of preparation in the beginning, has lead to or will lead to scarcity of an important resource through an unforeseen turn of events, or turn of the wheel of fortune. Its a warning to make sure we are prepared for what comes next, either emotionally, spiritually, or physically which could be financially or literally in the case of an earth’s resource….like water as California prepares for a drought this summer. The suit of roots represents the physical so if you want to take this as literally as possible that’s what it means.

In order to take this into a deeper meaning we have to know who the Mother of Roots represents for us.

In the first and second case are told to look at where we might need to prepare for scarcity in any of the above cases, and this ant reading is bringing us this message, that a turn of events is coming to us, and if we don’t prepare we may find ourselves in a situation of emotional, spiritual, or physical scarcity.

In the third case which is where I would read this as a root, heart, crown orientation, the cards are illustrating that you are depriving yourself of something important and that you are not connecting to something you need in the web (or wheel) of your own life, your crown energy is blocked and you are experiencing scarcity or lack in that way. In order to remedy this look further into the four directions and see what you need to reconnect with, or what you need to nurture and store up to heal your crown. The root is strong. The heart is strong – its the wheel of fortune where all things connect, and our journey is represented by the wheel. But we have scarcity in our crown which is where we connect to our creative and spiritual energy.

I hope you have enjoyed this reading, and that it has given you something to bring into your week or your own practice today.