Tag: Tarot

3 – The Empress

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 another 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.

This week we explore the feeling side of the female archetype – The Empress. Where last week’s card of The High Priestess represented introspection and thinking, The Empress is the pure emotion and the passionate approach to life with feeling. The Empress is about experiencing the world in a very physical way through nurturing and growing life itself. She is the Great Mother archetype.

In the Tarot of Mystic Moments the Empress wears a skirt of flowers and is surrounded by nature. A deep connection with nature is only possible by being out in nature and not reading or imagining it. It means going out on hikes, growing things in the dirt, growing food, growing people.

The Empress in this card carries a child and has taken off her crown to already hand to this child as a gesture of protective love. In this way its not just experiencing nature but protecting it and protecting all life.

She is truly Mother Nature, and a way to ask yourself what you are cultivating in the physical world, and if you are spending enough time in it or in nature, or if you are spending too much time in your head.

In the Way Home Tarot we see trees growing directly from a heart with the roots of the trees both being nurtured by and protecting the heart.

In the traditional Rider-Waite-Smith empress card the Empress has a shield with a heart on it. In this card the idea of unconditional love is taken even further to represent something that both nurtures and protects us.

Are you able to feel and receive as well as give unconditional love? Can you see it as a strength? If not you may need to explore which healing process might help you reach the ability to feel love in the world.

In the Tarot of the Divine the Empress is represented by Our Lady of Guadalupe – a Catholic Saint who preformed two miracles – one was a healing miracle and one was a miracle in the natural world with roses appearing on a hillside.

Healing ourself and others is a quality of the Empress, and part of healing is growth. Where do you need to heal, or how do you want to help others to heal and grow? Where do you need to grow yourself? Connect to your higher self and create your own miracles.

In the Voyager Tarot the Empress represents the law of preservation and the power to resurrect, re-create and revive shown here through the Egyptian goddess Selket who cures scorpion and other poisons. These are powerful words and we can only access what they mean for us if we are willing to deeply experience and connect with all of our emotions.

I’ve been writing about how important feeling vs thinking is in this archetype and this is the first card where we see some actual water which typically represents the emotional path of life.

Our emotions are rivers running through us and beneath us and they connect us to all of human experience. Without connecting to them we will most likely feel disconnected from others and from life, maybe even poisoned. Maybe we disconnected in order to protect ourselves and we need to convince ourselves that it is safe to reconnect and feel again. Being able to feel is a way to breath and experience the world, let any poison you have experienced be removed and allow yourself to feel your life again.

The dove over the Empresses head in this card represents peace – the peace we feel when we heal.

Well, I did say I wanted to see more water….in the Afro-Brazilian Tarot the Empress is represented by Yamanja, or as I’ve heard her called before, Yemoja in the Yoruba language. She is the mother of all Gods and in the Afro Brazilian pantheons, the power of the moon harnessed into controlled but nurturing emotion. The moon influences the waves and brings them back to the shore. Expanding on that we can picture that Yemoja is helping us feel grounded in our emotions as opposed to be tossed about at sea.

It is hard when we feel tossed about in the sea of our own emotion, we may need help from Yemoja to feel grounded in our feelings. But we can’t learn how to without going in the water in the first place.

Where do you need to dive back into how you experience, feel and grow in the world? If this card is speaking to you today you are ready…take the plunge!

What will your legacy be?

The 10 of Pentacles/Coins

Many of our questions tend to be around our own path, how to heal and evolve ourselves. For some of us we will never attempt to find a legacy, or consider what kind of ancestor we might become. A step beyond this is asking what myth or legend our story could become? Who will we inspire for future generations? What will we leave them? A problem to solve, or a solution?

The message of the 10 of pentacles is to ask these questions, and see if there isn’t something you can be building or working on today that will become a legacy for the future.

These first two cards are from the Afro Brazilian Tarot and the Tarot of the Divine. These are two powerful heads of a family/clan/community who have built a legacy through leadership. One possibility, and a very noble pursuit. Lets look at some more ways of manifesting this idea.

These next two cards are from the Light Seers Tarot and the Way Home Tarot. They show beautiful visions of 10 plates, or 10 foundations that future generations can eat from or play with.

That might sound a little daunting, so if you are having trouble envisioning this, start with one plate. What plate/dish/foundation/inspiration can you start working on today that will become a place setting for this legacy?

I think even more importantly you don’t have to do this on your own. Make it a community/family/team project. Each member starts working on a plate. At the end of the current generation there will be an amazing feast and celebration to pass this on to others.

How beautiful!

The name given to the 10 of roots from the Brady Tarot is Wealth. Its a strong tree with deep roots that bears fruit that nourishes many. With this card we also have several symbols illustrating archetypal concepts that will last for generations, and maybe for all time.

This is what the tarot is actually. A set of archetypes and archetypal paths that all humans can relate to. Imagine creating an archetypal system like the tarot! I know! Talk about overachieving.

The Ancestral Path Tarot is a whole deck devoted to the idea of discovering your path to becoming an ancestor. You might even call it a 10 of pentacles Tarot, except that in this deck the pentacles are called Sacred Circles.

The sacred circles suit of this deck are inspired by both a Menominee creation legend of bear and thunder spirit ancestors, and a Winebago medicine song, both of which support the tale of the vision quest.

A vision quest is an intentional journey that is intended to allow you to learn about a higher purpose, and also connect you to the next stage in your own transformation.

One of the most important tools of connection in many Native American cultures is the drum. It measures the heartbeat of the earth. It carries messages with each beat and connects you to the place where the spirits and ancestors are waiting to guide us.

If it all sounds like too much… If even today sounds like too much…. If you feel like you can’t even begin to envision this legacy….find your heartbeat. Beat your drum. It will come back to you, because its something you were born to do.

Here is to your path to legacy and becoming and ancestor. Hell, here’s to all of ours, because if we don’t all take up this mission, I’m not sure what the next generations will have to sustain them.

With so much love…..

The Rambling Locksmith

Weekly Reading, November 7, 2021

A Story of the Two Cups

One of the most romantic cards in the deck, the two of cups represents two hearts meeting. I would like to dedicate this post to my brother and his new wife as this is the card I pulled for them on their wedding day, and it couldn’t be more fitting. The manner of meeting and how they become joined together can happen in all manner of ways, but the result is always a happy one. Here are some examples of the two of cups and their meanings. This first is the exact card for the newlyweds.

The Two of Cups in the Way Home Tarot shows two jellyfish that have met in a vast ocean, and are now effortlessly swimming peacefully and gracefully together. Everyday and every hour may not be able to feel this effortless, but that fact that you have found this in each other is miraculous. The Cups are about emotional connection which is not often effortless for a lot of us, which makes this message even more beautiful.

In the Santa Muerte Tarot the Two of Cups card shows two people who are able to be open enough with each other that they can refill each others cup and in a effortless way where this does not feel like a sacrifice. This is a joyous union created when we can find joy and solace in each other.

In the Brady Tarot cups are represented by horns and the 2 of Horns shows two Albatross and is called Union. Albatross mate for life, but only show this joyous dance at the start of the relationship. Maybe a reminder to keep dancing. They are also combining the water from their horns to form new medicine.

In the Tarot of the Divine the Two of Cups is represented by the story of Enkidu and Gilgamesh. Enkidu was created to defeat Gilgamesh, but instead Gilgamesh finally found his equal in strength. The two grappled for days, and instead of ending in one overpowering the other, it resulted in the two becoming inseparable and never wishing for the company of another. Finding someone who compliments or matches your strengths is a great thing indeed.

Weekly reading September 6, 2021

The story of the Two of Swords – the positive transformation of conflict into partnerships

Sometimes we get to a point in a project or a partnership where things don’t seem to be working like they used to. Everything feels like work , and two parts that at one point seemed to be executing in harmony are now working against each other. This is not a sign that the project, idea, or partnership is over or can no longer work. It is sign to stop and examine things, and figure out a new way to communicate, work or understand each other. If we do this, we can create something even stronger than what we had before.

Lets look at a couple of examples of this card.

First the two of swords from the Santa Muerte tarot is a scissors. If we look closer at the scissors we can see that the sharp part of the blades are facing outwards. With this configuration the scissors may not be very effective. If we stop trying to use these scissors for a second and take a look we might decide to re-orient the blades so they can work more effectively together. If we don’t stop and thing about why things aren’t working though, we might keep trying to use the scissors as they are, and eventually decide they are broken and can no longer be used. If we make the change the top of the scissors starts to represent a butterfly instead of a broken skull. The end result of any of the twos is to transform into a better version of itself.

In the second card from the Brady tarot we have the two of arrows which in this deck is called Armistice. What is an armistice specifically? Its a mutual agreement between two parties to stop fighting, but not an agreement that the war is actually over. The two parties see that they must work together in order to get through a rough part of the path, or to achieve a mutual goal. In this card a wolf and a mountain lion are working together. They are wearing blindfolds that bind them together which can mean they agree to turn a blind eye to their usual differences and work together.

The amazing thing that could happen if the two parties see how well they were able to work together is that it could turn into an actual partnership instead of the two going back to war. What a transformation if people can only see the power in that.

Lastly we have the two of swords from the Afro Brazilian Tarot. Again we have two leaders putting aside their swords to talk and understand one another. What could be the possibilities of this?

I don’t mean to make it sound easy. Putting away swords when one of the swords has always been pointed at you, your family, your project, your way of life is a very difficult thing to do. And that’s only the first step. Next you have to learn how to talk to each other without drawing swords again. But once this is achieved common ground can usually be found, and upon this common ground new things can be built.

Where is this manifesting in your life today? Do you have a “broken” pair of scissors that just needs a tune up or reconfiguration to become a new tool? Have you been in an uneasy armistice, and can you see yourself maintaining the partnership once the challenge is over? Or are you in a place where you can lay down swords and make powerful change for more than just yourself?

With so much love!

Weekly Reading July 25, 2021

Loyalty is a Double Edged Sword

One of my favorite things to do is to use multiple decks to evolve the threads of intuition. This week I started with my newly procured Angels and Ancestors Oracle Deck, and the image of the Shield Maiden. I haven’t looked up the meaning in the guidebook yet. I’m going to listen to her first. She is telling me to focus and plan carefully. Keep my sword at the ready but also my shield.

Next I pulled three cards from my Animal Totems and I Ching deck. The Card of Loyalty (Dog). Dedication, Enthusiasm Support. The corresponding I Ching Hexagram to this is 16 – Enthusiasm and talks about obedience and devotion obtained from forming an enthusiastic army.

The overall theme from this reading is the responsibility of loyalty once you have been given it from your team, and what you have a duty to do with that loyalty to make sure you are acting in the best interest of the community/team/family/yourself.

The other two cards from the Animal Totem deck were #56 (The wanderer – Distraction – Opossum – Theatrics). And #57 (The Gentle – Pursuit – Moth – Intuition/Insight). I felt that these two cards represented two different ways to treat loyalty – a healthy option and an unhealthy option. I also drew two cards from the Osho Zen tarot to augment these two choices – Sharing (Queen of Fire) and Clinging to Past (5 of water).

One way to treat loyalty is to take it for granted and continue to tie it to past events. This is a distraction and amounts to posturing. It does not respect the loyalty you have earned. It also traps yourself and your team/community/family in a box from the past instead of seeing what choices need to be made in the future. Focus on the past will not result in a positive outcome. While we should celebrate and reflect on the reasons we have formed a team or community we also have a responsibility to move forward with focus and determination. We can then put into place ideas and actions that move the team forward. Especially if we are the leader of that team or community.

Staying in and clinging to a box from the past is not loyalty – its unhealthy attachement. And there is no greater distraction from connecting with the present moment.

Instead we can share our gifts of intuition, and use insight to decide how to move the team/community/relationship forward. Loyalty is a gift, not a shackle. You can be a strong leader and still be gentle, transparent with your reasoning behind decisions, and share the rewards of any accomplishments. This is the message of the Queen of Fire – to give back freely.

And this stoking of the creative fires of the team through generosity is likely to result in even greater enthusiasm and loyalty, and a better result using the encouragement of the creative collective energy of the team.

Weekly Reading – July 18, 2021

The Page of Swords – A Key to Innovation

This week in one of my personal readings I drew the Page of Swords using the Tarot of the Divine. This card can be the harbinger of new ideas coming from a place of wit and optimism. The story behind the card in the Tarot of the Divine is that of Princess Parizade – an Arabic folktale.

A quick summary of the story is that Princess Parizade and her two brothers were set adrift on the river by their mother’s jealous sisters. A royal gardener raised them, but one day passed away and they weren’t sure who would care for them. One day Parizade was kind to an old woman who let her know about three magical objects at the top of a mountain. In order to reach the top of the mountain they would have to ignore the taunts of spirits, for if they didn’t they would be turned to stone and never reach the top. The two brothers insisted on going on the journey without Parizade, but they were unable to ignore the taunts and turned to stone. Parizade tried next. Using all of her courage and her own “Medicine”, or ideas, she decide to stick wax in her ears so she could not hear the taunts – she climbed the mountain and as the taunts came she laughed at them. She reached the top of the mountain and received the three magic objects that allowed her to heal her brothers, heal the Gardner’s garden, and discover their true lineage and return them to the home of the Sultan. It was then that they were reunited with their mother.

I decided to pull some cards from one of my favorite Oracles – the Literary Witches Oracle – to understand the page of swords further, and what I needed to unlock it. I pulled Maria Sabina who knew a thing or two about healing medicine. She was a powerful shamanic healer who used psilocybin as part of her medicine, as well as the power of her poetry. She lived in the mountains of southern Mexico.

I find it interesting that I pulled an “old woman” from a mountain with a magical story to help understand this since that’s exactly what happened in the story. Even more interesting that it emphasizes non-traditional medicine and healing a key to unlocking your own innovation.

This week I encourage you to use your own non-traditional medicine, what ever that may be, to find keys to innovation. Maybe its innovation in your own healing process, maybe its innovation in how to help others heal. Maybe its storytelling and poetry as medicine that unlocks new ideas for you.

Whatever that is trust that medicine, and you will find your own magic objects at the top of your own mountain.

Weekly Reading, June 20, 2021

Happy Summer Solstice!

The Summer Solstice marks the longest day of the year which is also symbolic of having the most light to shine on your present situation. In the Spring we may have planted seeds and those seeds have started to grow. The Solstice is a time to reflect on which direction that growth may be going in, and if our intentions are still as strong as they were in the spring.

For this reading I am using a new deck for me – The Santa Muerte deck by Fabio Listrani. You might be wondering why I didn’t save this for fall, or something closer to the Day of the Dead. However I think if we just see skeletons and assume we are talking about a particular time of year we are missing the point of this deck and the deeper meanings behind Santa Muerte itself. It is a celebration of life, and the figures in it are stripped down to their core. How can you shine more light on the state of things in your present moment than that? I plan on using this deck to help others celebrate life through the readings we receive.

The Page of Chalices is someone who is curious and reflective, and may be looking for the right way to express themselves spiritually. They are open and curious and are always asking why, but they may be surrounded by many who want to give them a wide variety of answers. They have to find the answers for themselves through dedicated study on their own, and the danger is that they get distracted by illusions that give them easy answers.

The 5 of Pentacles is one of the attributes of the physical world, and the number that corresponds to the Major Arcana archetype of the Hierophant. The Hierophant walks the path in order to connect with the present moment, and therefore the knowledge of the universe and the collective subconscious. In many decks the 5 of pentacles represents either being left out in the cold ourselves, or the need to help others who have been left behind. In this deck the 5 of pentacles is the physical act of walking the path of the Hierophant. Putting one foot in front of the other in a diligent and mindful way toward the future.

The 7 of chalices represents the feeling of hope and energy toward establishing new and innovative ventures. The blue flowers planted in the summer are now blooming and a new vine of white flowers is reaching into the picture to add new hope and energy to the mix. This energy and hope is abundant and may be resulting in many choices. Its probably a good outcome for the Page of chalices.

OVERALL MESSAGE: If you walk your own path and find your own answers you will have many good choices later on. Take this solstice to examine if that is the case for you presently. If you go for easy answers and let others decide things for you, not only will you be lacking as many choices later, the choice may have already been made for you.