Tuesday, July 7, 2015

My Tarot Deck (Part Two: Before We Start)

Tarot cards are a tool used for divination by many people. During the 18th and 19th centuries they became widely known because of their use by fortune telling gypsies. Europe used tarot cards as a popular card game towards the Renaissance period.  Before the 15th century there were whispers connecting Ancient Egypt and Jewish Mysticism to Celtic Druidism, Ancient Greek astronomy, mathematics, and numerology.  The fact that Tarot cards have been around longer than anyone is able to trace back, doesn't really matter, and neither does the fact that it started off as a parlor game. Most things started off as a game, before someone tapped into the potential of using it as a tool for something else.

I'm sure you're wondering what is Divination? It's connecting and communicating with something supernaturally in an attempt to gain insite on the past, future or present. There is some debate if you're communicating with gods and goddesses, or your inner self. Some of the tools of divination are Tarot cards, runes, astrology, Ouija board, spirit board, oracle cards, mirror, bowl of water, candles, tea leaves, meditation... the list can go on for a really long time, and I have only scratched the surface.

Tarot Cards use imagery to communicate. Each of the decks available today, contain 78 cards. 22 major Arcana, and 58 minor Arcana cards, divided into four sets of 14. I will go through all of these cards during my series of "My Tarot Deck" entries.

Some people can do a tarot reading using a regular deck of playing cards. This means they use only the minor Arcana. I cannot do that, and I have no wish to learn how.

There are many ways to read tarot cards. The way you lay them out  to read them depends on what your reason for the reading is. This is called a spread. Although you can make a reading using many spreads, I will go through only a few. The first will be the one I use most often, a general reading.  This spread, you must choose a card that represents the person you are reading for. There are a few options on how you represent the person you're reading for. One is you can match the person with a chart I will post later in this entry, or you can use a picture of the person, or a piece of paper with their name on it. 

There are many ways to perform a general reading. This is just mine.

First off, Let's see how to pick the card suited for the person you're going to do the reading for.

Page: represents a young man or woman. (I'd say child to mid-twenties or so depending on their gender.)
Knight: represents a young man (I usually say older than a teenager, but not yet a full grown man.)
Queen: represents a woman. (I don't know exactly where the line is to go from a page to a queen, but I assume when your maturity level reaches adulthood)
King: represents a man. (same with the woman, it depends on the man.)

Wands or Rods: Represent Blonde hair and blue eyes. Or red or auburn hair and green or hazel colored eyes.
Cups: Represent Light brown hair and brown or hazel eyes. (sometimes blue)
Swords: represent dark brown hair, and eyes.
Pentacles or Discs: represent black hair, and dark eyes.

As you can see, the little chart here is pretty simple. Most of the tarot decks I have seen, when you lift up the card you will see a representation, if that card is similar to the person you're reading for, it will work for your reading. I once did a reading on myself using "Page of Rods" and I got a reading that made no sense to me. I was very confused. I then tried it again using "Queen of Rods" and found it to be very accurate.  I also have noticed from personal experience, a piece of paper with the person's name written on it, by them, works a little better than using the cards to represent them, only because it is less likely to be an inaccurate choice of card.  Of course, I've learned this by trial and error mostly. The picture works well, if you don't have the person there, but the written name is second choice.

For me, when choosing HOW to put your representation of the person you're doing a reading for, depends on what is available. For instance, if I have a friend who wants a reading done, but they live across the country, or too far away to do it in person, I will write their name on a piece of paper, keeping exactly who I am thinking about in mind, then I keep them pictured in my mind, fully concentrate on that person, and shuffle the cards.

If the person is with me, I have THEM write their name, and shuffle the cards, then I proceed with my reading.  Also, you can have the person write their question instead of their name.

Like I said, it's a personal preference, and depends on what works best for you.

This is The Celtic Cross Spread, which I usually use for a normal reading.

The black square is the "Significator" (or the representation of the person you're reading)

The person getting the reading is called the "Enquirer" in the book that came with my deck. This just means the person who wants the reading done for them. (Like I said, it depends on your preference, and how you want to do it.)  Concentrate hard on what you want to ask, shuffle the cards with the images face down. Cut the deck, and lay them down for the reader to take over. 

This is where I start my readings. The prep-work is done, and now is the fun part!

You read the meaning of each of the cards as you flip them, in ORDER. For that's how you interpret it correctly. 

1- reflects the atmosphere or mood relating to the enquirer and the question
2- points to the type of forces, negative or positive, opposing the enquirer or question
3 expresses the enquirer's ideal wish in relation to the question
4- indicates the foundation of the subject under discussion
5- represents the enquirer's past
6- represents the enquirer's future
7 provides the answer to the question which was the reason for the reading
8- stands for the individual influences which could help the enquirer
9- describes or expresses the personality of the enquirer
10- is the final card, the conclusion. If the final card is unclear, use it as the significator for a fresh reading, and start again. 

The person reading usually says as they lay down the card, 

1 _____covers you
2 _____crosses you
3 _____ is above you
4 _____ indicates the foundation of the subject under discussion
5 _____ is behind you
6 ______is before you
7 ______answers you
8 _____ strengthens you
9 _____ describes you
10_____ is the conclusion


Guess this is a good place to end for today. 


With
Love and Light
Merry we meet, merry we part, merry we meet again.

Blessed Be
☽✪☾

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Being Human

If you like this Scifi stuff, this is a great show.  I'm currently watching the U.S. Version and I love it.  It's a combination of vampires, ware wolves, ghosts, witches, and magic.

Unlike "Salem," which I have yet to get more than half way through the first season, this is more entertaining. 

There is a little blood and gore, but it's not overwhelming.  The story line is creative and I personally am enjoying it.  Eventually, once I finish watching all the episodes on Netflix, I will watch the UK version. 

😊

With
Love and Light
Merry we meet, merry we part, merry we meet again.

Blessed Be
☽✪☾

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Naked In The Woods

I was on this site that is about connecting circles. Basically social circles, not Wiccan or magical ones. I was reading the categories some other people had and it was being naked in the woods, stripping in the woods, being naked outside, and the list continues similarly to these... The thought jumped into my head, and I had to blog!

Has anyone else wanted to go camping, without a tent, and to sleep naked under the sky, surrounded by nature and your blanket? (& Significant other if you have one)

I have this dream. I'm not going to go sharing it with everyone, and if you connect with me on Facebook, please remember, this is my ulterego. πŸ˜‡ 

We live in the center of town, many of the witchy things I really want to do, I just can't.  I wish I could dance naked around a bonfire and in the rain... Well, basically, I really hate clothes! Unfortunately, I live in a house with three children, and four adults.  My kids are 14, 12, and 3. (No the littlest is not an "oops baby," I have an exhusband.) I actually get that reaction a lot. With the seven of us living in one house, and all the neighbors houses really close, I can't do all the witchy things I want, and feel comfortable. 

I want to go camping somewhere out in the middle of nowhere. I want a full moon, and a beautiful night. Something a little chilly but not freezing. I'd like our site to be in a clearing that is large enough we can see the stars. Surrounded by dense trees. 

Maybe I put a little too much thought into it. πŸ’‹

With
Love and Light
Merry we meet, merry we part, merry we meet again.

Blessed Be
☽✪☾

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

My Tarot Deck (Part One: My Intro)

I have a few different tarot decks. The one I always turn to, and return to is my first deck. I got it when I was a teenager.  I went into a pagan shop for the first time and felt part of me saying "this is wrong" and another part of me yelling "it feels like home!" Guess which I listened to? I didn't actually plan on spending any money at that time, I was thirteen, and I was just starting into the path of self discovery.

I walked around the little shop for a long time until there was only the shop worker and me left. I was insecure, and extremely shy. Add in the fact that if anyone knew I had decided to stop in this shop, I'd become labeled as some kind of freak. 

As I walked around, I began to feel more and more open. The shop woman finally told me to listen to the store, it would talk to me. 

I ended up looking at tarot cards. There were two that seemed to "talk to me" but the more I listened, the more I felt a tiny pull towards the deck I would bring home. The shop woman told me I could always get more decks if this one wasn't exactly right, but here I am... Still preferring the same deck. 

Without further ado, my first deck. 
"Tarot of Northern Shadows" Howard Rodway (English edition) copywrite 1997 AGM AGMΓΌller, CH-8212 Neuhausen, Switzerland. ISBN 3-905219-12-3

Artist: Sylvia P. Gainsford NDD (BA) ATD

I know it's an odd choice for a deck when you're thirteen, but that may be what made it so special. Also, I can tell the outcome of a reading before I've actually had the chance to finish reading my cards.  

I'm the type of girl that instead of learning the correct meaning of the cards, like I want to, I "listen" to what they're trying to say.  Maybe that's why this is MY deck. I have a bond that stretches over a decade. (Come to think about it, almost two!) 

This is my first connection with Wicca and being pagan. I didn't understand what I was so drawn to, and still today, I don't fully understand the connection. 

So, if you're looking at a deck of tarot cards and each time you see them you feel drawn, maybe you need to bring it home? This deck is a bit "adult" and if I wasn't drawn like I was, I probably wouldn't have been able to get it.  The last in stock, only one of its kind... Never saw another like it. 

Maybe you're not into Tarot. In that case, this entry isn't for you. 

My plan is to write a little about each card,  and share an image with a picture of each. I love how creepy some of them are. 

My next Tarot blog will give more information about what Tarot is, and such. Then I will go into details about my deck. <3 


With
Love and Light
Merry we meet, merry we part, merry we meet again.

Blessed Be
☽✪☾

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Beltane

I can barely believe this Friday is Beltane! I missed out on our local Beltane festival last weekend... 😭 but I've also been doing a ton of extra work, building my business, making contacts, preparing for a vendor sale, and creating a PowerPoint presentation. Also, we threw a bbq for my sons 12th birthday. Not many people showed up, but he was happy.  Right! My daughter also broke her wrist, and I had to deal with a bunch of idiots at the ER and then trying to get her into her normal orthopedist.

The bright side is I have a decent size check coming on payday and I can invest some of that extra money towards my business. 😍

Now my plans for Beltane? I'm not sure. I've been walking a lot, maybe it'll be a good day to hike Saturday since I cannot afford to miss work on Friday. Even for religious reasons. 😏 though I have rights to miss work eight days of the year. 

I think I'll work on the garden and plant a few flowers for Gaia. 



With
Love and Light
Merry we meet, merry we part, merry we meet again.

Blessed Be
☽✪☾

Friday, April 17, 2015

Spring Break From This Witch

This week was spring break and lucky for me, I have the week off with the kids, since I am a school bus driver by day. I had plans, we were going to go hiking and biking this week with the kids.

Monday and Tuesday my daughter got to go to a stable to help out some special needs school groups. That meant I could t go those days since she was busy until after five. Tuesday and Wednesday I had to work, Wednesday all day from 8:30 am till 8 pm between two businesses. Yesterday we were going to go let my daughter have her riding lesson (payment for helping) and then go hiking.  On the way there I got a call to please cover at 1:30... Out went our hiking trip. Today is a rainy day so our outside fun activities are out of the question. Plus, I'm in a bus again. My littlest has been in daycare all week, except today since we had to be on the road before daycare opened. But I surely love having him with me. 
Monday, since we couldn't go do tons of fun stuff without the other one, my son and I spent the day cleaning the house. Also, I had this nasty lung infection I had to finish getting over and I started feeling better finally Wednesday which is why we were going to go hike and bike Thursday and Friday. 
Tomorrow I have to drive at noon and I'll be gone the rest of the day. I told my boyfriend to please bring the kids to do what we hadn't had time for and we will do the other Sunday. I hope he does being the kids to do something. I would hate to find out the only thing my almost twelve year old son got to do on spring break was get stuck with a sick mom, cleaning the house, watch some television, and play outside.  The poor kids haven't really been able to do much since I had to work and I didn't want my daughter to miss out on whatever we did. 
All my witchy woman plans got pushed to the side for life of an everyday mom and bus driver. 

I've been spending a lot of time lately building my business and trying to grow. I've been reading a lot of self help books. Things that help grow you spiritually and mentally. I decided after a few months of reading those dry books a I need a break.  I pulled out "beautiful darkness" book two of "beautiful creatures". And I don't want to set it down! 

I had hoped I would finally get the chance to write about my tarot cards. Oh how I love them! My first set, I got when I was fifteen years old and still today they're my preferred set. I have some other sets but I plan to give them to my children if they have a bond with them. You can't get a good reading if you don't connect with your tools after all. 

My daughter told me after she shadowed her friend at the high school, the friend wants to become Wiccan. I told my daughter that's great, I just advice her to do a lot of reading before she commits first. Not that it's a bad choice, I totally get it! I am a witch afterl! But I don't like people saying they want to do something and become it, when a few years later, they change their mind.  This isn't a fad, it's a life, a religion, a spirituality. I would love to share, but there are something's you need to discover at your own pace. 

With
Love and Light
Merry we meet, merry we part, merry we meet again.

Blessed Be
☽✪☾