Family Emergency

Due to a family emergency, I will not be able to continue with the tarot interpretation for the next several days. I will return as quickly as I can.

Peace and light.

Exploring the Two of Swords

In the Medicine Wheel Spread on Saturday, the North position was that of a fire element (in the Shapeshifter deck), the Two of Swords.

In my readings, I associate swords with air and intellect, rather than fire; however, these creators did not. So I need to layer my natural inclination in the reading with their interpretation of the suit.

The picture shows two faces with a snake maneuvering between them. The face closest to the bottom of the picture is wearing a mask. The serpent appears to whisper to the person (or, if you’re not fond of snakes, I suppose you could interpret it as an attack). The tail of the serpent encompasses the head of the other face further up the picture – in the water. And trees and mountains are in the background. So, although this is a fire suit (according to the creators) the elements of water, earth and air (the serpent’s hiss) are also present.

The two of swords means a stalemate. Yet the creators of the card have named it “blindness”. The position the card appeared in is that of the North. Earth. What is tangible. So, in reference to the question – about finding my way back to my soul’s path – I am blind to something tangible.

That could well mean that the grief and rage I’ve felt over the past month have blinded me. They’ve certainly sapped my strength on every level. It could mean that I’m blind to an opportunity because I’m thinking about it in an outdated way. Could it be my relationship to the theatre? Could it be my relationship to the serials?

I’m not sure.

Instead of drawing cards to further explore this particular card NOW, I will continue with the interpretation in the hopes that cross-referencing the cards and putting the whole reading together will lead me to a conclusion.

If I’m still “blind” to the meaning, then I will go back and pull more cards – or rune or oghams or some other oracle – to clarify.

But the message is very clear – I am stuck on a very physical, tangible level apart from my soul’s path because I’m not seeing something properly. I have to figure out what that “something” is in order to look at it from another angle.

Questions in A Time of Change

For the next few days, we will work with The Shapeshifter Tarot, an absolutely beautiful deck created by D.J. Conway and Sirona Knight, and illustrated by Lisa Hunt. I will photograph the cards used and upload them in the coming days.

I’ve done a Medicine Wheel spread, and then, each day, we will investigate each position in the spread with more cards. The creators named each card – their name will be the last word in the parenthesis before the interpretation.

Today, I will share the entire spread, and we will begin our detailed work tomorrow.

Waning Moon
Retrogrades: Chiron, Neptune, Uranus
Deck: Shapeshifter
Spread: Medicine Wheel

Question: In this time of darkness and chaos, how can I find my way back to my soul’s purpose?


1. North (physical – 2 Swords – Fire – Blindness). A sense of stalemate. Don’t forget to listen to inner promptings. Don’t be blind to yourself.

2. East (mental -- 2 Cups – Water – Love). Balance and harmony after difficulty. At peace, while preparing for positive change. Good. I could use some of that.

3. South (identity – Goddess of Fire {would be King of Swords in a traditional deck} – Bridget). This is interesting, because Bridget is one of my patrons this year. Be more objective. Wind up old and useless ways of thinking in order to make way for new and better ones. Use fire as an ally, not a weapon.

4. West (emotional/unconscious/creative – Transcendence {would be Judgment in a traditional deck}). Renewal and awakening to the larger picture.

5. Center (Spirit – Balance {would be Temperance in a traditional deck}). Keep emotional balance. Don’t veer too far in either the direction of elation or despair. Steer a steady course.

It’s interesting and relevant – and now, over the next few days, I need to work with it position by position to find out the details on how to achieve the advice. I’m exhausted on many levels, and frustrated I need to rework – I need to shapeshift my life positively because I feel I’ve gotten off track in the past few months, and these next days will help me to do so.

I hope you’ll join me for the journey, and, perhaps, you will find some inspiration for your own.

Kiuney!

Mabon

Today is the Fall Equinox.

May everyone take a moment to pause, to breathe, to light a candle indicating a ray of hope in these dark times.

Today, light and dark are equal.

Tomorrow, we move towards the dark half of the year.

World events make it seem as though we've already started down that path.

With the current retrogrades, and an upcoming Mars Retrograde on October 2, we continue in a turbulent astrological time.

During the next few days of the Waning Moon, we will work with the Shapeshifter Tarot, on exercises to help us focus on what we need to cut out from our lives.

I also received a beautiful new oracle yesterday, called The Well Worth Path. It's not a tarot deck, but it is a set of beautifully drawn cards for divinatory and meditative use. I have permission to post a limited amount of photos of the deck, which I will do as you join me in learning how to use the oracle.

I've never publicly written about the learning process in this way before. I hope it is illuminating for both of us!

Three Card Answer

In spite of all the pain and horror of the past week and change, our personal ups and downs continue. I had to ask the cards a question today, in regard to a situation with a publisher that is tenuous, to say the least.

I used the Robin Wood Deck again, and will post the photo of the cards shortly.

The cards that came up were:

Temperance

The Ten of Swords

Death

Three card readings can be done several ways: Mind/Body/Spirit, Past/Present/Future, or, what I did here, which I call Three Steps.

Step One – Temperance. I have to remember to remain balanced and flowing. While anger can sometimes be used as a catalyst, it can also be a block.

Step Two – Ten of Swords – a sense of betrayal by someone else, and someone else heaping their anxieties onto me.

Step Three – Death – completion of a cycle to make way for rebirth in this situation.

In other words, it is vital that I keep a cool head, in spite of the sense of betrayal and the person in question trying to make me carry the anxiety; the situation will “die” so that the work can continue.

In my gut, I knew this, but I needed to see it set out in tarot symbolism.

Dark Moon in Dark Times

Today is the Dark of the Moon. It is a time to cut out of our lives what we no longer need.

Pluto, thankfully, turns direct today.

Today, I will turn my energy towards the devastated South, especially my beloved New Orleans. Although racked with shock and grief and fury at the lack of timely government response over the past few days, I want to focus the energy on cutthing the predators away from the victims.

Tomorrow, the moon begins its new cycle. Tomorrow, I want to start focusing on rebuilding energy, on positive energy.

In the depths of grief and rage, it is almost impossible to remember that negative energy feeds on itself and grows, making problems even worse.

The same tactic can be used for healing energy -- yet it is so much more difficult to tap into the brighter part of the soul and bring up positive energy that is more powerful than negative. Anger's power is enormous. And power is power. The user has the choice of the content and the destination.

It becomes difficult -- one wants to be a warrior to help. Yet, at the same time, one wants to harness and use compassion and love and all the wonderful, beautiful things in the world to help. The tightrope is how to fight the anger with the healing without turning into a doormat, and yet, without becoming what it is you fight.

I have not found the solution; but I continue trying.