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Two of Pentacles and the Seven of Cups

What’s going on now: Two of Pentacles – Emotional balance is essential. The ability to create harmony is clearly present.

What’s getting in the way: Seven of Cups – It might be that you find you are juggling more than you can handle. Are you taking the time to give some thought to what you really want and eliminating the excess? Are you really sure that what you really want is really what you really want J? Have you chosen to put down some balls with emotional significance and are instead juggling ones that are unimportant?

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The two-card spread of the day

My blog has been dormant for at least a month. It’s certainly not from lack of interest in writing or Tarot. It seems to be more of a time management issue. To rectify, I’m going to try more frequent but shorter entries that focus on two drawn cards. The first card drawn will be in a “What’s going on now” position; the second one in a “what’s getting in the way” position. This two-card spread is based on the first two cards of the very popular ten-card Celtic Cross spread and explored further in Thomson, Mueller and Echols’ The Heart of the Tarot. This is an excellent book that uses a simple system to take a refreshing and in-depth look at the Tarot. I will be referring to it often. Prior to each entry, I will draw two cards and briefly write about their general meanings. Card one will explore the question “What’s going on now” and card two the question “What getting in the way”. As always, I will also ask at least one question for self-reflection. I invite you to explore these cards with me, ask your own specific questions to be explored using this two-card method or comment on the posts. My goal will be to post at least 3 times per week… let’s see how long I can keep it up!

What’s going on: King of Pentacles – In this position, the King of Pentacles denotes current success. The King is the master of his possessions and production. He is in charge. This card highlights practical, financial or material parts of your life where you are in control.

What getting in the way: Page of Pentacles – The Page of Pentacles has sometimes been referred to as the card of study. In this position, ask yourself: Am I too comfortable in the practical areas of my life where I am in control? Would I benefit from an influx of new learning? Is there somewhere I could inject a fresh perspective?

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Spring and the Empress – part 2

First thing Friday morning, I set up my space, grabbed my RWS deck from its place of honour on my Tarot shelf, and prepared myself to complete my “Spring Spread”, which used the theme of renewal so prevalent at the vernal equinox. The layout I created is pictured here and originated in a previous blog entry. I placed card 1 in the centre of the three first cards, card 2 to its right and card three to its left. I turned two cards on the right side of the spread to represent two aspects of my life that require renewal. I balanced the final card above the first three cards, since it signifies the area where I need to balance light and dark.

 

empress-spread

 

I looked at the entire spread first and noted that half of the cards were majors and all were upright. Renewal will be a major focus in the near future, will be all-encompassing and have a certain spiritual element to it. Six upright cards could signify that renewal will be unhindered or that the process of renewal will proceed with an uninterrupted flow and may be more of an external process.

 

Card 1: How will I renew myself? The Hierophant – upright.

 

The Hierophant in this position signifies a renewal that will focus on structure, doctrine and ritual. It is a reminder that those important daily things that I do to connect with divinity are important and need to become part of my everyday routine. I would state that the strength of this statement is amplified because of the larger proportion of major cards in this six-card spread.

 

Card 2: How can I bring this sense of renewal to others? 3 of Cups – upright.

 

I must remind others of the importance of joy and celebration during this special season of awakening.  When we stop and take the time to notice this season of renewal, we are reminded of the importance of this natural cycle that will continue,  with us or without us.  This card signifies to me that I must, to quote Rachel Pollack, instill in others the importance of “sharing the wonder of life.” (78 Degrees of Wisdom)

 

Card 3: What will I do to celebrate the arrival of the “New Day”? King of Wands – upright.

 

Fire is movement, initiative and action. It is about that important first step. The king masters this concept with strong will, direction and optimism. My celebration of the arrival of this “New Day” will be a celebration of action, of doing things.

 

Cards 4 & 5: What aspects of my life require renewal? The Lovers / The King of Cups – upright.

 

The Lovers is a reminder that my current relationship requires renewal. It is still in its early stages and has that sense of newness and passion that we all feel when in love. It is a spectacular place to be. It makes everything around you seem more vibrant and alive. But maintaining that sense of awe and wonder requires effort and the Lovers in this position sends that message. A previous marriage ended because it had lost its sense of renewal. It had grown stale and felt more like a business partnership than an intimate relationship.  This is not uncommon. I have spoken with many others who have had similar experiences. The Lovers is a reminder to all of us that for two to be truly one, that sense of ‘romantic spring’, of freshness and passion, requires renewal. It is a lesson that I intend to keep close by.

The King of Cups is in control of his emotions. But, when combined with the Lovers and its position in the spread (thanks, James Wells, for re-reminding me of the importance of spread position), it becomes an indication that emotions cannot remain bottled up and that, for love to grow, the Gemini in the Lovers needs to emerge and the lines of communication around how we feel need to remain open.

 

Card 6: Where will I need to balance light and dark? The Wheel of Fortune – upright.

 

I found it quite interesting that the Wheel of Fortune showed up in a position that speaks of balance. This card is a reminder to me that life goes on, often in spite of our actions. I need to embrace the balance between those things I can control and those I can’t.

 

The overall concepts of optimism, celebration and ritual seemed to permeate my spread. To move the cards on the table into action (a very important part of a reading for me), I took a walk in the beautiful spring air (a little crisp at -3C here in the Great White North, but lovely nonetheless) and used my senses to feel the new arrival of the Empress. I immediately noticed blackbirds, blue jays and sparrows in morning song. I saw the buds on the trees gently pressing against their winter shells. I watered our house plants and filled the new bird feeder that we placed outside last week for our fine feathered friends.  Dear Empress, the sights and sounds of this season, only hours old, remind me that this is a time of renewal for all.

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Spring and the Empress

First off, let me apologize to my readers for the longish delay between posts. Like many who work in education, the preparation for reporting (especially with a school’s worth of reports to read, edit and sign) makes late-February and early-March an exceptionally chaotic time. It does signal the arrival of spring, which provides me a segue into this post.

 

Abundance and Renewal
Abundance and Renewal

The Empress is the card of Spring. In large parts of the Northern hemisphere (and all over my Canadian homeland) the birds emigrate to their Northern climates, the animals emerge from their winter slumber, and the buds begin to flower. These are the domain of the Empress. She has associations with Venus, Aphrodite, Demeter, Ceres and Gaea, all of whom have links to the principles of abundance, fertility, sensuality, passion and ample-ness. But one aspect of the Empress that is often overlooked is her power to renew. The Empress is vibrant reality, life, the balance of the two previous cards in the Major Arcana: the Magician, who represents yang, consciousness, and action and the High Priestess, who symbolizes yin, unconsciousness and receptivity.

We celebrate the arrival of Spring, often simply by our awareness of the renewal of life. Many belief systems place significant celebrations during this time. Christians celebrates the arrival of Easter and the resurrection of the son of God. The calculation of Easter is actually based on the equinox. Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon that follows the vernal equinox. Baha’i celebrate Naw-Ruz, or new day, to correspond with the vernal equinox. Symbols of renewal such as coloured eggs, fresh fruits and cakes are prevalent during this celebration. Ostara, (Eostar or Eostre) is often celebrated by Wiccan and Pagans. It is a celebration centred around growth and rebirth but also around the idea of balance between dark and light, reflecting the equal amounts of light and darkness experienced at the equinox. It also includes

 

To link with the Empress, try the following:

 

Turn over one card for each of the following questions you ask yourself. Friday morning, March 20th, 2009, (The Sun enters Aries at 07:43 GMT, add or subtract as necessary or, if in the Southern hemispehere, bookmark this blog and give this a try in 6 months 😉 and… thanks, phil, for the heads up on my error) as the Sun enters Aries to signal the arrival of the vernal equinox, would be a powerful time to complete this Tarot work. Use the comment section on this blog to let us know how it goes.

 

·         How will I renew myself?

·         How can I bring this sense of renewal to others?

·         What will I do to celebrate the arrival of the “New Day”?

·         What aspects of my life require renewal (select as many cards as you deem necessary)?

·         Where will I need to balance light and dark?

 

Lay the cards out in whatever way seems appropriate. And enjoy the natural sanctity brought forth by the Empress.