The Dreamer and the Seeker
June 7, 2011
I drew two cards when thinking of a good friend today, the Eight of Cups and the Nine of Swords. The Nine of Swords today feels like the dreamer, always remembering even when trying to rest. The seeker is the Eight of Cups, searching ardently for the source of the water, why they feel what they feel.
I foolishly propped these two cards on a low wall in the coffee shop this morning, and they slipped unceremoniously down the crack and into the abyss, I’m sure alongside several other people’s lost treasures. While I luckily have spare cards to replenish my favorite deck, I’ve decided to write this post and poem to commemorate these two cards, and as a sort of tarot prayer to my deck and my friend – what nice cards to know and let go of.
I know you’ve found yourself in sleep,
I know you’ve found yourself in thought,
I know you’ve found yourself at rest.Walking towards inner friendship
outer means nothing less than mirrors
and how well we use these reflections
to see one another as points of light
not only hot needles in our eyes
or even just warm touchesThe ocean knows itself by crashing against the land
so you should crash in ecstatic violence when you must
deep enough below, the currents never change.
The Nine of Swords shows a person in bed but awake, cradling their face underneath Nine giant swords. Allowing the swords to be painful thoughts, the subconscious is aching to be heard, only finding a voice in sleep and never giving the consciousness the rest it wants. So the figure reconciles old regrets, reconsiders painful thoughts with patience, and moves into themselves open to every dream without judgement. This is how we can know all of ourselves.
The Eight of Cups has a figure walking away from a pool and up along a stream, away from the eight cups stacked in the foreground. If he looking into the water at himself, he remembered the story of Narcissus and has chosen to search for satisfaction outside his own reflection. The Star card is 17, whose digits add to Eight also. Maybe the figure in the card has sensed they have been introspective long enough for now and is seeking a new experience, closer to the source of the water than before.
Three Card Beltane Spread
May 1, 2011
Yesterday was the last day of April, and a warm day in Ontario. I had just come up from North Carolina, where I saw the above flowers (Along with a stunning bonsai collection) in the North Carolina Arboretum. Driving north was a regression from summer to late winter, as skies grayed and leaves retracted into buds, like slow motion in reverse.
Upon arriving, the friend I am visiting got me a gig reading Tarot at their bakery the next day. Given that it was May eve, we celebrated Beltane with a feast, a bonfire, and plenty of wine and cider. I rarely come up with specific Tarot spreads, but I was inspired by the bonfire to create a simple spread for today so I could read quickly for many people at the bakery. The reading I came up with is a short and sweet Beltane themed card spread.
The spread is a kind of past-present-future spread, with the first card going to the center. This spread can be easily read for yourself, and is very easily extended. I like to challenge myself by trying to see where the answer to any additional questions is in a spread already before drawing more cards. Feel free to leave comments with your additions and comments.
1. The Spring Bonfire
Burning away the grimness of winter and igniting our inner fire for a new spring and summer, the bonfire is a cherished tradition. Passion and high spirits overwhelm and can burn away what isn’t needed, so this card is the Fire in your life this spring, what to be unafraid of and allow through your life uninhibited to do its work. In some senses, this position is where to get out of your own way.
Cards here might be exaggerated to a high intensity, even becoming overwhelming. Try allowing the card’s meaning to ‘burn you up’, maybe visualize the card’s meaning in your life to become bigger and brighter, letting any resistance you may feel be penetrated by it completely. This energy enveloping you can ignite fresh passion, while burning away old grief, cleaning you out and allowing energy to flow uninhibited.
2. The Past Winter
Though winter is technically behind us, the cold tends to creep well into spring. This position is to reflect on the winter and what it was like. A negative card is difficulties that are melting away, while brighter cards might be lessons learned to carry with you, and good luck to be thankful for. As a card representing the past, this is what you’ve been through and what you’ve gained – important experience to carry with you through the rest of the reading.
3. The Coming Summer
I just left North Carolina, where spring seems to already have given way to summer. This card is about what summertime might have for us, and specifically what we will manage to accomplish or achieve with the passion ignited by springtime.
So, examine the Spring and Winter cards and see this Summer card as the new direction gained; Something like the Death card might be finally letting go of something that had to be let go of, while a 6 of Cups is a blessing of community, friendship, and love. Allow this card to be a positive message of how the fiery, creative Spring energy can best be realized and applied.
Learning Tarot in Boulder
December 23, 2010
I’m having another free talk at the Boulder Public Library on January 9th! Except this time, instead of a very specific lecture, it will be an open discussion and teaching format to explore the basics of Tarot. This first session, I’m considering focusing on the structure of the deck and the meaning of the suits to lay down a foundation, and in future sessions I hope to look at topics including major arcana study, numerology, astrology, and card reading. The hope is to provide a look into the fundamental systems which inform and extend the meanings of Tarot cards in a format where anybody can participate and learn.
As long as the Library permits, I’ll be aiming to have these regularly, on the second Sunday of each month from 12-2 in the Boulder Creek room. They are all entirely free and open to the public. Hope to see you there!
