learn tarot – True Tarot Tales

2023: In the Glass darkly, a Tarot’s eye view

Introduction

Tarot readers don’t claim to ‘know’ what the future holds. They use their cards to access and articulate their feelings and intuition, and to take soundings in any given context with a weather eye on the ‘so what?’ That is all.

That said, what are the prevailing tides and currents “in the affairs of Men” in 2023 as suggested by the Tarot and in astrology?

Forecasts need a context. Let’s take a quick look back on some of the predictions made by my Tarot at the beginning of 2022, published here and at Ask Astrology.com

Review of 2022- and an ‘otherworldly’ manifestation

The study of great events in history has revealed something fascinating- that astrology is really on to something that is concretely observable on the ground, and always has been, even before science and astronomy caught up.

Large planetary cycles correlate and reflect changing patterns in human behaviour when studies as a collective whole. Empires have risen and fallen, revolutions, wars, mass movements of people, epidemics, technological and medical breakthroughs. You name it. They have been tracked and mapped in time against the ancient meanings of the major planetary movements.

Predictions need a background- a context for interpretation. We have been living through especially turbulent times since the spring of 2020, when the planetary giants Saturn in Aquarius and Uranus in Taurus formed a tight, unfriendly square, and the covid 19 pandemic took hold on much of the world.

I had a peculiar and unpleasant vision or encounter one night in the first week of January 2020. I had woken and was reaching for a glass of water when a movement drew my eye, and saw a thing that with the benefit of hindsight, and for lack of a better word I could only describe as a djinn, standing in the doorway of the room where I was sleeping.

It was tall, humanoid, but the arms were too thin and long. It came closer. The head angled towards me, as if thoughtfully, but the face was hidden. It was horribly unpleasant. I sharply ordered it gone and it disappeared.

I took this vision as a warning that I needed to prepare myself for bad news to come in the next few days, and sure enough, there was some extremely concerning family news.

And then the covid thing hit, and a previously healthy young man, a friend of one of my daughters died of it, after ‘flu’ became septic shock, and he was placed into an induced coma, and several days later died.

The ‘djinn’ was a visual manifestation of some as yet unaccounted for deep state of unease, I feel.

2022

2022 has been a tsunami of a year, dominated by war, civil unrest, mass migration by land and sea, catastrophic flooding, and all things to do with the breaching of boundaries and borders. This has included the travel and spread of new variants of the coronavirus, travelling by land, sea and air, breaching our auto-immune defences.

We predicted major upheavals to do with the blurring and breaching of boundaries and borders. These were predicted in the Tarot by the appearance of the Hanged Man. This card is ruled by the zodiac sign of Pisces, with a powerful Jupiter, Neptune and Mars influence. What will we let go of, to go where we need to go?

Jupiter= ambition

Neptune =water, dreams, lack of borders

Mars = aggression, fire, war

Ukraine

My cards predicted major issues to do with the blurring of borders and boundaries, with a Neptunian ‘watery’ theme. The Russian invasion of Ukraine 24 February happened in Pisces season. The maritime city of Mariupol was devastated. Then Russia blockaded maritime grain shipments for a short period, threatening food supplies to many parts of the world including Africa and the Middle East.

Queen Elizabeth the Second

The Three of Swords card showed the passing of a much loved national figurehead to come in Leo season or after (Leo is late July-late August. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 11 passed away 8 September in Virgo Season.)

I did not name the person. That would not be right or ethical, but it was the Queen of Pentacles who was seen in the reading. This card rules the Earth signs, Capricorn, Virgo and Taurus. Her Majesty, RIP, was a Taurus subject, while Leo represents the concept of a ruler or royalty.

But the Queen was not only a national figurehead. She was a global figurehead; the Head of The Commonwealth.

“The Commonwealth is made up of 54 member states from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Pacific. The member states are home to a total of over 2.4 billion people.”

The Queen represented a link with Britain’s past, domestically and globally after the end of Empire, a link to the generations who lived through the Second World War.

That emotionally powerful symbolic link is broken now. Here again, was the message of the World card, signifying the completion of a cycle, the end of an era. I was surprised at my own grief.

Floods

We predicted a higher than usual risk of major flooding in 2022. Heavy rains caused a disastrous landslide in Peru in March 2022. Pakistan experienced unprecedented monsoon flooding June-August affecting millions of people. Australia has also experienced unusually severe flooding in 2022, from February to late April and then again from October onwards and is experiencing more flooding at the time of writing.

China and Taiwan

We predicted an escalation of tensions in the Strait of Taiwan in the second half of the year. This later manifested in the wake of Nancy Pelosi’s official US visit to Taiwan, 2 August 2022. This was seen as a formal recognition of Taiwan’s independent sovereign status, subsequent to China’s signing of the China- Solomon Islands Security Pact signed in April 2022.

This agreement has been viewed as a significant potential threat to the US and allies including Australia, paving the way for the presence of Chinese military installations in the Solomon Islands.

So what about 2023?

2023 –Broad Overview

Change is the only thing that is constant, but there are quieter periods of change, and then there are dramatic or traumatic periods of change. It is clear that we are not going back to ‘normal’ any time soon, taking January 2019 as a benchmark of the previous ‘normal’.

We talk about history in terms of ages and eras- The Greeks, the Romans, The Ming Dynasty, the Renaissance and so on. We are on the threshold of an era for which we do not yet have the name.

The big story in the astrology of 2023 is Pluto in Aquarius. We are leaving an age of Capricorn and entering a new Age of Aquarius. It starts in spring 2023 when Pluto leaves Capricorn and goes into Aquarius. It will only stay there for three months, and then we go back into Pluto in Capricorn for a while. But it will go back into Aquarius in 2024, and this time it will stay there until 2044.

This 20 year planetary transit means big changes to the organization of society, to the global economy, to the mining industries (this means not only fossil fuels, but lithium and cobalt) to crypto-currency, to science and digital, space and medical technology.

A new age of sci-fi is here, as in previous transits of Aquarius in Pluto when there was the Industrial Revolution- and also the French Revolution, and also the American War of Independence.

Pluto in Aquarius can unseat plutocrats, rulers whose power is based primarily in personal wealth/plutocracy. This will include Putin and his prime ally Lukashenko, the dictatorial president of Belarus.)

Pluto was last in Aquarius in 1778-1798. This was a period of revolutions. It brought sweeping changes-sometimes with a great deal of violence. It brought the Industrial Revolution in Britain. It brought the French Revolution. It brought American Independence. It brought the start of the movement for women’s rights.The next twenty years will be bringing social changes on this kind of scale.

Natural Events 2023

The risk of severe flooding in 2023 is looking lower this year when compared with the risk of flooding we detected at the beginning of 2022. I’m not seeing flooding so clearly in the cards. The astrology, however, is not reassuring when Saturn arrives in Pisces 7 March 2023 and stays there until May 2025. Saturn describes structure. Pisces is the ancient sign of fresh water flooding in particular. Especially spring melt downriver of mountainous regions.

We may notice more solar flares, with possible effects on the earth’s magnetic shield and satellite technologies.

Uranus in Taurus which began 15 May 2018 and continues until 17 April 2026 continues bringing an upheaval of what was ‘normal’ in global health and the economy. Uranus in Taurus rules the throat- the point of entry for the disease. This problem is not going away although the incidence seems to to ease on a global scale March- August 2023.

No, the covid pandemic is not over yet. In our local hospital at the time of writing, three people are in the ICU- not with covid, but with Flu A.

All manner of rather peculiar viruses are about, at a time when more questions being raised than can yet be answered, about the action and effects of certain covid vaccinations, as discussed in a book ‘Viral,’ by Alina Chan and Matt Ridley. There is no definitive proof of a Wuhan lab leak, but they demonstrate why it cannot be discounted either, as the origin of the pandemic, with US involvement too, and with grave implications for future risk management in public health.

I am not ‘anti-vax’ as such. The zoonotic explanation struck me as entirely plausible, though I had questions. But it is becoming increasingly clear that the story here goes back some way in time, to the illness, treatment, and some deaths of miners who became ill after entering caves in South east China, inhabited by a certain species of horseshoe bat.

The risk of a there being a nuclear accident or attack instigated by Vladimir Putin cannot be discounted, but is not looking likely to happen as viewed through the lens of the Tarot, and the risk diminishes further after the end of March. There will no asteroid striking Earth.

Readers look for the cards and the card combinations which do not appear, as well as those that do. For example, there was no Star combined with the Devil or The Tower and Judgment or The World. It would take a combination of cards like this to suggest an apocalypse level event.

Technology

Aquarius is the sign of technology. Pluto in Aquarius will mean exciting new developments in mining technologies, digital technologies, crypto-currencies or space tech. Some of this we will see in 2023. There may be an event or an accident involving a satellite or something similar. But we will not be hit by any asteroid.

Pluto is the planet of death and regeneration. This includes genetics. Pluto in Aquarius says that there will be exciting discoveries in medical science. We have recently seen the first cloning of red blood cells in a lab setting. There will be more like this in 2023.

Manufacturing will enter a new phase in those countries which closed down their manufacturing in favour of globalism, choosing instead to rely on cheap imports of goods manufactured elsewhere.

The war in Ukraine and China’s attitude towards Taiwan (which happens to be the world’s biggest manufacturer of computer chips) has shown those developed nations that this was a serious mistake. They must rebuild their own manufacturing capabilities back again as fast as possible, and in 2023 they will be using new, robotic technology to do it.

Globalism has failed to ensure the maintenance of an international rules based order.

Mass migration

We will see more urgent issues in 2023 to do with mass migration, particularly in the spring. This is not only in Europe, though it is partly in consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is also the aftermath of extreme weather events, such as the floods in Pakistan in 2022. There will also likely be issues to do with shortages in food production, at east in the first quarter of 2023.

Attached to these events, exacerbated by them, there will be ever greater numbers of people on the move in early 2023, (esp during Aquarius) as shown by the people in the boats in The Six of Swords card, with critical legal and political developments in respect of uncontrolled channel migration in the UK, possibly taking effect by mid-late spring when Saturn (law and order) goes into Pisces (the sea).

The growing scale of migration is an emergency, not only for genuine refugees, but for those destination countries, and the strain on their infrastructure and their own populations, trying to accommodate the needs of unprecedented numbers of new arrivals.

Mars, planet of action goes into watery Cancer, zodiac sign of the family home and homeland security, Mar 25, 2023 – May 20, 2023. We could see key events to do with traffic at sea in the English Channel, or to do with events at sea in the Black Sea, the Strait of Hormuz or the Strait of Taiwan. This action, if taken, is Mars action that is defensive in motivation.

The fall of the Roman Empire saw mass migration on this scale.

The Migration Period was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman kingdoms. The term refers to the important role played by the migration, invasion, and settlement of various tribes, notably the Franks, Goths, Alemanni, Alans, Huns, early Slavs, Pannonian Avars, Magyars, and Bulgars within or into the former Western Empire and Eastern Europe. The period is traditionally taken to have begun in AD 375 (possibly as early as 300) and ended in 568.^[2] Various factors contributed to this phenomenon of migration and invasion, and their role and significance are still widely discussed -(Wiki)

Historians differ as to the dates for the beginning and ending of the Migration Period. The beginning of the period is widely regarded as the invasion of Europe by the Huns from Asia in about 375 and the ending with the conquest of Italy by the Lombards in 568

Mass migration always creates turbulence, at least initially. Social unrest or outright violence.

China and Taiwan

The reader is seeing heated words and gestures, with possible further Chinese naval incursions or illegal entry of Taiwanese air space. What is not being shown is an attempt to launch an actual land invasion in 2023.

The reader drew the Eight of Diamonds for China. Eight represents stability, Diamonds is money and government. President Xi is looking cautious this year, and seems anxious to maintain economic stability. He seems likely to avoid taking risks on anything that will seriously destabilize the prosperity of China. Putin’s actions in Ukraine, by shrinking western economies are indirectly threatening China’s economic interests at a time when it is seeking to recover from the effects of the covid pandemic, just as China experiences a whole new wave, relaxing its zero covid policy in the wake of public unrest.

Mars in Gemini is retrograde until 12 January, when its effects may ease, and its effects include airborne warfare -including missiles and also including aerosol/germ warfare. After this date Mars turns direct, though it stays in volatile Gemini until 15 March.

The US

2023 could mean a political change in the United States which is currently experiencing its first Pluto return; a time when many empires and dynasties have risen or fallen. President Biden has come through the mid-term US Elections, not strongly, but secure enough for now. The reader is not ‘pro-Biden’ but is not detecting a return for Donald Trump 2024, and is not detecting Kamala Harris as a future US President.

The UK

The Conservative government is having a tough time in January and February but Labour has also alienated its own electorate and has hard lessons to learn. The UK will carry on supporting Ukraine in 2023. The coronation of King Charles 111 is planned for May but there could be changes to this date. King Charles continues to have worries to do with “a child who is living overseas,” shown by The Sun card drawn reversed and the Three of Wands.

The UK could have a good year in terms of inward foreign investment in the second quarter (Jupiter in Taurus.) There could be ambitious long term plans for improvements to our waterways after growing concerns about pollution (Pluto in Aquarius, Saturn in Pisces, Mars in Cancer.)

The national mood improves later in the year during a more buoyant optimistic Jupiter-Pluto alignment around August-September, possibly due to more popular government initiatives.

Russia and Ukraine

The Star card of Aquarius has made multiple appearances. Late Feb onward looks critical for the war in Ukraine, bringing big changes for President Putin, whose natal ascendant is in Capricorn, while President Zelensky is an Aquarius subject. This is likely to represent a key juncture, and possibly a hopeful opportunity for the ending of hostilities with Ukraine in a strong negotiating position. It may be there will be disappointment for Zelensky, -Pluto (wealth, power, death) -the price of peace, as Putin seeks to redraw the border at the Dnipro river. For all the superb courage of Ukraine, there are no clear winners here that the Tarot has been able to detect. Much depends on the vision of the US but my cards are showing that if Europe does not lose its nerve, it is not out of the question that Ukraine will take back Mariupol- and the Crimea.

Putin does not win. Ukraine survives as a sovereign entity. He has chosen to respond to Ukraine’s resistance and military counter challenge by waging a total war against unarmed civilians and civilian infrastructure, and now Eastern Europe is a hive in uproar. We need no cards to see this is a war with a very long tail of consequences in geo-politics, with major implications for the future direction of NATO.

A number of Vedic astrologers have said it looks possible that Putin will remain in power in Russia until 2030. On the other hand, UK/Australian Astrologer Jessica Adams predicted on her website 13 March 2022, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, that Pluto’s temporary departure from Capricorn 24 March 2023 will mark the beginning of the end for Vladimir Putin as the man in power in Russia.

The Tarot concurs more closely with Jessica than with those Vedic astrologers. The cards rightly or wrongly do not show that Putin stays in power until 2030. March –May does look like a critical time in the course of this war, as represented by repeated appearances of The Hanged Man (Pisces.) The cards for Putin himself, on a personallevel, do not look encouraging in the second half of 2023 and into 2024.

The Ace of Swords and the Death card were drawn, suggesting his possible departure from power by or before autumn of 2024. (The Death card often does not mean physical death- although it certainly can mean exactly that. But it can correlate with Scorpio dates, late Oct-late Nov in respect of timings.)

Russia seems destined to undergo another upheaval from Feb 2026, triggered by a Neptune-Saturn conjunction, based on previous such conjunctions tracked in the history of Russia, eg; the assassination of Alexander 11, and the death of Stalin. But there are previews of this coming upheaval in 2023

The writer does not see any clear sign that there will be a lasting ceasefire sooner than the end of March. By summer (Queen of Cups-Cancer- Strength -Leo season) is looking more hopeful. But things may start to calm during this period by a series of steps and stages.

Russia has already failed to annex Ukraine in entirety. Will Russia be able to hang on to all four of those illegally annexed territories in Ukraine? It seems probable that Ukraine will very slowly reclaim much if not all of this territory, with the possible exception of Donetsk. Russia will now remain a permanent threat to Ukraine, and therefore the stability in the rest of Eastern Europe.

Europe

The political solidarity of Europe could be tested this year, particularly around April and August, but there could be new ideas and proposals for reorganization within the European Union in May/June. Germany seems to be doing better after February 2023, going into economic recovery. But as previously mentioned, this war in Ukraine has major implications for the future mission statement and changing remit of NATO.

The US

2023 could mean a political change in the United States which is currently experiencing its first Pluto return. This is a time when empires and dynasties have risen or fallen. President Biden has come through the mid-term US Elections slightly better than predicted, not strongly, but securely enough for now. Rightly or wrongly, the reader is not detecting a second term for Donald Trump after 2024, and is not detecting Kamala Harris as a future US President. Ron DeSantis, currently governor of Florida, is said to be a man to watch in 2023 as a possible future contender for another Republic presidency in 2024.

The Chinese Year of the Black/Water Rabbit (兔年 tùnián)

In 2023 we enter the Year of the Rabbit. This is a year of the black rabbit- black represents the element of water in Chinese astrology. The Year of the Rabbit, as with all the animal signs in the Chinese zodiac, comes round once every twelve years.

2023 Chinese New Year Day is on Sunday, 22 January 2023, although I have read that technically speaking the first day of the 2023 Chinese Astrology Year is 4 February 2023. This date is different from the Chinese New Year Day for reasons based on the lunar calendar.

If a baby was born before 4 February then the baby’s Chinese Zodiac sign is the Tiger, not the Rabbit.

You are a Rabbit if you were born in the following years: 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, and 2011

Be aware, the dates vary depending on the date of the February new moon. If your birthday is in February you need to check the dates in February for that particular year.

The Year of the Black (Water) Rabbit ends 9 February 2024 when we will enter a new Dragon year.

The rabbit is traditionally regarded as one of the happiest Chinese zodiac signs. People born in a Rabbit year are known for kindness, reliability, loyalty and also elegance and a certain air of mystery. People born in a year of the Rabbit are quick-witted, sociable, careful and inventive – occasionally ingenious. But cautious.

The Rabbit is a prey animal. A buck/jack rabbit may indeed be aggressive, but in general the rabbit is not confrontational. This may prove good news in 2023 in geo-politics. This year is expected to be a little quieter overall than 2022, the year of the Water Tiger which represents outward, expansive – and maritime Yang energy.

The Rabbit is creative. Spring is rime Rabbit power season. March, the Chinese Month of the Rabbit is therefore looking like the key month for launching new jobs, plans, projects and enterprises.

Xi has recently been ramping up aggression in Taiwanese air space, but he is aware he needs to be very careful, and he will likely have Covid to contend with, and all the attendant economic implications at least until the end of the first quarter of 2023.

The Mars in Cancer transit (war at sea?) may be tense from late March-late May-

In the Black Sea too.

President Erdogan, a Pisces native, turning up in my cards as the King of Cups, will most assuredly not want to see Russia succeed in taking the Ukrainian port of Odessa. This would be a challenge to Turkey’s maritime hegemony in the Black Sea. But President Erdogan does not want to fall out with Moscow, for reasons of trade, and has a tricky balancing act, with a general election to fight in June 2023.

Foe the rest of us in general, the rabbit is at its prime in the spring, saying March-April 2023 is the optimal time for new opportunities. This is the time to make a push and to persist. “The early bird catches the worm”.

The diplomatic Rabbit again, brings hope of a ceasefire in Ukraine in 2023, and an easing of tensions in other areas, despite some much gloomier forecasts from security analysts. While the gloom is realistic, and while Putin is ruthless and very determined, the wider stakes are too high for him to be allowed to annexe Ukraine, but the more attacks Ukraine can absorb or repel, the more of everything Putin too, must spend. As ever, only time will tell.

Meanwhile astrologers in India are predicting a boom year of economic growth for India.

The last Rabbit year, 2011, signified positive news for the economy, curbing inflation. But the last Water Rabbit year was in 1963. What events or themes of 1963 may be coming round again then, this year, echoed, recycled or followed up with a related new chapter? What karma?

In 1963

French president Charles de Gaulle prevents Great Britain’s entry into the Common Market.
Nuclear test ban treaty is signed by the U.S., Great Britain, and USSR.
Buddhist-led military group overthrows the government of South Vietnam.
Kenya becomes an independent republic.
Assassination of John F. Kennedy

Lucky colours in a Rabbit year

These colours are lucky for everyone but especially lucky for rabbit natives: green, blue, black, beige, white, and silver, gold.

In Summary

Buckle up for another eventful, sometimes bumpy ride in 2023, particularly until the end of March. World economics are definitely bumpy. But constructive Jupiter in Taurus from 16 May onward could mean a boost to the global economy, a more ‘bullish’ Stock Exchange, and smoothie Venus in diplomatic Libra from November is reason for hope, suggesting that a conflict quietens by the end of the year, starting after we pass mid-summer.

This arrival of Venus in Putin’s own sun sign in November 2023 may prove with hindsight to be significant for Putin as a Libra native. This war seems to quieten in stages after the first quarter of 2023, but it does not seem to end on any one single clear event. The Ace of Swords and Death card have come into sight though, for Vladimir Putin himself. These cards cannot be clearer in their meaning. They mean The End. It seems possible, there will be a ceasefire or a brokered peace late in 2023, and Putin may leave power, if not then, then in the following year in 2024.

Both Taurus and Libra are ruled by Venus, the celestial antidote to the sporadically retrograde, aggressive Mars energy that has been ruling the roost since early 2022.

How do we best navigate this year at a personal level?

The Two of Coins

You have got a lot on your plate, rushing to and fro. But you are coping, just about. Drop any spare baggage if you must, and travel light, but take your time. Don’t force the issue. Do not “throw the baby out with the bathwater.”

Delay making big decisions until you feel more sure of the ground.

The Ace of Coins is a powerful and positive card of new beginnings to do with money, work and career. It can also be a new home. It can be a garden. This is about keeping at it, working steadily to build, to grow and to accumulate your resources. Its colour is green; a bright beautiful springtime green, like fresh new leaves on a tree.

The Ten of Cups is the card of a happy home and happy relations between family members. But there will be times early in the New Year when we might be feeling more irritable than usual.

The Ten of Cups is ruled by the zodiac sign of Pisces, and by the planets Jupiter and Mars. Gently does it round family members this year, especially with siblings. 2023 is likely to be personally demanding at an individual level, especially in the first half of the year. But we are helped along the way by generous Jupiter in Taurus and diplomatic Venus in Libra.

Jupiter in Taurus is also great news for agriculture after May 2023 when food supply issues should ease, as well as in the fields of finance, training, business, higher education and publishing, while Venus in Libra is good news for legal situations and for partnerships both personal and professional; creative and artistic pursuits, especially in the second half of the year.

Determined efforts will likely pay off, starting or culminating 16 May 2023- 25 May 2024.

Wishing you the very best for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year, 2023.

In the Time of Taurus, Tarot talking Ukraine…

Photo by u0410u043bu0435u043au0441u0435u0439 u0412u0430u0441u0438u043bu044cu0435u0432 on Pexels.com

Readings 29 April and 10 May 2022

Left hand column represents Ukraine

Top to bottom

Aspect/Issue-present-future

Right hand column represents Russia

Top to bottom,

Aspect/Issue-present-future

Authors own Image using the Illuminati Tarot

We all see the issue although we may have different interpretations, depending on where we are living in the world, and our own historical and cultural perspective and personal outlook.

The reader is not free of bias. However, the reader exercises absolutely zero conscious control in selecting the cards, which are drawn blindly and at random. No- one knows what the ultimate outcome will be. Everyone is ‘looking in the glass darkly’, and although the reader may be influenced by personal prejudice when it comes to interpretation of the cards drawn at random, the rules of Tarot divination allow the reader only so much freedom of latitude.

Anyone can look at these cards and form their own intuitive impressions, based on the imagery alone, helped by their own experiences of reading faces and situations in their own lives.

Possible Outcomes (as we all know)

-Russia will completely overrun Ukraine, install a puppet government in Kyiv and then possibly invade other territories, Moldova, Estonia.

-Ukraine will repel the Russian invasion and recapture the Donbas and Mariupol, if not Crimea, though this seems unlikely.

-There will be ongoing guerilla warfare in Eastern Ukraine drawn out over years if not decades. This war started in 2014.

-Ukraine will remain an independent nation state but Russia will succeed in taking the Donbas/Mariupol and Ukraine will become further partitioned.

The Runes

You will notice two stones drawn against each column of cards. These are old Norse runes.

Ukraine has drawn SOWILO and ISA. These runes signify happiness (sunflowers) and success. However, this happiness has been frozen by ISA, the rune of Ice, cold and stagnation. Reading these runes in another way, the Sowilo rune looks like the Z on the Russian tanks, while Isa suggests Russian tanks are stopped. These runes suggest eventual victory at great cost, Russia stopped in its tracks.

Russia has drawn DAGAZ and HAGALL, meaning Daylight and HAIL/Storm. These runes are saying that Russia dreams of a new Imperial dawn (and every dog will have its day) but HAGALL brings a great blow.

The Cards

Card One: The disruptive (quite an understatement) Five Wands REVERSED. Meaning: Conflict/competition/unsettled market forces. This suggests active fighting continues at least into early summer. In terms of timing the Five of Wands represents the first decan of Leo which spans 21 July-22 August. The first decan is the last week of July, 23-1 August. Perhaps we will see a ceasefire about this time.

This is a massive simplification, but these cards suggest the last scenario as the most likely outcome.

The Justice card is drawn opposite The Hanged Man- a sacrifice made for a return to Law and Order.

Ukraine is fighting for ‘Justice’- the rule of Law. By this we mean its own autonomous law, and the principle of international law and order. Russia is fighting for the surrender of Ukraine. The Hanged Man means surrender of sacrifice. Russia wants the removal of Zelenskyy, who has personally been represented by The Hanged Man in previous readings (see archives) Russia has made a series of attempts on Zelenskyy’s life starting 23 February. Ukraine has made plans in case of his death, and this is unpleasant but only prudent.

It would be wrong to make predictions of death, but in previous readings, the cards have indicated that while the risk is very real, Zelenskyy survives the conclusion of hostilities. The central Ten of Swords however suggests a fresh blow to Ukraine or to Zelenskyy personally, possibly another attempt or added risk in June, correlating with third decan Gemini,around 11-20 June.

At the same time, perhaps directly connected to that Ten of Swords or its aftermath, we have the Four of Swords for Russia -or for Putin personally. This is a classic card of rest and retreat. The Four of Swords is nicknamed the sick bed card or hospital card. This reader does believe that President Putin has a serious health issue. By the same token, this card of retreat could mean a peak in the conflict, and in consequence, a pause, truce or ceasefire.

But what’s the process in play here? This reading is merely a snapshot in time. The reader is asking themselves, “what am I feeling about this situation right now?” Using the cards to reflect their own feelings back at them, the better to articulate them.

Ukraine Future cards

Seven of Pentacles, slow progress, patience, persistence, disappointment but there is a harvest. This card equates with third decan Taurus ie now, if we are to read the card in this way. Why might this be? M Macron has apparently said it would take ‘decades’ to admit Ukraine into the EU, although the EU will seek other ways to help Ukraine. Macron proposes to create a new Pan European body- which countries like Ukraine could join. Read more about that here

The Fool card: Destiny. There is no card more numinous, more powerful than this one in the Tarot deck. It is the card of the Portal, Ground Zero. Again, like The Hanged Man, it is Odin who sacrificed an eye in exchange for knowledge. Ukraine has already worn so many identities in the past, but will be reborn with a new constitution. How is that, when they are fighting with such determination to preserve their current identity? Does it mean that Russia is going to conquer Ukraine?

Knight of Swords The reader looks to the next card for the possible answer. The Knight of Swords represents anything but a defeat. This knight is swift, agile, ruthless. The god is Mercury, the zodiac entity is Gemini. The Knight of Swords is intellect, law, cool air, a rushing wind, an east wind. The Knight of Swords attacks. This is an aspect of Zelenskyy himself, and his deployment of the modern media has been masterly, Mercury in action. Zelenskyy is a modern leader. Tech savvy,media savvy, and a match for Putin intellectually. Maybe more than. He represents the future. Putin is non tech savvy, essentially a leader from the nineteenth century.

This card suggests a fierce fight back. Ukraine seems likely to move from fighting in defense mode to counter offensive, and may already be doing so, with an effort being made at this time to retake Snake Island and deny Russia that strategic position on the Black Sea.

Ukraine is mobilizing social media, Art and Beauty.

#Ukraine Even in the darkest times, music gives strength to Ukrainian defenders, raises morale and mobilises. This is the violinist Moisei Bondarenko, a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/RJ1a6eOXHD
— Hanna Liubakova (@HannaLiubakova) May 8, 2022

Knight of Swords says Ukraine will build a new air force. Never again will it allow itself to lie defenseless and naked to the skies.

Russia Future cards

The Hierophant is Taurus (now) The Hierophant is the Church. Putin has the endorsement of the Russian Orthodox Church to go take the two separatist republics, as represented by the two keys shown on the card. and also, kill sexual deviants and decadent people while doing so, because there is nothing deviant about the rape of unarmed civilian women. And children. The Hierophant is orthodoxy and tradition. Putin is an Imperialist, not a Communist. The Hierophant does suggest to the reader, that, like it or not, Russia may ultimately succeed in annexing the Donbas because of those two keys, and because The Hierophant speaks of tradition and conservation. Reclaiming the past.

The Two of Swords is the central card drawn. Here it has been drawn reversed. Again, added to that Hierophant, this suggests a severance of two entities. Partition. It also means the end of a period of indecision or the end of a long stalemate or deadlock. Someone may be experiencing headaches or eyestrain; either Putin himself or someone very close. I have known this card to mean exactly this too many times before for me to discount that interpretation.

The Two of Swords may additionally refer to Putin’s undoubted chagrin in respect of the applications of Sweden and Finland to now join NATO in response to the perceived threat to their own borders as a consequence of Putin’s unbridled aggression in Ukraine.

King of Swords. Libra (October) and Aquarius (late January-late February) 2023 could be definitive for Putin personally. Other card readings have suggested that he leaves or has left power no later than February-April 2024, but other cards, including The Joker, suggest it could well happen sooner.

Zelenskyy is astrologically a King of Swords, born 25 January, 1978 if the information is correct, and is quite possibly going to prove to be Putin’s nemesis, although at this terrible cost, with that cost still mounting. What can one do with an opponent who simply does not care how much damage he inflicts? There is a spitefulness in Putin. Astrologically he is a Queen of Swords. This card has come up on repeated occasions, usually drawn upside down or and when draw reversed, this otherwise savvy, wise and subtle Queen becomes bitter and vindictive.

In metaphorical terms, Zelenskyy, being drawn as a King of Swords drawn upright, is capable of steely ruthlessness in a desperate situation, and will cut off your head if he judges the emergency warrants it, but it isn’t personal.

Putin, being drawn as a Queen of Swords drawn reversed, will cut off your head after you have already surrendered, and it’s personal.

Henry v111 has been used as the model for this card in this deck, and I’d say he was both a King and Queen of Swords reversed in terms of his behaviour, although astrologically he was a sun Cancer subject, born 28 June and his rising sign was Virgo; exceedingly sensitive emotionally, and at the same time- that Virgo Mercury influence- highly analytical and detail focused.

But the appearance of this powerful court card does suggest Putin gets something for his efforts. He has to, or he is toast.

7 May I drew playing cards asking when Putin leaves power laying out the cards in rows, each card representing a month.

I asked my cards, ‘show me the Ace of Spades or Ten Spades to show me when Putin goes from power’.

The Ten of Swords turned up in the time slot representing March 2024 and this card was flanked by two Aces which struck me as significant. Aces mean new starts. The Ten of Swords was flanked by the Ace of Diamonds,representing February 2024, and the Ace of Clubs representing April 2024.

These Aces suggest a new leadership. Either one of them can mean a new government.

However, The Four of Swords drawn for late 2022 and the Joker drawn for January 2023 suggest big changes could happen far sooner, on the Russian side.

In particular The Joker, denoting change that is as sudden or surprising as it is momentous.

The Joker is no laughing matter. He never was. He is The Fool on The Hill, neither good nor evil but still, a portal. The Joker says…a great destiny is in play here that will help shape the future world order for a long time to come. To those who say ‘what is this to do with us in the UK?’ (That is, if we leave the nukes out of the question, and no, the UK is not going to get nuked, much as Putin may be itching to teach us a ‘lesson.’)

To those people, The Joker says, what is freedom? What is justice? The rule of Law? Self-respect? Self determination? What do we mean by these words? How much do they matter to us based on our understanding of what they mean when applied in action? In every day living? What is their value? What is their cost? What would we pay, what would we sacrifice to guarantee them for ourselves or our own people? Not to live under the boot.

April 2024 for Putin’s departure may seem a long way off, but it could chime with that Two of Swords reversed on the Russia timeline, which brackets a time frame running from October 2022 Libra- or up to another two years in duration from today 10 May 2022.

One can see that scenario is perfectly credible and realistic, but I somehow don’t feel this will continue so long as 2024, not at this intensity, partly based on that appearance of The Joker.

Putin preparing for a long war, say US officials

Vladimir Putin appears to be preparing for a long war in Ukraine, top US intelligence officials said.

“The Russians aren’t winning and the Ukrainians aren’t winning and we’re at a bit of a stalemate here,” Lieutenant General Scott Berrier, the head of the Defence Intelligence Agency, said before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Russia, which calls the invasion “a special military operation,” poured more troops into Ukraine for a huge offensive last month in the eastern part of the country but its gains have been slow.

US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, also appearing before the Armed Services Committee, said: “We assess President Putin is preparing for a prolonged conflict in Ukraine during which he still intends to achieve goals beyond the Donbas.”

She added that Mr Putin was counting on the Western resolve to weaken over time and as the conflict continued, there was concern about how it would develop in the coming months.

Source: The Independent

The reader has got things right before, Brexit, tsunami of January 2022, the election of Boris Johnson first as party leader and then as PM. But readers also get things wrong. Of course they do. This is divination, not black magic. This reader was pretty wobbly on the re-election of Donald Trump, not seeing that the Ace of Swords, which she mistook for a likely election victory was in fact, the armed incursion on Capitol Hill in the aftermath (and- declaration of bias- she is not a Trump fan, but nor is she a Biden fan)It’s all in the archives.

As ever only Time will tell. But meantime, I will keep looking.

We ‘look in the glass darkly’ to ‘see the world in a grain of sand’ or a drop of water – or a mote in the Mind’s eye.

The Tarot and a Full Thunder Moon

The Full Thunder Moon, the Tarot and what it means this month…

What is astrology and why do astrologers study the Moon?

‘Astrology’ comes from Greek and means ‘the study of the stars.’

Humans have been studying the Moon since at least 25 000 years ago. This is only natural. It is the closest celestial body to Earth, exerting visible effects on the tides, and on every living thing that depends for its way of living on the behaviour of the tides, and possibly a whole lot more besides, though this is debated, e.g.; crop growth, hormonal cycles and moods.

It’s about the search for meaning and planning on earth using clues in the sky. Astrology began as humanity made conscious attempts to measure, record, and predict seasonal changes by paying attention to astronomical cycles. They did this largely for practical planning purposes, for example:

When would the wild cattle- the aurochs migrate – and they could organise a hunt?
When would the salmon or other fishes spawn?
When would the rains come – and possibly floods?

Early evidence of sky-monitoring appears as markings on bones and cave walls in the Neolithic period 25,000 years ago, recording the movements of the sun, and the moon and its influence upon tides and rivers. This led to the creation of the first written calendars in the Bronze Age 3,300 – 1200 BC by the Sumerians in the ancient Near East.

Symbolically, because it has no light of its own, The Moon represents our shadowy side, our deepest instincts, our dreams, hidden health, and the impulses that drive our behaviour whether or not we are consciously aware of them.

The Moon Headlines July 2020

July 5: Full Moon in Capricorn (a lunar eclipse)

July 12: Last Quarter (Waning)

July 20: New Moon in Cancer

July 27: First Quarter (Waxing)

The July Full Moon is nicknamed the Thunder Moon. This name comes from the indigenous American Algonquin people in the areas first colonized by the Pilgrims. This time of year was associated with powerful thunderstorms in the northern forests.

What do the moon phases mean symbolically?

A Full Moon occurs when the Moon is in opposition, meaning it is on the opposite of the Earth from the Sun on the same celestial longitude and we can see the entire lit portion of the Moon.A lunar eclipse only ever happens at full moon and suggests mysteries, hidden truths or sometimes danger. A Full Moon is traditionally the optimum time to take stock and evaluate, or to gather, collect, harvest or cash in on something. Emotions may be especially intense.

A New Moon occurs when the Moon is between the Earth and the sun, and we can only see the side that is in shadow. Traditionally, this is a time to clear away what is no longer wanted, make a wish, and start something new.

What does this potentially mean for you and me this month?

Full Moon in Capricorn:

Tarot card: The Devil

From the Gilded Royale Tarot, Ciro Marchetti

Themes: authority/ lack of authority/power/powerlessness/obsession/addiction/attraction/desire/sexual chemistry/compulsion/ anger/ fear/ excess/ getting carried away/duty v violence

Tweeted today

#Tarot COTD The Devil. Sexy beast? Can be. And it can mean PARTY but this is a party that brings trouble. Drugs. Chaos. Lawlessness. This card in Tarot equates with Capricorn. Tomorrow’s full moon lunar eclipse is in Capricorn Sun 5 July.

We think of the current trouble in London, block parties out of control, neighbourhood’s terrorised, police and police vehicles attacked; last night in Hammersmith, police running away again, seven officers hurt but no arrests, sent in without protective gear. Doubtless there will be more such behaviour tonight.

The last lunar eclipse was the full moon on 5 June and public events got pretty intense. This month’s eclipse full moon may look reddish —the reason it is often referred to as an ‘umbral’ (umber) or as a “Blood Moon”

During lunar eclipses, we are encouraged to let go of whatever is no longer serving our best interests. This is the time to release, get rid, clear out and say goodbye to things that no longer do us any good. A little of what you fancy does you good, but overdoing it does just the opposite. Some places and people do you good, others mislead you or drag you down.

Focus on practical matters. Live and let live. This energy demands more give and take. Perhaps more give and less take. Take it easy round other people at this time.

New Moon in Cancer:

Tarot Card: The Chariot

From the Gilded Tarot Royale, Ciro Marchetti

Themes: ambition, determination, effort, focus, self- discipline, co-operation with others, aggression, or lack of effort, lack of focus, no direction

The imagery on this card makes me think of Cleopatra, and her partnership with Julius Caesar who bequeathed his name to July.

Around the New Moon on 20 July, your best well-being is symbolically focused on home, family and close friends. Your own nest is probably best right now. You may be feeling extra moody, more up and down than usual. Try to stand back a little and don’t let it get on top of you. Switch off the news if that’s what it takes to get a better night’s sleep. Life has been slow but it is going to speed up again before long. Let it find you in the best possible shape.

Advice card

The Magician

From The Legacy of the Divine Tarot, Ciro Marchetti

Themes: the Self, Knowledge, Skill, Communications, Self-Control, Self-Mastery

Things could continue tricky in July for many; on the world stage and potentially in domestic life. But the appearance of The Magician, drawn upright, and not reversed, means that it is certainly not all bad news in July.

The Magician is ruled by Mercury, planet of communications, media, commerce, trade and travel.

Mercury went retrograde on 18 June. You may have noticed any number of hopefully minor annoyances in connection with this; losing stuff, miscommunications, things breaking down.

But Mercury goes direct again after 12 July, which may indicate a lightening of mood, and perhaps represent something of a liberation. Things may noticeably start going a bit more smoothly, fewer blips and glitches. Likewise, in respect of the covid crisis, The Magician (because it represents the Number 1) is reflecting a wider reduction of the 2 metre social distancing rule, to a 1 metre rule, which would be beneficial to the retail, beauty and hospitality industries.

This card is likewise reflected in the opening up of overseas travel,expanding beyond the travel corridors originally mooted by our own as well as other governments.

On a personal level, The Magician is the ultimate card that says ‘a man.’

If single, you may meet someone new, but this seems more likely to happen after July 12 than before.

The Magician is also you, yourself, and the things you can or will do. It is the card of personal will-power, and the drive to do, learn, execute and manifest. The Magician has skills. He or she works hard to develop these skills or know-how. The Magician watches and learns, and is curious, and ready to put in the effort to achieve his/her goals. The Magician initiates, creates, practices, polishes, and then is ready to seek out opportunities.

Allied with the passion of The Devil, and the self-discipline of the Chariot, The Magician is a route map, and a recipe for progress.

There will be more public disorder on the streets of London tonight, highly likely. Watch out for that Devil and take it easy.

Until next time 🙂

Cartomancy’s Sneak Peek at the EU Repeal Bill

KTLN 2

Late on Monday evening Il Matrimonio reminded me that the vote for the EU Repeal Bill was due to take place that night, and I reached for my playing cards. It was already 10.00 PM, just hours to go as I drew the cards illustrated below, asking, would the Bill be passed? I left the cards out on the table, made my initial assessment which was that it was a yes answer, then went to bed and tried to forget about it till morning.

These were the cards left out overnight. The top line contained the yes answer, but on what basis did I arrive at that interpretation?

Repeal bill

To get at a yes/no answer, you lay out a row of cards using an odd number, 3, 5 or 7.

It’s a question of preference. On such a weighty and hugely multi-factorial question, 3 might seem too few, and by now I’ve trained myself to read in fives. That’s what this stuff is about. You learn your chosen system of divination, whether that’s playing cards, Tarot, runes or whatever. You study it. You learn and you practise, practise, practise until you internalise the code, the programme, or whatever you like to call it, until, if you persist, it feels like second nature.

You activate your internal oracular programme on request. The most psychic psychic in the world – whoever that is, and it isn’t me, doesn’t go round being psychic all the time. Do they heck. They wouldn’t be able to function. Prescience isn’t omniscience, with tools, you learn to manage, instruct and direct that innate human capability. So, how do you direct it?

If it’s cards you’re reading, you do it simply by stating your question aloud as you shuffle. Not for the purpose of enlisting any rogue, random spirits in the room (or, wait… no, are they…are they… aaaggghhh…imps of Satan come to steal your soul?)

No. It is just so that you will hear yourself say it. Then stop shuffling when you feel ready. That’s it. You just stop shuffling when you feel ready, then you take off the top five cards and lay them out from left to right, creating a story-board moving forward in time.

The red card suits are Hearts and Diamonds, simplistically read as supportive or positive.

The black card suits are Clubs and Spades, simplistically read as challenging or negative.

5 red suit cards represents a definite yes

4 red suit cards represents a probable yes

3 red cards represent a likely yes

2 red cards represent a likely no

1 red card represents a probable no

0 red cards says forget it. The answer is no.

So what did we have here? 3 red cards and 2 black cards, suggesting that it was more likely than not, that yes, the Repeal Bill would pass. But we had those 2 black suit cards. What else could be gleaned?

The first card out, the 10 of Clubs, is a card of business and far-flung travel and clearly represents the bottom line. Additionally, the 10 Clubs also represents the idea of a body of water. It might be a sink or a bathtub, or it might be a sea or a channel. For the first card out to say ‘The Channel! La Manche!’ provides quite a benchmark.

The second card out, the 8 of Hearts, speaks of a gathering, a convocation. It looks surprisingly cheerful here, there would appear to be more goodwill than so much other evidence suggests. It is strongly suggestive of togetherness (huh? eh? really?) It is suggestive of total sincerity at least, on both sides, whichever side of the argument you personally happen to support.

The third and central card, the pivot or hinge card here, is the 3 of Clubs: a card of confrontation but also collaboration. Three way deals. My goodness, there have been some mighty interesting conversations behind the scenes both sides of the House.

The fourth card here represents a male figure, highly significant in this debate. It might be David Davis, Jeremy Corbyn, or both. Any one card may have multiple meanings. My initial impression was that while David Davis was, despite everything, within his personal comfort zone, while Jeremy Corbyn was faced with a perplexity; needing not to alienate Labour voters who voted to leave, whilst needing to reconcile opposing elements within his party.

The final outcome card, the 4 of Hearts, is traditionally a card of a settled home, indicative of a solid, foursquare outcome. Because this card falls in the final position, this swung the cards more strongly towards a yes answer, denoting a solid but hardly sweeping result, and we now know there was a majority of 36 votes, with 126 challenges and amendments already tabled.

And if you got this far, you might be wondering about those other cards. What were they about?

When a question is so heavily loaded, supra-personal and complex, I cross- reference, coming at the question from different directions, looking for repetition, pattern and breaks in pattern.

The second row is talking about Theresa May herself. I had asked, would she achieve the result she was looking for? Again, we had 3 red suit cards and 2 black translating as, yes, more likely than not. The 2 black suit cards here however, were spades, which are to do with intellect, focus, strategy, loss – and stress, suggesting that while Theresa May will hold her nerve going forward, she is acutely aware of past mistakes and errors of calculation (the jack of spades is bad news, tricky in the extreme.)

The 9 of Spades together with the Queen of Diamonds, speaks of stress and strain, loss, attack and grief, concerning a reserved, pragmatic woman of quick instincts and warmth. It also seems, interestingly, to have foreshadowed the challenge of the 9 Conservative MP’s now tabling amendments

There is no doubt the Prime Minister has felt the sad and terrible events of 2017 no less profoundly on the personal, human level than the rest of the general population, and if anything, more intensely because some of her responses were criticised, and, wherever the culpability lay, because these things happened on her watch.

See it here below. The black dog.

Below: the Nine of Swords(Spades) from The Golden Tarot by Kat Black, by kind permission of US Games Systems

9 Swords Golden

The third row of cards was looking at those opposed to the passing of the Repeal Bill. Would they be happy with the outcome? We see here 4 black suit cards and only 1 is red. The King of Spades here is Jeremy Corbyn again, or Keir Starmer, but those who were disappointed can be assured that some concessions will be negotiated or obtained, especially and broadly pertaining to business affairs, as suggested by the outcome card on this line; the lively, mercantile Jack of Diamonds.

In laying out the final row, I had no specific question but was looking for a general sense of how things seem set to progress. The indications here are that the UK will leave the EU more or less according to the scheduled deadline. If there had been a spades card at the end of this row, it would have suggested delays, perhaps even significant delays, and if it had been the Ace of Spades, may even have detected an aborted exit process. The only spade card here however, is at the commencement of this row and it is the 6 of Spades; a positive if solemn card, denoting a departure; charting a new course. It represents progress, though of course, not without effort, cost or struggle.

Below: The Six of Swords (Spades) from The Gilded Tarot by kind permission of Ciro Marchetti

6-swordsg

The outcome card, the 2 of Hearts, suggests a 2 year time-frame, possibly accelerated by whatever is being flagged up here by the 9 of Diamonds sitting just in front of it. It looks as though, because of the electricity of the diamonds suit, that certain significant dealings in respect of transport or travel, and possibly also power stations, may be settled somewhat more advantageously to the UK than many fear. Let’s all hope so.

This is not about politics, promoting any political viewpoint. This is about learning how to read the cards in respect of public affairs, reading cold, developing skill of interpretation via benefit of hindsight.

The lessons of hindsight facilitate wider, deeper future foresight. Reading practitioners develop intuitive muscle by tackling questions. All kinds of questions. Exposition builds the reader’s vocabulary, and with it, the capacity for more in-depth precision of card interpretation, and context is king.

Until next time 🙂

Tarot Plays Ball

I’m a contributing member to a few online Tarot chat and study groups. One study group member still new to Tarot shared her card asking, ‘what is this card saying about person X? What is he like?’

The card was the Six of Wands and her deck was a Rider Waite.

The Six of Wands bespeaks effort, progress and hard-earned victories. Wands is a suit of summer time, of warmth, speed and generally volatile energy and for obvious pictorial reasons, suggests archetypal masculine qualities which are of course demonstrated by both male or female.

So I said that I thought person X was a young man of high energy, not really available to anyone at this point, driven, competitive, a team worker – and was he sporty?

As a newcomer to Tarot you will not necessarily find this word used in association with this card in any of your books, though it’s an obvious possibility at least, based on figurative interpretation.

Further reading here

in 2011 I drew the Six of Wands for a young man, asked him about an upcoming trip that was sports related and was told he was going to the States for training and had been selected for the UK wheelchair rugby team in the 2012 Paralympics.

This young lady now replied, ‘Funny 🙂 he is a professional soccer player!’

Now, this highlights a difference between clairvoyant reading and Tarot Divination. Had I been clairvoyant on this occasion I might have picked up on the football, specifically.

Might.

As it was, Tarot plus a sneaking hunch simply landed me in the appropriate ball park.

Typical Tarot! Still, it was on the ball and it didn’t miss the net.

Until next time 🙂

Tarot tells of Ghostly Whispers…

It can be confusing for potential customers to know what a psychic reader actually does. Often a caller has not looked at your website, and I may find myself explaining that I do not work as a medium. No, I tell them. I do not ‘get the other side.’ And I don’t. I really don’t, but I have experienced things, some rather odd, that mean I don’t like to send people away entirely empty-handed either if I can refer them or help in some other way.

One night not long ago I was rung by a lady wanting a medium, ideally to come to her house 20 miles from where I live. I explained that I was not a medium, and she said she needed help desperately, because something was going on in the house, terrifying her, her partner and the children. Someone – a woman- a ghost?- had spoken to one of the children. Now, at 8 in the evening, they were all huddled in the sitting room, scared even to go to the toilet.

This wouldn’t do. And yes, fear is contagious but pooh-poohing would absolutely not do. I said I’d make enquiries but meantime stated emphatically that there was absolutely no danger. The whispering lady may have been a dream, but whatever it was, she meant no harm. She had said only loving things, hadn’t she, to the child? For now, I suggested the lady put a comedy film on the telly, switch all the lights on, make a noise and dominate the house. Assert her claim to the space right now, going straight to the kitchen to make hot drinks for everyone.

A few quick cards did include the Death card reversed, indicating there may indeed have been something ghostly either in the house OR in the memory of someone in the family. But what is a ghost anyway? A sentient being, knowing exactly what it is doing, or the manifestation, seemingly external, of a memory with great power and atmosphere attached?

If the children saw that she wasn’t frightened, perhaps they’d take their cue from her, and then maybe the strange manifestations would also calm down. I felt there was stress in the house and one of the children in particular was highly sensitive to atmosphere, but sensed this was some kind of stress related psychic family event rather than a haunted house situation.

Later I called back with the name of a reputable medium able to make house visits.The medium and I have spoken subsequently and I was glad to connect professionally with such a nice, capable, cheerful sounding sensible person for potential future referral. The medium told me that in her opinion, the house was not of itself haunted, but the lady had worries and had suffered losses I won’t mention here. The whispering ghost was, according to the medium, the children’s grandmother.

However unwelcome this manifestation, her whispered words to the frightened child suggested her care and love live on, at least in the memory of a close by living person not aware of the power of their own mind ….

A Styxian Journey: The Six of swords from The Gilded Tarot by kind permission of Ciro Marchetti

On another long ago occasion someone asked me, ‘has my father gone to heaven yet?’

The funeral had been held the previous day. This was a loaded question, even though I hold no religious belief, nor a brief for or against heaven. What does it mean, ‘heaven’? What does ‘yet’ mean? I could just have said yes, and that would have been the easy thing but contrary to what ‘skeptics’ might expect, a sincere reader will not ‘diss’ his or her oracle by making up answers. People do NOT pay just to hear my personal opinions. Access to oracular Tarot is what they have come for and that is what they get.

Tarot drew the Three of Swords and Queen of Swords Reversed. These indicated that her father had been at loggerheads with his wife for a long time, which the client confirmed. Here then, I concluded, I was reading the dead, not as a medium, but through the telepathy of the living person who had known him. That’s what Tarot does, operates via telepathy – in this case, via my telepathy with the living person sitting with me whereby I intuitively accessed her own understanding of the person who had passed on.

The indications to me were that he had been terribly frightened at the imminence of death but the moment, when it came, was so easy, he hadn’t fully cottoned on yet that it had actually happened. He only knew that he felt better but strange and different. I felt quite sure he was still in the ‘valley’, but he wasn’t frightened and he was doing all right. He was getting there, wherever or however it is we go.

She could talk to him, I suggested. He might still be in hearing range. Tell him out loud what had happened and tell him he was fine, and so was everyone else at home. (His wife too. Loggerheads or not, there was still warmth of feeling there.) This idea did not seem to disturb my visitor. She smiled and said she would probably do that; it seemed quite in character for him to take a while to make up his mind to go.

Death is as individual as it is universal. And while the oracular doesn’t fudge the inescapable, that death may be uncomfortable or even painful; an anxious, confusing or downright frightening experience, there is something beyond or afterwards, there is indeed something outside our ken, more easily experienced than described. Humanity has known this from the beginning, and religion does not come into it, though it rose out of it.

We could have stayed immortal, had we been content to continue as primordial soup reproducing ad infinitum by identikit cell division. But we weren’t. We, the current denizens arisen from that protean soup, got bored and demanded a new deal. The soup began to mutate new programmes and to differentiate and create amazing and interesting plants and animals, but this demanded unimaginable feats of energy, space and organisation. And this in turn demanded boundaries so that Life came up with the solution of Death, and while Death might seem the ultimate antagonist, anathema to us in our highly realised state of individual awareness, we should at least give it credit for letting us out of the soup, and after all, that was always the deal.

So thanks, Death. I am grateful to be me today, not heaving in the soupy-gloop, bored right out of my tiny multitudinous nucleii. And I will try and remember that next time I am fed up, or Il Matrimonio annoys me or I don’t feel like cooking the tea. Today it’s casserole – rather primordial in fact, but I predict it won’t have enough time to get bored and mutate.

The lines on these roads are not where we paint them. There is more map than there are roads on the map, and the map itself is subject to parameters not proven.

Until next time 🙂

Below: The Angel of Death, Evelyn de Morgan,

Further reading: The Power of the Pendulum both by T.C Lethbridge in which he sought to demonstrate by scientifically conducted enquiry that the soul is probably immortal.