Tarot – Page 10 – True Tarot Tales

Surveillance, Spies and the Seven of Swords

I dreamed last night I was in a darkened room by an open window; a white voile curtain fluttering, billowing in the breeze. I don’t know if I was trying to get in or out. Possibly out, but someone else was there, preventing me.

From the Legacy of the Divine Tarot, Ciro Marchetti

It was a Tarot dream. That was a pretty close representation of the Seven of Swords there; the card of diplomacy and deceit, strategy and stealth, surveillance and sabotage, fraud and theft.

Often though, it is simply about the need for tact and discretion, and do we really think we could function in any relationship,intimate, familial, professional or public if we always said exactly what we really thought at any given moment in the interests of you know, honesty and transparency.

Wouldn’t life be so much smoother, better and happier for everyone if we did just that? Said what we wanted, how we wanted, when and where we wanted? All in the name of Truth. Anyone who thinks so please queue here. Your very own flying pig will be delivered as soon as pigs can fly. And please, no pushing in the queue.

Politicians are often accused of dishonesty, but in the real world the truth is so rarely black and white except at the most mundane level.

Is the Seven of Swords alerting me that somewhere deep down I suspect someone of telling me porky-pies or trying to nick my personal data or credit card information? It has warned me before – correctly, but sadly I understood too late to prevent it.

And sure, my security software keeps blocking a suspicious domain about 20 times a day. Always the same one. Which reminds me, if you are in the UK you can report suspicious email accounts here: Avoid and report internet scams and phishing: https://www.gov.uk/report-suspicious-emails-websites-phishing

Perhaps I ought to give that dodgy site a closer look next time it pops up, and grass it up to the gov.

Back to that open window in my dream. I remembered. I drew that card only yesterday, and my sleeping mind must simply have been processing that event. Though I drew plenty of other cards yesterday, so why did this one stick with me, rather than the others?

I think it’s to do with the furore surrounding the movements during lock-down of UK government aide and advisor to the UK Prime Minister, Dominic Cummings (for the benefit of readers outside the UK. )

Mr Cummings has been accused by the mainstream media, and in other quarters of having breached lock-down guidelines two months ago by driving himself, his wife and small son up from London to his home in Durham to be nearer a family support network in case of emergency. His wife had been ill with covid19, and now he felt that he too was becoming ill. Later his wife wrote that he had indeed, been extremely ill.

My mind must have been working on this while I was asleep, possibly trying to decide what I felt about the appearance of the Seven of Swords in this context.

Tweeted this morning 26 May

Seven of Swords. Strategy, stealth, surveillance, secrets. Often, but not necessarily sinister. Diplomacy or deceit? Ever had to avoid a gossip or a nosey neighbour, not telling them your business in safeguarding a loved one’s privacy? Then this was you. #Tarot IMG Ciro Marchetti

I already did a bit of card reading and pendulum dowsing back on Sunday, to see if it looked as though Dominic Cummings would either resign or be removed from his post, and it looked like a probable no, at least not in the short term, although there was nothing remotely triumphalist about this.

Why do I say that? I drew the 3 of Cups reversed. A card of ANTI celebration. This represents his household, understandably stressed, as one would imagine, placed under such a state of unanimously hostile siege. Nice for the neighbours too – the real neighbours.

Whataboutery. There is plenty of it about. Ian Blackford has been leading the charge, but did he take covid19 up to Skye with him in March? And Stephen Kinnock, etc etc. Stones and glass houses everywhere you look.

And it is easy to see plots where there may be none. The Seven of Cards is about state secrets as well as personal secrets. It is about covert surveillance and espionage, and sometimes this is wrong or criminal, but at other times the ends justify the means. As in, for instance, patient confidentiality. That would also fall under this card.

I do not presume to know anything more than anyone else. We will all form our own judgements, but I do see the anti-Leave lobby continues active, is extremely powerful, monied and well connected, and has not given up that fight. This extraordinary public health situation may seem to someone to present an opportunity not to be missed, to get rid of Dominic Cummings, with the UK still in transition and with key discussions upcoming in June.

The media reporting of this story has seemingly been deliberately calculated to weaponize not only the grief of the bereaved who were not present with their loved ones at the time of death, but their worries and doubts. Did THEY do the right thing by their loved ones? If others did things differently, pushed or broke ‘the rules,’ and it is judged that they did right by their family, does this now mean they did wrong by theirs?

No, it doesn’t mean that. Not for one minute. But the very idea would be beyond bearing, and that demands a scapegoat. It seems Dominic Cummings opponents have understood this perfectly well, and have been aiming directly for that bulls eye, and the MSM whether wittingly or not, are certainly pushing that angle.

If you dislike, or disagree with or disapprove of Dominic Cummings, you may feel this is all perfectly OK,. But even if you don’t, or you’re not sure, you might feel this is not fair play, or something’s not quite adding up…on both sides of the argument.

I can’t help wondering if he is not protecting not only his wife, son, parents and of course himself, but something else he cannot discuss – is not free to do so…could it possibly be to do with something that is happening in Barnard Castle ?

I have learned through previous readings that aside from the traditional list of meanings, which is obviously in need of updating so that the Tarot keeps up with modern life, the Seven of Swords is also THE card of statistics, data collection and modelling, and medical testing and research.

Should this be anything at all to do with the matter of that particular journey- and if and when there is a sufficiently safe and effective vaccine for #covid19, would you want to have it, yourself?

Stay careful.

Until next time 🙂

See comments for more.

As we enter the zodiac turf of Taurus- a little Taurean Magic and The Runes Talk Bull

Purists might complain that I am mixing up two or more separate histories and traditions, and so I am, but I make no apology for it

The Tarot, the Runes, western tropical astrology, eastern sidereal or Vedic astrology etc etc arose from distinctive cultures arising in distinctive landscapes at particular latitudes, looking up at the visible skies of those latitudes, and correlating celestial events with seasonal and other events at ground level.

Obviously there is going to be considerable variation between the iconography of these different symbolic systems used in divination and prediction, but there’s still a great deal of common ground, going all the way back to the Sumerians and long before that.

Bull worship in one form or another has had its place in every polytheist culture where bulls have formed part of the natural landscape.

Tarot ostensibly has its origins as a cultural artifact of fourteenth century northern Europe, but derives out of much older cultural traditions arriving into Europe from Turkey and going way back to the ancient civilisations of the Indus; the Persians, Babylonians and Sumerians.

Tarot uses the Hierophant card in directly correlating the zodiac sign of Taurus the Bull with priesthood and established religion as a general principle.

Popes issued edicts known as Papal Bulls.

The Runes on the other hand, are an alphabet associated with proto-Germanic culture both Scandinavian and Anglo- Saxon.

The Norse, we know, went travelling and trading throughout the Mediterranean and it has been suggested that the ancient Norse alphabet, the runes, derives in part from Greek.

The runes however, which began as an alphabet but were also used in shamanic practices as a symbolic magical system, reflect the landscapes they came from

You’ll notice they are made up entirely of straight lines, designed to be carved into wood, or on bones or stones.

A Tarot deck has pomegranates. The runes have a thorn and a yew tree.

Today marks the start of the third and final decan of Taurus the Bull; a fixed Earth sign, spring in its full flowering, season of wild cattle calving.

Once upon a time the spring equinox occurred a little later than it does now, owing to the movement of the constellations in relation to Earth – an effect called precession, so that one upon a time it was Taurus, not Aries, that was understood as the first sign of the new astrological year – the ‘alpha’ sign represented by the Hebrew letter ALEPH.

In the rune alphabet system, the 24 letters or glyphs of the runic alphabet, are both letters to do with cattle and specifically, bulls.

Here is that FUTHARK alphabet are again:

These two cattle letters are F and U ,the first two, top left

It sounds a bit rude…short for, well, you know, ‘Eff You.’

And maybe that’s not so much of coincidence as it seems. Synchronicity and all that. No-one pushes The Bull about.

But let’s take a closer look at these ‘bullish’ letters

Fehu

The first letter of the old rune alphabet signifies wealth,but technically means cattle and specifically, domesticated cattle. The Norse peoples measured wealth in cattle, and this rune denotes wealth earned through hard work and tenacity. There is no good quick buck. There is nothing quick and easy about looking after cattle.

The modern English word Fee is derived from this ancient proto-Germanic root

Fehu is about effort. This rune won’t help you or me one bit with winning the lottery. But imagine you are job hunting, or need a business loan.

You could if you felt so inclined ask Fehu to help.

We have other words too, based around the prosperity and virility of bull symbolism; bull markets and bullion.

The idea is not as archaic as it might seem.

The Charging Bull of Broadway, Arturo Di Modica

The bull statue was created in the aftermath of the stock market crash of 1987. Wiki says that Di Modica – who has died recently, aged 80, February 2021, RIP- spent $360 000 to create the Bull, which was cast the bull in bronze in a Brooklyn foundry.

“Having arrived penniless in the US in 1970, Di Modica felt indebted to America for welcoming him and enabling his career as a successful sculptor. Charging Bull was intended to inspire each person who came into contact with it to carry on fighting through the hard times after the 1987 stock market crash. Di Modica later recounted to art critic Anthony Haden Guest “My point was to show people that if you want to do something in a moment things are very bad, you can do it. You can do it by yourself. My point was that you must be strong“-Wiki

The Bull was not commissioned apparently, and was installed without authorization, as something of a guerrilla act. The NYPD duly took it away but there was a public outcry, and it was reinstated in a new site, two blocks away from the stock exchange and seems to be an indefinite fixture.

People sit on it and rub its nose and horns – and other bits too, all of which are now shinier than the rest of it.

They rub the bull for luck.

Uruz

Health

Uruz, the second letter of the rune alphabet means physical power, primal strength, and it is inspired by that powerful wild animal, the auroch; predecessor of the first domesticated cattle as represented by Fehu.

Cattle were domesticated about 10 000 years ago, migrating into Africa about 5 000 years ago, and the auroch lives on in the genome.

Hitler got his scientists on to it,and tried to bring them back, but succeeded only in creating a mightily dangerous and bad-tempered animal, let free to roam and terrorize the forest inhabitants of Poland. Though that was at least partly the plan in any case..

Touching once again on the Taurean connection, The auroch were hunted during their annual migration starting April and May – Taurus season.

A hugely dangerous business.

Auroch burger anyone? Look. There is the auroch. Go get it, there’s a good chap.

Who, me? Would you look at it? Just look at that Fehu-cking thing?!

Yeah. So let’s go get him then. Because -auroch burgers!

You first. I just turned vegan.

Is has been suggested that the siting of Stonehenge marks a significant spot on an ancient auroch migration route. A mating ground known as a ‘lek’

Salisbury plain is a vast wide open space (vast for England) No predator could approach the herd unseen, and not only were there hungry people skulking about the place, there were still sabre-toothed tigers in Wiltshire at this time.

The bones of auroch have been found there, and Amesbury may have been a sacred hunting ground before the site itself was built around 5000 years ago.

In luck work it may be used the same way as Fehu; write it, carve it, carry it in your pocket

Say its name (pronounced Oooo-Rooooz) asking for a surge of extra strength or stamina, or to request health and healing for yourself or for another, after an injury or illness.

There we have it. Two practical applications of Northern European bull magic

Until next time 🙂

Or perhaps I should say ‘moo.’

The Moon in May 2020

The Full Flower Moon and what it means for you this month

What is astrology and why do astrologers study The Moon?

Humans have been studying the Moon since at least 25 000 years ago, Luna, the Moon being the closest celestial body to Earth, exerting a physical gravitational effect on the tides, and on every living thing, though the exact nature and extent of that influence is open to debate. The word ‘Astrology’ comes from the early Latin word astrologia, which derives from the Greek ἀστρολογία—from ἄστρον astron (‘star’) and -λογία -logia, (‘study of’—’account of the stars’.)

It’s about the search for meaning on earth as seen in the sky, seeking to understand natural events and human behaviour through observing, the movements relative to Earth of planets and other celestial objects, and making correlations.

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

The things that we feel ‘in our water.’

More directly and practically, humanity began to measure, record, and predict seasonal changes by paying attention to astronomical cycles. They did this for practical planning purposes.

When would the Auroch arrive and they could organise a hunt?

When would the first lambs or kids arrive?

When would the salmon spawn?

When would the first grapes or berries be ripe enough to eat?

Early people used the skies searching for the first clues, using them as their first calendars and clocks, and nothing remotely laughable or ‘woo-woo’ about it, except for the stories that grew up around all this, and the impact of those stories on the collective psyche of the people making their living in their particular territory…their evolving cultures shaped, or rather driven by their imaginative preoccupation, emotional connection and working relationship with that landscape and its many natural wonders.

Early evidence appears as markings on bones and cave walls recording the Moon’s influence upon tides and rivers and in time, building a body of knowledge which led in time to the creation of the first calendars.

Progress is not necessarily linear, and perhaps there is a modern tendency to underestimate the intellectual as well as technological prowess of more ancient societies.

There will be a partial solar eclipse on 21 June 2020. The next total solar eclipse will be 14 December 2020, but not viewable in the UK when the next solar eclipse will be August 2026.

The Moon in May: The Headlines

May 07, 2020 6:45 AM   Full Moon in Scorpio
May 14, 2020 10:03 AM   Last Quarter Moon (Waning)
May 22, 2020 1:39 PM   New Moon in Gemini
May 29, 2020 11:30 PM   First Quarter Moon (Waxing)

The New Moon is the first/last lunar phase when the Moon is located between the Earth and the Sun and the moon is largely invisible, hidden in the sun’s glare.

The Full Moon occurs when the Moon is on the opposite of the Earth from the Sun on the same celestial longitude and we can see the entire illuminated portion of the Moon.

What do the moon phases mean for you and me, symbolically?

In general terms, folklore suggests that the waxing Moon phase building up to the Full Moon is the optimum time to grow, build, add to, make or get something. It is all about bringing something new in, or bringing something to completion or fruition. Some may perform magical summoning rituals.

A Full Moon is the optimum time to take stock and evaluate, or to gather, collect, harvest or cash in on something.

The Moon from The Gilded Tarot, illustration by Ciro Marchetti. Wolves bark during a Hunter’s moon, and crayfish move and spawn on the changing tides. The Moon card is also the card signifying contagion, disease and epidemics.

A Waning Moon is the optimum time for ending something, clearing out what’s no longer wanted or needed, including unhelpful or unhealthy habits. It may mean releasing something, or even getting rid of something (or someone)

Some may perform banishing rituals, symbolically clearing out what’s no longer wanted or needed.

What is the Full Flower Moon?

These full Moon names were used during Native American and Colonial times to help track the seasons—and often came from the Algonquin tribes who lived in the same areas as the Colonists. Other such names are the Mother’s Moon, Milk Moon, and Corn Planting Moon.

The May full Moon means spring in high season with rising temperatures, a declining risk of late frosts, and plants and trees in first bloom.

7 May: The Full Moon in Scorpio

Death card.jpg — Public Domain The Death card from the Rider-Waite Tarot

Scorpio is the sign of death, sex and regeneration and is represented in the Tarot by The Death card. Don’t let this worry you. It’s not saying that you or anyone close to you is going to die this month. But the Tarot covers all aspects of human experience. Death is part of life. Without death, there would be no space for new life. This is potentially a very highly charged sexy, and even baby-making moon.

Scorpio is known as a powerfully psychic sign. A Full Moon in Scorpio can be intense and its card in the Tarot is The Death card. This rarely refers to an actual person’s death, though it may do on occasion, in which case it is generally a peaceful death in old age. But far more often it refers to the end of a chapter in your life. This may be a job, a business, a location, a relationship, an object or a habit. It may be time to review a few things, close accounts, complete unfinished tasks, and gather your harvest. It is time to move on. This is not about rejecting others or hurting them in any way. It is simply that it is time to move forward, not allowing nostalgia or outworn loyalties to tie you down, holding yourself back from where you really need to go.

Scorpio is deep, secretive, intense, passionate…even obsessive. A little of what you fancy does you good. But this full moon could be a bit full on for comfort.

Sharp words may be said. Brooding silences may – brood. Conversely, and less quietly, crockery may sprout wings and go flying.

Scorpio has a sting. Secrets may be revealed at this time, or you may make unwelcome discoveries. Should you find yourself dealing with a situation of this kind, the advice for this full moon and the three days surrounding it either side is, do not act in haste. Take plenty of time to think about things. Don’t ignore your own needs and wishes. Listen to them, but be careful how you act on them. Take it easy around this full moon.

22 May: The New Moon in Gemini

Public Domain The Lovers from the Rider-Waite Tarot

The Lovers card is the Tarot card associated with air sign Gemini. This is a very different mood, and now that we have left the zodiac sign of Taurus and entered the zodiac sign of Gemini, we have an astrological double whammy; both the sun and moon are in Gemini.

This is a very different mood; lighter, sparkling, volatile, communicative and social. Gemini is intellectually agile, curious and sociable like its planetary ruler, Mercury. That Full Moon is Scorpio has been followed by a Gemini butterfly. Enjoy this lighter mood, but not every acquaintance is actually a friend and social media can become a snake pit if one is not careful how one treads. Gemini is friendly, everyone’s friend, but it keeps its distance.

The Lovers card is about love and romance of course, but above all, it’s about making choices. The problem is that here, the choices probably aren’t equal or straightforward. Will it be the apple or the orange? Or neither or both?

Or you may find yourself at a crossroads. This Tarot card advises you to look beneath the surface and be completely honest with yourself. Is this person or situation really right for you? Which do you go with, your heart or your head? Is there something niggling at you? Some doubt? Something you don’t really want to believe or you can’t quite nail what it is, or you’ve got your suspicions but you’d rather tell yourself you’re imagining it.

Anything like that, you’ll do better to stay quiet, to watch, to wait, and to go with your head.

Click here to read about what’s coming up in the night sky this May. With all five of the ‘bright’ planets on parade, and with Venus in splendour, and in its closest conjunction with Mercury -there’s a lot to look out for.

Until next time 🙂

Doing a One-Card ‘Yes/No’ Psychic Card Reading for yourself using Playing Cards

First let’s take a minute to consider what is meant by this word, ‘psychic.’ It comes from the Greek word psychikos (‘of the mind’ or ‘mental’) and the Greek word ‘psyche’ means ‘soul’ or ‘breath.’

That’s pretty vague, but we’ll broadly understand what we’re talking about here. It is the (sometimes spooky) experience of feeling you know something, without knowing how you know it or why you feel it, and then getting the proof, and finding out you were right, though you still don’t know how.

Wiki Moon card.jpg — *The Moon from the Gilded Royale Tarot, Ciro Marchetti*

Everyone is psychic to a degree. It’s fascinating, but it’s natural. It might be uncanny, and often it is. It really, really is, but that doesn’t mean it’s supernatural. It is you. It is nothing to do with the occult. It is nothing directly to do with religion or witchcraft, though these activities are connected to or derive from that aspect of the human mind/psyche.

It’s about your innate animal intelligence, your instinct and intuition, and is simply a more acute manifestation of these natural functions of the human mind -your sensory capabilities. Intuition is acutely heightened instinct. It’s built in to your software, maybe even your hardware and is a key element in your survival tool-kit.

Jung was interested in the archetypes of Tarot.

So you took an instant dislike to someone but you don’t know why? Don’t simply dismiss that feeling; the reasons may become apparent later. Meanwhile, give it the benefit of the doubt but tread with care.

So you feel an overpowering reluctance to do something, but you don’t quite know why? Trust yourself. You have your reasons.

Feelings can be wrong, of course, in which case we can always reassess the situation or our reactions, and change our minds. But far more often they are right, and they work faster than conscious reasoning. Far, far faster, and it is this very speed that can save our life. That if something feels bad, it probably is.

Avoid.

But if we’re all psychic, why do people pay to go and consult someone else, or go to a professional psychic practitioner for readings?

They are looking for a service, and that depends on skill and a specific kind of experience. Professional psychics can not rely solely on their intuitive ability in order to deliver a service on demand. Psychic experiences happen when they happen, but the psychic reader needs to respond on demand, and to do this they have trained their abilities, developing specific skills, possibly involving many years of individual study, time and practice so that they can deliver insights that are relevant and that mean something to a total stranger, right here, right now.

But everyone had to start somewhere, and that doesn’t mean we can’t try it for ourselves.

Sometimes we might find ourselves undecided whether to go route A or route B. Using the playing cards might well give us a response that simply reflects what we already knew, or guessed, or suspected, but that is largely the point of doing such readings, and validation can itself be helpful in letting us know we read that situation correctly, whether or not it’s what we were hoping for.

Points to consider

Professional psychic readers are not permitted by law to take payment, reading for people aged under-18.

Or at least, it is not allowed in the UK without the authorization of a parent or guardian. There are good reasons for this, to do with maturity and vulnerability, and a word of caution applies here too, in reading for yourself if you are under 18.

There is a risk is you will not get it right and misunderstand the message. Beware wishful thinking or fearful thinking. Calm your mind. Try and place yourself in a neutral frame of mind.

You may for instance draw the Death card and get frightened, interpreting this as a prediction of imminent death. What is far more likely is that the Death card is reflecting back at you something that has been on your mind lately. Perhaps there has been a death in your circle or perhaps you have been thinking of leaving a job or ending a relationship or other connection, or leaving one area to move away. Professional readers do not always get it right either. Until, and unless you are getting correct answers more than 55% of the time, your results are statistically no better than lucky guesses. Getting it wrong doesn’t mean you don’t have psychic ability, but this ability builds with practise and confidence.

Stay humble or you will be riding for a fall. This is not about power. No-one knows it all, and no one likes a know all. No-one has a 100% accuracy rate.

Is is unwise to make decisions based solely on the turn of a card.

The cards are to be regarded as an opportunity to pause, reflect and maybe think again. Start with easy but specific questions that you can quickly and easily validate, e.g. ‘will it be sunny here outside my window at 10.00 tomorrow morning?’

You might not understand or like the answer.

This is the very real risk in consulting with oracles, even your own – or especially your own. It needs discipline. Words matter. Be clear in your mind what it is you are really asking. Avoid repeating the same questions over and over in hope of getting the answer you want. You may get that answer in the end, but this is not conducive to accuracy, and if it becomes a compulsion, and you find you are doing it A LOT, or if you are experiencing, or have lately experienced depression or anxiety, you will be well advised to leave such activities alone for the time being. It could make matters worse.

Now let’s look at how to get an advisory yes or no answer using just one playing card. That’s all it is, an advisory answer; no court of law could treat this as admissible evidence.

The One-Card Spread

Ordinary playing cards have been used in this way since at least the 1600’s and probably longer. A deck of playing cards is readily affordable and easy to obtain in many shops and online if you do not already have a deck.

The One- Card Spread is the simplest spread of all, but can do the job perfectly well, delivering an accurate yes or no answer.

First, for simplification and for the avoidance of confusion, remove the Joker. The Joker is a complex card. It correlates to the Fool in the Tarot and may mean a yes, no or maybe depending on a number of factors, so is not ideal for our purposes today.

You need somewhere quiet, no distractions. Some people like to use rituals, smudging, candles etc. I don’t use those myself in doing card readings, but this is purely a matter of personal preference.

Doing the reading

First you need to decide the code or system you will use for your one card spread. How are you going to interpret the answer?

Classical cartomancy uses this system:

Any red suit card, Hearts or Diamonds, will mean yes, irrespective of its meaning

Any black suit card, Clubs or Spades will mean no, irrespective of its meaning

There are no rules except that you decide your system and then stick with it.

Consistency and repetition is crucially important. This is what professional card readers do. They ‘self-programme’ by telling themselves that this card means X and this other card means Y until with repetition and practise – it actually does.

They do it till they make it so.

Consider the question. It needs to be clear and unambiguous, asking for an answer that will serve your highest good, harming none.

You remain in charge, using the cards for advice only. You could, for example, ask questions along the lines of, ‘Is it a good idea/plan/will it work out well at this time (meaning is it in my best interests) to go here, go there, speak to, do this, do that…?” etc.

Now shuffle the deck, keeping the cards blind, asking your question aloud or just silently to yourself.

Draw a card whenever you feel ready. There are no rights and wrongs here, but it is this act of stopping and choosing a card completely at random that is actually the psychic activity involved in the reading.

You have here a deck of 52 cards but you are drawing just one, and expecting it to be meaningful and relevant, more so than all the other cards that you didn’t draw, that have remained in the deck. The cards that are missing may be just as significant in answering your question, as the ones that appear.

What have we got here?

A red card or a black card?

No further action is required or even desirable at this point. Simply log the card. Make a note and allow time to discover if the answer is correct.

If you would like to go beyond the probable yes or no answer, and look at the reasons why you got that answer, you could look up the actual card meaning for additional feedback, to treat that as an extra comment or piece of advice, referring to this very basic key below.

Playing Card Suits

Hearts (Cups) = emotions, health, offers, invitations, friendship.
Diamonds (Pentacles) = money, health, house, career, communications.
Spades (Swords) = intellect, law, IT, planning, challenges.
Clubs (Wands/Staves) = action and creativity, travel, marketing, study, ideas, inspiration

Card Numbers

In general, the higher the number of your ‘yes’ or ‘no card, the stronger the answer, except for Aces, which are the lowest number, 1, but are the strongest cards. So the strongest yes answers would be the Ace of Diamonds or Hearts, or the 10 of Diamonds or hearts. The strongest no answers would be the Ace of Spades or Clubs, or the 10 of Spades or Clubs.

Ace – new beginnings; the pure energy of their suit.
Two – partnerships, attraction, balance.
Three – co-operation, connection, growth.
Four – security, stability, foundations, inaction.
Five – imbalance, challenges, change, adjustment.
Six – sweet victory, harmony, attainment and peace.
Seven – spiritual discernment, magic, wisdom, turning point, options.
Eight – movement (or lack of it), organization, prioritizing.
Nine – Growth, understanding, integration, realization.
Ten – Culmination, completion, transition, endings, beginnings.

The Court cards (portrait cards)

Knaves/Jacks represent news or new situations, or young people below the ages of around 25.

Knave of Hearts – romantic, emotional, sweet-natured.
Knave of Diamonds – curious, grounded, sensible.
Knave of Spades – witty, clever, focused.
Knave of Clubs – active, adventurous, risk-taker.

Queens are adults, actual people; usually female but not necessarily.

Queen of Hearts – kind, empathic, nurturing.
Queen of Diamonds – practical, down-to-earth, good in a crisis.
Queen of Spades – truth-seeker, honest, straight-speaking.
Queen of Clubs – ambitious, strong communicator, passionate.

Kings are adults, actual people; usually male but not necessarily.

King of Hearts – approachable but reserved, wise, calm.
King of Diamonds – wealthy, hard working, shrewd, lover of luxury.
King of Spades – analytical, calculating, dispassionate.
King of Clubs – leader, inspirational, temperamental, sees the big picture.

The Seasons in the Stars- Hey Toro! The Star-Bull Taurus

Common Associations

Dates: April 21-May 21 The cusp is April 19/20
Element: Fixed earth (mid spring)
Ruling planet: Venus
Body: neck, throat, tonsils
Birthstone: Emerald
Metal: copper
Flower: the Daisy; innocence, sanctity
Tree: the Apple Tree; youth, beauty, happiness, immortality. Avalon, resting place of King Arthur went was the ‘isle of apples’
Colours: pastel blue, green, pink
Famous for: strength, stamina, stubbornness, practicality, thoroughness, duty, honesty, sensuality, money sense, a pleasant speaking voice, artistic/singing ability, green fingers, good cooking, independence
Professions: Politics, Banking, (also think Bull markets) Agriculture, Construction, Arts, Musician, Entertainment, Beauty, Fashion, Restaurants
Tarot card: The Hierophant- Tradition, Received wisdom, Books

Astronomy

Taurus (Latin for Bull) is a large and prominent constellation between Aries to the west and Gemini to the east. It ranks 17^th in size of the 48 Greek constellations recorded by Ptolemy in his introduction to the Mathematics of the Heavens, the Almagest, written AD 150.

The stars of Taurus depict the face, horns and forepart of the bull’s body. His face is made up of a triangular cluster of stars called The Hyades. There are no legs. The bull is imagined half submerged. He is the mythical Bull from the Sea. A second cluster of stars, The Pleiades, known as The Seven Sisters, swarm like bees above his back.

The best time to observe Taurus in the night sky is during the months of December and January. By March and April, you might see it in the west in the twilight.

To find Taurus first the three stars of Orion’s belt. That’s usually easy on a clear winter’s night. Now look up to the right, looking north- east, See that bright orange-red star? That’s Aldebaran, ‘The Follower,’ a red giant, the biggest, brightest star in the constellation, the red eye of the Bull, glaring in the direction of Orion.

Should the Bull escape his heavenly pen, said an ancient Arabic legend, he would stampede the universe to pieces, and it would be the end of things for all time. Let’s hope nothing upsets him.

Wiki Commons: the horns, face and the giant red star, Aldebaran, the Eye of the Bull, glaring menacingly in the direction of Orion the Hunter

Taurus has been recognized as a sky bull since at least the Early Bronze Age. Historians think the figure of a bull was first discerned in the stars by the Sumerians around 3000 BC and was recorded in cuneiform by the Babylonians.

Ancient History

In modern astrology Aries is the first sign of the western zodiac, ushering in the spring (vernal) equinox along with the first lambs.

However, 4000 years ago it was Taurus, not Aries that coincided with the vernal equinox, and for Babylonian astronomers Taurus was the first sign of the Zodiac, ‘the Bull in front,’- leading from the front.

The Bull was also the first sign for the early Hebrews, who called it Aleph, as in A, the first letter of the alphabet.

Taurus coincided with the start of the calving season.

The bull, like its ancestors, the wild aurochs, is a potent symbol of strength and fertility, but where Leo the lion, represents wild strength, Taurus the bull is domesticated, controlled strength, as harnessed in oxen or a bull with a ring through his nose. One of the several archetypes associated with Taurus is ‘The Farmer,’ and many a bull has worn a ring through its nose for the sake of the farmer’s safety. The dairy bulls, breeds such as the Charolais for instance, are especially to be handled with care where the famous black bulls used in bullfighting are by comparison, more easygoing.

The bull has exerted a magical influence on human imagination even before the dawn of agriculture. Aurochs, the fiercer, wild ancestors of the modern bull, were painted in the Lascaux caves in France, in paintings thought to date from 15000 BC.

The most famous section of the Lascaux caves in the Dordogne in France is the Hall of the Bulls, featuring four black bulls, or aurochs. One of the bulls is 5.2 metres (17 ft) long, the largest animal discovered so far in cave art.

It is thought that the aurochs migrated at this time of year; a dangerous but potentially highly rewarding hunting opportunity. Not only did the aurochs provide the luxury of meat, but the horns and hide had many uses.

Hunting gave way to farming of animals, guaranteeing supplies with less risk attached. The first ever cattle, goats, sheep, and pig- farming began in the so-called ‘Fertile Crescent;’ a region covering eastern Turkey, Iraq, and south-western Iran about 12000 years ago.

These farming practices spread westwards, and in time had a genetic effect on the human population, with the sudden appearance of a gene mutation that enabled humans to digest raw cow’s milk. It’s not known when this first occurred, but it probably happened first in Northern Europe and today 35 % of the global human population can digest the milk sugar, lactose. Click on this link to find out more on this subject.

The Cult of the Bull and related Worship

The bull was considered a divine animal throughout antiquity and was a symbol of the moon, fertility, rebirth, and royal power, while today, the Lithuanian word ‘taurus’ means ‘noble.’

There is evidence of bull cults throughout the Mediterranean starting in Anatolia, dating from at least 70000 BC. From the worship of the Apis bull in Egypt, to bull-leaping in Knossos and the sacrificial portrayal in Roman Mithraism, the bull has been an integral part of many diverse and important religious traditions.

Greek legend associated Taurus with the legend of Zeus and Europa, in which the god Zeus, up to his sneaky tricks yet again, disguised himself as a beautiful, gentle white bull, coaxed the princess Europa into climbing on his back, then abducted her, swam away with her to Crete, and made her one of his mistresses. The many gifts Zeus gave Europa included a pet dog that later became the constellation Canis Major. Their children supposedly included Minos, King of Crete, the builder of the Labyrinth and the famous palace at Knossos where the bull games were held.

Bull worship, or rather, the concept of the bull as divine concept gradually migrated ever westwards and northwards. The Celtic druids held Tauric festivals at least 2000 years ago, and there is archaeological evidence of bull worship near Newcastle and York in the UK.

The Buddha was born when the Full Moon was in Taurus (Vesak) and his birthday is celebrated at the Vesak Festival which occurs on the first Full Moon in Taurus.

Beware of the bull

Like the Bull himself, the classic Taurus subject, male or female, is generally peaceable, pleasant, even placid. But Taurus will not be disrespected, pushed or driven. Other people can get a shock when Taurus suddenly sees red …and they don’t give a lot of warning. The mistake of the other person was in underestimating them, taking their good nature for granted once too often.

Bulls cannot physically see red. It is the movement of the toreador’s cape that provokes them, and not the colour. But when the human bull ‘sees’ red, they either dig in hard, or may charge head on.

Taurus in a full-on rage is a ‘bull in a china shop’ – the Earth sign that will withstand or demolish the opposition of other more famous ‘fighting’ signs, Aries, Leo, and even lethal Scorpio, its opposite number in the zodiac.

Taurus doesn’t like to fight but doesn’t lose in a fair fight. The bull ring is not a fair fight; that’s the tragedy of Taurus. But if a Taurus is being unreasonable, misbehaving, or being a ‘bully’ quietly stand your ground. It should pass. Taurus is not at all vindictive as a rule.

But why upset the Bull? Look at him, quietly grazing. Taurus is not a saint, and can be difficult or grumpy sometimes, but he’s really not looking for trouble. Do as you would be done by, and everything should be buttercups and daisies in your everyday dealings with the Taurus subject, man or woman.

Mirror, Mirror in my cards….

Last night we heard that the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson went into hospital for ‘further testing.’

What does this signify?

Social media is a shocker. The sheer venom and schadenfreude of those sitting in judgement, ill-wishing another. There has been so much sad news already. We don’t need more, although more is surely coming.

For those declaring the PM caught it from flouting his own advice, speculation is rife, and it is possible Boris Johnson caught the coronavirus following a meeting with Michel Barnier, who subsequently tested positive and went into self isolation, and I would also wish M Barnier well.

I drew the following playing cards last night about 9.30, asking for the oracular ‘take’ on this unsettling development, and was struck at the way the cards mirrored the facts as reported, though also with an undertow not reported, but which could be inferred by any one of us in contemplating this situation.

Let me briefly explain again for any new visitors on this site: I ask myself a question, the cards are shuffled blind and drawn entirely at random, and I lay them out left to right in a schematic representation which can be read in a number of ways; eg, Past-present-possible future, or I may interpret my line of cards as representing: problem- crisis-resolution.

The first card supplies my baseline, and if it is obviously relevant to the matter in hand, this lets me know if I am on the right track.

I generally use 5 cards but here you will notice I have pulled extra cards, for no particular reason, except as prompted by my intuition, in seeking further clarity.

Cartomancy spread for Boris Johnson 05/04.2020

The Top Row, reading left to right…the outcome is indicated by a combination of the central card and also the final card in the row:

The Ten of Diamonds = Number 10 Downing Street

The Three of Swords = pain of separation, Carrie Symonds and Boris Johnson, perhaps also a reference to the PM’s recent divorce.

The Queen of Spades= Carrie Symonds. Experiencing considerable stress, as one might imagine, and we know she has also been ill. This also refers to other family, BJ’s mother, and to his former wife, Marina who has had some very serious health difficulties. BJ is mindful of all three.

The Ace of Spades Reversed: Crux of the matter. Spades is the suit of Air. An Ace is a breath. It suggests Boris became breathless, and it was this that necessitated the removal to hospital. Further testing may therefore suggests testing for a subsequent bacterial infection…possible secondary pneumonia and a possible need for antibiotics. I heard mention today of oxygen therapy for Boris, and if this is correct, it would seem to support that interpretation. The Ace of Spades is notorious as the card of endings. But reversed, it additionally suggests this is ‘not the end.’

The King of Spades is Boris himself; a Gemini subject, a king of the suit of Air. Mercurial, so intellectually agile, his speech cannot always keep up, and his capabilities may be mistrusted, misjudged or underestimated. He is buoyant, some might say, and indeed they do, unduly so, and his resilience in based in a native physical energy and a temperamentally innate optimism.

Two of Clubs: well it is serious, but it is not the Ten of Spades. That is an utter stinker of a card…it might only mean a migraine (only!) but it can be worse than the Death card – which when it denotes real, actual human mortality (and often it does not) refers to a natural, timely passing, in my experience

I am a sceptical psychic practitioner, and that is not mutually exclusive except in binary thinking. I am extremely conscious that young, strong people are succumbing to this horrible viral pneumonia, and if we hear the PM is on a ventilator, well, it’s bleak news indeed,but others have come back from that. This reading is mirroring what we already know, which serves to illustrate the synchronicity that happens in a reading….the common experience of an apparently random but oddly meaningful coincidence.

The Bottom Row

The Joker: This card is representing both the ‘wild card’ of the coronavirus, and also the Prime Minister himself. The Joker or the Fool as it is known in Tarot is not to be mistaken for a fool in the sense of stupidity. The Joker is the most powerful and most numinous card in the playing deck, just as the Fool is in a tarot deck. There is no predicting the Joker. It is the ultimate Fate card; the hand of destiny.

The Ace of Hearts Reversed: Loss of wellness, sadness and worry, concern for a child (or in this case existing children and a new baby on the way)

The Ace of Diamonds: This is a positive card when read in it’s own right, indicative of medical diagnostic expertise. Read in conjunction with the Seven of Diamonds, I read it as ‘fever/contagion’.

The King of Diamonds means a doctor, and probably refers to one or more medical advisers currently in attendance.

The King of Clubs refers to another doctor, and also a senior government figure being kept closely briefed (Clubs = the business of government)

The Three of Clubs There is a key team at work here; an inner team of 3 government figures keeping close counsel.

Let’s turn to my Tarot cards….better pictures. So read us a story, morning glory.

From The Legacy of The Divine Tarot, artist Ciro Marchetti

Card 1: The Ace of Pentacles Reversed = head of government absent, someone left home, the physical body is topsy-turvy, one cannot eat, business is not as usual. Money is lost. Sadly true for too many.

Card 2: The Fool. Aha, Here we have another face of The (totally serious) Joker. Boris Johnson, and look, he has his little dog Dylan right there with him. He has been a bit ‘out of it’ with this fever.

Card 3: The Six of Swords; a solemn undertaking, a journey into the unknown. Styxian, but I strongly relate to this card, and based on past experience of this card, more often than not it signifies the road to recovery. Time frame 6 days-6 weeks.

This morning I read an ominous prognostication via an esteemed colleague on Twitter, Kyra Oser; a psychic tarot reader in the US :

Fasting Fridays for Future@KyraOser·3h Today’s #Tarot: Tower, Devil R, 4 of Pentacles R This week brings the fall of more than one leader. The demise will come in threes. Mass unemployment of millions more will expose the greed of extreme wealth. The systems of past times will be overturned in an economic revolution.

Kyra does not name names, and she is quite right. Those cards are utter stinkers. I tend to be a sunny side up reader. I could be entirely wrong about that too, but if I have bad news to share with one of my clients, that is different. They have sought out the reading, I am trying to identify the answer to their question, and I am also working to identify their options in any given situation.

As with medicine, the aim in card reading is to do no harm. This looks as though it could be very tough.

All the very best to the PM, and to you too at this deeply unsettling time.

Update: 20: 30 and the PM has gone into special care.

The Norse runes in question: Elhaz/Elk, (protection) Uruz/Auroch (strength), Eihwaz/Yew (regeneration)

Until next time 🙂

February, and a One-Card ‘Crystal Ball’ style reading

I am at pains to stress I don’t work as a fortune-teller. I work as an adviser, working to a brief, and I offer forecasting within a specific context, because otherwise, who am I reading for exactly? And I aim to deal in relevant specifics wherever possible.

Context is key for meaning, relevance and precision.

However, I also like to challenge myself. General ‘scrying’ of ‘the’ future, Nostradamus style, is part of a very ancient tradition, and I sometimes work with a well known astrologer, Jessica Adams, writing as a guest contributor for a monthly feature, Tarot Tuesday at JessicaaAdams.com.

The challenge is to pick just one card, and share my intuitive impressions triggered by this card for the coming month. But without benefit of any other context than this loose time frame. One or two other Tarot card readers also write up their one card readings for the month to come, and Jessica then correlates these Tarot findings with current astrology.

My chosen card for this February 2020 was the Six of Swords.

Book meanings: relocation, progress, exploration, charting a new course, mourning, travel by water, self determination, east

From the Legacy of the Divine Tarot, Image by Ciro Marchetti.

Lick your finger, hold it up…what is the prevailing wind?

Winds are changeable of course, from day to day, even hour to hour, but still, it has been interesting for me as a reader, to correlate my previous one card ‘crystal ball’ readings with events of the ensuing month.

An earlier one card reading said ‘wild fire,’ (you can see previous readings via the link provided below) and it is still playing out, tragically; particularly the Australian wild fires, of which the first were actually in September, and now it is known that several of these were started deliberately.

These single card readings are actually drawn 2-3 weeks ahead of publication, so that I am drawing a card mid January for the first Tuesday in February, and mid February looking ahead to the first Tuesday in March and so on.

Logically, none of it ought to make any sense at all, unless by sheer coincidence. Except that isn’t how it works, when it works.

It works on animal sensing.

Click below to read February’s Tarot Tuesday feature, courtesy of Jessica Adams.

Tarot Tuesdays with psychic astrologer Jessica Adams

Until next time 🙂

1 -2 February, Imbolc, Candlemas and Brigid’s Day

Today is Candlemas, the Christian festival of presenting Jesus at the temple, but long before that, this time of year marked a more ancient celebration in Gaelic Britain: the rites of spring and the fire festival of Imbolc.

Let’s get with the programme, Imbolc style, and parade down the street, go pray for the health of the fields! It’s all about the soil. Our cradle on Earth.

Candlemas is a continuation of that more ancient festival Imbolc, which spans 1-2 February and begins 1 February with St Brigid’s Day.

The original Brigid was a pre-Christian goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the mythical first people or faerie people of Ireland. She was a daughter of the chief of the gods, The Dagda, and was known as a goddess of healers, poets, smiths, childbirth and inspiration. Her name means “exalted one”.

*Riders of the Sidhe, John Duncan, 1911*

Her story was later merged with the Christian saint of the same name in the middle ages, St Brigid of Kildare.

This fire festival, whether viewed as pagan or Christian, began as a neolithic festival also celebrated in Scotland and the Isle of Man, roughly marking the 1/2 way point between the winter solstice and spring equinox.

There are various suggestion about the etymology of ‘Imbolc. ‘ It is commonly thought to come from a word meaning “in the belly.” reflecting the role of the goddess Brigid as a protector of women in childbirth, as well as the safe birthing of precious livestock.

Any time now, is the time of the very first lambs. The start of the lambing season varies by up to two weeks in any given year.

Brigid was said to visit one’s home at Imbolc. Asking her blessings, people would make a bed for Brigid and leave her food and drink, and items of clothing would be left outside for her to bless. Brigid was petitioned to protect homes and livestock. This was a time for feasting and visits to sacred wells, and a time for ritual divination.

St Brigid’s cross is the classic icon of her saint’s day today, though this too, predates Christianity. It is made from rushes and was placed in doorways to protect the home from harm.

A new Christian story was created for it, that the earthly manifestation of Brigid, St Brigid of Kildare, had woven it for a dying man, using rushes from the floor, baptizing him at the point of death.

By Culnacreann – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3500722

Spring fire, fierce quickening of new green shoots, the fierceness of the ram.

Imbolc was when the Cailleach. —the divine crone of Gaelic tradition—gathered her firewood for the rest of the winter. Legend said if she wished the winter to last a good while longer, she would make sure the weather on Imbolc was bright and sunny, so she could go out and about, and gather firewood.