T is for Tarot

 "Oh no, NOT The Happy Squirrel!" 

It's no secret that I adore tarot. 

 VERY awesome Secret Tarot deck by Lo Scarebo 

I collect decks of tarot as tools of divination as well as works of art. 

In my possession, I have dozens of decks. Some I read from, some I do not. 

A select few are reserved for my use only, and I use a very small handful of decks for my readings for others. Through the years, I have traded decks, gifted them to others, and even lost a few along the years. 

I figure that they are in their perfect homes now.

 Not my exact collection- but you get the idea... 

Since I took up reading the cards, I have frequently been asked to read for people. I even did some public reading events at psychic fairs. It was many many moons ago when I worked at those events and I wasn't too into it back then. I felt pressured and required to read for folks who I did not jibe with.

 From the groovy 1978 Secret Dakini Oracle Deck 

I know better now as I hand-select my querants and feel comfortable declining a reading at will. I do not hold back as per why either. It often is the girlfriend/boyfriend or wife/husband who insists that their mate get a reading with me.

Come on, if they wanted a reading, they would ask themselves.

So- no thanks.

 a classic Rider-Waite card 

When I was around 10 or 20 years old, I was at a party where I met another young woman who read tarot for her work!

She was completely aloof, overly confident and overtly stunning to look at.

I saw her read some seemingly ornate tarot spreads for people without contemplation, as if she were a robot. Folks literally sat in awe, huddled around her feet as she read the cards.

I looked on and was simultaneously curious and repulsed by these exchanges.

 From the Aquarian Tarot 

I asked her a question about for how long she was a reader and where she picked up this skill. Not answering, or even pretending she had ears, she rolled her giant eyeballs in a circle and turned her now less than pretty head away from my direction as she forcefully exhaled her cliche'd plume of clove cigarette smoke.

Okay then.

 From the campy Housewives deck 

At first, I was impressed when I saw her instantaneously read the cards for people. Personally, I spent much longer reading them and interpreting their meanings. I wondered if I wasn't as skilled a reader, like we all believed she was.

Silly me.

As if speed validates the skill of any reader.

 Barbara G. Walker knows her stuff!  

 Check her deck out!!! 

Fast forward what seems like eons-

I do not suffer the insecurity of reading for anyone- with use of any divination tool or without. I derive much joy and a deep sense of connection to my fellow souls when I read for them.

 Cosmic Tarot card 

When I read tarot for myself, I especially feel connected to all those who have read or created decks of tarot before me. I love the cryptic images & the obvious images.
Each card is a gift, a lesson, a symbol of truth.

 Daughters of the Moon's version of The Fool card 

Any Tarot-Related Questions? 

Post below...

D is for Divination

divination |ˌdivəˈnā sh ən|

noun

the practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means.

DERIVATIVES

divinatory |diˈvinəˌtôrē| adjective

ORIGIN late Middle English : from Latin divinatio(n-), from divinare ‘predict’ (see ^{divine 2} ).

I am no stranger to divination. One could say it is in my ancient, earthy blood. I employ divination regularly, in a myriad of ways and for different reasons. 

From dowsing rods to pendulums, tarot cards to tea leaves - and beyond, I have used divination since I can remember.

When I look at “Divination” the word DIVINE stands out. Regardless of whether the online dictionary sites “Divine” as a root word or not, I know it is. To practice the art of divination, one must be in touch with the divine. At least that is how I approach it. As a vessel for the spiritual energy which animates us all, I feel drawn to tools of expressing that holy language. Divination is a means of sharing information.

Dowsing rods can be used to find water or gold. Both are equally precious.

Palmistry can be used to analyze longevity and health or love and marriage.

Tarot can tell the querent their past, present &/or future.

Crystal ball reading, candle/sun/moon/star/planet gazing, throwing dice or bones, scrying in a mirror or a water pool-

My Heart line indicates my having a myriad of deep loves, my head line breaks, indicating a split in education and intellectual endeavors- and my life line runs off the side of my palm. 

Perhaps I will live beyond my human years!?!?

No matter what the tool of intention/expectation related to the outcome, divination has been a solid basis of my expressed spirituality. I love using divination in my own life and the lives of others. It is as if I have been chosen to represent the voice of something bigger than myself*.

I feel like a school class president or travel agent to the heavens!

Lucky me!!!

Now I have met many folks who are either afraid of divination (because of religious/dogmatic beliefs and teachings- or otherwise,) insisting that it is a dark art or of “the devil.” I have met other people who snidely intellectually eschew divination as a silly parlor trick. 

That's fine. I do my thing, they do their thing. 

No harm, no foul. 

What do “they” say???

Live and let live.

Okay then.

Once I hit puberty, I relied on divination for guidance and grounding- regardless of any external ideas or influences. At the start of high school, I received a deck of Rider-Waite tarot cards and off I went! (I had used other tools of divination prior to that time period.) The deck was given to me by a friend who found them “creepy” and wanted them out of his possession. I was all too glad to give them a new home. I looked through the cards and read for him on the spot. Using intuition and past-life rememberings, I was able to click with the cards and we became instant friends! To this day, I can use that specific deck to read for anyone. Hence, tarot is my favorite tool of divination.

I pulled "The Vagabond" card for us tonight- 

from the Ship of Fools tarot by Brian Williams.

The Vagabond is also known as "The FOOL" card in traditional tarot, as Aries, as new projects/endeavors/ideas/experiences and more! Do not hesitate too long, but do not leap before you look!!! Notice how the figure is gazing behind, yet his dog yaps and nips at his clothing in warning to let him know he may just fall off a cliff! 

BE Fearless Yet MINDFUL!!!

We can all be or become instruments or voices of the divine. Perhaps you “read” the wind or animal songs. Maybe you too- are of gypsy descent and read coffee grinds, like your gran did... Have a set of familial “superstitions” that you don't think about, yet you observe them often without contemplation... OR

you find yourself drawn to these soulful arts and want to explore them more.

Follow that intuitive sense and seek the crevasses and untraveled paths- where it takes you.

I ensure you it will be worth the investigation.

Every time.

You cannot lose to learn more about YOU,

to learn more about LIFE,

to learn more about {your} SOUL.

WIN

~win~

Win!

~ I do readings for people, both planned and spontaneous! Using tools or purely intuitive/psychic, etc- I tap into whatever messages are for the person I am working with. 

Soo cool as a gift to me as well as the receiver!!!!

Faithful Captain of the Ship of Fools

I have been doing exactly what I intended to NOT do: avoid this blog if I was going through tough times. It is as if I do not want to admit, in some "sacred space" that I am human. I have other venues for that. I have my friends and my writing and other creative outlets. But change and growth is exactly why I started this blog, as I mentioned. 

It is a process, change. We push and shove and expect it to react in kind by having immediate results [like a haircut or outfit change] but true transformation does not adhere to our simple rules. 

Isn't it true that the only thing we can control is how we react to our circumstances? If so, then we only have our responses to guide us as we move onward. 

I could say the words "I accept change and therefore I am okay with it" but I would only be lying- mainly, to myself. (I have actually said that before. Silly me.) Currently, at this moment, I am in a quasi-denial stage of resisting to acknowledge a change I not only asked for, but initiated. 

Knowing full well that it could be extra-chunky and hard to chew,
 I said "Okay Universe, I am ready."

 Then I leaped.

I was the fool... 

Well, kind of.

Like the Vagabond here.

{From: "Ship of Fools" tarot deck by Brian Willams.}

We know that the unknown is frightening and exciting, it's just that we tend to get the ratio of scared witless to giddy all wonky. I do anyway. 

  Holy Moly  -VS-  Bring It On  

  Showdown on NOW!  

For so long, I was a fighter. I had to be. Survival was of the essence. I fought for basic needs. I fought for fairness and justice. I fought for pride. I fought fought fought.
And at some point, I decided it was futile. Either my basic needs would get met or not. Either fairness would rule or not. Pride is an illusion and a dangerous one. I took off my gloves and walked out of the ring.
Years have come and gone, and I realized recently that I only stepped into the ring to fight with myself. Not FOR myself.

That is where the Universe comes into play.

Like a message in a bottle, when we toss out our intentions, they often return from distant shores once we released expectations of their return. So it is with the boomerang of energy which is our prayers or wishes on a higher level. If we hold on, white-knuckled, to our desires, we crush them in our own hand. When we cradle them with loving kindness and release them like a butterfly, they find their way to their own perfect little home.

I asked the Universe for just that.
My own perfect little home.
And what I got in return was very different than I expected. I was looking forward to a roof over my head, a cosy nook to call my own. And what i got was a boost of confidence to call ME my own home, for I had been looking outside for home the entire time. My cosy nook isn't ready for me yet. I have to believe it is getting itself ready for me and in good time, we will be united. I have to have faith it will.

Faith comes in many forms. It does not have to be a religious doctrine, although it often is associated as thus. For most of my youth and early adult life, I believed I had no faith since I do not adhere to religion. I thought they went hand in hand. Having always been a very spiritual person, I had my own set of beliefs I was comfortable maneuvering around life and it's challenges with.

A friend told me I had much faith a few years back after I was going through a wrestling match with forgiveness. I cannot recall the way she put it, but it made sense to me and I have verbally owned having faith now.
(My having of faith has neither grown nor shrank. I just have it.)
Who knows what I called faith before, but there is power in naming things which are abstractions of linear understanding. It makes them less abstract and more tangible.
Just what I needed at the time.

Which brings me to the Ship I am on.
 I am the captain of this Ship of Fools and all the Fools are me. Every face is mine.
Every face presents itself with infinite possibility and infinite strangeness, for every face is looking in a direction uncharted. It is up to me to steer the Ship.

  Up to me to decide where we/I go.   

I want to go where I need to be.
I want to experience and savor each morsel of this crazy trip
as I transform into Vee-2 point OH!
Some of these morsels are sweet, some spicy, some bland, some rotten, but all are worthy of tasting.
I forget this fact sometimes.
I want to rush through the yucky stuff because I know it's going to be uncomfortable, but dang- there's a big treat at the end.
And presence in right now. I forget that one the most.
I actually forget to breathe sometimes. I hold my breath and clench my jaw out of the resistance.

And then I have to come back to center.

Back to my little home on my back and BE.


I will leave you with a quote from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance 
by Robert M. Pirsig:

"On this trip I think we should notice it, explore it a little, to see if in that strange separation of what man is from what man does we may have some clues as to what the hell has gone wrong in this twentieth century. I don't want to hurry it. That itself is a poisonous twentieth-century attitude. When you want to hurry something, that means you no longer care about it and want to get on to other things. I just want to get at it slowly, but carefully and thoroughly, with the same attitude I remember was present just before I found that sheared pin. It was that attitude that found it, nothing else."