Alexandra Genetti, Wheel of Change Tarot, The Moon

Card of the Day: Alexandra Genetti, Wheel of Change Tarot – The Moon

A fitting choice for this week’s lunar eclipse!  Of the many decks I work with, Genetti’s image is my favorite moon card, as for me it captures all that is magical, mysterious – and foreboding – about the Moon.

The sparkling stars surrounding the Moon twinkle with stellar energy, symbolizing the on-again, off-again moods that often accompany the creative process.  The dragonfly in the foreground reminds us to allow our creativity to soar, allowing our imaginations to take us places we can reach by no other means.

But then, there’s the stone gateway, the canines howling, the wine-dark river of blood (yes, menstrual blood – menses, month) flowing endlessly from the hill to the delta – the dark and ominous (omen-ous) side of the Moon.  Wolves, coyotes, even poodles baying at the moon can send chills up our spines.  The primal response triggered in the reptilian part of our brains is not easily dissipated by the logic of our front brain, no matter how much our cerebral cortex chats and chirps reassuringly.

The stone gateway represents transition; change is often a mixed blessing.  Even if we initiate the change – and no matter how exciting and welcome the change may be – change is still scary on some level.  Even if the old situation or way of being was unhealthy, impossible to manage, and could not last, it was a known circumstance, which lends it an artificial feeling of safety.  As with all changes, stepping through the stone archway is a one way trek, and there’s no going back to how things – or we – were.

At this time of lunar eclipse, we may find that our emotions are heightened, and at the same time it’s more difficult for us to connect emotionally or communicate effectively, with others and with ourselves.   The Moon card reminds us that not every situation can be handled by reason alone; this is the time to step back, reconnect with our inner selves in a deep way, so that we can realign our feet on our life’s path and re-establish healthy and meaningful connections to others in our world.

I’m delighted to announce that I’ll be teaching Second Saturday Tarot classes in San Francisco each month on – the second Saturday!

The first class is September 12, 2009, from 1:00 – 4:30 pm, in our studio on Potrero Hill.  Address and directions will be provided with your registration confirmation.

September’s class is “Tarot by the Numbers”.  We’ll look at various ways to work with the numbers in a reading, compare methods for determining a card’s numerical value, and play with the use of dice in a reading for an extra special numerical treat!   Whether you suffer from arithm0phobia, or hold a Ph.D. in mathematics, I’ll make the subject fun, interesting, and give you practical tools to use in your readings!

The class fee is $15.00, and includes class materials, refreshments – and a chance to win a fabulous Tarot treasure!  Tarot Media Company is kindly donating an item or two each month for an end-of-workshop prize – one month it might be a raffle, another month a contest – whatever my inspiration devises!

Due to space considerations, we request that you preregister for the class.  You can register on the Tarot Media Company website. Questions? You can reach me by clicking here!

See you in September!

Rachel Pollack's Shining Tribe Tarot - The Star

Card of the Day: Rachel Pollack, Shining Tribe – The Star

As an Aquarius, I have a special fondness for the Star card (go figure!).  I love the image Rachel created because she incorporates yellows, reds, and gold – colors usually associated with the Sun – into this card, which gives it a fresh energy and perspective.

The Star is about hope, inspiration, magic, and emotion (just look at all the liquid in most Star cards – it sure doesn’t symbolize rational thought!).  Rachel has incorporated colors (greens) and symbols (growing plants) to incorporate the Persephone / Kore myth as well.  We must go deep within ourselves and explore the darkness to find the hidden light – and then have the courage to return to the world with our new knowledge and actually *do* something with it.

The woman in the image is watering the earth – with her love, her tears, her sweat – to call forth new life.  So we must water ourselves – with kindness, with love, with nurturing – to create our lives of joy, creativity, and caring.

Hope springs etermal – if we allow it. Tap into your own emotional springs for the hope and inspiration waiting for you to discover.

I received this fun postcard from a staffing agency:

World Postcard

Someone, somewhere is having a lot of fun with their marketing – and I think it’s great!

James Wanless, Voyager, 8 of Wands

Card of the Day: James Wanless, Voyager, 8 of Wands

Musical harmony occurs when all of the players focus on doing their part, without trying to outperform the other musicians.  Everyone plays their notes – melody, harmony, descant – and the whole is definitely, magically greater than the sum of its parts.

When we do our part – mind our business, work on our own stuff, manage our own lives – and stop worrying about impressing other people, wondering what they will think – we create our own internal harmony.  When we have harmony within ourselves, it’s easier to create harmony in our immediate world, and the world at large – and it’s also easier to cope when things in the outside world are not harmonious.

What part(s) of your life is/are out of harmony?  Do you work too much? eat too much sugar? allow others to make choices for you?

What do you need to change so  you can hear the music of your soul?

Alexandra Genetti, Wheel of Change, 10 of Swords

Card of the Day: Alexandra Genetti, Wheel of Change, 10 of Swords

If you have issues with the RWS 10 of Swords, Alexandra’s beautiful interpretation will be much easier to work with. Instead of the finality of the extremes of thought depicted in the RWS, Alexandra presents a garden shed, its door open to the Universe.

The shed is equipped with all the tools for gardening, which also capture the four elements of the Tarot – Swords (tools), Cups (pots), Wands (broom, stakes), and Disks (spider webs) – and represent the tools we’ve acquired at this point in our lives which help us navigate our days, cultivate our relationships, and grow into our best selves.

While this card can represent a death (you did notice the scythe at the door), it’s so full of life and growth that it’s almost impossible to feel panic or fear at the thought of moving through the door into the Universe beyond.  Stepping across the threshold into the unknown becomes simply the next step on the path, the next thing to do, and seems so perfectly natural that you can’t imagine not doing it.

You know what you know, you’ve learned what you’ve learned, you’ve done what you’ve done.  What’s next?

Ellen Lorenzi-Prince, Tarot of the Crone, Six of Disks

Card of the Day: Ellen Lorenzi-Prince, Tarot of the Crone, Six of Disks

Ellen names this card “Style” and sees it as a card of choices.  Beauty or Truth? Now or later?  Strawberry or raspberry?

How much of our lives is determined by choice, and how much by chance?

Each day, we are confronted with choices, from the smallest detail to life-changing decisions. Do I have a muffin or a bagel? Do I wear the sweater or the vest?  Do I run off to Morocco with that cutie in the Accounting Department?

Sometimes we make decisions which seem insignificant, and result in dramatic transformations in our lives.  I had no idea when I went up the theatre department scaffold to hang ceiling decorations for my high school prom that I’d end up in the hospital with a broken back.  I missed prom, of course, but more significantly, that event altered my circumstances, my physical condition, and my goals, and I ended up moving to  California instead of New York. The last 30 years of my life would have been completely different if I’d been on the Refreshments Committee instead of Deco.

Sometimes we make a decision which leads  to an action, which leads to another, and we’re not aware of the choice – and its consequences – until years afterward.  Had I pursued music instead of theatre, I wouldn’t have been a performer at the Renaissance Faire – for 25 years.  I wouldn’t have met my first husband, or Thalassa, or Rose Red.  So who would I have married?  who would have shared the joys and vicissitudes of theatrical directing with me? who would be my Capable Assistant and Higher Brain Function?

Sometimes we feel we must make a choice – either this *or* that – but is that really the case?  How many times do we think we must give up one thing for another, when we can actually have them both?

Sometimes, though, we do have to choose – if you make time each day to play chess, that’s time you can’t read, or socialize, or clean your house.  If you commute two hours each way to your job, that’s four hours a day you can’t do anything else with except sit in the car.  Is that really how you want to pass the precious hours of your life?

Today, consider your choices.  Do you really have to choose?  Can you have both? Some of both? Or is it really one or the other?

Podcast #33 is hosted by  Anastasia, Rose Red, and Andrew (Artemis J. was tending to other matters), conversing with John Michael Greer about obscure oracles, the importance of practical skills, and post-peak oil culture.  This is a bit of a departure from our usual podcast – we ended up discussing society and culture more than divination, but as it’s quite informative and thought provoking, we think you’ll enjoy listening.  Click here to check it out!

In this episode:

John Michael Greer / Ancient Order of Druids in America (AODA) / The Archdruid Report / PantheaCon /  Llewellyn / San Francisco Bay Area Tarot Symposium / Geomancy / Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn / Weiser Books

Voyager, Nine of Cups

Card of the Day: James Wanless, Voyager, Nine of Cups

Fulfillment! My cup runneth over!  (Darn – red wine stains on the carpet, again!  Oh well – just keep dancing!)

Today, life is a bowl of cherries – a glass of Shiraz – a double scoop of ice cream!  We experience fulfillment on many levels – physical, emotional, mental, spiritual.  Where are you feeling fulfillment?  What area isn’t doing it for you?  What can you do about that?

Be honest with yourself about what you need to be fulfilled.  Ice cream – or intellectual stimulation?  Cookies – or cuddles?  A new object – or a new perspective?

It’s quite easy to fall into the habit of denying what we really need and substituting something which is easier to obtain – even if it’s not what we truly need, or even if it’s actually not good for us.

If what you need is a glass of wine – enjoy it!  If what you really need, however, is a long, honest talk with your partner/roommate/boss, do that first – *then* reward yourself with the glass of wine!

Alexandra Genetti, The Wheel of Change Tarot, Sun

Card of the Day: Alexandra Genetti, The Wheel of Change Tarot, Sun

What a perfect card for the July 4 holiday!  July – sunny, warm, and bright (if one lives in the Northern Hemisphere) – time to shine, time to grow!

Independence Day is a national holiday in the U.S., and a great time to think about our personal independence.  In what ways am I independent? interdependent? codependent?  What can I do in the coming year to become more of my true self, so that I am truly my own person?

By being our best, authentic selves, we are able to be the best for others – the best spouse, the best business parter, friend, parent, child, neighbor, coworker – and being our best will usually bring out the best in those around us.

Be your best self today, and allow yourself to shine!