Tag Archives: tarot

Taking a Breath

It’s been a little more than a year since I began posting on the astro correspondences in tarot. See my latest book review here.

This is a fascinating subject and brings these two mighty symbolic systems together. Almost perfectly. But not exactly. The seven planets of the ancient world are matched to the twelve zodiacal signs. Each sign has three periods of ten days, called a decan. Here is the arithmetic.

12 (signs) x 3 (decans) = 36

But 36 (decans) ÷ 7 (planets) = 35 with a remainder of 1

So Mars appears one extra time. The Two of Wands is Mars in Aries and all the way around the zodiac to the Ten of Cups we have Mars in Pisces. A double dose of Mars.

Fair enough, maybe those esotericists of The Hermetic Order Of The Golden Dawn who came up with this method of ascription wanted a deliberate imperfection in the wheel?

I don’t know.

In any case I am taking a breath before I move on to another aspect. So the next post will be at about the winter solstice (northern hemisphere). Meanwhile if you are interested to know more about this fascinating mis-match check out the book I recommend here.

 

A Balancing Act

The Sun is in Libra. Below is the major arcana card that corresponds, meanwhile, and it seems appropriately Libran, this month I am beginning my own personal archive of brief book reviews here.

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Justice

While on the one hand … yes, but have you considered … let’s look at it another way …

Nothing if not even handed, fair minded, able to see this side and that, Librans are the diplomats of the zodiac, and the idealists.

Yes, and Justice is not Judgement.

And here are the minor arcana correspondences:

swords02

 

The Moon in Libra.

1st decan September 21st to 30th.

There’s a decision to be made. Are all the facts in, how impartial is your judgement? Tiresias was the blind seer who knows the truth but sometimes wishes he did not.  Can you see more when you close your eyes?

th

Saturn in Libra.

2nd decan, 1st October to 10th.

There’s no way to say this image isn’t challenging.

But maybe there can be breakthrough work here? The insight of the head pierces the compassion of the heart. You need both, right?

 

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Jupiter in Libra.

3rd decan 11th to 20th October.

Time to rest. Refresh, restore … repeat.

A little expansive retirement. A respite from life’s battle, go deep within and tap the wellspring of harmony.

Why not? It’s free and you’ll feel better for it!

 

 

 

And This Happens Three Times a Year … !?!

… And it happens to however many billion of us there are on the planet at the moment, but when the following occurs, it’s hard not to think the planet has singled you out:

Mercury-Retrograde-20151

  1. I got an excited message from the admin office at my actor’s union, telling me that several thousand dollars in repeat fees were waiting to be claimed. I returned the call. After a brief discussion, the lady explained that there was a mix up. A little later I received a check for $10.97
  2. After several grueling sessions with the filing, the paperwork, my own temperament, I went to see my accountant only to find I had forgotten to bring a vital sheaf of papers.
  3. I will do a Tarot and Astrology presentation with a good friend and colleague in Winston-Salem next week. We sent out a flyer with a typo in the contact details. We wondered why the phones were silent!

But yes, the splendid astrologer extraordinaire Ms Sheila Roher, lately of New York City now relocated to North Carolina, and I, will be hosting a fun evening talking about the cards and the stars on Wednesday 18th May in Winston-Salem.

If you know anyone who might be interested, please contact me for details.

How was your weekend?

I went to an event called the Readers Studio and it was (as we say in England), brilliant!

What is the collective noun for about 200 Tarot enthusiasts? A prediction”, maybe?

I include a link to the Tarot School site where details can be found of what they do. It was three days (four if you went to the psychology & tarot day) of inspired presentation, practical work with the cards, and meeting extraordinary people, and all occurring conveniently across the road from the La Guardia airport.

Attendees included (but were not limited to, in alphabetical order), British, Chinese, Icelandic, Italian, Indian, Russian, and of course a diverse squadron of Yanks (a Brit-word for American) of many ethnicities. All this diverse sample of humanity united in a quest to deepen understanding, and ranging from first time people, like me, to prolific authors and teachers well-known in the scene. For example, a gentleman passed by the table where I was and took a seat. His name tag said Stuart Kaplan, and I thought, “That’s not Stuart Kaplan as in the Stuart Kaplan?!? – the bloke who published the Rider Waite?” But it was …

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It’s kind of hard to describe the magical vibe, so I won’t try. But I will say that I got my first tarot deck aged 19, and I learnt more this past weekend, than since I was that distant young man 39 years ago.

Big personal thanks to all involved, and especially to Ruth Ann and Wald Amberstone.

 

From each … to each …

6puThe six of coins relates to The Moon in Taurus. The actual moon passes through each sign in about two and a half days, completing a round of all twelve each and every month with drumbeat regularity. With the six of coins the Moon rules the first ten days of May.

I’ve found this an unsettling card. I mean, ask yourself, with which figure in the picture do you identify? The one dispensing, the one receiving, the one supplicating? Could go either way, right?

There’s a Mullah Nasruddin story that resonates here:

One day the Mullah was walking along the street when he was approached by a beggar.

“Oh please,” said the beggar, “help me.”

“Well,” responded the Mullah, “What kind of man are you?”

“Truthfully,” said the beggar, “I like to sit in the coffee house all day and smoke a hookah. I’m not very keen on working.”

With no further discussion the Mullah gives the beggar three coins.

A little while later, a second beggar approaches the Mullah. “Please, Mullah,” says he, “give me some assistance.”

“Tell me about yourself,” says the Mullah.

“I’m very devout,” the second beggar says, “I like to read the scriptures. I go frequently to the mosque to pray. I can subsist on very little food.”

Without hesitation the Mullah hands the second beggar a single coin.

“What!?” exclaims this second beggar, “You gave that scoundrel who sits about all day gossiping in the coffee house doing no  work, three coins, and me who is a holy man only one. Why is that?”

The Mullah says, “his needs are greater than yours.”

The six of coins. The ultimate get what you wish for card.

Steps backward, steps forward

five-of-pentaclesThe five of Pentacles is Mercury in Taurus. Corresponding to the last ten days of April. It’s a swift transit, Mercury is the sprinter among the planets taking just 88 Earth days to orbit the Sun.

So Mercury doesn’t stay long in each sign. And maybe that’s ok with this challenging image of the Mercury in Taurus image.

But when the planet goes retrograde, the sign has a longer visit.

Today is April 25th 2016, and in four days the planet Mercury will begin some apparent backwards motion in the sky, going direct again on the 22nd of May 2016. It’s one of three times a year that Mercury does this.

Which means that this year Mercury will linger in the sign of the bull.

The coming retrograde is a great time to check up on details in all departments. Catch up on the filing, emails should be written with extra care, listen carefully when on the phone and keep an eye on the postal service!

 

Do You Know Where You’re Going?

Rider-Waite-Tarot-Card (1)Today … tomorrow … in life? Do you know? Does it matter?

Direction …

How does the strong man in the chariot relate to the most nurturing of the signs, Cancer?

“Not I, not I, but the wind that blows through me!
A fine wind is blowing the new direction of Time.
If only I let it bear me, carry me, if only it carry me!
If only I am sensitive, subtle, oh, delicate, a winged gift! …”

D H Lawrence

 

But What Does It Do?

The Page of Swords is one who likes to question, to gather information: … Here we continue the occasional ongoing conversation …

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So … these readings …

Yes …?

How do they work?

Both these methods are an intuitive lens which can focus inquiry, and gain insight that empowers you.

But what can you do specifically with tarot and astrology?

Stimulate thought, elevate feeling, refine choices …

Sounds okay. But can you give me answers?

Sure. Like what is one plus one?

No, like who should I vote for?

Well, … we could talk about that if you like.

But you can’t tell me what to do?

The reading is more about connecting you with your own wisdom.

So you can’t tell me if I should marry John or Joan, or Tom, Harry or Dick?

You mean can I answer the questions only you can answer …?

Yes.

Not so much.

Then why would I come to you?

Again …

Still Waters …

cups01 (1)Water is adaptable. It flows. In the ocean it surges, responsive to the Moon.

Three water experiences known to me are:

The water at Glastonbury in England. It’s worth traveling for. The water in the Dead Sea is so buoyant, I have read a book while sitting in it. The rationed water from the Rio Grande grows garlic on a small-holding where I stayed once.

Water rocks.