Feb 19 2014

Free Daily Tarotscope — Feb 19, 2014 — Six of Pentacles

Author: Mel and Chris • Discussion: No Comments

Six of Pentacles

Today you may be called upon to open your heart and loosen your purse strings, as a measure of generosity and good will.

The Six of Pentacles is all about benevolence — giving what you can afford to give: whether it’s of your time, your money or your energy — to someone who needs it more than you do.

This card speaks of understanding the pathways between giving and receiving, to the extent that there are no expectations for being repaid. You give because you can and because the gratitude you receive in exchange is more than enough reward.

Even though you can only see a portion of her face, the woman in this card looks kind and compassionate. She has the words ” again and again look” across her forehead, a reminder that all that you put out there comes back to you in one way or another. In this respect the Six of Pentacles is also a reminder to pay attention and be grateful for the blessings you receive.

You may be also be the benefactor of someone else’s good will. Look outside: did someone clear the snow away from your walkway? Or help you unload your groceries? Did a friend call just to say hello?

Feb 18 2014

Free Daily Tarotscope — Feb 18, 2014 — Three of Cups

Author: Mel and Chris • Discussion: No Comments

Three of Cups

You may have plenty of people around you (friends and lovers and a solid support network), but are starting to see how your greatest fulfillment comes from within. The Three of Cups is usually associated with merriment and gaiety — a celebration amongst friends, but in this version we see how this is not always the case.

A solitary figure, depicted here as a young woman seated before a full moon, looks contentedly over her shoulder. Three goblets stand upright beside her and a raven rests in her hand. She’s basking in the glow of the full moon (representing intuition and sensitivity) while holding the mysteries of life (the raven) in the palm of her hand.

Perhaps she’s alone, or perhaps her loved-ones are just out of sight. Either way, she seems fulfilled and content and “complete” in her solitude.

This card represent a positive confirmation that you are as at one with yourself and your surroundings as you are in the people who love and support you. You have been able to turn loneliness into contentment, and discontent into personal fulfillment.

Perhaps you’re now realizing that you don’t need someone else to make you whole. Or maybe you’re at a place in your life where you realize the true meaning of loving yourself. It’s the first step toward creating a connection with others, yet once you achieve it you begin to realize that loving yourself is often enough.

Feb 17 2014

Free Daily Tarotscope — Feb 17, 2014 — King of Cups

Author: Mel and Chris • Discussion: No Comments

King of Cups

Today’s card — the King of Cups — is all about getting in touch with your emotions and learning to express them in a healthy mature manner.

The Kings — as with all of the court cards — will often describe an individual entering your life as a facilitator for an important lessons. In this case as it’s Cups (called “Chalices” in this deck) that lesson refers to the realm of feelings, emotions, instinct and intuition.

The King in this version is seated on a throne that rises of the ocean like a pedestal. His robes are ornate although somewhat weathered. His crown and his chalice are both gold. An elephant and a seahorse adorn his shield — a clear reference to his reign over land and sea.

Although this King is kind and compassionate, he’s nobody’s fool. He’s not easily persuaded or manipulated and he doesn’t get caught up in maudlin sentimentality. The seas around him may be turbulent, but he maintains his calm as he keeps a watchful eye on the horizon.

The King of Cups encourages you to be compassionate while still maintaining an air of authority. It speaks of developing a clear emotional radar without becoming wishy washy. And it speaks of getting a better understanding of your emotions without becoming overpowered by them.

Feb 16 2014

An Intuitive 5-Card Tarot Reading with Two Axes

Author: Charles Johnson • Discussion: 5 Comments

(nothing to do with choppers or tomahawks)

by Charles Johnson, guest blogger

Feeling a bit cheesed-off the other day after a Djembe drumming practice at which my drum teacher had failed to define for me just how my sense of timing/ tempo / accent did not come up to hers, after a few hours not exactly fuming but quite deeply bothered (because drumming has become pretty central to my life and my sense of well-being), I got out my favourite Tarot of the Origins deck in order to make sense of / get to the heart of the “problem.”

I hit upon a five-card spread: three cards laid out in a vertical line, representing (from bottom to top) what’s going on from the teacher’s point of view — its origin (card 1: the Four of Jewels); the heart of the situation (card 2 and the central card in the layout: The Mother); and its implication / outcome (card 3: the Five of Jewels).

Feb 16 2014

Free Daily Tarotscope — Feb 16, 2014 — The Chariot

Author: Mel and Chris • Discussion: No Comments

The Chariot

Today you’ll be thinking about taking greater control of your life and being a more active participant in your destiny.

The Chariot card speaks of getting into the driver’s seat and taking charge of where you’re heading — and that means you must also be willing to take responsibility for any missteps along the way.

In the past it may have been easier to blame outside forces for setbacks in your life. Or it may have felt safer to remain passive and allow others to take control. But the Chariot card says it’s time to step up, stop making excuses and start living your own life.

Traditional versions of this card are often more aggressive and chaotic, with the charioteer struggling to harness and rein in opposing forces. The emphasis is on concentration, restraint, determination and drive.

But this is a softer more zen-like version. The figure in the card with her long wild tresses streaming behind her is at “one” with the creatures on whose backs she glides. Her stance is placid and her command is gentle as she holds the reins in one hand and uses her other to remind them of just who is in charge. All three have their eyes closed and appear to be completely in sync as they move toward their destination.

Feb 15 2014

Free Daily Tarotscope — Feb 15, 2014 — Wheel of Fortune

Author: Mel and Chris • Discussion: No Comments

Wheel of Fortune

Today you may be looking at the ups and downs in your life and thinking about how they’ve led you to where you are today. The Wheel of Fortune card is associated with fate, destiny, “karma,” life cycles and both good and bad luck.

Sometimes we blame ourselves for the down times (assuming we’ve “brought it all on ourselves”) while viewing the up times as outside of our control.

We all experience these up and down cycles — and we all try to maximize the former while minimizing the latter. But the Wheel of Fortune tells us that both are necessary and that the good times wouldn’t be good without the frame of reference of the not-so-good times.

In traditional (Rider Waite and Golden Dawn) style versions of this card, there are more ominous connotations of those up and down times, but as this deck was designed for children, the imagery is more positive, playful and whimsical.

We see a roulette wheel in the center with four sets of lucky symbols — hearts, 4-leaf clovers, horseshoes and brass rings — and eight sets of numbers around the perimeter.

The “eight” theme is repeated there in numerical increments as well. Rounding out the imagery is a pair of lucky white rabbits at the top of the card and a pair of unlucky black cats at the bottom.

Feb 14 2014

Free Daily Tarotscope — Feb 14, 2014 — the Lovers

Author: Mel and Chris • Discussion: No Comments

the Lovers

In honor of Valentine’s Day, today’s card is the Lovers card — Salvadore Dali’s Los Enamorados.

It doesn’t matter if you’re single, dating, married, separated, divorced or widowed, chances are good you’re going to be thinking about relationships today.

The Lover’s card is about “love.” But it’s not always an easy or definitive love. Sometimes there are feelings of ambivalence or uncertainty, and sometimes there are choices to be made that can complicate things even more.

You may be wondering where you stand in a relationship or whether someone you care about feels the same. You may be ready to fall head over heels in love and wondering when someone new is coming in.

This version of the card is somewhat reminiscent of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The male and female figures are poised between two columns and leaning in to one another. Their stance is somehow seductive and demure at the same time. The male figure’s nakedness is discreetly hidden behind a giant blue butterfly.

The butterfly and pitchfork are common symbols in this deck and appear to be referencing male (pitchfork) and female (butterfly) energy.

Feb 13 2014

Free Daily Tarotscope — Feb 13, 2014 — Ace of Cups

Author: Mel and Chris • Discussion: 4 Comments

Ace of Cups:

Today’s card — from the Alchemical Tarot — is another Ace. This time though it’s the Ace of Cups (Vessels in this deck), which refers to feelings, emotions, intuition and most importantly “love” in its purest form.

This isn’t necessarily a romantic version of love; it has more to do with falling in love with oneself: an alchemical process if ever there was one. When you think about it, it’s this process that reveals to you — at least for a brief moment — all that you are capable of giving and receiving.

Aces in general represent raw, unformed energy. The spark of intuition (wands), the seed of an enterprise (pentacles), the origin of an idea (swords). And the most powerful potion of all — love (cups).

The imagery in this version of the card is rich with esoteric symbolism. We see a fish carting a precious (and fragile) vessel across a body of water. The vessel contains a heart which is floating in a pool of red (the blood of Christ) and from which sprouts a grape vine (the fruit of life).

The fish is said to be a messenger of the unconscious, but also represents wisdom, knowledge and transformation. The vessel — a symbol of mystery, sustenance and fertility, is also an alembic, within which the alchemical process of distilling, refining and transmuting occurs.

Feb 12 2014

Free Daily Tarotscope — Feb 12, 2014 — Ace of Wands

Author: Mel and Chris • Discussion: No Comments

Ace of Wands

Today is the perfect day to think about re-inventing yourself — courtesy of the spark of passion, inspiration and creative potential that is associated with the Ace of Wands.

The Ace of Wands — like all Aces — represents the pure unadulterated essence of its native element: in this case Fire. It’s a very dynamic and transformative energy that can be shaped and fashioned at will. The possibilities are as endless as your imagination — or your wildest dreams.

This version of the card is loaded in referential symbolism, with representations of fertility, creativity, inspiration, passion, expansion and growth.

The wand itself is part of a tree, with roots stretching deep into the earth and branches reaching high into the sky. A rainbow spans the sky behind it, illuminating the tiny buds that are just starting to bloom.

Feb 11 2014

Free Daily Tarotscope — Feb 11, 2014 — Five of Swords

Author: Mel and Chris • Discussion: No Comments

Five of Swords

Today you may need to look at all the different aspects of an argument or disagreement and decide your next move. Do you surrender? Finish off your opponent? Turn and walk away? Or do you go back in and clean up the spoils in the hopes that there’s something left to be salvaged?

The Five of Swords is traditionally associated with conflict and turmoil, not seeing eye to eye, and fighting for the sake of fighting. There are elements of ego, pride and “reputation” in the mix — not wanting to give in or to admit to being wrong — these are what keep the conflict alive.

In this version of the card we see a pair of eagles involved in a skirmish, and while one appears to be “winning” at the moment it’s apparent that that could easily change. Five Swords are lined up behind them, three of them broken and two still intact.

If you think about the disagreements in your own life, you’ll see that Ego is almost always to blame. The “death before dishonor” aspect of this archetype is so beautifully rendered here, right down to the Sun and Moon in the background and the Ouroboros (or World Serpent) behind the battling birds.

Feb 10 2014

Free Daily Tarotscope — Feb 10, 2014 — Two of Swords

Author: Mel and Chris • Discussion: No Comments

Two of Swords

You’re striving for equilibrium today, as a means toward balancing all of the dichotomies in your life.

Whether you feel yourself being pulled in two different directions — between head and heart, for example — or just need a break from the chaos surrounding you, this card encourages you to take a step back, be still in the moment and reflect on what you want, removed from any external distractions.

You may wish to “rise above” all of the turmoil that is festering beneath you, but as with the imagery depicted in this card, you won’t be able to completely escape it.

The juxtaposition of opposing forces (moth vs. snake, day vs. night, life vs. death, hibernation vs. metamorphosis) reminds us that there is a brief moment in between. And it’s in that moment — the stillness and the presence of mind that occurs only there — where clarity, perspective and understanding are born.

Trust your instincts and work on following your intuition. This card requires you to access both hemispheres of your brain, whether that relates to creative, practical or even spiritual considerations.

Feb 09 2014

Free Daily Tarotscope — Feb 9, 2014 — Knight of Swords

Author: Mel and Chris • Discussion: 2 Comments

Knight of Swords

Today you want to be “on your toes” and prepared for whatever opportunities — or peril — that comes your way.

The Knight of Swords is sharp, focused and purposeful, aware of his (or her) environment and quick to act if need be.

In traditional Rider Waite type decks the Knight of Swords is literally a knight in shining armor, charging ahead into battle or to rescue his fair maiden.

But here we have a young hipster-soldier girl standing watch under a bird-filled sky. She herself resembles a bright and colorful bird, from her hair to her coloring to her clothing to her complete immersion in the scene before her.

But these birds aren’t flying south for the winter: they’re circling above her in what could be a menacing formation. She keeps her sword ready but holds it behind her until she knows for sure.

The Knight of Swords often delivers news. Sometimes it’s good news and sometimes it’s not. But like the young warrior in our card, your main objective should be to stay alert and be prepared to act quickly and decisively either way.

The Knight of Swords is quite good at getting to the point, but comes up short when it comes to tact and diplomacy. Therefore if it turns out that it’s you delivering the news today, be mindful of your tone, manner and especially your choice of words.