Tag: modern oracle

Tarot Without a Net: The Emperor

I am really enjoying getting to know the Heart of Stars Tarot deck by Thom Pham (used in the blog series with his permission). The idea of using modern movie and TV icons on the deck as he does is SO in my wheelhouse. Pop culture is a conceptual Rosetta Stone, a perfect analogy for communicating the more esoteric or arcane parts of Tarot.

I was totally fangirling over seeing a Star Wars image. I’ve been a Star Wars fan from the word go when Episode IV first hit the world back in ’77. Given that there is an actual Emperor in the movie it took a little squinting and staring to wrap my head around seeing Obi Wan on the Emperor card. The villain Emperor certainly wouldn’t work for the card, but at first blush I would have pegged Obi Wan more of a Hermit type, since we first meet him at his isolated home in the Tatooine desert. Fast forward to the scenes in the Millennium Falcon where Obi Wan is teaching Luke to use the force in light saber training, and the conversations he had with Luke as a Force ghost in later movies.

Every Jedi is an emperor. Every one of us is an emperor.

It isn’t explicit by any means, but think of Qwi Gon and the earlier Jedi in the prequals. Think of the independence, self-direction and responsibility. The Jedi counsel were harsh taskmasters in some respects. They had to hold each and every Jedi to account. Each and every Jedi was ultimately responsible for their actions. Each and every Jedi was the emperor of their own being and their own destiny and their own actions.

And so are we. We may not be able to control our external circumstances at all. Internal emotions are normal, natural, and are not meant to be stifled, suppressed or in themselves controlled. We DO have 100% control AND 100% responsibility for how we react to those external circumstances and internal emotions. What we do and chose in response to those things determine our destiny. We are the absolute Emperors over our internal world even as we work to be in harmony with external energies and our internal emotional pulls. We are the rulers and protectors of our actions, even if we strive to serve as the Jedi do.

Let’s see what the artist has to say about Obi Wan…

He says it’s Anthony Hopkins as Odin in the movie Thor.

Ah well, that makes sense in the leader / ruler context WAY more than Obi Wan Kenobi. I totally missed that. Funny, since I’ve seen Thor and am a big fan of Marvel Universe movies (sorry DC folks)

But I get the vibe. He adds a mentoring, paternal element, as Odin was Thor’s father. I guess Obi Wan is close, a surrogate father with a connection to Luke’s actual father. Either way….older male father figure lends stability,  & teaches us to be responsible leaders

Today’s Tarot: Three of Coins

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Two or three heads are better than one. Many hands make for light work. Just don’t let too many cooks spoil your soup. Get advice and guidance, but in the end you own your choices.

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Today’s Tarot: Four of Swords (2-23-2019)

4 of Swords…comtemplating….deciding…IS doing something. The mind needs space to work. That workspace at times takes the form of rest, inactivity, watching what thoughts come and letting them go…you know…meditation.

Was in maker mode this weekend

These have already sold: gratitude

This is new in TaoCraftTarot.shop

These are still there, and would make great Valentine’s day gifts. That accent crystal is amethyst colored, and amethyst is a birthstone for both February and Pisces.

Distance Tarot is always there too, no appointment needed.

It’s going to be another snowy Monday here, so I’m ready to brew up a cup and read Tarot all day, rain, snow, shine or whatever the weather where you are. I hope we can work together soon.

Bookshelf: Sigil Witchery

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I’ve been into Taoist phliosophy since the late 80s, out of the EX-Christian closet since 1992, out of the Tarot closet since the early 2000’s and out of the atheist closet since 2012. I only have one closet left. I don’t rock a goth style in my old-ass middle age but I admit to seeing the world through a witchy lens along with everything else. My “magick” (yeah, I spell it with a K because I think it looks cool and makes an important distinction between philosophy/way of life magick vs stage & entertainment magic.) is a low-key, in the flow, actions-and-words to align my intent with the natural way of things sacred-in-the-mundane variety.

That being said, this worldview is another part of the rebranding from Modern Oracle to TaoCraft. Not all witches are Tarot readers, and not all Tarot readers are witches. The way I see it, to borrow from Bill Maher, if you made a Venn diagram of Tarot, Taoism, Reiki, and my version of witchcraft you’d have damn near a circle. They are different iterations of the same thing. Parallel paths to the same mountain top. Different words to say the same thing. Tarot, Taoism, Reiki and Witchcraft are all just slightly different ways of viewing the world, living in harmony with nature and the natural flow of universal energy.

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Thus the new “Bookshelf” series of posts. On Modern Oracle, I wrote a few posts singing the praises of a few favorite spirituality and Tarot books. I plan to expand that here, fan-girling over favorite books, old and new, about all of those super-overlapping circles; Magick, Tarot, Reiki, Meditation, Spirituality with assorted other bits of inspiration and entertainment.

First up in the new series is my latest read, Sigil Witchery by Laura Tempest Zarkoff. Whether you resonate with any form of magick or not, I consider this an essential read for any Tarot enthusiast. The well researched insight into symbolism at it’s most basic level can easily and effectively be brought to bear reading any Tarot or oracle deck. She enriches the most basic shapes and components of images with primal meaning. Those ancient and primal meanings then add another layer of meaning to the artwork on our decks, enriching our reading of the card. In interpreting a card, we can use the assigned meaning for the card blended with our own intuitive understanding of the card, and season it with the underlying significance of the shapes and symbols contained in the artwork as well.

My interest in sigil craft actually began with some of the most potent power symbols -words. Sallie Christensen told me in a reading one time that thoughts are powerful, spoken words more so, but the written word is the most powerful of all.  Sigils are even more potent and focused. Working with written words has one energy, one magic. Working with sigils is a similar but distinctly different energy wavelength.

Sigils are power symbols created from words. There are different methods of creating them, which Zarkoff relates briefly. Then she goes right on to elevate the  whole thing far above what has been before. As an artist, Ms. Zarkoff understands the emotional and subconscious impact of shapes and overall composition. A sigil constructed from the letters of a reduced phrase, or from the lines traced from letters on a magic square are perfectly fine, but the seem to be dominated by straight lines and spiky shapes. With Sigil Witchery, we are given a method for creating sigils that are pleasing to the eye, heart and mind. Better still, her understanding of how to incorporate sigils beyond setting them on fire and releasing them to the ethers makes sense, and, again, elevates the art and craft of sigil drawing.

For Tarot readers, go, read this now. Use what you learn about symbols and art to better appreciate and interpret your cards. If you are interested in sigil making as well, this is the book for you. Sigil Witchery is pleasant to read and easy to understand. Because Sigil Witchery is such an elevation of the art, and because the classic source of sigil craft is so very hard to read and follow (Austin Osman Spare) I suggest reading a mid-step introduction to sigils as a primer before reading Sigil Witchery. (I read Practical Sigil Magic by U.D. Frater. *See note below.) Having that little extra background only helps a reader to appreciate Laura Zarkoff’s accomplishment even more.

Sigil Witchery is available at major outlets like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and on the author’s website at https://www.lauratempestzakroff.com/shop.html

*Frater’s work is rooted in “Chaos Magic” and some portions of the rituals described might offend some. The first half of the book is an excellent distillation and explanation of Spare’s approach to sigils. The second half of the book delves into ritual magick and, to my way of thinking, an undue, pedantic, overwhelming amount of detail about complicated ritual and so on. If you are inclined toward that style of things, this book is for you. To be honest, I bailed. That kind of detailed complicated ritual just isn’t my path. No slight to Frater, his writing, Spare or Chaos Magick. It’s a good, well written book.  The subject matter isn’t for me after the sigil basics were over.

Grandpa Hierophant

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Some cards come more naturally than others.

Tarot readers are people too, and have our emotional triggers. Some cards push our buttons more than others. Giving a reading touches our hearts and minds as much as getting a reading. The Hierophant card is a challenge for me when it is drawn in full pointy hat christian-heavy regalia. Just not my wavelength. Fairly or not, my life experience and point of view made the RWS Pope look wrapped in rules and judgement. Until – thank you social media – I read a framework for the card that made sense out of it. At the same time I found decks with artwork that fit the new conceptual fit. In short order, the dogmatic, pedantic pope-ish character morphed into a Grandpa.

Think stories by a campfire. Think shamen. Think wise elder. Think teacher. Think Yoda.

Whichever deck we use, when the Hierophant comes into a reading for a client, intuitively, it seems to take one of those two tracks, whichever best suits the client’s needs I assume. It either vibes with rules or traditions.

On one hand, it seems to have to do with social conformity, playing by the rules. It is compliance with a Papal Edict. Or, it could have to do with nonconformity, breaking social convention, rejecting other people’s expectations. It seems like the sense of it doesn’t follow whether the card is reversed or not. It seems more triggered by the clients nature. If the client is a natural conformist, then it seems to nudge toward being their own person, pushes them a bit toward freer thinking. If, on the other hand, the client is naturally a freethinker, or a rule-bender, then it may be a nudge to “play by the rules” a little more in some respect.

Now that the ‘keeper and teacher of traditions’ notion has crossed my path, it comes through at times even if I happen to be using the RWS deck. It seems to come through with that energy at times when the client is feeling  a little uprooted, or disconnected, emotionally or spiritually orphaned somehow. When this is the energy, the Hierophant is a call to join the circle, learn of the past, learn of roots and connections. Just as we are each our own best minister or pope, we are at times our own hierophant, finding and adopting our own spiritual tradition on a path apart from our past or upbringing. Either way, it is about learning a new pattern.

It is a pattern of twos, of balance, in understanding the Hierophant. Comply with rules or find your own path. Embrace or rediscover your tribe and deep traditions or celebrate your initiation into a tribe of one. Either way, the Hierophant is teaching us our path and spiritual tradition.

Sometimes I Need a Pep Talk Too

3wands

I’m not going to energize it by talking about the details, but I needed a pep talk this afternoon. Then I pulled this for a “Today’s Tarot” post. Hellooo pep talk.

The three of wands is a very forward facing card for artwork that shows a guy’s back, but that is the whole point. He’s leading the way. We are all going in that direction, so of course we don’t see the man’s face. We are moving ahead into the new frontier together.

It is a very positive, yes kind of card that hints at progress, successes to come, a process, decision made and steps taken, looking ahead with a balance of intuition and logical know-how.

The pep talk I needed was in the realm of professional Tarot readings, so I’m seeing the card in those terms today. If you aren’t a pro Tarot reader, think of this advice in terms of your work or career. Not all career advice comes through coins cards. There is more to humans than money and the same is true of the life lessons that are tied to work and career.

Lesson # 1: Shuffle and draw your cards with focused intent. I was a little bleary eyed about my usual intent (choose a card that will help someone out there in cyberspace) with half a brain on wanting either a pep talk or some kind of good idea. Voila! Pep talk in the form of the Three of Wands. That isn’t to say that it can’t be a good message for both the sitter and the reader. More often than not, that is how it works out, whether we intend it to be that way or not. Tarot readers are real people with real emotions and real ups and downs just like everybody else on Earth.

Lesson : Pro readers – heal thyself. Ahead of time. No, no, that’s not exactly it. Nobody’s perfect. If we waited until we are healed and wonderful or whatever nobody would ever give or get a reading again. No, this is more along the lines of “Pro Readers – clear thy head.” Self care is a thing. You really can’t pour from an empty cup. A reader is never going to be perfect but we can at minimum try to focus, put our client’s needs at the forefront and keep some sense of energy boundaries. It helps us and our clients if we stay clear on what energy is for us, and what is for them. Everyone has intuition, and readers are people like everyone else. We are all in this together, and sometimes spirit will speak to us together too.

Lesson #3: Deciding to watch and wait is a decision too. The three of wands hints of coming progress, looking ahead to a goal on the horizon, a process in motion, a journey started but about to move into a new frontier. Forward progress in a journey (like the spiritual growth of the 8 of cups we saw the other day) doesn’t have to mean lightning FAST progress. It is perfectly fine to stop and take a look around so you can continue to move forward in a deliberate and mindful way. Even if you are driving in the slow lane, you are still on the road. That counts.

Even if you need a pep talk every now and again, the work you do matters.