Intuitive Reading

2012-02-11T01:50:00.004-05:00

Hello class!!

Here lies the index to my totally free Intuitive Reading course. I am in the process of moving everything over so please be patient.

So here is the index:

Welcome
Meditation
Daily Draws
Yes/No Questions

Lesson One ~ Majors Part One
Lesson Two ~ Majors Part Two
Lesson Three ~ Majors Part Three
Lesson Four ~ Reading
Lesson Five ~ The Pages
Lesson Six ~ The Knights

Lesson Six ~ The Knights

2010-02-24T21:20:00.002-05:00

Ok, the Knights for me are all about movement, if they are not depicting a person. So, you want to pay attention if a knight shows up with the Chariot, the 6 Swords, the 8 of Cups, or any other card that shows movement. You also want to check for cards that promote non-movement.

I also read using Elemental Dignities, which I suppose I should do a lesson on after we get through the courts.

Again, I will be showing the knights from the Robin Wood, as they are the best courts, in my opinion.

Knight of Wands
Keyword: Light Bringer

Let's take a look at that image. Our knight is in the desert. He is full armor with what appears to be a lion on his head. The horse's mane and tail are fire.

Lots of passion here, lots of movement and action. Lots of creativity. Reversed could signify boredom and trickery.

He has the same qualities of the page, only know he has a direction. He knows how to handle that wand and he knows what he wants to do with it. I happen to see the knights in a more physical plane. The page is new, investigating, learning. He becomes the knight.

But because the suit of Wands has to do with passion, intuition, vision, creativity, sexuality, spirituality.... he is bringing these into form in the physical plane.

Knight of Cups
Keyword: Lover

Another great image! Here our setting is the sea. The knight's chain mail looks to be made of fish scales. His helmet is a sea shell. The horse has a fish tail instead of back legs, and his mane is sea foam.

Here is a knight in the element of water. Feeling, emotion, ideals, hopes, relationships, psychic abilities. It is with this card that these things are given form and come into the physical world. He is desire. Reversed, he is possessive and prone to be over emotional. I would look for depression over being rejected. If we remember back to the Page who was in love with everything. Here we will have a certain something. An object of his desire.

Knight of Swords
Keyword: Champion

Here our knight is in flight, soaring amongst the clouds. His helmet also has wings on it. The horse, or shall we say Pegasus, has wings as well. His sword is being struck by lightning.

Swords are all about knowledge for me. So here is knowledge in action. This guy is on a crusade. Campaigning for equal rights, etc. Anything that he thinks is so logical, why doesn't everyone else get it? He is well informed and knows all about what he's fighting for. And because he is so well-versed, this gives him the insight needed to follow what his actions will do. For example, say he's crusading for a new law. He will be able to tell you how it will affect everything! Even when you don't really care.

Reversed, he can be a terrible rival and may be prone to anger.

Knight of Pents
Keyword: Protector

This is our only knight not on the move, so take that into consideration if you're looking for movement. It may be slow and steady. Our knight also looks like he won't be moving too much in that full armor. His horse also looks to be heartier than the others. Stable and protecting. This is a knight you trust and rightfully so.

We can follow the page to this knight. All that building and working with his hands has led to power. Here, the pentacles are about power, instinct, physicality, and matter in the physical world.

Reversed, he can desert those he's sworn to protect or he can neglect them altogether.

Feel free to ask questions, and make up your own meanings.

Lesson Five ~ The Pages

2010-02-24T20:27:00.004-05:00

So, we're going to look at the pages first.

Some people like to say that pages are people or messages. Some also can tell people's coloring depending on what court card is pulled.

I am neither of those people. I have a keyword for the courts and I am then guided by intuition. More often than not, for me, the courts are not people, but parts of me that I will be using or need to use.

It may be different for you. All of us connect differently and that's perfectly ok. It is up to you to figure out what the tarot is trying to tell you when you pull a court.

So, what I'm going to do is give you my keywords and some brief descriptions to get you started. But remember, this is what the pages mean to me. They very well can mean something different to you.

For the courts, I'm going to give you links to the court cards from the Robin Wood deck, as I think they are the best courts.

So, let's begin.... I say "so" a lot.... My keywords came from the book The Tarot Court Cards by Kate Warwick-Smith. While I do love Mary Greer, I found her book completely confusing and what I did understand, I didn't agree with. If you need a court book, Kate's is the one I like best. Though I cannot tell you how many books I've read. This is the one I continue to go back to.

The keywords are from Kate's book, the thoughts are mine.

Page of Wands
Keyword - Child

This card fits my nephew to a T, so I always think of him when I pull this card. He is fearless, happy, excited, always "on." He has such energy and is in wonder about everything around him. I am always exhausted after our visits and he challenges me during our homeschooling. He wants to go out and play, catch bugs, play tag, get muddy... all those things that kids do but we have forgotten the fun in them.

When I see this card, I know that I am going to experience a situation where I will need to pull on these qualities in myself. I will need to look at things as a child would, which is so profoundly difficult the older I get. Sometimes, the card means I will see my nephew and have a new experience with him. I recently bought him cotton candy and got to re-experience it with him for the first time. So, if you have kids, you know how powerful and exhausting this card can be.

If you notice, the page in the RW deck has firecrackers on her belt!

Page of Cups
Keyword - Idol

First, let's define the word: any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion.

This is the child that loves every thing and every one. The one that will smoosh the bunny to death because it is so cute! There is beauty in everything she sees. Even things that we might think are ugly or ordinary, she finds the beauty in it. And it isn't that she covets it, she just wants to love. She wants to share her love and be loved back.

So, when I pull this card I'm gonna need to look at my situation this way. I have a friend who is remarkable at doing this. She can take any ugly situation, and dreadful person and find something good an beautiful about them. She really does exude love to the world.

In the RW deck, this page has an artist's pallet on her belt.

Page of Swords
Keyword - Student

Here is our thinker! Our bookworm, our nerd. Our most studious young one. I identify with this card the most of all the pages. This is the child that asks "Why?" and when your answer doesn't suffice, she goes off in search of her own "why." And then she will come back and debate you until you give in and let her convince you. The difference between this page and the other two, esp the wands, is her focus. It isn't enough for her to play a game, she craves knowledge. She doesn't care about beauty, she's all about brains.

My mother often tells me that when I was young I always knew things I shouldn't know. She would tell you how we would look outside the window and she would say, "Look at that beautiful red bird." And I would say, "That's a cardinal." I, of course, have no recollection of this. And I do believe that my mother was too busy to notice I was always stuck in books. That's what happens when you give a bored kid a set of encyclopedia.

In the RW, our page has a spyglass in her belt.

Page of Pents
Keyword - Apprentice

There is a small difference between our Swords page and our Pents page. At least, for me there is. This one is also a thinker, but she thinks by doing. This is the kid taking apart the toaster to see how it works and then putting it back together again. So, we have a small distinction, the learning here is for a practical purpose, not just for the sake of knowledge. But knowledge with the purpose of doing something with it.

So, forget about that college degree you worked so hard for but can't find a job! You should have studied in the field, like a carpenter or electrician. There is no deep philosophical thinking going on here. The thinking is grounded and extremely black and white. Either the toaster works or it doesn't.

Our page here, in the RW, has a journal in her belt.

Well, I hope this is a helpful beginning. Feel free to ask questions or add your thoughts.

Meditation

2010-02-15T14:06:00.002-05:00

I wanted to talk a bit about meditation in case some of you are balking at the idea. Meditation has been my greatest ally in opening and strengthening my intuition.

There are many ways to meditate and only you can decide what is best for you. I find I work best when I take a few minutes out of every day to clear my mind and center my energy. But I've been working with meditation for many years now and can easily get myself there. Guided meditations or music worked best for me in the beginning. Some people prefer to chant, others do meditative walking. Sometimes the only time I can spare for meditating is in the shower! You can find the time if it's important to you.

I've found that YouTube is a great source for guided meditations. You don't need one that goes on forever and it doesn't matter what the meditation is about. Any will help you to silence your mind and open up that part of you that we're trying to get to. As long as you enjoy the meditation, that's all that matters.

Now, when I began my meditation training, I didn't have youtube. I want to share with you how I started and what has happened since. I started with a CD of relaxing music. I chose the second song off that CD and set off to train my mind to meditate. I began by making sure I would not be disturbed, I made myself comfortable, I would sit or lay down depending on how I felt at the time. Then I started the music. I didn't worry about what my mind was doing, my main goal was making sure my body was relaxed. So I began a muscle relaxation. This is simply tightening and releasing the muscles. I began at my toes and worked my way up. You can find these on youtube as well. I did this once a day every day for quite a while. But, the funny thing is, I began to enjoy it! I started looking forward to this 5 minute break that was all for me. It was like my mind craved it. It didn't take long before the beginning sounds of that song forced my entire body to relax on command. Even to this day, the opening notes send me right in. This is what I mean by training your mind.

Now, once my body knew to relax during this time, I had to do the same for my mind. Since my body was relaxed, I had nothing to focus my mind on. At first, I had all kinds of thoughts racing around. All I did was breathe and let them float right by. I tried to not hang on to any thought, just to be in the present moment and listen to the music. Let the music guide me. Sometimes I would see colors, mostly my mind would take the mood of the song and go on an adventure in the forest. These were my favorites because I never knew what was going to happen. It was like having a story read to me. Soon, I was able to change songs. I simply put on my training song until my body relaxed and then I would change songs. So, you may need your training song for some time, at least 6 months, so make sure you like it. If you begin to dislike it, I would change the song, that might set your progress back, but you will get nowhere if you are hating what you're listening to.

So, what kind of music? Something without words! No words, unless it's someone guiding you into relaxation. We want it to bore the pants off your logical mind. Classical is fine (unless you are a musician that plays classical music), new agey stuff is great, animal sounds, rainfall. Anything that is relaxing to you. This training is all about relaxation because that is the basis for meditation.

Of course, you can jump right in with what you find on youtube but I highly recommend beginning with a muscle relaxation EACH TIME you meditate. You won't have to do this forever but we are training your mind right now. It doesn't have to be long, 5 minutes is fine, just enough to relax all those muscles. Then, on days when you have more time, do a guided meditation after that.

I encourage you to empower each other to meditate, to ask for help, or to share your favorite way of meditating. Feel free to post links to meditations that you find helpful.

Yes/No Questions

2010-02-15T13:57:00.003-05:00

Ok people, we need to have a talk. Stop asking the tarot a yes/no question and then use a positional spread. =)

If you want to ask a yes/no question, there are ways to do so, and I will get to that in a minute. For now, we're looking at questions.

Let's take a 3 card spread as an example. And because I hate being asked to read "Does X like me?" I'm going to use that as an example too.

So, "Does X like me?" A clear yes or no answer, right? Naturally, we need a spread to answer this question. We could draw one card, or two, or heck, we could do a celtic cross! Surely we can get a yes/no answer for that! =)

So let's do a PPF for this poor girl and her crush on X.

Past ~ 2 Cups
Well, that looks like a promising foundation for a romantic relationship, doesn't it? But, this could also be speaking of their friendship as a whole. If I'm reading this as yes or no, I'd be inclined to say that X did have romantic feelings for our girl in the past.

Present ~ Temperance
Not seeing a yes/no here. But I will say that she's got to be awfully careful of how she's portraying herself to him.

Future ~ Queen of Pentacles
Perfect! What a clear yes/no answer for the future! That's most certainly a yes, or is is no? Maybe that little white booklet will help me out on this one....

Now, in all seriousness..... that was fun, but let's get back on track.

Some things we could ask instead:

How does X feel about me; How can I make myself more appealing to X; What can I do to bring real love into my life; etc......

Instead of yes/no let's see what our girl can do to further a romantic relationship with X, who, for all we know is married or has no idea who she is.

Red Light/Green Light/Yellow Light

* Red Light - Don't do this
9 Wands ~ oh that doesn't look good. Don't keep hope. Don't keep trying.

* Green Light - Go ahead and do this
8 Swords ~ lol go ahead and keep thinking he's all about you. Stay in your fantasy world.

* Yellow Light - Caution/be careful/be aware of this
Queen Cups ~ He's already taken, be aware of his wife/girlfriend/etc.

(I may have been thinking about my crush on The Rock while I was shuffling!)

But, we know that our little miss is going to pine away and think X will eventually come around and fall madly in love with her.

So, you want a yes/no answer. There are many ways to do this and I have tried several. None of them have been 100% for me.

The one I like best though, is this one. And it's a three carder! =)

First though, you must include reversed cards into your deck. So take half your deck, turn it, and shuffle it so one half of the deck is reversed. Keep doing this until you feel good about it.

Let's pull three cards:

6 Pents, 7 Swords, Hierophant

All upright, so that would be a yes answer for me.

Reversed cards (rv) count as a no, upright count as yes, and the middle card can (or not) count twice.

There is no need for me to expand further on the reading since all our little one wanted to know was yes/no. And I've just told her yes.

Does it matter that all three readings were different? Which one is correct? Who knows, who cares?

There you go. We tried this as an experiment last year I think and I had all but one or two be wrong. But, of course, we read on things that were easily answered in reality. Like, "Is that package from Amazon in my mailbox right now?" The answer was always no. *sigh*

So go ahead, use another system if it makes sense to you. Experiment. Have fun. Use a pendulum. I don't care. Just don't ask a yes/no unless the spread can give you a clear yes/no because none of the cards can give you one. Some may be more positive or negative than others, but none will give you a clear yes/no.

And, since sarcasm doesn't travel well over the net, this was all done in fun. The yes/no question and then throwing a celtic cross is probably my biggest pet peeve. =)

Read on!

Daily Draws

2010-02-15T13:48:00.002-05:00

Whether you are here to learn or to increase your intuition, daily draws are important in developing your tarot language. There are two ways to use daily draws.

First, you can use it as a theme of your day. You can draw in the morning to foretell your day, or pull at night to sum up your day.

If you pull the Fool, you may expect a new opportunity.

Secondly, you can draw a card to learn and observe it. Look for ways it could manifest itself in your life.

Again, if you pull the Fool, look for this kind of situation during your day.

Both can be written down for you to refer back to later. See how that card communicates with you. Remember, the cards are trying to use a language that you understand. But you can't hear it with your ears. Pay attention to what you see in the card. If you are drawing blanks on the card you picked, use this exercise.

It would be doubly beneficial to you if you pull the card and then meditate on it and then go throughout your day.

I recommend that you do use a journal or a word program, just someway to keep track of your daily draws, your thoughts on it, and how it tied into your day. This will be a helpful resource for your learning the tarot language.

Lesson Four ~ Reading

2010-02-15T13:38:00.002-05:00

Now is where we see how well you've developed your powers of observation!

You can use just the majors or the whole deck, up to you.

We're going to start with a 3 card spread. Now, there are many 3 card spreads so please decide beforehand which you will be using.

3 Card Spreads
Printable Spreadsheet 01
Printable Spreadsheet 02
More Printable Pages

I do want you to be a bit specific. If you're going to do a Past, Present, Future spread, decide what the PPF relates to. Because it could be anything. Be as specific as you can with your question.

I will be doing the Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow spread as an example.

Our goal here is to really look at your cards. What do you see?

Let's start with the first card. What position did you pick for this card? How does what you see relate to the position of this card.

The most important thing to remember when you are reading, and this is only my opinion, is how you phrase your question and what positions you assign to your cards. How do you know how to interpret a card in the correct context? Every card has countless meanings, let's set ourselves up for victory by making it as easy as possible.

So, let's look at my Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow. I'm using the Tarot of Dreams.

Yesterday: The Chariot

The Charioteer looks quite confident while he holds the reigns of two beautiful white horses coming out of the cresting of a wave.

This is pretty much how I felt yesterday. It was my birthday and, as any woman in her 30's, I don't like getting older. My emotions (water) were all over the place as I wrestled with time and aging, and also wacky hormones. I tried my best to just ride it out. Not a typical reading of this card, but that's what I see in relation to yesterday.

Today: 5 Wands

Four men with four wands. One pair of hands holding another wand. Two of the men are back to back, looking as if they are a united front against unseen attackers. The other two seem to be fighting each other.

My life is rather boring so I'm always surprised to see such action for me. But today, I had to wrestle with myself to get some cleaning and unpacking and organizing done. I did get some done, the two united men, but not as much as I would have liked, the two still fighting. But I'm proud of myself that I did accomplish something, the hands holding the fifth wand.

Tomorrow: King Wands

Ugh, a court card. It is difficult for me to gleam anything by observing a person's face, but I'm going to try. I can see two astrological signs on the card, sagittarius and scorpio I think. But I don't know much about astrology. But being the King and of Wands I can gleam some from just that.

Tomorrow I actually must leave the house and have quite a few things to do. I suppose this is just telling me that I will have to be careful and make good use of my time if I'm to get everything done. I doubt very much there will be a man involved, as my doc is a woman, and I'm to see my sis and mom. But who knows.

I'm actually very glad a court showed here as I am able to show you what to do when you get nothing from a card. Especially in a future position. This is where keeping track of your readings can come in handy. Tomorrow night, I can reflect on this card and see if anything clicks there.

Now we can also read the three as a whole. I'm obviously moving from water (emotions) to fire (action/creativity). Which is quite true so far. And with that King at the end, it looks like I will handle the action well.

So, go ahead and pic a 3 card, get specific, and go from there. Really try to immerse yourselves into the cards and relate it to the position. Don't get discouraged if you get nothing. We are still in the learning stage!

Good luck!!

Lesson Three ~ Majors Part Three

2010-02-11T01:45:00.000-05:00

If you've followed the lesson plan, you've gone through the first 15 cards, Fool through Temperance.

Now we start with the Devil (15) and end with the World (21).

Once again, I'm going to ask you to pick one card to study and write about. Then continue your journey through the cards. Write down what you see, colors, etc. and any thoughts, feelings that you get while experiencing these cards.

Now these cards are in the spiritual plane. So these are the ones that affect our Fool's spiritual beliefs. These can get quite heavy.

Good luck!

Here is my exercise with Judgment.

Lesson Two ~ Majors Part Two

2010-02-11T01:37:00.000-05:00

We are continuing our journey through the majors. This time we will be working with numbers 8 through 14.

So, pick out Strength (or justice), Hermit, Wheel of Fortune, Justice (or strength), Hanged Man, Death, and Temperance.

Continue your journey through the cards. Write down what you see, colors, etc. and any thoughts, feelings that you get while experiencing these cards.

Here is my exercise with the Hermit.

Lesson One ~ Majors Part One

2010-02-11T01:20:00.000-05:00

I was stuck as to how to begin because there is so much information about tarot. A lot of it is useful but a lot of it isn't.

The Major Arcana are special so we will start there. Their meanings go very far back in time and I think it is difficult to bring them into the present. This goes for the courts too but let's not put the cart before the horse.

I've debated going card by card but I think that will go too slowly. So, I'm dividing the majors into sections and we will go that way.

Essentially, the majors tell the story of the Fool's Journey. This story is easily compared to the Hero's Journey.

But you may already know this, or you may care not to know.

So, let's see what you come up with on your own, shall we? Let your imaginations run wild.

I'm dividing the majors into 3s. So we are beginning with the first 7. So grab your deck and pull out the following cards: The Fool, Magician, High Priestess, Empress, Emperor, Hierophant, Lovers, and Chariot.

I'm not counting the Fool as a card since he's 0. Am I taking it for granted that we all know what the Fool represents?

Let's begin there. Look at your Fool card and make some observations. Write or type what you see in that card. Everything that you see, even mention the color. What do those things mean to you? What type of emotions or thoughts do you have while looking at that card? What does it all mean to you? If you are not sure about an symbol feel free to look it up if you feel you need to. Then come to your own conclusions.

It isn't important that you do the full exercise for each card. If you'd rather pick another card than the fool, that's fine. But let's stay with the first 7 for now because they are more based in a practical plane.

These cards represent archetypes and while they are for the most part universal, they also mean certain things to certain people. Remember that there is no wrong way to read a card. We aren't yet reading, just observing. And you're more observing yourself than the card anyway.

So, after you've done this with the fool card, I want you to put yourself in the Fool's place and just look at the next 7 cards. How does he see these people? What does he notice? What do they offer him? Do they say or do anything? Every little detail is important. You can write it down if you want or not. I don't care. We are working on your powers of observation here. If your intuition starts to kick in, it may feel like your imagination or stray thoughts, write that down! Pay attention to that.

You may find that your thoughts go to things you don't actually "see" in the card. They could be images in your mind's eye, emotions, memories, anything really.

You can also do this for each card. How does the Magician interact with the other cards? Do as much or as little as you want to right now. We will get to it all eventually so go at your own pace.

The most important thing is to have fun! And feel free to ask questions.

Here is my exercise with the Fool.

Welcome

2010-02-11T01:10:00.000-05:00

Before we begin, I want to give an overview of what we will be doing.

Some of you are complete beginners, some know basic meanings, and some just want to get deeper meaning from their readings. Basically, we will be learning how to read "intuitively."

Now, the word intuitive has different meanings to different people. I'm going to tell you what it means to me.

I've been working with tarot for more than 15 years. I've read loads of books but still didn't feel that I was getting all that I could out of my cards. What I have come to believe is that tarot speaks its own language. The cards work to give the message to me. Only me. So I must come up with a way of understanding the language the tarot is using to speak with me.

Let me give you an example. We all have different reactions to different things. Let's say I'm afraid of snakes. If I were to see a snake, that would provoke a fear response. But let's say you happen to love snakes and had one as a pet. Your response to seeing a snake would be pleasant. The cards are much the same. Each card means something different to everyone because we all have our own beliefs, preconceived notions, histories, etc. So, the way the tarot talks to you is not the same way it talks to me. Have I lost you? Don't worry.

We will be building your tarot language. This means no basic meanings, no books, no one else's meanings but yours. You don't have to memorize anything. We are going to read the cards. And it is that easy, but it takes time and practice.

Some of you are using a book along with this. That's fine too. Just let me know if you get stuck merging the book with this class.

Some of you are already tapped into your intuition, others feel they don't have an intuitive bone in their body. Don't worry, we will find it and we will strengthen it.

The easiest and fastest way, in my opinion, is with meditation. Don't groan just yet because I have a wonderful fun source for you! But let me tell you why meditation is so important when dealing with intuition. Intuition doesn't work very well with logic so we need to find a way to silence or distract that logical part of our brains so that we may access our intuition. It is much easier to listen to what is inside of you if you can silence what is outside of you. Intuition is like a whisper and we want to let it shout!

There are many meditations on youtube and I encourage you to search for those that call to you. It is best if you begin slowly. Try one that is under 5 minutes long. It doesn't matter what it's about as long as you find it enjoyable. Now, if you can't set aside 5 minutes of your day to calm and center your mind, then intuitive reading may not be for you. When you feel ready to move on to longer meditations, go ahead and do so. But please, do try your best because meditation is what opened me up. And this was all before youtube existed! Imagine how bored I was!

You can meditate for as little as 2 minutes everyday, can't you? Then, on the days you can extend it a few more minutes, do so! Once you start seeing benefits you will want to meditate and you will make time in your day for it. I just ask, at the beginning, that you commit to 2 minutes a day. You can even do it twice a day if you'd like to speed up the process. We will go into meditation more once the class starts up. But feel free to browse youtube and try some until then.

What you do in this class will be up to you. I believe you get what you give so if you work hard, you will get results.

Now, lastly, regarding your deck of choice. I don't care what deck you use. I don't care if you change your deck. If you need help with any lesson you may email me. Please include what lesson you are on, what card you are using (a link to the image would be the most helpful so I can see what you are looking at), and whatever question you have. If you want to email me your lessons, that is fine too. I will look it over and send it back to you with my thoughts. This is not mandatory. You don't have to share anything with me. You can do this course completely on your own if you want to.

I am a firm believer that all of us have something to contribute to this group. I am hoping that some of you might want to prepare a lesson for us. There are a few areas that I don't use but that I thought might be useful to others in the group. And since I have no background in those areas, I thought some of you might.

I've been thinking that we could use lessons on: colors, numerology, and astrology.

If there is something you'd like to learn, let me know and we'll add it to the list. And, if you'd be willing to prepare a lesson on a subject, even if it's something I haven't listed, please let me know.

So, get ready. Start shuffling your deck. You may want to keep a journal or online blog or something. That's all you'll need.

Judgement

2009-05-05T22:41:00.001-04:00

I picked Judgement for our last exercise because it is a card I have a difficult time understanding.

Before I go into this, I wanted to speak about the color. This entire deck (Tarot of Dreams) is so colorful. This card is purple, orange, and gold. And a yellow so bright, it looks as if the sun is shining through the card. I actually have to squint.

There are two gold pillars, one on each side of the card. In front of these pillars are gold men. They are quite muscular and they are nude. They hold on to a giant gold ring, much like the one the Fool was holding, only bigger.

Below them are purple mountains and trees in a purple mist and white clouds. Rising from here, we see naked, female, purple spirits. I am not sure what this has to do with the giant gold ring. These spirits look like marionettes. They are motionless, slumped over. It looks like they are being pulled up.

In between the two pillars are bright yellow feathers, like giant angel feathers. I cannot tell if they are now attached to our highest purple soul.

Anyway, above these wings is a woman's face, transparent. There is a glowing triangle on her "third eye." Also, the giant gold ring seems to hit right at her temples and disappears behind her image. Her face is expressionless.

I feel a lot of warmth in this card, quite different than I see it in the RWS deck. I get the feeling of ascension. Like finally becoming aware of the universal consciousness. I could view the woman's face as that of the Goddess and these souls are returning to what they were before this incarnation on Earth. One thing I don't feel in this card is actual judgment. It simply just is.

I must admit I am still baffled by this card. If I were the Fool, looking upon this sight, I think I would see that this is what happens when I die. I am simply returned to where I came from.

I really like that I'm doing these exercises with a deck I have not used before. I have nothing to fall back on in order to make sense of these images. But I'm still not sure how I would read this card in a spread. I guess we shall see if I ever need to.

The Hermit...

2009-05-02T23:48:00.000-04:00

For the second lesson, I've decided to take a look at the Hermit.

The Hermit sits on a jut of rock on the side of a mountain. It looks sort of like the Grand Canyon on more mysterious. It is a deep recess and I cannot see the bottom but I can see the top. There is a red sunset and I can see the black night sky with stars above the red clouds. I can see the other side of the canyon. There is a hole with water pouring from it. Below that I can see another just of rock with trees on it. The water continue to flow from here as well.

The Hermit sits crossed-legged, although he has robes on, with a hood. He has a long white beard. I cannot tell if his eyes are closed or rolled up in his head, making me think he is in some sort of trance. His hands rest on his knees, palms down. Beside him is a glowing orb on some sort of metal staff. This orb illuminates part of his face.

If the Fool was to come upon this Hermit, I doubt very much the Hermit would allow himself to be interrupted. I think he really would not even know the Fool was there. He is much too deep in his trance, gaining great insights.

I like this card as it looks like a place I would like to be and I think I would do exactly what he is doing. Closing out this world and going infinitely within, where there is knowledge only he possesses and only he can unlock.

I think our Fool could gain knowledge, simply by stumbling across our Hermit and not being able to rouse him.

The Fool ~ Tarot of Dreams

2009-04-28T18:54:00.001-04:00

The first thing I notice here is that our Fool has no face. He has form and hands and legs and feet, but no face. He is wearing a mask around his eyes, which he has, eyes that is. He has eyes but no face.

In one hand he holds a sphere that contains the Earth. In the other, a big $gold ring that reminds of magician's rings. He is wearing a jester's hat and his clothes are quite colorful. He has giant sleeves and coat tails. Along the ends of these sleeves and tails are gold bells, or balls. But I think bells. There are also these gold bells on the three ends of his hat. Oh wait, I take that back. I cannot tell for sure if there is a bell on one of the coat tails, it is behind him, I cannot see it. On his jacket, there are... oh what do you call, medals? Like in the military. There are three; one star, one moon, one sun. The shirt underneath his jacket looks to be made of gold fish scales. There is a gold chain holding his coat closed.

He is standing on top of a ball, which seems to just be hovering over water. This ball is red with yellow suns and stars on it. In between his feet is an orange tabby cat trying to bat at a monarch butterfly. The butterfly is just out of reach. Around this ball there is a rainbow, at a strange angle.

The sky behind him is a lovely blue with white and lavender clouds on both sides of the card. There is also a moon, crescent, almost looking like an eclipse in progress. Lower, there is a wonderful looking city, almost a white pearl color. Beautiful buildings and castles. I immediately wish to live there.

So, my thoughts are, why does the Fool wish to leave this place? It looks wonderful!

I am immediately thinking, "This is life." This is the moment before we are born. This is us leaving Heaven/Summerland and being born into hell/earth. We leave all that we know, all that is beautiful and peaceful, and we move out into the unknown. We go out alone, maybe with an animal guide or two :) and we go to earth.

I have never seen this card in this way ever. It has quite blown my mind.