Falling in love with the Thoth Tarot

Yesterday, after watching a video from Elyse of Wild moon woman about how one of her goals for 2018 was studying the Thoth tarot, I got my long-forgotten copy of this deck out of the “I don’t know what to do with these decks” box.  I shuffled the deck thoroughly and I pulled: Six of Wands- Victory. Since I am a total Thoth dummy I opened the book: Tarot a mirror for the Soul” by Gerd Ziegler and I read the chapter for my card. Not only did I found the description and meaning of this card but also some in-depth questions and an affirmation. What I read gave me goosebumps and so did the next card, the Prince of Wands which I pulled for answering one of the questions.

This morning I pulled the Five of Cups – disappointment, which talks about an emotional crisis, perhaps by unconscious fears come true. The next card was the Three of Wands – Virtue and this card advised me to center myself and find that inner place of peace and quiet, so outside circumstances won’t disrupt me so easily. Again these two cards definitely hit a chord with me and I carried them both with me throughout the day

All in all a very auspicious beginning of my love affair with the Thoth Tarot….I am so excited. It feels like I am in the first grade of Tarot school all over again! 

King of Cups – Three roads to compassion and understanding

Today’s card is the King of Cups from the Morgan Greer Tarot. In combination with the Five of Cups, my Card of the Week, this King is all about compassion and understanding for people in desperate and challenging situations. 

He is the master of the emotional realm. He has lived through the entire suit of Cups and knows perfectly well that emotional setbacks can be so detrimental  for  your well being. This is why he is determined to guide others who are going through similar things he has experienced. And he will do so in a very gentle and caring way.

For today this King can represent someone who is really there for you when you need him the most; someone who will listen without judging. Someone who will give advice when asked for and who is able to be still and just sit with you when needed

The king of Cups can also represent  a book,  a movie, a deck of cards, or even your dog. Any  trigger which will give you guidance and insight in what you’re going through and how to move forward on your healing journey.

Last but not least the King of Cups can represent yourself; the gentle kindness for yourself when nobody else can give you this; the inner voice that urges you to take a  walk or a nap, to  paint, to journal or to just sit and be with what is, without fighting or wanting it to be something else.

Naturally when we are feeling up to it, we can be the King of Cups for somebody else.  Often when you have been dealing with some heavy stuff it is easier to relate to others who are having a hard time too. This is when we've come full circle.

Theme for the week: Five of Cups

Yesterday I’ve watched Steve’s video :“Weekly Tarot Thoughts” on YouTube and I was intrigued by the fact that he drew a card to establish the theme for the week.  I thought it would be a great idea to try this out for myself.  It could also be a wonderful way to explore one card more in depth and to perceive this card from different angles during the rest of the week. No card it ever  a 100% good or bad.

My theme for this week  is going to be the Five of Cups from the Original Rider Waite tarot. And no, I am not afraid this is going to be a said gloomy week.

The Five of Cups is all about coming to terms with our past and especially the more sad parts of it. For me personally this is a ongoing process. I am not going to digress about my losses, my grief, my pain because I am sure that anyone who reads my blog can relate to this card for everybody has some kind of “Grief list” of their own.

The five of Cups is for me a card who advises me to accept my losses and focus on what it still there for me to enjoy.  It requires a huge effort to turn your head and see the two cups behind you and truly appreciate their content. It is even a greater effort to pick up on of those cups and to sip from it.

But believe me it can be  done and sometimes you can be surprised by how wonderful it tastes

My daily draw will be the answer on how to approach this theme today and I got the Nine of Cups.

Wow, that’s a lot more cups than the two in the Five of Cups. They are all standing upright and ready to be tasted and/or emptied. For me the Nine of Cups is the wish card and the card of gratitude, so it urges me to focus on what I am grateful for and to try to find out what else would make me truly happy and then wish for it: Making the magic happen. All in all this card is confirmation how important it is to turn around and focus on the good stuff in the here and now with a soft focus on a brighter future (hoping your wish will come true). Since the man is all alone with his cups, this card also touches on the sometimes lonely aspect in regards to  dealing with loss. In my opinion it is often very difficult for others to really empathize what you've been going through and still are going through, so this card is about being kind en gentle to yourself and to really explore what makes you happy.

Eight of Swords and Five of Cups – Finding a way out

Today’s card is the eight of Swords from the Shadowscapes tarot. “Not again! ”(Deep sigh).

This card is all about being held captive by our own limiting and condescending thoughts. Although I do love working with his deck a lot, I have to admit I get a bit tired of all the swords it is handing me out. I think I do get the message now: I need to be more in though with my feelings in order to be able to move on from this plight. In this card we see how a little tiny colorful bird is showing the magnificent white swan the way out of the brambles.

For advice on how to free myself I thought I’d pick another deck; perhaps one less prone to present me a Sword card. I chose the Wild Unknown Tarot and the card I got was the Five of Cups:

I immediately was reminded of Eeyore the donkey, friend of Winnie the Pooh, who has a “always look on the dark side of life” demeanor.  So the ability to step out of the Eight of Swords situation it is not about being  more in touch with your feelings because our Eeyore knows all about that.

This card also want us to look up and this time to our five cups filled with things to be grateful for. Lifting your head up is an active conscious decision. Whether it is to God, to our higher self, to the abundance in our life or to the sun, I believe if we choose peace and acceptance over misery we may not be happy right away but it is a much better place to be that fighting to get out of a desperate situation while being sorry for ourselves.

And maybe, just maybe this challenging situation might be the door to something beautiful

"I'd look on the bright side, if I could find one." –Eeyore .

Full Moon Reading for July with the Wild Unknown Tarot

Unlike last month, yesterday evening the sky was clear and we could see the moon shining her cool white light over our overheated country.  I’ve been sitting outside enjoying the view and the slowly falling temperatures.  It was not until very, very late that  I pulled some cards.  It surprised me how beautifully they correlated with my last full moon and new moon reading of June. .

0. Yourself in your current situation (from the base of the deck) Five of Cups

We sees a sad and burdened horse with his head  held down facing the shadows. He doesn’t see the five cups above him, suspended in the light. Although I do feel somewhat better, it hasn’t been a very cheerful fortnight for me due to some personal circumstances.

1. What can be seen with clarity, so bright that it can even blind you? Mother of Pentacles

Look at how gentle and tender the doe is minding her fawn. The Mother of Pentacles radiates care and motherly love. This was my 0 card last month and seeing this card in the 1st  position, it is very obvious I should nurture myself and treat myself like a loving mother should.

2. What gets completed. What closes a cycle? The hanged Man.

A bat is hanging in his cave but he is not sleeping. He is mindful and sees everything what is going on with his red eyes, but he will not be involved. This was my Embrace card for the previous new moon. Seeing it in this position it indicates to me I should become more active again and the time of surrendering and just being is coming to an end.

3. What begins to fade away, to darken, to abandon you... or what needs to be? The Emperor. 

Although I have become aware of many positive traits of the Emperor over the last year, I think in this position it tells me to abandon my deep-rooted need to control ( an ever reoccurring  issue )

Again I was amazed how well this reading fitted with my last two moon readings. I loved doing this full moon reading with the Wild Unknown Tarot. What I like about the deck is that you are able to see the whole reading at a glance and then you can focus on the individual cards. 

Five of Vessels - Ecstasy

The weather has really changed here . It feels like November at last. It is cold, grey and wet  outside. This weekend Sinterklaas has arrived in our country, so the card I pulled for today is quite fitting for the Dutch children and everyone young at heart who loves to reminisce about his own childhood  Sinterklaas experiences  while eating some Pepernoten  or Kruidnoten and drinking some hot chocolate.

Today card is the Five of Vessels (Cups) – Ecstasy. Although this card is not about sadness and grief, like its Rider Waite counterpart, it is about fully immersing in, and expressing your emotions and feelings. Letting go of thinking and analyzing and being  totally present in this one moment. The woman in the depiction is dancing and making rhythmical music and maybe she is singing too. She keeps on dancing until she feels the connection with Spirit/ the Divine. That one split second where all is one, when your soul fuses with the Universe, that is the moment you are really between worlds.

Honestly,  it is not easy for me to go there.  I am quite introvert, so expressing myself in movement and sound is hard for me. The only way I can experience  this feeling of connection is while I am painting or something like that or when I am meditating.  I do envy this woman  though, because this card also radiates a sense of freedom to express yourself in such an exuberant way
P.S. I am taking a little break from blogging and commenting, because I am going to visit my mother for a few days and I have some other things to attend to. Probable I will be back next Tuesday J

Five of Cups and Two of Cups and: opening up for new love

For today I've picked the Five and the Two of Cups from the Original Rider Waite Tarot face up, for they  represent so perfectly how we are experiencing some conflicting feelings these last few days.

Saturday morning we went for our lovely fluffy Jofee and we are enjoying him so very, very much. He is bringing so much life and joy into our home. Therefore it surprised us a lot that out of the blue there were feelings of intense sadness because how could he ever take Tara’s place. Tara who was embedded in our family, who needed less than  a word to understand us and knew exactly what we wanted.

With Jofee, we have to start all over from scratch, teaching him everything and somehow this feels very overwhelming, especially in the evening, when we are so tired. All this felt very much like the Five of Cups. Focusing too much on what we have lost instead of on what we were given: a new chance to be happy again with our little puppy.

Gradually we are moving from this card to the Two of Cups. Getting to know  and appreciate one and other without expectations and comparisons to former love. In other words falling in love all over again. We are making new memories with our little fellow and love grows quickly stronger, deeper and we are beginning to forge unbreakable bonds. Our hearts will  grow the more we love. There is room enough for everyone 

Five of Cups – Every tarot card has a silver lining

Another gloomy card for today: the Five of cups from the Druidcraft Tarot. We see a cloaked figure with a sad demeanor, staring over the lake where a salmon is  being chased by an otter. (Cerridwen is chasing Taliesin) Next to him there are three empty cups fallen over. It  looks like everything is lost. But behind him two filled cups are still standing. The question is: Which cups is he going to focus on?

Maybe it is time to take off this cloak of sadness and emotional protection. The otter (playfulness) is chasing the salmon (inner wisdom and reflection) Perhaps this fish could do with some fooling around.

If the man would turn around and look at the two cups behind him he would see that all is not is lost. Maybe a sip or two from these cups will restore his believe in the future. Sometimes it is a good thing to turn around and see how far we’ve come and how much we have achieved. Yesterday Sycamore gave me the advise to make  a list of all that I have gone through and came out okay on the other side. This has given me a renewed sense of trust and believe in myself.

So all and all  in the end this is quite a positive card. Every cloud has a silver lining: Every tarot card too.J

A tarot spread for the New Year

Yesterday I've stumbled upon a great spread for the new year. It was created by Kate from Daily TarotGirl and she has made a video about it too.  It’s not a twelve month spread but more an overall view for the coming year. I liked it so much, I've done this reading for my daughters as well as for myself. We were all amazed about the accuracy of the readings. Whether it was the spread, the deck or our own awesomeness, It was a great experience to do this together.J

I've used the Druidcraft Tarot (just as Kate did) because I am very fond of this deck and I tend to use it for larger spreads. Now that I've trimmed the borders the colors of all the cards together are so beautiful 

Druidcraft Tarot

1 The overall message of the reading:  - The Lovers

For me this is a card of feeling whole. A synergy of male and female; mind and heart. This card also urges me to really, fully connect to the things I want to accomplish and to go for it; to be passionate about it.

2 Your goals and dreams for 2014 and how do you make things happen? - Nine of Swords.
I want to let go of my anxiety and worries and to learn to trust in myself and in the future. No more long negative spiraling into the black hole!

3 What actions are needed to be successful?- Three of Swords.

I still have to process parts of my grief, pain and sadness to be able to move forward

4 What do you leave behind in 2013? -  Four of Swords.

I've been resting long enough! Now it’s time to pick myself up and make things happen

5 The theme of 2014 : -Two of Wands.

I was indecisive and insecure. I knew my current situation was solid and save. But I felt like there had to be more, only I was too afraid to make the next move.  Now is the time to step over the threshold and make a the first step

6 Where  will 2014 lead us? -  Three of Pentacles.

YAY! My creativity card. I am starting to feel more relaxed already when I am drawing and I want to improve that by drawing (or painting , writing, collage etc) more often and to really be thankful and happy with the things I will create in 2014

7 Obstacles for 2014: - Five of Cups.

I have to be careful not to be overwhelmed by feeling sorry for myself when I am feeling sad or anxious. It’s better to focus on what is still there than on what I've lost

8 Gifts and talents for 2014: -  Ace of Swords.

 I am developing a new, more positive way of thinking. My gifts are my mind, my words, my writing; Those are the gifts I can use to find clarity, new idea’s and insights.

9 Message from your guides before you step into the new year: -  The world.

Wow! What a beautiful message: “You are already whole: You are who you are supposed to be at this very moment. Everything is okay. Just take the next step and your path will unfold itself into the new year.”

I wish everybody to be able to take that next step into 2014

Happy New Year! 

Five of Vessels – Ecstasy - Lift up your soul

For today I've pulled the Five of Vessels– Ecstasy from the Wildwood tarot. At first glance this card has nothing to do with its counterpart in the RW Tarot: the Five of cups. Remember the gloomy dark cloaked man focusing on his fallen cups but neglecting the ones standing up?

This young woman is dancing in the starry night in a pentagram, drawn in the sand. A bowl is standing on each point. It looks like she is dancing her heart out. She shows no sadness at all or perhaps she has thrown it all in her dance in a way that has brought her in an ecstatic state of mind. Wouldn’t that be a great way for us  civilized western people to express our grief. How would a funeral look like with all kinds of people dancing,singing and heartbreaking crying . How healing it would be if we only could…..

The  guidebook speaks about communing with the Universe/Divine through ecstasy. This can be induced by all kinds of different methods: art, dance, singing, sex, music; all sorts of right brain activities which will silence the rational ego. Then you'll feel one with who/whatever you want to feel one with (Higher self, God(dess) Universe etc) This blissful moment can last from a split second to an eternity. But as soon as you want to hold it you will lose it.

Although I am not the dancing type I do like to get in such state by listening to classical music or by drawing and painting. And while I am writing this I realize it has been to long since I‘ve made time for art. Tomorrow I am going to plan a date with myself to play with watercolors and brushes and paper and crayons and pencils and….  and…..  OMG I really want to do this J