How to journey from the Nine of Cups towards the Ten of Cups

Yesterday I pulled the Nine of Cups and Death from my Original Rider Waite Tarot and although I am sure I must have pulled the Nine of Cups more often this year, this time at the end of 2017, I remembered it was my card for this year paired up with the rune Perthro.

I was wondering what the Death card had to say about the Nine of Cups because it felt like these two cards were standing at the beginning of an unfinished story but when I tried to pull an outcome card it didn’t make any sense at all.

So next I wondered how Perthro could be tied to the death card. Perthro is the rune of mystery and it sometimes symbolizes the cauldron of transformation. So maybe this rune wasn’t meant to be the tenth cup as I thought in January but perhaps it was meant as a symbol for the cauldron in which we could transform our nine cups filled with our comfortable wishes and happy feelings into something more substantial and sustaining.

And then I asked myself again what the tenth cup could be and I looked at the Death card which suddenly reminded me of the Knight of Cups, who goes on a quest to find his soul’s purpose; his heart’s desire: He is searching the Holy Grail.

Mmm, I suppose this could be the Ace of Cups. So this knight leaves everything he holds dear behind to go on a quest for Love with a capital L. It is the kind of Love which is unconditional, compassionate and which multiplies the more you give it away.  And so we arrive at the Ten of Cups. Empty handed but with a heart filled with Love and we come home to ourselves and our loved ones and everything we hold dear. Yes, all the things which we were able to leave behind at the beginning of our journey are represented in this card only now we are able to enjoy it with such a deep contentment and Love in our hearts.  So sitting with our nine cups is great but if we want to experience them fully we have to let them go and leave our comfort zone to find out what Love is all about.

Ten of Cups – Sweet dreams

Today’s card is the Ten of Cups from The Legacy of the Divine Tarot. Life is good. We have everything we have wished for in the Nine of Cups and most of all we have someone to share our good fortune with. 

Yes, we are home at last. We are safe, we are loved and we are emotionally fulfilled. Life is perfect just the way it is. It seems almost too good to be true.  

When we feel like this, often we try to hold on too tightly; afraid this feeling of contentment might slip away again. And I am sorry to say, it will slip away and it will make way for sadness, anxiety or frustration because everything always changes.

If there is one thing I have learned from our dog is to enjoy the good times and to try not to worry about what might come next.

Then I was wondering what the dog and the cat were dreaming about and I pulled the Star… Yes, they have lived a live filled with conflicts and quarrels and maybe even with hate and jealousy but they have left it all behind them, knowing there is always a change to start over and embrace love.

Ten of Cups – Blessing my loved ones

Today’s card is the Ten of Cups from the Tarot of the Hidden Realm. Traditionally we see a happy family in this card. A culmination of love in all its forms. Yet in this card we see an elderly Fae woman working her magic over a boiling cauldron. This card oozes good intent. With all her love, wisdom and experience she has gathered the herbs for her blessing spell and now when it starts to simmer, she feels the time is right to help the steam carry this loving energy towards her loved ones. Gently and gracefully she moves her hands and softly sings her blessing songs. 

This card reminds me I don’t need to be physically near my loved ones.  I can bless them and wish them well any time and any place.

So for today, I will make an extensive list with everyone dear to me so I can bless them and wish them well on the night of this full moon. A perfect time to work some magic and send my good wishes to all of you and many more…

Four of Feathers and Ten of Cups - Finding Peace of mind

Today’s card is the Four of Feathers (Four of Swords) from the Margarete Petersen Tarot. I love to receive this card from any deck. This card reminds me to quiet down and find some peace of mind. Although I do love almost every other version of The Four of Swords, I must say that this card is rendering its meaning so beautifully. We see a person resting in the darkest shade of blue. He is lying in a protective bubble with a large feather on top.  In the distance, we see hills and mountains. But for now, he doesn’t need to worry about them. For now there are no problems, no questions, no to-do’s no nothing. He only needs to breath and to be. The whole vibe of the card is so soothing. You can almost feel the caress of the soft feather on your skin.

Then I wondered what could help me to find this peace of mind and I got the Ten of Cups: a calm ocean glittering in the sunlight. Breath in and out like the rolling of the waves and realize just how blessed and loved you are.

I hope you all can find some inner stillness today. Even if it is only for just a moment …..

Son of swords – Keep your sword sheathed

My card for today is the Son of Swords from the Wild Unknown Tarot.  It feels like this card is warning me to keep silent when emotions are running high. And let’s be honest, these coming days emotions will easily get over heated and perhaps even explosive.

  

Tomorrow M. and I are going to bake two loaves of our traditional Christmas bread, and one apple pie. If we are emotional balanced it  will almost look like we are dancing around the ingredients and the loaves will be the final accord of the melody. But if we want to be right and do this how we think is best we will collide and might even hurt each other with our swords.

So what  is the advice we need for tomorrow. Ten of Cups. It seems like all the ingredients are coming together for a lovely baking day with delicious loaves of bread en  beautiful pie as result. Look how the cups are pouring their colors into one and other. Each cup is beautiful in its own way but together they are creating a rainbow rhapsody. So let’s keep our swords sheathed and let’s dance!

Joie de Vivre Tarot - A Recipe against Crankiness

Since a few days I am very quick tempered and snappish. Because M and I are now living with the two of us, she is often the victim of my irascibility. After having discussed this together and we realized  what was happening, she gave me the advice to “go find my Zen again”.

Yesterday I drew the first card on this subject, asking what I needed to get “my Zen” back  and I drew the four of Swords from the Joie de Vivre tarot. I thought I couldn’t go wrong with a gentle spring like deck like this. The four of Swords told me to calm down and relax, to put my to-do’s on the shelf and make some time to meditate. This was such an amazing experience that once more is has become a priority for me.

This morning after my meditation (two times in a little row) I asked what would help me to maintain my emotional balance and I drew... the Ten of Coins……. Lovely, couldn’t be better…. But I wanted more…. The Sun….. Oh my… should I try again or would I tempt the fates …..the Ten of Cups!!!!

I don’t think it is necessary  to talk about the meaning of these three cards. It is obvious they radiate love and joy, abundance and gratitude. For me they represent heaven on earth.

With these cards in mind I am sure I will keep my Zen today.

P.S. I just noticed, while editing my pictures, the only suit that is missing today it the suit of Wands. Perhaps I am fiery enough as it is. 

Ten of Cups - There is a lot to be grateful for

Today’s card is the Ten of Cups from the Legacy of the Divine Tarot by Ciro Marchetti. At first I intended to pick a card myself which would represent my latest obsession with the “Midori travelers Notebook”. Besides being overly fond of tarot and Oracles decks, stationery, planners and journals etc  is something I am getting more and more addicted to. But since this blog is mainly about my love for tarot I decide to  just pull a card and see what the tarot had in store for me today. Well isn't this a lovely picture. I see both Tara and our new puppy in this card. Tara in dog’s heaven near a cozy fire place completely  healthy and happy, where cats are friends instead of mortal enemies J. On the other hand this might be our near future. In a few hours we are going to visit our puppy for the second time. We are so looking forward to this and we are counting the days until we can take him home with us.

Finally I see myself in this card, so happy and content with my finished leather project. I am going to finish it tomorrow and although excited to make my own version of the Midori, I am also a bit anxious to ruin the leather. Maybe this card is a good omen, so I pulled a card from the Gilded Reverie Lenormand: Bouquet! I see this one as the gift card and I suppose everything I’ve written  about in this post can be considered as gifts to be grateful for.

Tarot Exercise - Creating your own Wish list

For today I wanted to write about a little exercise I've created: Creating your own magical wish list

Sometimes we exactly know what we want and we  can wish for it. But other times our desires remain a bit foggy and cloudy. Deep down we know, we feel what we want, but it is difficult to put words to those feelings. Now isn't it handy  we have a deck of 78 cards which contains numerous words which pop up immediately when even we look at such a card. Yes, tarot can be our instant wish list. Similar to my Gift boxexercise this is a free association game, which is also a fun way to get acquainted with a new deck.

So this is how is goes:You sit quietly with you deck, shuffle it thoroughly, pick a card, say : “I wish…...”  and turn the card around. Then say whatever comes to mind and that will be your wish. You can repeat this as often as you want and wish and wish and wish…..

These are a few of my wishes, triggered by The Hidden Realm Tarot:

Life Renewed: I wish it was Autumn

Ten of Cups: I wish I was a more passionate cook

Feary stallion: I wish I could go horseback riding along the seashore

Nine of Swords: I wish could let go of fearful thoughts more easy

Five of Pentacles: I wish I could be more compassionate

You might want to put the most prominent and surprising wishes on you altar or a cabinet so you won’t forget what you've wished for.

When you want to take it one step further you could rephrase your wishes (passive) into affirmations (active): “I  wish I was a more passionate cook” versus “I am a talented cook who enjoys to cook a tasteful dinner for her family”

I hope you will enjoy this little exercise 

New moon in March

Yesterday I've celebrated the new moon. After visualizing  my circle, I chanted to Durga and Lakshmi. After that, I sat down to meditate for a while,  trying to focus only on my breath, which is still so difficult. I wish I could turn down the volume of my inner chatter.

As usual I drew two cards from my Osho Zen Tarot. Both of them are mainly blue and both of them depict two dolphins. At first I didn't understand the Release card, Ten of Water (Ten of Cups), and it really puzzled me until M. gave me her point a view.

Osho Zen Tarot

Release: Ten of Water – Harmony

Why should anyone want to release such a beautiful state of mind. This is what the guidebook says:

"The experience of resting in the heart in meditation is not something that can be grasped or forced. It comes naturally, as we grow more and more in tune with the rhythms of our own inner silences. The figure on this card reflects the sweetness and delicacy of this experience. The dolphins that emerge from the heart and make an arc towards the third eye reflect the playfulness and intelligence that comes when we are able to connect with the heart and move into the world from there.”

I thought perhaps this card is telling me to let go of trying too hard to be successful in meditating and in bringing that state of mind into my daily life. But M said and with it she worded my first reaction to this card, it was more about letting go of trying to keep everybody happy without listening to my own needs (or inner voice J) Perhaps both options were equally valid but I feel the last is more urgent to let go.

Embrace: Inner Voice

The second card is more clear to me. It is the equivalent of the High Priestess in other Tarot decks which is all about intuition, the unconscious and wisdom.

"The Inner Voice speaks not in words but in the wordless language of the heart. It is like an oracle who only speaks the truth. If it had a face, it would be like the face at the center of this card--alert, watchful, and able to accept both the dark and the light, symbolized by the two hands holding the crystal. The Inner Voice can also be playful, as it dives deep into the emotions and emerges again to soar towards the sky, like two dolphins dancing in the waters of life."

My inner voice has been ignored too often and for too long. Even when reading my own cards,  M had to confirm my first intuitive interpretation (which wasn't all by the book), was right for me that day. I appear to be more confident than I really am.  Listening to my inner voice is something I will be glad to focus on for the coming lunar period. It seems so easy but I think the most difficult part is when you are finally able to hear that soft voice within, is to acknowledge what it is telling you. It might be a truth you don’t want to hear….

“At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want” Lao Tzu