Rider-Waite question

Secrets and Sources of the Rider Waite Smith Minor Arcana

Arthur Edward Waite

Who actually designed the Rider-Waite Tarot cards? Did A. E. Waite unfairly take too much credit for the deck illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith? In this two-part webinar we’ll examine the evidence. It seems pretty clear that Waite had something very specific in mind for the Major Arcana, so do the Minors belong to Smith?

Check out this link for the full article:
 http://globalspiritualstudies.com/shop/presentations/tarot/mary-k-greer/secrets-and-sources-of-the-rider-waite-smith-minor-arcana/

When the goddesses gather...and they do...at unexpected moments on the trail...in the supermarket...on the shores of lakes and under the moonlight...and also at my kitchen table...I am grateful.

Note to self:  Keep Looking UP!

Where is Your Lion?

Where Do You Turn?

   When you're feeling weak and silly, incompetent and lost, exhausted and annoyed, where do you turn?

My tarot deck was tucked into the bottom of my suitcase in the overhead bin.  Beyond access.  Babies were crying.  The bathrooms were full. The man across the aisle from me pulled gloves out of his pocket and spit a wad of chew into them.  I could still smell the chemical they used on the wings to de-ice them.  That's why I was an hour late to Dallas and missed my flight.

My angels were taking a nap.  A gang of faeries was laughing at the human condition.  My battery died on my tablet at a very intense part of the book I was reading and I was 30,000 feet above Mother Earth, not where any self respecting Capricorn wants to be.  I couldn't think of a single Al-Anon slogan.

So where does comfort come from?  Where was my mind?  Obviously drenched in an array of discontent.  I wanted to get up and offer to hold the baby but it didn't seem likely.  I sent Reiki energy and asked what I could do for myself.

That's when Strength walked down the aisle, peaceful with that little twisted halo over her head and Lion in her eyes.  I smiled.  Smile muscles always bring relief.  Yes.  Strength was on the plane with me, up in the air where everything was up in the air.  Lion passed the sleeping rag doll cat in a kennel under the seat and came right to me.  In Lion eyes with Lion breath, I communed with the great balance of the divine feminine and the essence of wild on the verge, steady, confident and ready for whatever happened.

I put on my sunglasses, pulled my hat down and took a cat nap.

Strength

Strength also called Fortitude

A collage of images fold into a kaleidoscopic overview of various decks:

Swiftness, energy expanding, open, kind, firm, oneness  act with the universe with clarity; reading the field, moving quickly on a moment's notice, spontaneous

Mindful between extremes of reality; four directions, internal/external; ingest my fear, my beast, everything I judge is mine to own

An angel, infinity always is with me, a halo: the crown chakra;  down to the spinal chakra; embrace the lion within; palm on third eye; eye the Sun, source of strength; strength is the source

Head held high; enchanted, power of instinct; unity, infinite, tao of wholesomeness, well of feminine mystery

Crystal vision, majestic, paw swipe to protect; serenity; flow like an eagle

Jupiter conjunct Lilith, our beast; the feminine we have not owned; Strength is Lilith in the darkness

Tame the wild boar; as Ariel, the protectress of wild things

This word collage comes from the Wisdom Women

of Rotarota: Tea & Tarot

#8 STRENGH

Me:  I am woman--hear me roar.  

Lion:  You don't have to roar.  I'll take care of that for you.  I'm known for my powerful voice.     Remember when you were seven, you went to the San Francisco Zoo and you stared and stared at that massive lion?  You willed him to roar.  When he did, you were startled, a bit afraid and you felt the connection.  

You've known the world of felines since you were four.  That day you began your shaman's ride into the unknown invisible magic of the world.

You talk to wolf, walk with him but I too am with you.  Imagine the depth of my purr, far greater than that pipsqueak cat of yours.  I am Lion, King of your Heart Center.  Allow me to help you open, walk with  balance from your baqua.  Know your stride is guided;  dress funky and fun and when you weave the elegant tapestry of life, your hand, close to my mane, your wildness flickers along the spinal pearls.  I am that close to you at all times.

Do not be afraid.  Just go.  Go on the path where the green grass is icy, go on the sand and smell the salt, follow your choices for I am with you.  Use my voice for your enthusiasm.  Be with me.

A Question for You

I am a font freak.  I like cool, funky fonts, lovely old manuscript fonts.  Garamond, for an upgrade from Times New Roman, makes me smile as does Baskerville Old Face.  (Do I imagine the hounds of the Baskervilles trouncing down a narrow forest path?)

Lucida Handwriting is a great I-wrote-it-myself font.  As if my handwriting were that tidy.  Still, I love the gracious flow of it.

My new computer's default is Calibri, a very simple, tight, persnickety little font that I tended to delete every time it poked its unembellished little head up.  However, I've come to rather like how many words I can cram in a line and for poetry it works some kind of simple magic, allowing the word to create image, not the style of font.

So, here's the question, in case you thought I'd gone off on a tangent...and I could...

Do you have a preferred font for a blog?
What is it?
Why?

I'd like this blog to be most user friendly and with your feedback I can improve it.

Thank you!!!

And now, for the photo of the day, taken on Lake Whatcom.

When the Goddesses Gather

When each blade of green grass is icy white and the sun hangs on a bleak thread in the sky, on this day, the second day of newness as the century becomes a teenager, we gather around the dining table near the wood burning stove to share tarot decks.  Wisdom unfolds.

Each person brings a wealth of knowledge, perception, insight and joy to share.  "What deck is that?" we ask and lean forward as the card is passed around.

Today we tackled the sublime issue presented by #8 and #11.  Which do you choose for the position of 8?  Justice or Strength.  We considered the history offered by Mary K. Greer in "Who Are You in the Tarot?"  Each woman considered their cards, and their own journey.  Most of us selected Strength for Number Eight.  I have straddled this dilemma for many years and finally settled on Eight as Strength so no matter what the deck says, I shift Justice if it is Eight to the 11 position.

Many decks as we ponder Strength

The position of Strength on the Fool's journey between the Chariot and the Hermit seems most appropriate. Do you have a preference and why?

Bright blessings as the cards guide us into a new year!!!