Your Birthday and the Tarot

Unveiling the Arcana

Wind blows steady, jumping over lacy ocean waves.  Rain drops fall slow and dot the sand like a dappled leopard.  Cold sand slips in and out of my gold sandals.

            “”Hey, Ma, you like to make friends,” one of my children says and points to people gathered around a roaring fire at dusk.

            “Sure,” I say, “I’ll just go say ‘hi’, introduce myself and ask ‘what's your birthday?’”

            My children laugh.  They know me.  They’ve seen me do this before.  But not tonight.  We stash driftwood for a fire later when we come back to check on high tide.

            The question lingers.  Tell me your birthday, I’ll tell you patterns that likely apply to your current reality.  Everyone wants to know more about her/himself.  So, it is an easy way to make new friends.  It is only a suggestion, a possibility of what might be going on beneath the surface of your life.

            You add the month and day together.

            Example for March 7^th:

                        3

                ____7____

                        10

            Then you add the current year:

                        10

               ___2013___

                     2023 = 7  The Chariot

            Voila, a peek into a life pattern, a part of the Constellation of The Chariot, offering personality unfoldment. 

            We walk up the path to the cottage as the glowing disk of sun dives into Neptune’s lair.  I scrounge around the bottom of my suitcase and find one of my travel tarot decks:

            Secret Tarot:  Tarot secreto by Lo Scarabeo.

            With Summer Solstice in sight, I can only think of The Sun, XIX, a rather non-traditional image in this deck.  A brilliant sun fills the upper half of the card, two young boys, naked and contemplating (actually, it seems that one has a cell phone.  I don’t have my magnifying glass to see what is being studied.)  There is a flair of Gemini in this card, a reminiscence of The Lovers, and a hint of duality that takes us through the Major Arcana.

            Two aspects of The Fool coming through the vicissitudes of the previous cards.  There is an innocence and clarity here, as the promise of nature reveals itself in the full sunshine.  It is here that The Fool sparkles in the brilliance of The Sun and senses the connection with all things, where the outcome is clear and joy is a reality.

            As Summer rides in on a horse and wanders in the garden, celebrate your Fool.  Share your tarot with someone new.  You might be surprised at who’s very interested but didn’t know who to ask.  Tarot is out of the closet.  There are more decks than we can imagine.  Find one that suits how you’re feeling now.

            A thousand bright and joyful summer blessings to you!!!

C.J. Prince received a call from the mermaids who tend the waters at Haystack Rock.  Back in Bellingham, Washington, she considers another deck to study the dance of the pearl moon and the 78 archetypes to freedom.

Catching My Breath, by co-author C.J. Prince is available at The Stone Moon, Village Books and Amazon.   One of the main characters receives a tarot reading. 

Reprinted from The Stone Moon newsletter.

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Walk in Beauty

Ceiling at Chihuly Glass Museum, Seattle Center

Look up, look down, walk in a circle.  May there be only beauty.  Of course the eye will register the unkind, the rude, the unacceptable.  But what will the heart internalize?  

I do not think this when I get up at 2 AM, a goddess-less hour to rise, though quite acceptable to retire.  Yet it is required this night and Capricorn steadies to the task at hand.  As I drive down the quiet road, mist and rain keep me alert.  On the S curve I sense and then see another who is out in the early hours.  I slow and stop and focus. A large owl swivels her head briefly and returns to her catch.  I stay, transfixed, on the lonely night road, watching until she flies beneath cedars and out of sight.

While I might have been caught in the grumble of early rising, I was instead transformed by the beauty waiting in an unexpected place.  Later there were three deer and a charming young woman serving chai at Cruisin' Coffee.

I am guided by #17, The Star.  It is good to be out at night and connecting to Sirius or any star beings or nightly creatures.  I am blessed.  To you, the same.

Who's Fool?

Where is the Fool?  S/he pops up when I'm feeling foolish, of course.  Or when I observe another.  Or when I'm starting something new.  Or when I feel inadequate.  But which fool?

No matter the image, the sense of change, abandon, adventure appears on each card.

I do not know this deck with the Fool urged on by a cat but I find it enchanting.

Cats usually present me with the unexpected.  (Like the one purring in my lap right now.)

This Fool is more reminiscent of the familiar dog in Rider Waite Smith. 

Except I see this dog pulling rather than nudging.

I saw this Fool on Facebook and searched, trying to find the deck.

It seems that it is part of a deck used in a TV show and only the cards needed

have been created and is not available to the public.

Nevertheless, I like the image, the flirting toe testing the next reality.

Ah, the intellectual Fool.  

I do not have the names of the decks, unfortunately.  Sometimes people send me Fools or I find them in unexpected places.  Just remember that the Fool is always sacred.  

What new adventure are you embarking upon?  What deck are you using?  Ask for the Fool's sacred wisdom.

NINE OF PENTACLES

The Hermit Uncloaked

Druidcraft Tarot

Nines fall from inside pockets.

Look within me.

Birds flutter, promise my future

with pentacles in their beaks.

Catkins twirl on maple trees

as I unhood my hawk,

my right arm steady, strong

under leather gauntlet.

You may perceive me as innocent

in my Celtic embroidered bodice.

but do not be deceived.

I walk this physical realm,

know this world of yours.

I can protect myself.

When I unleash my familiar,

he does my bidding.

Be aware.

My solitude is found

in Nines.

Copyright 2013

C.J. Prince

The Nine of Cups

In the robes of the Hermit, find the Nine's.  First let us consider The Nine of Cups.

 We dance with Mutable Water in the 9 of Cups, seeing the opportunity to create our own realities.  No matter the deck, there is a basic truth to each card and then the added information of how you perceive it.

 Some decks aare simple and allow you to go deep within to find the meaning in a single card pull or in a layout.  First, it is up to you.  What do you see?  How does it make you feel?  What and how does this card apply to the situation?

 Creative imagination is an invitation from the Nine of Cups.

Work with your dreams and intuition.  When do you tune into your intuition.  Every moment, it is available but we get too busy to notice.  We forget that guidance abounds.  What animal did you see today?  Did it offer you a message?  What card will correlate?

 Visualize what you desire.  Always with desire is the hidden opportunity to ride it out, to look toward the consequences of your desires.  Often we do not do that and feel disappointment.  But with foresight, and the turn of a card, we might see the bigger picture, if only for an instant.

 What resources, knowledge and skills do you have to offer to others?  

Nine of Cups invites you to look within.

Ah, the abundance of the Nine of Cups can be overwhelming.  Here there is the possibility to fall into the abyss of gluttony, sensuality and illusion.  Be aware.

A silly happiness, balanced, centered on the outside.  A smirk on the face?  What does it mean?  What is hidden behind the curtains?  My cup runneth over but what is missing?

The Thoth Nine of Cups inscribed with the word "Happiness" may indicate bounty recycled, reconnected, according to Carol McMillan.  Honey flows in a web of joy.  You may have it all but be a bit vacuous.  Do not sample too much.

 She walks, sits in beauty, says Helen.  The golden chalice of light and delight.  The bee, guardian of all that is sweet and structured, indicates community.  The Nine of Cups indicates Eight Directions and the One Within.  As Vespa, a bride unto herself.

There are many images, many interpretations.  The one that counts is your own.  Go to your deck, study it, use a magnifying glass to catch the nuance, write about the card you pulled.  There are answers here you might not imagine.  Be open.  Be playful.  Enjoy!

What deck today?

Spring break, summer vacation, fall retreat?  Are you ready to travel?  Do you use a special deck when you travel?

I have several mini decks.  Right now I keep the Secret Tarot Deck, a small but not mini deck, in my suitcase.  Don't leave home without a deck!  Who do you want to travel with?  Some artwork will feel just right for that next road trip or flight across the ocean.

When you forget a layout or how to ask a question, check in with your resident cat who is born knowing all this.  Here you can see Hamilton contemplating and selecting a card.  Does it reflect his reality or mine?

He is my familiar and what affects him, also influences me.  He's given me some good readings.

The Hermit & Mercury Retrograde

Was there ever a more perfect match?  Mercury Retrograde inviting us to the inner life for a cup of tea.  Hang out, take a look around.  What did you miss in the past three months as your life sped by like a bullet train?

The Hermit pulls up her hood, slinks in out of the wet and contemplates daffodils just spiking.  A deep sigh and a reminder that she is connected to every shift in the garden, to every bird that glides above, to every worm just beginning a slow stretch toward spring.

Meanwhile, Demeter gathers up primroses to celebrate Persephone's return, a grand bouquet to suffice until Persephone's footsteps alone will bring the world alive.

The gathering place in the Druid Grove hosts a grand trio, The Hermit, Persephone, Demeter with Mercury guiding from above.  An auspicious time to slow down and allow the shift that Mother Nature is cooking up to serve as Spring Fare.

The tendency is to be annoyed by Mercury's reluctance to continue the repetitious 100 yard dash.  Instead, hold The Hermit's hand, have a cup of tea.  Contemplate.  There is more to come but for this day, there is only now, a fire still burning bright in the wood burning stove, a hot cup of tea, and a deck of cards.  Therein lies my conundrum.  Which deck.  I pull out my favorites:  The Druid Craft Tarot, Dreaming Way Tarot, Art Nouveau Tarot, the Gaian Tarot and a gulp of Mary K. Greer for more perspective.  Breathe.  Read.  Let it be.