Daily Dose #5: Tarot as Medicine: Three of Wands

"The Tarot can change and become new every time we pick it up. This is because we can shuffle it. We can take the cards, with all their intense symbols, mix them, and lay them out as a new work."
 ~Rachel Pollack~

The Three of Wands encourages vision & revision. It is a reminder that we simply need to look at things in a different way than what we've been doing. Refocusing. New insights. Sometimes, it means leaving security behind in search of new possibilities.

When a card like this comes up for me, I know that I need to see past the distractions and clear my line of vision for the things that truly matter. It is so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day minutia and the immediate fears and worries I have without seeing the bigger picture. Right now, the truth is, I don't know how it all will work out yet. This card tells me to take a more wide-view of what may yet be. What things truly matter to me? What dreams have I not pursued as much as I should? How willing am I to commit to the process--the journey--as an adventure and not as a chore?

I like to know how things will go. I worry when I don't have all of the answers. The Three of Wands reminds me that the fear is just a guardian I need to push myself past. Yes, maybe my heart will break. Yes, maybe I'll fall short of the goal. Yes, maybe the new territory will be overwhelming. But, courage is a catalyst and I have that in abundance.

Dare. Take risks. Stay determined. Today's card calls me to be focused and to trust in whatever comes. Evolution is in process. The cards are new every day...the story is new every day. My job is to continue to let go of fear. My job is to move on. 

Daily Dose #4: Tarot as Medicine: A Room of One's Own

It's hard for me to even articulate how my tarot life has evolved over the last year. It has gone from something private & insular to a deeply rewarding social experience. I know that, in many ways, this is because of finally having a tarot "home" of my own to devote to readings & meetings with clients. And, I know I have the Oddporium to thank for that. One Sunday a month, I have a chance to sit down with strangers to talk about their lives, their hopes & fears, their stories, their goals, & their emotions. I share what the imagery & mythology of their chosen cards says about their personal experiences. I tell them stories about what themes & advice the cards show. When they sit down at the table across from me, my only thought is that I hope they connect to the tarot in a meaningful way & that the answers they are seeking surface in front of them. A tarot reading with me is about communication & connection. I aim to strip out the fear & myths around the cards & to help facilitate healing & confirmation.  

This act of reading tarot for people has become one of my favorite ways to spend my time with others right now. It allows me, a sensitive introvert who loves meaningful conversations, to get beyond the small-talk I am often awkward with right to the heart of genuine human interaction. I woke this past Sunday & had two cups of tea while I shuffled three decks of cards, deciding which ones would be used at the reading. I ended up with two decks, as always...my Rider Waite standbys & a new Mermaid Tarot by Dame Darcy. The tarot spread I created was intended to bring light to a situation or to important points to consider in the new season. Readings for Spring Equinox...and then snow started to fall. 

The people who arrived were full of their own light, though. Warm-hearted. Generous. I am thankful for every single one of them. I am thankful for every person who has ever sat across the table from me or booked me for an event. Though I have been reading cards more than half of my life, this deepening public tarot journey has come as a surprise to me--but, it is a welcome one. I am writing the tarot, living the tarot, reading the tarot, wearing the tarot under my skin, seeing the elements & messages of the tarot out in the world beyond the cards. A mystery. A gift.  

Daily Dose #2: Tarot as Medicine: Queen of Pentacles

Tonight, under this strong Virgo Full Moon, I'll be thankful for the Queen of Pentacles, my daily dose. She reminds me to build my own security. To focus on home and things that make me feel taken care of and loved. The Queen of Pentacles has built a life for herself. She is the Earth Goddess, the home-provider, the woman who is secure. Some things have been thrown at me lately that are testing my abilities to stand on my own and trust that I am not others' negative perceptions of me. I am solid/steady and I am allowed to express my thoughts.

So often, women give the reins to everyone else. "I will let my kids lead me." "I will do what my partner wants." "If so & so says this about me, then it must be true." "When this person likes & accepts me, then I'll be worth something." "When I get noticed at work." "When I lose 40lbs." "When I earn X per year." The Queen of Pentacles serves as a reminder that we can all celebrate ourselves, in our imperfect, flawed radiance--right now. We make our own security when we take care of ourselves. Go home, wherever home is for you. Think about all of the ways you support yourself & nurture yourself. Appreciate all that you do to bring love & beauty into your life. You deserve to celebrate your own potential. You are a Queen. Never forget it.

Daily Dose #1: Tarot as Medicine: Strength

"Strength is "total" living - living with the undiluted multiplicity of your being. Combining your capacity to destroy with your power to regenerate and heal. Taming your powers and drives by finding the "inner" power that gives you your strength. Affirm all your individual qualities - be sensitive to what you are feeling every moment."

~Crystal Reflections~

This morning, I cried in the shower, laughed as I drove my kids to school, and stared in silent awe at a giant birdcloud alighting from a strand of trees near my new house. I went inside, made a cup of tea and threw today's card. Strength. The power of strength. The simplicity of strength. The gentle touch of the woman in traditional Rider Waite soothing-taming-overcoming the beast. I set the card on my tarot altar in my bedroom, beside a deer skull and an antique poison bottle full of dirt I filched from outside of Georgia O'Keeffe's studio in New Mexico. Strong medicine.

Today, Strength fell out of the deck as I shuffled it. What I need to know about today. Being in touch with all aspects of myself with solid acceptance. Not letting things get me down. Using gentleness to soothe the wild aches I carry within and the ones I stumble across outside of myself. This woman has known struggle, has learned her way around her own inner nature, has realized that a gentle but determined approach will be the best one at this time. All things I needed to know.

My relationship with tarot over the years has ebbed and flowed. Always present, but not always something I've been willing to discuss with others outside of my immediate circle. That has certainly been shifting over this past year as I am now doing events and private readings for individual clients and parties with my tarot work. My creativity and writing has also been completely guided by tarot--not something I am yet able to share publicly, but the depth of my experience has been profound to me. So, it seemed time that here, on my quiet little blog, I let myself start to share the tarot as medicine and and narrative and to offer doses of my own cards and what they mean to me. I love reading about the tarot and I love the act of being accountable with it. So, this is where my Tarot as Medicine: Daily Dose category begins. I have no rules around it for myself, but it felt important to give it its own space in these occasional rambling words I post here.  

Since this year my card is the Star, guided by Strength, and Strength is what fell into my hands today, this seemed the right moment to let the category-marker start. Another touchstone. Another mirror. Another story to tell.