The Bluebell Wood; Card of the Week 30th, June 2014

In all the vast proliferation of cards, decks and illustrations available  in the world,  this particular card (from The Victorian Fairy Tarot) is one of my very favourites ever!     In tarot, the “Fool”  represents the human journey through life (the Major Arcana often referred to as “The Fool’s Journey”)  but more importantly, he symbolises the part of us that is always evolving and taking new steps into new adventures and new stages of life.  This card bears the number “0” which represents the  unlimited potential of a starting point.      The Fool is innocent, spontaneous, unaware of all the things that lie before him and in that beautiful simplicity he’s unafraid of stepping forward, unafraid of all the unknowns.    Like a child who doesn’t over-think his next steps or think about what can go wrong, the fool’s innocence keeps him from being stuck.   A new phase is coming, like it or not and the Fool’s sense of wonder makes him ready and enthusiastic.

In traditional Waite Rider cards, the Fool is often portrayed as a boy perched atop a cliff with his wary pup nipping at his heels as he steps into the void, but in  this one,  a young man wanders into a beautiful twilight bluebell glade and is enchanted by the fairies who reside there.  In the language of flowers, bluebells represent “enchantment”  (in Scotland, fairies were said to cast an enchantment on anyone who would pick or trespass on bluebells).       There are two definitions of “enchantment”:  a) a force superseding our typical will and, b) a state of wonder and delight.         It’s apparent in this drawing that BOTH kinds of enchantment are acting on our traveler, the Fool.      As with the blindness of the fool in the traditional tarot illustrations, here our traveler has the magical enchantment of the fairies taking over and leading him blindly into a new realm… but it’s one of brightness, delight, and wonder.

Sometimes it might seem foolish to let our  thoughtful faculties and cautious deliberation to stand aside.  What if we step in a hole? What if the Fool is, well, FOOLISH?    But there are other times when it’s foolish NOT to be enchanted and driven by forces outside our usual way of sizing things up.  This is week is one of those times.    Your cautious ego is like the protective  pup in the picture… watching over his master but powerless to stop the enchanting forces of magic and fairy dust in the air.  It’s better to let that delight, magic and wonder unfold this week than to try to stop it.     Be the innocent explorer this week, allow a sense of enchantment to permeate your heart and mind. After all, most of us have been feeling Mercury Retrograde-y waves of mental and emotional stress lately and it’s time to let go and let those “fairies” (new experiences and whims) guide you.    Your brain solves a lot of problems for you.  It does a great job of sizing things up a lot of the time…. but you know what? It’s not always so foolproof.  Sometimes we have to let our emotions,  a sense of magic or even life’s strange whims hop in the driver’s seat instead of our measured intellect and ego ESPECIALLY when new patterns and stages in our lives are trying to be born.  If we didn’t let that “magic” take over now and then we’d constantly be trying to drive back to our old homes and places we cannot go back to instead of finding the enchanted forest!

The thing about being an innocent explorer is that in this state we realise that we’re no different than those bluebells growing and expanding towards the light and unfolding in new pathways.  Every new phase or step let’s us express our spirit, or gain wisdom.   It’s not always about anticipating everything and knowing everything and plotting, planning and having it all figured out.    If you’ve found yourself at wits end about what way is the RIGHT way, or if you’ve been too swayed by your analytical super-powers to move in ANY direction, then this “enchantment” week is a perfect time for you to let those subtle influences lead you – even if you don’t know exactly where you’re going yet.    What has been “tugging” on you lately?  What bluebell glade did you step into lately?  Where is the “magic” trying to take you?  Where is wonder or delight trying to take you?  Stop thinking and LET YOURSELF BE LEAD!

 

About this deck:    The  Victorian Fairy Tarot  by Lunaea Weatherstone and Gary Lippincott, published by Llewellyn,  is one of the most beautifully painted and illustrated tarot decks ever created.  I will soon be posting a link to a full deck review on this 78 card deck and book set.

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In the Garden of Plenty, Card of the Week; 23rd June 2014

 

Another entrant in the unusual tarot theme this month, the inimitable “GUMMY BEAR TAROT”  brings us the Nine of Pentacles.   Our golden-lemon lady Bear strolls with calm poise in her garden vineyard which is resplendent with grapes heavy on the vines, and gold coins blooming everywhere.  Perched on her gummy paw is a falcon wearing a hood, the symbol of her mastery over her responsibilities, reactions and emotions.  She’s enjoying the good life and she’s brimming with self-confidence and is enjoying a moment in the sun. Everything is coming up roses….. and grapes, and gold coins!   All the symbols of fertility, progress and satisfaction (at last!)  are here.

 

Yes, we still have some of that Mercury Retrograde err… specialness … influencing us through the end of the month, but this week brings us some very unique opportunities to present mastery and confidence and thus to enjoy some of those SHINING gold riches and blooming grapes of joy.    We may have felt scattered, and had a hard time focusing (and even felt some negative emotions rising up trying to promote a real BREAK from the old energies) but this week we have a chance to take responsibility. Remember that falcon?  The falcon represents the harnessing of our emotional power.   Are you taking responsibility for your own emotions this week or are you blaming others?  Are you letting your feelings just push you around? Did you forget who is in charge? Use your emotions and flow with them instead of letting them control YOU.     The little blinder that the falcon wears reminds me of how we can’t always listen to the impulses and reasoning our ego “Little Me” fear brain tells us.   I also think of how the falcon soars above us… trying to see a big picture (and little gummy mice to swoop in on)  but doesn’t always have a very good IMMEDIATE view.   Our Lady of the Gummy-Vineyard is enjoying her time RIGHT HERE and right now.   She’s not trying to soar past Pluto to see what’s coming around the bend. She’s enjoying the fruits that are in arm’s reach and is instinctively good at knowing how to feel secure, safe, sound and confident within material wealth and well-being.

 

Your homework this week is to allow yourself to feel that confidence and enjoyment of the moment.   At the very least, reign in your falcon and remember that you are responsible for yourself and your promotion of confidence and security. There are times when others aren’t watching out for you … so YOU must do it for yourself.  Now’s not the time to let go of personal responsibility.

 

Enjoy the bounty this week!

About this deck:   The card for this week hails from the irresistible, cheerful  pocket-sized (yet readable and serious)   “The Gummy Tarot” deck by Dietmar Bittrich   from US GAMES.     Have you ever had gummy bears?   In case you live under a rock and you’ve missed out on these little Gummibärchen (Gummy Bear)  candies;  they’re roughly bear-shaped little bits of “gummi”  (a gelatinous confection)  which are gorgeous,  like fragments of stained glass yet rubbery and of indeterminate fruit identities.     They’re peculiar, but addictive (especially in a movie-theater) .         Alas, I don’t eat animal gelatin, but luckily for me I can enjoy gummy bears in this cute tarot deck.   This deck is truly awesome and comes in its own colourful tin.    It follows the basic  Rider Waite illustration template but with simple drawings of Gummy bears.   Cards that have serious or frightening traditional iconography like “The Tower” are more digestible and less threatening in adorable gummy-form but the messages are just as powerful. This deck is much beloved with young and old for good reason.

Strength of an Open Heart Card of the week 17th June 2014

 

Here’s another entry for this month’s theme of unique tarot decks,  and this one brings a unique spin on the Strength card of the major arcana.   Here we see a figure uplifting a heart, courageously overhead.

Sometimes when we’re facing change within a relationship, change in our friendships or just plain old change, we want to be MORE guarded with our hearts.  We want to escape, withdraw or run away on some level.  (whether that’s by escaping into distractions or even escaping through “screw this, I’m out of here”  or revenge fantasies)            Or perhaps we feel yet MORE pressure to act, be, do and say PERFECTLY to impress others or make a big impact.   Sorry to say, none of this is OPEN-HEARTED.    It all comes from a place that wants to control or manipulate, to protect ourselves.

While this week may bring fantasies about hurting someone else’s feelings, running away, or  razzle-dazzling and convincing others,  this is the perfect time bring in TRUE courage and TRUE strength instead!   True courage is not the absence of fear, instead it’s the choice we make IN that fear, to be open to another person’s experience, to be compassionate and to be honest instead of guarded.      What if we were kind and honest instead of manipulating the situation from a place of fear?    Great progress can be made this week with all those gifts the Wizard granted in OZ:    HEART, COURAGE, and BRAINS.

The LWB (or Little White Book, as they’re called)  says,

” Be persistent and be gentle, and approach the dangers that surround you with clear eyes, an open heart and without fear. Look right into the heart of that which makes you most afraid, and dissemble your anxiety by true examination.”

 

The “DANGERS” here aren’t real dangers necessarily, but they represent things you’re scared of on the road to change and growth.    Avoid the pitfalls of distraction;  running away, seeking revenge, hurting others before or because they hurt you, or impressing and persuading.   Use that gentle courage to keep reaching out, understanding and having the desire to learn.    Don’t be afraid to see what lies ahead, because this moment of uncertainty will pass and the light will shine the way towards what the next steps will be.   Raise your open heart like a beacon, and let it (instead of “walls”)  protect you and inspire strong, courageous, leading energies as you help others and yourself this week.

 

About this deck:

The Oracle Tarot by Lucy Cavendish is a 64 deck tarot  (the court cards have been omitted)  published by Hay House.   This modern, funky twist on the tarot is a deck intended for positive inspiration, spiritual focus and insight .