Posts Tagged ‘tarot’
The Winter Solstice on December 21 in 2020 is the shortest day of the year. For the pagans of the British Isles, this was a time to party. Yes, winter lay ahead, but the days would become progressively longer, so the Solstice held the promise of the rebirth of spring.
It’s no coincidence that early Christians chose a day soon after the Solstice to celebrate the hope and happiness of the birth of Christ (who was really born “when shepherds were in the fields with their sheep” in a warmer month, possibly April).
But before Christianity arrived in Britain, the pagans had a 12-day winter festival called “Yule.”
At the beginning of Yule, they ventured into the cold, cut down a large tree, trimmed away its branches, and dragged it home. On the hearth they anointed the log with beer (yes, really!) and set it ablaze, using remnants of the previous year’s log as kindling. It burned bit-by-bit until the Twelfth Night when, after the fire was out, it was stowed under a bed for luck and protection. (Who doesn’t love a chocolate Yule log at Christmas?!)
In keeping with this Yuletide tradition, let’s look at a different kind of “log”: the Ace of Wands.
The image on the Rider-Waite deck depicts a mystical hand appearing from a cloud and holding a large tree branch. Far from being withered, the branch sprouts hopeful green leaves. A castle in the distance promises future opportunities.
Cards in the Wands suit are about primal energy, spirituality, courage, and creativity. In addition, Wands — like the Yule log itself — recall the element of Fire. Aces ask you to look positively at your life.
The Ace of Wands is perhaps the boldest and most determined card in the Tarot. Its creativity is not about merely having a hobby or pursuing a pastime. It has to do with bravely finding your own path, to a place where you develop a creative new vision for yourself.
Just as the holiday season is about hailing the end of one year and looking forward to the new one, the Ace of Wands asks you to leave behind an old way of thinking and embrace a perhaps risky new way, with enthusiasm and joy. It’s time to abandon negativity — even if that negativity has seemed an appropriate reaction — and look forward with optimism.
This Ace, then, wants you to be daring, brave, and enthusiastic about what is to come. In the midst of a cold winter, and after — let’s face it — a dreadful year, it’s time to find victories and applaud them. Revel in the hope and positivity of the season, whether you opt for Hanukkah, Christmas, Yule, Kwanzaa, Omisoka – or nothing at all. Let the Ace of Wands hold the spark of energy that ignites you to new passion, and celebrate!
Happy Holidays!
Want more information about Tarot cards and readings? As well as coaching, I’m pleased to offer single-card, three-card, and Celtic Cross ten-card readings at various price ranges, all via email or face-to-face across Zoom or Skype.
And, although the world is an uncertain place right now, if you’re planning a future party – whether it’s an intimate get-together or a large-scale event, consider adding the excitement of Tarot readings. I’d love to chat with you, so to find out more, please email info@tarotbyemail.com.
I am the Weekend Witch, and I can’t wait to help you meet your destiny!
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“Extreme life coaching is all the rage” according to a recent article in The Guardian. The article attributes one reason for this to the ever-present human need for fulfilment. And this is truer now than ever before, with the additional pressures brought by lockdowns and the ongoing threat of COVID-19.
A life coach is as a kind of therapist. So what’s the difference? “A therapist can help you with mental health difficulties, diagnosis, and assessment,” according to licensed professional counsellor and certified mental health provider, Whitney White. However, she acknowledges that a life coach “can help you with coaching thought to improve performance, develop your potential, help you with solutions, provide direction, and with assistance in goal setting.”
And those who need this kind of help are increasingly turning to Tarot readers.
A traditional Tarot reading uses the cards to answer a particular question; but Tarot coaching goes far beyond this.
Some refer to Tarot coaching as “transformational tarot readings.” The readings can do more than just predict whether your daughter will be married soon or if you’ll get that new job you’ve applied for.
Tarot coaching sessions are designed to help you align with your highest potential. They’re especially useful if you feel stuck in a rut, or trapped in a mindset that no longer serves you, or you’re in need of guidance for a major life change.
So is a simple Tarot reading enough for you, or do you need Tarot coaching?
That depends on your situation. If you fall down and skin your elbow, you may only need a sticking plaster. But if you break a bone, you’ve got a bigger problem. And that requires a bigger solution.
A Tarot coaching session — or a series of them — is intended to help you with those “bigger problems” that life sometimes throws at you.
Tarot coaching may help you:
- eliminate (or at least minimise) the negative self talk that’s holding you back
- recognise why and how you need to end a toxic relationship for your greatest good, or give you the courage to break free of an old and destructive habit
- gain a new kind of control in your daily life.
Many of us have had our daily lives drastically changed during 2020, and this may be exactly what you need to bring you more satisfaction and fulfilment, or simply to help you cope with the many challenges this year has brought us. Ideally, you’ll come away from Tarot life coaching with a better understanding of how to best set yourself up for success, both during this pandemic and beyond.
Want more information about Tarot cards and readings? As well as coaching, I’m pleased to offer single-card, three-card, and Celtic Cross ten-card readings at various price ranges, all via email or face-to-face across Zoom or Skype.
And, although the world is an uncertain place right now, if you’re planning a party – whether it’s an intimate get-together or a large-scale event, consider adding the excitement of Tarot readings. I’d love to chat with you, so to find out more, please email info@tarotbyemail.com.
I am the Weekend Witch, and I can’t wait to help you meet your destiny!
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“Without labour, nothing prospers.” — Sophocles, Greek Philosopher
The suit of Pentacles (also known as “Coins,” “Discs,” or “Money”) represents the material world: possessions, finance, money and, especially in this case, work. Pentacles relate to other kinds of “work,” too – studying, working on a relationship, or developing a part of your life, your spirituality, or a hobby.
Seven, of course, is the traditional “lucky number.” In the Tarot, sevens have to do with finding a purpose and succeeding.
In both the traditional Rider-Waite deck and the colourful Morgan-Greer Tarot, the Seven of Pentacles shows a gardener. His plants have borne fruit. Seven golden circles with stars inside them bloom on the vine.
Obviously, then, this card represents rewards for hard work. In Rider-Waite, the man stares at the foliage in contemplation, so the card also means assessment and evaluation.
He asks you to take stock of your situation. Has your hard work paid off, whether in terms of a career, hobby, relationship, or connection with a higher power? If so, think about how you can apply the same principles elsewhere.
If your hard work hasn’t paid off, ask why. What could you have done differently? Is it time to move on? Is it time to stop giving so much in a relationship, or change your field of study, or look for a new career? The card asks you to consider changing directions.
But if you’re in the middle of your project, keep going! The gardener didn’t give up when his seeds failed to sprout after a few days. He worked daily with a long-term goal in mind.
And if you are succeeding, don’t spend too long “leaning on your shovel,” as the gardener in the Rider-Waite deck is doing. Feel good about yourself, of course. But don’t rest on your laurels. A happy new project is probably right around the corner!
Want more information about Tarot cards and readings? I offer you single-card, three-card, and Celtic Cross ten-card readings at various price ranges, all via email or face-to-face across Zoom or Skype.
And, although the world is an uncertain place right now, if you’re planning a party – whether it’s an intimate get-together or a large-scale event, consider adding the excitement of Tarot readings. I’d love to chat with you, so to find out more, please email info@tarotbyemail.com.
I am the Weekend Witch, and I can’t wait to help you meet your destiny!
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“A most imaginative and abnormally psychic artist.”
— Arthur Edward Waite, English Occultist, speaking of Pamela Colman Smith
You’ll often see me refer to the popular “Rider-Waite” Tarot deck. But who created those images?
Well, it was the real high priestess of the Tarot: Pamela Colman Smith.
Pamela Colman Smith was born in London in 1878 to American parents. At age 15, she enrolled at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and studied drawing, painting and printmaking. After her mother’s death when she was 18, Smith left Pratt without a degree. Nevertheless, she found work as illustrator, doing the art for books by poet William Butler Yeats and “Dracula” creator Bram Stoker.
At 21, orphaned by the death of her father, she returned to England. Here she set up her own studio in London and worked as an illustrator and in theatrical design.
In London she joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a secret society devoted to the occult, through which she met Arthur Edward Waite, a prolific writer on metaphysical topics.
Recognising her talents, Waite asked her to produce an artistic Tarot deck. Tarot decks had been invented in Italy in the 1400s by supplementing four-suited playing card decks with a fifth suit of 21 cards called “trionfi” (“triumphs” or “trumps”) and an odd card called “il matto” (“the Fool”).
Previous Tarot illustrations were simple in both colour and design. Smith’s imaginative new paintings showed the divination meaning of each card. And each card’s imagery was vibrant and exciting, displaying elements of French Symbolism and William Morris’s Arts and Crafts movement.
Her 78-card Tarot deck was printed in 1909 by William Rider & Son, and Waite wrote the companion volume, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot.
By the end of World War One, Smith had moved to Cornwall, where she lived until she died in 1951 aged 73. Her vision endures, and today her stunning artwork remains the best-selling Tarot deck of all time.
Want more information about Tarot cards and readings? I offer you single-card, three-card, and Celtic Cross ten-card readings at various price ranges, all via email or face-to-face across Zoom or Skype.
And, although the world is an uncertain place right now, if you’re planning a party – whether it’s an intimate get-together or a large-scale event, consider adding the excitement of Tarot readings. I’d love to chat with you, so to find out more, please email info@tarotbyemail.com.
I am the Weekend Witch, and I can’t wait to help you meet your destiny!
Comments Off on The REAL High Priestess of the Tarot