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Tarot of the Spirit
“The world would only begin to get something out of value from me the moment I stopped being a serious member of society and became – myself. The State, the nation, the united nations of the world, were nothing but one great aggregation of individuals who repeated the mistakes of their forefathers. They were caught in the wheel from birth and they kept at it till death – and this treadmill they tried to dignify by calling it ‘life’. If you asked anyone to explain or define life, what was the be-all and end-all, you got a blank look for answer. Life was something which philosophers dealt with in books that no one read. Those in the thick of life, ‘the plugs in harness’, had no time for such idle questions. ‘You’ve got to eat, haven’t you?‘ This query, which was supposed to be a stopgap, and which had already been answered, if not in the absolute negative at least in a disturbingly relative negative by those who knew, was a clue to all the other questions which followed in a veritable Euclidean suite. From the little reading I had done I had observed that the men who were most in life, who were moulding life, who were life itself, ate little, slept little, owned little or nothing. They had no illusions about duty, or the perpetuation of their kith and kin, or the preservation of the State. They were interested in truth and truth alone. They recognised only one kind of activity – creation. Nobody could command their services because they had of their own pledged themselves to give all. They gave gratuitously, because it is the only way to give. This was they way of life which appealed to me: it made sound sense. It was life – not the simulacrum which those about me worshipped.” Henry Miller – Sexus
Actually, aside from the Wheel, there’s quite a few other Major Arcana showing up in the above paragraph – Death, The Fool, The World, The Emperor, The Hanged Man… I know there must be thousands of literary examples of the Wheel, but this one really caught my eye today.
I get a bit giddy when I come across books I love, books that inspire me, and that have a great deal of ancient knowledge in them. At this week’s astrology class, I hoarded a few library items in my bag, one of which is a real astro feast: Earth Mother Astrology – Ancient Healing Wisdom by Marcia Starck.
While this is not an astrology blog, it is a tarot blog, and tarot covers, well… everything! As Mary Greer notes, when one studies the tarot, one receives a complete education in the liberal arts: history, mythology, art, literature, quantum theory, psychology, and so on. On that note, my interests related to tarot include astrology, herbalism and crystals, and Earth Mother Astrology is a real gem (pun possibly intended). In this post I want to share a little snippet from this book, which looks at medical astrology and astrological associations for plants, crystals, flower essences, vitamins and minerals, etc.
Druidcraft Tarot
In the Major Arcana, the mighty Jupiter is linked with the Wheel of Fortune. Also, Jupiter rules Sagittarius, which is the sign associated with Temperance. The stones of Jupiter primarily work to cleanse the liver and increase bile flow; they have also been used to protect riders and their horses (both link in with Sagittarius, who is prone to excess in food and drink – which I can personally confirm – and is also linked with horses).
The two stones for Jupiter are Turquoise and Chrysocolla. I quite directly from the book for both these stone as follows below.
Turquoise has always been considered a holy gem. It treats eye problems as well as ailments of an inflammatory or feverish origin. The Egyptians felt the earthy green colour joined the heavenly blue colour in giving the turquoise its special quality. Turquoise loses colour when its wearer is ill or in danger; it turns a dull yellow when worn by a person with liver problems. The stone absorbs harmful vibrations, sometimes shattering. It was a sacred stone in Persia during the time of Zoroaster.
In the Orient, turquoise is used to protect riders and their steeds; strings of turquoise beads are attached to the horses’ harnesses in order to make them sure-footed on narrow mountain paths. The Arabs wore a turquoise between three pearls on their headbands; at the hour of Jupiter, they took the stone in their right hand and made wishes on it. The Native Americans have always considered turquoise their sacred stone and use it in making jewelry and ritual objects.
Chrysocolla is a semi precious stone like turquoise, being opaque and dull in luster. Its color represents the Divine Mother and the virtues of compassion, humility, and patience. It is used for female disorders and can assist in balancing hormones after miscarriages, abortions, and hysterectomies. It is an emotional balancer and can be placed over the heart chakra to bring control.
As a cooling stone, it lowers fevers, heals burns, neutralizes anger and calms the nerves. It is also a stone of Venus and works well on the throat chakra for thyroid imbalance, voice problems and sore throats.
Given that I am in one gigantic Wheel of Fortune year, it is fitting that these two stones will accompany me throughout the year as well – though as a Saggie, I am rather fond of turquoise personally as well.
Gilded Tarot - Wheel of Fortune
The Wheel has started to gather momentum. On a minor level, I am house-sitting for 3 different homes for the next 3 weeks. On a major level, I have finally had to announce my travel plans to everyone, including work and friends. Come May I shall be heading to Romania for 3 months to spend time with my grandmother. She is not doing too well, and there’s only so much one can postpone such things. I shall be writing about her in another post – for now I’ll just say she’s one quirky Aquarian, and sees things that others don’t – and I don’t even mean ghosts or spirits, though that wouldn’t surprise me. She just has a sharp eye and prophetic dreams now and then, and I think she moved away from the city to a mountain town because deep inside she’s always known she was a bit different (and, in her words, couldn’t live “like a rat in a box” referring to the apartment blocks that were sprouting everywhere thanks to an insane president a few decades ago). I was, I am, and for as long as she lives, will be, her love, her only grand-daughter whom she stuffed with yummy food and dressed in matching hand knitted clothes as a child (I’m talking pink with black polka dots pants, sweater, scarf, hat, and gloves. The works – all of it her work).
The Wheel doesn’t stop there though! Oh no, no, no. No. I’m returning to Auckland for a few days and then I’m off to join my partner in Melbourne (*excited hand clapping*) around mid August – permanently. The energy is picking up and things are starting to manifest that make me both nervous and excited. A whole new city to explore, new bookshops, new cafes and nooks and crannies and I have absolutely no idea what I will do – or rather, don’t yet have the courage to explore all my options perhaps. Because, really, I could go and work in the environmental/sustainability field in the more professional or corporate arena – I have the work experience and the qualifications to make a good go of it. It is interesting work, it is honourable, it’s future oriented, it is well paid and it’s visionary.
And I could also equally dedicate myself to tarot reading and take it to a whole new level. And I would really, really love that. Not as a part-time “I’ll do it now and then when I have time after a full-time job” thing, but really get some good experience in the public arena. That kinda terrifies me, really. Specifically, having trust that I can do that, that it is possible – and the crazy thing is, deep inside I know it is. I know that if you hold your wishes close to your heart and speak them before the trees and the birds and the skies and the oceans, I know things happen. Remember I got The High Priestess for what my Soul wants not long ago – and I’m always reminded of that. Sure, one can evoke her in any area of work, but I know that my interests in tarot and astrology are not superficial and at some point I’d want to make it into a vocation.
Kauri
So this is where I am at. For now I’m trying to juggle house-sitting with spending time with my partner before he leaves at the end of the month, finishing up my work, studying astrology (which I am enjoying very much), doing some tarot work both paid and unpaid, and also starting to sort out my stuff. And I’ll be spending a fair amount of time walking the Waitakere forest ranges and going for cleansing walks along west coast beaches to try and give myself direction for the upcoming move to Melbourne.
Arohanui,
Monica
I came across this yesterday while reading The New Complete Book of Tarot by Juliet Sharman-Burke. Since I am in a Wheel of Fortune year, it really resonated with me and so I share the following:
“The goddess Fortuna was, in Roman mythology, the personification of luck; however, when represented as veiled or blindfolded, she denoted the capriciousness of life. Her Greek equivalent was Tyche, the presiding deity that governed the prosperity of a city and its fate or destiny. Destiny was thought to be an irresistible power that determined the future, based on the idea that there is a natural order or pattern to the universe.
Wheel of Fortune - Llewellyn Tarot Deck
Although in medieval times it was fashionable to blame the goddess Fortuna for everything that went wrong in life, these days we tend to own our lives in a more conscious and responsible way. The Wheel of Fortune is a paradoxical image of stability and change. The true self of a man, which is hidden from his conscious mind, very often remains at the still hub of the wheel, like the blind goddess. The hub remains stable, although the external or conscious situations change, as reflected by the moving outer rim. Fate is the circumference of the wheel, and the true self is the centre. The hub enables the rim to turn and thus controls all that comes its way. Each man is responsible for his own destiny, and although circumstances are determined, as are the four points of the great wheel, it is each man who turns his own wheel to whichever point his true self dictates.
Fate does not seek you out. So, when joy or sorrow comes into your life, it isn’t that happiness or misfortune has befallen you, but rather that you have turned to face it. Often, the fear of taking such a responsibility upon our own shoulders causes us to blame fate for the course our lives take. In reality, we are presented with choices and situations, and what we do with them is on our own account.
When the Wheel of Fortune appears in a spread, it signifies that a new chapter is starting, a decision of importance is to be made, or that a new run of luck is commencing. The more you are aware of your own power over your destiny, the clearer things will appear.”
Juliet Sharman-Burke, The New Complete Book of Tarot (2007)
I celebrate and dedicate the first entry to Lady Fortune, my patron for the birthday year, come good or bad. Getting the Wheel of Fortune in a tarot reading is always a tricky thing I’ve found, so I decided to do a spread to get things rolling, so to speak.
The Wheel of Fortune Reading is from Rachel Pollack’s Tarot Wisdom, using the Anna K Tarot. Clockwise from top right:
- What turns the Wheel – 9 of Wands
- What outer change will come – 8 of Wands
- What inner change is possible – Page of Cups
- What new situation will I face – 8 of Swords
- What rises – 4 of Wands
- What falls – King of Cups
- What is at the center – The Wheel of Fortune
Tarot deck: Anna K Tarot
See what I mean – you ask a question about the Wheel of Fortune, inevitably it turns up! At the centre of life, where Fortuna is ever present, long acknowledged in philosophy as “the only constant is change” (Heraclitus). Which can be a daunting thing, if one likes things to be set, to be known, to be certain, to be safe. Often it is not fear of the unknown, but fear of losing precisely what is known and familiar, comfortable – friendships, ways of relating, thought patterns, well worn paths.
Perhaps the new situations I will face – acknowledging the illusion of being powerless and restricted in the 8 of Swords – is the true lesson of Lady Fortune. Anna K notes the 8 of Swords “means that there is a part of ourselves that we don’t allow to live. There is a part that we try to shut away. We are inhibited because we try too much to control ourselves, to inflict prohibitions on ourselves. This leads to the feeling of not being truly alive, to the feeling of not really being in touch with ourselves and the world around us.” And allowing oneself to truly live is to dance with Lady Fortune in all her grace and beauty, in luck and sorrow, through highs and lows, for richer or poorer.
Arohanui.
Druidcraft Tarot - The Wheel
