Miss Fiona's Tea-break Tarot School

Step outside a moment.  We need to be ready for this.  Clench and release your hands, stretch your muscles. Breathe down to the soles of your feet. Draw on the wells of strength which bubble in your sacrum; behind good manners and social niceties.

Take a good look at your card/s.  What do you see?  Staves or sticks.  Figures holding them, defensive against the wands which point at them.  Faces full of rage, determination.  A flame in the darkness. A fist, clenched around a staff, emerging from a beating heart.

For me this is the card of fighting for your life.  Not physical life, but at the soul’s level.  Fighting for your art, for your passion, for what keeps you alive, for what gets you out of bed in the morning and brings sunshine on cloudy days.

This kind of fight requires will, choice, it requires daily choosing to stand up for what you believe in.  That might be causes or campaigns, the belief, for instance, that the world belongs to all creatures, not just human ones, that everyone needs clean water and enough food…it might also be the belief that each of us is a creative and passionate individual with a unique gift to bring to the world, that each of us deserves to shine in our own way.

Holding onto those beliefs, those heart-burning, soul-feeding truths in our lives can be a challenge in the face of capitalism, and societal expectations.  We are swimming against the tide of mainstream western culture, and it’s a  powerful counter-current.

This card reminds us of the struggle, the desire for freedom, and the determination, jaw set, eyes on fire, wands at the ready, which will enable us to birth our own magic daily and transform our world in the process.

Here we are.  And it’s all about the bling! Wear whatever you have that’s shiny, I’m not joking.  Fetch the tinsel out of the Christmas cupboard, put on that plastic tiara you bought for last year’s costume party, throw on your dressing gown like a royal robe.

This is the victory card.  For those moments when everything’s coming up roses.

In some of the cards I have a man sits on a green cloaked horse, holding a wand wreathed in laurels at a victory parade; a butterfly soars above a thicket of wands, blue and bold; a woman stands on top of a mountain waving a flaming torch.  This is the end of the marathon, the card of achievement and success, the Oscar podium moment, the graduation ceremony, the celebration in your kitchen after you nailed a day at work.

In a reading it points to successful times, to a coming success or to the achievement and abundance you’ve been working hard for.  For me it carries the warmth of feeling achieved and of accepting praise for work well done. The universe gives you a hearty pat on the back and toasts you.

Enjoy the mountain top, it’s a wonderful place to be.  Enjoy the party, the warm glow of this moment in the sun. Then get ready to stride boldly into the next valley, your head held high, wearing that invisible crown.

I am dashing into the common room today with papers flying, pinning up notices and scooping up abandoned mugs for washing.  A little Tarot School housekeeping.

If you are new here welcome.  This is a free tarot class exploring the cards through intuition and imagination.  We are currently (as I write) working through the suit of Wands.  Start from lesson one, working at your own pace, and using exercises which resonate with you on your tarot journey.

There is a free Facebook group too, where you can meet others studying tarot, take part in a monthly live call and get hold of additional practice materials and weekly card readings.  Drop by and say hello, we’d love to meet you.

Finally if you love the blog and find it helpful please share the love around with friends and on your social networks!  Tarot is a powerful tool in personal growth and transformation and I want to share that with as many people as possible! 🙂

Wishing you a blessed new moon,

Fiona x

The air is crackling today, a tension maybe?  A disquiet?

Some people are feeling scrappy, snappy, unsettled, there are a few little moments between folks here, a few little snippy comments.  Others are feeling hyper, laughing a little too loudly, playing but with that stretched energy of the overwrought child, where you know at any moment it will tip into distress; running too fast down hill.

This Five of Wands energy is  powerful.  Cards depict five staves, crossed, a pitched battle behind flames captioned “strife”, finger tips aflame.

This card is often seen as a card of conflict; everyone wanting their own way, each full of their own point of view and unwilling to back down.  This is a disagreement over things we hold dear, leading to tension, our passions and beliefs challenged leaving us feeling vulnerable and ready to fight back.

Another aspect in this card, I think, is creative difference.  Working with others on projects, we may find ourselves reaching points of disagreement.  Each of us holds our own perspective, we are all deeply driven to see this come to life.  This can be uncomfortable but it can also be a place which brings something new to birth.  The cauldron of creativity bubbles more strongly with added heat, and the transformation can be more magical and powerful as a result.

If you get this card in a reading you may be feeling tight and sensitive, there may be a lot of heightened emotion around, perhaps real conflict or a clash of ideas, you may need to take time to retreat and rest and regroup.  Go gently with yourself, get into the blanket fort if you need to.  Tend any burns gently.  But at the same time don’t be afraid to hold onto your own torch, your flame holds value and brings magic too.

Exercise 68

• When in your life have you experienced the energy of the Five of Wands?
• What tools could you gather in your own “burns kit” to support you when you encounter this again?
• This card is often read with negative connotations: how might it be read as a positive energy?

You walk in to class today and there’s music playing…

You can’t help it, you start tapping your feet, others are already up and dancing between the desks.  There are balloons around the room, paper cups for tea and cookies with Smarties on them.

This is the spirit of the Four of Wands to me.  Celebration! The completion of a cycle, the joy that comes with rites of passage, achievements, weddings, initiations, new baby gatherings, thanksgivings and seasonal festivals, graduations, promotions, making it out of bed in the morning with your game face on and getting out of the door on time.

My cards show parties, weddings,  a chuppah, pictures of friends partying above a roaring fire.

To me this is an unequivocally positive card, it’s a big old yes, like the universe giving me a gentle nod of approval.

I will be uploading a certificate to celebrate your unique brand of wonderful in the Facebook group, it would be great to see you there.

Exercise 67

• Use the affirmation: “I celebrate my own unique brand of awesome.”
• What would your ideal celebration/ party look like?  How would it feel? Who would you invite (anyone you like from your “real” life, celebrities, historical figures…)?  What band would you have playing? What food?  Where would you hold it?
• What are your favourite seasonal celebrations?
• How might you bring a little celebration into each day?

 

Can you feel it? An increasing heat, the growth of energy and possibility as we complete the first triad in this suit? It’s electric.

My cards show figures with three wands or staves or (in the Sun and Moon Tarot) someone juggling flaming torches.

To my mind this is a card of fulfilment and preparation.  After the idea of the Ace and the stolid mastery of the Two here we stand with our three wands.  For me the Rider-Waite image is potent.  A figure (could it be the man we saw in the Two?) looks out over an ocean where a fleet of sailing ships can be seen.  I wonder if these are his ships, off to travel the world and bring back goods from far flung places.  He has his back to the viewer, but there are three budding staves around him.  Now he could hold one in each hand, but there would still be the third left.

In a reading I would see this as an encouraging card.  You’re in a good place to move ahead with projects if the Three of Wands comes to visit and if the question you asked was more closed then I would see this as a “Yes”.  The three staves/ wands/ fire sticks make me think of abundance, more than is needed.  Also of an abundance achieved through effort, through expending our energy.  Additionally I see strength in the three…there’s  a verse in the Bible which says that a rope made of three cords is hard to break…there is a solidity in three, a power, and here with the power of three and the fire of the wands suit is a combination of strength and energy.

Exercise 66

• Find your Three of Wands card, note any symbols or images which are particularly striking for you.  What would you ask this card and it’s characters if you could?  What would it answer?
• Get creative – weave a “witches’ ladder” plaiting together three cords as you whisper an intention about a creative project or plan.  You can thread in beads, feathers or shells, whatever you have.  Hang your ladder somewhere safe and allow it to dance in the breeze to send its magic out into the universe.

I started introducing each suit with a mini card spread when we got to the Swords and didn’t have one for Pentacles so here is a Pentacles spread to fill the gap.  It’s direct and to the point, but I feel that’s the spirit of Pentacles.  Grounded. Down to earth.