Happy Halloween!

This is the very Halloweeny, Beautiful Bohemian Gothic Tarot by Magic Realist Press....aka Karen Mahony. And I love it! So artsy, dark, interesting....

I laid out cards for tonight...as I am going to Halloween Party, taking this deck with me to entertain my masked, costumed friends, want to see what lies ahead, in my future.....

The 7 of Cups, The Chariot, and the Moon

I love the mask the Charioteer wears....I have a black feathered mask I am taking to wear. Maybe. The masks, how we love the masks. Maybe we need the masks. And they are a gift, not a curse. Who is it I shall really be?I don't know yet...she is waiting to get there, see who comes out to play.... In the 7 of Cups, I can be anything. Imagine this....she is in her own fantasy world. A scarlet red drink? I choose a frosty Coke. I do not drink or smoke, so the Party Girl I am not. But this may be fun.....And the stairs behind her, she is going down. Down to a part of herself she wants to explore...Or maybe she is climbing up, to sneak out the rooftop opening...climb out of her boring life, into someone else, in the dark of night. This handsome man with the majestic Black feathered wings...he is robed in rich blood red scarlet, just a wrap. Seems to be barely holding onto it. Looks like a Chippendale Dancer on Halloween. That would me nice tonight....! Those massive stone carvings of the dark and light woman. We all have the dark side. Be honest. Get to love it. It is a Universal law, people. Just like the Law of Attraction. The Law is of Polarity. There will always be equal amounts of dark, for light. Day...night. Masculine, Feminine. Ying, yang. Tonight is the night to play in the dark side....dance the night away with your fears...And the Moon. Ah, I just love her, and her white wolf, howling in the darkest hours of the night. She is in deepest blue. Blue....one of my favorite colors. She is quiet, watching. Farther out in this card, is an image of a person crying. Alone, sadly in the night. Yet not alone, as she is watching vigil, compassionate from a distance. Pearls are woven in her hair, and a silver crescent moon adorns her long, luxurious hair. She blends with the night, unnoticed, just there. She is the night. Absorbing it. Feeling it. Being it. 


FYI. I think I was the quiet one watching. It was entertaining....and I did blend with the night...unnoticed. I kept sneaking outside, to get away from the smoke, and gazing at the Moon and stars. Felt more at home there. In the quiet, in the dark.
It was fun....I came alone, and I left alone. I met up with friends....but it was really nice to come home to my home. Looking at those cards now...I see they might be saying...your party will be an illusion...not what you think. Go ahead and drive, enjoy the view. The best view will be the stars and the moon. And it was! 

So, Tuesday morning this week, I do my daily layout of my cards. I use the beautiful Fenestra Tarot. I have my coffee....all is quiet...peaceful...and I draw these 3 cards. I think, gee, I wonder what these are saying to me. So, I think...maybe I am stressed, from talking all the time, and need a man to distract me from my work. Or, maybe I have too many things going on...I have really gotten into making Fabric Postcards, fun and artsy, but sort of over commited myself to doing several of them. But, got them done on the deadline, mailed out. The Emperor looks heavy....strict. Maybe it means I need to be a bit stricter about that 10 pounds...wands....I have been wrestling with...speak an affirmation out loud about it.

The 10 is a card of too much....over the limit...over doing it....
The Page of Wands...zealously showing someone your point of view....talking to them...giving them an important message...
The Emperor...Big Daddy, someone in power, the Boss. Someone controlling their environment....

And I leave, have an appointment across town. So I am just a tad late. Get half way there, and see the bright flashing lights of a police car....right behind me. Me? Surely not me. Yes. I get a ticket for speeding. Well, everyone else was going the same pace as I was...I urgently explain, as he has is ink pen poised over that yellow citation pad. And yes, I try to talk my way out of it, to no avail. 51 in a 35 mile zone. When I get back from the appointment....I see these cards still out on my desk. And now I know....you are going too fast, you cannot talk your way out of it, and you will be a little intimidated by Mr. Policeman. The Tarot Cards have such a sense of humor...don't they. I surely did not see this in the cards....but later I did. Learn something new every day. I do.

Still looking for Pictures in Pictures

Today, the Universal Waite Tarot, is where I find matching cards, for my pictures. This young, curious boy, is my beloved grandson David. He is peering inside the box that held the Nigel Jackson Tarot Cards. Just like the Page of Cups, he is wondering, what is in there? And what would this mean, a fish in a cup? A talking fish? Cards that tell stories? Cards full of colorful images, who are these people on these cards, and what are all the pretty pictures? He is already an artist. My own Page of Cups, with crayons, markers, ideas....he already has every superhero down pat. He will draw the story, then ask me or anyone else around with a pencil to write out the story to go with his picture. He believes in 'talking fish.' I liked how the back of the card he is holding had the same circle that the Ace of Pentacles has. He's holding it so gently, and obviously focused on something, an image, intently. Knows there is a story here...just got to get the details. And at this tender age, they have no problems with imagination. He can give me a run for my money, as a reader. He inspires me!

The soft colors of the Universal Waite deck, are the same soft colors in Davids pictures. I see an arched gate on the Ace, with blooming Surprise Lilies, and a mysterious landscape beyond my vision. He sees the same thing, and when I ask him what is past the gate? He can give me a story about the boy in the other card, he is there. He is standing by the lake we cannot see, and is all dressed up for a play at school. Looks like he is having a fish sandwich for lunch.

Sometimes, when I get caught up in the stacks of books with all the 'professional' meanings of the Tarot....I need to go back to looking through a child's eyes. Just play with them. Stop trying so hard, and just let the images tell the story. The wilder the better. And have David over, find the Hulk, Iron Man, and Cat Woman in the cards. And let the characters tell the story. Or let the child lead me....

Pay attention to the Pages, young ones, curious and questioning ones, around you. They don't know the rules yet. And what we are yet to learn, is who wrote the rules? Listen to their wisdom. Wow, even Spongebob has some pretty good advice...never knew that until David shared it with me. Go backward in time, and tell your own story. And make it a good one...tell it like a 4 year old would...

Morning Glory


Every day the symbols from the Tarot show up around us. Just takes a second to pause and notice, what that symbol might be telling you. I was outside with my little yappy dog, and seen these blooming Morning Glories. So delicate, and white. Pure, innocent. I grab the camera and take their picture. I pick up this deck of cards, The Fantastical Tarot, and here is the same picture. A healthy, green, winding vine, reaching up from the ground. Holding onto something metal, a thick cable cord in one picture and a thick heavy sword in the other. Two open white flowers, almost a third.

If I were just drawing a daily card to think about...I would think this would mean (Gestalt, here) marking a spot. The Sword has been stuck in the ground, not needed. Yet, it's there, ready, should it be needed. And long enough for these wildish flowers to wrap around it, decorate it, bloom---Mary Englebreit's...'Bloom where you are planted?' Yes. They have bloomed where they were planted. Or where the wind of fate blew them. You think they are angry about where they are? Doesn't look like it. Looks like they're very happy. Open to the Sun, showing off. Holding on. Simple. Trusting. Looks pretty easy, wonder how they do that. There have been storms here, and wind. And lightening. And they are on a metal cable...could get fried. They don't care. Reminds me of when Jesus told his groupies, 'Think about how the lilies grow. They don't work, or make clothing.(ha! and I am a Seamstress, and am sitting in a room-right now, filled with fabric, patterns and the Work of making clothing!) Yet, not even Solomon in all his 'glory' (morning glory!) was dressed like one of these flowers. If that is how God dresses the wild grass, how much better will he dress you! After all, the grass is here only today. Tomorrow it is gone. Your faith is so small. Don't spend time thinking about what you will eat or drink. DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT. People who are ungodly ( have no God to trust, turn to, depend on?) run after all those things. Your Father knows that you need them. Luke 12:27 (really? He really knows what I need today?)

Well, seems to be a theme here. I added the symbolic meaning for Morning Glories. And it says, they bloom in the morning, and die in the afternoon. Well, that sucks. Yet, sometimes life feels so fleeting, fast. And past. And yet, somewhere in here, there is hope. They have seeds that fall, (lots of seeds!) never have to be replanted. Life replants them. They come back every year, no one has to work at planting them, and it says they don't take to 'repotting' well. They are where they are supposed to be. And they hang on and just bloom. Cool.


The Morning Glory in Chinese Art

The star-shaped morning glory is symbolic of a single day each year in which the Chinese lovers, Chien Niu and Chih Neu, are allowed to meet. According to Chinese lore, Chien Niu was a boy star who was entrusted to take care of water buffalo in the heavenly kingdom. A girl star named Chih Neu was put in charge of seamstress duties. They fell in love, and the romance caused them to neglect their duties. In anger, God forced the young lovers to be separated on both sides of the Silver River and allowed then to meet only once during the whole year.

Seamstress Duties!!! How funny. And only allowed to meet once a year. It must be getting time for my yearly date!

Morning Glory Facts

The morning glory is aptly named, as the flower blooms in the morning and dies by the afternoon. The flowers are funnel-shaped and prefer full sun. Morning glories will grow in poor, dry soil. They are a vine flower and are highly useful for trellises where they reduce the heating and cooling costs of buildings.

And they make themselves useful.....saving heating and cooling costs....how funny.

Look around you and see what shows up, and the card that matches it. Write about it. It will give you a message...what you need to know, to know you are ok. Really ok.