Saturday, February 10, 2018

That Perfect Entertaining Thing to do Whilst Others Sleep

I only remember perhaps once or twice a year that I own this set.


I don't know that I take it very seriously, but it's fun to dive into.  And I feel like diving right now.  And for fun, I am going to add some music that seems fitting with each card....

I did a pretty standard tarot reading on myself just now.  The card at the top represents the archetype, a/k/a me for purposes of this reading.  Then there's a set of three cards.  The left card represents the physical realm, the middle card represents the mental, and the third represents the spiritual.



My archetype card for this reading is Fourteen - Temperance.  The book describes Temperance as the character Delirium.  Here's the excerpt from the book for this card:

Always in command.  But bound.  Paradoxically views herself as weak.  As a result, ignores the restraints most people think of as normal.  Coming after death.  Winged.  Tossing liquid gold from one gleaming cup to another.   Power in excess.  Yet calm, self-possessed, contained.

 This one has to be Tori Amos.  Cornflake Girl seems fitting.

Okay... with that foundation, on to the physical: the King of Pentacles.


Belongs totally to the world he rules.  The spirals are not alive, and some are broken.  Fossils.  Body mostly stone and dead matter.  Master of wealth, property, power.  Had to fight to achieve, to protect.  Does not seek out battles.  But not passive.  Torn and cracked crown, but with a fiery light.  Person of importance and substance.  Successful.  Loves life.  Protects what she loves.  Calm but with deep understanding.  (Interesting how the physical card was literally about physical attributes, including brokenness, yet power.)

Here, I'm thinking Iron & Wine.  Woman King.  Unmistakable power, but with bloodshot eyes, and weeping.  And Marlene Dietrich's Favorite Poem, a single line is resonating in my mind here - ...spoke hushed and frailing hips.... 

And mental: the Six of Swords:


Intellect.  Conflict.  Fenced.  Complicated images - productions of the mind.  Everything in the universe, seen and unseen, fits into some perfect pattern.   Everything with a place in the grand scheme.  Obsession with visions becoming more and more complicated... as the medieval cosmos, with the universe's concentric circles moving in harmony.  We can never really separate intellect from our emotions.  (Interesting again how the mental card was about intellect....)

For some reason, with this one, I'm thinking Hedwig & The Angry Inch.  Origin of Love.  Historical, mythological roots trying to explain how our bodies came to be and love.  Intertwined, harmonic, approaching some sort of logic to describe the indescribable... but fanciful all at once. 

Finally, spiritual: the Page of Cups:


Feminine.  Water.  Above a stream of words.  Water is feminine in the way it flows and shimmers with beauty.  But hermaphroditic, including all qualities, flowing from one thing into another.  Spreading over everything.  Literary stream of consciousness... no judgment.  Experience.  Imaginative, dreamy, reflective.  Allowing feelings or fantasies to flow into awareness without judgment.  (And interesting, once again and finally, that the spiritual card involved water and flowing.)

 I'm going to end it here with Tori again.  This time Reindeer King.  "Crystal Core... you are at the still point of the turning world... The divide, fearing death, desiring life... Ice you were the one most tender with the rivers, you the roof of the waves layer after layer...."  And also Love is the Seventh Wave... "There is no deeper wave than this...."

If you're still reading way at the end of this long, long blog post, I hope it's at least been a little fun to journey through this with me here in my quiet late evening.











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