Summer Solstice 2012 and Trump XIII

Welcome to Summer Solstice 2012 (here in the Northern Hemispehere), the day of the year when the sun is exceptionally generous with life-giving energy and illumination.  As we experience this plenary brilliance, much is brought into the full light of day, brought to consciousness and fullness.  The Summer Solstice is also a turning point; upon reaching its bright peak, the sun begins its descent toward the darker time of year.

Curiosity about what might come to full consciousness for us today led me to add up the numbers of the date to discover which tarot card corresponds to it:

6  +  20  +  2012  =  2038                             

2  +  0  +  3  +  8  =  13                           

13  =  Death

Trump XIII — Death — connotes cutting things away so that new growth may sprout, intense experiences of death and rebirth, elimination and transformation.  On this Solstice, that which requires cutting away or elimination in our lives is placed in the spotlight.  XIII can also indicate liberation from outworn forms, composting, and recycling.  Within us and around us are old items and ways of being that don’t work anymore.  These, too, are highlighted for our purusal by today’s solar peak.  Death also suggests that we can become fully aware of the dead, our ancestors and the patterns we’ve inherited from them that need to be sliced away.  Some of us may come to terms with death and thereby find a sense of freedom.

 

 

Trump XIII invites us to contemplate and act on questions such as:

• What do I need to clear away so that new growth can sprout forth unimpeded?
• What needs to be eliminated so that real transformation can occur?
• What aspects of myself or my life are necessary for me to offer as holy compost?

To be with these questions on the longest day of the year is an act of healing that engenders more vitality in ourselves and in our world.  A blessed Summer Solstice to all of you!

 

** Images are from the Jean Dodal Tarot de Marseille, restored by the late Jean-Claude Flornoy:  http://www.tarot-history.com/index.html  or  http://letarot.com/index.html

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A Pilgrimage to YOU Via the Tarot

If you’ve had one heck of a year and you feel as though you’re finally emerging and ready to engage with life, you might consider having multiple tarot consultations.

Why have a series of four or ten sessions? Because you can really notice where you’ve been, discover the wisdom you can draw from your experiences, envision and map out a meaningful life, and be companioned on this pilgrimage of self-discovery and self-realisation. Together, we can find something for which to be grateful, honour your challenges and pain, allow fresh perspectives to blossom, and plot out what you can do about it all.

I’m always honoured to guide people through their journeys with the tarot as our trusted catalyst for conversations that matter. It’s one of my favourite ways to work with people over the cards.

Can be by Skype, by phone, or in person.

Please contact me to book your series of tarot sessions:

circleways@yahoo.ca

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The Essential Minor Arcana

So much attention has been given to the Major Arcana — the 22 trumps of the tarot — because of their universal, archetypal resonance.  Yet we don’t live our lives in the Great Mysterious 24 hours a day; we connect with that Mystery in life’s everyday experiences within and around us.  The Minor Arcana — the four suits — depict how we experience the Big Mysteries in the quotidian.  What are these suits and what are they about?

The first thing to know about the tarot suits is that each one of them contains 14 cards.  Ace through Ten, then Page, Knight, Queen, and King.  For me, the 14 cards depict a journey through each suit, Ace being the beginning, planting, or envisioning stage and King being the completion, ending, or sharing stage.  Many modern tarot decks get away from hierarchical ideas by changing the court cards to something else.  e.g. Shaman instead of King, Woman instead of Queen, Explorer instead of Knight, or Place instead of Page.

One of the suits relates to the element of Fire and is often called Wands (can also be named something like Pipes, Trees, or Batons).  This suit is about the self, self-discovery, self-expression, individuality, anything connected the concepts of “me, my, mine, myself”.  The journey of the Wands is a journey of envisioning and creating who we’d like to be, gaining self-esteem, connection with our core spirit, and becoming a leaderly, confident being.

Another suit corresponds with Water and is often called Cups (can also be titled something like Bowls, Rivers, or Vessels).  Cups are about feelings, emotions, relating with others, intimacy, intuition, groups, anything about the ideas of “we, ours, us, ourselves”.  To spend time with the Cups deepens our relatedness, opens our hearts, supports dipping into the unconscious, heals our addictions, and sharpens our psychic knowing.

The Air-related suit, often referred to as Swords (also called things such as Arrows, Birds, or Crystals), tells us stories about ideas, thought, the conscious mind, speech, writing, teaching, learning, anything mental, philosophical, or communicational.  To stroll through the Swords is to gain and share knowledge, hone our worldview, discern our learning style, figure out how to analyse keenly, live a lifestyle consonant with our beliefs, and hold conversations that matter.

Finally, the fourth suit, often called Pentacles (or names like Stones, Coins, or Worlds), is the suit of Earth.  This is the suit of the body, anything physical or tangible, our material goods, money, work, sexual expression, security, and health.  To abide with the Pentacles for a while grounds us, fosters our sense of safety, points the way to material and physical well-being, connects us with the spirit of Earth, and reminds us how good it is to be embodied.

On any given day or week, we can be at different points in the various “suits”/aspects of life.  For instance, I might have a mature sense of self-esteem (Queen of Wands), feel emotionally stable (Six of Cups), be compiling huge list of diverse ideas (Seven of Swords), and notice an unstable bank account (Five of Pentacles) all going on at the same time.  This wholistic and realistic view of life is one of the tarot’s great gifts to us.  As a mirror of who we are and who we can be, it allows us to notice what is so we can make choices.  How empowering!

The Minor Arcana isn’t just a tag-along to the Majors, it’s a vital part of the tarot that can guide us in the real life we’re living.  Without the four suits, we wouldn’t see our full selves.

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