Friday 21 February 2014

Turn Left, Then Left Again ...

Greetings!

It's been quite a tumultuous few weeks weatherwise, hasn't it? Here in the UK we have had rain, storms and flooding on a massive scale. My friends in Australia have endured huge fires, whilst those in the US have suffered unprecidented snow in some parts and are praying for rain in others. Of course, it's a national trait that we Brits talk about the weather....a lot! However I shudder to imagine what the folk of Somerset, whose homes have been underwater since Christmas, thought yesterday when they felt a minor earthquake through their waterlogged lives.

Enough!





This is when we wish for a break, whether the Universe can give it to us, or we can simply sneak off for a quiet cup of tea. I love the image on the left where our aviator has landed his futuristc machine yet his beverage is in an old fashioned tartan flask. This is from the awesome Steampunk Tarot but creates a similar stillness to the traditional Rider Waite image of the Four of Swords. This isn't just a ceasing of the physical, or even the weather - the Swords connect to the mind, sometimes it's good to have a break from even trying to think.

When I was a child, my father had a motto for finding the perfect picnic spot (complete with ancient tartan flask). He maintained that by turning left, then left again....da naaaa!....you were sorted. This didn't always work. Off the beaten track often resulted in no track at all and my sister, mother and I became a formidable unit in heaving the car out of ditches. The motto though, became synonymous for catching some much needed down time.

As many of you have been struggling with  Mother nature, Mercury going retrograde and half term here in the UK, maybe you are able to find a moment to turn left, then left again.

'Til next time,

Margo

Decks: The Original Rider Waite Tarot Deck - A E Waite, Pamela Coleman Smith
The Steampunk Tarot: Gods of the Machine - John and Caitlin Matthews, artwork by Wil Kinghan 


 

Friday 7 February 2014

The New Treewitch

Greetings!

Welcome to The Realm of the Treewitch, the new name and revitalised blog which was formally Wynn Tarot.

As I'm Treewitch in many other areas of holistic therapy, tarot reading and jewellery making, it made sense to have everything land in one area.

Those who previously followed @wynntarot on Twitter will now be following @thetreewitch. I hope any confusion is short-lived and I'll try to be organised enough not to have to change again!

I have brought some previous posts over from Wynn Tarot to give a flavour of what I do.

In this new realm I will be chatting about holistic therapy and my life and work as a therapist. I'll be sharing my thoughts and experiences of Tarot, which is a massive part of my life and work; I'm a member of TABI (Tarot Association of the British Isles) and will be participating in their wonderful Tarot Blog Hops.

I'm also going to be showing my jewellery here. I hand make sterling silver chain, based on ancient chain maille weaves and, as well as the interesting chains themselves, I create pieces inspired by nature, the Celtic festivals and the Chakras. All these new pages are works in progress but they'll gradually come together as my competence in running a blog improves!

I hope you'll share and enjoy The Realm of the Treewitch with me.

'Til next time,

Margo

A Cornucopia of Empresses

Greetings!

How could anyone not love The Empress? There she sits at number three, all embracing and full of new nurturing thoughts, ideas and abundance. She makes us smile in a reading, bringing forth creativity and production. Of course she has her gloomy side - she can express her smothering, jealous and petulant nature, but for the most part I see seekers and readers alike, nod and sigh gently when she puts in an appearance. 

So why have I found her so hard to connect with? She's linked with Venus...all that love, harmony and unison stuff. Part of it I'm sure, is that I knew from an early age that becoming a mother just wasn't going to be possible for me. In the big Maiden, Mother, Crone stages of woman, the middle bit was going to have to mean something other than children. So personally, the whole birth feeling didn't always sit comfortably or indeed, naturally.

I thought I had better have a chat with some Empresses (I do feel it should be Empressi!) Now, don't get me wrong, I loves me an Empress and I'm attached to all my women, but I'm not sure it's wholly mutual or unconditional ...
From the left - I thought I'd start with a traditional Rider Waite Smith vision. She's lovely; she's wearing her pomegranates, has a lovely starry crown, she's sitting in nature's abundance but seems a little lofty and distant to me.

From Sharman-Caselli, this gal looks as if she's been sat there a while; she's looking far away and weary, as if that sheaf of wheat is a bit of a burden.

My Crystal Tarot Empress is extremely realistic despite the Klimt-esque get up. She's rather Queenly, formal and remote. I love her but feel I should curtsey and be on my best behaviour in her presence.

These next three have a totally different vibe and I feel closer to all their various aspects. The Empress from the Anna K Tarot (Far Left) is a buxom, full bosomed, come-to-mama wench. Gorgeous! She's far more welcoming and I can believe she's so busy being bounteous to all, she hasn't quite found all of her clothes, or had time to rid her top lip of a little excess hair.

The Cosmic Tarot Empress is the coolest goddess. Awesome....but maybe not given to the whole nurturing thing until she has her jewellery on and poured a cocktail

The delightfully bonkers Paulina Tarot Empress dances with her pink peacock in a swirl of foxgloves and wonder. There are many occasions when we sit down with our crystals and singing bowls, and other times when her poetic nature has to stay in the deck.
These two relate to me differently again. For a start they are both known as The Lady, which takes away something of the grandeur from the word Empress. On the left is the beautiful woman from the DruidCraft Tarot. I adore this deck and use it more than any other. I live in this world, celebrate the wheel of the year with everyone in the deck and can even shuffle such huge cards. I still feel though, that this woman has another chum whose baby is due around the same time, waiting for her in her eco home in the Findhorn community. 

The Sacred Circle Tarot Lady is another beauty. Surrounded by apples and butterflies, the sun and moon, bees and the outdoors, it's all there - but I don't know, I'm still not sure what to do in her presence. I'm not sure she'd join in my dancing.

I truly believe that there are aspects of all of us in every single card and certain moods, certain days, certain clients, show the expressions of each and every one.

Like I said, I love and work with all my Empresses, but....you knew there was a 'but' coming... THIS happened! Recently I was gifted The Wildwood Tarot. I have spent some weeks now journaling (spellchecker hates that word) with this exquisite deck and had a WHOA! moment when I met...
The Green Woman. What can I say? It was like meeting my childhood imaginary friend who I always knew was real. I was moved to tears when I drew her from the velvet bag with the embroidered Moon-gazing Hare, bought especially for this deck. Now I understand The Empress. The Green Woman is engaging with Me. She's reaching right out of the card and I'm walking in. We've whipped up that magical brew together and she's even borrowed my leafy cape. We'll be there for each other from season to season. When my energy is weak at Midsummer (strange but true) she'll be strong, and I'll be stoking up a goodly fire for her come Midwinter - Twins.

 I feel I can now work more harmoniously with my other Empresses and Ladies, knowing I'll always have The Green Woman rustling beside me.

'Til next time,

Margo

Decks: The Original Rider Waite Tarot Deck - A E Waite, Pamela Coleman Smith
The Sharman-Caselli Deck - Juliet Sharman-Burke, Giovanni Caselli
The Crystal Tarot - Lo Scarabeo, Elisabetta Trevisan
Anna K Tarot - Anna K
Cosmic Tarot - Norbert Losche
Paulina Tarot - Paulina Cassidy
DruidCraft Tarot - Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, Will Worthington
The Sacred Circle Tarot - Anna Franklin, Paul Mason
The Wildwood Tarot - Mark Ryan and John Matthews, Will Worthington





My Inner Sun

Greetings!

Thank you to everyone for taking the time to view and comment on the Mabon Tarot Blog Hop. It was great to take part and I cannot wait for the next Hop, taking place for Samhain.

There were some great new spreads created for the Mabon Hop (including one from yours truly!) and I've been interested to try them out. The one below is the work of Olivia Destrades and is called the Inner Sun spread.


Using the gorgeous and whimsical Paulina Tarot, this is what I drew...



Me now - Ace of Cups. This is bang on how I'm feeling at the moment. I am going through a wonderful shift in my psychic development; my cup literally runneth over with new ideas, intuition and inspirations and I'm drinking from it!

The gifts I have to share - Seven of Wands. Aha, this card again! I believe something I have to give is an ability to lift someone during a challenge. I'm good at helping someone see their gifts and bringing them out. I'm not an obvious Wand, but I work behind the scenes on the fire.

The gift I'm still developing - Queen of Wands. I have to laugh at these pesky Wands following me around! Don't you just love the cat in this card? In other decks there is often a cat underneath the Queen's throne. Not here - this beauty takes centre stage. Maybe it's showing me the huge support a Queen can command.

My deepest desires - Seven of Pentacles. Yes indeed....I desire my work passions to grow and hopefully bring some tangible reward, be that reputation or money. I'm happy to progress steadily as much of my kind of work grows through word of mouth. I put the work in and don't expect speedy results, just something of good quality hanging on those branches.

Advice for manifesting my desires - Six of Wands. Looking at this card with its connotations of victory and success had me wondering. Like I mentioned earlier, I'm not keen on being the centre of attention but perhaps I should lift my head up and stop being so self-effacing. Like many people, I'm not brilliant at accepting compliments. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to step to the front once in a while.

Do try this spread for yourself, it really shines a light on things.

'Til next time,

Margo


Mabon Tarot Blog Hop

 Please not that this Blog Hop was created when I was working under the name Wynn Tarot.

 Previous Blog  Master List  Next Blog

 Greetings and welcome to the Mabon Tarot Blog Hop!

Depending on which way you are reading around the Master List, you may have arrived from Andy Boroveshengra or in reverse from Aisling at TarotWitchery. I am so happy to welcome you to Wynn Tarot.

Mabon is the festival of the Autumn Equinox, occurring between Lammas (beginning of August) and Samhain (end of October) and celebrates Day and Night being of equal length. After which the nights grow long and we prepare for the coming of Winter.

Our wonderful wrangler for the Hop is Cristiana C Gaudet and the theme for this Mabon festival is Divination and Myth. As you can see by the tabs on this blog, I have a love of the Festivals and of myth and legend so am thrilled to be taking part in my very first Blog Hop.


I live in Kent in the South East of England, and the above photo shows the nearby Coldrum Longbarrow all shrouded in Autumnal mist. This 3000 year old chamber reminds me that the land on which I live contains a wealth of ancient memories and didn't just appear as 21st Century suburbia!

Where our home lies is slap bang in the middle of an area once shared (not always peacefully) by Jutes, Saxons and Celts. At one time our very garden was part of the land owned by a Saxon general and was covered in woodland of Beech and Oak before gently sloping down to the River Medway.

According to ancient texts (including the Lacnunga - an Anglo Saxon book of healing charms and remedies) dense woodland was both a help and a hindrance to the population. Wonderful for a ready source of timber for shelter and fuel, but problematic due to the Elves. Yes....Elves! 
These dwellers of the dark forests were thought to be the cause of certain illnesses, wild behaviour in humans and livestock as well as nightmares and addled minds. Many historians claim that the probable diseases were due to damp, mould and airborne germs ('elf-shots') - but these were superstitious folk who believed they were sharing the land with the Elves, and that offerings and respect were required. In my own family, whenever we grew fruit and vegetables we were told never to strip a plant bare, but to leave some fruit 'for the fairies' (....and I still do)


When relations between human and Elf were good, the people would be invited to one of the dance rituals the Elves loved. It wasn't unheard of for some Elves to emerge from the woods and come and live underneath a human home (apparently the tidier the better. No chance here then!) and there are many tales of love and marriage between the two. Elves would sometimes bestow a gift of an Elf Book, which showed various magical ways of divining the future.

 Our ancestors and their Elf neighbours needed to live in harmony with the wheel of the year, and moving from light to dark marked a shift in daily living. I have created a Tarot/Oracle spread to journey from this festival of Mabon towards the festival of Samhain at the end of October. I'd like to share it with you....and the Elves!


1 What I balance between the light and dark parts of myself
2 The energy I need for my journey to Samhain
3 The strength I didn't know I possessed
4 What I bring to the dance!

Wishing you bright blessing through this Mabon Blog Hop - I shall now venture into my rain-lashed garden with my offerings .......and sit....and listen....

'Til next time

Margo


Photo of Coldrum Longbarrow by Margo Benson. Illustration 'Elves' by Arthur Rackham

Not in the bag...

Greetings!

Since the Tarot has become a huge part of my life and work, I find I seldom go out without my cards. Some other Tarot chums were telling me that they can NEVER be parted from at least one deck, and I had to admit to not feeling quite right without both a Tarot and a Petit Lenormand deck about me.
 Last week I went on a wonderful day trip, pretty far away from home, leaving very early and not returning until way after dark. It was a gorgeously hot day and I took my smallest handbag with me, knowing that there would be no opportunity this day to need the cards. I squeezed in my mini bag of crystals (known as The Gang) and my amethyst pendulum, plus a 5" Apple wood wand. These items are as necessary to me as my lipstick - and those who know me at all, know that I am never without my lippie!
We had a fabulous day, but at some point around lunch time, I began to feel really twitchy. That unease you experience when you know you've forgotten something. I was missing my cards! I told myself not to be daft - it's not as if I had readings, journaling or research to do, and I'm sure they were perfectly fine at home...or were they? Were they missing me too? I felt I just needed to see them, that's all. I wasn't about to interrupt our day for a quick spread (or a slow one!). No, just to know that they were with me would be enough. I made a mental note to myself to never leave home without them again if this was how I was going to feel. My fellow Tarot chums nodded and tutted in agreement, and admitted that, yes, once Tarot fully enters your life, it's like a surgical procedure to be parted from one's cards.


I'll leave you with this glorious image of The Fool from The Cosmic Tarot by Norbert Löshe - he has a gang of crystals too!
'Til next time,

Margo
 

Dreams, Challenges and Playlists

Greetings!

This week I had planned to move on from the suit of Wands and open an Oracle deck. However, a couple of friends are going through very challenging times and, not surprisingly, this card has made itself known.





Six pikes and a couple of combatants can be seen heading towards a lone figure, who is fairly well armed himself with a dagger, a sword and his staff/Wand. He looks toned and muscly, possibly from some previous clashes (or in preparation for this one) and is ready for action.

What I often see in this card is that those forces opposing you may not have given you the respect you deserve. Our chap is placed higher up than the foes and exudes a confidence the others may not have seen coming or taken much notice of before.

The sevens can really shake things up and create complications, but can also blast away negativity. A tiny detail I love in this card is the golden boar sitting on top of our solo warrior's helmet. Boar is quiet and private until riled, when it becomes a mighty force. Wild and powerful, Boar can show us our hidden depths, even helping us find our warrior spirit and aiding us on our path. A strong ally indeed. When feeling under pressure from those around you seeking to challenge your ambitions and creativity (traits of Wands) - remember this precious totem and maybe wrong-foot your opponents!

Onto dreaming...


This morning during my daily (mostly, ahem!) workout, I listened to the rock playlist I've assembled on my iPod. The list was on 'shuffle' and, amazingly, the majority of the songs concerned dreams, wishes and journeys in various anthems of hard rock and heavy metal. I took this as a wonderful omen to my own dreams.

I love creative writing and have taken part in the brilliant National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) a couple of times. The aim is to write to write 50 000 words during November - a 'draft zero' of work. My writing has evolved and improved (I hope!) and this year my dream is to write something that can really grow into a full novel.

Card reading is such a huge part of my life that, not surprisingly, I've set my story around an oracle deck. This deck doesn't exist outside of my head and I am having the time of my life inventing it! Maybe I can dream it into being. I'll certainly dig deep to try.

Some lyrics that stuck in my head come from the late Ronnie James Dio and sum up how I feel and want to share with everyone...

'We are sunlight we can sparkle and shine and our dreams are what we're made of..'

'Til next time

Margo

The DruidCraft Tarot - Philip and Stephnie Carr-Gomm. Will Worthington.
Woodland Tunnel photo ©Margo Benson



 

  

Rivalry, Competition and Hens!

Greetings!

Today I've chosen a card from a favourite deck The DruidCraft Tarot, and one more from the suit of Wands. The image shows five young lads engaged in an enthusiastic mock battle. I say 'mock' because they're laughing, no-one lies battered and bleeding, in fact they could be dancing. It is a warm Summer day and the boys have shed any protective clothing. In a reading the card stands for rivalry and competition, often among people of similar talents and abilities. If its in a blocking position then the hitherto friendly tussle could turn out to be something more - a greater, more hostile challenge.

What I love in this particular card is the black hen in the foreground, pecking at some grain. Throughout the DruidCraft deck flows the tale of Ceridwen and Taliesin, and many of the cards show various stages of the story (see the tab at the top of the page). Here, after a long chase and much shape-shifting, the boy Gwion, who accidentally supped the brew of wisdom the goddess Ceridwen had made for her son, has turned himself into a grain of wheat to hide. She has become a black hen and eats him!

When I look at this card, I am reminded to look within for that something extra I may have - another way of looking at things or something others don't see. Is there some possibly forgotten knowledge that I can now bring to the fore?

Wands are about passion, creativity and dynamism and there are times it's good to uncover that inner flame at the root (or grain) of it all.

'Til next time

Margo

The DruidCraft Tarot - Philip and Stephnie Carr-Gomm. Will Worthington.