Friday 29 May 2015

Lighten Up!

Just look at that face! How can you not smile right back at him?

After the more sombre tone of my previous post, I had a reading from my dear friend S, and the messages told me to stop taking life so seriously and lighten up. Then I drew this fellow and well... how could I go against The Fae when they send this Faery guide!

This is Mikle à Muckle from The Faerie's Oracle by Brian Froud and Jessica Macbeth, and he's here to remind me to play. He asks me to stop looking for hidden agendas or complications but to let him lead me to magical places and to live in the moment.

And so I am :-)


That's not to say I'm not still trying to do many things at once, but I'm remembering my sense of humour along the way.

This is me - staying on top, balancing, juggling. I have my earrings in (all 7) and my golden wings can take me anywhere I need to go. I'm focused but there's a hint of a smile there, no?

The Hezicos Tarot here has fast become a favourite. An enchanting deck.

Two more things to share today ...

Once again I'm over on the TABI blog reviewing a fabulous book which will be available from August 1st. 
I can highly recommend this to absolutely anyone and everyone interested in tarot. It does what the title says and shows the relationships, positions and appearances of the cards, before you get into the actual meanings. It even has a section on experimentation and play :-) 

Finally, here's a little work in progress. 
I don't often take my socks off but we're enjoying some lovely warm sunshine, and this is an ankle adornment for when I do. It's sterling silver European 4-in-1 fashioned into fancy shapes. I think I'll add a couple of the teeny Thai silver beads to each unit. I'll post another photo when it's finished and all polished and sparkly.

'Til next time

Margo

Wednesday 20 May 2015

Towards Something Better

 I've been pondering the Six of Swords.

I like it when this card comes up in a reading, it shows a transition towards calmer times, a movement from choppy waters to gentle, stillness.

I've just returned from a holiday, where I feel I have undergone stages of transition. Some deep thinking and decision making has taken place. Grown up decisions; thoughts and feelings about getting older, acceptance.....or not.

A Six is a number of harmony and balance. A pause where I can see how far I've come and perhaps celebrate what I've achieved or overcome to get there. Swords are associated with the realm of the mind so I am being asked to think about the journey and maybe communicate those thoughts with myself or share them with others. Even ask for help. This is where different depictions of a card can help me feel the nuances of the messages and what they are showing me.

Even though we're dealing with the element of Air, many depictions involve a journey over water, perhaps showing how closely connected our thoughts and emotions are.

 I love this example from the Hezicos Tarot. The boat is perched on the crest of a wave between the turbulent and the still sea while the solitary figure calmly gazes away from the wild side. The Swords are displayed on the sail, reminding me of the Air element and the challenges in my head. I love that the boat is pulled along by a Sea Dragon. To me, having a mythical creature assisting and guiding could be saying that help may come in some form of my beliefs, or my inner Dragon, not necessarily from outside. The sky is full of energy so strength is all around me and the lamp swinging from the mast shows me I'm not in the dark.

Here in the AnnaK Tarot the picture is along the more traditional lines of the Rider Waite Smith, of a ferryman taking one or more people across the water. The view of the retreating figures really encompasses the feeling of leaving something behind. Here, the destination isn't in full colour, showing that the idea of wherever I'm going hasn't been fully formed yet. I often wonder about mutual beneficiaries when a ferryman appears in an image. He (or she) is being paid for a service, and the passenger is taken where they need to go. Win-win. In this particular picture the ferryman carries four of the six swords, so is taking a lot of the burden or troubled thoughts himself. Perhaps he isn't a paid ferryman at all - he may be the companion of the seated passenger, again showing some kind of assistance is there for me. Also, the fact that it's a raft and not a more robust boat, tells me that this isn't a long journey.

We have the opposite view in the DruidCraft Tarot where a couple are being punted towards the reader. I love their active expressions anticipating the destination with interest. The Swords are splayed around them and the man is gripping one by the hilt. This may be showing me that one thought is paramount or uppermost at the moment. The arrival feels closer in this card and the golden sky is enveloping me in welcoming warmth.

Finally for this little grouping, this image is from the Japaridze Tarot and shows a bat-winged angel (the bat being a feature of Nino Japaridze's work) soaring over two landscapes. Instead of the contrasting water, we have a dark, desolate outcrop and a verdant sunny land. There is a smooth river dividing the two showing me that I have the choice of where to go. The angel depicts my thoughts as an overview of the situation I may be leaving behind, giving me 'the big picture' and not letting my thoughts weigh me down during this transition.

'Til next time,

Margo


 

Thursday 7 May 2015

Greetings! Once again I'm over on the TABI Blog reviewing a wonderful book Crystal Resonance


I promise to be back blogging with some wonderful cards very soon!

Bright Blessings all xx

Saturday 4 April 2015

Review of the Green World Oracle

Greetings!




Today you'll find me over on the TABI blog giving my review of the Green World Oracle - see you over there!

http://tabitarot.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/green-world-oracle-review.html



Margo x

Thursday 5 March 2015

Many Moons

We have a Full Moon today, and while this may bring about magical feelings of wholeness and ideas becoming reality, the road to culmination of those ideas conceived at the new moon, isn't always bright and shiny. I thought I'd take a look at some of the different journeys through trump XVIII The Moon. 
The Margarete Peterson Tarot shows a contemporary look at the traditional image - the crayfish, the towers and the dogs. I wonder if the figures entombed in the stone pillars depict us either facing our dreams and fears, or being bound by them? The reflection in the pool has a third eye, which makes us aware of those fears. There is no hiding place. We can choose to stay submerged in the water, or creep out like the crayfish, pincers raised, protecting what's within. The way is clear and lit by the moon, so we need not stumble around in the dark. 
In the Dali Universal Tarot, the towers have become the Manhattan skyline and the crayfish lurks in the corner, unsure of how or even whether to enter the city. Do we want to be a part of something bigger? Are we able to just visit for a time, before returning to our pond? Will our wild side, the dogs, clear our way, or do we just want to make a lot of noise, but venture no further?
Here in The Dragon Tarot, two dragons serenade the moon and the crayfish is already lifting itself out of the gloom and heading for a fully lit path. I see both the wildness of the dragons and the formal structure of the towers. Dragons are fiercely protective; do we head for the safety of the buildings? Or do we ride with our dragon towards and beyond those walls?
The sleeping fairy here in The Victorian Fairy Tarot, shows the vulnerability of sleep, as we let go of one kind of reality and slip into dreamtime. Moths and moon flowers accompany her to other realms where imagination and intuition thrive. The soothing colours offer a gentle journey, not one of failing to find the path through the night.

And what of the journey back? The next couple of weeks of waning moon may see us rid ourselves of superfluous baggage; those fears perhaps, that loomed larger in the darkness but scuttled off when fully illuminated. 

I like to think of The Hermit at these times, carrying the light of wisdom in his lamp. The discoveries and self awareness from the outward trip can be delved into and processed on the inward one.

Wishing you brightest full moon blessings,

'Til next time,

Margo

Margarete Peterson Tarot
Dali Tarot Universal
The Dragon Tarot: Nigel Suckling
The Victorian Fairy Tarot: Lunaea Weatherstone. Gary Lippincott
The DruidCraft Tarot: Phillip and Stephanie Carr Gomm. Wil Worthington.