To read Part 1, click HERE.
If you have already read Part 1, please note that I did edit it to add: Upon further thought, I can even see a possibility that the appearances of my brother and son refer to a generational issue. In other words, perhaps I see my generation (represented by my brother) as growing tired and needing a break, but I fear that the next generation (my son) is not yet ready (mature enough?) to take the wheel.
Having written down my dream (an unusually short one that I could record – and you could read -- in a reasonable length of time), I am now faced with deciding what question(s) to ask the Tarot and/or what spread to use as I attempt to decipher this dream and/or find out if it has any useful advice or insights I can use in my waking life.
Let’s try an 8-card spread, specifically designed to help with the interpretation of this dream. Layout is like this:
Positional Definitions
1) Type of energy that will help me interpret and utilize the message(s) of this dream (Major Arcana = spiritual; Pentacles = physical; Swords = mental or intellectual; Cups = emotional or subconscious; Wands = ego, sense of self)
(2) What am I in danger of forfeiting (or have I already forfeited) control of?
(3) What do I fear I cannot do properly because of a lack of ability or experience?
(4) What area of my life is currently causing anxiety for me?
(5) What might my brother represent in the dream?
(6) What might my son represent in the dream?
(7) What might the field represent in the dream?
(8) What is the overall message I need to receive from this dream?
Okay, I think I can work with that.
Now… which deck will Spirit choose for this reading? No contest: It has to be the Dreaming Way Tarot by Rome Choi, illustrated by Kwon Shina (U.S. Games Systems, Inc.) To read my review of this deck, click HERE.
Here we go!
PAGE OF WANDS
Well, well, well. If it isn’t the very card I recently explored on Tarot Notes from the perspective of two different decks. As I may or may not have mentioned in the past, I identify quite easily with this card from an elemental standpoint because Pages traditionally represent the element Earth and the suit of Wands (in the system I use) represents the element Fire. My own birth chart is very much a Fire/Earth chart in terms of the key players (Sun, Moon, Ascendant). It seems that a blend of that elemental energy will be helpful to me in interpreting the dream.
Pages can represent youth, immaturity, inexperience – childlike or childish energy. The natural curiosity of children applies, as does a desire and need to learn more. The suit of Wands often speaks of impatience or impulsiveness, but also of passion and action, optimism and enthusiasm.
As outlined above, the suit of Wands points to “ego, sense of self” as a useful type of energy in this situation. I can certainly see how that would work. Rome Choi, creator of the Dreaming Way deck, writes that Wands cards often relate to creative works and the things we do with passion. I can certainly see “creative energy” as being useful in dream interpretation.
KING OF PENTACLES
Wow. Okay, the physical, material world is involved here, which doesn’t surprise me in the least. And the King, of course, is the one who is (or *should be*) in control of everything. This guy is often described as stable, unchangeable, and protective. From an objective point of view, I don’t think anyone is truly “in control” of their physical, material world. Oh, we have influence and impact, but anything can happen to anyone at any time. Yet knowing this at an intellectual level does not necessarily prevent anxiety about it at a visceral level. I may fear this lack or loss of control regularly, day by day, as I go through life.
(3) What do I fear I cannot do properly because of a lack of ability or experience?THE TOWER
There you go. I fear that I cannot handle a Tower experience, that such an experience will arise and I will not be able to deal with it at all -- as if I am at the wheel of a car speeding down the highway, and I can’t find the brakes. I have had what I would call “Tower experiences” in the past, and though I did survive them, their impact on my life continues. It’s never really over for me, even though I have moved on. So perhaps I not only fear a future Tower experience that I can’t handle, but I fear I am not handling past Tower experiences well, as I continue to let them haunt me.
(4) What area of my life is currently causing anxiety for me?KING OF CUPS
Cups typically represent emotions, relationships, the desire to be close to others. And here we have another King, that “control factor” again. Perhaps anxiety is being caused by trying (or desiring) to maintain total control over emotional matters and relationships. Guess what? It can’t be done, any more than we can maintain total control over our physical, material state.
TWO OF SWORDS
Interesting. With the suit of Swords (in the system I use), we are usually looking at making rational judgments or decisions. The number Two suggests a choice or crossroads situation. The blindfold, to me, suggests an ability to be impartial, detached, and objective (“justice is blind”). My brother is an engineer by trade, a career that demands logic and rational decisions. In the dream, his choice appears to be whether to keep driving or take a break. He chooses to take a break. Is this a message for me?
(6) What might my son represent in the dream?SIX OF WANDS
Something just occurred to me. In the dream, I am expecting my son to take over the wheel of the car, but I discover that he is playing a video game instead. At least, that is what I assume he is doing. But what if he is actually steering the car via the device in his hands? I recently saw a report on TV in which computer hackers took control of a man’s car and caused it to do all kinds of things. He was at the wheel but not in control of the vehicle. It can be done. Yet in the dream, that does not occur to me. Instead, in a panic, I leap over the seats to take the wheel, clearly believing I have to take charge in order to avert disaster.
What if my son is simply using modern technological advances to accomplish what he is expected to accomplish? In the dream, briefly, the car is speeding down the highway with no one sitting at the wheel – yet it travels in a straight line, just like it was when my brother was driving, not hitting anything or swerving off the road.
The Six of Wands often represents success, honors, and recognition. Is it possible that my son and his behavior in the dream represent success through an alternate method, or the importance of considering alternate approaches to problems and situations – a caution against assuming we must approach a problem the way we have always approached it in the past? Perhaps a caution against allowing my ego to get in the way of a viable solution (“my way or the highway!”)
THE HERMIT
What an interesting comment on this question from the cards! The car finally comes to a stop in the middle of a field – nothing around but some trees. Wide open. In the Dreaming Way Tarot, The Hermit is shown in a forest, holding up a lantern to light his way. As Rome Choi puts it, he “seeks to find his own truth. . . This card indicates a time of solitary withdrawal from the world to focus on quiet, inner reflection.” In a similar way, being out in the middle of a field brings a sense of quiet and an opportunity for reflection. It is a very natural setting, away from the hustle and bustle of civilization (the highway). The Hermit “holds the light of truth in his own hands” (Choi), and the field where I end up in the dream could symbolize the need to stop and reflect, a chance to be still and see clearly in all directions.
SIX OF PENTACLES
For the overall message, we return to the suit of Pentacles (physical, material realm). The image on this card suggests, to me, giving and receiving fairly (notice the scales in the giver’s hand). The message could be about the importance of giving or sharing what I have, but could also refer to being willing to accept someone else’s generosity when it is offered. One hopes that if the tables were turned, the people receiving coins on this card would, in turn, share their gifts with someone less fortunate.
Interestingly, this card appeared for me way back in 1999 in response to a specific question, and its appearance prompted me to make significant, dramatic changes in my life – with a very positive outcome. Perhaps the card is saying, “You did what you did, and it all worked out for the best. Accept that there are no guarantees. Stop worrying and go with the flow.”
If you have made your way through this analysis, thank you for your time. It seems a bit long-winded to me, but I found it useful. I hope it helps others as well.
Interesting reading, it seems to me that the cards are telling you that you don't have to do everything, that you can rely on others to share the' burden' with you - it's about accepting I think, that not everything lies on your shoulders. ^_^
ReplyDeleteYes, I think so. And maybe don't be so quick to take something on myself. Wait and see if it's really necessary.
DeleteThis is great, Zanna. I'm struck by the different directions the cards take, to the R, facing front, to the L--back and forth kind of like the energy in your dream, from feeling ok to alarm to decisive action to standstill to possibility.
ReplyDeleteI think of the Six of Ps as the card of titration, the benefactor with her/his scales knows just how much to give without upsetting the balance, inner and outer. Perhaps another way of viewing the dream message could be that of finding your own sense of equilibrium as you navigate autonomy and/or its lack in your life. Both those last cards are facing towards the past, a 180 degree turnaround from the 6 of Ws. 'Victory' through The Hermit's lantern turned inwards, illuminating areas that need bringing into alignment as seen in the 6 of Ps.
Phew, are you still with me, lol.
Great thoughts, Rose! You are so right about the back-and-forth energy shown in the card images that corresponds to similar energy in the dream. Questions that this reading brings to mind are "Am I in control here?" "Do I need to be in control here?" "Do I want to be in control here?" and, of course, "Why?" and "What can I do about it?" With all that going on in one tiny corner of my dream life, it's a wonder I am not exhausted (actually, I often am... hmmm....)
Delete