ORACLE CARD

Today's Oracle Card is the LION from the exquisite Animal Spirits Knowledge Cards featuring paintings by Susan Seddon Boulet. The back of each card provides symbology for the animal and other information.

The symbology for the Lion is: courage, strength, healing, protection, life energy.

In Boulet's painting, the lion is framed in a circle with four points, which forms a mandala -- a mystic circular symbol used as a meditation aid in Buddhist and Hindu traditions.


In addition to my 60 Tarot decks, I own a great many oracle decks. I love these decks, but don't use them as often as I would like. Several times a week, I am going to share a card from one of these oracle decks here on the blog. I hope people will enjoy seeing cards from various decks and will gain something from the interpretations of the cards!

Free Reading for Puppy

The following reading was done as part of a special, limited free reading offer in 2009. If you would like a free reading, I suggest the American Tarot Association's Free Reading Network or Free Tarot Network web sites.

Hello Puppy,

It's nice to meet you. I appreciate this opportunity to do a free reading for you. I see that you are wondering what you need to know in order to find the loving relationship you seek. I decided to use a 7-card spread called the Sleeping Beauty Relationship Spread, designed by ArwenNightstar. I changed the word "romance" in this spread to "love," because I feel you are looking for a relationship that is more than "romantic." I also changed the last position to "Best Possible Outcome" rather than "Final Outcome" because I do not predict the future in my readings. Also, I find it difficult to define "Final" in this context. The layout looks like this:

............................7
~1~2~3~4~5~6

I'm using the Fantastical Creatures Tarot (illustrated by Lisa Hunt, book written by D.J. Conway) for your reading. This unusual deck draws its characters from the world of mythology and folklore, bringing them to life through captivating imagery. While shuffling the cards, I meditated on your question. Here are the cards I pulled for you (remember: the spread is called the Sleeping Beauty Relationship Spread):

(1) Why are you asleep to a new relationship?
TWO OF SWORDS: On this card we see the ancient hero Gilgamesh, disrupting the reflection in a pool of water. We get a sense of underlying tension and perhaps a stalemate in which neither party has the power to win. With respect to your situation, it seems that inner conflict or tension may be preventing you from awakening to a new relationship. Perhaps you tend to dwell on something that happened in the past, which keeps your emotions and thoughts in turmoil. You are of two minds about something, and this inner battle keeps you from moving forward.


(2) What is keeping you asleep to potential love?
THREE OF WANDS: On this card we see the Middle Eastern Djinn, a being known for his high level of magickal strength and ability. Calm yet alert, the Djinn is also patient. He suggests that more patience and planning -- and perhaps assistance from another -- are needed before you can awaken to potential love. Three things he advises you to do: keep control of this "project" (to find love), stabilize your life, and accept help from other people.



(3) What do you need to know about your dreams of love?
FOUR OF WANDS: On the Four of Wands in this deck we have the Egyptian Ba, the heart-soul of every human being. In general, this card represents the gift of rebirth after a time of rest. It suggests that your dreams of love reflect your desire and need for inner harmony. In order to attract the love of another, we need to be at peace with ourselves.








(4) What or who will awaken you to love?
THREE OF SWORDS: Here a fearsome creature called Jenny Greenteeth emerges from a swamp. She is quite eager to drag you into the dark place she calls home, a place of sorrow, loss, and separation. The three swords represent the consciousness, the subconscious mind, and the higher consciousness (universal state of mind). What will help awaken you to love is to refuse to allow yourself to be dragged down by emotional losses and pain.


(5) What is needed from you for love to work?
JUSTICE (Trump 20): The Lion-Dogs of ancient China are symbols of protection from evil. What is needed is for you to realize that you are protected, and unpleasant events do not have the power to do you any real harm. Karma is being balanced in your life, and this works to your advantage.








(6) What do you need for love to work?
JUDGMENT (Trump 11): The Eastern and Western Dragons symbolize a balance of physical and emotional energies needed to create spiritual justice. This energy is available to you to protect you from negative happenings.


(7) What is the best possible outcome (if obstacles are overcome and opportunities are taken advantage of)?
TEN OF SWORDS: Here we see the Indian goddess Kali Ma, who governs both love and death. She is ready to create or destroy, whichever is necessary. The best possible outcome here is that you will keep things from getting any worse. You do this by heeding the messages of the preceding cards. Once again there is a sense that you need to make a clean break with the past, so that an old cycle can end and a new one can begin.

Puppy, the first thing I notice about this group of cards is that they are all associated with active elements (either Air or Fire). This suggests that there is activity taking place concerning this issue at some level, even if you are not aware of it. There is an indication of movement and opportunity for change, if you will seize that opportunity.

Secondly, we see a progression of numbers from two to three to four, then back to three then two (both Trump 20 and Trump 11 reduce to the number 2) and finally to one (the number 10 reduces to 1). This intrigues me. There is a sense that retracing your steps in some way will lead to the new beginning you desire. You are being advised to "leave the past behind" yet perhaps there are areas of the past that you still need to acknowledge, face, and deal with before you can start the new cycle that will attract love into your life.

Puppy, I hope this has at least given you food for thought concerning your situation and perhaps has even helped you in some way.

Bright blessings,
Zanna

FOUR OF WANDS - Astrological Associations

Astrological associations for the Minor Arcana cards typically involve both a planet and a zodiac sign. The attributions established by the Order of the Golden Dawn (OGD) are by far the most commonly used. However, some Tarot decks use a different set of associations. As a professional astrologer, I find it interesting to compare and contrast these associations from deck to deck. The use of astrological associations with Tarot is completely up to the reader. This is merely intended to be interesting and fun.

Thoth Tarot by Aleister Crowley
For Crowley (and the OGD), the Four of Wands represents the energy of the planet Venus in the zodiac sign Aries. Crowley titles the card "Completion." He writes that Venus in Aries "indicates that one cannot establish one's work without tact and gentleness." Hajo Banzhaf and Brigitte Theler (in Keywords for the Crowley Tarot) use keywords to describe the energy of the card: "Charm and accommodation (Venus) in connection with a fighting spirit and desire to conquer (Aries)."




One World Tarot by Crystal Love
Crystal Love associates the Four of Batons with the third subdivision of the sign Aries, with Mars as the natural ruler and Venus as the subruler. She writes: "The boldness, independence and assertiveness of Aries in the third subdivision is muted by the gentle and thoughtful influence of Venus as a subruler. . . The energy is still determined."

A.E. Thierens, PhD. (Astrology & the Tarot)
Thierens describes the Four of Wands as having the energy of "Air on the Fourth house." This makes sense in that the Four is the Fourth card in the suit of Wands. In astrology, the Fourth house is associated with the zodiac sign Cancer, ruled by the Moon. Based on this association, Thierens writes: "generally we find the idea of that which binds together by memory and common motives, thoughts, mottos common to a certain group of people, be it family or nation, clan or army." (Note: The system devised by Thierens is radically different from that of the OGD. I will not go into detail here, but will simply provide the astrological associations for the card under discussion. If you are interested in learning more about this system, I recommend the book referenced above.)

The Mandala Astrological Tarot by A.T. Mann
Like the OGD, Mann's deck associates the suit of Wands with the element Fire. Mann describes Wand Two, Three, and Four as "The Lightning of Aries." Wand Four is assigned to the Third Decan of Aries -- Jupiter in Aries. On the King Scale of Color, the color linked with Jupiter is blue; the color linked with Aries is red. Mann's keywords for Jupiter are "idealism, vision, expansion, mania, success, popularity, religion." For the sign Aries, his keywords are "germinating times; unfolding energy; self-assertion; initiatory energy; adventure; daring; impatience; enterprising."

The Whispering Tarot by Liz Hazel
Liz Hazel's suit of Wands is the suit of the Fire element, embodying "ambition, vigor, creativity, travel, high spirits, and energy." She associates the Four of Wands with Venus/Aries. Included in her keywords are: happy celebration, reaching a solid agreement with another, surrounded by the support of family and friends in a venture, invitations to weddings, showers, birthday parties." Keywords associated with an ill-dignified Four of Wands include: "troubles in a marriage or business partnership, lack of protection from outside influences, difficulties with arranging an event. . . scheduling conflicts."

Mann's choice of Jupiter (rather than Venus) in Aries is interesting. Astrologers refer to Jupiter as "the greater benefic" and to Venus as "the lesser benefic." Both planets are considered beneficial and generally helpful in nature. As always, Thierens seems to come out of left field with his Fourth House/Cancer/Moon attribution for the card. However, Liz Hazel's keywords resemble those put forth by Thierens -- even though Hazel uses the Venus/Aries attribution.

I welcome your comments!

Zanna

Yes-No Oracle Spread

Although I tend to discourage Yes-No questions, I am intrigued by this spread! I decided to give it a try. My question was: Should I try to write a children's book about spiders?

I decided that the Animal-Wise Tarot would be a good choice for this reading. I removed the Wheel of Fortune card and placed it face up. I shuffled the rest of the deck and pulled seven cards at random. I then mixed the eight cards together and dealt them into the appropriate positions:

YES...................................SOON
(1).......(5) --------------- (2).......(6)

DELAY..............................NO
(3).......(7) --------------- (4).......(8)

While I was shuffling and laying out the cards, I thought "Wouldn't it be funny if the Spider card came up?"

I am not going to show all of the cards from this reading. What struck me (and illustrated what I love about Tarot) is the card that was paired with the Wheel of Fortune in the "SOON" position:

Now, if I can just figure out what "SOON" means with respect to my question (Should I try to write a book about spiders?) Perhaps something will happen "soon" that will tip the scales more toward writing the book. At present, I am doubtful that I can write something on this subject that would be appealing and marketable (E.B. White did it with Charlotte's Web, but I am not E.B. White and don't want to "copy" the idea.)