Old English Tarot: 10 of Cups

In today's blog entry, Helen Howell continues her exploration of cards from the Old English Tarot by Maggie Kneen (U.S. Games Systems, Inc.)

Old English Tarot

5 of Coins

by Helen Howell

The Old English 10 of Cups has a sort of tranquility to its image but the one thing it doesn’t show us like its traditional brother the Rider-Waite, is any connection to relationships.

In the Rider-Waite we see a man and a woman together and two children playing happily to the side of them. This image hints at happiness and harmony within relationships or family life. Emotionally, because that is what the Cups suit represents, this is a time for contentment. Everything in your world is working as it should be.

Now although the Old English does not show us that combination of harmony within relationships, it does show us harmony. A woman sits playing a harp. I can just hear those notes floating into the atmosphere, soothing to the ear. The player and her music are in harmony with each other. If you look closely at the image you will see a dove sits on the top of the harp. Doves very often are associated with spiritual matters or seen as messengers, but they can also represent peace and here in this image, it does seem to appear to me to symbolise for us inner peace.

Now when I look at this image and put those symbols together I get the feeling of contentment and the joy the music can bring. I’m left in no doubt that the message here is one of emotional peace, happiness and contentment with life as it is.

For me this was one of the easier images in the Old English Tarot to lend an interpretation to.

LWB says:
Happy home and family life, pleasure, contentment, love.
Reversed: Loss of friendship, unhappiness, quarrel.

Sherlock Holmes Card of the Day - Ace of Deduction

The Sherlock Holmes Card of the Day is:

ACE OF DEDUCTION

(Ace of Pentacles)

In The Sherlock Holmes Tarot by John Matthews and Wil Kinghan (Sterling Ethos), the suit of Deduction (represented by a question mark) is comparable to the suit of Pentacles. The quotation chosen to represent the entire suit of Deduction is from The Sign of Four: “So much is observation. The rest is deduction.”

The Holmesian Wisdom for the Ace of Deduction is “There should be no combination of events for which the wit of man cannot conceive an explanation.” This quote is from The Valley of Fear. Holmes himself makes this statement.

Keys for this card, upright, are: “accomplishment, contentment, happiness, prosperity, wealth, good fortune, profit, a new phase of life.” Reversed meanings: “materialism, greed, meanness, misuse of wealth, fool’s gold.”

The book that accompanies this deck also provides interpretations for each card under the headings “The Game” and “The Fog.” The former elaborates on the upright keys, while the latter expands on reversed meanings. An example from “The Game” for the Ace of Deduction: “You consolidate resources and marshal the facts. Abundance, attainment and fulfilment are available.” Examples from “The Fog”: “Learning the hard way. Money difficulties or responsibilities trouble you.”

As a card of the day, the Ace of Deduction encourages us to observe, analyze, and sift the evidence in order to understand what is happening in the area of resources, money, responsibilities, or other things that fall under the purview of the Earth element. We can used this understanding to form the basis of a new phase or direction in life that will lead to success.

In the Dream - My Home

I have many recurring dreams that I remember. In one of these recurring dreams I return to the neighborhood where I lived from about age 9 until I went away to college at age 17. (My parents moved to another town about four or five years after that.)

The other night, for the first time, the dream was different in that I was on the right street but none of the houses looked familiar, and a different house stood where my house was supposed to be. The following poem expresses my experience in that dream.

Below the poem is a reading I created to further explore the meaning of the dream. For the reading I used Twilight Realm: A Tarot of Faery by Beth Wilder (Schiffer).

The Poem

In the dream

I am standing on a street

In the neighborhood where I lived

From middle-childhood to late teens.

But none of the houses

Look familiar.

I don’t see my house

Anywhere on the street.

Where is my home?

What do I do now?

The Reading

Where is my home?

EIGHT SWORDS

My home is somewhere outside the self-created cage or prison I have built to protect myself, to keep myself safe. I have erected a barrier between who I am and who I could be. I limit and restrict myself to a narrow point of view, one that fosters anxiety and depression. My home, where I belong, is outside those self-made walls.

How will I get to my home?

EIGHT WANDS

I will get to my home seeking open places where my energy is free to propel me upward and onward. Great speed is possible on the journey, as long as I remain sharply focused on my destination and goal.

When will I arrive?

PRINCE OF WANDS

I will arrive when I have learned and mastered the desire to explore new places, to rebel against the self-imposed limitations I have placed on myself that keep me from traveling to my home.

Who or what else lives there?

ACE OF WANDS

A new idea, action, or beginning filled with possibilities, energy, and opportunity lives there.

What do I need to understand about my home?

THE MAGICIAN

My home is my Self, released from constraints and free to use the powers of mind, spirit, body, and heart to control my surroundings. I need to understand that I am in control of my own situation, and I have the ability to create the home I desire.

Interview with the Journey to the Goddess Realm Oracle Deck.

(To read my review of this deck, click HERE.) 

Here are the questions I asked the Journey to the Goddess Realm Oracle Deck by Lisa Porter (U.S. Games Systems, Inc.) and the answers she provided…

(1) What would you like me to understand about you?

FREYA / Free Spirit (11)

I wear a cloak of falcon feathers that gives me the gift of flight. I love beautiful things, especially my magical Brising necklace. The Runes are my sacred symbols. I am uninhibited, childlike, sociable, and flexible. I offer you love and fertility in every form.

(2) What would you like me to understand about myself?

RHIANNON / The Mystery (26)

You are a mystery made of secrets yet to be revealed. Like Rhiannon, you have the potential to be Queen of serene acceptance and patience, with a clear understanding of what you can and cannot control. Let the mystery unfold as the Universe intends.

(3) What strengths and/or weaknesses do we have as a team?

REVELATION (Confirmation 3)

As a team we contain both positive and negative energy as two sides of a whole. Together we become mindful of natural support from the spirit realm. Through meditation comes revelation.