ORACLE CARD

The Oracle Card I want to share today is from Sonia Choquette's Ask Your Guides deck. Each of the 52 cards in this deck presents an emotion, issue, or situation; and then offers guidance from a specific source. Beneath the title of each card in the book accompanying the deck, Choquette provides four words that present concepts and energies that augment the card's meaning.


The keywords for the card Partnerships and Love are Infatuation, Romance, Connection, and Introduction. Choquette tells us that Nature Spirits, who are known as runners, are practical guides who can lead you directly toward the appropriate person to best support your soul at this time. Their message is: "Relax. We will make all the necessary introductions you seek."

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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!

FIVE OF WANDS - Astrological Associations

Once again we set the blog on fire with another set of Wands cards! This time, it's the FIVE OF WANDS.

Thoth Tarot by Aleister Crowley
For Crowley (and the OGD), the Five of Wands represents the energy of the planet Saturn and the zodiac sign Leo. Crowley titles the card "Strife." He writes: "Leo shows the element Fire at its strongest and most balanced. Saturn tends to weight it down and to embitter it. There is no limit to the scope of this volcanic energy." Hajo Banzhaf and Brigitte Theler (in Keywords for the Crowley Tarot) use keywords to describe the energy of the card: "Courage (Leo) to be responsible (Saturn) and persistent (Saturn) development (Leo)."




One World Tarot by Crystal Love
Crystal Love associates the Five of Batons with the first subdivision of the sign Leo, with the Sun as the natural ruler and Saturn as the subruler. She writes: "Leo is a powerful and creative sign, usually with a 'sunny' disposition. However, with Saturn subruling, there is a tendency toward poverty and trouble, and a lack of sympathy in the nature, which is austere and proud. . . Either there will be much restriction and delays in creative endeavors and personal affairs, or one will have to work unusually hard to achieve one's aims."

A.E. Thierens, PhD. (Astrology & the Tarot)
Thierens describes the Five of Wands as having the energy of "Air on the Fifth house." This makes sense in that the Five is the Fifth card in the suit of Wands. In astrology, the Fifth house is associated with the zodiac sign Leo, ruled by the Sun. Based on this association, Thierens writes: "It is a house of Fire, and the combination of Fire and Air makes warm air, which may be used to heat rooms, in the same way as words, that contain warm feelings of the heart, will do good to other people, and on the other hand hot speech will arouse lively contradiction." (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 Wands Five, Six, and Seven as "The Suns of Leo." Wand Five is assigned to the Firs Decan of Leo -- Sun in Leo. On the King Scale of Color, the colors linked with the Sun are orange and gold; the color linked with Leo is yellow. Mann's keywords for the Sun are "Spirit, consciousness, individuality, masculine principle, dignity, honour." For the sign Leo, his keywords are "Ripening; summer heat; full energy; extroversion; harvest; power; self-expression; personal love; games; pleasure; ruling; vanity; proudness."

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." Her use of the colors red, yellow, and orange is a lot more subtle than what we see in the other cards in this set. Like most of the others, Hazel associates the Five of Wands with Saturn/Leo. Included in her keywords are: "competition, drive for status and recognition, a greater demand than available supply, hot tempers, excessive pride." Keywords for the ill-dignified Five of Wands include: "unsound business practices, losing one's balance in a situation, intimidation, heated arguments, sexual abuse or degrading circumstances."

This time, Thierens is basically in step with the others with his association of the Five of Wands with the Sun (the others associate it with the sign Leo, ruled by the Sun). There is a real sense of conflict and tension in the Saturn/Leo mix. Leo is exuberant and impulsive; Saturn is sober and cautious. No wonder the RWS version of the card shows people at odds with each other.

I welcome your comments!

Zanna

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