A Gothic Moon

It was quite appropriate to get this card today, as we have just had the full moon, she being blown around in a stormy sky. First thought on studying this card was that the moon lady with her crescent headdress makes me think of  Cerridwen, Celtic goddess of the moon, who had a wolf as a companion, just like this lady in the card.

The Moon - Bohemian Gothic

The Wolf rules winter from Samhain to Imbolc and the Celtic word for February (when Imbolc is celebrated in the Northern Hemisphere), is Faoilleach, which translates as Wolf Month. Imbolc is also known as St Brides Day which is another name for Brighid the Celtic triple Goddess of healing, poetry and blacksmiths. Brighid, like Cerridwen also had a wolf friend. In St Johns church in Glastonbury there is a beautiful stained glass window which features St Bride and her wolf companion, they are shown minding sheep, which are pictured in the next adjacent pain of glass. Sheep and wolves!

The Moon is a a card with a nature as slippery as her watery element, she can enchant and confuse. The woman's face here looks confused to me and a little worried, unsettled I felt a little like this today, but that is what the full moon does to me, she being my ruling planet. Of course her mood could be in tune with the melancholy sound of the howling wolf, or the pipes of the Pan God who sits on a rock by the water. She has turned away from the town in the distance and looks into the dark, as a mirror, seeing what is on the inside, or maybe the past and the future, trying to work  them out.  Moon's ability to create illusion makes one wonder just what is real and what isn't, and even if it really matters.

The wolf howls freely in the night, by day he is shy and hides away, at nighttime enchanted by the Pan Pipes we can follow a path very different to the one we tread by day. Night changes our mood and behaviour, like the werewolves I believe our characters change in the dark hours. We are wilder, free to be more of who we are, to explore our deeper darker nature.

I have always been a creature of the dark.... and the cold months... I can really relate to the image on this card, what a fabulous Moon she is!

Two of Swords again....!

Today I got the Two of Swords again, from the same Bohemian Gothic Tarot. I shuffled well and counted through to 28 (todays date), and up it came. As I had already gotten it 3 days ago I decided to ask the cards why... whats the message? I drew the Six of Cups in answer.

Two of Swords & Six of Cups - Bohemian Gothic Tarot

So.... if the two of Swords shows blind instinct and the Six of Cups shows innocence, then I see this as a time to go back to basics, simple blind, childlike faith.. and intuition.

I think the Six of Cups has a shadowy side for definite..... and this is a Sun influenced card to balance the Moon influence on Two of Swords.. Both images on the cards seem to be set in the darker hours of the day though. I would say the Six of Cups is early morning. Maybe these two are sneaking out before anyone else is awake, as they know what they are doing is against someone's rules. This card could also be something like "make hay while the sun shines....". It has the children and they look a couple of rascals, it also has the blue flowers which I see as Morning Glory, and these signify the shortness of mortal life, as their own life is less than one day.

They are in a graveyard, so have lost someone, maybe their mother, but she wants them to carry on and enjoy life while they have it. The buildings in the background make me think of turning ones back on authority, and grown up rules. Its time to play.

There is of course a warning though, from the Two of Swords, to look before you decide which path to take. If I had to choose a song for this card I think I would choose this.

Who art thou Redcrosse Knight....?

Today I drew The Knight of Cups from the Bohemian Gothic.... a very dark looking card colourwise, darker than most, you really need to get into the light with a magnifying glass to see the detail in any way.

Knight of Cups - Bohemian Gothic Tarot

 The first detail I noticed on the card was the horned devil character carved into the stone of the castle wall. At first I thought it was a Green Man effigy, but when I took out my magnifying glass (a very useful Christmas gift...), I saw the horns and also it looks like his tongue is in two halves, or forked. So this dude could be escaping from the devil in order to bring something precious, back to its rightful place. He could indeed be a good guy like the traditional knight of cups.

He looks like he is not quite hurrying away, but there is some haste, he holds his arm up as if to show victory....showing off his trophy (which could represent the Holy Grail, as it is a kind of Chalice but has a devil on top by the looks of it), maybe he is holding it up to someone out of the card.. a crowd even?  Could it be devils blood, the elixir of eternal youth? Or eternal Vampirism...... Was the cross to protect him from the likes of Dracula in that dark castle?

The portcullis is raised so they haven't resisted his escape, unless they had no time. Looks like he entered the castle courtyard by nightfall, but surely the hooves of his horse would have been heard. He looks sinister and a bit sneaky, but he has no weapon I can see except this chalice. I think this goblet or its content has great power.

I originally connected the red crosses with those of the crusades and the Templars but their red cross was always on a white background.... that this is on a dark background makes me wonder if he is on the side of the shadows.

There is a Redcrosse Knight  in the Faerie Queen poem... written by Spenser in 16th Century... He was also called the knight of holiness. Like St George (who also had a red cross) he fought a dragon like monster and killed it. He had a lady who was in love with him called Una which means truth, but I am thinking maybe he fought for love of the Faerie Queen... Elizabeth. He was a Christian, Una means truth, and I think she was the symbol of the true faith in the poem. At one point an adversary of the Redcrosse knight uses faerie magic to change a sprite into a false Una and so try to lead the knight astray. When the real Una found he was gone she was bereft. I wonder if this is mean't to be Spenser's knight?  It seems to cross a bit with legends of Lancelot and Guinevere and Arthur in some places too. I must read it again someday but as it is written in old English it takes some time to translate!

The horse has a Fleur de Ly's on its collar, usually associated with the French but also popular in much heraldry and royal coats of arms throughout Europe. Both horse and rider are covered in armour, and heraldic drapes, only the eyes show, but those being the windows of the soul, maybe that is all we need to see... in a Knight of Cups......

I think though he knows no one will come after him, he may have sold his soul to the devil in order to get that grail, and that's why his eyes are so empty looking.... Even his horse looks disapproving. The grail as we know caused men to burn in fever. The light leaves his immediate path lit but all else in shadow, like a light between worlds of darkness. But what is the light, has he been enlightened?

I see little romance about this knight, and not too much emotion either, but maybe he is doing it all for love as did Lancelot.... so dangerous because he represents the threat of stealing your heart, and love and possibly taking you to a dark place. Looks like he will stop at nothing to get what he wants anyway.

Hmmmmm I guess he is the kind of guy I get attracted to come to think of it....

Well that was a lot of stuff to come at me in a short time as regards this card. I think I will just watch out for men wearing red crosses, and bearing silver goblets. Especially if they are heralded by the ghost of a dragon or followed by a creature with a forked tongue!

Still..... two knights in shining armour, in a couple of days..... can't be too bad I suppose!

The Feast of Stephens...

When I was a child the sales didn't start until January, after New Year... which I thought was too soon! Now people queue from late Christmas day, drawn in by the promise of 50% off something that they probably didn't need or even want in the first place. It is consumer madness, but today I shopped...the first day I have ever actually shopped on Boxing Day. I went in late to pick up my sons laptop which was his Christmas gift, but was out of stock before. I didn't do the sales, but as I avoid unnecessary trips to  town and had to take Polly home, it seemed opportune. Even at the end of the day I had to queue!!

I really would like the world to just close for a few days, at some time of year....so it is a real holiday from the madness of everyday life. I know we have some great things today that make communication easier, but sometimes I think they act as a barrier and far more folk live in isolation ... at least physically. I guess the grass is always greener, but now, for a wee while I am going back to the Victorian romance of the Bohemian Gothic tarot. Today I drew another 2... the Two of Wands.

Two of Wands - Bohemian Gothic

This card is another with many stories. The castle ruins have two tall buildings like the pinnacles in yesterdays two of swords, these could represent the two wands although I can't help but see the staff that the man is carrying as a wand. So what is their story?

The sky is full of ravens or crows, they carry messages between the worlds. I believe the woman in this card is actually a ghost or spirit, maybe related to the man, maybe just a shadow from the past. She looks sorry to leave this place, maybe she comes back every evening as the sky darkens, heralded by the crows as they fly home to roost at the end of the day.

Maybe the man came to see her, and missed her, because he turned away too soon or was looking in the wrong direction all along. Perhaps she is sorry that he can't see her, because she wants to give him a message, so she can finally rest. He looks like he has accepted the mundanity of everyday life, yet if only he would turn around, he would find that all is not as dull as it seems!

I see the ghost as me, leaving the old year behind, leaving the cycle behind to start a new one. This was a 9 year for me and next year will be a 1 year. The final forecast for 2012 from Creative Numerology, reads:

Your present reality is your only doorway to the future, and that sense of urgency you’re feeling is probably a desire to conclude something and finally put it behind you. Only you can know if this is the right time to do so. What seems unacceptable now may change into something more loving or useful next year, so don’t act or speak impulsively. Wish yourself – and others – only the best.

I think this is reflected in both yesterdays and today's "2" cards. Reality as opposed to blindness, and shadows, new life not ruins. Changing energies in the world around us.

On the first day of Christmas....

...... my BoGo gave to me ....

two swords and a blindfold... :)

Hmmmmm...... well I didn't see any ships sailing in so best take what I am given in good grace! I just love this card, and it reminds me of one of my favorites in the Victorian Romantic, the Nine of Swords. The two cards are very similar, with the woman on the rooftop, and  the closed eyes, or in this case blindfolded eyes.

Two of Swords - Bohemian Gothic

The woman stands on the balcony of a grand church, with many spires, below a starry sky. There are two sharp pinnacles atop turrets behind her, they have golden globes on each and pierce the night sky, like the swords. It looks to me like she is holding up a curtain or gown in front of her, and this is why her arms are crossed. She is blindfolded, but as she chooses to wear the blindfold then she must have good reason for it. She is lit up either from a light out of the picture or the moon.... I like to think its the moon. It adds meanings to the image for me.

The blindfold and the robe held up to cover her body say to me something like, I can't see you, but you cant see me either. I remember as a child believing that if I couldn't see someone then they couldn't see me! This lady looks very serene, no fear in her face that we can see. Is she waiting for her lover, and playing a party game? Its strange the blindfold and covering, yet standing in the full moonlight, instead of hiding in the shadows. Does the moon say that her blindness and body covering are illusory, no protection at all from whatever she is trying to avoid seeing?

The blindfold could signify denial of something she doesn't want to face up to, and likewise turning her back on those huge foreboding towers above her. Yet she is in the sanctuary of the church, which is maybe why she feels safe. Perhaps, like the vampires she is only able to come out and night. Then there is the blind justice aspect of the blindfold, although it doesn't really go with the crossed arms, they are self protective even if they are holding up her gown. Whatever the blindfold is for, it does tell us that she has chosen not to see the world, or be part of it, being out there alone... unless it is a party game after all!

Hmmmmmm.... so am I hiding away... I do hide away.... I do feel as if hiding sets me apart from the world, as if the world cannot see me. I wonder what I am afraid to see or feel....? Certainly the card has a strange air, with someone behaving rather irrationally, for whatever reason! Anyway I came out of hiding today and went to the beach with Polly and Phoebe!! Without a blindfold. Anyway as it is the party season I think maybe this card could be telling me to stop hiding and celebrate the season by joining in the fun and games... the stranger the better maybe !!!! Party time ;)

Enjoy the feasting... and if you are in the Northern hemisphere, enjoy the cool nights... it is sweltering here, and definitely not enjoyable, though I gotta say, it was great being in the sea earlier!

Christmas Knight....

Kind of appropriate to get a Knight for Christmas Eve... (playing on words here but that's ok , anything goes!), especially the Knight if Wands as it is quite a magical time of year.

This guy from the Bohemian Gothic Tarot doesn't look too much like a Knight in shining armour though, more  a self centered, narcissistic creature, with his red hair and finery.

Knight of Wands - Bohemian Gothic Tarot

In the background is what looks like a tomb, so I gather he is in a graveyard, maybe his eyes look so odd because he has been crying, but I am doubtful. He doesn't look like he has much emotion in him. His riding whip and huntsman's coat speak to me of a cruel streak, a charmer, or someone who will lie and deceive to get what he wants. Perhaps he is in the graveyard for no good reason other than to fake remorse at the death of someone close.... I don't think he is alone, as he seems to be looking out at someone. Maybe he just got off his horse to approach them, on their level.. another subterfuge.

He could have come to the family tomb to say a last farewell before riding off to new adventures, with little love lost. Already his eye is on the next adventure or conquest.

For some reason this card reminds me of The Devil card in Tarot of the Sweet Twilight... someone who is out for what he can get and see's a good thing coming.

Ok I will be on guard!!

The wood and graveyard though remind me of taking time out, quiet and solitude and destressing, away from the hustle and bustle of crowds and shops and car parks and pavements ....  yep its ben one of those days!!

Gothic Queen......

Sunday is the first day of my, week and I have decided to use the Bohemian Gothic Tarot by Baba Studio's as my deck of the week for readings and daily draws and all other such things.

I love this deck, so dark and yet playful.... its the perfect deck to get lost in, tell stories with and dream within. It shuffles like a waterfall and has gorgeous cardstock... and no borders... all of which go to making a deck a favourite. The backs are wonderful too!

Today I drew the Queen of Cups....

Queen of Cups - Bohemian Gothic Tarot

The Queens of the Bohemian Gothic Tarot all have a shadow side... one is a vampire, another stepped from a painting... this one is a Lorelei, a siren who lured sailors to their death after attracting them with the illusion of beauty amd the enchanting music from her golden harp. There are many signs on this card that all is not as it seems. The harp for one is an Irish style harp.... which makes me think of one who has kissed the Blarney Stone, and is therefore blessed with the gift of guile. The raven sitting by the queen could be her familiar, ravens are known as symbols of death although I like them, They are also messengers from the Otherworld, and as this one is hanging around the Queen like a friend, I am guessing she is from some other place that's not quite as it looks here. The silver goblet by her feet has flowers trailing from it that look suspiciously like Deadly Nightshade. This posionous plant has a long history of being used to poison people, disguised as wine. It is also hallucinogenic... more proof of the illusory vision we see on this card. It could be tempting to drink of that cup and escape for a while from life as we know it, but the hangover could be pretty heavy.

So whereas traditionally the Queen of Cups is a loving, nurturing, Empress of a Queen, this one has more of the Sorceress about her. I think the message here is to be aware, as not all is as it seems. Especially when it looks a little different from the norm, or what you are used to. Yep I get it... thanks again cards, for looking out for me!

I received an email this morning from Creative Numerology which is a fabulous resource, highly recommended. I decided to calculate my year number for 2012... bit late I know but...!! As instructed on the blog, I added my month and day of birth and then added 5 (because 2012 adds up to 5), and came up with the  number 9. This is what the site says for my weekly forecast:

It will be difficult to prevent emotional movement now. Your feelings need to express themselves in order for you to evolve from an old situation. Everyone involved needs to be who they are – who they have become. This cycle of love, beauty, and relationship can be easily damaged by indifference, defensiveness or judgment, so try to create a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere. Let yourself enjoy the love and affection all around you.

Really this couldn't be more apt for this week. Emotional movement is unavoidable right now, no matter how I set boundaries and as a result  I feel quite vulnerable. I need to let this sink it and accept that I need to take extra care of me. This has been a difficult year where I have felt very disconnected from life and the world in many ways.  Spiritually I think this has been a good thing.

Jonothan Cainer wrote for my weekly forecast that I feel torn between the desire to please someone who wants me to ignore something .... and my own urge to face the facts. He advises being moderate and patient, for more information may yet alter a lot! I'll say.... sometimes I think that guy is a fly on the wall, but how can it be right for everyone born under that sign?

To add a little more info for the week I decided to take the Nine of Cups card from my Victorian Romantic deck (chosen for the number of the week we are currently in and the emotional focus).
The Nine of Cups is in the second Decan of Pisces and associated with Moon energy....

Nine of Cups - Victorian Romantic

 This guy looks happy with his lot. He is very richly dressed as if enjoying his best finery for the hell of it... as the Nine of Cups is about simple pleasures.  A warm air of hospitality is shown by his jovial appearance.... any beer left? Even if there isn't he doesn't seem to worried. After the drunken dreams of the Seven of Cups which I got earlier this week, maybe he has had enough anyway and is deciding to be moderate.
There is a little bit of a warning as Nine is also the number of the Hermit, who is alone, like this man.... why is he alone? Perhaps he is just happy in his own company or waiting for a friend. There is alos a temptaion for deception, being taken in, as it is influenced with that Moon energy

On the whole I think the week ahead looks good, as the Nine of Cups is often called The Wish card, I shall wish for the best.... being careful what I wish for of course in case I get it.....

Seven of Cups

Another delightful card from the Victorian Romantic... I am loving this deck more and more. Funy if I saw half these images in a book or gallery, I am not so sure many of them would catch my eye, but the artists who created this deck have done wonders with them. Bringing them to life as a Tarot Deck full of symbols and possibilites and magical pictures... well its totally transformational. Real alchemy!

Seven of Cups - Victorian Romantic

This guy reminds me of The Fool...... just by his appearance really. I wonder what he is doing. Is he using his treaures as bait to catch the fairy folk below the surface? He could have been taken in by the underwater creatures, for they could be like the Sirens who led men to their deaths crashed up rocks.
He could end up with nothing left, like the gambler who throws it all in against the big prize. Of courser with gamblers there never is a big prize, it is always just out of reach... that being the nature of the beast. Is he being taken in by the Sirens or is he fooling them? Are his treausures merely illusions which will disappear when they try to touch them? Someone seems to be playing a game in this card. If the fisherman falls in he could be caught in those tentacle things and trapped... drowned even.

I read somewhere that this card is sometimes know as Faery Favours... because like Faery gifts they could just be illusions which fade after time. There is much illusion as this card is associated with the Moon, and emotion of course... shown in the water. I just thought of being drowned in emotion.... deluded... tempted to believe that which is not true but only imagined. Very much a Seven of Cups energy.

Faery favours makes me wonder if I should turn to my Faerie Oracle for help.... or will I only become more deluded?! I do like this particular Seven of Cups though..... I like dreams... even if they can be only castles in the air.

Two Bags for Two Decks!

I was so excited about my  bags I received for my Bohemian Gothic Deck and Victorian Romantic deck that I decided I would share pictures of those instead of the card that I actually forgot to draw today. I did a long reading which kind of took my energy Tarot wise. Also today, I took my son and his mate to see The Hobbit, as it was released in New Zealand today. Hopefully my Hobbit deck will arrive before Christmas! I didn't watch the movie... not sure I could sit in a cinema that long, but Boo loved it. He thought it was much better than Lord of the Rings, and he knows those movies and the books extremely well. According to him they left way too much out of Lord of the Rings... including Tom Bombadil... unforgivable.

Anyway... I now have two *sister* decks with bags to match! I have loved the Bohemian Gothic since I first got a copy, and I tried to make a crazy patchwork bag in scraps of velvet and silks that I had, in a kind of Victorian style.... but then I decided I wanted to make the scraps I had sewn together into a cloth maybe. They looked so jewel like, and the deck does look really good spread on the piece I have made so far ...... so ...... when I saw this original Baba Studio bag up for trade I had to have it!

Bohemian Gothic Tarot and Bag

The Victorian Romantic second edition was only released recently, and I had no idea I would love it as much as I do. The bag for this is the Nine of Swords card design.... with a velvet back. Loving the velvet, wish the BoGo bag was velvet too! It's great to have these bags even though I am not really a matching kind of person. They are special. I do love to create my own tarot bags especially for my decks but its also nice to have some from special places... Prague in this case :)

Victorian Romantic Tarot and Bag

The Nine of Swords is one of my favourite cards in this deck, how she is out there on the edge, sleepwalking.... vulnerable and yet she is almost at the window. Will she wake before then? Will she make it? If you live life on the edge you never know when you may fall off, and yet it is this uncertainty that excites us. Even looking at this image gets my adrenalin going......  I don't think I will sleep with this bag under my pillow though... I am scared of heights ;-/

I am going to try using these two decks together and see how it works....... which will be the shadow? One would be inclined to think the BoGo would be darker,  but the VR has it's dark side too. Anyway, thats another post for another day.

Searching for the Grail

.... Ah... but first we need to know what the Grail is....

For me the Grail is something that is missing, something I need for total inner peace and happiness... but it is missing and I feel the emptiness it leaves. It is like I am always waiting,.... but I don't know what for! I am fairly happy, I have had to be strong in my life to get to this point, but I am here. I have great kids whom I am very proud of. I love my goats and my home. I have my art and Tarot and all my other interests. I am never bored. There is no material thing that I need.. I have a few close and wonderful friends, I have a wonderful family including the world's best ever sister. I live a quiet, fairly hermit like existence by choice, because apart from traveling, I have found no other lifestyle that I connect with. I want to travel but now is not the time, I still have little people depending on me. One may be bigger than me but he still needs me!! So with all this why do I feel something is missing? Why do I wake and wonder what my life is about? What is this missing link between me and completeness....?

This morning I was inspired to read with my Victorian Romantic Deck for the first time, using some questions I found on Rowan Tarot.

The questions were inspired by Chretien de Troyes' Perceval: Story of the Grail

1. What is the lance that bleeds
2. What is the Grail
3. What can be the candelabra to light my quest

Queen of Swords, Strength and the Moon from Baba Studio's Victorian Romantic Tarot

Queen of Swords seems very appropriate for the lance that bleeds. especially this Queen of Swords with her sword jeweled with blood red stones. She looks wise, wisdom that belies her years. This queen looks like she can take on the world... in fact she reminds me of the Iceni queen, Boadicea who started an uprising against the Roman Invaders. Boadicea's country was what is now known as Norfolk on the East Coast of England. The very part of England where I spent the 15 years prior to coming to New Zealand. Mind you there are no mountains in Norfolk so this queen is obviously in another land... she does have the determination though, like she has to do it single handed.

This independence, having to cope, having to be strong has made me fairly tough, but maybe also too independent. I don't really know how to be with people or let them help, as I am so used to doing it all on my own. I find it extremely difficult to be feminine. She cuts through lies and bullshit.... with that sharp blade with no problem, it is not always easy to be this perceptive.  She looks tough and unfeeling, but I sense a lot of sadness behind those eyes. Like the song by The Who. This lady is the lance that bleeds indeed.

Strength... After the Queen of Swords it seems strength may be a little superfluous!  There is a woman in a den of lions... leastwise it looks like den, there is a grey stone wall which looks pretty  indestructible and the floor doesn't look as if it is outside at all. The lady is dressed in red, a colour of fire and of passion, echoed in the sun symbol at the bottom of her gown. She wears a bracelet like a slave bangle around her upper arm. Her dress and hairstyle are far too grand for a slave of course and the bracelet could also be a symbol of her husbands wealth. But slavery can take many forms, and is not always immediately evident. No doubting the strength in this card, calm against the storm, a strength born of gentleness and courage from within. This lady knows she is capable of controlling the lions by her own inner will and quiet. The lions look as if they are adoring her, accepting her as one of their own. Reminds me some of Living with Wolves again..!

Seems the Grail is courage, to face things I find frightening, to find inner strength and to believe in myself and trust myself totally. With courage comes freedom, and this reminds me of a line from another song, this one by the Eagles Already Gone.. and one line on particular:

So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains
And we never even know we have the key

 To feel the freedom I want to feel, to travel, will take courage and inner strength. I will be trusting only in myself. I have done this before, when I came here to strange land with young children, and no one to rely on except me. But it is always easier to be strong for others than it is to be strong for oneself.

The Moon.... I laughed when I turned this card over! What card could possibly be more fitting to represent a candelabra than The Moon!! Except the moon on this card is hidden behind the clouds.
The female figure here is dressed in blue and combs her long hair, she is almost like a mermaid with the sea-like colours and flowing hair; the background is watery looking too. Her eyes gaze into the distance as if not quite of this world, but one beyond. On her head she wears the Crescent Moon of Diana or Artemis.. goddess of the hunt and the moon. She is a sorceress  and a huntress, she is enchanting like the Sirens and she has magic in her comb. The tower high on the hill in the background may have been where she once lived the hermit life of Rapunzel. This Moon card is so beautiful, mysterious... I love it! I have no fear of lunacy, fantasy or illusions that the Moon can bring to mind. I welcome this card. the Moon is my friend, the Moon is my nature.

Be myself, look inside for my wisdom, and be the huntress of my grail, my joy. There is no need to be afraid of the dark or the unknown.