Mabon 2011

I am still such a witch at heart. I practice Nichiren Buddhism now, but I will always be a witch. The word "sabbath" comes from the Celtic word "sabbat". In the Wheel of the Year there are eight sabbats, or days of high celebration based on the seasons. Most years September 21st is called Mabon, but this year it will fall on the 23rd. This holiday is  the Autumnal Equinox and marks the beginning of fall and is the witch's Thanksgiving and special rituals are performed to give honor to the God and Goddess. For more information, check out Rowan Pendragon's wonderful blog. So I decided to do a spread based on the meaning of this holiday.









~Magickal Graphics~

1. Where am I now in my life?                                                                                
2. What do I need to be most thankful for right now?
3. What do I need to respectfully let go of?                                            
4. What else is still left for me to harvest?                          
5. What do I need to complete before Samhain (Halloween)?
6. How can I get the best possible results?    
      
                                                          2    

                                             4             6          5




                                                  1             3                                            
(laid out in the shape of a star)

1. King of Wands- ok, this is most definitely one of the last cards I would have thought I'd have gotten in this position because kings are all about success and accomplishment. And right about now, I ain't too accomplished or successful. But as I studied the card, I see the mirror behind the king. I am now doing a lot of reflecting on ways to create the life I want, one lived with passion and joy. As I look at this king's face, he looks kinda sad and depressed. I'm not sad or depressed now, but I dang sure am not setting the world on fire. I'm going to have to give more thought to why this card came up in this position. Maybe it means I'll get hired for the flight attendant position I applied for.

2. Queen of Swords- I think this is my trainer/physical therapist who is a QofSw/Aquarius. I am so thankful for how far she has brought me in regaining my physical health and strength!! She's an air sign, assertive and very focused and goal oriented. I know my earth sign, much slower paced behavior can drive her crazy!! She is a wonderful friend to me who has been an angel in so many ways.

3. The Hierophant V- I need to let go of worrying so much about getting things "right"!! What will others whom I see as being in positions of authority think of me. I need to let go of any guilt I feel for not being where I "should" be in my life. The yellowish-brown sky is making me think I need to do work with  my solar plexus charkra. That is the chakra of personal power.

4. 8 of pentacles- The first thing I notice is the castle wall; I need to have a safe haven, a true home for myself. For some reason the blocks looked like bones for a second. I need to continue working on strengthening my spine. The 8ofP is also about training, education. I think this shows me getting invited to go to F/A training, which would be fantastic.

5. 3 of wands- I first notice that this angle is looking back and card 4, looking back at training, and the 3ofW is about things coming together, signing a contract, a deal made, creative forces coming together. Since training is 5 weeks, I can't be finished with it by Oct 31. I notice the steps the angel is on and her beautiful clothes. I need to take all necessary steps to be ready for training. Practice interview techniques, learning the 3-letter city codes, and having a couple of interview suits. I also wonder if that means I am going to the Witches Ball in New Orleans on Halloween and I need to get my ball gown.

6.Chariot VII- Be more decisive and stop letting my emotions run me ragged. I've got to stop getting all caught up in how things are going to work out when I can't see the how and just focus on why and how awesome it will look and feel when they do.
                                          

Follow If You've Been Down the Same Road

So I saw a post on Craigslist for an apartment. I had seen it last week but I dragged my feet and didn't act on it so I thought in my indecision it was gone. I saw it just now and was like, "wow...is this a second chance??" So I whipped out my Faulkner Tarot and did a 3 card. First row is the pros of taking it, the second is the cons:

Row 1: 9 of Swords, 3 of wands, 0 The Fool
....Ok...this is pretty damn clear...Hello Krysten!! 9ofSw is the nightmare card, and I had one last night. Taking this place will end the insane amount of stress that being in limbo is causing. The sleeplessness, the nightmares, the clenching my teeth which leads to my hair falling out of my damn head (lovely!) and the endless tape recording of thoughts reminding me of how fucked up things are. The graveyard scene on this card says to put those ghosts to rest. I'm not really living right now, just kinda existing, floating from place to place, like a ghost. The church window shows I need to go inside a safe place. (Like a permanent place of residence...ya think!) The 3ofW shows a deal has been made, there is a fair exchange. Funny, yesterday I kept hearing the phrase "fair exchange is no robbery". The Fool 0 is all about taking a risk. He has no fear, he makes the decision to take a leap of faith and he goes for what he wants. He has trust that his experience mixed with the love of the Universe will lead him down the right path. The bright sky and the rainbow stands out most to me-- good luck from out of the blue. I think the Fool also means a house move as the Brits say. The elemental dignities work great in this trio. Fire is flanked by two air cards. The fuel needed to take action, make decisions, is present to feed and strengthen my will.

Row 2: Page of Pentacles, Queen of Swords, The Chariot VII
Again, the glaringly obvious....the Page of P shown here is adorable little Lola in reality, but the cards are telling me that I know EXACTLY who she is in this reading...ME. My inner child! I'm supposed to be the QofP but I'm not acting like a mature, responsible adult,  but like the scared little girl who loves to get lost to fantasy, just like Lola in her princess gown and feather tierra as she hides from the world behind her wand. The wand also says I have exactly what it takes to create the magick I want to occur in my life, but like the Buddhist proverb says, "A sword in the hands of a coward is useless." Which is exactly what the QofSw is thinking as she looks back at the Page. The QofSw is a very bold, direct, balls-to-the-walls decisive woman. She cuts through the shit and keeps it moving! And The Chariot shows the back and forth time and time again I've been  doing will only continue. Hell, it literally shows it! Philly to New Orleans! The constant moving from pillow to post I've done the since last Nov! And when I think of elemental dignities, this poor QofSw is in utter hell in this position. She is trapped between earth that won't budge and water that is too wishy-washy! And together those two are just making mud!

Ok....time to call the guy about the place. And get over the fear of him thinking I'm a total flake and telling me to kiss off. Which is really just my Shadow sides opinion of me huh....

Today Was a Good Day

Ok, can't find a quite spot to do my reading LOL! But I can say for sure this is a wonderful reading lol! 8 of Wands, 3 of Wands, and 9 Cups. And the bottom card is the 10 of Cups. First thing that comes to mind is how the wands are coming up out of those dark storm clouds and into the bright sunshine and then you see in the next card how it looks like a the continuation of that scene. The Sag symbol says how lucky I am, and also that I  need to call Jacqui b/c it's been way too long since i have! For some reason the flags on the back of the ship on the 3ofW reminds me of the ones you see on a used car lot LOL. What the hell?? And the top balloon looks like an ice cream cone lol! And the 9ofC is the wish card. All that food makes me think about the fact that H (Helen) and I are going to lunch since the 10ofC in this deck is her animals and house in the picture.

When I look up the meaning of the elemental dignities I really am reminded of how powerful of a tool that can be to give readings more depth and understanding. The sites that Catherine (Tarot Elements.com)  and Doug (taroteon.com) have are so educational! I very strongly suggest if you are interested in expanding your tarot skills no matter how new or how experienced you are at tarot! (link to Catherine's site will be below this post) This is what they say of Fire/Fire/Water or Water/Fire/Fire 3 card spreads:

"These triads are moderately strong.

There’s a real desire and impetus to move forward and get things moving with this combination, but it’s really being dogged by an emotional tug, perhaps a conflict of interests; guilty feelings of putting work before love maybe? However, it’s still action over emotion.

Douglas: The central card will still have a slight influence over the client’s life. This triad brings images to mind of eagerness and enthusiasm for a project just begun but…, resistance to that project. As with most things, despite what we want to happen, things inevitably slow it down; whether that is the client’s inner emotional resistance, or the environments apathy. Overall, things move forward, but expect resistance."

This makes so much sense! (checking elemental dignities E.D. almost always  does) I do have to be mindful not to let my emotions of anger and sadness get the best of me given my current situation (water) and keep my ass in gear and moving, stay motivated and energetic (fire) NOT apathetic  about my life and the fact that this is really a whole new opportunity with a lot of possibilities!
------So not that I'm home and it os like 6 hrs later, I can see even more how the cards were talking to me. The 8ofW was because we were zipping all over today. Helen is a very zippy one lol. That card also means messages, letters, phone calls ect. often from a romantic interest. I got a really cool email from a certain someone how still makes my heart skip a beat and makes me very tingle-y in naughty places ;-D

 The 3ofW was to show how well we do get along,  I did have several moments were I truly felt so much gratitude for my life and the things I DO have. Like when I saw the man crossing a very busy street in his wheel chair. Or the homeless man on the Blvd. Or how generous H is!!! She got me the coolest, schnazy new slippers that are made like boots, furry, black and with silver sequins!! HA!! How freakin' cool are they!!!

And the 9ofC is to remind me of how my wishes actually have come true from all of this crap. I SO did NOT want to have to go back "home" and see my roomate's b/f!! We got along so well (or so I thought...) with the exception of him!!! I have been wishing to have pets, and now I live with 3 (2 of whom look like the ones on the 10ofC) and possibly 2 more yet to come LOL! I wished for a non-smoking house and always felt so guilty that my old roomate tried so hard not to smoke around me (the b/f so did not!) and H hates smoke as much as I do, so that is perfect!

I'm a very lucky girl and today was just as wonderful as these cards said it would be!