The Contract Tarot 6: The Lovers

The choices lie before you Which way will you go The Lovers are asking They want to know. Trust inspired intuition To illuminate decisions And liberate you with discernment. Balance your experiences Your choices and your unions Let the magick align with love. Relationships beckon They hold the key Those with others Those with self And those with eternity.”

I love this card! It is just so beautiful and so packed with ‘stuff!’ Let’s take a closer look.

Let’s start with the foreground and work our way back.

The flowers in the foreground are blooming and are oranges and purples, the colours of this Major Arcana. They suggest growth and life and vibrance!

The path give you more than one choice. One leads you toward the Tree of Life. One takes you by the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. At the point of choice, you find the orphic egg and a golden lover’s knot. You also see a yellow sign with the lemniscate pictured upon it to alert you to be cautious because, whatever choice you make, it will affect you for eternity. The orphic egg holds all the mysteries of the Universe and is, to me, symbolic of the birth of a new soul/life/universal idea. The golden lover’s knot is one of the symbols I have used to represent the lovers in this card.

As we move farther back we realise that this card is set in a valley. Hills rise up to contain it and to give us comfort that we are being protected from the elements and we can relax at the point of choice and find the joy in our choices before we decide on a path.  We see two eagles flying above and these are the two lovers in this card. The rainbow signifies the covenant we make when we commit to our decisions and our relationships.

At the base of the scroll are the symbols, left to right: the Hebrew letter Zayin (sword), the elemental glyph of  Air and the zodiacal glyph for Gemini. Below the scroll are Binah (understanding) and Tiphareth (beauty).

This card is all about the choices we make and the relationships we have. It encourages us to trust our intuition and to balance our experiences. Love is the overriding theme.

What do you see in this card? How would you interpret it?

Until tomorrow… Love, light and blessings!

30: Striding forward with… love

We’ve just had a bit of a holiday break here in the UK and it has given me some time to reflect on ‘love.’

What does it mean to love? How do you feel when you are loved? Why do you love one but not another? Who are you when you love? Where are you when you love ? Is is possible to love unconditionally? Is love physical, mental, emotional, financial or spiritual to you?

Some of those questions sound a bit odd, I admit. But if you internalise the question and ask yourself again, you will find answers that may just surprise you.

Have you noticed how the world is becoming more androgenous? Sex change ops, changes in job genders, changes in fashion, alternate identities? Does this change love? We become subsumed and consumed by the culture into which we immerse ourselves.

Today, I have drawn The Lovers – VI. I am using the Thoth Tarot illustrated by Lady Frieda Harris.

How absolutely appropriate is this? I have drawn this card before and have gone into the details of it then. You can see details of this card here.

This is a card that is almost overwhelming with everything you can see. There are small details that you don’t want to miss, like the snakes and the bees, and there are large details that you can’t miss, like the hermit and the mobius strip of fabric around his arms.

Perhaps this is what love is: small things, like saying ‘I love you,’ and large things, like demonstrating respect and consideration.

How do you demonstrate love? What do you see in this card that speaks to you of love?

BTW: I do not ‘draw’ the card until after I have posted a topic. It seems so normal, now, that the card I draw supports the topic of the day.

Until tomorrow… Love, light and blessings!

21: Trailblazing… remembering to rest

Yesterday was a good day. I got started on the Tarot deck I need to create and have a better understanding of what I want to see in these cards. I remembered to eat and to move occasionally and felt the day went fairly well. When I went to bed, I noticed my ankles were swollen. I didn’t feel this happen. I know my feet felt a bit heavy but this is a normal state of affairs for me these days.

This morning, my ankles are still swollen and, rather than sit at my computer today, I will put my feet up in an attempt to help this situation. So, after today’s posts, I will not be at the computer except occasionally to keep up-to-date.

Today is about remembering to rest. We remember to do so many things: eat, sleep, bathe, work… but we rarely take the time to rest through the day. What we fail to recognise is that, by taking time to rest during the day, we are more productive, in a better mood and we feel better.

How will you remember to rest today? Will you take a nap in the afternoon? Will you take 15-20 minutes to put your feet up while enjoying a cup of tea? Will you ‘step away from’ whatever you are working on to give your brain, your eyes and your thoughts just a little rest? Remember to rest and see how it will improve your day. 🙂

Today, I have drawn Art – XIV. I am using the Thoth Tarot illustrated by Lady Frieda Harris.

There are so many beautiful symbols in this card. This card takes the elements in ‘The Lovers’ and transforms them from analysis to synthesis. Everything here is about integration and counter-change. It is about synthesis and moderation. It is about VITRIOL and the Philosopher’s stone. This card is so full of meaning and today, I choose to look at moderation.

Moderation can be a blessing and a curse. I would really like to dig in today and get a lot done but moderation prevails. I will need to moderate how much time I sit at the computer and balance it with how much time I use to put my feet up to help my ankles recover. It is frustrating as I am not patient when I have creations trying to be released from my mind.

Until tomorrow… Love, light and blessings!

16: Pathfinding… choosing to allow

I woke up this morning in a bit of anxiety. I had a doctor’s appointment at the hospital and it was early. So, initially, I was anxious that I didn’t have enough time to get up, have a cuppa and some brekkie, shower and dress before we had to leave earlier than usual due to the traffic congestion that inevitably awaited. All that anxiety was for nought. We left later than planned and arrived with a few minutes to spare. Now my anxiety was focused on managing to ambulate to the reception, then to the waiting area, then in to see the doctor. All the while, I was careful to keep my hands to myself, not touching surfaces and trying to avoid any physical contact with door handles, surfaces, textiles, etc. It isn’t easy. Of course, I ran into someone I used to work with and a hug and pleasant conversation briefly enhanced my visit. In to see the doctor, which was pleasant, informative and reassuring, then out again to call my husband to return to the hospital to pick me up, followed by a trip to the loo and back to the front of the hospital (in the crisp morning air) to await his arrival. Briefly, as my husband arrived, an old friend arrived to catch-up with the hows, the whys, the whats and the hope all goes well for you exchange before my husband bundled me into the car and we drove home.

Now, I’m exhausted. I realised that choosing to allow was a very large portion of my morning. I chose to allow people into my life again, albeit briefly, to support the need for human exchange and mutual support, caring and encouragement. Of  course, this negated my mission to remain free of touching anything or anyone during my visit. This mission may seem bizarre to some. I’ve noticed, however, that every time I venture into a public domain, I end up ‘catching’ whatever may be the cold or infection of the day. My immunity isn’t as strong as it used to be and this may be part of my health issues. So, I strive – with all good intentions – to maintain my mission.

Does choosing to allow always result in negative consequences? I wonder. Choosing to allow almost suggests a willing tolerance to something that doesn’t always agree or come easily to me. What do you ‘choose to allow’ in your life? What are the results? Is ‘choosing to allow’ necessary for growth?

Today, I have drawn The Lovers, VI. I am using the Thoth Tarot illustrated by Lady Frieda Harris.

This card seems to be one that keeps turning up for me. What is it saying to me today?

Let me first tell you what I see in this card. It is full of symbols and hidden representations. The overwhelming character is the Hermit who is standing behind the King and Queen. He is officiating at their union. His cloak forms a ‘Mobius Strip’ around his outstretched arms. A blindfolded Cupid is in flight just at the top of the Hermit’s hooded head. This Cupid will be ineffective as his arrow is pointing in a direction that will not pierce any of the individuals on this card. At either side of the Hermit, resting on either of his shoulders, are two women. In front of the Hermit are the King and the Queen. The black King wears a golden crown – the Sun, the white Empress wears a silver crown – the Moon. The black King holds a lance and the white Queen holds a cup with the symbol of a dove on the front. White rays emanate from this cup and, together with the dove, indicate Spirit. The King and Queen are assisted by complementary twins – Gemini. The white child stands in front of the black King and assists the white Queen. The black child stands in front of the white Queen and assists the black King. Behind the King is a golden lion (Leo) and behind the Queen is an eagle (Scorpio). The twins are standing on the wings of the Orphic Egg. They are surrounding by a white light which indicates they are part of the Orphic Egg inasmuch as they indicate the impending union of the King and Queen. The Orphic Egg represented here signifies the Universe. It is surrounded by a serpent and has wings.

More information about the symbols seen in the Thoth Tarot can be found in The Thoth Companion: the Key to the True Symbolic Meaning of the Thoth Tarot by Michael Osiris Snuffin through Amazon. I just found this resource today <happy dance> and it is quite complete.

This card is about choice in relationships. It is about coming together and it is most importantly about the product of union. Within the context of my life, it feels that this is about the choice I am making about the product I am creating through the union of knowledge, intuition and physical enterprise. It is about honouring the choices we make and nurturing them to their full potential. It is about exchange and interchange, about examining the layers and realising there is more than may first be evident. It is about looking at the Universe you have created and examining the purpose for and potientiality of your decisions. Is there change, generosity, analysis, planning, disruption and joy in your decision making? Is there balance and solidity?

Until tomorrow…. Love, light and blessings!

8: Pathfinding… creating a dream

It is very rare for me to have a dreamless sleep. It is rarer still for me to forget what I dreamed. My dreams are vivid and full of imagery, story, colour, smells, sounds, textures and feeling. They are atmospheric and layered in nuance. My challenge is to take those dreams and turn them into story or craft that convey what I have dreamed. I am truly blessed to have such fabulous dreamscapes. Do you enjoy dreams that inspire you to create? Invite creative dreams into your sleep and choose to remember them. It will change your life!

Today, I have drawn Art XIV. I am using the Thoth Tarot illustrated by Lady Frieda Harris.

What a magnificent card! Art is the assimilation of what started in the Lovers VI. You can see most of the same elements here that appeared in the Lovers. However, these elements have been assimilated, transmuted and are the completion of the ideas represented in the Lovers. Art is life being brought forth through creation by the figure – here, the combination of the Empress and the Emperor.

Following on from yesterday and activities surrounding my book, this card is quite encouraging. It brings forth a new creation by the intermingling of diverse elements. Diversity, blending, new creation, and harmony are all key to success.

As the book I am writing is a fiction with nearly 100 characters, it is all of these things including compromise, evaluation and re-evaluation, consistency and creativity. Balancing all these characters on the backdrop of scenes and plots can be quite an exercise in creative resourcing drawn from organisational skill, descriptive language and weaving a seamless and consistent line of adventure.

Now, I must get back to work. Until tomorrow… Love, light and blessings!