CARD OF THE WEEK: February 27-March 3, 2023

 

 Two of Swords

Universal Waite Tarot

 based on art by Pamela Colman Smith

with coloring by Mary Hanson-Roberts

 

February 27-March 3, 2023: That's a moon in flux (crescent) and a shifting body of water behind the Two of Swords figure firmly seated on a narrow stone bench and ground. Though blindfolded--or maybe because the sense of sight is not available--the swords bearer could be more finely sensitized to the environment than expected. I imagine sitting there and feeling the cold sweep of wind over water, hearing and feeling the rough roll of the water itself. The moon, itself, might whisper of changes in store.

Gripping a sword handle in each hand, the swords bearer takes a protective stance over chest and heart.

While the traditional interpretation of Two of Swords speaks of verbal or ideological conflict--not so much a meeting of the minds as a clashing of the minds--we can also consider new information about this image.

If the swords bearer's sensitivity detects large, powerful shifts in the environment, a protective stance could be understandable. Of course, all that bluster and resistance might be what faces you--not what you are doing.

In a reading, try to sense whether this refers to the querent or someone or something in the querent's experience. Nearby cards should help you determine that and whether Two of Swords represents a justified and positive response. As a card-of-the-week, though, consider how disturbances and disruptions should be handled, especially in terms of arguments or any verbal expression.

******

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CARD OF THE WEEK: June 20-24, 2022

 

Ace of Swords

Universal Waite Tarot

Art by Pamela Colman Smith with coloring by Mary Hanson-Roberts

June 20-24, 2022: Tarot folks who have practiced for years and decades don't need a deck in their hands to summon an appropriate image for the moment. Ask and you will receive. And that is the case with our CARD OF THE WEEK. I asked for a card, and Pamela Colman Smith's Ace of Swords rose up in my mind as if issued forth from a cloud!

Furthermore, the Ace of Swords--which is a card of swift thought--readily offered a self-interpretation I had never before considered: being knighted by the tap of that sword on one's shoulders. And the reason we don't see an actual royal anywhere to do the traditional knighting is that Spirit itself has taken that role.

So, from now on, when the Ace of Swords turns up in a draw or a layout, I will have an additional meaning to try out, depending on the situation at hand.

This week, turn your attention to the role of willing service in your life and work. It could be time to acknowledge how (and what) you have served, to reconsider it, if necessary, and/or to prepare for a new way in which you will serve.

Bear in mind that we can be of service to persons, places, things, ideas, ideals. We serve Spirit as well. To what have you committed (or are now ready to commit) your best?

If you are not happy about how you may have devoted your time and energy, you can map out how to redirect them based on your evolved understanding, values, and needs. A clear choice will lead to well-earned reward.

****** 

Do you have a particular Tarot or other oracle card that you'd like to me explore and write about in the hummingwitch way?

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I'll incorporate its message, one way or another, into one of these posts. Let me know if you'd prefer your submission to be anonymous.

Thanks!

******

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY/WEEK/WEEKEND posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2022/03/catch-up-with-any-featured-card-you.html

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CARD OF THE DAY: February 14, 2022

 

Queen of Swords

Universal Waite Tarot

by Pamela Colman Smith

with recoloring by Mary Hanson-Roberts

 

February 14, 2022: Here's the Queen of Swords, her marble throne mounted on hilly, cloud-wrapped terrain. One of her hands grasps an absolutely no-nonsense sword straight up in a sign of authority. The other hand gestures as if the queen is in the midst of giving a speech to the masses. An austere, icy Sky Queen, she commands attention and respect.

But, as is often the case, Tarot will compel one's focus towards one detail or another, offering nuance.

Today, Pamela Colman Smith's Queen of Swords (in the recolored Universal Waite Tarot) wanted me to notice and focus on the warm colors of red, orange, and gold. She took my eyes to each manifestation of these colors and said, "The source of my strength."

Do not miss the necklace of chunky red stones resting over the queen's heart chakra. (Happy Valentine's Day💖, btw!)

I can almost hear her sword whoosh through the air or strike a rock or--as it might be doing now--simply vibrate its clear, formidable energy into the space around it.

Tarot's Swords/Air cards deal with thought, writing, speech, and any kind of vocalization. (And, yes, with conflict and arguments, where those are relevant to the story.) Even the golden butterflies, creatures of air that form her unusual crown, radiate a nobility and strength of mind.

Speak with strength, with fire, with force today, and never falter.

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

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And the CARD OF THE WEEK is...

Queen of Pentacles

from Universal Waite Tarot

art by Pamela Colman Smith with recoloring by Mary Hanson-Roberts

 

Here's a big thanks 💓 to those of you who played along to guess our CARD OF THE WEEK!

Unfortunately, not only did our humble, thoughtful, lovingly concerned Queen of Pentacles elude all of you, but you guessed neither a Queen of any suit nor any Pentacles card.

 

So...sorry to say...no winner. 😢

 

Not this time, at least. But I think I'll try this contest again in March. So, keep watch for another chance to win a reading!

In the meantime, for the rest of this week, do enjoy the Queen's practicality, steadiness, and nurturing energy. She is the monarch of all things necessary for secure, healthy material life and growth. She will remind you that you can find the power of care and resourcefulness within yourself. Like her, you will ground yourself within the beauty you find all around you--including that which you yourself have created or attracted to you. Enjoy this embodied moment we call life.

CARD OF THE WEEKEND: January 29-30, 2022

 

Six of Cups

Above: from Dragon Tarot by Peter Pracownik

under the direction of Terry Donaldson

Below: from Universal Waite Tarot, Pamela Colman Smith art for Rider-Waite Tarot,

recolored by Mary Hanson-Roberts

 

January 29-30, 2022: Dragon Tarot is best for folks who love dragons and dragon lore from cultures around the globe. As a reader's deck, though, it requires you to really know your Tarot structure and traditions as the images either do not show enough specific and relatable symbols to help a novice reader or are idiosyncratic. It's part of my collection--a review copy, if I recall--though I have never used it for readings for myself or others. I almost did not include it in this series.

Flipping through it, however, I deliberately chose, for this weekend, the Six of Cups, a card that actually has a specific, non-traditional meaning for me. Whenever this card comes up in a one-card draw or within a layout, it signifies the immediate loving, helpful, and protective presence of one or more spirits, ancestral or otherwise. This works for me, and it can sometimes prove relevant in readings for others.

As you see above, Peter Pracownik's Six of Cups differs dramatically from the bucolic setting of the Rider-Waite-Smith model. It's one of the deck's dreamier, more enjoyable images--a dragon ship, with its dragon herald, leading a fleet of others out to sea, their way lit by the full moon and stars.

Honestly, though, I don't know how any of that squares with what this deck's Little White Book (LWB) tells us about "learning to live in harmony with those around you," but that's in the nature of a lot of these tiny, inserted guidebooks which are best to ignore.

Maybe this dragon card can suggest a fleet of fierce and loving spirit guides coming to take care of you and navigate the way for you--a fun way to interpret it!

Have a wonderful weekend!

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

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CARD OF THE DAY: January 19, 2022

 

Five of Cups

(above) Universal Waite Tarot (Pamela Colman Smith, recolored by Mary Hanson-Roberts)

(below) Oriens Animal Tarot (Ambi Sun)

 

January 19, 2022: Periods of disappointment, regret, emptiness, and grieving come as natural parts of life.

Against a featureless, colorless, joyless sky, Pamela Colman Smith's classic Five of Cups offers an image of sorrowful resignation and reflection after loss. Though three goblets have tumbled, spilling precious contents, the river--life--though seemingly distant, flows on. Two shining goblets stand ready behind the shrouded figure. A future, though not initially recognized as such, is already within reach.

For the modern Oriens Animal Tarot, Ambi Sun's art re-imagines an ongoing, dynamic process that unites past, present and future. A small but representative "plague" of locusts munches on intertwined stems of ivy, this plant a symbol of forever-ness. A pair of crystal goblets has been turned upside down. Another goblet is now in the process of toppling. The final two--for now, at least--rest upright on their bases.

Tarot's Five of Cups offers us space to contemplate impermanence, release our clinging attachment to that which changes, and come to terms with the natural ebb and flow of all life and our place within it.

Even in times of plenty and satisfaction, practicing letting go can relieve the pain of expectations that things will always stay just the way we want and demand them to be.

Give the grief you're carrying its time, and know that joy will surely have its time as well.

******

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

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CARD OF THE DAY: January 18, 2022

 

 

The Devil

(above) from Universal Waite Tarot: art Pamela Colman Smith, recolored by Mary Hanson-Roberts

(below) from Neo Tarot: Jerico Mandybur with art by Daiana Ruiz

 

January 18, 2022: You knew it had to happen eventually: the appearance of one of Tarot's scariest cards, certainly part of the Tarot ecosystem. The Devil unnerves beginners and sends some would-be learners--mainly those influenced by mainstream religions--running as far away from Tarot as possible. So, what's to be done?

Kick that pedestal out from under!

Actually, both Pamela Colman Smith (in the Rider-Waite-Smith-based Universal Waite) and Daiana Ruiz (in the wonderfully contemporary Neo Tarot) offer an obvious solution though the answer escapes the two human figures at the forefront of each image.

Take those damn chains off your necks!

Look, folks, they're actually loose. They've always been loose. But you're so distracted by...whatever, that you don't have a clue.

In the case of the Neo, the chains, which issue from the monster's own head, aren't even locked around the humans' necks. They're vaguely attached to the backs of their heads, and I'm thinking they could probably be removed if only the pair would just reach around and yank them out.

The Devil's greatest weapon is our own propensity to be hoodwinked and manipulated.

The Devil card's relevance to the current climate in our society is profound. Is it not?

As is often said, the Devil is liar. And as is also often said, the truth shall set you free.

Arm yourself with the truth and give the Devil a good shove off that pedestal.

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

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CARD OF THE DAY: January 11, 2022

 Ace of Cups

Universal Waite Tarot

Art by Pamela Colman Smith recolored by Mary Hanson-Roberts

 

January 11, 2022: Tarot's Aces can be viewed, at times, as symbols of gifts from Spirit, right out of the blue--or out of a spirit hand extended from a cloud. Given quietly and with such subtlety that they might be overlooked if you are distracted--as you tend to be--by mundane matters and worries. So small, sometimes, that you can tuck them away in your pocket, or in your subconscious, or in a patch of fertile ground that will prove perfect for their nurturing and future growth. Secreted away where they can't be discovered and stolen from you. But don't forget they're there to be retrieved and activated when the time is right. The key that turns the lock. A dash of the secret ingredient in your great-granny's  recipe, passed down the generations.

From the Universal Waite Tarot, I was gifted the Ace of Cups for you today. Since we're talking a Rider-Waite-Colman image, you'll notice more than a hint of Christian mysticism here--the golden chalice from which springs holy waters of life and to which a white dove descends, bearing a communion host--the Body of Christ--in its bill.

Such a gentle, peaceful card. And yet, the thought that was also gifted to my mind right before I drew this card was about 'breaking the mold" and "upending the order of things." There are Tarot archetypes that speak more directly to those themes.

I will leave it to you radical social justice Christians--and I know you're out there--to take this Ace of Cups in the obvious, quite justifiable direction. But from a different perspective, in which Tarot can speak to one of any or no faith, I want to argue for the power of the element of water as a force that can go from the subtlety of the tiniest teardrop to the mystery, depth, and ferocious power of a wind-whipped ocean.

Don't sleep on the power of the drop. Enough of them over enough time, and they'll wear away stone and create new channels for their movement. They will break the mold. They will upend the order of things.

How does this tiny, heartfelt, powerful gift manifest in your life today? What does it make possible tomorrow?

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

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CARD OF THE DAY: January 10, 2022

 

 

 The Fool

from The Tarot 

by Hoi Polloi, Inc.

January 20, 2022: My first Tarot deck was The Tarot, a brightly-colored Rider-Waite-Smith interpretation created and marketed in 1972 by the game company Hoi Polloi. They called it, simply, The Tarot. With its vibrant, super-clear imagery, it ushered me into a world of symbolism that never ever seemed daunting. I adored everything about it.

"Don't fear!" the Hoi Polloi deck seemed to say, cheerfully. "Tarot really is for you!"

The Hoi Polloi, I see now, is out of print and rare, and one is currently going for $300 on Etsy! I'm sorry I no longer own mine, having long ago passed it along to an eager student.

For more on the history of Hoi Polloi's Tarot,

click here.

When some people tell me they find Tarot an overly complex, intimidating system--or, even, a somewhat frightening one--I understand, but I'm always a bit sad, remembering my time with Hoi Polloi's deck.

Working with Tarot was never something alien to me but a natural outgrowth of my early interest in the occult and psychological and spiritual matters. Connecting the myriad, intricate symbols of Tarot and applying them to people, places, and situations was a stimulating game that challenged my intelligence and creativity. I could not get enough of it. Still can't!

As you can tell from my posts here on hummingwitch, I love many types of decks within and outside of Tarot, and I do believe readers should go with the decks that speak to their personal interests, values, and aesthetics. There are so many from which to choose and from which to learn.

 

The Fool

from Universal Waite Tarot

Art by Pamela Colman Smith with coloring by Mary Hanson Roberts

 

Universal Waite Tarot (from Stuart B. Kaplan's U.S. Games Systems with Pamela Colman Smith imagery recolored by Mary Hanson-Roberts) has played the same role for me that Hoi Polloi's Tarot once played. It takes me--and my clients, when I choose to consult it for them--back to useful basics. This imagery can serve as a launching pad for a journey of knowledge and skill development that need never end for any reader or be limited to the world and symbol system of Arthur E. Waite's Golden Dawn.

Our Card of the Day--The Fool--definitely symbolizes going back to basics and beginning a journey. The journey requires courage (even foolhardiness, if you will, in a positive sense) and faith. The Fool's little satchel contains the basics. You don't have to have much to get started. But The Fool's wreath of laurels declares that our Fool--despite being a beginner or, perhaps, because of it--is already a hero. The very first step on the path is, in itself, a victory.

The last time I listened to someone say that Tarot was way, way too complicated to study, I bit my tongue. That person's experience, their choice, is their own; let them speak. Later, I humbly remembered I had chosen to stay away from studying astrology for the very same reason!

But what I thought of saying to this person--and might yet say, if given a chance--is this: Just start small. Even if you notice one thing--one detail that catches your eye, stirs a memory, makes a connection, makes some useful sense--you're on your way.

Try it out, step by step, and let it teach you. Tarot has a way of guiding you and giving you gifts all along the way. It's so worth it. At any level of ability, Tarot can bring you something valuable and so often amazing!

With all the renewed interest in Tarot and other oracle cards, I'm sure you can find or form a wonderful support group of like-minded beginners. Or connect with a Tarot coach--like me!--to support you as you go!

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

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CARD OF THE DAY: December 13, 2021

 

La Torre (The Tower)

from Cani Tarot

by Osvaldo Menegazzi

 

December 13, 2021: La Torre (The Tower): a little something for the doglovers from Osvaldo Menegazzi's Cani Tarot!

Cani (Italian for dogs) is a 22-card deck (Major Arcana only) featuring a variety of breeds for its central figures. Finely rendered in black print on heavy, un-laminated, cream-colored card stock, it was a precious collector's item. I have never used Cani Tarot for readings. But since I have featured cats (and other animals) in previous Cards of the Day, it's time to give these dogs their turn on the stage.

So, here is the oh-so-startling La Torre! What's it going to be? Breakdown? Breakthrough? Or some combination of the two?

More importantly, someone please rescue that poor beagle!

It's time to get Doggie outta there, whatever it takes. What it takes might be quite drastic. Nevertheless, survival will require fast action.

For compare-and-contrast, here's the Universal Waite's Card XVI with its well-known Pamela Colman Smith image:

 

 

Unlike this classic Tower card--done deal, babe; this is out of your hands--La Torre, as I see it, issues a fair warning and introduces the hint of time and the possibility of rescue, snatching something valuable from impending disaster. A reversed Pamela Colman Smith Tower would do the same, now that I think of it.

La Torre gives you some time to save the pooch, though not a lot of time, and it's going to require quick thinking and, possibly, some heroics on your part. I so hope you are a fan of action movies!

So now, who or what is it you need to grab and rescue?

CARD OF THE WEEKEND: December 11-12, 2021

 

(top) Five of Chalices (Five of Cups)

from Afro-Brazilian Tarot

by Alice Santana with art by Giuseppe Palumbo

(bottom) Five of Cups

from Universal Waite Tarot, art by Pamela Colman Smith,

re-colored by Mary Hanson-Roberts

 

December 11-12, 2021: The cartoonish aesthetics of Giuseppe Palumbo's images for Afro-Brazilian Tarot might not be my favorite approach to Tarot art, but I appreciated the humor in his Five of Chalices (Cups). Here, an orange tabby takes a stroll across a table set with five tall white vessels, knocking one aside. Catlovers, for sure, look at this card and think, "Of course!"

So, in this moment, the traditional mournful sadness and disappointment associated with the Five of Cups (as imaged by Pamela Colman Smith for the classic Rider-Waite deck) morphs into something more like a minor annoyance mixed with a comical sense of the inevitability of the situation:

Look, it's an unguarded table topped with fine porcelain vessels arranged just so. It's a cat. Exactly what did you think might happen?

Cue the sudden shout of alarm soon followed by--I hope--helpless laughter!

So, here we see how an artist's personal conception of an archetypal Tarot image can open up new, potentially useful, transformative ways to perceive and interpret that image. It might not always be the apt interpretation, but look for signs that it might be, and remember that each Tarot archetype can contain a spectrum of many potentially applicable identities.

Working specifically with Afro-Brazilian Tarot's Five of Chalices today, anticipate at least one minor, petty nuisance or disappointment, possibly something that, on a subtle level, you might have expected--that is, if you had paid attention to the inherent nature of who or what you were dealing with. Whether you could have prevented this issue is almost not the point now. Instead, look at how you can handle it this time--and, if necessary, next time.

Understand--and, as some like to say, overstand--the game and its players. Get some perspective so you are no longer controlled by circumstances. Bring a sense of humor to the situation, too. All of this will give you an advantage you might not be aware of at first in the heat of the moment.

The chalice was toppled but not shattered. You can rework things, set them right. And, next time, you'll have a better idea of how to thwart that rascal cat!