CARDS OF THE WEEKEND: August 27-28, 2022

Above: Strength

Below: Mother of Knives

The Hoodoo Tarot

by Tayannah Lee McQuillar with art by Katelan V. Foisy

August 27-28, 2022:  Readers interested in Black southern folkways will enjoy Tayannah Lee McQuillar's Hoodlooo Tarot. I offer two cards for this weekend's guidance. Artist Katelan V. Foisy's subdued coloration lead you into a dreamy state where ancestral spirits from centuries past float forward and speak.

Of this pair, Strength will be the more immediately familiar image. Here, we have a lady and her big cat--this time a puma, certainly more geographically plausible than a lion. Unlike conventional images of this Tarot archetype, here the relationship between the human or angel and the feline reflects not hierarchical control but kinship and equality. Both beings gaze directly towards you, partners in sharing determination and fierceness. Take their generous gifts and find the fortitude within yourself.

Mother of Knives bears the qualities of Tarot's Queen of Swords, a leader noted for exceptional intelligence, focus, discernment, an expert communicator and warrior. For McQuillar, though, she specifically bears the identity of a member of one or more secret societies traditional to Black southern community. She carries wisdom from both cultural and esoteric understanding of the bible open before her. Consult the wise elder. She will offer frank answers to your questions and not steer you wrong.

Remember, Tarot's Queens know everything, and when they look at you, they're also looking at the roots and the context of your situation as well as what can lie ahead. They are particularly interested in how you fit into the possible future. They have more on their minds besides just you, and that makes their message to you stronger and surer.

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

Just email a good, clear jpg photo of your card to:

hummingwitch@gmail.com

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 WEEKEND: April 30-May 1, 2022

Queen of Arrows

Greenwood Tarot

by Mark Ryan with art by Chesca Potter

April 30-May 1, 2022: Sometimes we stumble upon entirely different universes when we visit decks crafted by artists who see traditional Tarot archetypes in unique ways. Greenwood Tarot, created by artist Chesca Potter and writer Mark Ryan, has enough idiosyncrasies to make convention-bound Tarotistas throw their hands up, but it is l-o-v-e-l-y none the less and beloved by many.

Why is Tarot's Queen of Swords--here styled as Queen of Arrows--represented by a white doe resting on grass beneath a hectic sky of swirling yellow/orange spirals? Why do her antlers resemble lava erupting towards that sky and yet also perfectly embracing an airborne valentine? There's a red arrow stuck in the ground by her flank, but the doe seems completely unconcerned with it. 

Where is the austere, brainy, challenging Swords/Air Queen we've come to expect? Though, do notice, below, Pamela Colman Smith's own use of yellow, orange, and red. I believe I've talked about this before. Her strong Queen of Swords is not completely without passion.

Queen of Swords

Rider-Waite Tarot

art by Pamela Colman Smith

Reader, I beckon you into Potter and Ryan's world and suggest you ground yourself in what is. Look around and find out.

That sky blazes with the bright fires of Celtic and Wiccan holiday of Beltane (May 1) as does the doe's flaming antlers. Ryan and Potter associate the suit of Arrows (Swords) with the period from Beltane through Midsummer to Lammas (August 1). The appearance of this card on this Beltane weekend definitely has quite a lot of woo to it.

Our queenly doe has charm galore and might have a very special message for you at this particular moment. Sit with her and listen.

****** 

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

Just email a good, clear jpg photo of your card to hummingwitch@gmail.com, and 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 posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2022/03/catch-up-with-any-featured-card-you.html

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CARD OF THE WEEKEND: March 26-27, 2022

 

above:

Queen of Swords

The Light and Shadow Tarot

Brian Williams with art by Michael Goepferd

 

below:

  

Judith with the Head of Holofernes (1520/1540)

by Lucas Cranach the Elder

 

 

March 26-27, 2022: We've seen Tarot's Queen of Swords here before, and a formidable monarch she is, always. This time though, Michael Goepferd's art for The Light and Shadow Tarot evokes the apocryphal tale of the Israelite widow Judith who saved her embattled city by seducing and slaying the drunken Assyrian general Holofernes.

Take a glance at the card's lower left corner. Is that not Judith's trophy, the sorry general's head?

Judith is an icon of heroic resistance, often depicted by master painters such as German Renaissance artist Lucas Cranach the Elder and Italian Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi.

As I see it, Goepferd introduces two arresting and useful qualities that enhance our usual relationship with the Queen of Swords:

First, Goepferd's Queen is not only an expert on all things related to the magickal element of Air and the Sword as ritual tool. She is an experienced warrior who, more than a few times, has risen from her throne to throw down. Not just a symbol of dominion, her sword has been tested in battle.

Second, when you approach her--perhaps with a question or petition--you'll readily see that Goepferd's Queen has already taken action on your behalf, and she's proud to show you the result--gruesome though it may be. It's as if she's saying, "Look! I've done it!"

Done it. Got it. Bagged it. Next question!

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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 WEEKEND: March 12-13, 2022

 Crone of Blades

Daughters of the Moon Tarot

by Ffiona Morgan

March 12-13, 2022: I feel tremendous uplift just looking at this card. I feel the mighty power of the rising eagle and the extraordinary clarity and decisiveness of the Crone of Blades (aka, in regular Tarot, Queen of Swords). This fully-confident force has got the strength of the full moon and the mountains behind her. Watch out! She does not play.

As channeled by Ffiona Morgan, this Crone/Queen does not wield the emblematic sword, but her symbolic lantern and scissors are at hand to cut through any confusion, nonsense, or excess. There times, you know, when you have to call on the Crone!

And, as much as she is a Tarot archetype, she's far from an abstract idea. She manifests. I'm sure you have a least one fierce person in your life you can count upon to serve in her role. Perhaps you are that person for yourself and other people!

All right, then. Let's see how she shows up this weekend--or how you show up!

******

ALERT!

Next Monday, you'll have another chance to win a free reading! Watch for Monday morning's CARD OF THE WEEK post and make your best guess!

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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: 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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CARDS OF THE DAY: January 25, 2022

 

 Above: Four of Wands

Below: Queen of Pentacles and Queen of Swords

Morgan-Greer Tarot

art by Bill Greer under the direction of Lloyd Morgan

 

January 25, 2022: You've been following hummingwitch's CARD OF THE DAY since last November, and I hope you've found it not just an entertaining feature but, in its own way, a mini-course in Tarot reading. I suspect a lot of you have picked up good tips and tools from the examples I've offered. I certainly hope you've been inspired by what you've found here.

So, now let's put some of this knowledge to fun use!

Your cards of the day come from the vivacious (and, to me, very talky) Morgan-Greer Tarot.

Our top card--Four of Wands--can express collaboration and the good feeling of doing things with the support of reliable and resourceful friends. A positive sharing of energies and responsibilities. 

Our other two cards--Queen of Pentacles and Queen of Swords--might represent two very powerful friends, indeed. The queens differ in nature but are both brilliant and wise, having a 360-degree, multidimensional knowledge of their realm of influence: all things suggested by the element of Earth (Pentacles) and all things suggested by the element of Air (Swords).

If they were to have a conversation, what would be the energy vibe around each, what would be their primary concerns, and how would each express herself?  What might they say to each other?

What do you think it means that the Pentacles queen is gazing at the Swords queen while the Swords queen is gazing directly at you?

There are so many questions we could ask, but these should get you started somewhere. Let them take you wherever you feel moved to go. Observe, listen, have fun.

If you'd like to share with me, I would love to hear your thoughts about this conversation which, perhaps, might include you as a third conversant! Write to me here (using the Contact Eva form) or post your comments on Facebook or Twitter so we can all learn together.

****** 

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 14, 2021

 

 The Sun

from The Nigel Jackson Tarot

by Nigel Jackson

 

December 14, 2021: From deep down in one of my Tarot/oracle deck baskets comes the eponymous Nigel Jackson Tarot, which you'll especially enjoy if Euro-based tales of royal realms and knightly chivalry appeal to you. But if that's not your cultural jam, you might still find Jackson's art quite fetching, as I do.

Some more samples:

 

Today's card, The Sun, caught my eye this morning as I leafed through this deck. Then, after I shuffled the deck, the sunny one elbowed its way forward again, sure as Tarot. The Sun wants to be right here, right now.

Be glad. In The Sun, you have an ally in good fortune. Something major is in the works, some reward, some lovely turn of events. There will be cause to give thanks and celebrate. The Sun shines on you today. Embrace your joy!