Tarot Tuesday
Take a moment and take a deep breath. Get centered, and grounded, then pick a card. By get centered I mean to get calm, focused, and to be present in the moment. By get grounded I mean to uncross your feet and arms, with feet flat on the floor. It is also beneficial if you can quickly imagine roots shooting down from your root Chakra and feet into the Earth. Allow these roots to anchor you in a supportive way that neutralizes negativity and draws up nurturing Earth energy for stability. Sometimes more than one deep breath is needed to feel ready. Often three nice, slow, deep breaths are just right. Do what feels best for you..
Once you are ready pick the card that you feel the most drawn to. This weeks deck is the Universal Waite Tarot Deck with drawings by Pamela Colman Smith and recolored by Mary Hanson-Roberts, published by U.S.Games Systems, Inc. I am using three different crystals above the cards as markers, I will also include these in the mini-readings that follow. From left to right we have a Clear Quartz point, in the middle we have a Spirit Quartz cluster, and on the right we have a Chevron Amethyst point.
Reveal
Take note of how you feel when you discover the card that you felt drawn to, and compare this feeling with the mini-reading that follows. Is it what you expected? Do you feel better or worse upon seeing the card, and then getting the interpretation? Being aware of your feelings can be a powerful method for increasing intuition for many. Lots of people feel it in their “gut”, or some may just “have a hunch”. Being aware of how your particular guidance system operates is the first step to making it stronger and more reliable. From left to right we have the Clear Quartz point above the Ten of Pentacles, in the center Spirit Quartz above the Nine of Cups, and Chevron Amethyst point above the Justice card on the right.
Clear Quartz
Clear quartz has the ability to focus, amplify, store, and transform energy. It is used in technology in watches, radio transmitters, and receivers, microphones, ultra sound devices, memory chips in computers, and other electronic circuitry. The phenomenon of piezoelectricity, the release of electric charge under the application of mechanical stress, occurs in all noncentrosymmetric materials. Pyroelctricity, the release of charge due to a material’s change of temperature occurs in all materials that belong to polar crystal symmetry class. Not all noncentrosymmetric classes are polar, and not all piezoelectric crystals are pyroelectric. All pyroelectric crystals are piezoelectric though.
These properties of energy amplification, programmability, and memory make quartz crystals useful for healing, meditation, communicating with guides, expanding consciousness, or really almost any other purpose you could imagine. It is good at amplifying the energies of other stones, or groups of stones like in grids. It is a wonderful material for wands and staffs, and everyone has seen or heard of a crystal ball for crystal gazing. In divination it can point to new energies, new beginnings, a need to make a decision and act quickly upon it, and dreaming of clear quartz can mean freedom from enemies.
Ten of Pentacles
This card is the tenth card in the suit of Pentacles in the Minor Arcana. It carries the energy of Mercury and Virgo, with a mutable modality and Earth element. The image is of a male elder seated amidst his family and pets (the dogs). Tens in numerology are about endings, but the number contains a one also so these endings are typically more cyclic than abrupt and permanent. Some keywords for this card include success, legacy, finances, wealth, foundations, home, and family. It is known as the “wall street card” as it often shows up to represent wealth and windfalls. It could be a change for the better of your living status through buying or selling property, or travel for work that leads to more money. This card is about satisfaction, but the satisfaction is more than wealth or money alone, it is usually health, and emotional happiness as well. In divination if you were drawn to this card this week then expect changes for the better in your life right now that will leave you feeling fairly content.
Spirit Quartz
Amethyst Spirit Quartz. Spirit Quartz, also known as Cactus Quartz, or Porcupine Quartz is at its core a terminated quartz crystal that is encrusted with hundreds of smaller crystal termination points. They are crystal communities usually found in clusters. The most common variety is Amethyst, but it can also be found in white quartz, Smokey quartz, and CItrine Quartz. Found in the Magaliesberg Mountain area of South Africa, these are crystals of harmony, alignment, and amplification. Each variety will have additional energies that it will express. The Amethyst Spirit Quartz activates the Crown Chakra, and higher. It can bring in spiritual information, and provide multi-dimensional healing. In some cases, suddenly bringing in information that might change your thinking, or spiritual connection, with healing as the ultimate end goal. This crystal is also used for cleansing the aura, healing the etheric body, dispelling negative attachments and entities, and assisting in the transition to other states of being. It is associated with many of the wisdom Goddesses like Minerva, or Sophia. In divination this crystal would suggest that your experiences with others will be more cooperative and friendlier than usual, you can use this energy to introduce new ideas that you may have been hesitating to bring up before.
Nine of Cups
This card is the ninth card in the Minor Arcana suit of Cups. It carries the astrological energy of Jupiter in Pisces with a modality and element of mutable water. The suit of cups are generally seen to represent feelings and emotions as well as creativity and imagination, and even intuition. The image on this card is of a merchant sitting satiated in front of a half circle of Cups, which may be seen as the merchant’s accomplishments. Some keywords for this card include Sociability, pride in prior accomplishments, emotional tranquility, good health, prosperity and growth. This card is often called the “wish card” and can signal getting one’s wish. In a situation where you have a yes or no question, this card upright would signal a “yes”. With that said it is wise to be careful of what you wish for. All things in moderation are well and good, but too much of anything, even something good can be a misfortune. If you have been drawn to this card this week then you may well find yourself “sitting pretty” as the saying goes, feeling satisfied and flush with what you think of as the good things in life.
Chevron Amethyst
Amethyst is a variety of quartz made up of silicone dioxide, it gets its color from iron, and aluminum deposits as well as natural irradiation. Found in places like Brazil, Bolivia, Mexico, Africa, Canada, Russia, U.S.A. and Europe. It has a long history of use by humans. For some it was merely decorative, but the ancient Greeks were known to use it as protection against drunkenness. It has also been known for it’s healing and protective properties. It resonates with the Crown Chakra. The Chevron Amethyst is said to be powerfully stimulating to the Third Eye Chakra, filtering information from the Crown Chakra into visions that are more easily interpreted. It is also excellent at dissipating and dispelling negative energies, so it is helpful for journeying and trance work. This stone is also know to assist creative endeavors of all kinds. In divination this stone shows that you may enjoy feeling good and receiving rewards without going overboard, or to excess. Dreaming of Amethyst is protective and signals freedom from harm and negativity.
Justice
Justice is a Major Arcana card. In the Rider-Waite (Smith) deck Waite is known to have switched the order of this card with the card of Strength. So in this deck it is numbered eleven. It carries the astrological energy of the sign Libra, and modality and element of cardinal air. Some keywords include harmony and equilibrium, fair and balanced, choosing with discernment, poise, karma, values, priorities, justice, judgement, relationships, and partnerships. the image shows the figure of Justice sitting on a throne holding scales in one hand and in the other, a double edged sword. If this is the card that you have been drawn to this week remember the Goddess Maat, and keep your heart as light as her feather. The scales will balance in your favor if you do. This card might also suggest that you yourself remain in balance this week. This might show up in relationships where you may need to be careful of over-giving, or overdoing it.
I hope that these mini-readings have been helpful for you this week. if you have any questions about the mini-readings or would like to book a complete personalized reading, then please feel free to contact me at april@lodestarphx.com
From left to right we have the Amethyst Spirit Quartz with the Tower card, in the middle the Clear Quartz Cluster with the Queen of Pentacles card, and on the right the Citrine Spirit Quartz with the World card. It is interesting to note that each of the Spirit Quartz has a Major Arcana card aligned with it and the Clear Quartz cluster has a Court Card aligned with it. The Major Arcana are powerful and full of meaning on their own, but they also together tell a story of the fool’s journey (or hero’s journey if you prefer). The Court cards usually (but not always) represent actual people. Sometimes the person the card represents is the person getting the reading (the seeker, or querent), and sometimes it is someone in the seekers life.
The Tower is the sixteenth card in the Major Arcana of a typical Tarot deck. It contains a powerful image of lightning striking a tower, knocking the top off and sending a pair of people falling head first towards the ground. The most common thoughts when seeing this card are of danger, sudden events that are beyond our control, crisis, damage, accidents, danger and destruction. Sometimes this card is a warning of something that seems to hit us unaware and send us reeling, turning our world upside down. That is not the only way of viewing this card however, and there are times that it can mean sudden new insights, or liberation. It can be the epiphany of a wonderful “aha” moment when you see things in a way that changes things for you forever. The element for this card is fire, and its ruling planet is Mars. This adds to the idea that what it represents is sudden and perhaps aggressive. It might be that we are so unaware that it will take a strong “wake up call” for us to “get it” and put ourselves right again. If you have chosen this card you might want to be more aware of how you are thinking and moving through the world right now. A little meditation and self-reflection could be just the thing to avoid any crisis and exchange it for a new idea or awareness.
This card could represent you, or someone in your life. This card is of the Earth element and associated with the physical Earth realm. Things like gardening, nature, the body, and even money are connected to this card. This woman is often a mother, either literally with children, or metaphorically as a creatrix, artist, entrepreneur, or other type of leader or authority figure. This woman might well be an Earth sign like Virgo, Taurus, or Capricorn. If you have chosen this card it may be time for you to step into (or further into) this type of role, or to work with or for this type of person right now. Consider the association with the crystal cluster and how maybe you could grow or maintain your business, family, home, garden, or support group at this time.
Another Major Arcana card, number twenty-one. It’s element is Earth, and it’s ruling planet is Saturn. This card is often seen as an ending of a cycle of life, a major change that is permanent, also fulfillment, and completion. Saturn would seem to speak directly to this view, but as many who follow astrology will tell you if you do the work you get the reward. If however you have not then you may not enjoy the results, which are usually even more work (both inner and outer) if you want to see improvement. This card in many ways speaks about balance and harmony that come from learning how to order your life so it works for you and not against you. The lessons of Saturn have taught you what really has value, and what really matters, with this information you can create your “world” in a way that feeling like you are in the “flow” is the new normal. If you have chosen this card and don’t currently feel like things are changing for the better for you, it may be that you need to relearn the lessons of Saturn to find out what “works” for you.