The saying goes that if you ask ten people the same question, you'll get twelve answers. I feel the same way about consulting various Tarot resources about the meaning of the Magician card. Depending upon the source the Magician can represent a period of study and learning, a period of using the elements; earth, air, fire and water in magic, a person who has the answers. One I found particulary interesting said that a person who is represented by the Magician has all the resources they need within themselves to suceed.
The one constant though was the need for honesty. The magician, despite all the differences in definitions, must be honest to both herself and to others. Magic requires integrity as much as it requires ability.
As for myself. I fell that although I may already have the resources within me, I'll need much study to be able to use them to their fullest. I've suceeded, I think, in banishing some of my space wasting thoughts and emotions. This will leave room in my life for my own "resources" to grow.
I feel ready to leave the realm of magician and move on to the next card. My needlework magician is represented by stairs leading up to a path, and the path continues on. I am now ready to climb those stairs and leave the nest to start on my path.
Showing posts with label journey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label journey. Show all posts
Monday, October 19, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
I've made a fool of myself or "It's not easy being green"
My time with the fool has left me filled with a combination of depression and determination. The fool that I discovered was not some cheerful, carefree youngster heading off on an adventure. Those who follow Asatru say that there are no fresh starts. When a person has done a wrong he or she gets no clean slate, there is no just saying your sorry and starting over. Instead your past stays with you. For better or worse you need to work with that past in order to move forward.
Instead of starting this journey as a carefree hatchling I am now working first to overcome past wrongs I may have done, to shed bad habits and to learn from my personal history. I must be sure that as I step down the path that I am not deceiving or "fooling" myself.
On a positive note I have started my needlework "journey map". At first when i made a mistake i wanted to start over, but then i realized that in many respects I am just an egg. So in honor of learning from my past I have left the mistakes in and hope that as my journey continues my skills improve.
To me the fool had always been the color green. Green is the color of those who are less experienced. Green horn. Green is the color of things not yet ripe, like green tomatos. Green is the color of spring.
A wise frog once said that it's not easy being green. He was right.
Instead of starting this journey as a carefree hatchling I am now working first to overcome past wrongs I may have done, to shed bad habits and to learn from my personal history. I must be sure that as I step down the path that I am not deceiving or "fooling" myself.
On a positive note I have started my needlework "journey map". At first when i made a mistake i wanted to start over, but then i realized that in many respects I am just an egg. So in honor of learning from my past I have left the mistakes in and hope that as my journey continues my skills improve.
To me the fool had always been the color green. Green is the color of those who are less experienced. Green horn. Green is the color of things not yet ripe, like green tomatos. Green is the color of spring.
A wise frog once said that it's not easy being green. He was right.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
"I Am But An Egg"
I don't remember the original source for the quote "I am but an egg" but I do know I have heard it used many times in reference to being totally new at something. Well, that is how I am approaching the first full day of my journey.
The Fool card represents many things. In the most basic sense it is the beginning. This card can be likened to a seed, an egg or any other embryonic metaphor we can think of. I used to think of it as a seed, the seed that grows into the world tree at the end of the journey. But lately I am more inclined to think of it as a starting point, the place where Dorothy starts off on the Yellow Brick Road, the place where Highway 61 began.
A seed may grow into a tree, but it never leaves the place it was planted. To me a journey means traveling and experiencing things that you may not see if you stayed rooted to one place all the time.
So, I am for now but an egg and as such will be spending the next couple of weeks cleaning out my nest and restoring some much needed order and peace to my life. This will be a time for active meditation, thinking while cleaning and trying on new ideas. I bought the supplies today for the dream pillows and to start my "journey quilt" but that is only part of it. My real hope is to end this quest with a better knowledge of who I am and what I want to be when I grow up.
Many sources on the tarot place the Fool at the beginning of the deck, but others do place this card at the end. The reasoning being that you can only be free to fully enjoy life if you have already obtained wisdom . Thus the Fool can now go on his carefree way as he has the wisdom to avoid stepping off cliffs, drowning in rivers and running blindly from things that go bump in the night.
To me the fool belongs at the beginning of any new venture, even if the journey had been made before. As we all end to forget things as time passess. He is seen as carefree, young and at times unwise. What some cards depict as reckless, I see as unaware or forgetfull of dangers. He is a child learning to ride a bike for the first time. He is a woman who is living on her own after her husband has passed on. He is a man learning a new trade after being laid off from his job. He is an adult fulfilling a lifelong dream of learning to play the piano. He is all of us.
The Fool card represents many things. In the most basic sense it is the beginning. This card can be likened to a seed, an egg or any other embryonic metaphor we can think of. I used to think of it as a seed, the seed that grows into the world tree at the end of the journey. But lately I am more inclined to think of it as a starting point, the place where Dorothy starts off on the Yellow Brick Road, the place where Highway 61 began.
A seed may grow into a tree, but it never leaves the place it was planted. To me a journey means traveling and experiencing things that you may not see if you stayed rooted to one place all the time.
So, I am for now but an egg and as such will be spending the next couple of weeks cleaning out my nest and restoring some much needed order and peace to my life. This will be a time for active meditation, thinking while cleaning and trying on new ideas. I bought the supplies today for the dream pillows and to start my "journey quilt" but that is only part of it. My real hope is to end this quest with a better knowledge of who I am and what I want to be when I grow up.
Many sources on the tarot place the Fool at the beginning of the deck, but others do place this card at the end. The reasoning being that you can only be free to fully enjoy life if you have already obtained wisdom . Thus the Fool can now go on his carefree way as he has the wisdom to avoid stepping off cliffs, drowning in rivers and running blindly from things that go bump in the night.
To me the fool belongs at the beginning of any new venture, even if the journey had been made before. As we all end to forget things as time passess. He is seen as carefree, young and at times unwise. What some cards depict as reckless, I see as unaware or forgetfull of dangers. He is a child learning to ride a bike for the first time. He is a woman who is living on her own after her husband has passed on. He is a man learning a new trade after being laid off from his job. He is an adult fulfilling a lifelong dream of learning to play the piano. He is all of us.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
In the Beginning, Part One, Why I'm Doing This
The Tarot has been a large part of my life for over forty years. I started using my first deck when I was twelve and have not been without at least one deck ever since. To me the Tarot is not a means of "fortune telling". I do not believe in divination per say. I have done readings for others, but I always tell them my philosophy before hand. Daily horoscopes and palm reading may be fun, but the future is anything but certain. Once we know the future, we have the power to change it.
To me, the Tarot, and to the same extent but on a different level the Runes, are a tool of meditation and focus. If I'm worried about something at work but can't quite put my finger on the problem, I'll draw a card and meditate upon it's meaning. This simple method works for me more often than not.
Over the years I have tried to make the "Fools Journey" many times. But, each time, even if I completed all twenty-two cards, I never felt as if I'd "done it right". It had felt as if I studied the cards but did not really try to live their meanings. Now, as I'm getting deeper into middle age I feel the need to at least try one more time.
My nest is now empty, I have a challenging career and a loving husband. I also have hobbies that I enjoy and a home to enjoy them in. Yet, I still feel unfulfilled. Something is missing in my life, and by making the journey I hopeto discover what it is.
To me, the Tarot, and to the same extent but on a different level the Runes, are a tool of meditation and focus. If I'm worried about something at work but can't quite put my finger on the problem, I'll draw a card and meditate upon it's meaning. This simple method works for me more often than not.
Over the years I have tried to make the "Fools Journey" many times. But, each time, even if I completed all twenty-two cards, I never felt as if I'd "done it right". It had felt as if I studied the cards but did not really try to live their meanings. Now, as I'm getting deeper into middle age I feel the need to at least try one more time.
My nest is now empty, I have a challenging career and a loving husband. I also have hobbies that I enjoy and a home to enjoy them in. Yet, I still feel unfulfilled. Something is missing in my life, and by making the journey I hopeto discover what it is.
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