My Sweet Holiday

I am off to Brazil tomorrow and I thought I should do a reading to find out what the cards have to say about my trip. I used a three-card spread because this has become my preferred and much used spread of this year. I interpreted the cards from the left. I assigned specific meaning to the three positions:

1. beginning to the middle of my trip.

2. middle to the end of my trip.

3. general need-to-know about my trip.

Langustl Tarot and Judit Bartschi Lenormand (both trimmed)

The first two cards were the 5 of Wands reversed and the Mice. The combination of these two cards told me about unrest, nonstop action, lots of energy spent. The mice could literally eat away my energy reserves making me feel exhausted almost to the point of feeling sick. I think I would better take special care about myself and try to conserve some energy. The temperatures in Brazil will be very high and I can not easily handle too much heat and sunshine. I get fatigued and sick if I spend too much time on the sun. In this version of the 5 of Wands we only see the hands of the people who are in conflict but the reversal of this card clearly brought out the bottom part of the picture where we can see what seems to be a magnified wand being snapped into two. This may just further emphasize the need to conserve energy and rest rather than trying to do everything on the same day at the same time. Although I could go further and deeper into the possible meanings of this combination (especially with regard to the Mice) I would rather leave it at that. I do hope that this combination just refers to unrest and fatigue.

The 7 of Swords could hint at unseen danger. The card generally refers to an evasion of some sort that requires tactful and clever thinking and lots of planning as well as being secretive about something. We will be staying at my partner's family house. Our arrival and stay my shake things up a little bit and this may not be apparent at first. Another side of the story is that there may be a need to hide or not reveal too much about our relationship. However, the Sun card from the Lenormand oracle is very promising and makes me feel much more positive about our trip. The Sun can indicate that things can  and probably will brighten up; and our energy levels will return to normal. Another possible and more obvious meaning of this card is sunburn and can simply refer to the season of summer (which is what the current season is in Brazil). Going deeper and considering the combination of the two cards I might also assume that certain things may come to light within my partner's family.

The last two cards in this spread were the 7 of Pentacles reversed and the Book. The combination of these two cards told me that something needs to be assessed or considered further and that the general need-to-know of our trip is unknown. With the 7 of Pentacles comes the process of getting from one stage to another and that you can only know something once you experienced it. This card together with the Book suggests that until I complete the trip I can not know for certain how things will turn out to be. Although the overall feeling I get from the cards is positive I should still be careful especially with regard to my health. One thing is for certain with the Sun card in the middle of the spread, this trip looks very exciting and promising.

Life Journey Spread

The World Spirit Tarot and the Gypsy Lenormand Oracle

This reading was based on Paul Quinn's Life Journey Spread that can be found in his book Tarot for Life. Originally this is a three-card spread but since I am also using the Lenormand oracle I had a total of six cards (one extra Lenormand card for each tarot card). So here is my interpretation of the spread:

Position 1. Where I have been?

The cards that came up in this position were the 7 of Pentacles and the Ship. I have been assessing, growing, taking stock of my life, perhaps far too long. I have been very patient and leaving things to be, perhaps for longer than I should have done. The Ship from the Lenormand oracle can symbolize my immigration process as well as a general hoping and longing for change and for breaking free. Both cards can indicate that things can take a long time perhaps years (to grow and reach their conclusion). On a deeper level, the Ship can represent my unconscious and from this picture I can only glimpse a small portion of the vast ocean (my unconscious). This means, together with the 7 of Pentacles that I have not yet figured out or understood what I have been waiting for or how to grow and mature ideas in order for them to become fully expressed and actualized. So this is where I have been.

Position 2. Where I am now?

Here the Judgement card is definitely telling me to take stock of the past and then move on. However, being in a never ending cycle of self-assessment would surely make my life pretty miserable and it is not where I am now at the moment. More likely this card indicates a sense of rebirth that I am feeling at the moment in my life and this is because of my partner who is symbolized by the Cavalier from the Lenormand deck. Love has definitely marked the beginning of a whole new life for me. It is an uplifting experience that brings me a sense of relief from the seemingly never ending waiting game of the past. It is him who lifts me up, who is galloping towards me. So I am now relieved and more energized and feel more like I have a sense of purpose.

Position 3. Where I am going?

The 7 of Wands clearly shows that I will have to up my game if I am to stay strong. I will have to stand my ground and be more forceful to aim higher in life. The Bear from the Lenormand oracle also confirms the need to be strong but it also shows its more dangerous side (symbolized here by the pole with a triangle that the Bear is holding). The dangers here could indicate an excess of aggression or force. Overall I do think that both cards are more positive than negative. Both the Bear and the figure in the 7 of Wands are holding onto their wands or poles in a defensive stance and I must say they look rather strong and capable. Both cards picture female characters (the Bear is more commonly associated with females in most schools of Lenormand) which could indicate that I may find support from (an older) female person. On the other hand the combination of these two cards remind me of Strength where a female figure is taming her inner beast who is represented here by the Bear.

General Observations:

There were no reversed cards in this spread. Both minor arcana cards were 7s. Number 7 is a special number for me in many ways one of which is it being my Soul number (by adding up the digits from my date of birth the sum of all digits comes to 7). In terms of elemental dignities fire dominates heavily ( both Judgement and the 7 of Wands are attributed to the element of fire) breaking out from the past through the earth (7 of Pentacles) like a volcano. It is as if the build-up of energy was waiting to be released from the depths of my unconscious.

All in all I can see myself lifted up (Judgement) by my partner (Cavalier) from the safety of my secret garden (7 of Pentacles) that was floating on the sea of my unconscious (Ship) and becoming more of a fighter and a much stronger person (7 of Wands and Bear).

Back to Work.

After 12 days of not having to work and 12 days of relaxing and replenishing my psychic brain circuits I will be returning to work on the 14th of December. I wanted to ask the cards what awaits me or what do I need to be prepared for when I return; more precisely how should I prepare for what awaits me. I used the Alchemical Tarot Renewed by Robert M. Place since I discovered this morning that its corresponding application is available to download from the App Store. I do not much like the idea of learning to work with a deck from an application but since this is the only format currently available I thought I might as well get it so that I can start using this wonderful deck.
I asked the cards: What do I need to know about my workplace next week? I devised a simple two-card spread taking advantage of the beautiful rose image on the back of the cards. This second edition of the deck has a non-reversible card back with a single rose. I thought of this image as being either more positive or more negative depending on its position. So I swirled the cards face down on my bed using the so called 'wash' technique. This resulted in some roses being upright and some being reversed. I pulled and collected the cards back together reforming them into one deck and separated the upright and reversed roses into two smaller decks. Each of these decks were cut once and then the top cards of the two decks were placed next to each other. The card to the left represented the 'negative' aspects (reversed roses) and the card to to the right the positive aspects (upright roses) of the situation. Here I use the term 'negative' to suggest opportunities or areas which may affect me more profoundly; things I may not have wanted to face or confront in the past.

   

Five of Swords                                  Four of Staffs

There were no cards from the Major Arcana which I am not surprised about at all since I am not dealing with or expecting any major life influences or transitions at the moment. The card from the 'negative' deck was the 5 of Swords. Traditionally, I would associate this card with defeat, (mental) pain, victimization as well being stubbed in the back, negative thinking or depression. This card depicts a blacksmiths who is trying to fix broken or negative swords. This may sound rather positive compared to its traditional meaning; however the card was drawn from the 'reversed rose' pile so in this context I'd better interpret it in terms of things at work that may have to be fixed, holes in the system and perhaps a lot of mental effort and energy that will have to be used to improve things at work. On a more personal level this card may be telling me that I may view things negatively once I return to work; or simply this card just shows me back at work. Looking at the card that was drawn from the 'upright rose' pile I have all the right reasons to stop thinking negatively and view things in a more positive way. The 4 of Staffs (or 4 of Wands) is traditionally associated with initial success, completion, celebrations but in this card it emphasizes the mutual loving aspect of this card between the masculine and the feminine. If I recall correctly, according to Waite this is the only card in the RWS deck that has the same meaning in its reversed position. So this card then signifies an environment that is loving, balanced, with a certain feel-good factor. So in summary, there is the possibility of negative thinking within a positive environment. And now I am thinking: 'How typical is that of me?' Perhaps these two cards are saying that I should not think negatively or just look for faults and problems that need fixing, but instead try to be more positive since my workplace will be supportive and loving. Well, that surely is great news and we shall see about this next week upon my return to work.