June | 2009 | The Ninth House 3

Tarot Carvings

I was reviewing my tarot carving photos last evening. There is a background story behind this hobby of mine and the photos that I have. I had a web-site which was devoted to illustrating these carvings and offering them for sale. The tarot carvings were grouped into miniature cards, tarot figures (about 6″ high) carved in deep relief which were mounted on a variety of storage and desk boxes, readers/carry kits and display plaques, and several tarot accessories.

What I found over time was that Tarotist’s love to collect decks and spend a lot of money on their deck collections, many having hundreds of decks. They spend much less, percentage-wise, on tarot books, and they would not part with money to buy anything else — even though it was so unique and not available anywhere else. Consequently, I closed the site down.

My next project which is now approaching the end-point, was to write a book on astrological prediction based on my 35+ years of experience. This effort has brought my tarot carvings to a near-standstill situation. I have been carving carousel horses, one full sized one, many smaller ones suitable for a desk or to make into a lamp. These are being provided to our grandchildren. I will be starting a full dimensional tarot figure this summer.

In any case, the photos taken then worked well for thumbnail photos on a web site, but are not suitable (read as clear) at larger scales for use here. This will/would require repainting (to freshen up the colors) and photography before I can post more of these. So, to make a long story shorter, I will seek to find the time to paint and photograph a few pieces for posting here, and I will post photos as I go through the carving process of the new piece I will be starting in a week or so.

There seems to be a substantial interest in tarot carvings based on the number of views that are recorded by WordPress. The only shortcomming of this blog, for me, to date is the shyness of the many visitors in terms of posting comments. Dave

Horoscope Spread Reading; Can you use this spread in your readings?

Question: How may my life be balanced while completing my book?

Tarot Deck: Waite-Smith

Spread: Horoscope, 12 house spread Horoscope Spread Reading-1-J

12 House Astrological chart layout.

Pos. #1; King of Cups Personal & daily experiences

Pos. #2; Page of Wands Property and desire-objectives

Pos. #3; Ten of Cups Travel and communication issues

Pos. #4; Eight of Pentacles Home, family life, core values, point of change

Pos. #5; Queen of Swords Children, speculation, entertainment factors

Pos. #6; Five of Pentacles Work, making life adjustments

Pos. #7; Knight of Pentacles Relationships, projecting out to others

Pos. #8; Ten of Pentacles Issues unequally shared or expected

Pos. #9; Ace of Pentacles Greater perspective, learning, distant travel

Pos. #10; Ace of Wands Personal reputation, public goals

Pos. #11; Three of Pentacles What one works toward, future, friends, resources of others

Pos. #12; Emperor Hidden agendas, sacrifices, preparing for change

Opening comments

This question is essentially in two parts; “how to maintain a balanced life” (while) “completing my book”?

One affects the other as I live within a family life (wife, three adopted grandchildren in their teens, school activities, preparing to split time between our home and our summer place) and am concentrating on the final re-writes and (soon) editing of an astrological book about prediction. I have to expect that many of the cards and positions will need to be nuanced to address each side of the question. This type of spread naturally lends itself to these complexities, although that doesn’t guarantee that I or any reader will successfully apply the reading to the question.

#1; King of Cups. This King sits firmly, calmly amidst troubled waters, holding his scepter and a large cup. This card is appropriate to my personal, daily experiences as it both represents one who maintains control in a turbulent environment while embodying the spirit of a poet and sensitive counselor.

#2; Page of Wands. Standing alone, admiring his walking staff, this person is pausing in his travels. This card represents the bringer of news and information, and seems to refer to the book. This figure is free and imaginative in his travels, portraying a book that presents fresh ideas and methods of prediction. There is an astrological trine relationship to the Ace of Wands in the 10^th house, indicating that my personal practices as an astrologer (my reputation and methods) fit well with the free and easy preparation of the book (property).

#3; Ten of Cups. The only other cup card in the spread, this card shows a rainbow of cups being celebrated and admired by a family, located in the position representing communication and sharing. This card represents a culmination of dreams and effort, a great satisfaction with what is being said, presented, shared. Obviously I am pleased with the form and flow of the book. On a family level, this period is represented by the children achieving their academic aims as well as our efforts in establishing our summer beach home.

#4; Eight of Pentacles. This first of six Pentacles cards if placed in the Home, Core Values, and Change. Here, this card is one of endeavor, of working towards completion, of the process of achieving. This is a card that affirms the effort being made. But, all of that good feeling and effort is modified by two other cards; the square (challenge, struggle aspect) to the Knight of Pentacles in the 7^th house of relationships, and the trine (ease of adaption and effort) relationship to the Ten of Pentacles in the 8^th house of unequal sharing of resources of partners. The Knight of Pentacles has an esthetic sense and can be supportive at times but the square aspect suggests that a partner may not be as cooperative as wished for. The 8^th house Ten of Pentacles suggests that resources are available—the card is one of prosperity and comfort—and the trine aspects points to an easy access to these resources.

One feature of this method of relating similar suit-cards or number-cards through astrological aspects such as the square (three cards distant), the trine (four cards distant) and the conjunction (adjacent) is that we can gain a richer sense of relationships between the houses by the cards placed there. The question, then, is “does the Knight and Ten of Pentacles cards work better as a conjunction with each other, or separately as a square and trine to the Eight of Pentacles in the 4^th house. At this point in the reading, I don’t see much advantage one way or the other.

#5; Queen of Swords. The only Queen in the spread, this Queen exudes authority and presence, displays some distance from others. In the position of speculation, children, and entertainment this card points to a more serious side of the book (which is based on technical concepts) and it’s aggressive simplicity of charting and predicting. With the square to the Page of Wands, representing free and imaginative play with ideas, this Queen portrays the simplicity of the books methods and their scientific underlying basis.

#6; Five of Pentacles. We are all familiar with the pitiful pair trudging through the snow near a lighted church window. This position equates to making adjustments in how one works. This card seems to be a wake-up call, perhaps to not be quite so casual and to think again about the resources that I may be missing out on. This calls for some more thought and investigation.

#7; Knight of Pentacles. This card has already been noted earlier relative to other cards. On its own, this card (in terms of the book) shows that I am reaching out with practical help for others, a nice complement to the 1^st house King of Cups. Intent relating to the purpose of the book will be carried out. In terms of family and life in general, this card also points to contributions by other family members to the best interests of the family. With the two adjacent cards (both Pentacles) showing destitution and success, it seems that the typical mix of family ups-and-downs will be experienced as we all maintain an overall balance. Perhaps this issue should be explored as a separate issue.

#8; Ten of Pentacles. This is the second “Ten” card in the spread, the Ten of Cups being 5 cards distant, this being an “inconjunct” astrological aspect signifying required adjustments in order to achieve balance. Cups and Pentacles have a satisfaction-generating relationship, so the two success-stories of these two cards in this inconjunct relationship belies that success. I read this as possibly indicating the book being a critical success but not a financial bonanza—just what I’d expect from a specialized astrological book on prediction methods. I also suspect that this house placement, the 8^th house of unequally shared resources, indicates that rewards will come from other directions as a result of this book. Finally, in terms of family life balance, the satisfaction and status of the family and the book are likely to remain separate.

#9; Ace of Pentacles. The first of two adjacent Aces, we can consider these two Aces as being conjunct each other with the focus on the 10^th house, supported by the 9^th house. The book can be represented by the 9^th house. In that light, the Ace of Pentacles notes the fullness of one’s potential within one’s work/project. Yet, this card also shows a gate leading to far horizons; other gains can come from this in terms of 9^th house meanings such as travel, new and expanded ideas, growth through sharing. This Ace also “squares” that troublesome-to-me Five of Pentacles as it suggests that I’m missing out on some obvious resources and/or guidance that would be helpful.

#10; Ace of Wands. This card in this position, according to Mary Greer, represents a “command” to follow one’s path or goals (10^th house meanings). Wands represent interests, passions, ideas. As a card representing a potential, this card indicates that the book is a primary focus of my life—this is both good as a driving force but it can also be bad in terms of being an obsession. So, I offer a caution to myself; this Ace is both a sign of moving in the right direction and is a warning to not be consumed by this passion. Who would have thought that an Ace could be a card of concern?

#11; Three of Pentacles. This card of craftsmen in the 11^th house suggests that the book will lead to similar future teaching roles, the first step on a journey that will lead to a form of success. The book, then, is but a building block or foundation for other efforts (the square to the Ten of Pentacles, the trine to the Knight of Pentacles. Relative to the family, this is a “building” card and points to a future new home or big changes to the family’s present environment.

#12; The Emperor. This is the only major arcana card of te spread. This law-giver and manager of others, being in the 12^th house of changes and behind the scenes preparation/growth, points to a coming time when authority has to be reshaped. In terms of the book, its concepts and methods may set new standards and directions in how predictive work is approached. In terms of family balance, this likely indicates the coming of age/maturity of one child who is entering his last year of college, and one child who is entering his last year of trade school to become a plumber. Both hope to be working and living on their own next year, so this card is quite appropriate to the direction of the family’s overall change. Only the 15 year old daughter will remain at home.

Summary:

This spread and its cards depicts my current life situation quite well. It has offered a few surprises to me in terms of cautionary messages: 1) Needing to review my work habits, 2) Reviewing what external resources and help is available but not seen by me, 3) Avoiding having the book become an obsession, and 4) Accepting that the book may only be a first step or foundation for the predictive tools and methods that I am advocating. I think these issues will need to be both thought about and acted upon. Perhaps additional spread should be considered as clarifying tools.

Observations for blog visitors:

I have avoided using some card-reading methods that I often use in other spreads so that the approach to using astrological tools within this spread would remain clearer to understand. As always, I am willing to discuss and/or answer questions about the spread itself or about the interpretive results I wrote about.

Dave