Get Back to Work, You Devil!

I am going back to work after a couple weeks off for the holidays. I drew a card to see what was in store today. There was no real question in mind, rather, curiosity for the flavor of the day. Guess what came up?

Yup, none other than The Devil himself. Fear, shackles, and addiction; or so traditional meanings indicate. I sometimes think of the ol’ Devil as being related to career work, given my Capricorn association to the card; that ol’ black magic brings out that ol’ executive along with it.

I can promise you all that I am not a work addict. (For any sort of work!) That said, I will be moderately pleased to be back to the office today. I still enjoy my relatively new job, and it will be good to see my friends at the office.

I think the Devil sums it up, really: back to work, and back to a more regular daily structure (the illusory shackles of the mage). The day is going to be what I make of it. No more, no less.

Right now, I could use a bit more sleep… but it’s past time to start getting ready for work, so off I go!

…and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

A Partridge in a Pear Tree!

This post is brought to you by the number one, and is my final post in the 12 Days series here. Because these last few posts have been published with more than one per day, I’d like to remind you to make sure you didn’t miss any recent numbers.

Today’s entry brings a very simple message: be true to yourself.

2 Turledoves

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

2 Turledoves

This post is inspired by the number two, and brings you a one-on-one session between me and the tarot. Specifically, a dialog between me and The Fool. I really wanted to interview the Magician, but apparently he’s too busy right now so the tarot sent me the Fool instead. (It really does have a mind of its own sometimes!)

3 French Hens

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

3 French Hens

Oui, oui!

This post is inspired, of course, by number three — and relates to something you might not expect to read about here: breathing! Specifically, breathing to center before a reading.

Many readers have their own rituals before consulting the cards. This may be a formal set of actions, such as lighting a candle and saying a prayer of some sort; or informal, such as laying out a particular spread cloth and shuffling the cards. Some of you like to make a cup of tea (I’m coming over if you serve earl gray!), or lay out a bowl of water. Any action that is repeated consistently over time will become one that queues the right state of mind, due to the constant association. In NLP terminology this is an “anchor.”

I would like to offer a particular anchor that I use to start most of my work that requires going within: three breaths.

4 Calling Birds

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

4 Calling Birds

This post, being brought to you by the number four, is going to be about reading using the four elements. Specifically, a four-card elemental spread. It’s quick, easy, and has proven quite valid in my experience.

(Because I am posting more than one entry today, please don’t miss my previous post, 5 Gold Rings.)

5 Gold Rings!

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

5 Gold Rings!

For five, I wanted to touch on readings that utilize a count from one card to the next, usually referred to as card counting. This post was inspired by the count value of an ace being eleven or five (in the Opening of the Key spread), depending on how one learns.

Card counting is a way of obtaining more information from a spread, by counting a certain number of cards from a card of interest; and then continuing to count. This builds a sequence of cards which can be read in addition to the spread itself. This is not a method restricted to tarot cards.

6 Geese a-Laying

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

6 Geese a-Laying

The number six is often a number associated with the Sun; and therefore, health and healing. How does this relate to the cards?

I originally wanted to describe the basis for using your cards to create a healing ceremony, by making an active talisman layout. Then I thought about healing as it relates to cards, and that led me to something else I want to bring to your attention: Why do you practice and study cartomancy? Some possible reasons are:

7 Swans a-Swimming

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

7 Swans a-Swimming

First off, a belated Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays — take your pick — to everybody out there. I spent a very happy couple of days with my loved ones, and am now trying to unwind a bit. It is cold and rainy outside and we are on the verge of a big snowfall here, according to the weather predictions.

Incidentally, cartomancy author Cicely Kent wrote that she believes the weather always shows up in a reading. I can’t say I’ve ever looked for this or tested it, but it’s an intriguing assertion.

For today’s post, the theme must be around the number seven; and the seven planets naturally came to mind. Actually, the first thing that came to MY mind was the trials of the number seven but I was having trouble turning that into a topic. Then I remembered Ophiel’s Oracle of Fortuna!

The Oracle of Fortuna is a method of divination intended for use with playing cards, that relies on the state of the game (whether won or not) and the seven planets (for categories) to provide meanings to the “spread” that exists at the end of the game. Additionally, the person versed in the system would be able to translate the game into nuances likely to take place as a questioned scenario plays out in real life.

8 Maids a-Milking

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

8 Maids a-Milking

I’d better be careful, or I’ll be crying over spilt milk again.

I had a lot of ideas for the number eight. The problem is that a lot of them were too involved to fit into a short post like this, or were ideas I’d like to spend more time with before writing about publicly. What to do, what to do?!

Then it hit me: I could share a lot of my brainstorming ideas with you! I like the idea of sharing this — a snapshot of the way that my mind works, at least in this case. It provides a record of some ideas I may explore later. Finally, it’s a reminder that tarot doesn’t have to be all serious and somber and divinatory; it can be used as inspiration for “mundane” things, like writing and brainstorming. (I put mundane in quotes because creativity is sacred in some parts of the world or our history. Think about the Celtic people or ancient Greek culture!)

Here is my list.  Now with 40% more exclamation points!

Twelve Days – A Note

I’ve been working on a Twelve Days of Christmas posts, based on the Christmas carol. My original idea had been one post a day until Christmas. I never formally announced this, thinking I would just gently segue into it. I thought it would be a nice gift of sorts for my friends, who continue to read even when I don’t post regularly.

It turns out that my pre-holiday prep work has been more involved than expected, as I plan for a dinner I am hosting. (Today will be my last grocery store visit!) So one post a day hasn’t been realistic for me.

As it happens, the titular twelve days are actually the twelve days after Christmas. So I don’t feel too bad that this series will continue to run after Christmas day. I still plan to get through all twelve, and I hope you are enjoying them.