I’ve been read …

Dec 17, 2008 | Randomness

So ExMi is a busy gal! Not only is she a blogger extraordinaire, studying Law, raising The Kid and making all her own Christmas pressies, but she somehow also manages to find the time and energy to do tarot readings for people!

She contacted me last week and offered to perform a reading for me as she reckoned I’d be “interesting” …

Thank you for doing this ExMi 🙂 Wow … so much to digest!

Here’s the result – a general forecast for the next 12 months (the 13th card is a summary):

Cosmic Tarot

Layout: Thirteen’s Calendar Spread.

CARD ONE: January –

Four of Swords –

Keywords and Phrases:

• Recharging your batteries, the need for rest and relaxation.
• A truce, the need for renewal, a slow period, recuperation, recovery, repose.
• Relief from stress, inactivity, withdrawal.
• Meditation, introspection, peaceful surroundings.
• Getting away from it all.

Situation and Advice:

Feeling stressed out? A temporary truce is needed, now is the time to take a break and rest after a period of struggle. You need a period of rest to calm your mind and rejuvenate your body. Now is a time to relax, and regroup your forces. Obtaining distance from your daily routine will help put things back into perspective. Seclusion. You need seclusion to deal properly with your situation. Look inward for a real change. Meditate daily. You can!

This card is a card of solitude and the need to experience time apart from others to gather one’s thoughts and feelings. Following upon the painful image of the Three of Swords, the Four of Swords indicates our need to spend time alone to reevaluate our lives and situations. Solitude, although often difficult to bear, is necessary for us to be able to “recharge our batteries” and rejuvenate our spirits. Despite the fact that we often desire to get out into the world and interact with others to get our minds off our troubles, sometimes it is more beneficial to us to find a place apart and spend a little time by ourselves. This solitary experience always bears fruit in an experience of greater inner strength and confidence. If we are able to face ourselves directly and not run away from our difficulties we will ultimately become more alive and more aware of the good in our lives, and we will develop the inner strength necessary to cope more readily in the future.

The Swords cards all stand for trials of some kind, but the four suggests feelings of peace and stillness. Why is this card different? Because it represents the challenge to be quiet! Sometimes resting and doing nothing is the ultimate challenge. Activity can be a habit that is very difficult to break. There is always so much to do, and modern society beguiles us with its attractions and distractions. The result is we forget to stop and be still. In readings, the Four of Swords is often a sign that you need to slow down and get some rest. If you are recovering from an illness, allow yourself quiet time to heal. Even if you feel completely healthy, you are risking getting sick if you don’t take a break.

The Four of Swords also represents taking the time to think things over without hurry. It is important to step back and gain perspective. This is especially true when you are facing an ordeal or big event. You need quiet preparation time to gather your strength and center your energy. Sometimes the Four of Swords implies that you are or could be shifting focus from the external to the internal. When we are silent, we can more easily go within.  Stillness holds its own rewards, but they must be recognized and sought.

The Four of Swords indicates a time when you can relax. Some actions may be abandoned during your retreat from the situation. The retreat maybe necessary to regroup your resources and conserve your energy. Your work environment will be very unpleasant due to tension you can cut with a knife. You will want to help or make amends with your family, but are at the end of your rope. This could also indicate a death if other cards or categories support it.

This card represents the negotiating mind, the conflict/resolution mind, or the meditating mind. In any kind of negotiation, one must be open to staying in balance and non-positional. The truce-making process is a four fold process that’s experienced on all four levels of consciousness, mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical. Truce is an opportunity to move through conflictual issues. In order for conflict resolution to be successful, there are four peaceful principles that come from native tradition which is referred to as the four-fold way. In order for truce to be truly experienced, one must show up, pay attention, tell the truth, and not be attached to the outcome. The results of this is renewal and regeneration. This usually means that in the next four weeks, or next four months, there will be an opportunity for truce making or conflict resolution or negotiation of important issues or with important people in your life.

Questions to ask yourself, while considering this card:

• Am I stressed out more than usual?
• How can I relieve some of the stress?
• Who am I in conflict with?
• How can we call a truce?
• Can I take on the challenge of rest, relaxation and silence?

People:

• Someone in need of a rest.

CARD TWO: February –

Three of Pentacles –

Keywords and Phrases:

• A job well done, beneficial use of talents, early stages of accomplishment, first rewards.
• Work involving status, a chance to earn big, superior ability, increased status, sincere effort, high standards.
• Expertise, doing the job the right way, success through skill, job satisfaction.
• Attention to detail, improvement in work conditions, advancement, recognitio, approval.
• Confidence, work done for others, making improvements to home or property. Possible change of residence.

Situation and Advice:

This card shows developments on the physical plane, you will be rewarded for doing a competent job, and for making use of your skills, knowledge and talents. Persistence – clear priorities and commitments – your mind, heart and spirit moving in the same direction. You love your work, you are well informed and you can make great progress now. You have great skill, ability and talent – use them. Recognition is possible – your efforts will finally be rewarded. You are aware of the harmony that can result when you use your best skills in cooperation with other capable partners. You have the ability to create and work out practical plans for any project – advancing step by step because you recognize and value the role of each person in any endeavor. You ground your vision in the practical world through physical effort.

Clarify your priorities and commitments – stick with the endeavors that you want to make stable, solid and tangible in your life. Support your creations with patience and tender loving care. Combine love with wisdom and hard work with play and with a proper nurturing attitude your creativity will pay off and you will reap the harvest. Hard work and dedication to your goal will result in mastery. Your best work combines both your spiritual understanding and your technical skills with energy and desire – it can raise you to higher levels. It should be rooted in the reality of the world and the needs of the community. Practical work, done consciously and with commitment can serve as a vehicle for self-development.

Questions to ask yourself at this time –

• How do you work with others?
• What are you working on?
• What is your goal?
• What skills are you using?
• Are you willing to persevere?
• How are you taking or expressing criticism of the work being done?

You may apply your stalents to improving your home, which would involve painting and redecorating. This is a good time to focus on the home. In terms of relationships, be aware that you’re probably not giving enough emotional involvemnent, and are placing too much emphasis on materialism, social considerations and family pressures.

People:

• Hard workers. Talented individuals.
• Perfectionists.

CARD THREE: March –

Wheel of Fortune –

Keywords and Phrases:

• A change for the better, good luck, advancement, opportunity, important developments.
• Rapid change, the upside of a cycle, fate, destiny, progress.
• New doors open, a fortunate turn of events,  a lucky break.
• The end of one phase, and the start of a new one, improving circumstances.
• Gambling, taking chances, lady luck.
• A new vehicle, everything changes.
• “You cannot step into the same river twice

Situation and Advice:

You are entering a new cycle involving a fortunate set of circumstances that promise beneficial change and continuing progress. Forces in motino stimulate change and growth. Rapid changes offer new opportunities to improve your life. A chance circumstance may bring about the end of past difficulties and open a new chapter in your life.  The finger of fate works in your favour.

Emotionally – your strongest feelings are where you will find your talents. Spiritually – to seek your fortune is to grow. Mentally you must “risk” misfortune to grow and physically you are rewarded as your talents manifest themselves. Look for new opportunities – change is exactly what you need. Examine new ideas carefully before you discard them. Exercise your strength and prepare to adapt to new and different circumstances. Treat everything as an opportunity. Do it with an optimistic mind, fearless heart and sense of service to the planet and this good karma brings success and rewards to all levels of life. First you get an idea, then you get fired up about doing it – you choose a suitable means to achieve it, you are required to go through the “blood, sweat and tears” of the process and finally – you see the results. Maintain a steady pace – things are not always as they “seem” on the surface.

Keep planting the seeds you wish to reap – they will develop in time. As your inner, mental images exteriorize – new situations and experiences must fit your existing “belief” structure. New ideas cause change and you can change or alter your experiences by changing and altering your beliefs. To prevent a “limiting” belief from creating reality – you must first become aware of it, so that you can change it according to the reality you want. To change a physical effect – you must change your original belief and as your beliefs change so will your experiences.

The Wheel represents the laws of Karma – the simple explanation of “fate”. The actions you take in this life, build up a certain destiny for you in the next and if you create a great many “negative” situations in one lifetime, you will create the “psychic” need for punishment, so you will choose a lesser or diseased body in your next reincarnation. It is only your limited understanding that prevents you from directly experiencing the truth behind this “fate” or karma.

Enlightenment is remembering – gaining the full knowledge to perceive that your life is only a “form” created by your desires. Release your desires and you are released from the Wheel. The pattern of your life can not become visible until you step away from it. Withdraw to see the whole pattern of where your life has gone and where it is going. Though your body dies – your soul continues. If you wish to release your true self, you will need to free your soul from your “ego” habits, fears and defenses. Facing your “imagined” terrors of the darkness will lead you into the light of truth. The Wheel signifies change in the circumstances of your life and change requires reaction. Accept new situations – adapt quickly to them and seek their true meaning and value.

Discovery of true faith/trust  and in self – acceptance. The mind begins to know the spiritual as the mind and heart cooperate and you begin to “pay attention”. You begin to realize that you must give equal time to your internal environment and its sensory input as well as the external environment and input from the five senses. A new level of energy and inspiration – a voluntary change. You only reach this point after you have served yourself well and are as strong and capable as you are willing. The will to take a chance, to spin the Wheel – you now realize there is such a thing as chance. Faith is not “suspense of doubt”, it is the quest itself. The wheel represents the ups and downs even in faith. The healthy act of “letting go” is actually an assertion of our will. A balance of give and take.

Questions to Answer:

• What life-changes are you experiencing?
• How are you adapting to these changes?
• What effects are you feeling from circumstances you put in motion previously?
• Is there something you need to resolve?
• How are your horizons expanding?

People:

• Gamblers, chance-takers, lucky people.
• Those who make their own luck.

CARD FOUR: April –

Eight of Swords –

Keywords and Phrases:

• Feeling trapped, an oppressive environment, blockage, forced restraint.
• A vicious circle, lack of self-assertion, fear of the unknown, inability to move, feeling boxed-in.
• Intellectual imprisonment, feeling caught in a vice, holding yourself back.
• Lacking confidence to proceed, a barrier, problems with communication.
• Anxiety, worry, self-induced unhappiness, emotional pain, self-censoring.
• Misunderstanding, indecision, fear of exercising your own power, reluctance to exert yourself, lack of faith in yourself.
• Negative feelings that hinder productivity. Saying ‘no’ makes you feel guilty.
• “I keep running into a brick wall”.
• “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t”

Situation and Advice:

This card represents fear, blockage, limitation and restriction that are often self-imposed. You may be acting as your own worst enemy because ofyour fear of the unknown and your reluctance to try something new or to assert yourself. You are stuck in a rut of your own making.

You ability to communicate may be temporarily impaired. You may be caught in a difficult situation from which there seems to be no escape. But there is. It is important to realise that the trappings and limitations are caused by your refusal to open your mind to the truth of the situation. You must face your fears before you can make an important decision. With courage you can overcome your anxieties and resolve the problems around you – if you can’t see things clearly, ask for advice, and heed wise counsel.

You feel you are being held back, but it is important to realise than you cannot be help back unless part of you wants that. The trick is to find a way to overcome that, and free yourself from the bonds of fear and doubt. When this card appears it is not to taunt you, or tell you something you already know, the reason for its manifestation is to show you that you can escape your situation, just as quickly as you put yourself into it. No matter how difficult your situation, the Eight of Swords shows there are always options and ways to escape. You may not think they are plausible, and you may not even know they are there, but they are. They are waiting to be put into practice.  Stop being angry, aggressive, hasty and excessive, this will only make your situation worse. Let go of these qualities and accept the mental clarity and peace that the Swords suit idealises.

With that new and perfect vision you should be able to see a way out of every problem you encounter.

Ask yourself:

• What am I afraid of right now? Why?
• Are these realistic fears?
• What would happen if I faced them?
• What is trapping me right now?
• How can move forward?
• What actions/behaviour is holding me back?

People:

• Someone who feels trapped, someone who feels confined by a relationship.
• Someone who is going in circles.

CARD FIVE: May –

Death –

Keywords and Phrases:

• Major transformation, necessary and profound change, liberation, the dawning of a new era.
• Leaving the past behind, the end of a cycle and the start of a new one, entering a new way of life.
• Death of the old self, empowerment, rebirth, renewal, sudden inevitable change.
• Transition, cleansing, purging, revitalisation, stripping away the worthless matter.
• Grieving the loss of a former lifestyle, inevitable endings.
• Spiritual regeneration, the shedding of outmoded attitudes.

Situation and Advice:

A major change is about to take place – transformation is imminent. A momentous alteration in your life structure is about to occur. A situtation is coming to an end, and a new era is born. Now is the time to rid yourself of attitudes toy have outgrown to pave the way for a new stage in your life. A loss is possible. All that is useless and outdated must be discarded. You must let go of old, unproductive ways. Only rarely does this card mean the death of someone you know (for instance, if you asked about someone’s health or asked about a sick friend/relative).

Humans naturally fear the unknown, and so Death is our greatest fear, since it is the greatest unknown. The majority of us are unaware that our mind and spirit die all the time, constantly shedding old beliefs and acquiring new ones. The Death card is not a card of death – it is a card of transformation. Nothing is destroyed, because nothing can be destroyed, there is only transformation.

The only reason the transformation shownn by Death is so catastrophic is because it is being held back, fought by those too afraid to realise that change is beneficial. Every change happens for a reason, and Death is a force, like the Justice card, in that it is absolutely fair – everyone is equal before the energy of this card.  So if there are big changes happenning in your life, it is only plausible that you are the reason for them. There’s no point in fighting death/transformation, it only makes things worse. Accept that change happens and let it do what it must.

When this card appears, big changes are heading your way, usually this change refers to something in your lifestyle; an old attitude or perspective that is no longer useful and you have to let go of it. This is a card of forced sacrifice- but this does not mean it is not for your own good. Sometimes you cannot see how your attitudes are hurting you, and when this is true the Death card is your wake-up call. Death is not simply destruction, it is destruction followed by renewal. Even though one doory may have closed, another is opening. Will you have the courage to step through?

If so, take a moment before you go forward, to look back. Is there anything you are carrying with you that is no longer necessary? Let it go, now, before you proceed.

Consider these questions:

• What attitudes/opinions/methods of yours are no longer productive?
• Are high expectations disappointing you?
• What transformation are you resisting?
• Why are you afraid of change?

People:

• Those undergoing life changes.
• Agents of change.

CARD SIX: June –

The Chariot –

Keywords and Phrases:

• Clear purpose, determination, being able to carry on, initiative, self-assertion, willpower, control, conquest.
• Success, dominion, centredness, inner peace, triumphant progress, single-mindedness, ambition.
• Mastery, courage, skill, energy to fight for a goal, great effort, achievement, the drive for success.
• A journey, news, winning, victory resulting from personal effort, recognition.
• Control over conflicting forces, inner struggle, conflict of interests, ability to stay on top.
• Steering a middle course, balancing conflicting emotions, charging ahead through struggle and conflict.
• Coming out on top, strength of will, going with the flow.
• Transportation, communications.
• “I am the master of my own fate”.

Situation and Advice:

The Chariot suggests a need to stay centred and take control of competing forces to carry on. You are capable of a calm sense of command, providing you steer a middle course between conflicting thoughts, feelings and wishes.  At the same time, you may feel unable to speed up the outcome, so the best course of action is to go with the flow of the forces you have set in motion.

You may be struggling to assert yourself, because you need to resolve a set of conflicting interests. You will be able to stay on course after making a firm resolution. Your strategy should be to move forward with a clear sense of determination and purpose. You will conquer your difficulties and emerge victorious. Your strength of will and purpose will enable you to come out on top.

This card also deals heavily with emotions – especially emotional control – the power of the mind to shape the desires of the heart and direct them to meaningful expression. This is not the card of control by suppression, but rather control by harnessing and directing emotions to be used to the greater good.

The triumph over both positive and negative emotions is shown by two horses of different colours pulling the Chariot. Though on their own they would run wild, going whichever direction they chose, here they move only forward. So they still have some power, but this power is directed by the man holding the reins. Balance is needed.Through controlling your emotions, you will eventually learn to contol yourself. Nothing is beyond you if you believe in your own power.

Ask yourself –

• What conflicting emotions am I experiencing?
• How are they pulling me in different directions?
• How can I focus them in one direction?
• What lessons do I need to learn here?

People:

• Victors.
• Those at peace with themselves.

CARD SEVEN: July –

Ace of Cups –

Keywords and Phrases:

• Stirrings of the heart, emotional renewal, an upsurge of new feelings, the power of imagination.
• Emotional and spiritual nourishment, love, happiness, friendship, kindness, peace, sensitivity, contemplation.
• The start of a creative enterprise, joy, ecstacy, abundance, the stirring of love.
• Tender feelings, falling in love all over again, compassion, social life.
• Partnership, a positive work relationship, health, romance, a loving union.
• Fertility, a gift.

Situation and Advice:

The Ace of Cups indicates a new beginning in your emotional life. If you’re already involved in a close relationship, this is the time for emotional renewal. You are about to be blessed with love and happiness. The beginning of things emotional and creative – the experience of joy, transcendent love and happiness. Your mind is filled with the spirit of love – you have the capacity to accurately express the internal feelings you experience. It is time for you to open your psychic, spiritual and unconscious channels. Be receptive to all the hopes and doubt that arise when you pursue any goal. Pay attention to the little details and you will be blessed with spiritual sensitivity and insight.

Your “emotional” acceptance is required before any project can develop and flourish. LOVE gives your life meaning – it represents your clear, open, trusting, spiritual heart. Sexual/emotional potential applying to relationships and to creative projects. May be a proposal of love or of marriage, or a new kind of commitment – the offering of oneself to another. The offering of oneself to the world through one’s talents and energies. Ecstasy is yours if you have the courage to completely live out the full range of all your emotions – do not censor or deny any feeling – they are all divine. Ecstasy is emotional intensity that comes from truly living and living is “feeling” – feel everything! Live life in all its passion and boredom, in all its pleasure and fear, in all its quiet satisfaction and raging anger, in all its ups and downs – be totally living and loving. Be emotionally honest – feel your deep spirituality and love completely. The ultimate and successful completion of emotional and/or creative matters to the highest standards.

Questions to Answer:

• What is making you feel good right now?
• What would you like to do to indulge yourself?
• What or who is offering you nurturing or love?
• What messages are you receiving from your dreams and visions? What does your heart feel most open to?
• How can you commit yourself to maintaining these feelings of love?

People:

• lovers, compassionate persons.

CARD EIGHT: August –

Ace of Swords –

Keywords and Phrases:

• A sense of power, strength in adversity, great force at your disposal.
• The power of intellect, freedom, determination, mental energy, courage, fresh ideas, the power of words.
• Something good emerging from the bad. Beginnings of success, right timing, inevitable change.
• Concentrated energy, overcoming obstacles, a focused mind, logic, order, discipline, balanced action.
• The power to think things through, hitting the mark, authority, will-power.
• Every cloud has a silver lining.
• Think before you act, mind over matter.

Situation and Advice:

This card appears at the start of an intellectual enterprise – probably a promising venture that has developed out of adversity – out of something bad, something good emerges.  Your capacity for logic, balance and order are needed.  In the right hands, the sword is a powerful weapon that can serve the needs of justice and authority. But the sword cuts both ways, and when in the posession of those who seek to use it for evil, its power becomes wholly negative.

Every Sword card in the Tarot bears the duality but the Ace is particularly susceptible to it. It is the beginning, the spark of potential that will influence all that lies ahead. The Sword by itself can never be positive or negative. The bearer of the sword determines whether he will wield it with clarity and truth of purpose, or with anger and agression.

The Ace of Swords shows the beginning of a situation whose potential is as double-edged as the blade of a sword. There is great power, even excessive power at times, in both love and hatred. The Ace implies the use of such power to further one’s ends, but what it does not imply is the manner in which those powers will be used, or the end that the means seek to achieve. No matter what the goal, there is always great power behind the attempts to reach it when these attempts are powered by the Ace of Swords. Very little can stand in the path of this energy without being destroyed.

Unlike the force of the Ace of Wands, a natural force, the force of this Ace can be invoked and wielded by anyone whose heart is strong. Note that, in many cases, strength and purity do not necessarily go hand in hand. Weapons are borne by the violent and unjust much more often than the righteous, and this is perhaps why the Swords suit as a whole is full of grief and crisis. But the Ace does not show either triumph or defeat; it has the potential for both lying within it. It is up to the bearer of the Sword to tap that great potential, and it is his actions that decide what will become of it.

As a primarily spiriutal card, the Ace of Swords often represents an insight or a breakthrough in the world of the spirit. Lucid understanding and mental reasoning reach their peak under the influence of this card, and achievement of goals suddenly becomes a lot easier. You can clear away the fog that has kept you from seeing the inner truth, and you can cut away all the bonds of the past that have held you back. The time to act is now, and if you set your mind to accomplishing your goals, you can achieve anything you desire. But be careful that you do not cut yourself with the sword’s two-edged blade.

Consider –

• Are your emotions a double-edged sword?
• Which side will you choose to use?
• What do you hope to accomplish?

People:

• Dominating persons, sharp-tongued individuals.

CARD NINE: September –

Queen of Swords –

Keywords and Phrases:

• A woman alone, head over heart, strong will, sharp wit.
• Ambition, analytical ability, aloofness, thought dominates feeling.
• Perceptiveness, keen insight, fair judgment, right decisions, communication, independence.
• Career-mindedness, diplomacy, standing up for yourself. Being alone.
• “I wasn’t born yesterday”.

Situation and Advice:

This is a card of ‘going it alone’ – now is the time to stand up for yourself and be clear about your wants and needs. Autonomy, aloofness and independence are key themes of this card. You have learned to be independent during a period of loneliness – now you are far more interested in career and ambitions than emotional matters. This card warns that your emphasis on cool, rational thought has strangled your emotional expression.

The Queen of Swords is another of those mysteriously ambiguous court cards in which the masculine and feminine are in conflict – she never shows her emotional side, but her judgment can sometimes be swayed by her heart, and because of these conflicts she is neither a good confidante nor  fair judge.

The Queen of Swords has been through many trials, many conflicts in her life. She has weathered them with strength and courage, standing steadfast in the face of misfortune and sorrow. She has lost loved ones and experienced pain; but instead of letting these experiences make her bitter, she has let them temper her and strengthen her resolve. She is realistic and pragmatic; she is a loyal friend and determined ally.

The Queen of Swords brings these attributes into your life either directly to you in your approach to life or in the shape of a relationship in your life with a person of Queen of Swords characteristics.

The Queen of Swords is portrayed amongst the swirling air that governs her suit. She has wings to lift her mind above her earthly problems. She bears a third eye of intuition, a sixth sense of wisdom. Butterflies symbolizing change after incubation fly around her. She has been through hard times and has become stronger, she is able to cut through illusions with clarity.

The Queen of Swords presents us with a feminine image who has discovered her strength and wisdom through the trials she has borne in her life. Experience and life learned through difficult, painful lessons have seasoned her expectations. This might have taught her to be pushy and extreme in getting people to see her point of view.

The Queen’s ability to perceive the truth despite the web of lies will prove useful here – tapping her power will help you see what us hidden. Her stoicism and her stiff upper lip are a sign that she considers painful experiences to be learning experiences, and perhaps you should too.   She learns a little from everything she does and everyone she meets, and everyone who talks with her goes away a little wiser, whether they realise it or not.

Ask youself:

• do you feel you’re being deceived by anyone/anything?
• Are you ignoring your intution when it’s trying to tell you something important?
• Are you letting your heart cloud your judgment?
• Who can you turn to for objective advice?

People:

• A distant, uninvolved parent.
• A woman who has known sorrow and now remains aloof.
• A female advisor.
• A strong-willed, ambitious yet cold woman.
• A career-minded woman who has little interest in developing her love-life.

CARD TEN: October –

Prince of Wands –

Keywords and Phrases:

• Change is in the air, creative energy.
• An important even related to an enterprise, new people, new ideas and experiences.
• Not wanting to settle down, an important visitor, perpetual motion.
• Quick decisions, swift action, haste, adventure, challenge.
• Love of fun, sense of humour, optimism, generosity, confidence, vision, perspective.
• Relocation, flight, movement, getting away.
• Sexual adventures.

Situation and Advice:

Change is in the air – a matter of considerable importance is emerging in your life. When this card enters your life it can be one of three things – a person around you, an event you will experience or a part of yourself you must bring to the surface.

Any vent that enters your life quickly and unexpectedly is ruled and predicted by the Prince of Wands. This energy moves with the speed of a raging fire pushed onward by the wind. The Prince often represents the coming or going of an important matter – and you can rest assured that these comings and goings will be swift. Sometimes he shows that an important person will be coming into your life, or leaving it. Such person, when shown by the Prince of Wands, shares his spontaneity and kinetic outlook on life. Though he may seem gruff and abrasive at first glance, underneath that armour he has a warm and generous heart. He will be highly supportive of those he considers close to him.

He typifies the ‘knight in shining armour’ stereotype – because he is always swooping into situations, saving the day and then moving on to the next adventure. This suddenness hides a deep sense of morality and honour – he is always ready to protect those who cannot defend themselves. But he cannot stay in one place too long, there is always more to do.

If the Prince of Wands shows an energy within yourself hat you have to bring to the surface, this shouldn’t be hard to do. In fact, keeping it in may be harder than letting it out, so don’t fight it. Your confidence levels will rise to the surface and you’ll feel ready to take on the world. Tackle any challenges that come your way, and be willing to help others who lack your determination and skills.

When the Knight of Wands shows up in your reading, it’s time to ask yourself these questions:

• How am I growing?
• How much energy am I putting into my own self-growth?
• Who is radiating creative or sexual energy in my life?
• How am I changing?
• What opportunities are entering my life right now that I feel passionate about?

People:

• Travelers, negotiators, movers, competitors.
• Those who enjoy being alive.
• A young man who acts quicky and decisively.
• A person who does not want to settle down.
• An exhilarating lover.
• Someone who is easily distracted.

CARD ELEVEN: November –

Four of Pentacles: (reversed) –

Keywords and Phrases:

• Unwarranted fear of poverty, problems with the budget, lack of financial security, carelessness.
• Trouble letting go, failure to delegate responsibility, inadequate payment for services rendered.
• Delays, obstacles, envy, suspicion, fear of failure.
• selfishness, money problems, an unbalanced budget.
• Lack of fulfillment.

Situation and Advice:

You may be having difficulty spending wisely, saving money or balancing your budget. Concerns about securit, financial and otherwise, preoccupy your mind. You may be holding tightly to something, when you should be letting go. An excessively defensive or timid attitude may be holding you back. Delays are possible.

Emotional excess – you have acted without giving yourself time to think. The energy has been released – allow yourself to experience the generosity and freedom as you begin to give your life some structure. Grasping material possessions to tightly only closes you off from personal development. Honor your inner and outer limits now. Once you have become completely centered and stable within yourself, having found the security “within” – you will no longer need to hold onto anything in the material world. You will recognize that when you are confronted with loss or obstacles, you need only establish new plans and have them ready. Opposition can delay future plans, so when a situation is unstable – put a halt to unnecessary spending.

New – Contentment of the moment may lead to an important oversight. Greed and other forms of physical insecurity not justified by circumstances – miserliness out of fear that you will not have enough for yourself. Refusal to use your money or resources – hanging on to them will eventually lead to ruin, just as a body not used – atrophies. Acquisitions in order to impress rather than for true personal appreciation. An undesirable turn on the physical path.

Questions to Answer:

• What is keeping you centered?
• What are your greatest strengths?
• How are you powerful?
• What gives you a sense of security?
• What do you want to hold on to or possess?
• Who or what do you need to protect?

People:

• Poor money managers, powerless individuals.
• Ultra-conservatives, those who worry too much about money.

CARD TWELVE: December –

Five of Swords: (reversed) –

Keywords and Phrases:

• (+) Being cleared of wrong-doing, treachery revealed.
• (-) Loss, manipulation, underhandedness, false pride, deception, unfairness.
• Suspicion, paranoia, an exclusive focus on winning.

Situation and Advice:

You are experiencing despair after things didn’t turn out quite the way you’d planned . See how your mind creates doubt and pessimism – look directly at your defeatist thinking. You defeat yourself with your own doubt and skepticism. It is time that you look at changing your own attitudes – let go of your pride and release this narrow view point – your own “ego” is inhibiting you. An old wound has been opened and you are experience fear associated with that memory – thoughts that history might repeat itself or that you could be hurt again. Your vision has been distorted by the past. Allow yourself to be sensitive to this deception in a personal situation – be receptive to the things that are causing you all these emotional problems. When you are involved in an unfair decision that is hard to correct – be patient with your emotions.

Too much or too little mental freedom leads to uncertainty. Too many or too few choices.Your mind looks at itself ineffectively and will tend to be too passive and lax or will be over enthusiastic and cause havoc. Criticism of self and others can be harsh and inaccurate. A sharp tongue. A sense of mental loss rather than gain. Anger, confusion, argument, covering things up, impulsive, impatient, hasty, nervous, stubborn, complacent. Inappropriate worry, sadness, depression, disappointment, guilt or shame.

As you focus on this card, ask yourself:

• Do you expect to get “stung” in this situation?
• What are you afraid of?
• Why don’t you feel good about what you are doing?
• What do you need in order to feel good?
• What would be the ethical thing to do?
• What is so important to you that you have to prove everyone else wrong?

People:

• Bullies, malicious enemies.

CARD THIRTEEN: your year in summary –

Two of Wands –

Keywords and Phrases:

• Off to a good start, a period of wating.
• The early stages of an enterprise, the need to wait and see how matters develop, not much actively happening.
• Completion of the first stage of a project, faith in the future, transition, sincere effort.
• Achievement, ambition, pride, ownership, partnership matters.
• Growth, preparation for success, foresight, headed in the right direction.
• Waiting for a reply.
• Where do I go from here?

Situation and Advice:

After the initial power of the Ace enters your life, that power must be shaped and directed towards the area in your life where it will be most useful. This is the energy of the Two of Wands, a card of applied power. A cohesive vision of the final destination starts to form, and though this first impression may be incorrect, that really does not matter at this time. There will be plenty of time to change your course later if you are not heading in the direction you want to be. What is important now is to get moving towards your goals, whatever those are.

This card deals a lot with the power of the Will to accomplish great things in the world. Without the initial vision there can be no final success, and without determination the goal can never be reached. The Two of Wands is a card that embodies that determination to go out into the world and succeed. It is much the same as the Magician’s power, so the color scheme of the Two of Wands often resembles the Magician’s. On the Rider-Waite version, the red and white flowers on the stone tile match the Magician’s robes. This is the energy of the Magician brought down to a more manageable level, a level at which you can direct its course.

When this card’s energy enters your life, you will find the ability to make your dreams into reality, to achieve your highest ambitions. Now is the time to understand how we create our own reality every second of our lives. It is also time to learn how we can use that to our advantage. Boldness and daring are unlimited when this energy is under your control, so go into the world and show your power to everyone. All of the Twos are associated with unions, and the Two of Wands can show that it is a good time for friendships, but beware of relationships where all the power lies in the hands of one person.

Personal power is another theme of this card. The Two of Wands is a reminder that we are always in control of our lives, and though we may be surprised by events from time to time, the reins remain in our hands waiting for us to use them. This is why it’s important to plan ahead, and know where you are headed before you set off on your journey. There is no place for uncertainty and hesitation, but fortunately, this card gives you the energy to rid yourself of those. You deserve to be the creator and the ruler of your life. Allow your inner power to show itself – you’ll be surprised by what you accomplish,

People:

• A partner, someone involved in negotiations.
• Someone waiting for an answer.