2012 Review

 Alright! It's almost 2013! I mean... we can't speak too soon.. apparently the END of 2012 is supposed to be kind of a big deal, but I thought I would start my review of 2012 based on my annual reading I did in January. I have used my 2012 reading to guide me and advise me all year and it has been so accurate!

2012 was the year of Strength 8M for me, with support cards the base and crown chakra, and 4M Authority/The Emperor. This year I needed to own and balance my energy, bringing the spiritual into the very real and physical world.

January: 6 M The Lovers. In January my now boyfriend and love of my life, Matt, came to visit me for the first time in Denver. We spent 10 days together in total romantic bliss, and it was the beginning of our big fat romance that led me to where I am today.

February: Ace of Pentacles, Prosperity Begins. I got a new job opportunity working on an animated web series that kept me employed through February and March.  I also attracted a lot of attention with some artwork I had completed at the end of 2011.

March: 6 of Swords, Moving On ... This was a difficult month, my sister and brother in law asked me to move out.  They gave me a little bit of time but starting in March the situation was stressful. I had no idea where I would go or what I would do.

April: 5 M The Hierophant : This month I struggled to find the balance between my heart and my brain. I struggled with trusting spirit vs. rationality. I needed a plan for my next move, and after taking a complete leap of faith, decided to start making plans to move to Germany to be with my boyfriend.

May: 14M Patience : In May I packed up my car and drove 3 days to California and stayed with my parents while I organized my emigration. I was awaiting my British Passport and Citizenship to be approved so I could travel through the EU, and was also waiting a buyer for my car.  I had to be very patient while I waited out the days for money to come in, and permission to be granted.

June: 21 M The Universe: (also The World) FINALLY! My papers arrived, I sold my car, and by mid June I had all my plans in place. I arrived in Frankfurt on June 28 and the next chapter of my life began. How uncanny has all this been!? It has been magical and completely supported my belief in something bigger than myself guiding me along this journey.

July 2 of Pentacles Movement, Choices, Decisions: This month I had to find a balance in my new life. I was overwhelmed with the new language, new love, and my new life. I quickly became out of balance and got ill, ear infections which I never got , and total exhaustion after a lot of exertion.  I had an idea in my head that my new life meant that I would be a brand new me, with no limitations, but I had to learn how to work within my boundaries and still feel good.

August: Sacral Chakra : My Sacral Chakra was SCREAMING at me this month.  I had terrible digestive problems as well as menstrual problems.  I meditated with sacral chakra meditations every day to try to balance the energy, and doing yoga for lower chakras helped to ease a lot of discomfort. This was a very body-focused month, as the card suggests (this deck is great for concentrating on the body), and come September, the symptoms quickly vanished. I still don't have a good idea why!

September: 0M The Fool: In September I started working on art more, maybe relieving my sacral chakra problems. I got two new jobs and also had a relocation meeting with Matt's company. We're moving to the UK in 2013! I had some health set backs so it was another month that took a lot of patience.

October 6 Wands Victory and Success : In October I started a pledge plan to boost my financial situation and raised a successful bit of money to help me with my bills after some health problems.  I shared my story publicly on my other blog  and successfully connected with a lot of people, spreading the word about ME, raising awareness, and finding new friends to connect with in recovery.  I paid my bills with no stress this month and continued receiving really wonderful art commissions.

November 6 Pentacles Material and Spiritual Prosperity : November was a great month for meditation, and for grounding. Matt had a week off and we really enjoyed Frankfurt, dining out and having a great time spending our time together and fantasizing about next year as we plan to move to the UK.  I worked on some emotional therapy with regards to my material wealth and my spiritual relationship to it. I also balanced budgets and set up a very concrete idea of where I am financially, and praying to god to lead me on an abundant and beneficial path for all parties involved.

December Ace of Cups, Love Begins : Obviously it is very early into December but there is already a change in the air. I love the Christmas season. I'm going to be meeting Matt's mom and grandmother next weekend, and I'm sure there will be lots of stories, laughter, and shared love for the boy who stole my heart. I've also connected with some new metaphysical friends which is Lovely! The Ace of Cups also shows up for me when I am very inspired to make good artwork, so I'm looking forward to that! Cheers!

Matt's reading for this year was also uncannily accurate. So Fun! Looking forward to drawing my cards for 2013 in the coming weeks.

6M The Lovers rejoice 2012

Ahh, The Lovers. This is the next card in the major arcana in the series I have going about what wisdom each archetype has to offer me this year, 2012, in my year of Strength.  The Lovers was drawn as my card for January this year, no surprise, since my love is coming to visit me for 10 days in only 3 days! I'm so excited.
(I love the Goddess Tarot interpretation, because even though this card is associated with Gemini, the Goddess Tarot draws in my sun sign, Venus, and is so bright and beautiful like all things Aphrodite and Libra.  I drew a picture much like this long before I saw this deck.)

I think it's wise for tarot writers to explain that this card, numbered "6", means more than just a romantic connection.. it could mean  harmony in work, or connections in other ways, but for me this year it SCREAMS romance.  I have been living in a hermitage for some time and a couple of months ago I started a new romance with a guy I had met a couple of years ago.  The catch is.. he lives 5000 miles away, in Germany.  So in just a couple of days we will be re-united, this time as a couple. Romance abound!

An important aspect I have learned through Tarot about relationships, is that every relationship is really about YOU. What you are reflecting on someone else is what you see in yourself, and they are here to teach you lessons and help you to discover your own strengths and weaknesses. Since I have had SO much time to myself over the last few years, I have gotten to know me really well, so re-joining again in a partnership shall be very interesting, but I am so ready.

Marianne Williamson has been posting about love as well, and said this beautiful one liner the other day that I totally gel with, "The initial high of romantic love is not an illusion that inevitably crashes into reality, so much as reality that crashes into an illusion". Being in those early stages of love remind us what bliss feels like, peace, one-ness, everything-is-okay-ness, and that is something to really hold on to.  Then when the shadows and fears start creeping back, remembering the bliss of love and connection will help you work through everything else.

So let's get to it. This year, 6M The Lovers, is saying to me... just like your card of the year, "strength", you are taming a fiery force that will bring you strength, protection, and love. You are the maiden to the Lion, both mutually looking for connection and balance, a temperance of power so that the power harnessed is much greater than the two of you separately.  This is a year outside of the confines of your hermitage, learning so much more about your power because of the people and situations that bring you Harmony, and that you bring Love.

Something new I learned today, that this Harmony card can also sometimes be called "Choice", which I find delightful, because I knew my soul had made a choice when Matt and I became a couple. When I was talking about it with my sister I said "I know it's inconvenient, and it doesn't make a lot of sense, but I don't have a choice! It's already been made!" A month earlier I had decided I was totally fine being single forever, I liked my own company. and then here he comes...

More than fiery passion or watery love as an emotion, The Lovers is an Air sign that means more about "Knowing", again, Knowing that Bliss, that divine Connection. Seeing something in someone else that makes you go "Oh, AHA! There you are."  How lovely. It means "knowing" what is right for them, even if it means diverging from the originally chosen path. This is like intuition that comes from the heart chakra instead of the third eye.  That is how I feel now, so right now this card is shining very brightly for me.

Wishing you all love and harmony, and a bit of that magical Knowing that comes with it.

Thank you, Lovers!

The Emperor of 2012

Last year was a Chariot (7M) year for me, which is also my Life Path card, so it was an extreme year of staying true to what I wanted to achieve, even when everyone around me was telling me it was a little weird, and having to re-structure a lot of my beliefs about money, health, success, and happiness. Moving into 2012 (an 8M Strength year) has me a little dizzy, with all the Charioting I've been doing.  Authority (The Emperor 4M) is here to put his foot down and allow the dust to settle and find it's place firmly on the rock foundation of my life.  Now Strength and Power and Authority are running the show, soldering together the miracles and the mundane, and making sure I'm following the rules of this reality in order to succeed.

The Emperor is bringing up mixed feelings for me, Power in myself, and also a fear of Others.  There have been many people in my life who have given me very strong beliefs that do not really work with my mode of operations, and I know I will have to stay strong-willed and confident in order to become the Authority of my own life.

  The Emperor tells me "You've done this before, you have proven yourself an EXCELLENT leader on many occasions. You know how to rally, how to organize resources, how to navigate out of a maze, hold on to those examples of your shining success! Forget the other Kings and Queens and how they choose to manage THEIR kingdoms, you have a marvelous and spectacular kingdom all your own to rule. You're HERE!"

With Strength, my lovely lion friend, right by my side, I know the Emperor is right. And I, once a Fool, am now ready to be the Ruler of my World.

The Empress of 2012

Moving on on my guided journey into 2012, we're now on the fourth card of the major arcana, The Empress (3M). She is the Mother Archetype, of growth, nurturing, love, harvest.  I think my experience with her has been that of her reversed meaning, the scorned mother who has turned away from her creation and left a land barren.  I don't know why I feel that way, but especially when I see the Goddess Tarot version of the Empress I feel anything BUT fertile and creative and loving.

She is asking me if my feeling "balanced" has actually been more an act of repression, a way to protect myself from the incredibly difficult circumstances and events that have passed over the last  6 years. I always wonder that myself.  She says that this year is a good year to start unearthing that a little, just a little piece at a time.  I have been practicing every day with the thought of Infinite Abundance, and it has still been a great struggle for me. There is never enough energy, enough resources, enough freedom.  I ask the Empress now to help me see the infinite abundance and creativity of the Universe.  I ask her to help me truly set up the foundations, plant the seeds, and allow my true purpose to grow and manifest.

I know she will comply. I just hope I know how to receive her help and abundance when it is offered.

Semi-related to this post, a blue butterfly has been chasing me. Not specifically the blue morpho, but just a blue butterfly. I'm seeing them everywhere. Butterflies signify creativity, romance, joy and spirituality, as well as transformation. And the empress picture above also has a blue butterfly. I'll keep my mind open about this.

The Magician of 2012

The second card of the major arcana is actually card numbered 01... The Magician.  The Magician has been showing up for me a lot lately, in conjunction with readings about my long distance relationship, reinforcing the strength of our communication and bond.

Let's see what he has to say for me today, in regards to 2012...

He's laughing... not at me.. but that big belly-full laugh of knowing. The same laugh that the ghost of Christmas Present made when he was first encountered by Scrooge... "Good thing you've let go of the wheel", he says "because you're in for quite a ride..." He says this in a joyful way, like "thank goodness you've seen the light and have learned to trust us, it will be so much more fun this way!" rather than a threatening way. A lot of people see change as a threat, but I find it really exciting.  The Magician is the symbol of alchemy, of infinity, and of infinite creative power.  He's telling me now that every part of my life is about to totally transform, and that my old life will be unrecognizable soon.  That's quite a statement! The advice he's giving me is to stay in the light, and keep the Universe on my side, and the impossible will become possible... not just possible... it is eminent!

Whew... I'm dizzy now, I wasn't expecting quite that clear a message, but there he is, looking at me with a twinkle in his eye, in total recognition.  "Welcome back", he says.

Well... thank you!

The Fool of 2012

Let's see what The Fool has to say to me, starting this new year of 2012.

The Fool is a card I am very familiar with.  I suppose it is because I am still pretty young, everything is new when you are growing up.  Plus The Fool is the only tarot card I managed to illustrate last year, as I did here above with the inspiration of Zelda to get me going...

The Fool moves forward with an open heart and open mind, a spring in his step full of optimism and wonder at the new world set before him.  A little dog warns him not to be too hasty, lest he fall off the cliff, but somewhere the Fool knows that all that is just another adventure, and he embraces it!

The Fool is telling me that this year, my child-like optimism and perhaps even my naivete will serve me well as I grow my freelance career and pursue new interests and new travels. He reminds me to see the child-like curiosity in others, and therefor have an immediate connection to other people through our common interest of pursuing happiness.

Thank you, Fool!  Let's pick up our satchel and be on our way then, shall we!?

(Other Fool cards below, including the Goddess tarot, which showed up for me this morning encouraging me to get this going!)

Happy New Year, 2012!

January 1, 2012, what a great day to start a new blog for Spirit.
I have blogged about Tarot and Spirit a number of times on my original blog, The Magical World of JennySRP, but it is a hodgepodge for work as well, so I thought having a specific blog for Spirit could help those following me in that way to have more organization.
So let's get started!
My card for 2012 is 8 Strength (or Fortitude or Power in some decks).
(You find your year card by adding your birthday with the year, for me it is 10+11+2012, October 11.)

http://www.symbolicliving.com/strength-card-tarot-contest-entry/

http://www.zerochan.net/385386

http://nendil.deviantart.com/art/HP-Tarot-8-Strength-254489607

 It's pretty clear from the original iconography of this card that it is a symbol for the "Lion Tamer"... but I also love the images of the Lion being put to peace, friendly and playful, as an allie, rather than a foe.  I don't know if this means it will be a difficult year during which I will find the strength to cope, or if it means all my fears will stand by my side as my army and confidants.   I have a feeling this year is more about coming into my own, being the leading lady in my own life, as they would say in The Holiday.

My New Years Eve reading in a pentagram style as described on Tarotize is below. I will use Tarotize a lot for guidance as I learn about the Tarot and play with different and new readings. It's a great blog!

 Here I am using John Holland's Psychic Tarot Oracle Deck, which is currently the only physical deck I have, but that won't be the case for long! It's a little less than traditional, since it introduces the Chakras and only goes up to 9 on the minor arcana suites.  I really like the imagery though, and can often get a good feeling from seeing these. I also use the Goddess Tarot as an app on my itouch.

This pentagram above represents different elements.
1. Earth Element (Physical and Financial Health): 18M Shadow (Traditionally the Moon), This could mean I'll be facing and working through a lot of my fears with health and money. I feel like I've come a really long way in regards to both, so it should be interesting to see how this card manifests as the year goes on.

2. Spirit Element (Spiritual Lesson for the year): Ace 1 Wands, Passion Ignited. It's not surprising to see that spirit will continue to light my heart on fire (so to speak) throughout the year, since 2011 was a huge year for growing spiritually, as I have been on a major healing journey. This card stands for new beginnings, new revelations, I'm being told to let my spirit soar, have confidence and inspiration in myself.

3. Fire Element (Creativity, Willpower, Work/Calling): 9 Pentacles, Material Harvest. Projects have been set in motion and it looks like 2012 will in fact be a really beneficial year for setting things up for creative career. Finally, the kind of life I have envisioned for myself will start to manifest (2012 feels like a year of building solid foundations for a lot of great prosperity further on in the future).

4. Air Element (Problem Solving, Communication): 8 Pentacles, Positive Movement Forward. This is the affirmation card for Artists.  Creativity and actually manifesting works of art will be my dominant mode of communicating my soul purpose this year, as well as using it to solve any fears, questions, or problems I may be unraveling mentally.

5. Water Element (Emotions and Relationships): 2 Sacral Chakra. Again this is not does not have a standard interpretation in traditional tarot, but I like the Chakra cards since I have been dealing and getting to understand my body so well since I became ill over 5 years ago.  This card is quite obvious, since the second chakra is associated with sensuality, sexuality, and creativity.  Passion in my relationships will then manifest into the creativity seen in the other areas of the pentagram.

6. Interface, Service to Humanity in 2012: 1 Base Chakra. This is a little confusing, since the base chakra is all about your own basic needs and survival.  I definitely see 2012 being a year of hibernation, in the sense I'll be holed up, creating the foundation for the next decade or so, as far as my career and health goes, so my best service to the rest of humanity is to get my own act together and make sure I take good care of myself!

Now, I also did a one-card-per-month reading, back in November, as a projection into 2012 since I had no idea what this year would bring.

This is more to-the-point on a month by month basis. The one I did in 2010 for 2011 was very accurate, so I'm sure I'll see more of this coming too.
January starts with 6M The Lovers, and ends with 1Ace Cups, Love Begins.. so I'd say that is pretty good
 ^-^...The cards reinforce the ideas of love, prosperity, foundations, and becoming a leader in my own right. The three additional cards are for Advice, Action, and Outcome...  Should be a good year! Cheers to that!