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 Hierophant's message for 2012

5 of the Major Arcana is The Hierophant, the symbol for tradition, community, wisdom, and faith.  I have really warmed up to this card over the last year, as I have come to terms with a lot of discomfort I have had about religion.  The Hierophant is the symbol at the center of all religions which reminds us of its purpose, to unite people in a community by common practices, so that when tragedy or need arises, a group effort or prayer can bring us back into the light. This card is the answer to the isolation conundrum most people feel these days, the "No Man is an Island" card. I really sense a deep feeling of a wave of new meaning coming into the world for uniting on a level unseen before that the Hierophant here can stand for.
(Of course, the opposite can be stubborn-ness, conservative thinking, unyielding to change, all also aspects of this archetype)

I'm having trouble finding good images of this card, but maybe that's a sign I just need to stop and sit with it for a moment.

When I did my life attunement reading with Lawrence Woodson last May, I got this card right along with The High Priestess, The Emperor, The Fool, and The Hermit. He asked me if I planned to start my own religion, and I laughed, thinking "I knew he was going to ask that..." but also tickled by the thought since Dogma has been such a dark and oppressive force in my thoughts about religion. However, I marvel at the idea of helping people come into the light, to re-order the universe in their minds as a benevolent reality, and to help others find healing, peace and a deep sense of their own love, as well as seeking that in myself every day.

"Beyond the Man" is the message I'm getting today. Looking at the Hierophant I see not the person, the incarnation of the archetype, but simply and only what he stands for.  In the John Holland card, his back is facing me, and the book is what is glowing, shining, the teaching itself is what is important.  This year, people will continue to see me and my form how they know me, what they project onto me, and how they see me, but how I AM, what I do, where my actions come from, and what I say will come from another place, and it will benefit others whether they know where it comes from or not.  What I say is my Karma, and what they say is theirs.  I know to act all my intentions through a channel other than what I think is ME, my identity, and my ego.

Thank you, sir!

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 High Priestess of 2012

 The next card in the Major Arcana is The High Priestess (2M), a symbol of wisdom, intuition, divinely guided thought and action. As you can imagine, she is therefor quite quiet, as she hardly ever has to use words to communicate.

Not surprisingly, the night between The Magician and The High Priestess was filled with vivid dreams. I remembered 7 dreams last night, and woke up quite exhausted.   A few were some high-anxiety nightmares, which I was really surprised by because I haven't had any of these feelings in my day to day, so here they are to remind me!  I asked for it though... before bed I was reading (for the third time!) Steering by Starlight by Martha Beck, and the chapter was about Map Making for your Soul's Purpose, and one of the symptoms being vivid dreaming, and how to interpret this guidance from beyond. So there. I did. I asked for it. I take full responsibility!  The frustrating thing though is that even though I KNOW I need to face my fears in my dreams, I ran away from all of them. My gut instinct of danger was too strong. Are you supposed to follow intuition in dreams?!  Anyway, back to the High Priestess.  She often shows up in my dreams as my Anima in dreams, but more often it's my Animus that shows up to guide me.  She is a shape-shifter, here to show me and communicate with me in ways other than words.

The imagery of the card can be a put-off to some tarot readers because of the Religious implications, but since Religion does not apply to me, I simply see her as a dedicated student (always holding her book, or Torah, or Bible) and blessed healer (her staff, or mudra of peace and healing).  The High Priestess should certainly be studied more carefully by me, because she helps The Fool, who has learned so much from the Magician, narrow down what he wants to do with all the tools he has learned. As a kid I thought I was expected to become all things: carpenter, doctor, fireman, teacher, vet, ... I thought at some point I was meant to do all of those things, it was truly overwhelming. The High Priestess is here to help me listen and light my path, narrow down the choices and possibilities, and move forward on my Soul's journey.

In my dreams last night, a running theme was darkness. In a few of the dreams there was a small area illuminated and the rest was darkness. The High Priestess is now telling me that the darkness was her gift, so that I could focus on the things in the light. To have too much illuminated is to be overwhelmed by options, and there are some things that need focus and attention this year.  She reassures me that she will be there to keep me in the light and show me my path.

Now rest! She says. Let it all unfold.

Thank you, High Priestess.

zzZZzzz

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!)