Category: divination

30 Day Tarot Challenge Meme (Questions 6-10)

On By benebellIn cartomancy, divination, personal, tarot5 Comments

I’m having fun with an internet meme that’s been circulating among tarot bloggers, and that is the 30 Day Tarot Challenge, though I’m blazing through it in 6 days, 5 questions each day. Perhaps that is defeating the original purpose of the meme, which is to ponder thoughtfully on each inquiry. I’ve adjusted that purpose a bit.

This is Day #2.

See previous postings on the meme:

Questions 1-10 (Day 1)

celticcross

6. What was the first spread you learned?

The Celtic Cross. For many years, it was the only spread I used. That was the old school way of teaching beginners. Thankfully, tarot tutelage has changed these last few decades and students are now beginning with a more manageable number of cards.

7. What is your favorite card (both in terms of deck’s artwork and divinatory meaning)?

Ace of Cups. Upright, that is.robinwood_aceofcups

8. Which card do you dread pulling the most?

I’ve reached a point where I don’t dread any of the cards, but that comes with acquiring wrinkles and lines on your face, in other words age. After a while, life simply stops unnerving you. Tragedy and comedy will come as they come. You learn to roll with the punches, as they say. However, when reading for people who are not familiar with tarot, I dread pulling the Death card, because I have to be really artful about explaining the card to them and calming them down.

9. What card do you pull the most often? Why do you think that is the case?

Two of Pentacles or Ten of Wands, with seemingly equal frequency. It is the way of our modern world, I suppose. Everyone’s busy. Everyone is overburdened and juggling a bunch of responsibilities at once.

10. What card best represents your personality (or, is most often pulled to represent you in a spread)?

Queen of Swords.

Subsequent Updates:

Questions 11-15 (Day 3).

Questions 16-20 (Day 4).

Questions 21-25 (Day 5).

Questions 26-30 (Day 6).

A Tarot Meme: 30 Questions (Questions 1-5)

On By benebellIn cartomancy, divination, personal, tarot7 Comments

I first came across this meme by way of Calamity’s Child on her blog post here, “30-day Tarot Challenge.” The meme seems to have originated with 78 Keys (link here), but just google “30 Day Tarot Challenge” and you’ll pull up many tarot bloggers who’ve taken on the challenge. Fascinating reads, so I suggest you read all of them. I’m a little late to the game, but the questions intrigue me and I would like to explore my answers via this blog, 5 questions at a time.

Instead of 30 days, I’ll wing them in 6 days. So here’s #1-5.

MajorArcana_Key_1_The_Magician1. What introduced you/got you involved in Tarot?

A deck was given to me from a friend as a gift, which is what first sparked my interest. I floundered with it for a bit, until I met a seasoned tarot reader who taught me the basics. From there my interest developed into a serious study of the art.

2. What was your first deck and why/how did you get it?

Technically my very first deck was a used Marseille deck obtained at a garage sale when I was a kid, but I didn’t know what it was. I thought it was a deck of playing cards (well, which it is, but you know what I mean) with random extra cards. I just didnt think much of it, probably because I was 9. In junior high a friend gave me the Tarot Nova. That’s when I began to learn about tarot and nurtured my interest. Later on I realized that the old deck of “extra cards” I had stashed in my family basement was the Tarot de Marseille.

3. Do you have more than one deck that you use and if so do you have a favorite? If not, why do you like the deck you have chosen?

When reading for others, I use the Rider-Waite, the Robin Wood, or the Goddess Tarot, selecting the deck based on the seeker’s particular inquiry. I may also from time to time use either the Marseille or the Thoth, usually upon request. When reading for myself, I gravitate toward the Marseille. Also, who am I kidding, I’m an avid deck collector and love to play around with the deck du jour, so at any given time I am probably fascinated with a different deck based on what I recently got my hands on.

4. How long have you been reading the Tarot?

About 15 years.

5. When and where did you give your first reading?

My first reading for someone else wasn’t until very late in my practice, and it was kind of an accident. I was meeting a sorority sister and her new boyfriend at her place, and then we were all headed out somewhere. When I arrived, she wasn’t ready yet, so she asked me to sit in the living room with her boyfriend. The two of us sat there awkwardly waiting for her. To break the silence, I asked him if he’d like a tarot reading, since I happened to have a deck in my knapsack. He said sure. The reading turned out to be eerily accurate, to the point where he thought my sorority sister and I were a fraud, and that she had previously told me all his deep family secrets (which she hadn’t!) and I was using the info to prank him into believing I was psychic (which I’m not!). Actually, in retrospect, it was pretty funny and the accuracy of that first reading definitely gave me pause.

Subsequent Updates:

Questions 6-10 (Day 2).

Questions 11-15 (Day 3).

Questions 16-20 (Day 4).

Questions 21-25 (Day 5).

Questions 26-30 (Day 6).

Your Life Path, Pythagorean Numerology, and Your Name

On By benebellIn divination, numerology30 Comments

Numerology has fascinated me since childhood, back when I would input into a calculator telephone numbers or dates of birth of crushes with mine and stare at the sums or products like they might mean something. Since I have never been good at mathematics, it is only natural that I’d gravitate toward pseudomathematics. =)

Life Path numbers purport to reveal insights about your innate capabilities (and weaknesses). Furthermore, our development is divided into three stages, each corresponding with one third of our life span and the potential for accomplishments during that stage. Life Paths are based on your date of birth. Take for example John, who was born on December 26, 1978. To calculate the three stages of development for John, take the sums of the month, the day, and the year as follows and if a sum is 10 or greater, add the digits again until the sum is a single digit:

1.  Life Path = Month + Day + Year

2.  Life Path = 12 + 26 + 1978

3.  Life Path = (1 + 2) + (2 + 6) + (1 + 9 + 7 + 8)

4.  Life Path = 3 + 8 + 25

5.  Life Path = 3 + 8 + (2+ 5)

6.  Life Path = 3 + 8 + 7   [Note: These 3 numbers represent the 3 stages.]

7.  Life Path = 18

8.  Life Path = (1 + 8)

9.  Life Path = 9

John’s ultimate Life Path is 9. The Life Path represents what his innate capabilities (and weaknesses) collectively can achieve with great success if John exercises his will in a way to nurture those capabilities and manage those weaknesses.

Note  Line 6 above. These 3 numbers represent the 3 stages of John’s personal development.

In the first third of his life. which is the number corresponding with the Month, Life Path 3 qualities will govern; these are the qualities he must pay closer attention to, that will either guide him toward achievement or hinder him in the future if he does not adequately manage these qualities.

The second stage of his life, and this best represents the core of his Self, his essence, corresponds with the Day sum, or 8. This represents his inclinations, what he will seem to naturally gravitate toward, and what will probably make him quite happy, but isn’t representative of the zenith of his potential.

The third and last stage of his life, which is the number corresponding with the Year, is denoted by Life Path 7. This represents his personality and outlook in his final days, the ideal state for him when he leaves this world. The third stage number is how he will find his peace.

These three numbers are not mutually exclusive. They cannot be cannot be analyzed singly in isolation from one another. They must be looked at as a whole for an informed and complete picture of John.

Now, back to the ultimate Life Path for John, which is in Line 9 above, or Life Path 9. This is the zenith of his potential, unlike the number noted in the second stage of his life. Note that the number of his second stage represents what he will most likely become, the personality he is most likely and will most easily manifest. The ultimate Life Path is the full spectrum of his capabilities. It is what he can achieve and it is the great difference that he can make in this world should he choose to live up to that high path.

The correspondences for the Life Path numbers are as follows:

Continue reading “Your Life Path, Pythagorean Numerology, and Your Name” →

Yin and Yang Crystals

On By benebellIn divination, personalLeave a comment

yinandyangcrystals

The crystal pictured to the left above is considered a yang crystal. The one to the right is a yin.

Yang crystals are glass-clear and transparent. There may be fire-like refractions of rainbows inside. Yang crystals are power crystals. They’re an amazing supplement to our work when we are seeking creative, active energies, power, strength, ambition, control, and aggressive healing. The elements of fire and air tend to be dominant. In other words, they correspond with the Wands and Swords of the Minor Arcana.

Yin crystals are milky white and translucent. The rainbows they refract are subtle, muted, and soft. Yin crystals are receptive. They channel love, enhance communication, spirituality, and intuition. They help us make sense of emotions. In yin crystals, the elements of water and earth tend to be dominant. They correspond with the Cups and Pentacles of the Minor Arcana.

As applied to tarot, when reading for questions about work, career, professional or personal development, creative projects, or ambitions, I like to keep a yang crystal nearby.

When reading about love, relationships, making sense of emotions or internal flux, I like to keep a yin crystal nearby.

For questions about finances, wealth, or property, it will depend on the question. Yang crystals are helpful around questions about wealth creation and asset acquisition. Yin crystals are helpful around questions about wealth management or the nurturing of what one currently has already.

IMG_1249

Not that it’s necessary, but I keep the yang crystal in the red pouch and the yin in the blue. Just totally random info I wanted to share.

Anyway, I recommend to practitioners to have in their arsenal both yin and yang crystals. Don’t take my word for the differences between the two: just handle both and you’ll see for yourself. (Psst… a set of a yin and a yang crystal also make for a great gift to your favorite metaphysics buddy!)

Myth of the Divination-Fulfilling Prophecy

On By benebellIn cartomancy, divination, opinion, personal spirituality4 Comments

There is a view, a fear of so-called divinatory practices that many hold, which I don’t think had a name before. I’m hereby referencing it as the Divination-Fulfilling Prophecy.

“I’m afraid to get a tarot reading. If the cards predict something terrible, then I’m scared that it will happen for sure, because the cards predicted it. Tarot reading is a form of tempting fate. As long as I never get a tarot reading or partake in divination practices, then my future remains uncertain, and that’s better.”

As a tarot practitioner I often hear that sentiment from would-be seekers. A commonly held belief of the tarot, or any form of divination for that matter, is that it possesses the power to fulfill its own prophecy. If the tarot predicts an unfortunate outcome, then even if a person’s future was unfixed before, the power of that prediction will now make the unfortunate outcome fixed for sure. Thereafter, nothing a person does can prevent the outcome because the act of the divination has caused the future to become fixed. Had a person not sought divination, then that future would have remained unfixed. I refer to this belief as the myth of the divination-fulfilling prophecy. The divination-fulfilling prophecy assumes that the tarot, or any divination tool, possesses the power to nullify free will, and divination simply does not have that kind of power. I find the divination-fulfilling prophecy concept to be gravely suspect. I hope this article will explain why.

Continue reading “Myth of the Divination-Fulfilling Prophecy” →