Today’s Runes for June 9th is Hagalaz

Today’s Runes

Ice Runes are most commonly used for questions about struggle, conflict, and achievement. Hagalaz is the rune of hail. Hail is a destructive and elemental force, so one can expect this rune to represent the disruption of one’s life. In the harsh northern winter there is a halt to activity, and so delay or hindrance is frequently associated with this rune. The opposite of chaos is yet more chaos, as illustrated by the fact that this rune cannot be reversed.

Today’s Tarot Card for June 9th is The Fool

The Fool

This Tarot Deck: Aquarian

General Meaning:    Pamela Coleman-Smith’s artful rendition of an “innocent Fool” archetype (Rider-Waite deck) is often used to represent Tarot in general. Early classical versions of the Fool card, however, portray quite a different character — a person driven by base needs and urges, who has fallen into a state of poverty and deprivation.
In some instances, he is made out to be a carnival entertainer or a huckster. In others, he is portrayed as decrepit and vulnerable — as the cumulative result of his delusions and failures. Not until the 20th century do you see the popular Rider-Waite image of the Fool arise — that of an innocent Soul before its Fall into Matter, as yet untainted by contact with society and all its ills.
Modern decks usually borrow from the Rider-Waite imagery. Most Fool cards copy the bucolic mountainside scene, the butterfly, the potential misplaced step that will send the Fool tumbling into the unknown. Don’t forget, however, that the earlier versions of this card represented already-fallen humanity, over-identified with the material plane of existence, and beginning a pilgrimage towards self-knowledge, and eventually, wisdom. The Fool reminds us to recognize the path of personal development within ourselves — and the stage upon that path where we find ourselves — in order to energize our movement toward deeper self-realization.

Today’s Runes for Thursday, June 7th is Eoh

Gold Runes are most commonly used for questions about business, career, and property. Eoh refers to the Yew tree. The Yew does not go dormant and therefore represents endurance. Even the wood of the tree is strong, resilient, and pliable – the Yew bends, but does not break. The evergreen nature of the Yew is present even in the rune itself, as it cannot be changed even by reversal. This rune is historically symbolic of death, but, as in the Tarot and as suggested by the nature of the Yew tree itself, death is seen only as a transmutation of something eternal and unchanging – the spirit.

Today’s Tarot Card for June 7th is Judgment

Judgment

 

This Tarot Deck: Medieval Cat

General Meaning: What has traditionally been known as the Judgement card, sometimes entitled Resurrection, represents the great reunion that the ancients believed would happen once in every age. This was the time when souls are harvested and taken Home to their place of origin, outside the solar system. Then the World is seeded with a batch of new souls and the process starts over.

From a modern point of view, this great reunion — which includes every personality that you have ever been and every soul that you have done deep work with — reunites to consciously complete the process. In a way, we symbolically celebrate this returning to center every year on our birthday.

In personal terms, the Judgment cards points to freedom from inner conflicts, and so clear a channel, that the buried talents and gifts of past incarnations can come through an individual in this lifetime. This card counsels you to trust the process of opening yourself, because what emerges is of consistently high quality. You can effortlessly manifest as a multi-dimensional being, and assist in evoking that response from others.

More Ways to Scry

by Miriam Harline

Though most serious scryers prefer to use either a black mirror or crystal ball, there are other tools with which you can try out scrying, if you’re curious.

Scrying tools include bowls of water. You can scry in water in a black-painted bowl; alternatively, you can take a china bowl of any color and hold it above a candle so its inner surface becomes covered with black carbonization, fill the bowl carefully and slowly with water so as not to disturb that carbonization, then scry in the bowl. You also can fill a bowl with ink and scry in that, or you can scry in water floated over ink. You can scry, too, in quartz crystals, the larger and clearer the better.

Basically, the scrying tool is a point of focus. An accomplished scryer can scry in nearly anything, or without a tool at all, using only the mind’s eye.

Whatever tool you use, scrying does not come easily to most people. You will probably need to try several times to see anything at all. When you do see something, do not discount what you get, however fleeting or seemingly nonsensical. You may feel the images you see are in your mind, rather than within or on the scrying tool. That’s fine. The images are what’s important.

Once you have seen an image, you can interpret it either literally or symbolically, as you would a dream. If you get images you can make no sense of, keep trying. As with any magickal technique, scrying becomes easier and clearer with practice.

Today’s I Ching Hexagram for June 6 is 26: Containment of Potential

26: Containment of Potential

Wednesday, June 6th, 2012

Hexagram 26

General Meaning:

This hexagram points to the containment of great power that increases as it is wisely stewarded. Like a river that has been dammed, or a boiling pot with a lid on, holding and containing power produces enormous energy. During normal times, daily ritual and habit help keep life ordered and serene; but in times of great opportunity, great fortitude is required. Focused attention is what will be required to channel this great potential and achieve supreme success.

In a current situation you have considerable reserves of energy and support to draw upon. This is the right time to channel creativity by collecting and organizing good ideas and plans. In this way, even large or extremely challenging undertakings can be successful.

A hidden source of power for the great is the study of the past. The lives of wise and successful men and women are like buried treasures of wisdom. Great good fortune comes to those who unearth these valuable treasures by applying the lessons of the ages to current events.

Today’s Runes for Wednesday, June 6 is Perth

Jade Runes are most commonly used for questions about love, friendship, and relationships. Perth is the rune of chance and gambling. Throw the dice, read your fate. Gaming is a fine way to pass the night…as long as one is careful. Games of chance have outcomes that are hidden from us, and as such Perth represents secrets unknown. Perth symbolizes enjoyment and wild abandon, but be watchful, for Perth is also the rune of mystery and the outcomes unexpected. You cannot lose if you do not play, but neither can you win…

Today’s Tarot Card for June 5 is The Sun

The Sun

This Tarot Deck: Gummy Bear Tarot

General Meaning: What has traditionally been known as the Sun card is about the self — who you are and how you cultivate your personality and character. The earth revolves around the sun to make up one year of a person’s life, a fact we celebrate on our birthday.

The Sun card could also be titled “Back to Eden.” The Sun’s radiance is where one’s original nature or unconditioned Being can be encountered in health and safety. The limitations of time and space are stripped away; the soul is refreshed and temporarily protected from the chaos outside the garden walls.

Under the light of the Sun, Life reclaims its primordial goodness, truth and beauty. If one person is shown on this card, it is usually signifying a human incarnation of the Divine. When two humans are shown, the image is portraying a resolution of the tension between opposites at all levels. It’s as if this card is saying “You can do no wrong — it’s all to the good!”

Today’s Tarot Card for June 4th is The Star

The Star

This Tarot Deck: Celestial

General Meaning: What has traditionally been known as the Star card is about reconnecting one’s Soul with the Divine — the transcending of personality, family, community and reputation. It has to do ultimately with the freedom to be one’s Self. The Soul is responding to celestial influences — forces that can provide the personality with a stronger sense of purpose. The Star card helps us to remember our exalted origins and our attraction to a Higher Union.

This card could also be called the “Celestial Mandate” — that which refers us back to our reason for being, our mission in this lifetime. The Star reminds us that, in a sense, we are agents of Divine Will in our day-to-day lives. If we let go of the idea that we are supposed to be in control, we can more easily notice and appreciate the synchronicities that are nudging us along. In this way, we become more conscious of the invisible Helping Hand, and we better understand our place within — and value to — the larger Cosmos.

Blindfolding the Inner Eye: The Ethics of the Second Sight

Author: LoneWolfTarot

There are lots of books and resources on psychic abilities. There are many different guides to expand your skills and increase your inner sight. However, many of them neglect a most basic aspect: when NOT to use it! That’s right… not how to see more clearly but how to not see at all.

There are times when being able to see is a great gift, but where do you draw the line? How do you keep yourself from becoming the spiritual equivalent of a peeping tom? As a tarot reader, dream walker, and clairvoyant, this is a line I have had to learn to walk very carefully but it worries me that so few places cover this fundamental subject. So I have compiled a list of some basic guidelines for those who want to learn to use their psychic gifts to the fullest.

1) Be specific! When you are trying to see for someone, be very specific in what you ask for. Don’t just aim to see their lives in general, but; instead make sure you are narrowing your focus on the particular issue and only on that issue. If you ask for guidance before you use your gifts, then ask Spirit to show you only what you need to answer the question.

2) Never do a third party reading. In other words, never read for someone regarding someone else. Generally the motives for asking you to pry into the other person’s life are far from pure. If you do not have the consent of the other person, then using your gifts to see into their lives is an invasion of privacy. I do however have two exceptions to this rule: First, if it is parents asking about their own minor child. As the guardian for the child, they have the right to ask. Secondly, relationship readings… and even then I am very careful to ask to see only things that directly impact the client.

3) Find a test subject! I get a lot of people asking me how they are supposed to practice if they can’t “look in” on anyone without their permission. Easy. Find friends who don’t mind you practicing on them… or join an online/local group and ask for volunteers. You will be surprised how many people will be happy to let your practice on them.

4) If the subject makes you uncomfortable, don’t look into it. If you would feel wrong discussing the situation in person, then it definitely is not proper to use your gifts to see into the situation from afar.

5) Never use your gifts to see purely for curiosity’s sake. These gifts come with responsibilities; too many people treat them as if they are some sort of game. You have the very real potential to cause a lot of harm to a person by seeing into things that are none of your business.

6) Never use your gifts to see into the lives of others with the intention of using that information against them in any way – even if it is just to “help”. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

7) Be wary of those who would use you. There are people out there lacking a clear-cut sense of ethics who would love to get their hands on someone with the ability to see.

This is just a basic set of guidelines. You will have to discover your own more personal rules as you go along. There is another set of considerations that also must be taken into account. What happens when you do see more that you need to? What happens when something comes up in a reading that you are not sure should be brought into the light of day?

As an example, I once did a reading for someone on a relationship problem. Everything went along just swimmingly until I looked into where their issues were coming from. Then I got more information than I needed, and a lot more information than I wanted. It was a tarot reading and the cards screamed of an abusive childhood and more traumas than I knew how to deal with.

I didn’t know what to do. Do I mention what I was seeing? Do I risk bringing up something so painful and potentially damaging? The trauma is at the heart of their relationship problem, and they are asking specifically about the cause of the problem… do I have the right to NOT tell them part of their answer? Do I have the right to bring that up at all?

In the end, I very carefully spoke of what I was seeing in the most general terms I could think of. I felt that I needed to tell them something, to at least point in the general direction of their childhood but I didn’t want to go too far into it for fear of opening wounds. So I sort of glossed over it and hoped they would pick up the hint. Not perhaps the best solution but the best I had at a moment’s notice. As it happens they did pick up the hint – and gave me permission to gently tell them in more detail what I saw.

I hadn’t really thought of it before that event – but during a reading we are often put into the position of counselor. This person has come to you for guidance, often with very personal problems and you need to treat it as such. The problem is that we ARE NOT THERAPISTS.

Few people who go into doing readings of whatever type for people are also licensed counselors, and when something truly painful appears in what we see, often referring them to someone who is, is the best that we can do. Yet we deal with much the same issues, and often we end up put into that position whether we like it or not. So walk carefully, and err on the side of caution. Just by the act of looking into that person’s life, we are altering it. Treat your gifts with the respect and caution that they deserve.

Today’s I Ching Hexagram for June 3rd is 58: Joy

58: Joy

Hexagram 58

General Meaning: A joy that is shared is symbolized by a group of friends playing, or a carefree young girl singing to herself while engaged in her work. Happiness is rising within, and spreading out into the world.

Joy arises through gentle means, but springs from a solid inner base. The power of pure joy should not be underestimated. The enjoyment of learning and discovery, for example, has let to great innovation and much material progress. Accordingly, that which brings the most joy into the world — love — is the source of life itself.

If happiness is supported by personal stability, it will eventually wear down the stiffest barrier and win over the hardest heart. True joy is a beacon in the world, and though it is indeed rare, its presence is an indication of great good fortune, both now and in the future. How could it be otherwise?

Today’s Runes for Sunday, June 3rd is Inguz

 

Ice Runes are most commonly used for questions about struggle, conflict, and achievement. Inguz is the rune of completion and fertility. The presence of this rune suggests that tasks which have been initiated will come to fruition. This rune is associated with Ing and Frey, it is this connection that explains its connotations of both fertility and sexuality. The variant of this rune shown here is reminiscent of the twin strands of life, and of the challenge and rewards of bringing together things complimentary.

Today’s Tarot Card for June 3rd is The Devil

The Devil

This Tarot Deck: Folklore

General Meaning: What has traditionally been known as the Devil card expresses the realm of the Taboo, the culturally rejected wildness and undigested shadow side that each of us carries in our subconscious. This shadow is actually at the core of our being, which we cannot get rid of and will never succeed in taming. From its earliest versions, which portrayed a vampire-demon, this card evoked the Church-fueled fear that a person could “lose their soul” to wild and passionate forces.

The image which emerged in the mid-1700’s gives us a more sophisticated rendition — that of the “scapegoated Goddess,” whose esoteric name is Baphomet. Volcanic reserves of passion and primal desire empower her efforts to overcome the pressure of stereotyped roles and experience true freedom of soul. Tavaglione’s highly evolved image (Stella deck) portrays the magical formula for harnessing and transmuting primal and obsessive emotions into transformative energies. As a part of the Gnostic message of Tarot, this fearsome passion and power must be reintegrated into the personality, to fuel the soul’s passage from mortal to immortal.

Today’s Runes for June 2nd is Ken

 

Jade Runes are most commonly used for questions about love, friendship, and relationships. Ken is the rune of light and knowledge, driving away darkness and ignorance and revealing hidden truth. This rune also brings forth images of friendship and comfort. Ken is the light of inspiration, the light of imagination, and a beacon in the darkest hours.

Today’s Tarot Card for June 2nd is Temperance

Temperance

This Tarot Deck: Golden Tarot

General Meaning: What is traditionally known as the Temperance card is a reference to the Soul. Classically female, she is mixing up a blend of subtle energies for the evolution of the personality. One key to interpreting this card can be found in its title, a play on the process of tempering metals in a forge.

Metals must undergo extremes of temperature, folding and pounding, but the end product is infinitely superior to impure ore mined from the earth. In this image, the soul volunteers the ego for a cleansing and healing experience which may turn the personality inside-out, but which brings out the gold hidden within the heart. (This card is entitled “Art” in the Crowley deck.)

Today’s Tarot Card for June 1 is The Hanged Man

The Hanged Man

This Tarot Deck: Lord of the Rings

General Meaning: Traditionally, the card known as the Hanged Man usually indicates a lack of ability to help oneself through independent action. This energy is arrested and awaiting judgment. With this card, there is no avenue for the will to regain control until the situation has passed.

This represents a good time to be philosophical, to study and meditate upon the position you find yourself in, and form resolutions for the moment you become free again. Only those who possess wisdom, patience and optimism will be able to see through limitations, including possible humiliation, to grasp the inspiring lesson one can gain from such an experience.

Lessons In Tarot – Lesson 8(b): The Question Tarot Reading

Lesson 8(b)

The Question Tarot Reading

A Step-By-Step Procedure

Here are the steps for a tarot reading you do for yourself based on a written question. (See lesson 8.)

  1. To begin, have ready:
    1. your written question
    2. your tarot cards
    3. the layout for the spread you have chosen
    4. the card and spread information pages, if desired
  2. Setting the mood
    1. Prepare the environment according to personal preference.
    2. Sit down with some empty space in front of you.
    3. Relax and still your mind. Breathe deeply several times.
  3. Asking your question
    1. Remove cards from container.
    2. Hold cards cupped in one hand. Place other hand on top.
    3. Close your eyes.
    4. Say on opening statement out loud, if you wish.
    5. Read your question out loud, or say it from memory exactly as written.
  4. Shuffling the cards
    1. Shuffle the cards until you feel ready to stop.
    2. Concentrate on your question while shuffling, but without strain.
  5. Cutting the cards
    1. Place cards face down in front of you with short edge toward you.
    2. Cut the deck in one unplanned action as follows:
      1. Grab some number of cards from the complete pile.
      2. Drop this smaller pile to the left.
      3. Grab part of this second pile. Drop this third pile to the left.
      4. Regroup cards into one pile in any fashion.
  6. Laying out the cards
    1. Hold cards in your hand with short edge toward you.
    2. Turn over the top card as you would turn the page of a book.
    3. Lay out cards according to the spread you have chosen.
    4. Turn reversed cards around if you are not using them.
  7. Responding to the cards
    1. Note your responses to individual cards.
    2. Note your response to the whole pattern of cards.
  8. Analyzing the cards
    1. Analyze individual cards:
      1. Find the information page for the card.
      2. Read over keywords and actions.
      3. Look for actions that hit home.
      4. Write down thoughts and feelings, if you wish.
      5. Consider card orientation – upright or reversed?
    2. Analyze card relationships.
    3. Use principles of interpretation.
    4. Note additional insights.
  9. Creating the story
    1. Tell your story spontaneously out loud.
    2. Tape your story, if you wish.
  10. Writing the summary statement
    1. Think about the theme or message in your reading.
    2. Answer your question in a written summary statement (1-2 sentences).
  11. Finishing up
    1. Write down the cards and their positions.
    2. Clear the deck.
    3. Gather the cards together.
    4. Hold cards cupped in one hand. Place other hand on top.
    5. Close your eyes.
    6. Say out loud what you have learned from this reading.
    7. Express gratitude to your Inner Guide.
    8. Put cards back into container.
    9. Restore environment if necessary.
  12. Using what you have learned
    1. Decide on one or two actions to take based on the reading.
    2. Write down intended actions.
    3. Relate developments in situation to the reading.

Lessons In Tarot – Lesson 8(a): Shuffling Methods

Lesson 8(a)

Shuffling Methods

  1. Card Player’s Method
    The Card Player’s Method is commonly used to shuffle everyday playing cards. Hold about half the cards face down in each hand and intermingle them as they drop to the surface of the table. This technique mixes the cards thoroughly, but it can be awkward because most tarot cards are bigger than normal. This method is also hard on your cards. They tend to form a bend in the middle. The Card Player’s Method is effective, but somewhat mechanical in spirit. 
  2. Insertion Method
    Hold about half the deck in each hand, and insert one half in a scattered fashion down through the other half. You can hold the cards on their long or short side. This method is fast, efficient and composed with a lot of hand-to-card contact. Be careful with the edges as they can fray over time. 
  3. Cowie Push/Put Method
    In Tarot for Successful Living, Norma Cowie describes her push/put shuffling method. Her technique thoroughly mixes the cards with maximum hand contact and little or no damage. Hold the deck face down in your dominant hand. Push some cards from the top with your thumb into the other hand. Then, push again, but this time to the bottom of the new pile. Continue alternating a push to the top, then one to the bottom until all the cards have been transferred. At this point, put the entire deck back into your dominant hand and start over. This method can be difficult at first. You may push too many or drop some, but your technique will improve with practice. 
  4. Scrambling Method
    The Scrambling Method is about as basic as you can get. Spread all the cards face down on the floor or table, and start scrambling. This technique creates a good mix with few ill effects on the cards. The main drawback is that you need room. This shuffle also has a rather uncomposed feel which some find undesirable.
To Avoid Reversed Cards: To Encourage Reversed Cards:
Start with your cards all facing the same direction.
Every time you divide the deck before shuffling,
make sure the two piles stay facing the same way.
Every time you divide the deck before shuffling,
rotate one of the piles 180 degrees.

Today’s Runes for Wednesday, May 30th is Ger

Today’s Runes

Spirit Runes are most commonly used for questions about mysticism, spirituality, and religion. Ger is one of the runes that touches on the cycles of the year, in this case the fall harvest. These cycles are eternal, which is represented in the rune by the fact that it is unchanged by reversal. Ger can represent pregnancy or other forms of fruitfulness, and is especially indicative of the cycles of providence and karma – that which has been sown is now being reaped. This rune can also represent the cycles of wealth, for crops were frequently a sign of wealth.

Today’s Tarot Card for May 30th is Wheel of Fortune

Wheel of Fortune

This Tarot Deck: Connolly

General Meaning: The central theme of what is traditionally called the Wheel of Fortune card is cyclical change. The Wheel keeps on rolling, churning events in a ceaseless progression of ups and downs, either way freeing us from the past. No one can escape its cyclical action, which can feel somewhat terrifying — no matter whether we are rising or falling. When one is balanced on top there is a moment of crystal clarity, but the only part of the Wheel not going up and down is the hub, which is your eternal Self, the Source of Freedom.

Every one of us will occupy all the points on the wheel at some time or another. The cycle of the wheel is its lesson — and we can learn to take comfort in it (as we do when we celebrate our birthday). If you don’t like the look of things right now, just wait — things will change. Of course, if you do like the look of things right now, enjoy it while it lasts, because that will change too!