Tag: Divination

Today’s Runes for November 6th is Gebo

Today’s Runes

Jade Runes are most commonly used for questions about love, friendship, and relationships. Gebo means gift, and like any gifts, the rune may be understood on many levels. Gifts are generally positive things, for both the giver and the recipient. In many cultures however, gifts and favors carry with them an obligation to respond in kind. It is for this reason that gifts, and hence the rune Gebo, are frequently symbolic of friendships, marriages, alliances, mergers, and other bonds between people or organizations. Gebo is a strong rune and the unions represented are strong as well. Moreover, Gebo is not reversible, as true friendships are not easily undone.

Today’s Tarot Card for November 6th is The Anchoret

The Anchoret

This Tarot Deck: Cagliostro

General Meaning: The challenge of what has traditionally been known as the Hermit card is to be able to recognize a teacher in a humble disguise. This font of mysterious knowledge will not make it easy for the student to acquire his wisdom, as it takes time and long contemplation to fathom what he knows. He often speaks wordlessly, or in ancient and barbaric tongues, communicating with the elements, animals and Nature herself.

While the hourglass was an identifying feature on the earliest Hermit cards, more modern ones have shifted the metaphor, showing more or less light released from his lantern. In either case, the Hermit card reminds us of the value of time away from the hubbub of civic life, to relax the ego in communion with Nature

Your Daily Number for November 5th: 9

Today brings with it a grand opportunity for healing your mind and body. Get rest, and treat yourself to a massage or some other rejuvenating ‘time out.’ You may have a conversation later in the day that helps you strengthen your bond with another.

Fast Facts

About the Number 9

Theme: Encompassing a love for all, Compassion, Patience, Selfless
Astro Association: Virgo
Tarot Association: Hermit

Today’s I Ching Hexagram for November 5th is 42: Increase

42: Increase

Hexagram 42

General Meaning: Substantial progress and increasing prosperity is pointed to. In whatever forms it takes, periods of increase are exhilarating, as long as you go with the flow while it lasts and keep the interests of others in mind. Like white water on a river, periods of increase are often of short duration; it furthers one, therefore, to shoot the rapids now, while the opportunity is there.

A good sense of direction in times of opportunity involves commitment to the needs of one’s cohorts and dependents. Only by realizing that to lead is really to serve, can an effective leader contribute to a lasting increase in prosperity for all. In times of general increase, those who contribute most directly to the common good will also receive the greatest rewards.

When opportunities for increase arise, supreme good fortune comes to those who act swiftly and boldly, while avoiding the trap of letting their actions be only self-serving. If you aspire to a position of prominence, the most enduring strategy is to work to raise the tide of your entire pond, rather than to try to swim upstream on your own.

When the times favor prosperity, and when leadership is in the hands of the broad-minded, supreme good fortune results.

Today’s Runes for November 5th is Inguz

Today’s Runes

Spirit Runes are most commonly used for questions about mysticism, spirituality, and religion. 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 Everyone:

Strength

This Tarot Deck: Angel Tarot

General Meaning: What has traditionally been known as the Strength card represents Nature which, however wild in its primal form, is tamed by our subtler, finer (feminine, interior) self. The will and passion of our instinctive nature does not need to be broken, but refined and brought to consciousness — so that all levels of Creation, inner and outer, may come into harmony.

The feminine soul-force contains a persuasive power that can nurture and induce cooperation from others, stilling disruptive energies by harmonizing differences in the spirit of collective good will.

Your Daily Number for Nov. 4th: 7

You may feel a strong need for answers and knowledge. This could very well be a time of soul searching for you, and you might feel a bit lonely. Your head may be in the proverbial clouds, so exercise caution when dealing with mechanical items.

Fast Facts

About the Number 7

Theme: Quiet, Insightful, Analytical, Mystical, Intuitive
Astro Association: Cancer
Tarot Association: Chariot

Today’s Tarot Card for November 4th is The Chariot

The Chariot

This Tarot Deck: Art Nouveau

General Meaning: Traditionally, the card usually entitled the Chariot points to a triumphal feeling of freedom, as if the charioteer is being paraded through the streets as a hero (or heroine). The card reflects congratulations for high achievement, and serves as a sign of empowerment.

Huge wheels and frisky steeds speed the rate at which the driver’s willpower can be realized. This kind of charge makes more of the world accessible to anyone ambitious enough to seize the Chariot’s reins. But there is danger in this feeling of freedom, because of the increased rate of change and its power to magnify mistakes in judgment. As a seasoned warrior, the Charioteer is called upon to be extra attentive to the way ahead

Everyday Water

Everyday Water
by Link

When you think of “Water” what comes to mind? A tranquil lake, gentle rain, or raging sea? Whether magical element or just a simple cup of tea, water can be a very special part of your life.

Water Spirits

Every body of water is an entity. Each lake, puddle or pool has a unique life-force all its own. It can be as vast as the sea, or as small as a two-sip potion bottle – any body of water has a personality just a little bit different than any other. Can you feel the personality of your bath? Can you feel a certain comfort within a place where you swim regularly? Try to sense what makes each body of water different than another.

Water at Home

A home is a very special place. It holds all the elements, and surely combines them into spirit. Water is an integral part of your home, like any ecosystem. The bathroom, the kitchen, the plumbing surely are temples for your own home’s personal aspect of water. When you visit the home of a new friend, make an effort to drink their tap water to take in a bit of the unique personality of that place. It may help you get a better feel for where you are, and all that resides there. Perhaps it is no accident that one of the first things someone offers a guest is something to drink. This concept is not limited to someone’s home. Going on a sales call or job interview? Grab a quick drink when you get there!

Healing Waters

Water is used in a variety of healing rites. Most magical people are quite aware of healing energies in teas, brews and baths. Next time you use one of these devices, try specifically addressing the water aspect within your magic. People often focus on the herbs used in their potions. But don’t forget the water spirits within your hot cup of tea that washes these herbs into your steamy Circle. Magic is often the chemistry of mixing things, thus mixing the energies they possess. Together, water and herbs make something very special, more so than either could do alone. Employ the water you drink to help swallow an aspirin; see the “liquid” in your cough syrup. Most over the counter drugs come in both liquid and tablet form. Perhaps this choice can help fit your magical need? When might a liquid work better than a solid, or vice versa?

Water Divination

Some people scry as a means to foretell the future or answer questions. Scrying is the act of gazing meditatively into a shiny nebulous surface, like a crystal ball. Fill your cauldron with water and see what shimmers on its surface — whether by moonlight, candelight or just bathroom nightlight. Oh, you don’t own a $200 cast iron genuine witchy cauldron to fill? Try any household vessel, perhaps one that fits your specific need. For example, if you seek financial guidance, try using the jar you store your loose change in. A new beginning? How about your morning coffee cup. Love? Perhaps a vase you might use for a dozen red roses.

For divination, you may want to try saving water to re-use over and over again each time you scry. Perhaps this water, just like you, will become more adept at scrying with practice! You might experiment with the specific type of water you want to use. When might water from the ocean work best? The rain or morning dew? Try collecting waters from the special places in your life, the stream where you picnic, the lake where you camp. Use your creativity here. Is there enough room in your freezer for a chunk of the first snowfall?

Another form of water divination might be to merely spill it on a flat surface. Which way did it run? Towards a specific direction? What does this direction mean to you? Try dropping something magical into a pool of water and count the ripples it makes. Four? Five? Do you find meaning in this number? Water is a very flexible thing. What new ways can you create to divine with water?

Your Own Waters

Perhaps the water we are closest to, but notice the least, is the water within our own bodies. Each of us carries around gallons that we borrow from our surroundings via the moisture within food and drink. We store it for hours, days, maybe even weeks, and carry it around like a little magical charm. Remember this the next time you share a drink during a special moment. A bit of that moment stays with you within the water you drank. Magical people instinctively feel the magic within their own waters. Ever notice how some people put a little something extra into licking and sealing a special envelope? It becomes a magical act!

Matter can be charged with your own personal energy, like the way a chair becomes warm when you sit on it. Water is especially receptive to storing energy. What energies does water hold within your body? Note that just about every emotion is expressed with water. Our water enables release, catharsis, getting it out of our system – whether tears of joy, a nervous sweat, or acts of love and pleasure. When we get too sad, too happy, too excited – water is what we often cast forth.

When you drink in water, take in what you need from the world. Ask for new things, new benefits, new wisdom and experiences. Just drink them all in like making a toast! And when you expel water, casting it out of your body, think what you’d like to cast out into life’s magical currents. Taking in, then sending out. What could be more magical than that?

The West

One popular belief assigns each element to a direction, with water corresponding to the west. My guess is that this began in England where the ocean actually is in the west, where the storms blew in from, thus fitting the geography and beliefs of the people who created the system. When members of the modern Craft community came to America, they continued the custom of looking to the west for water, even though the nature and geography around them was actually quite different. Water is one example of the choice whether to follow tradition, or modify our customs to fit the unique situations around us. I live on the east coast of North America, where the Atlantic Ocean is only 60 miles to the east. Yet most people I know turn their back and face west for water. Experiment with what direction feels most like water; try sensing what works best for you. You may find that the direction really doesn’t matter much. Someone I consider quite wise once reminded me that “water is where you feel it.”

The Water Cycle

Can we learn from the cycle of Earth’s water supply? Water vapor rises from the ocean, crystallizes to form a raindrop, falls to the Earth, runs its course through life’s rivers and streams, returning to the ocean, its source, to vaporize once again, perpetuating water’s cycle. Are we any different? Even today, Pagans sing about a drop of rain flowing to the ocean, returning to its source, the source of all life. This song even tells where we come from, and reminds us that we shall return. Think about the words. (Z. Budapest; 1971, Spring Hill Music.)

Look at the branching shape each tiny stream has as it feeds a larger brook, which then feeds a mighty river. Now look at the veins in your own arm. Perhaps it is the nature of small things to flow together, forming something larger. What other parts of life work the same way? What small things flow into you? And what do you join with to form something greater?

Like us, water also has many lives. The same H20 molecule that sits upon your sweaty brow today may have once been a teardrop in a lover’s eye or raindrop in a raging storm. It may even have once been part of an icy comet that hurled to Earth ions ago after whirling round the galaxy.

Water Magic

Perhaps the most common water magic is washing away something unwanted; we wash things to cleanse. Often the physical act of washing can have a magical component as well. When you shower, do you sometimes wash away more than just the grime of the day, making your stress-relieving shower a magical act? Have you ever rinsed out a glass or piece of clothing for a special occasion, and visualized the desired outcome of that occasion? When I wash my car, I pray for safe travel. (From the bathroom, the bedroom, and even the garage — Kitchen Witchery exists in every room of the house!)

I know someone who has slept on the same waterbed for a decade. This person respects (and actually talks to) the water within this bed as something sacred, like a magical familiar. Why not? Just imagine the energies this water holds. It becomes warmed by your body heat, hears a decade worth of dreams and passion. It provides the bliss of restful sleep. No other body of water can ever be that intimate.

Like anything magical, water is multi-dimensional. Make a list of properties you associate with water. Which aspect fits your magical need? Not only does water wash, but it nourishes and helps things grow. (Perhaps it is no accident that our first meal of Mother’s milk comes in liquid form.) Water is the place where life started, creating a new beginning for primordial Earth. What new beginnings do you yearn for? Water is the ink in your pen, the wine in your clinking glass. It freezes solid, yet steams away into vapor. Water makes ripply splashy noises, and swirls round and round into spiral whirlpools. Forget what you heard when you were nine years old – please do play with water!

Link
6538 Collins Avenue # 211
Miami Beach, FL 33141
AnthLink@aol.com

Everyday Fire

Everyday Fire
By Link

It is around us every day. We see it, touch it; we are sometimes burned by it. It is the warmth of a comfortable place to sit, and the roaring blaze that devastates an entire village. It burns within every beat of our heart. Fire.

 

Fire is Change

Fire is around us everywhere. The energy of Fire is often quite obvious, but sometimes can be tricky to spot. Do you have a special piece of jewelry? Most times we look at an object and see its earthy solid form, what it looks like today. But the metals in your jewelry took their present shape by being forged at temperatures higher than we might imagine. And as long as they retain that shape, they retain the impact of Fire. Fire is energy. Energy has the power to change things. In fact, the symbol for Fire (a triangle pointed upwards) is a Greek symbol called Delta – which means change. Think how the energy of events in your own life have “forged” you, changed your life and shaped you into what you are today.

 

Fire is Light

Much of the work and play we do is aided by Fire. Reading uses Fire, since it requires light, usually either Sunlight or electrical light — both very Fiery indeed. Next time you read something, give a special “thank you” to the light energy which carried its joy off the page to the gleam in your eye. Take note that whatever change in the world caused by reading – every classroom, every election booth, every love-letter – comes to us via the light of Fire.

 

Fire is the Sun

What else depends on light? Photosynthesis: the act of turning Sunlight into food. Plants do this everyday. All our food, our incense, our herbal medicines, our wooden homes, all contain the Sunlight stored away over the years by plants. Feel it? Recognize the Sun’s stored flame next time you hold an object made of wood. When wood burns it actually releases this solar energy into a fiery glow. Feel the warmth of the sun next time you enjoy a camp fire, fireplace, or simple votive candle. There is something very primal within Fire. From cave-times to today, people huddling around an open flame regard it as something special.

Without question, people notice how Earth’s agricultural breadbasket nourishes us. But what nourishes the Earth with enough energy to create such delights? The sun! Mother Earth contains the solid materials, the building-blocks ready to construct this bounty. But Sunlight provides the energy to ignite life, turning the fields green and growing.

Sunlight also charges people with a special glow. Try soaking up the Sun on a hot summer day. Store it within you. Whether you feel it or not, the Sun’s energy changes you a bit, like the way a glow-in-the-dark watch shines after you hold it up to the light. Feel the Sun’s flame within you. Is there a special part of your body that reacts to the Sun more than others? Maybe after hours of soaking up its energy, you have Sun-hair, Sun-skin, Sun-eyes? Do more intense things happen to you after you’ve been in the sun? Do people treat you different? Perhaps they sense a little bit more radiance within you.

 

Fire is Magic

We often recognize the magic of water and herbs when brewing our magical teas, but the heat in our hot steamy cup also contains Fire. Next time you seek healing energies from a cup of hot tea, direct the Fire energy within its heat to work for you as well. Ask it to speed your recovery. You might find working with all the elements within your cup works better than any single one alone.

Your home is well-charged with Fire. I often look to my heater’s pilot light as a perpetual candle flame that always stay lit. A home is rarely without Flame. Its lights, its electrical devices all breathe Fire’s life throughout your house, transforming it from a cold dark place into a warm happy home.

People often find special magic within color. Fire burns with a variety of colors. Copper burns green; silicon (like sand or glass) burns yellow. If you like working with Fire, and color, try creating a Flame that matches the color of your desires. But be ecologically aware – whatever you burn ends up in the air and the ground where its ashes remain. Try to keep it simple.

People work with Fire in many ways. Ever notice someone trying to start a difficult car? They make facial expressions, utter words of encouragement; they even do some rather interesting rocking motions – anything to crank electricity from the car’s battery to the starter and into the engine!

Gotta light? Ever notice the way someone acts when they light a cigarette for someone else, someone they desire? Its like they communicate right through the flame as it is passed from one person to another.

 

Passing the Flame

Try passing a flame from one place to another, like lighting a candle or incense stick from somewhere special on your altar. I like to pass flames from one candle to another, thinking about how one candle gains the gift of life from another. If you use a candle in magic, when might you want to light its flame from the Goddess candle on your altar? The God candle? Or perhaps the candle of a particular direction? Is there a particular source of flame that might work best for your intent? If you own a car, what type of special work might you do with the flame from your car’s dashboard lighter? From your kitchen stove? What fires await within that matchbook you took as a memento of a special place? For some fun, try lighting a Fire with a magnifying glass, starting your flame with nothing but the light of the Sun!

 

Fire is Divination

Fire can be used for a variety of divination techniques. We’ve all heard of scrying into tea leaves, but what about scrying into the ashes left behind by a small fire, perhaps in your trusty cauldron, or maybe in that same heat-resistant mug you use for tea. Instead of pouring water on your fragrant leaves, light them aflame! Try burning special woods or herbs, parchment, photos, old pay stubs, the daily news. What might work best to answer your particular question? Besides looking at the ashes, did you notice anything unusual about the flame? Did it peak in any particular direction before going out? What does that direction mean to you? For a new experience, take a blank piece of paper and wave it over a candle flame, close enough to leave black soot marks, but not close enough to ignite. Interpret these sooty shapes and designs the same way you would a cloud in the sky. Do you see a pair of lips? Perhaps a bunny rabbit? What do these shapes and symbols mean to you? (“Faerie Realm,” Ted Andrews, Llewellen Publications.)

 

Fire is Alive

Each flame is a unique life form, a unique spirit unlike any other. It has life and breath, it is born, consumes, grows, then flickers out, leaving behind an empty shell. Ashes to ashes. Are we any different? Try sensing the spirit in the flames you encounter. What makes “this” candle just a little bit different than the other? Try communicating with the engine spark that moves you from one place to another. Acknowledge the energy that warms your bath, rings your phone, gives you a tan or just keeps your heart going one beat to the next. Try whispering softly to even the bathroom nightlight. Some of these flames might just answer you back!

Link
6538 Collins Avenue # 255
Miami Beach, FL 33141

AnthLink@aol.com

Your Daily Number for November 1: 1

Exercise leadership today, and don’t hesitate to push your ideas and agenda forward. Others will look to you for direction. You’re also likely to meet someone new. Today is a day of progress if you don’t let fear get in the way.

Fast Facts

About the Number 1

Theme: Masculine, Creative, Independent, Aggressive
Astro Association: Mercury
Tarot Association: Magician

Today’s I Ching Hexagram for November 1 is 44:Liaison

44: Liaison

Hexagram 44

General Meaning: The attraction is strong, but the relationship is not destined to last. So, be careful — the magnetism of polarized forces may not be what it seems. An apparently harmless, but potentially dangerous, energy has attracted attention to itself and is pulling on a stronger one. The ancient image is of a bold but immature girl who uses her charms to gain influence with a stable, powerful man. The man dallies with her, thinking that it can do him no harm. Ha, famous last thoughts! When power shifts into the hands of those unprepared for it, harm comes to all parties.

Still, you need not fear meetings with those whose positions are widely different from your own, as long as you can remain free of ulterior motives.

Be especially wary of temptations that arise because of your connections to important people. Generally, it is best to combat such temptations by snipping them in the bud before they can flower. Just as soon as a dangerous liaison presents itself is the time to take note and speak up. On the other hand, there are times when the meeting of the yielding and the strong turn out to be opportunities for truly positive and constructive relationships. The difference between careless connection and a relationship of depth lies in the motives of the heart. How sincere are you?

Today’s Runes for November 1 is Eoh

Today’s Runes

Ice Runes are most commonly used for questions about struggle, conflict, and achievement. 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 November 1 is The Emperor

The Emperor

This Tarot Deck: Tarot of the Witches

General Meaning: In the most practical terms, what has traditionally been called the Emperor card represents the highest leadership, a head of state or the most exemplary and powerful person in the realm. This archetypal ruler is responsible for the positive working out of affairs of a society or community, which are directly proportional to his well being and happiness.

The more enlightenment and cosmic perspective this energy brings, the better life is for all. The Emperor archetype masters the world of matter and physical manifestation. When you apply this card to your situation, acknowledge your potentials for mastery. Reinforce a sense of sovereignty within yourself, despite any self-limiting beliefs, habits or appearances to the contrary.

Tarot Reading for the Season of the Crone

Tarot Reading for the Season of the Crone
 
This reading was done with The Druid Craft Tarot, by Philip and Stephanie Carr-Grom, with illustrations by Will Worthington.
Samhain, October 31, 2011
 
October 31st – November 5th
Queen of Cups
You are full of love and maternal instinct. You lead the way toward healing, connection with others and emotional happiness.
 
November 6th – November 12th
Four of Pentacles
You have the capacity to plan your finances wisely, or to build to ensure a strong foundation, but guard against a tendency toward avaricious greediness, if you have a foundation of loss or insecurity.
 
November 13th – November 19th
The World
You know you are complete, and you feel deep satisfaction and fulfillment. After such good work, it’s time to celebrate!
 
November 20th – November 26th
The Hermit
Turn inward, away from the distraction of the outer world, and seek guidance from a place of solitude. Don’t be tempted to make important pragmatic decisions, as now is the time to withdraw from the distractions of everyday life.
 
November 27th – December 3rd
Two of Pentacles
You may feel the need to seek balance in your life, but the best results may come from trust and playfulness, rather than caution and deliberation. Juggling may be a joy for you, rather than a burden.
 
December 4th – December 10th
The High Priestess
Tap into the power of reflection and depth, and rely on your dreams and your inner wisdom as the gateway to an initiation into higher consciousness.
 
December 11th – December 17th
Seven of Wands
Someone may challenge your leadership or engage you in a struggle, but you will find it exhilarating, as it will strengthen your abilities and your character.
 
December 18th – Yule, December 22nd, 2011
Rebirth
Though you have entered the darkness and sipped from the cup of silence, now you hear the call to awaken, and are re-born. You have chosen vibrant life!
 
HP Kerritwyn Ceannaire is the elected President of the Board, and the Head of the Order. She teaches White Moon lessons to women in The Sacred Three Goddess School, and to mtf transgendered seekers in the Rainbow Moon School.

Today’s I Ching Hexagram for October 31st is 28: Excessive Pressure

28: Excessive Pressure

Hexagram 28

General Meaning: Something is out of balance. This hexagram points to some pressure that is threatening stability and needs correcting. But if a dam is about to burst, moving out of the way is the first priority.

When a person in a sagging mine shaft feels the earth begin to tremble, it is time for quick, instinctive action and nimble footwork. At a time like this, only extraordinary measures will work. When the roof is collapsing, run first, choose your destination later.

Extraordinary times bring out the best and worst in people. Natural disasters bring with them stories of great heroism — but also looting and rioting. When the pressure is on, powerful moments present opportunities to make positive gains. Everything is in a state of flux. One can either move towards positive change and improvement or towards stagnation.

This may be the moment you’ve been waiting for. Although a current challenge may seem to be more than you can handle, remember that a flood reaches its high-water mark for only a few brief moments, and then begins to subside. Action must be taken now to ensure opportunities for success later on. You will never discover the true extent of your own abilities until you, at least once in your life, dive into a crisis with complete abandon, dedicating every ounce of your energy, every fiber of your being, to the cause at hand.

Dare to win.

Today’s Runes for October 29 is Wunjo

Today’s Runes

Ice Runes are most commonly used for questions about struggle, conflict, and achievement. Wunjo is the rune of Joy. Since joy is least frequently a solitary emotion, this rune often represents mutual or communal bliss. Wunjo is also seen as a rune of the gods and a rune of perfection, carrying with it the elation that blazes from the creation of a perfect work – perhaps this is the true joy of the gods, that they can create perfection. That aside, this rune does not focus on the struggle for perfection or on our inevitable imperfections, but rather on a job well done and the satisfaction that comes from it.

Today’s Tarot Card for October 29 is The Magician

The Magician

This Tarot Deck: Winged Spirit Tarot

General Meaning: Traditionally, the Magus is one who can demonstrate hands-on magic — as in healing, transformative rituals, alchemical transmutations, charging of talismans and the like. A modern Magus is any person who completes the circuit between heaven and Earth, one who seeks to bring forth the divine ‘gold’ within her or himself.

At the birth of Tarot, even a gifted healer who was not an ordained clergyman was considered to be in league with the Devil! For obvious reasons, the line between fooling the eye with sleight of hand, and charging the world with magical will was not clearly differentiated in the early Tarot cards.

Waite’s image of the Magus as the solitary ritualist communing with the spirits of the elements — with its formal arrangement of symbols and postures — is a token of the freedom we have in modern times to declare our spiritual politics without fear of reprisal. The older cards were never so explicit about what the Magus was doing. It’s best to keep your imagination open with this card. Visualize yourself manifesting something unique, guided by evolutionary forces that emerge spontaneously from within your soul.

Your Daily Number for October 28: 8

You may be the recipient of an unexpected financial reward today. It’s a great day to focus on promotion and sales. Social gatherings may bring good news and positive new connections; don’t turn down any invitations!

Fast Facts

About the Number 8

Theme: Power, Responsibility, Good Judgment, Financial Rewards
Astro Association: Leo
Tarot Association: Strength

Today’s Tarot Card for October 28 is The Fool

The Fool

This Tarot Deck: Chinese

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.