The images of the wands suit appeal to me quite a lot, admittedly this is mostly because of the use of foxes, but overall they have such a glow and warmth that makes me just want to be a part of the picture. And today’s card is no different, the Page of Wands is immersed in a beautiful world, and to top it off she has four fox companions, one of which has sidled his way as close as he can rubbing his back affectionately against her leg :). I have to admit I am quite jealous!! I want fox companions :(. Anyway, moving on from that quick distraction, as you can tell I have once again drawn a Court Card in my daily draw. I feel like they just won’t leave me alone! But I believe this is the first time that I have drawn this Page in any draw let alone a daily draw, so it is a good opportunity to learn more about her.
Now as I said in my post about the Queen of Cups, I find the Queens to be highly intriguing characters, matured to such an extent that they don’t need to present their wisdom and knowledge outwardly, but instead use it to help and develop others, and like an iceberg, most of their power lies beneath the surface. Today I drew the Queen of Swords, which is one of if not my favourite card that Stephanie has reinterpreted in the Shadowscapes Tarot. It is a gorgeous piece of art that I can stare at for hours. And for those of you who have never seen it, I shall now lay it before your eyes for your viewing pleasure 😛
Queen of Swords – Shadowscapes Tarot
The Queen of Swords is someone who has seen it all. She has been through so much in her life, both good and bad, and hence has the well rounded wisdom that comes from experience. She has a strength gained from being knocked down and getting back up again, from looking at both the good and the bad in her life and learning to accept the wisdom gained from each. Above everything else in life she respects honesty! She is upfront with everyone even if it may come across as harsh because she always strives to live a truthful life. She has no interest whatsoever in lies and deceit, but don’t take this lightly, for she is not one to be fooled. This is because she has one of the most astute minds going, quick to take in a situation and can see straight to the heart of any matter. Because of this she is quite a forthright character, direct and open in all her dealings, and has quite the witty sense of humour.
Today I drew card number 11 of the Major Arcana, Justice. Previous to finding the Shadowscapes Deck I never really had much of a connection with this card, but as soon as I saw Stephanie’s interpretation everything changed.
Justice – Shadowscapes Tarot
In the Shadowscapes card we see, in my opinion, a much less stark version of Justice. When I look at the RWS Justice I feel like she is judging every movement I make, that she would be harsh and unfriendly. Where as here I feel a real sense of impartiality and fairness. The Justice card to me stands for a time when the consequences of your actions are at hand. You have made various decisions in your past, and whether for good or for ill they are affecting your present. It asks you to strive to come to terms with cause and effect, to accept the results that you create and see how you have chosen your situation. To me this is really about assuming responsibility for your actions, acknowledging the truth and admitting involvement even in situations you may be ashamed of or feel as if you are the party missing out! Which I have to admit can be quite a hard thing to do!! Justice also represents preparing for a decision by weighing all sides of the issue, balancing all factors and then preparing a path for the future. And of course all things justice itself, insisting on fairness, seeking equality and acting ethically.
In the card above we see the Egyptian Goddess Ma’at. Ma’at was the goddess of truth and justice. In Egyptian mythology when death claimed a soul it would be sent to Ma’at who would then weigh the heart of the deceased, which was thought to be where the soul resides, against a feather. If the heart was lighter or equal to the feather it meant that the person had lived a virtuous life and they would go onto the afterlife, but if the soul was left wanting, the heart would be consumed by the demon goddess Ammit, and they would be forever trapped in the underworld. This brings to mind a real sense of Karmic justice, which I feel is important in the Shadowscapes interpretation.
Today I drew The Moon. The beautiful and mysterious queen of the night. Traditionally The Moon represents fear, illusions, bewilderment, and imagination. There is often a contrast presented between the light of the moon and that of the sun. In sun light everything is familiar and understandable whereas the light of the moon is dim and mysterious and things are not always as they seem when under moonlight.
The Moon – Shadowscapes Tarot
I absolutely adore the Shadowscapes Moon. It epitomises everything I think about the card in a haunting yet mesmerising way. The Moon to me is about a situation in flux, being enveloped in an energy of uncertainty that can either be dangerous or reveal to you an inner truth that was previously hidden. The Moon itself is ever changing, waxing and waning through its cycles and hence when this card comes up it can often indicate a situation that is changing. And while the moon reflects light, it is also shadowy, concealing as much as it reveals.
So this week is turning out to be one of firsts! Yesterday I drew my first Knight in my daily draws and today was my first Queen! And not only that but my favourite Queen of all, the Queen of Cups. To me the Queens are the most mature and developed of all the Court Cards despite the fact that they are the penultimate of the Courts and this honour is usually given to the Kings! The Queens’ inward focus and relaxed and natural way of being to me demonstrates pure mastery. They embody the aspects of their suits without the need to shout them out to the world, more concerned with enjoying their environment than manipulating the world for their benefit, I like that about them :). And the reason why the Queen of Cups is my favourite, well I guess I feel a connection to her, I always have. I admire her qualities and feel like we have a lot in common, and I wish to become more like her as I progress through this journey.
Queen of Cups – Shadowscapes Tarot
So who is this Queen? She is a loving and tender hearted soul who is uncoditionally accepting and easily moved by other creatures’ pain or sorrow. She is caring and demonstrates patience and a kind and gentle sensitivity to the feelings of others. She is highly intuitive, very sensitive to emotional undercurrents and is open to the unconscious. She is a really soothing soul, I feel as if every pain or hurt we feel would wash away with her in our presence. If she was to tell us only one thing in this lifetime it would be to follow our hearts!!
Today I drew the Knight of Wands. This was actually the first card I ever drew so whenever it comes up I always remember back to the first time I ever shuffled my cards, late on a warm autumn evening, and asked my deck its first question. It’s a nice feeling, thinking back to that time where I was very much like the Knight of Wands, rushing headfirst into this project without really knowing where it was going to take me. And while the reason why I stopped delving into the tarot for that short period of time was more emotional than anything, I think the burnout from this Knight’s energy also had some part to play.
I was quite pleased to see Strength yesterday as my daily draw! When I did my birthday reading, Strength was one of the two cards that came up in position of the energies I should focus on during the year ahead. Having it come up yesterday was a good opportunity to spend some more time contemplating it’s meaning :).
Strength – Shadowscapes Tarot
What I love most about this depiction of Strength, that you may have gathered from my birthday reading, is that there are so many examples of different types of strength. There is the more obvious example of beastial strength of body in the Lion, but there is also the Bamboo’s hidden strength through flexibility. There is the strength of cunning and strategy of the Cats, one of which seems to be tempting those birds below it closer with a bell on a string, and the other has one paw upon one of the Lion’s, possibly suggesting the strength of cooperation or of combining different forms of strength. Then there is the Bridge itself which is beginning to crack, possibly representative of the mortal quality of this man made strength, at some point it will erode and turn to dust, and below it the Acorn, representative of the steady strength of something so small that will one day grow to be gigantic. And then there is the inner strength called forth when protecting those you love, represented by the Swan. The Swan also represents the transformative power of the Woman’s form of strength. The ability to use calm control to soothe a difficult situation, turning something potentially ugly into something more pleasant. And that to me is what this card epitomises, using persuasion and patience to calm the rougher, harder animal instincts that we can sometimes fall prey to. The demonstration of the power of love and compassion, showing that aggression and anger will not solve everything. This is true inner strength, perserverance and composure, the ability to endure any of life’s obstacles with an unparalleled inner calm!
There comes a time in everyone’s life where we ask, “Is this all there is? Where we wonder, “What would life be like if I wasn’t here, in this situation? Why can’t my life be more like his or hers?” Where we begin to question all the common place things around us that previously went without question. And in my opinion, this is getting worse as we progress through this technological age. Like never before we have the ability to see into other people’s lives, to be connected with so many different people, and in turn have the opportunity to see so many different ways of living, that we undoubtedly start to compare our lives to others. And often this has a touch of envy as an accompaniment. We want for more and more and get stuck in a vicious circle of comparison and consumption. But there is a way out of this, and I see it in today’s card of the day, The Hermit.
This morning when I woke up I was still thinking about yesterday’s draw. So I decided I would ask another question for my daily draw today. I grabbed my deck, started shuffling and asked “What is the possible outcome if I choose to follow yesterday’s advice and buy my one way ticket to France?”. What was the Shadowscapes’ answer you ask? The Ten of Cups!!! I don’t think I have words to describe what happened when I turned over this card. It was as if everything was falling into place, I was speechless, happy and excited, but overall speechless.
Last night I started French language classes again. I studied French for about half of the year last year but unfortunately I stopped due to various reasons. I had been thinking about starting up again for awhile now and I finally did last night :). I’ve always loved the French language and since I was very young I’ve had this romantic idea of what it would be like to live in Europe. So my plan is to use these classes to build a stronger foundation before I go over next year, which is still in the planning stages but definitely something I feel I need to do as soon as possible. Today when I awoke from my slumber I was full of thoughts of how great it’s going to be when I finally get there, but also a wee bit of trepidation, as in order to do what I wish to do I must sacrifice a few things in my life currently that bring with them a great deal of stability. So as I usually do as a part of my pre shower ritual, I grabbed my Shadowscapes deck, shuffled and drew a card. And out came the Three of Wands. I giggled to myself when this came out. How apropos :).
Three of Wands – Shadowscapes Tarot
The Three of Wands is all about exploring the unknown, going on an adventure and leaving the secure behind, expanding your horizons through study, travel or experience, as well as taking a long view of a situation and demonstrating leadership. So when this card came to me today all I could do was smile :).
the fox and the otter 