A Self-Constructed Daily Draws Reading

So first and foremost, on Monday I recieved the news that my store will in fact continue to trade with the new ownership. The Fool’s message of trust and faith in the universe came through for me. As soon as I received the news I was of course elated and felt a great weight fall from my shoulders, but with further thought I’ve begun to question whether I actually do feel happy and rewarded or whether I feel like I am simply plodding along, like the lovely SJ brought up in my Seven of Pentacles post. I feel like this may require a reading in the future but at this moment in time I’ve decided to create a free flow reading from the 6 daily draw cards I have drawn so far this week. I’ve never done anything like this, so bare with me, as it is a learning process more than anything else :).

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Self Constructed Daily Draw Reading – Shadowscapes Tarot
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Page of Swords

Starting with Monday’s card, the Page of Swords, we see a young girl allowing herself to be lifted and carried away so as to have some time to think clearly. The Page of Swords can represent a messenger bringing us challenges, and often it is these challenges that stimulate personal growth. To me this is representative of receiving the news that we would continue to trade. In the Shadowscapes representation the Page cradles a Cygnet in her lap which I see as representative of how this dilemma or quandary may affect the smaller things in our life. Another aspect of this representation I like is the use of black and white, symbolic of her ability to look at the balance of black and white around her without condemnation. I need this right now, for truly neither side is positive or negative, but rather holding both posibilities within themselves.

The Hermit
The Hermit

Linking this to both Tuesday’s card The Hermit, and Thursday’s card The Hanged Man, I am feeling a strong pull towards the need to spend some real time thinking about what I want out of this life! My job is not overly stimulating, and a lot of the time I feel mentally weakened purely from a lack of said stimulation! The Hermit is all about being alone and discovering truths about yourself. And coming after the Page it suggests a need to remove myself even further from distractions, for as we see on the card he has climbed even higher than the Page, above the flight of the birds themselves.

Queen of Cups
Queen of Cups

The fact however that these two cards fall either side of the Queen of Cups makes me feel that this personal development will both lead to and out of a connection to my true well of emotion and what it is I really want. I have always been drawn to the Queen of Cups, seeing her as the person I wish to become. I am deeply emotional, but can often allow these emotions to overpower me unlike the Queen of Cups who has full control over the waves of emotion!

The Hanged Man
The Hanged Man

So maybe this is saying that as a result of this introspection I will find a deeper connection to my wellspring which will in turn lead to The Hanged Man’s acceptance and willing surrender. For what does The Hanged Man represent but an end to the constant struggles we impose upon ourselves. He urges us to let go of our control, and what we think we need, to in turn reverse our view of our situation and hopefully come out with the realisation of where we then have to go.

Page of Wands
Page of Wands

Following on from this personal reversal we find Friday’s draw, the Page of Wands. I see the Page of Wands as someone who has just discovered/rediscovered their sense of Self, what fuels their Passion, or something Inspiring. The place in the spread to me suggests the re-discovering aspect of this Page, but it could also mean that out of The Hanged Man I may discover something new. She urges us to be Creative, Enthusiastic, Confident and Courageous, all things which I wish to be more prominent and know I am, but are just currently lying dormant.

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Six of Pentacles

Then finally we have today’s card, the Six of Pentacles, the card of flowing material energy. This was the hardest card for me to interpret in this constructed spread. I don’t know who I feel more connected to, the Plant receiving the energy or the Piper releasing it. I feel like I put so much of my energy into this job and all I receive back is a monetary reward. My soul receives very little nourishment! But if we look at the card more closely we see that the balance between the two is more delicate than otherwise assumed. For while the Piper releases his energy in the form of the flow of Pentacles feeding the Plant, the Plant is in turn adding buttress to the wall on which he sits. I see this as symbolic of the cycle of dependency between those who have and those who don’t and that by helping out someone less fortunate we may in fact allow them the opportunity to do so for someone else in the future. An interconnected cycle of energy :). But how does this link to my situation? If I look at it as flowing on from the previous 5 cards then maybe it is telling me that through this journey I will receive knowledge of where I wish to be and then with that self knowledge I will in turn be able to feed back into the universe and help others who wish to grow and expand as well.

I think it is clear from this that I need some time alone to think over where I am and where I want to be, and that hopefully by doing so I will get back in touch with my true inner self and discover what it is that makes me happy and feeds my soul! I really enjoyed trying to find a thread through these daily draws, and might even do them more often. I hope you also enjoyed this experiment 🙂

Until next time, live well xx

With the Soul of a Lion – The King of Wands

Today I drew the final King to complete my collection. First came the King of Swords, with his analytical and objective mindset, shortly followed by the calm self-assurance of the King of Cups, then they were joined by the hardworking and conscientious King of Pentacles and last but not least, the King of Wands made his grand entrance. In a monarchy, the King is the supreme ruler of his society who is responsible for maintaining the welfare and happiness of the inhabitants of his kingdom. Because of this, Kings represent success, expressed by their position, power and social responsibility. And in the Tarot they represent an outward mastery of their suit.

The King of Wands, being of the suit linked to fire, represents a strong minded individual, who is both creative in his approach to life, and inspiring in his relation to others. He belives in himself above all else, knowing that his methods are best, and it is this firm belief in himself that grants him such power. He is an incredibly charismatic person, inspiring others to follow his lead, and like a magnet, attracting people to him with no effort on his part. He has a deep respect for others and knows how to bring the best out of them, empowering them to succeed in whatever they pursue. He is forceful when pursuing his own goals, never balking at a challenge or risky endeavour, with such a commanding presence, naturally taking centre stage wherever he goes, and carries his authority with a natural grace and a bold and daring strength.

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The King of Wands – Shadowscapes Tarot

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Perservere through the Obstacles, and you will reach Success – The Nine of Wands

I think it’s funny how as soon as I feel my drive return I draw a card from the suit of Wands. Not only that, but it’s the first Wand I’ve drawn all month! As I said in my post yesterday I’ve been feeling a bit low in energy and lacking enthusiasm and drive to write. I feel like it’s slowly coming back now, and today I drew the Nine of Wands, which I see as the card of perseverance and stamina. I think this is a good sign :).

The Nine of Wands traditionally shows a slightly jittered and weary looking individual holding onto a stave with eight others forming a wall behind him. It is unsure whether this is a defensive wall, keeping enemies out, or whether the wall is in fact the enemy closing in on him.  Either way though, it is evident that he has been through some tough times, but more importantly, he hasn’t allowed them to knock him down! He has a bandage on his arm, representative of physical tribulations, and one upon his brow, representative of psychological/emotional hardships. Linking the psychic wound to his posture, we can deduce that this is someone who is frightened and can think of nothing else in life but the conflicts around him. He has been through so much hardship, that he is always on the defensive, looking for the next fight, even if the enemy is long gone. This is another aspect of this card, the sense of paranoia that grows when you are always assuming ill will.

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Nine of Wands – Shadowscapes Tarot

In the Shadowscapes interpretation above we see a vigilant sentinel on watch. He sits there, upon his mount, waiting for the next challenge to come. He is an image of vigilance, perseverance and stamina, waiting there day and night, for an unknown enemy, preparing for the next challenge to come. To me this image suggests that we must always remain vigilant, hold onto a core of strength and keep our energies in reserve for the moment they are needed. I see this in the golden orb the sentinel’s mount holds in his tail. He keeps it there, ready for the coming battle.

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The Sweet Seductive Impulse of Creativity – The Page of Wands

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.

Page of Wands - Shadowscapes Tarot
Page of Wands – Shadowscapes Tarot

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Explore Your Horizons – The Three of Wands

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
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 :).

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A Race Against the Onrush – The Five of Wands

Today I drew the Five of Wands, which represents Conflict, Tension, Competition and Disagreement. When I think of these words, they usually have negative connotations, but after thinking more about them, I have realised that there are also positives to these qualities.

Five of Wands - Shadowscapes Tarot
Five of Wands – Shadowscapes Tarot

For me, the Five of Wands represents those times where you feel like everything in the world is against you. Your alarm doesn’t go off in the morning so you wake up running late, you turn the shower on and there’s no hot water, you get to the pantry and realise you forgot to buy cereal, so instead you have toast, and then you drop it on your shirt. You get to the train station to find out the train’s been cancelled, and then you finally get to work and your boss tells you you weren’t even rostered on. Nothing is going right, everything just keeps piling up until you just want to scream. This is the Five of Wands.

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A Birthday Blessing

Today is my birthday 🎉, and instead of doing a daily card I decided that I would give myself a bigger challenge and in turn learn a little more about myself and the year to come. So I popped over to Little Red Tarot, my go to for all things tarot related and decided that I would do Beth’s New Years Spread, for your birthday is truly the beginning of a personal New Year 😃. And as you can see Cosmo decided he would like to help out 😊

Birthday Reading

While there are 10 cards in the picture above this is actually a 5 position spread. Beth constructed it with the interactions between cards in mind, how their energies support each other or if they show any tension/conflict.

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Weekly Reading Number 1 : The Reader’s Reading

So for those of you who don’t know, as part of The Alternative Tarot Course you are required to do a weekly reading to assist in your development as a reader. I started the course on Saturday the 19th and last Sunday I did the first week’s reading entitled “The Reader’s Reading”. I had quite a busy weekend but really wanted to fit this reading in and I have to admit it was quite hard to interpret some of the cards so this may be a little shorter than I had hoped but here goes.

The Reader's Reading

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A Vixen’s Defiance – the Seven of Wands

Today’s  Card of the Day, the Seven of Wands, is all about aggression and defiance, standing your ground and asserting yourself. I absolutely adore Stephanie Pui-Mun Law’s interpretation of this card in the Shadowscapes Tarot, which shows a vixen and badger in a head on clash.

Seven of Wands - Shadowscapes Tarot
Seven of Wands – Shadowscapes Tarot

There are times in life when we need to stand up for what we believe in, these can be simple views, or they can be very dear to us, which is what I believe we see in the card above. The Vixen is not just fighting for herself, but in order to protect her kits. Her love for them burns in her heart, and the fear for their safety makes her fight with all her strength. Badgers can be very vicious animals, tough adversaries indeed. But when we have conviction and a strong character we can withstand any obstacle.

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Hello, my name is Shadowscapes. How are you? … My first Deck Interview.

So a couple of weeks back while reading through the Little Red Tarot blog I stumbled across a few posts in which Beth interviewed her decks to learn a little more about them. After a quick perusal I thought that it would be fun to interview my Shadowscapes deck, and hopefully become closer in the process. And here is what she had to say about herself…

Six of Wands, Nine of Cups, Three of Pentacles, Knight of Cups, Nine of Pentacles, Knight of Pentacles - Shadowscapes Tarot
Six of Wands, Nine of Cups, Three of Pentacles, Knight of Cups, Nine of Pentacles, Knight of Pentacles – Shadowscapes Tarot
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