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The Tarot Workhorse – The Knight of Pentacles (a look at a years worth of Daily Draws)

Being the person I am, not only did I pull a card every day during 2016, but I also recorded my draws and made a set of graphs to compare all my cards (I know, I’m a geek 🤓). It was interesting to note, and also quite affirming, that my year was incredibly heavy in Pentacles. Now thinking logically, if we were to completely remove any magic from the Tarot then over the year there should be a rather even amount of each Minor suit drawn and a higher majority of Majors drawn simply because the suits are equal in number and there are more Major’s in the deck! Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe this, as I believe that each card comes to you for a reason and hence the draws are not going to be evenly spread between the suits, but I just wanted to put it out there for those of you who still feel a bit skeptical about the Tarot’s power. Now as I said before, my year was heavy on Pentacles, between 25-38 more Pentacles than the other three Minor suits, and only 15 less Pentacles than Majors!

Crazy right!! No, not really, because looking back at 2016, most of my time and energy was spent at work, and thinking about my life with regards to my job and my future. Now don’t get me wrong, my year wasn’t only the drudgery of day to day working life! I met my partner Phillip ❤️, which changed my world completely, we went on lots of adventures together 😊, and he brought love back into my life 😊. I also got back into acting and performed in a full time play while also working full time! So 2016 was a blessed year as well, but with regards to my daily draws, the fact that my working life had changed, and was now impacting my work/life balance was clearly evident! And what card, more than any other card in the deck, came up most often you ask? Was it The Empress you say?  Oh you cheeky bugger, no my Tarot Stalker from way back when only came up 4 times out of a possible 365!!! So who was it then? Why it was the Knight of Pentacles of all cards. The Tarot’s famous workhorse.

Knight of Pentacles
Knight of Pentacles – Shadowscapes Tarot

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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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In Search of True Love – Knight of Cups

What’s this Ms Shadowscapes, you think I need to learn more about the Court Cards? I haven’t spent enough time on them lately and you feel I need a little more? Ah, ok, if you think so!!! Today, once again, I drew a Court Card in my daily draw :P. The Knight of Cups to be precise. When I turned him over I was a little frustrated, but then I thought that it was quite appropriate after my night last night. I went out for drinks with a few mates from work and towards the end of the night we were talking about me and my romanticised view of the world. I have to admit, I am a romantic, and often fall into looking at the world through a romantic lens. They were trying to say that perhaps I would be better off if I tried to look at my situation more logically and realise that my idolised wants may be making it harder to find exactly what will make me happy. I didn’t really know what to say to this, for I can’t really do anything about my heart or its power over my thoughts, it’s just so natural for me. I’m a lover. I love love, I live for it! Just like the Knight of Cups.  It’s funny because when I first started out studying Tarot I did a few little questionnaires to find which court card best represented me at this stage in my life, and every single one of them came up with around 70% Knight of Cups (with a touch of the Knight of Wands and Queen of Cups). And to be completely truthful I understand why.

The Knight of Cups is the classical ‘Knight in Shining Armour’ off on a quest of love and light, seated upon his white horse of purity and hope. He is absolutely compelled to follow his heart above all else, for good or for ill, looking to his emotions to provide a map for his direction in life. He is someone who follows his heart rather than his head and draws upon his intuition and inner direction rather than thought to make his decisions. He is a romantic and sensitive soul who idealises love and responds so very deeply to life, appreciating beauty in all its forms and understanding both the pain and happiness of others. This can have its downfalls though, as he can be temperamental and over emotional, prone to mood swings, jealousy and melodrama when his feelings and dreams aren’t centred. Also if his emotions aren’t set in action and real life they can often get the better of him and turn into melancholy or depression.

He is also seen as an imaginative dreamer and a visionary in realms of love, emotion and art. What is important to note here however is the difference between imagination and fancy. In Rachel Pollack’s “Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom” she says that imagination may lead us to “an awareness of underlying spiritual truth” whereas fancy produces only “fantasies that may excite, but ultimately lack real meaning”. This is definitely a trap that the Knight of Cups can fall into. He could sit for hours upon hours daydreaming about when his prince will come and sweep him off his feet. Or when he will finally get that chance to storm that castle and save his princess from the evil queen.

Knight of Cups - Shadowscapes Tarot
Knight of Cups – Shadowscapes Tarot

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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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Be Truthful and Honest in All that you Do- The Queen of Swords

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
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.

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Follow Your Heart – Queen of Cups

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
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!!

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With the Heart of a Lion – Knight of Wands

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.

Knight of Wands - Shadowscapes Tarot
Knight of Wands – Shadowscapes Tarot

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The Serene Majesty of Calm Assurance – The King of Cups

Up until today the only time I had drawn a card from the Suit of Cups was in my interview with the Shadowscapes Tarot. To me this seemed quite odd, being such an emotional person I was expecting more to come up. Not only expecting, I was also hoping for more. But I guess if I think about what has been happening in my life it makes sense that so many Swords have shown their faces and few Cups have appeared at all. Anyway, enough mind babble, here is the card I drew this morning…

King of Cups - Shadowscapes Tarot
King of Cups – Shadowscapes Tarot

Before I get into the card I first want to say that these daily draws are first and foremost learning opportunities for me. With some cards like the Seven of Wands and the Three of Swords a post comes easily, but with others it seems a lot harder. This is one of those times. So I’m really just going to jot down my thoughts and strive for some meaning here.

The first thing that came to me when I saw this card was how serenely majestic this King looks as he floats there gazing into the Seahorse’s eyes, as if looking directly into his soul. It is like he has become one with the ocean and all of its inhabitants. I just want to jump into the card and let the King’s calming energies cleanse my entire being!

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