(Early) Tarot Tuesday!

[open_space]

We can go ahead and start calibrating the card-o-scope and check what the Astral Light is up to today, this week or the coming months. So if you have a question, bring it on.

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I've been studying and practicing the Tarot for about 2 years now and having cast a few spreads for friends who found it helpful I thought I might make a deal with anyone that happens to read this.

Here is the deal, I will repost this on the last Tuesday of every month and will try to answer your query before the end of the month. Post a comment below requesting for a reading within the week of posting, depending on the number of comments and the situation I can either offer a lengthy reading or a three card reading. What I request back from you is some feedback about your situation and in case of some outcome what I got right and what I got wrong.

So, if you have a situation where you want to know what the Astral Light is up to, be it personal, general or on a broader scale like political events, or want to know what the week or month ahead has in store for you, why then, you know what to do. I would encourage you to post it publicly below, as for others to get an idea of what I have to offer, to encourage discussion and show what divination is about in general but if your situation is delicate post a comment marked NOT FOR POSTING explaining your situation and I'll consider it on a case by case basis.

That said, divination is like weather forecasting not a tablet of truth handed down from above, so take the advice I give you through the cards as such. The conditions that divination taps into are also in constant flux, the same as atmospheric pressure and the Moon. Any unfortunate situation you get yourself into is entirely the responsibility of the querent!

If you wish to make a donation for the readings, though it is not required, you can do so through Paypal by clicking the pentacle.

Comments

[temporaryreality]

Hello open_space, thanks for offering your divination skills!

I wonder if you might cast a reading to help me figure out what's at play and what I can do to tune in more clearly to the (for lack of a better word) Divine. I pray, do divination, am learning to concentrate for better meditation - and mostly it feels like one-sided communication. I do have phases where my prayers are met with accurate and appropriate divinations but then phases when it's nearly impossible to see how the divination means anything relevant. There's generally no other sense of anyone being on the other end of the "line."

Sometimes I feel "thick as a brick"(*) or like I'm in spiritual preschool. It's possible, but if there's something I'm overlooking/neglecting, I wouldn't mind knowing so I can remedy it.


(*) the phrase occurred to me the other day actually out of gratitude that I'm not so sensitive as to hear voices trying to get me to get a certain vaccine. In general, though, I wouldn't mind being able to sense something from higher aspects of the universe.

[open_space]

Hey there! Thank you for paying me a visit.

Thick is a brick is one of my favorite Jethro Tull songs!

What do you mean with the relationship between prayer and divination and them being met by accurate readings? To me divination and prayer are totally different things so I must be missing something here.

Being sensitive can be a blessing, I'm very sensitive and sometimes it can be overwhelming, the trick is to know how to open up and close down your senses and meditation will give you that. Regarding voices through prayer or through vaccination encouragement, I don't hear voices I watch thoughts and once you've raised enough attention in you that you can clearly distinguish when you produce a thought or when you are picking it up from the astral commons or from divinity that is how you can tell for sure. To get that skill, meditation is the way! Lots and lots of time in meditation will give you that. Specially with a relaxed mind, meditation is not forceful it is like putting your hand down into the river bank and letting slip all other things that you don't want to get the pebble you want. That said, let me cast a reading for you to see if there is something specific going on.

[temporaryreality]

I had never heard the song before, so thanks for pointing it out to me.

As for your question - on the off chance that this might be helpful to another I'll answer your question here and remark on your reading below "in public" (though I tend to be a rather "close to my vest" card-holder).

So prayer and divination are related for me *because* I don't typically sense anyone out there except for some instances of prayers having been followed with very spot-on divinations. I do sense divination readings are a mode of communication employed by my guardian angel, to whom I pray (prayers to deities inquiring into whether they'd welcome my prayer/devotion have never been met with any sort of response/sign/feeling, but I proceeded under the assumption that everyone's got a guardian angel and they're less likely to ignore their charges completely). There are times when the prayer/divination nexus is nearly conversational, but those instances are not so frequent and I haven't figured out any other way to "pick up the signal."

Anyway, the thick as a brick sense is where I've ended up - if I trust that the universe is full of entities along a range of corporeality and "inhabiting" different planes; and if there is always ongoing communication and connection and immersion... then there must also be a reason I'm not picking up on much beyond general intuitions. I'm not expecting "voices" or to actually physically "hear" anything, but at the same time, my continual lack of awareness or perception that leads me to feel like I'm whispering in an empty auditorium is... continual. And a bit demoralizing.

I know the universe owes individuals nothing, least of all what a person *wants*, but since I'm the weak link in the chain, I figure working to create conditions conducive to communication is about the only and best thing I can do.

I tend to be somewhat flighty, but this set of practices (banishing-meditation-prayer-divination) is with me for the long haul. If that's the test (will she continue even if nobody else shows up?), then so be it. That's about the only "controlling" of the issue I am aware of engaging in (that I'll keep showing up).

I think now I'm replying to what I read in my first glance through your reading, so I think I'll stop here and go there, to reply directly.

[open_space]

Here is your reading:



The position of the cards are: Center, situation or issue; to the left, internal influences you are not aware of; to the rigth, external influences you are aware of; bottom, what is needed for resolution and on top the outcome or the understanding.

The first thing that immediately comes up is that you drew all cards reversed. When this happens this is a strong sign that energies are having issues expressing themselves, that something is blocked or that we are insisting for things to go in a particular way and we refuse to let them happen. It's a sign of resistance, of lack of listening.

Center, situation The Five of Wands, reversed.:

This card shows five people fighting with sticks, stuck in motion. However, they don't seem to be fighting violently bur rather out of sport. Reversed however it could mean that in your situation you are not doing your devotions out of enjoyment but because you want to get something out of it. You are forcing it, rather then letting it happen smoothly. Remember that ultimately, prayer is about you becoming like the object of your devotions not about telling it things or even asking questions, its about being open so that you can be shown.

Left, internal influences you are not aware of The King of Swords, Reversed :
The King of Wands is an authoritative figure, however, again, since it is reversed it means that you have a great mind perhaps too great and it is not serving you for your purposes. Perhaps you are intellectualizing too much and trying to get control of the process. Praying and divination are not about telling or doing things, not even about you making the connections, it's about listening and paying utmost attention so that you can see the strings, not about you connecting the dots.

External influences you are aware of, The King of Pentacles, Reversed:

Another ruler that is on its head. See how he looks at the pentacle? You are dissatisfied with the process, maybe you are asking too much about it and this is not leaving room for the unexpected to happen. Since this is in external (or conscious) influences, this could mean that something in your life has made you shift from the material to the spiritual but also consider the first point. If someone is dissatisfied by you, would you feel encouraged to make a better effort? Perhaps your oracle doesn't feel motivated to talk to you because of this and deities not particularly encouraged to make something happen if you are not open.

What is needed for resolution The Nine of Pentacles, Reversed:

This card in particular could mean lack of discipline, of being disappointed with oneself or having low regard for ones own abilities. Don't be too hard on yourself, this is something that you need to work for not something that is natural to most people on our day and age. Take your time, to steady your mind, and relax yourself. Just like the contents of a sack of flour pour and loose its shape once it is turn upside down you shall empty your conceptions about these things without much effort or tension, so that it can be filled with something else.

Lastly, the outcome The 8 of Swords, Reversed:

This one is quite clear isn't it? This one is about freedom. If you manage to do what is talked about in the previous card, and the rest generally, you will free yourself from a situation that is not about being trapped by someone or something but about untangling oneself in a situation we might feel restricted because we are walking blindly among things that we might be either scared about or are unknown. However, it's not about fixing the outside but about observing what one might be doing wrong.

Hope this helps!
Generally, listen without expectation, be grateful for the chance of learning about something extraordinary and don't disregard the progress that you are slowly making but be diligent and you shall arrive.

How did I do?

[temporaryreality]

"How did I do?" Great! :) - it's all going to be good meditation food.

Here's what stands out for me (and none of this requires more detailed input from you, I've already taken your time and benefitted from your service, but I leave my thoughts in case they help you):

General: "...all cards reversed...is a strong sign that energies are having issues expressing themselves, that something is blocked or that we are insisting for things to go in a particular way and we refuse to let them happen. It's a sign of resistance, of lack of listening."

This is spot-on. The divinations (with my homegrown Ogham-derived system that I've been using for more than a year) that I've done from time to time when things are in this pattern, including this morning about this particular topic, tend to give me "deficient Air of Air" which can be summarized as "disconnected or isolated situation...communication channels are impeded. Blocked reception/cannot send or receive signal." I absolutely was not surprised to see all cards reversed in your reading.

Center: "Remember that ultimately, prayer is about you becoming like the object of your devotions not about telling it things or even asking questions, its about being open so that you can be shown." - I can certainly be reminded to work to become "like the object of my devotions" in a way that isn't petitionary, though I really am just "petitioning" for relationship and general guidance.

Left: "Praying and divination are not...even about you making the connections, it's about listening and paying utmost attention so that you can see the strings, not about you connecting the dots." Not having extensive prayer experience, I guess I still need to learn the basics.

Right: "Perhaps your oracle doesn't feel motivated to talk to you." Possibly - I'll have to get back to you on this one as I don't know how to assess if this is the case or not. It's a good point, though.

Bottom: "This card in particular could mean lack of discipline, of being disappointed with oneself or having low regard for ones own abilities." Yes, this is very much the state of affairs and I'll work on the next part

"Don't be too hard on yourself...Take your time, to steady your mind, and relax yourself.

Top: This phrase stands out to me "untangling oneself in a situation we might feel restricted because we are walking blindly among things that we might be either scared about or are unknown."

I'll be chewing on this for a while (while attempting to relax, of course :D). Many thanks for your help.

[open_space]

Thank you! It does help me and I'm glad it did to you as well.

By all means feel free to come and keep discussing, this I offer gladly and it's good for me to keep refining my skills. Since I don't have many details I can only point to trends and say general statements so take it that way. Most of the time it takes people a day or two to look at the cards, digest what they are trying to say in my interpretation and see how that reflects in their own life and then come back. I have no strict timeline so if you want a clarification or have an idea feel free to come back any time and we'll revise it. I've done this back and forth for days and sometimes weeks and stuff keeps coming.

It is all very good fodder for journaling and meditation for sure! The Tarot gives wide perspectives instead of sharp answers so it takes a while. Please do read and reread the interpretation a few times to digest it properly while looking at the picture of the spread, that way it might talk to you some other way now that I have remarked the where the signposts are you can follow them and derive the meaning that is closest to you.

Regarding Center for example, in the same general manner, I'm not trying to say that you don't know how to do it or that there is something mysterious about it which you don't know. All the interpretation is more like one big metaphor so take the essence, not the details. As for opening and not petitioning, it is not that it's wrong to talk into a relationship just that you might need to emphasis the listening. Just like when you stare at a painting, you can talk about it a little bit here and there but the most important part is the contemplation part as to unpack what it is trying to say. It is more about looking for the subtle connections in the painting rather than arriving at conclusions if that makes any sense.

Regarding Right and the oracle, I could be wrong, it is the sentiment that it is more important. It's the attitude of something not working, of dissatisfaction, more than the actual specific scenario of it, the oracle scenario was just a guess but it could be something else.

[temporaryreality]

Just popping in to let you know I'm still chewing on this. :)

Here's what's occurred to me so far (just the first two topics):

All reversed cards - this is pretty in-tune, as I mentioned, with my own divination on the topic (the blocked reception or resistant flow of communication). The sense I get on further reflection is that this is the sign given to the "bigger picture" and it strikes me that this could be understood in the context of the (and here I blank on the astrological term) age we're in being furthest from the Divine, at the nadir. While lots of people have free-flowing connection/communication with the Gods, it appears that I'm just experiencing the to-be-expected and kind of run of the mill effects of transmitting over "great distance" as a result of the times. There may be some karmic effects revealed here, but my strongest sense is along the lines of "them's the breaks this time around."

Center, situation The Five of Wands, reversed.: This card suggests to me five people who are learning to create a pentagram - they got one corner!, but they are unpracticed, and having difficulty working together. Following the sparring analogy, it seems a bit like working on martial arts' forms - you have to put in a lot of awkward practice before you achieve flow and non-thought. Reversed indicates that the forms/practices are felt to be compulsory, or done with a sense of compunction (doing the thing your sensei tells you to do, over and over, without connecting to it or connecting it with the bigger picture - so you don't get yelled at, mostly). I don't feel like my case is quite that bad, but there's definitely been the "here I am doing the same exercises again and again without seeing results" feeling. The key is to simply practice, but let the practice become the "result."

Anyway, I know you have a lot to do with all the readings, so no pressure to respond. I just wanted to let you know (by the attention I'm paying it) that I appreciate your help. There'll be more in a few days :)