Tag Archives: learning tarot

28 January 2019

Mystic Monkey: The 10 of Swords

By thefallenmonkey

Today’s was a dark photo shoot…

Sorry, Monkey. 😦

The Ten of Swords is a tough one to take. But on the bright side, it can’t get worse than this! You might have hit rock bottom, but it’s uphill from here as this cycle comes to a close and you make a new start. See that sunlight on the horizon? The yellow light fends off the black darkness looming above. So though it looks bleak, all hope’s not lost. You’ve gotten your ass handed to you, is all. You’ll get back up again. Remember that in tarot, Swords are of the mind, and so is your defeat. Yeah, it hurts. And yeah, the guy on the card looks dead. Quite dead. If he’s not, he’s a freaking medical marvel. But this death isn’t literal; it’s just some sort of ending, loss, or betrayal. Painful, but you can come back from it and stand again simply by shifting your mindset. Don’t dwell on the negative, learn from it. Grow from it. Recover, then rise.

The brown earth and red shroud, from a chakra-color standpoint, show a need to get grounded, to find stability, and the still, blue water shows calming emotion. Breathe it out and get clear on the truth of the situation, however painful it might be, so that you can see it for what it is and move on. There will always be more obstacles ahead (which I see in the distant mountains), but you’ve overcome them before and you’ll do it again. Yes, you will survive this to see another day and go the distance with new goals in mind.

You’ll see.

Once you get your face outta the mud.

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Crystal pairing: red jasper + yellow aventurine for endurance and hope.

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3 October 2018

Mystic Monkey: The Page of Cups

By thefallenmonkey

Eek, I’m getting this one in just under the wire in UK time. But today’s tarot card at least puts the “sweet” in short-n-sweet…

(In lieu of having a fish handy around the flat, I at least somehow managed a turtle for the photo.)

So here we are, with the Page of Cups! I have a tendency to see this guy and automatically think, aw crap, I’m being too fanciful and immature again…which is of course what this card can mean, but it doesn’t always have to be that negative. It can also give props to our imaginative selves full of whimsy and creativity. Our child at heart who would not only delight in finding a fish in her cup but also carry on a conversation with it as well–y’know, in a cute and clever and not alarmingly crazy way. Within the tarot court cards, Pages can represent a young person in our life or our own youthful aspect (or early stage in a new endeavor). And when it comes to the tarot suit of Cups, we’re working within the realm of emotions, intuition, creativity, and spirituality. The soft, soothing blues of this card and the gently undulating waves in its background give an easy-breezy impression of just going with the flow, wherever your whims may take you. A blessing for new beginnings.

There’s of course still that caution that I opened with, though, as Pages in their innocence can also be naive and in need of more experience and doses of reality. As with all tarot cards, however you take this one can depend on its context and perhaps if it’s reversed or not (if reading reversed cards is your thang–it’s mine but not everyone’s). But overall, it can’t help but be a delightful little messenger, with a freedom and lightness that gets a bit lost by the time this Page ages into the King of Cups.

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Crystal pairing: yellow fluorite + larimar for creativity, flow, and connecting with your inner child

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Court Cards, Cups, Minor Arcana, Mystic Monkey, Tarot Journal

2 October 2018

Mystic Monkey: The Empress

By thefallenmonkey

Pardon the gap in posts. Sometimes life just gets away with ya, but here to compensate with a powerful energy is the third tarot card I’ve drawn so far from the Major Arcana: The Empress.

This lady is one big loving Earth mama, generous in her curves as the fertile being she is. Her nurturing isn’t only maternal in the literal sense; she’s also about sowing one’s talents and reaping the rewards, enjoying the sumptuous, sensuous pleasures of life, her celestial crown showing the power and inspiration she channels from the divine in addition to worldly abundance. She is regal, yet she is chill, comfy in her loose draping gown as she reclines on her velvety-looking cushions (their crimson color evoking the root and sacral chakras, respectively grounding and sensual energies). Embodying compassion, creativity, nature, and sensuality, she’s an absolute goddess. She encourages us to birth new life or ideas out into the world, to revel in the bounty of our natural environment–and to provide others with a loving, peaceful, and supportive environment cultivated through feminine wisdom and care. This is just a lush, beautiful card, and I always feel blessed by a visit from the Empress. (I think Miss Monkey fancies her flowy gown for today’s photo shoot, too.)

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Crystal pairing: chrysocolla + chrysoprase for feminine energy and fertility

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in Major Arcana, Mystic Monkey, Tarot Journal

29 September 2018

Mystic Monkey: The 8 and 9 of Cups

By thefallenmonkey

Happy Weekend!

Since I slacked the last couple of days, I’m making today a tarot twofer. As it is, two cards did indeed fall into my lap while I shuffled, so I decided to take them as a pair. Usually, I set escapees like that aside for clarity on the cards I ultimately do pull. But for a one-card draw, I figure if one goes a-flyin’ to get my attention, why not let it be the card of the day? Or cards, in this case:

The Eight of Cups and Nine of Cups. Cool to get two in consecutive order to tell the story of the Cups toward its thrilling conclusion. To start, the Eight card clearly looks more mournful than the Nine, but Eights hold hope, so we must undergo this melancholy in order to achieve the satisfying outcome of the Nine. In this first card, we see all eight cups being left behind, cups that–as we’ve seen so far–have held pleasure and togetherness in the Three of Cups, solitary reflection in the Four of Cups, and all sorts of fancies in the Seven of Cups. But even things that once made us feel good don’t serve us later on. Perhaps they were shallow sources of happiness, relationships turned toxic, overindulgences–anything, really, that we might’ve thought we wanted but isn’t ultimately fulfilling. So, while it might be with some sadness and difficulty (like in the Six of Swords), we have to shed what no longer serves us and move on to something more meaningful. Cut loose the excess weighing us down so we can travel more lightly to higher ground. The person’s staff makes me think of the tarot’s Wands suit, which signifies taking action, and indeed the Eight of Cups is our cue to act on our gut intuition (symbolized by the moon) that’s been telling us things aren’t right and it’s time to go.

The true contentment we seek, then, is in the Nine of Cups, where we see this rather smug-looking man with a shit-eating grin. 😏 This is a “wish” card that promises emotional, spiritual, and even material fulfillment. After his journey, this guy has dropped his staff and taken a seat, able to kick his feet up and just enjoy when life is good. Discontent will inevitably return as this cycle continues to spin, but for now, all’s five-by-five.

Prior to selecting today’s tarot cards, Pixie’s Astounding Lenormand deck arrived at my door, so I decided to draw one of those as well. How darling are these sweet petite thangs (just over 2×3″)?? Rendered from Pamela Colman Smith’s artwork (the artist of the original Rider-Waite deck), these cards contain all the classic symbols of the Lenormand system, which I’ve yet to properly study (along with runes and geomancy and, and… Gah! I’ve got to get tarot down first.). In any case, the card that came up was #2, “The Clover,” which generally means:

[P]ure luck and fortune. It brings good tidings and reasons to celebrate. […] Be warned that this is not a lasting trend but a quick stroke of luck perhaps one of those ‘million-to-one’ chances [that] encourages you to pay attention, grab hold and pluck it while you can.

Well, la-tee-da. Nine of Cups plus the Clover?? Guess who’s wearing the shit-eating grin now! 😄

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Crystal pairing: smoky quartz + citrine for moving on and joy

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , | posted in Cups, Minor Arcana, Mystic Monkey, Tarot Journal

24 September 2018

Mystic Monkey: The 5 of Wands

By thefallenmonkey

Happy Monday, all! What better way to start the week than with a little group conflict… 😀

Those darn 5s. They, along with 7s, like to herald conflict and struggle in tarot, but what can ya do. That’s life. Here in the Five of Wands card, we see a group of lads duking it out with their staffs (hello, sausage fest!). This isn’t generally a positive card to me, but it’s not as bad as it initially appears either. This doesn’t look like combat so much as friendly competition. We’ve got five people dressed quite differently from each other, signifying their differences in perspective as well. This could be a clash of viewpoints on an issue or how to accomplish a team goal, or individuals vying for an achievement. There’s also confusion here, a lack of clarity that obscures the way forward and keeps anyone from making progress. I look at the chap on the left, though, who seems to have freed his wand from the fray and thus holds it up victoriously–he’s gotten himself out of this tangle and can now make more productive use of his time, be on his way ahead of the rest. There’s this healthy aspect of competition that encourages you to do your best and set yourself apart, but it’s also good to work with others, to brainstorm and hear diverse opinions–as long as everyone is listening and valuing that input; otherwise, you really will get nowhere.

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My chosen crystal pairing: aqua aura quartz + fire agate for clear and calm communication, focused action, and blocking negativity.

 

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23 September 2018

Mystic Monkey: The King of Cups

By thefallenmonkey

Well, howdy-do?! I ditched my tarot card of the day yesterday for a cemetery tour in the rain (as one does), but today I’m back to rock ’em sock(monkey) ’em.

So, kings… I generally don’t love when they appear. They automatically make me dread an authoritarian a-hole in my life or that that’s the stern attitude I must possess.

But kings aren’t necessarily dicks, and embodying their masculine energy can be quite a good thing. Tarot kings are masters of their suits, after all, and the King of Cups in particular is a nice, loving king. More in tune with his emotions than the rest. But, again, a master of them, meaning he can keep them in check. Keep his head above water and ride the waves with ease. Which is, again, a good thing–I really need it!–but this lends an aloofness as well. I feel like this king is more intuitive and fanciful than he lets himself show. Like he’s lived his Page and Knight days of daydreaming and romance and has by now stuffed a cork in it. The crazy fish he once held in his cup is now dumped back into the water. Yet it stays with him, swimming alongside.

So, I do give this king credit for possessing creativity and compassion, simply filtering it through his emotional maturity. He can remain calm under pressure and apply his strong instincts and interpersonal skills to his work and relationships. He’s deep, not shallow. Steady but not stodgy. A confident yet caring person who does ultimately give a crap. He’s just not going to spaz out over it. He’ll mediate and productively work toward solutions instead.

As for how this might apply to me? I’ve been a little self-pitying the last couple of days, which is decidedly not a color I love on me, so today I feel ready to rein it in.

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My chosen crystal pairing: serpentine + mahogany obsidian for emotional balance and strength.

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Court Cards, Cups, Minor Arcana, Mystic Monkey, Tarot Journal

20 September 2018

Mystic Monkey: The 6 of Swords

By thefallenmonkey

Ooh, ouch. Swords in tarot always make me flinch, but luckily we’ve got a harmonious six to numerologically smooth this one out. At least a little.

The Six of Swords shows us a family fleeing on a boat. My perception of this card has certainly evolved since my very, very first glance at the Rider-Waite deck–in which I saw the trees in the distance as mushroom clouds, like explosions in the distance, and the swords sticking into the wooden boat’s bottom made me fear they’d cause leaks! And perhaps those initial thoughts were fair enough–that monochromatic, apocalyptic landscape in my imagination being the troubles we must escape, and the holes poked in the boat signifying that, even when we leave, we’re not totally free and clear of woe (making it all the more urgent that we skedaddle while we can!).

But generally I see this card more positively in the sense that sometimes we have to cut our losses and set sail for stiller waters. This can entail an actual, physical relocation or simply moving on mentally and emotionally. A change of scenery in our outer or inner landscape so that we can leave a negative situation or behavior behind and hold hope for brighter shores. So then, rather than threatening the boat’s seaworthiness, the swords here become a protective shield for these passengers, bracing them against winds of necessary change. And though swords are of the air element and mind–expressing our need to be rational and objective in making the best decision for ourselves–there’s a lot of water present here to convey the emotional aspect of moving on; it’s difficult to leave some things behind, and we don’t always do it without sadness and regret. Yet the man’s oar is like a wand evoking fire energy as well, a need to take action and go. There’s no promise of smooth sailing, but this forward movement is ultimately for the best.

I did a reading with The Raven’s Prophecy Tarot deck yesterday (which feels so nice and autumnal and Halloween-y for this time of year! Although it isn’t a seasonal deck, per se), and the Six of Swords showed up there, too, in the position of my subconscious. It made meaningful sense to me within the context of my question, so its reappearance today has greater impact. Pulling the same cards over and over again tends to happen to me a lot, like the cards are saying, Hint, hint? Get the message already, lady! Which I genuinely appreciate, as tarot’s become my esteemed and much-needed ball-buster. 😀

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My chosen crystal pairing: apache tear + aquamarine for release and moving on.

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in Minor Arcana, Mystic Monkey, Swords, Tarot Journal

6 September 2018

Gone Sissin’

By thefallenmonkey

Snagged from the Create from Scratch blog.

I’m hosting my sister here in London for the next week, so I’ll be putting my daily tarot reflections on pause. Lucky you! 🙊😄

I could’ve scheduled posts in advance, but that defeats the purpose of the card-a-day, which I of course can continue to carry on whether I blog about it or not.

But…nah. I’ll just wait ’til next week, as logging my thoughts has been truly helpful in the process, and you’d think I could multitask this, but what can I say–when I host, I host hard.

Enjoy the break, and see ya soon! 🔮🐒

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in Monkey Miscellany, Mystic Monkey, Tarot Journal

4 September 2018

Mystic Monkey: The Queen of Wands

By thefallenmonkey

Hiya! Onward to Day 4 of my tarot card-a-day reflections. Only 74 more to go! 😃…😬…😦

Anyway, several cards tumbled into my lap today (whoa, hey there), but this little lady was the only one to present herself face-up.

I love her.

She’s just got it so together. She’s creative, she’s passionate, she’s fun, and she’s fiercely loving. She even has a kitty! She strikes me as a bit witchy for that reason, as if the black cat is her familiar and she can wield her wand for magic. Fiery solar plexus and sacral chakra colors here (yellow and orange), so I’m fully feeling the vibe of creative and sexual passion, confidence, joy, optimism, and drive. I have fond respect for all the queens, but the Queen of Wands is one I’d actually want to hang with. She seems full of whim yet no-nonsense at the same time, like she’d join in the laughs and be game for something totally spontaneous, but she isn’t going to take anyone’s crap and is only in it for a truly authentic experience. The sunflowers add to her charm, warm and happy as they turn to face the light, yet they’re also strong and hardy. Not delicate like other flowers. The lions add to the vim and vigor (the ones above her head look ready to party), but they can also be fierce and protective when need be–even kitten has claws and stares us down intimidatingly, still primal and superior in its evolved domesticity. The clasp on Queenie’s cloak shows her to be lionhearted as well. You want to stay on her good side. But she’s great. Loyal and lovely. Maybe a little eccentric. Very determined. I can only hope to embrace her energy today!! 🌻🌻🌻

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My chosen crystal pairing: orange calcite + carnelian for creativity and drive.

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , | posted in Court Cards, Minor Arcana, Mystic Monkey, Tarot Journal, Wands

3 September 2018

Mystic Monkey: The Knight of Cups

By thefallenmonkey

Well, look at this charmer.

He actually flew into my lap (well, hellooo 😘) upside down during shuffling, and I do take reversals into account in my readings. But for the purposes of this card-a-day exercise, I am only interpreting upright meanings.

So. Back to this dreamboat. The tarot suit of cups is associated with the element of water, and indeed I literally see water running through this image as a river or stream. The cup itself may be filled with water for this knight’s long journey. Water also flows through this guy’s get-up in a pattern that includes fish, so…he’s not winning any fashion awards with me, but I do give points for flamboyance. He’s owning it. And he’s perhaps the most gallant of the knights–literally the knight in shining armor on a white horse that we romanticize. And being the Knight of Cups means he’s in tune with his feelings and probably a great communicator. He’s a guy who could sweep you off your feet. Maybe also break your heart. The wings on his helmet and ankles show him to be fleet of foot, bringing in an air element to me that reinforces the idea of communication; he knows how to express himself. Lord knows he does it through his snazzy clothing, but he probably articulates himself well, too, through writing, speaking, and/or art. He sits tall and confidently, and even his pretty horsie is posing for the camera, though maybe this knight is a little vain, a little showy. A man of grand gestures, but how well does he follow through when it really matters? Does he go with the flow of the waters and just move on when he’s made a conquest? However he might regard others’ feelings, he does seem in command of his own and willing to share but is probably a bit sensitive, in both good and potentially bad ways. He feels all of the feels and doesn’t hide it. He has an artistic temperament, perhaps. But he-n-horsie are just stopped at the water for this little photo op; he doesn’t seem particularly ambitious about crossing it or getting around it some way. Nonetheless, as a knight of his strong posture, he has a degree of accomplishment, motivation, and responsibility and looks forward to his ultimate goal. He’s heading in the right direction and will get there, eventually, led by his heart. 💖

So, that’s my particular take on this particular card on this particular day. It always varies, and I’m not trying to lock in any meaning, only spending more time with each card and letting the thoughts flow to see what fresh perspective they might bring. In a nutshell, I’m just babbling. 🙊

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My chosen crystal pairing: blue lace agate + honey calcite to calm and smooth over communication (in case of cranky knights!)

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Court Cards, Cups, Minor Arcana, Mystic Monkey, Tarot Journal

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