Today's Draw: The Queen of Cups from the Smith-Waite Tarot, Centennial Edition. Have you ever "known" something you couldn't have known? Do you have experiences you can't explain? Do you consider them coincidence or odd occurrences...or do you think there's something more going on?
Most tarot readers have a card that signifies them. You can light upon that card many different ways, but I chose mine consciously. The Queen of Cups is that card for me. I chose her because she's creative, dreamy, spiritual, compassionate, mysterious and loving. I could have chosen to be really sharp, smart and witty; passionate, fiery and sensual; or earthy, business-minded and rich. Or I could have selected a number of other cards that signify things like hope and happiness. But I chose the Queen of Cups. She's got the watery feeling this Pisces enjoys.One of her mysteries is that...thing...she's holding. It's supposed to be a cup, but all the other cups in the deck are much simpler vessels. But hers has a cross on top and two angel handles...it's like a sacred, spiritual relic, more elaborate even than her crown. Arthur Waite writes that she has a "loving intelligence, and hence the gift of vision." So perhaps the possession of that vessel is tantamount to possessing the ability to communicate with spirit in all its forms.
I also think it's interesting that Waite ties the gift of vision to loving intelligence. So today I feel drawn to ruminate on psychic awareness. First of all, we all have psychic ability and intuition. I doubt there's anyone reading this that can't recall ever knowing something they couldn't know. Or having an experience like thinking of a song and having it on the radio when you turn it on. The only difference between someone who develops that gift further is trust...trust that what is going on is more than just coincidence.
I think there's a lot of misunderstanding of what it means to be psychic. It may as well just be classified as being human. In some ways, it's literally a sixth sense. It's feeling that there's someone standing behind you or something else in the room that you don't have evidence of. It's having "a sense" about something that turns out to be true. It's having good "parkma" (a talent for finding parking spaces). It's knowing you'll either like or dislike a person at just a glance. It's feeling drawn to someone for one reason or another. It's knowing who's calling the minute the phone rings. It's "feeling" another person, even if they're on the other side of the world. It's getting a flash of insight out of the blue. It's all those things you've experienced at one time or another that are "weird"...that you have no logical explanation for.
Psychic ability is also closely tied to mediumship, but they're different. Mediums talk to dead people. Psychics talk "to the wind". A voice, wisdom or image just pops into the brain. Some might consider it talking to their higher self. Some might see it as communing with God or a spirit guide. When certain religious practitioners talk to Jesus or God for guidance on things, they're doing exactly what psychics do...connecting with a source of infinite intelligence for wisdom or in reverence. I believe the source is the same for all, and the names change depending on the spiritual beliefs, just as with religion.
Regardless of who or what you're talking to, the ability to communicate with it is a capacity we're all born with. Evolutionarily speaking, we needed this extra sensitivity for survival in a wild world for which we were not as well equipped as other animals may have been. Our "instinct" helped us find food, sense when we were in danger and know how to respond to unfamiliar situations. It's not unique to humans as many pet owners will attest. It is as much a part of our mammalian makeup as any of the other senses. Over time, civilization has moved us further away from this instinctual way of living, but we still use this sixth sense whether we acknowledge it or not. And although some people are born with a sharper sense, the difference between "a psychic" and you is simply trust in the ability. And, of course, practice.
So while it's fun to make jokes about "then why don't you predict the lottery numbers?", it's not like that at all. They call it "clairvoyance", and sometimes it *is* clear, but it's not omniscient or absolute. And it often comes in symbols or images that are subject to interpretation and, thus, error. As a species, we're still honing this sense to be something we have more of a command of. Technology and modern life don't help that happen...they actually replace our need for some of it. So if we want to sharpen it within ourselves, we have to do so consciously. Just like the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves and electricity) existed for billions of years before someone came along to harness it, I believe that future man will discover another spectrum...or another part of the spectrum...that has to do with psychic capability. Because that's what it feels like to me. It feels like my body is both an antenna and a receiver, sending and capturing information on a wave. In fact, when I meditate and get into that relaxed and open state, I often find myself swaying back and forth, as if upon a wave.
But back to "loving intelligence, and hence the gift of vision." It seems such an odd statement that loving intelligence would be a condition for the gift of vision. But in psychic circles, we call it "raising our vibration". The higher the vibration, the clearer the channel to that divine and infinite intelligence. While anyone can access this channel, it's a muddier connection if you're depressed or negative. In fact, if you're angry or vengeful, you're more likely blocking it. Conversely, the fastest way to raise your vibration is love. Love for your fellow man. Love for life. Love for yourself. Love for your god. Love, love, love. So the Queen's loving intelligence...her unconditional openness to universal or divine wisdom...leads to her gift of vision.
So trust, love and practice. That's what it takes to sharpen the gifts you were born with. What kind of experiences have you had in this vein? Have you ever *tried* to be psychic? What do you believe about all this?
I read a really interesting book a while back about people who get into frightening jams (such as a stalker breaking into their house) and how they would hear a voice or otherwise be safely "led" out of the situation using their intuition. What was interesting was that the woman who wrote the book had a scientific interest in who is led and who isn't in these situations. Her conclusion was that people who are able to find peace in these situations are the ones who also hear the voice, etc. Peace and love are right next to each other on the emotional spectrum, so Waite's take on this seems right to me.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting, Sarah. I can totally see that, too. Because your head gets all jumbled and loud when you're experiencing negative emotions. How would you sort out the intuition from all the other stuff going on?
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