Friday, May 3, 2013

NO WEEKEND READING THIS WEEK

Due to an unforeseen lack of internet access, there will be no weekend reading. Sorry! See you Monday!

Thursday, May 2, 2013

5/3/13—Perching on the Front Stoop of Life


Today's Draw Classic*: Knight of Bows from a trimmed Wildwood Tarot in the What to Avoid position from the Deck of 1000 Spreads. Do you spend too much time one on aspect of your life to the detriment of other parts of your being? If you died tomorrow, would there be any regrets about it? What undiscovered gem of life might be standing right in front of you, waiting for you to shift your focus?

Today's draw is one of the reasons I don't like to reversals. For the uninitiated, reversals are cards that, when you turn them over, end up upside down. And many people read those as roughly the opposite of a card's meaning. But I don't read reversals, primarily because I believe the position the card lands in can create the same outcome. 

So, for example, today's card of the Fox is about stealth and cunning, playfulness and determination. None of those are things we would want to avoid. So reading the card in context of its spread position, you'd look at the shadow side of that card, like being opportunistic, manipulative, childish and ruthless. 

Shadow sides come from too much of a good thing. Leadership is a good thing. But when you go all leadership on people's arses, it's called megalomania. Not a good thing.

Another way of looking at it is how the book for this deck spelled out the downside of this card—"Determination leads to success, but often at a great personal cost." 

I'll cop to being one of those women who focus too much on career...to the detriment of my personal life. I even ended up turning one of my personal life hobbies into a second career so I could work even harder...haha. Mind you, I'm not complaining and I won't use the word "regret". I enjoy the things I do. And because I'm at home when I do all of them, my dogs never feel lonely or neglected, as far as getting their needs for attention and sustenance met. 

But there are so many things that fall by the wayside because I'm now attending to two different careers. I don't get out as often. I don't exercise often. I don't spend enough time with friends. And most of my friends are the same way, so they don't have time to spend with me. So while I don't regret it...my life is full...I could nonetheless find a healthier balance. 

I see a lot of this around me. Women who devote all of their time to their children and husband and spend no time developing their own personal relationship with self. People who dive so deeply into their relationships that they have no friends. Certainly we shouldn't neglect the things we need to attend to in our lives. But having friendships, personal interests and a personal life are also among those things we shouldn't neglect. 

Anytime we pour so much of ourselves into one thing or another, we put ourselves at risk. If we lose that one thing that identifies us, then who are we? But beyond that, we're cheating ourselves out of part of life we came here to experience. Having just one or two aspects of ourselves supporting the entirety of a life is a precarious foundation to build on. It's simple principle of engineering. 

That said, I enjoy my life. Especially now, because a lot of things are coming to a successful conclusion. But I think we all have to ask ourselves, if we died tomorrow or a year from now, is there something we'd wish we'd had more of in our lives? I wouldn't have any MAJOR regrets, but I can see where I'd be a little wistful about things I could have done more often or had more of in my life. 

Even just tonight, I was sitting on my front stoop watching the sunset and seeing the neighborhood happen. I'd only done that once before and that was just last week. All these years and I never experienced life from a perch on the front stoop! It made me sad that something so in-my-face had been overlooked for so many years. What might you not be seeing for all your determination in life?

*From 2/19/13

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

5/2/13—Letting God Steer the Justice Ship


Today's Draw Classic*: Justice in the Immediate Future from the Tarot of the Tattoo Age and the Deck of 1000 Spreads. Is it about time justice is served? Can you know for certain what that looks like? How does justice get enacted in your life?

Well, well. It looks like we're going to get justice at last! And, for some of us, that will be good news. For others it will most assuredly suck. Which are you? Don't be so sure you know the answer. 

The Justice card is about fairness and truth. In a broader sense, it's about karma, too. Something from your past is going to get weighed and you will receive a sentence. Whether it's good or bad is out of your hands now. It's now up to the objective force of the universe to determine. 

I've talked before on this blog about revenge. I don't go there. And one of the reasons I don't go there is because of karma. It will come back to me. Another reason I don't go there is because the higher power I believe in is so frickin' awesome at exacting justice that it will always do a better job than me. 

A third reason I don't go there is because I don't presume to know enough about what's fair or right to be in command of the justice ship. Because I only know part of the truth. My part. And from my standpoint, I'm right and the other person is wrong. But even if everyone agrees with me, I still only know part of the story. I don't know what drives the other person. And I forget all the crap I've done in the past to deserve the way I was treated. I also don't know if the "bad" thing they did to me is ultimately bad...it could end up being a fortunate lesson that keeps me from greater pain in the future.

See, the other person could be an agent of the universe come to settle the score from that time I knocked that girl's books of her desk in the third grade and kept walking because I was embarrassed. To her, it looked like I was being a bully. Or rude. I remember she was really upset about it. And I remember everyone looked at me like I was a monster. But I was embarrassed and didn't know what to do. So I kept walking. I didn't apologize. I didn't do nuffin. Except look like an ass. 

So, seeing as how this current incident could be justice for something I've long since forgotten, I'd pretty much be screwing myself if I sought revenge for it, right? I'd just create more bad karma. Personally I think anytime you presume to do God's work for him you're creating bad karma. So that's why I won't go there. 

But this principle goes beyond revenge. For every "my side of the story out there", there are multiple aspects of the big picture you just do not know. Nor could you ever. So what looks unfair could be fair. A person who annoys you wins the lottery? I'm pretty certain it's fair. First of all, you don't know what wonderful things they may be doing when they're not annoying you. And second, you have no idea what winning that money will do to them. If you watch enough cable TV, you're informed enough to what large sums of money do to people's lives. 

What it all comes down to is that there are many lenses through which to view the truth. But in the end, only one truth matters...the objective truth of the universe. You wanna screw with that? You know better? Go ahead and do what you will. But know that no deed goes unweighed on the scales of justice. And anytime you do something to hurt another person, whether you think it's justified or not, the scales start tipping against you.  

*Repeated from 2/25/13

5/1/13—Putting Tradition In Its Proper Place

SPECIAL EDITION!!!!

Today we're doing something different at the Daily Draw. I joined a group called TarotBlogHop and the idea is this: 

People in the group all post at THE EXACT SAME TIME, no matter where they are in the world. And we create a circle. To do that, at the beginning of this post, I provide a link to the blog that comes before me in the "hop". So if you came to me from Johnny Two Brows' site, you're in the right place. John is a tarot reader right here in VA, where I live. And though I've never met him person, we have actual three-dimensional people in common. 

When you're done reading my post, I'll link you to Chloe's Celtic Lenormand site. Chloe has always been a big supporter of the Daily Draw, so you'll want to be sure to visit her page. 

So the idea is that all the bloggers create a big circle that you can go around and read each person's views about the chosen topic, which is "What traditions are important to you in how you read Tarot?" Fun huh? I get new readers here, you get new blogs to visit there and everyone wins! Hooray!

Now, on with the show...


Today's Draw: The Hierophant from the Pen Tarot in the What to Avoid position from the Deck of 1000 Spreads. Would you call yourself a tarot traditionalist? What kinds of things do you do to buck tradition? And what traditions are important to you in how you read the tarot?


Usually, I randomly draw a card from a tarot deck and randomly choose from the Deck of 1000 Spreads. But today I intentionally chose two cards to communicate how I feel about tradition (represented by the Hierophant). 

I don't REALLY think you should avoid it in tarot—or in life, as a matter of fact. In fact, I think we should all know the traditional ways. I think we should know what all the cards mean. I think we should at least be familiar with traditional spreads. And I think we should all know how to give a traditional, face-to-face reading. But that's where I draw the line.

One of the classes I teach as a tarot teacher is called Taboo Tarot, Breaking All the Tarot Rules. In that class I'll make you to shuffle your cards a different way. I'll have you to read a querent a different way. I'll compel you to learn something different in the area of spreads. And all of that will not only force you to have fun...haha, but to also learn the most important "rule" of tarot there is—that it works no matter what you do. I can tell you that rule all day, but you won't get the hang of it until you start breaking the rules yourself.

And why should you break the rules? Because tarot has so much more to offer than tradition "allows". If you're not familiar with my Deck of 1000 Spreads, it's the perfect example. Traditionally you would use a Celtic Cross as a spread. Or you would find a spread in a book. If you were really adventurous, you might try to create a spread on your own. But the Deck of 1000 Spreads opens even more avenues beyond that. You can "divine" a spread, meaning you can draw spread positions the same way you'd draw tarot cards from a deck, then lay them out in spread form. You can easily re-tool any spread you might find online or in a book. Plus, the colors on the spread cards pull out colors in your tarot cards, adding a whole new dimension to your readings. And that's just a few of the things people are doing for the first time because of this deck.  

I know that sounded like an ad for my cards. And it was. Kinda...haha. But I write ads for a living, so it can't be avoided. The point is that when you start thinking outside of traditional realms, you can create something that totally changes the game for your readings. Tradition forms the basis, but breaking tradition is what keeps the practice alive in your heart and soul. At least for me it is. And when you bear the excitement of a practice that's always evolving, you light a spark that keeps that keeps the energy going from generation to generation.

Look, if we never veered from tradition, we'd all be reading in stuffy parlors with Tarot de Marseilles decks. And some LOVE the idea of that. And that's cool. But I'll bet few people actually still read in the same manner people did in the 15th and 16th centuries. Heck, it was a card game back then. SOMEONE had to buck tradition to even make it a divination system!

And that's exactly my point. Everything derives from breaking tradition. When man moved out of caves and into small farming communities, they were breaking tradition. In fact, when primates start to walk upright, THEY were breaking tradition. It's in our DNA, ferchrissakes!

So when I teach tarot, I tell my students to memorize their card meanings, but to also read "intuitively". I tell them to learn their Celtic Cross, but also create their own spreads. They learn to read traditional ways, but also with multiple decks, or different kinds of shuffles or ways of drawing the cards. Because that's how you get from a TdM to a Sola Busca to a RWS to a Greenwood, Thoth or non-traditional deck...by knowing what you're talking about and what you're supposed to do—but not being limited by it.

I recently taught a spreadcrafting class and told the students that, at some point, I had to give myself permission to stop looking in books for spreads and create my own. Giving myself permission, and assuming the power to off-road based on all those who broke the rules before me, was so freeing! It set my creative juices flowing and gave me new excitement for tarot. And it's what eventually led to creating a new way to approach spreadcrafting with my deck.  

Tarot needs more of that. Tarot needs legions of free thinkers with the permission to break the rules and thank god there are many out there. But this need is not just tarot's. It's needed in politics, business, religion and society in general. Man and the times are continually evolving and our leaders and iconoclasts need to keep pace. It's vital to know where we came from and why. But when tradition is no longer relevant or "big enough" for the people who follow it, it's time for a change.

So now that you know how I feel about tradition, I'm going to tell you that traditionally, you'd visit Chloe's Celtic Lenormand page after mine. In fact, I strongly recommend that, because Chloe rocks. But maybe you want to buck tradition and hop backwards to Johnny Two Brows' site. Or maybe you want to do something entirely different and choose someone from the master list of participating blogs. Whatever you choose, you've got my permission. ;) Have fun!

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

5/1/13—Opening to the Possibilities Within


DAILY DRAW ALERT!!!
Remember to come back to www.tierneysadler.com on 11am on Wednesday, May 1 for an EXTRA post. It's part of a Tarot Blog Hop and from that one post, you'll be able to access 20 blogs that are all part of the same Blog Hop. So there will be TWO posts on Wednesday and if you're a tarot person, it will be fun for you to hop from blog to blog and discover other sites! Now on to the show...


Today's Draw Classic*: The Sun of Life and Queen of Stones from both the Greenwood and Wildwood Tarots. What might be lying dormant within you, just waiting to burst forth? What are you beginning to become more spiritually aware of? And if you had a mystical superpower, what do you think it might be?

So today we're going to do something a little different and delve into a bit of tarot lore concerning two decks—the Greenwood Tarot and the Wildwood Tarot. Before I begin my scholarly report, however, I would like to point out that I didn't do too well in my Journalism classes at Indiana University. I tended to dramatize, make assumptions and muddy the waters between truth and legend too much for their tastes. So I changed my major to broadcasting where you can get away with that shit.

That said, there once was a deck called the Greenwood. It was a Celtic/Earth-Centered deck printed in 1996 that really captured a pagan, shamanic niche of the tarot marketplace that hadn't previously been explored. Many of the Major Arcana cards were re-named and re-numbered. And, instead of the court cards being humans, they were represented by animals. So, in a way, it had its own "system". Many people felt the deck had a very special mystical/tribal/prehistoric feel and when the deck went out of print, the legend of its "powers" grew. A deck that probably originally sold for $20 skyrocketed in price. If you're interested, there is a new one available on Amazon today for $1500.

Anyway, legend has it that the original artist, Chesca Potter, became a born-again Christian and is no longer interested in having anything to do with tarot. Her art can't be reprinted without her permission, so the original writer, Mark Ryan, teamed up with John Matthews and Will Worthington to recreate and rethink the deck. The new deck, the Wildwood Tarot, follows the same basic structure or system of the Greenwood, reusing many of the changed names for cards and even, in some places, closely mirroring the art. While it is, for the most part, its own deck, I would classify it as being strongly based on the Greenwood. Even the book for the Wildwood borrows text from the Greenwood book. Certainly nobody denies or even tries to hide the close connection between the two.

So here we are with today's draw and I decided to draw two cards to give you more of a feel for the two decks. The cards above are from the Wildwood, the new deck. And the ones right here are from the Greenwood. (If you're viewing on Facebook, go to www.tierneysadler.com to see the bear cards.)

I would interpret the two cards the same whether they came from the Greenwood or the Wildwood. The Sun is about giving life and illuminating parts of yourself that you either intentionally or otherwise keep in the dark. In both Sun cards, the sun is burning through the man, activating his heart center and electrifying him with universal power. A nice touch in both Sun cards is the Uffington Horse. Legend has it if you stand in the horse's eye and turn three times, you can receive illumination, power and the life-giving healing energy of the sun.

There's a nice tie-in between the Sun and the bears, because bears often symbolize hibernation, which is dictated by temperature fluctuations and food inavailabilities caused by the absence of the sun. In both bear cards, the bears are waking, but in the Wildwood, the bear is already up and greeting the dawn of a new adventure. Another tie-in is that both the sun and bears are symbolic of power, one of earthly strength and the other of universal power. The suit of stones is specifically focused on monetary power or prosperity.

Taken together, I'd say it's time for all of us to burst out of this sleepwalk we're in and reclaim our divine power. There is so much that lies dormant within us that we never access. The "2012 thing" that passed without incident last December was actually supposed to draw a line in the sand where we will no longer be able to deny the advanced abilities that rest within us. Whether it drew a line in the sand or not, I believe we do need to rely more and more on our inner powers. I feel this is a long-term awakening that has been going on for years, alerting us to the need to rely on our higher powers for survival.

Regardless of whether you believe that or not, there isn't one among us who is living at our full potential. There may be many who go through life "firing all engines" as far as their energy is concerned. But this is less about expending energy than it is about using the fullness of the capabilities that lie within. And what I mean by that may include your ability to spontaneously manifest your desires, utilize your sixth sense, heal energetically, increase your capacity to learn and other "miracles" of the mind and body.

I think only the most conservative people will deny there are savants out there who are especially blessed with one of those talents. I'm a fan of Lisa Williams, the British medium. I've seen her in action and felt the energy she draws out. She is WAY more accurate in her readings than the statistical mean. Then there are intellectual savants who have a significantly greater capacity to learn and understand. There are also physical "geniuses" that can push their bodies beyond the realms of other humans.

While there will always be people at the extremes of any ability, we all have abilities far beyond our consciousness. What happens is that we find early on that our talent for math or basketball or painting is less than extraordinary, so we pursue other areas where we feel we have more talent or interest instead. In doing so, we stop developing those other areas. The capacity to develop those areas still exists. So while we can learn to be a better artist, if we think we have little affinity for it, we don't develop that talent. Our minds are littered with abandoned playgrounds.

Another thing that happens is that we're told the imaginary friends and spontaneous insights we have as a very young child are imaginings and not real. So we suppress many of our inborn instincts because we're told they're fantasy.

These two cards together are saying that there's something within you that's ready to emerge and see the light. You may know what this is...it might be something that's been marinating for a while. Or it might be something you abandoned a while back. Or it may be something you don't realize you even have a capacity for. 

The first step is to open the door to all possibilities. For example, I don't believe in fairies. So I will probably never see a fairy. Fairies may be twinkling all around me, but I've closed off the possibility to them. Opening yourself to all possibilities is opening yourself—genuinely—to things that may seem silly or childish to you.

After that, just observe and don't discount any imaginings you may have. Once you start noticing "coincidences" or "spontaneous manifestations", for example, the more often they appear in your life. Once you hold a space for the "impossible" to fill—and the more you believe there is no such thing as impossible—the more magic is able to flow into your life. There are entire worlds that exist within our own that we don't see and can't access, simply because we shut ourselves off to them through our disbelief. It's time to stop the sleep walk—or sheep walk—of our lives and allow the sun to illuminate entire new worlds of possibility.

For those wanting to try a meditation for this, try this: Close your eyes and imagine a dimly lit landscape within. With each breath, imagine the sun creeping into the landscape more and more, illuminating more and more of the landscape. Take your time with this. Imagine it as being akin to the daily lengthening of sunlight of this time of year (in the Northern hemisphere). Let the light seep further and further in, illuminating shadows and secret hollows within you. What do you see? What reflects the sun's light most? What has been hidden by the walls and hedges you've built within? What can you see in the sun's fullest light that you've never been able to see before?

*Taken from a post originally written on 12/30/11

Monday, April 29, 2013

4/30/13—Expressing Your Unique Gift


DAILY DRAW ALERT!!!
You're going to get Classic posts a lot this week because I have a lot going on. BUT I wanted to alert you all to an EXTRA post that will appear at www.tierneysadler.com on Wednesday starting at 11am. It's part of a Tarot Blog Hop and from that one post, you'll be able to access 20 blogs that are all part of the same Blog Hop. So there will be TWO posts on Wednesday and if you're a tarot person, it will be fun for you to hop from blog to blog and discover other sites! Now on to the show...

Today's Draw Classic*: The King of Chalices from the Fire Tarot. Whether physical, intellectual, creative or otherwise, what is your unique way of expressing yourself in this world? What special something might you have that others don't? And how can you share it with others?

I came across this quote and found it compelling:

"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost." - Martha Graham

The dragon King of Cups has that fire and unique expression to share with others. He comes to us today to let us know that we all have something special to share with others. Sometimes we can't identify it, even though it's there. Sometimes it's something we hold close because people have judged it in the past...or because we judge it ourselves. Sometimes we don't realize the value of our knowledge or don't think others will find a need for it. And, of course, sometimes we actually share it, whether at work or through other means.

But just because you don't know what it is or have doubts about it, doesn't mean you don't have it. We all have a special light, a special fire burning within us. And like the dragon in today's card, we are all so much bigger than our containers. We bandy about the saying "I'm only human", and while that may be true in some senses, it's not in others. Depending on what you believe, you are also spirit and source. You are the culmination of many lifetimes of knowledge. You are energy and creation. So much bigger than the vessel you occupy. And even the simplest among us were given a gift to share that no one else possesses.

I think mine lies in my communications ability. Many people have said I can tell difficult truths non-judgmentally and make you feel like you're bigger than those things...that you're ok despite those things. In fact, I probably have the same problem myself. I do it in these blogs—admit to my faults and foibles so that others know they're not alone. And so some can feel superior...haha. Ultimately I want people to understand that you can be wise and a doofus at the same time. Spiritual and flawed. Evolved and needing.

We're not just one thing or another. We're the whole spectrum. Yet we tend to compare ourselves to others all the time. I was talking to a friend not long ago who is going through a divorce and he mentioned how all the people he and his wife used to hang around with had happy marriages. And I told him that many of those happy marriages were probably just an illusion. He was certain they were not. So I asked him what his friends thought of his marriage to his wife in the weeks prior to their split. Did they appear happy? And I think, at that moment, he got it. The ride to and from those dinner parties might have been a bitch, but when they were at them there would be no indication of a problem. So why couldn't that be true about everyone else in the room? Every time we compare ourselves to someone else, we're comparing ourselves to an assumption. A fairy tale.

But I digress...haha. What's your special gig? Do you even have a clue? And if you know what it is, how can you share it with others? If you don't know what it is, that's ok. In general, we're not taught to think of ourselves as special. But noodle on it a while and see what you come up with. It's there. :)

*Taken from a post originally written on 8/30/11

Sunday, April 28, 2013

4/29/13—Conjuring a Soul Partnership

Today's Draw: High Priestess from the Robin Wood in the Future Relationship position from the Deck of 1000 Spreads. How long has it been since you've asked yourself what you want out of a relationship (even if you're currently in one)? Have you ever convinced yourself someone was "the ONE", only to quickly find out otherwise? If you're currently in a relationship, has it changed to mirror the changes you've made in life—is it still a good fit?

Just last week I was talking about how I'm not hot to get in a relationship, how I think I might have gotten too "set in my ways" and how I'm happy alone and all of that stuff. But that doesn't mean I don't *think* or even daydream about relationship and what kind of guy I'd like to be with...haha. 

First, let me clarify. Relationship can mean any kind of relationship. But I'm talking about a romantic one right now. And what this indicates is a spiritual relationship of some sort. After all, the High Priestess is like the female version of the Hierophant in the tarot. While he speaks of knowing through tradition, she lives in the land of inner knowing. 

I often let the Hierophant indicate spirituality in my readings because, frankly, he pops up more often and my inner voice tells me to speak of him this way. But really SHE is the one who represent spiritual knowing, and he is the one who is all about the religious dogma. 

It's funny, because it has been so long since I asked myself what I wanted in a relationship, that I had forgotten. And when I do kind of fantasize about meeting the right person, I always forget that this is what I want....haha. But I really do want a soul partner or spiritual partner. 

Note that I didn't say "soul mate". I think pretty much everyone of any significance in our life is a soul mate. Personally I think too much energy goes into waiting for "perfect soul mate" to come along...the ONE. I don't think there's just one. I think there are scores of soul mates in our lives that are friends, co-workers, etc. And I think when they arrive in the form of an attractive person, we assume they're there to become our lover. And so we sometimes shoehorn them into that role. And sometimes that is part of the "grand design". And sometimes you're left wondering what the HELL you were thinking!

No, I said "soul partner". That's someone you're in partnership with to help each other heal and advance your soul. It's someone worthy of your trust. Someone responsible. It's not about wanting someone so bad that you start play hooky from work for some afternoon delight, not that that's out of the question. But the relationship is not driven by the physical. 

It's a partnership driven by the advancement of the soul. Which isn't easy. It requires you to be honest with yourself and each other. To tell each other things about themselves that they may not be able to see. To support them in their growth and visa versa. It requires you to put the normal dynamics aside as much as you can and operate on a higher plane...no manipulations, tantrums, passive-aggressive BS. Growth is the first priority of the relationship. The sex and romance stuff, it's still in there, but it's gravy. The greater intimacy is the trust you form between the two of you to not abuse the relationship...to drop the need to control...to stop needing to win or be right. 

Maybe it's just a fantasy...haha. I do know it exists out there. And I'm sure it's not as ideal as it looks from the outside, because nothing is. And these relationships are allowed to end when the mutual growth does, though I imagine in a relationship like that, it rarely happens unless one or both partners can't handle the partnership. I imagine it to be a very difficult thing...one that requires a whole different tool set than the relationships most people have. And like I said above, this can happen with a friend just easily as with a lover—you can totally have a soul partnership with one of your friends. I just wanted to talk about romance....haha. 

I don't know that I've ever met anyone I could do that with...at least not someone of the opposite sex. But ultimately I only ever have to meet one, you know? So I'll have to bring this up to my conscious mind again, because the conscious and unconscious minds determine the things we think, do and say. And the things we think, do and say determine what we create. And though I'm not ready for him now, I may just be by the time I conjure him up!