The Weekend Tarot Reading — Sunday, March 31, 2013

By Sarah Taylor

This week’s reading is about the path to The Magician. Without giving too much of it away before I’ve started, I would like to offer this observation about The Magician. As the first incarnate card in the tarot deck, The Magician has the ability to harness all the other 77 cards to perform his magic. We, too, have myriad resources available to us to be creators — and Planet Waves, for me, has been an invaluable tool of my trade in this respect.

Eight of Wands, Four of Cups, The Magician -- RWS Tarot deck.
Eight of Wands, Four of Cups, The Magician from the Rider-Waite Smith Tarot deck, created by A E Waite and illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith. Click on the image for a larger version.

When I started cottoning on to the idea that I was an active participant in my own experience, Planet Waves helped me take this idea and expand it.

One of things you’ll read here with unfailing regularity is the statement that “the personal is political,” and for good reason. Planet Waves emphasises the interweaving of the individual with the collective, that point of connection between ‘me’ and ‘everyone and everything else’, which forms the basis of the story of our lives if we choose to see it. When we do, we can see how our actions impact on our world; we start to see and experience cause and effect. In other words, we start to become Magicians.

The thing is, magic doesn’t happen by itself. We have to do something. At Planet Waves, there is a team of editors, contributors, IT, customer service and administrative staff, each of whom harnesses their own creativity in ways that make magic every day.

For it to work seamlessly, however, it needs your participation in terms of what you take from it, and what you bring to it. As a member of Planet Waves, what you can bring is the means by which the Planet Waves team can continue to create content that is engaging, stimulating, challenging and a catalyst for growth.

For just $49 for 12 months, you can sign up to become an active participant in Planet Waves through a membership for the paid astrology service. This is different from what is offered here on the blog; it includes Eric’s weekly and monthly horoscopes, plus other benefits, which you can read about here. Consider it an investment in another tool that can shape your life as well as the lives of others.

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I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.

— Song of Solomon 2:1-3, King James Bible

Something has been activated and is moving swiftly, even if it doesn’t feel that way. In fact it might not feel that way at all.

The continuation of the blue sky from the Eight of Wands to the Four of Cups suggests that there is a close correspondence between them — a linking of two pieces of a puzzle that make more sense together than they do apart. The meaning becomes clearer as we move from left to right, following the direction of the wands’ travel.

Coming into the reading, we see that the eight wands are already airborne; what took place some time back is still in flight, and there is a sense both of speed and of things happening on their own. The Eight of Wands also goes by the names “Swiftness” or “Activation.” All wands are flying in parallel. Like in the Seven of Wands they are not being held by anyone.

This suggests that the arising out of the unconscious that they symbolised in the Seven of Wands (the card in the same position in last week’s reading) is now moving quickly into view. It will be hard to resist, and the message inherent in this reading and the last is that it has something unimaginably valuable if you remain receptive rather than closed off.

Meanwhile, the protagonist sits in the present, in a landscape that is peaceful, if lacking in diversity and new growth (there are no flowers and no fruit — which feature regularly in Colman Smith’s card illustrations). I have explained before in this column that I see this as the meh! card. This meh! can take many forms, ranging from boredom to ennui, which is a form of boredom with deeper roots that, like the tree, form the canopy and foundation of one’s life. Boredom is a rainy Sunday; ennui is a life of quiet desperation.

The figure’s head seems to be pointed in the direction of the three cups in front of him, though it doesn’t really feel like he’s entirely focussed on them either. He has withdrawn — physically, mentally, emotionally.

If he were only to look up he would see what the eight wands have carried to him: the Ace of Cups, which is the potential for love of the highest order. The Ace of Cups is the kind of love that so many of us strive to experience. Here, it is being handed to him from the world of Spirit, held in the hand that emanates from the cloud in the Ace itself. This is the gift of divine love, to experience it as receiver and giver. But it is potential only. The figure can choose to continue sitting there, closed off to the Ace, the Three of Cups, the landscape around him — the emergence into consciousness of something that waits patiently, but knows that it is up to him to reach for it.

If he does, he is transformed. If you do, so are you. Taking up the mantle of The Magician, the Ace of Cups takes its place among the other Aces on the table — the four elements. The red tunic becomes ceremonial robe. The ‘8’ wands are transformed into the lemniscate (figure-eight or infinity symbol) above his head. The ground and the tree burst into flowers — the roses and lilies of the Song of Solomon quoted at the beginning of the reading.

The Magician stands at the table of creation, his hands indicating the intention that sets everything in motion: as above, so below. From a position of being cut off, shut off, shut down, his position is standing, reaching up, reaching down, connecting the heavens to the earth. This is consummation, a physical act that is paralleled in our internal world and a reflection of the creative nature of Spirit. It is a rebirth — a perfect Easter message.

If you want to experiment with tarot cards and don’t have any, we provide a free tarot spread generator using the Celtic Wings spread, which is based on the traditional Celtic Cross spread. This article explains how to use the spread.

11 thoughts on “The Weekend Tarot Reading — Sunday, March 31, 2013”

  1. Dear Daniel, i learned that odd reality of conflict and violence in a recent skirmish with my mother, where i lashed out in an email based on the anguish in my heart over my own lovelife: as soon as i pushed the “send” button i felt so physically ill and suddenly flashed– the victim suffers in a conflict; but the perpetrator suffers as well. Both need to heal, and with time it is very possible to build up (transform into) a different relationship. Ive done it with nearly every ex-lover I ever really cared about, but it takes understanding, forgiveness, healing, and mostly TIME (and u cant jump steps:)) good luck

  2. Edit button: really I believe the magician is who we are. We just can’t exercise the power until we have the courage to look up, open up, and own the power.

    I think you said all that. ;l)

  3. This reading definitely matches my life this week, Sarah. A decision on a course of action is fully supported by this reading.

    Studying on the four of cups, and how it applies to me. Closed off, shut down, gazing inward, not seeing the gifts of plenty revealed by spirit in this present moment. It’s what I have been teaching: All we desire is right here in our experience already, it just awaits revelation.

    Open your eyes, your arms, your hands, and it’s all yours.

    When you realize that, you suddenly feel like a magician. And it is true! A swift, sudden manifestation or shift in awareness (after perhaps years of preparation, or struggle) can seem like magic, or super powered alchemy.

    Thank you!

  4. Brinda, thank you so much, I really appreciate your warm words and those whom you quoted. It feels validating.
    Stormi, thank you for sharing, and you make perfect sense. I too recognized my process here, moving through each layer of tension consciously, and conscious of her layers too. I held her in a space exactly as I wished to be held. And yet, what made me feel so sick yesterday was this feeling like I was the one who hurt her.

  5. i’ve had a recent similar experience (different context) daniel, but in a professional relationship. i was asked to “collaborate” on a project, that never quite felt collaborative and after having some of the work i shared edited without my permission, i chose to “set my boundaries”/state my needs. i have not heard back since, which in my case was mixed – my nauseous feeling felt related to my angst in the sense of “oh no, wtf did i just do?”, but also relief in the sense that i do not have to worry about those boundaries/needs because i shared them in my own truth and integrity. i also know i can be very much open (this was also a reminder to be a better “vetter”) in ways that sometimes for me, make me forget about the process when i focus on the product (if that makes sense). i think ultimately, the more you are able to easily claim who you are in (any) relationship, it will be easier to find those who reflect the same. or such is my two cups of sense.

  6. Dear Daniel,
    Thank you for sharing your story, I know it must not have been easy to expose yourself to us, neither to expose yourself to your friend but expressing your needs. I know very well the near-vomiting feeling of sudden detachment or rejection, Ive experienced it many times, and I know Ive also been several times on the other side, not giving the other what they needed because I could not, or did not want to. And caused desolation and devastation. Usually I found out later why it didnt go further and it made sense, but you cant see clearly when youre blocked by your pain and the other cant reach out because theyre blocked by their shame. As I see it, you had no choice but to speak your heart, or as Frieda Lawrence ( DH Lawrence’ wife) used to say, “insist on yourself” or better yet, as Eric Francis says “state your truth, your intention, and let others deal with it. Am sorry your hurting.

  7. Thanks Alex, yes it was an expression of the ace, I agree totally. But I can’t help feeling like a piece of shit thrown out on the doorstep as soon as I ask for someone to show up in a relationship. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for waking up out of this coma I seemed to have put myself in. Most dudes would have high-tailed it out long ago. But I learned some important things about myself: That I am a most capable lover, that I am aware of my shadow material, and that I am most deserving of that which I first give freely.

  8. Daniel, just a very quick point. Could it be that the response you received was an expression of the Ace? As you calibrate significance by the outward measure of the Three (symbolising all the material fruit born of attraction) the unconditional love says that you are you, while I am I. In looking for a Three of Cups vindication on the horizontal plane, a vertical plane offering could have eluded your positive valuation.

    Sarah, the cards sing in perfect harmony would you have produced utterly sublime background musical accompaniment! You tarot Magician you! Genius.. 😀

  9. Thank you Sarah, so much. And a nice refreshing change to come back to this deck.

    I wanted to share a personal story here if I may because I feel like this spread hits home and yet my own potential lies in how I take things from here. I have just recently, and for the first time, actually verbalized my own needs in a short relationship. After several months of me being patient, going with the flow, not judging, being unconditional, generous, and present – and what’s more, I refrained from acting from a place of hurt. I finally said to her what I wanted and needed in order for this to continue. What I got back was basically that she was happy I was in touch with my needs, but offered no other words to me. This was someone I deeply liked, that I thought we connected on on valuable emotional levels – and it just poof disappeared because I stated my needs. I am left completely unsupported and undervalued. I was so hurt I almost threw up last night. So now it’s time to get up and move on. And staying open? Wow. That’s tough one. Today, I feel a whole lot better because I empowered myself. It was time. And I choose to stay open – why shut down now?!? All my intentions are flying to their target. I chose to take that cup, put it on the table with my other tools, stand tall, and say yes to myself.

    Another thing. Your quote from the Song of Solomon is a nice synchro moment as I discovered this piece by Vaughan Williams last weekend who scored sections of this text. The last section is entitled, “Set me as a seal upon thine heart”. I am touched by this coincidence.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og7RsBPpOoY

    Thank you Sarah. Much love.

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