The Star

The Star is one of my favourite tarot cards. It is beautiful and very optimistic and always a pleasure to draw in a reading. For eons mankind has looked to the stars for inspiration, hope and guidance. The Star offers us sustenance and the hope of better things to come. Rather than an immediate change or the attainment of what you are looking for whether that be love, promotion at work or spiritual enlightenment etc the Star indicates a time of peace and healing. The Star promises that that the future we want can exist but we must work our own way towards it. This card also reminds us of the star that lives in each one of us, that vital spark that we can reach for even in our darkest times. As Aleister Crowley rightly said "Every man and woman is a star".

I often like to match up tarot cards with songs and at the moment am compiling a play list to match the whole tarot deck. I came across this song today and think it sums the Star card up beautifully.

There is nothing special about me
I am just a lil star
If it seems like I'm shining brightly
It's probably a reflection of something you already are
I forget about myself sometime
When there's so many other around
When deep inside you feels darkest
That is where I can always be found
That is where I can always be found
That is where I can always be found

Just keep trying and trying
It's just a matter of timing
Though the grinding is tiring
Don't let 'em stop you from smiling
Just keep trying and trying
Sooner or later you'll find it
It's surprising how inspiring
It is to see you shining
Cause in the dark of the night you're all i can see
and you sure look like a star to me

There is nothing special about me
I am just a lil star
If you try to reach out an touch me
you'll see I'm not really that far
I may not be the brightest nor am I the last one you’ll
But as long as you notice, that’s just fine with me
Everything’s just fine with me
Everything’s just fine with me

Just keep trying and trying
It's just a matter of timing
Though the grinding is tiring
Don't let 'em stop you from smiling
Just keep trying and trying
Sooner or later you'll find it
It's surprising how inspiring
It is to see you shining
Cause in the dark of the night you're all I can see
and you sure look like a star to me

234 Cats in one day!

My two Baroque Bohemian Cats Tarot decks (a standard deck and a mini deck) arrived this week along with my Cats Eye Tarot. That's allot of cats!

I am over the moon with these delightful decks and cant wait to have a play with them this weekend. If you are a cat lover then I highly recommend these decks which can be found here:

Cats Eye Tarot by Debra Givin

Baroque Bohemian Cats Tarot

Five of Swords and the Horse Whisperer

Having had a rather pensive weekend pondering a fight I witnessed on Friday I pulled a card from my Thoth deck. It was the Five of Swords – Defeat.

The etymological roots of the word ‘Defeat’ are "undo, destroy". The card seemed to have picked up on the conflict I had witnessed and the subsequent tension I was feeling as I tried to decide whether I should report it or not (it occurred at work).

On a deeper level the card reflected feelings I have been experiencing for the last week or so about defeat. Defeat is often perceived to be a bad thing, if you are defeated are you not also beaten? The answer is not always. Have you ever heard the saying that you must loose the battle to win the war? Sometimes defeat can be about letting something go and allowing something positive to emerge.

I recalled a scene from the film ‘The Horse Whisperer’ about a young girl who has an accident whilst riding her horse. They are both badly injured. She loses a leg and the horse almost dies. She learns to ride again but the horse seems to be ruined and beyond help. In one of the last scenes the Horse Whisperer brings the horse to its knees and then makes it lay down. He then makes the young girl stand on top of the horse. Sounds horrible doesn’t it? However it was for a purpose. It was to show the horse that he could still trust this girl, that he could let go of his fears and just be still and accepting. His fear in effect was ‘undone’. She spends only a minute standing on him and then she spends an age rubbing his legs, neck and body and the trust between them rebuilds. You could say that the horse was defeated and it would be true but in defeat both the horse and the girl were empowered and were richer and wiser for letting go of their fears together.

Thoth

I can’t believe that it is only two weeks until Christmas. Where has the time flown?

I have been busy with a new job and must confess to having neglected my tarot a little bit as time has been short. To make up for this I have decided to get to grips with my Thoth deck by enrolling on Emma Sunerton-Burls 'Initial Thoth Tarot Training' course. 

The course which can be found here http://www.tarot-training.co.uk/ has come very highly recommended and I am really looking forward to starting it in January. I have had this classic deck for some time but have yet to work with it in more detail.

Wish me luck!