anthropology of the tarot

Weekly Wisdom by Mirasol – 2 January 2019

tarot card the fool

The Fool in the Motherpeace Tarot shows us a child who is walking on her hands, immersed in sacred play and unaware of the potential dangers around her. She is connected to the gift of life and the spontaneity, sense of adventure and innocence of being a child. She balances a bag with her left toe, this is the Fool’s bag which contains all the Tarot cards. Opening the bag, we remember past lives and our soul’s journey. The peacock feather on the wand symbolises ancient intelligence urging a person towards truth. Thus, the card represents reincarnation, wisdom and timeless existence imbued with joy and innocence, and not regret or remorse.

Along the river bed are symbolic animals and flowers which delineate the Fool’s journey. The Griffon-Vulture of the Egyptian Goddess Maat symbolises justice. The crocodile represents danger but at the same time poses no threat as the Fool is psychically connected to it via primordial consciousness. The cat as the witches familiar is a friend and a psychic companion of the Fool.

The magic mushrooms, amanita muscarita, represent the divinatory vision of prophecy – however these are poisonous if not used with care. The lotus flower symbolises the crown chakra and our connection to the universal spirit. The Fool child is open to cosmic messages and the channeling of information from the higher realm.

In the background the card shows us pink mountains of love which are capped with the white snow of purity, this melting into the river of life, the streaming flow of thoughts. The rising sun represents the freshness of spring. New beginnings are highly supported.

The upcoming new moon and partial solar eclipse on 5 January will de-fool us and show us a way which we have thought was impossible. A new year and a new path urges us to accept revelations and leave the uncertainty of the past behind us as we march forward, into the future. By opening up to the cosmic messages we can finally realise that our path is valid in this realm.

Meditation with the Fool

Try this meditation with the Fool and observe what the card wants to tell you.

Sit down in a quiet space. Take a few deep breaths and relax.

Focus on the image of the Fool and note how the agile child is full of life and excited for her upcoming journey. The presence of the magic mushrooms stir up imaginative aspects of our psyche which are fuelling new ideas. The blue flowing river is guiding you to move on, in the perfect direction, aligned with your heart. The cat awakens your curiosity, the crocodile stabilises your third eye and the Griffon-Vulture refines the answers aligned with your own truth.

Stay in meditation for 5 to 10 minutes.

After the meditation, journal about the below questions.

How can you restart your soul’s journey?

What fills you with peace?

Take time this week and journal about your wishes for the new year. Believe that anything is possible, no matter what the external circumstances try to show you. Listen to your inner adventurer and know there is always another way to find the balance and the purpose in your soul’s journey.

Mirasol

Monthly Muses by Flavia for December 2018

We have arrived at the last month of the year 2018, and the Visconti cards are giving us a lesson to contemplate and wrap up the year before we move on. It’s a melee of cards that represent transition; starting a new journey and the end of a cycle. Significantly, and for the first time, in our readings there’s a lack of humans as portrayed in the characters of the deck. Instead we have symbols and designs, shapes and colours, that are our own meditative world. To indicate and inspire an inner reality. Detached from people and events we are going to be asking deep questions about where we are headed for and how we can connect with our truth unequivocally and undeniably.

In a back and forth situation our enquiries have been answered throughout the year. With the Three of Wands we certainly start from a position of strength firmly grounded. We are confident of success, we have been here before, we know what we want. But there’s a pause. Thinking ahead, it is all about communication and movement. It relates to resources and accessing resources, as we stand at a vantage point, before making our next move. Creativity, travel, new projects and adventures are imbued with positive energy and become clearly defined. A better direction is open and available.

An abundance of opportunity and material success is there for the taking. The material world – possessions and money – is all around us. The Nine of Pentacles represents the rewards of life; hard work and leisure, mind and emotions, a practical, disciplined and contented mind. Through our own activities we have a lot to be grateful for that has come into fruition. However, as we find ourselves in a place of material luxuries, and while we have entered the slow season, we need to ask if what we have achieved in the practical world matches our inner world, our ethics, our beliefs, our dreams. And therefore the Nine of Pentacles mostly becomes an invitation to live in truth and realise that other things matter than working for money. A strong sense of self must be balanced with a spiritual life that includes the pursuit of learning, literature, beauty, poetry, art, cooking, travel or any form of creative expression.

And no doubt the gravest and more profound lesson comes together in the Nine of Wands. The many wands of the card create a conflicting and very complex situation of both protection and restriction. Because of the positive and challenging aspect, this is a difficult card to read. The fact that it dramatically denotes completion, closure, endings makes it particularly gloomy. An enclosed environment that is there to protect from harm may have turned into a self created jail. A prison of our own making due to past hurt and trauma. But strength is invulnerability. Therefore we should see this as a card that supports us to keep going with open minds and no regrets. Shedding prejudices and bad thoughts that poison our everyday lives. Having to overcome adversity, situations, relationships and events that have wounded us, we should remind ourselves of how strong we really are emotionally, physically, intellectually, and to let go of anything that holds us back as the cycle closes. The past is not the future. Accept change and a brighter beginning is here.

Flavia

Weekly Wisdom by Mirasol – 21 November 2018

the lovers tarot card

With the upcoming full moon in Gemini, this week we will look at the Lovers from the Motherpeace Tarot. In this card, a bright pink light lays the foundation on which two black Greek vases with golden imagery are placed. There are two brick walls which lead to an opening decorated with a garden trestle and a bower of roses. The Lovers themselves are shown as geometric shapes which unite in a trapezoid pattern of colours, overlaid by the black and white colours of the feminine and masculine, echoing the energies of yin and yang. A beautiful sunset creates a green and blue sky, with orange streaks bringing a sense of peace and joy. The sun is placed just above the garden trestle, resting her full body here, and bringing a sense of relief.

The card represents the deep love of two persons who know they are meant for each other. It is the falling in love of the mind, body and soul. The card shows us the ultimate feeling of satisfaction of kindred spirits, a meeting where karmic bonds have been worked through and the love flows easily. This is an important card which appears when a person is ready to receive love from the ultimate fountain of passion and joy.

Synchronised with the full moon in Gemini, the message from the Lovers urges us to look deeper within ourselves, to dive in and through the space where we can safely reveal those desires of love which we never thought we deserved. This is a safe time to nurture the passionate dreams of meeting the person who you feel completely at ease with. You can enjoy a fruitful relationship which is both intellectual and physical, embodying all the aspects of love which you thought were lost to you.

 

Meditation with the Lovers

Try this meditation with the Lovers and observe what the card wants to tell you.

Sit down in a quiet space. Take a few deep breaths and relax.

Focus on the image of the Lovers and note how the geometric figures and bright colours are balanced and interspersed with each other.  Observe how the sun is shining through the roses, bringing light to our soul. The golden figures on the vases are releasing and uniting different parts of ourselves.

Stay in meditation for 5 to 10 minutes.

 

After the meditation, journal about the below questions.

What are the deeper aspects of love?

How do you receive love unconditionally?

 

Create your love altar and meditate by this once day. Be open to the magnetic call of your love companion in this life time.

 

Mirasol

Weekly Wisdom by Mirasol-29 October 2018

shaman of cups tarot card

The Shaman of Cups shows us a man standing inside a temple, his face is painted white and he is pouring alchemical liquid into a boiling cauldron. Behind him, playful dolphins, snakes and a shell adorn the wall of the sacred space.

The card is a thoughtful image of the depths of emotional knowledge which makes us human. Acknowledging our innate skills of caring for ourselves and for others, we find that we can better navigate our emotions and learn from our experiences. We can control our feelings and transmute our passion to detached awareness. The white face paint expresses the shamans readiness for spiritual work, which is enhanced by the alchemical brew in the cauldron. This interplay is supporting profound change and increasing spiritual and emotional maturity.

The message of the Shaman of Cups is poignant during this Samhain and Halloween week as the veils between the natural and the supernatual world are thinning and the ancestral spirits loom around us. Any emotional ties which still bind you to the past can be released with gratitude, which in itself will increase your receptivity to flow. Being masked helps to process and understand difficult feelings that might arise during this seasonal change. And simultaneously the mask will enable you to unfold your magical healing work into the world.

 

The Shaman of Cups Meditation

Try this meditation with the Shaman of Cups and note what the card wants to tell you.

Sit down in a quiet space. Take a few deep breaths and relax.

Focus on the image of the Shaman of Cups. Observe how his powers as a masked shaman are heightened when he pours the magical liquid into the cauldron. The playful dolphins remind us of the joy of life. The image shows us all aspects of our emotions which we can own and funnel to create our passion projects, or simply to maintain our pure and balanced existence in everyday proceedings. Mask yourself and journey inward.

Stay in meditation for 5 to 10 minutes.

 

After the meditation, journal about the below questions:

What would you achieve if you put on your magical mask of manifestation?

What wishes would you put in your magic cauldron to retrieve in 6 months time?

 

Create your ancestral altar, bless your current path, and know that the right way is unfolding naturally.

Mirasol

Monthly Muses by Flavia for October 2018

tarot cards

Thunder and lightning, judgement and truth. When Jupiter is upon us we can expect gifts and rewards. The generous outcome of work on earlier projects, the materialisation of dreams, the expansion of wealth, and even a bit of luck. We are moving from experts to authority, and everything is on grand scale. The transition to the new season has arrived with a bang. The God of truth is looking at the future and we can no longer hide or pretend. With the harvest on full mode this is the time when our efforts will reveal the fruits we can gather. And in fact we are moving ahead and beyond harvest trying to make sense of accomplishments and events. The outside world is our home. Jupiter will shed light on what needs throwing away to make space for a healthier and more productive future, as we continue gathering, assessing and reorganising.

Happiness is important too, however, as the season changes we are looking at our past with longing‎ and nostalgia. As we move into darker days and colder nights, we reminiscence of warm days filled with the sweet smell of flowers and the sounds of birds, ducklings and baby swans. We imagine ourselves in picturesque dwellings, and fairytale scenarios. We will drift to thinking about homely environments, children and innocent love of the type that is unequivocal, reciprocal and unconditional. No doubt under the influence of Jupiter with his grandstanding, and the Six of Doves with their nostalgic idealism, we will be prone to romanticising and overdramatising, overconfidence and overindulgence is more than likely to show up. Perhaps even some laziness and delusional thinking. The cards are happy and optimistic but there lies their trap.

When life goes that way, there’s no point trying to rationalise and fake unreal emotions. Our senses and our intuition will carry us forward. After an active and intense summer there’s no need to spend too much energy. Calm beauty and holding on to a bit of mystery will go a long way now. We are starting to go inside ourselves while at the same time we connect with others and become receptive to their needs. The past is there to give us strength for the future. There’s no turning back. However, there’s only one way to go. We have come out in the world and we’re collaborating at work and committing in relationships with others. We are much more mature and sensitive to the forces around us. The Queen of Cups, or the Queen of Phoenixes as in this deck, is full of love and compassion. Her lesson? Kindness will win the day.

Flavia

Weekly Wisdom by Mirasol – 30 September 2018

ten of wands tarot card

The Ten of Wands in the Motherpeace Tarot shows us a powerful image of seven women dancing together in a trance, releasing their kundalini energy as they move wildly to the rhythmic beat of the drum.  In the foreground, three women bring positive guidance and focus for the energy which has been freed up through the dance. One woman plays the drum, keeping the rhythm of trance work and the shamanic journey with a psychic opening. The woman in the middle represents an adolescent who is speaking with oracular power, in tongues, as she is surrendering to the cosmic powers in a trusted community. The woman to the left translates her messages with a stylus onto a clay tablet, recording the sacred messages for the future.

This card represents the release of built up energies which overwhelm us, the contracts and commitments in our everyday life, our tensions, anxieties and strains, as well as our hopes and fears.  Containing the energy of the number ten, the card also represents coming full circle. With the fire of the wands, the overabundance of the element is being experienced in a community where it can be utilised for the greater good.

The Ten of Wands arrives as a timely guide after the recent full moon in Aries which focused on transformation and liberation of the self. The card reminds us that there is power in numbers and any injustice towards women shall indeed be healed, with time. By speaking and recording our truthful messages to the world, they will be remembered and bring positive change.

 

The Ten of Wands Meditation

Try this meditation with the Ten of Wands and note what the card wants to tell you.

Sit down in a quiet space and place your hands on your knees, with the palms facing down.

Focus on the image of the Ten of Wands and take a few deep breaths.

Observe how the women dance in ecstasy, freeing themselves from anything that bind them, while channeling energy through their bodies. The women in the foreground are setting the scene with powerful psychic rhythm, sound and oracular messages. The image is full of movement, passion and truth.

 

Stay in meditation for 5 to 10 minutes.

 

After the meditation, journal about the below:

What can you celebrate right now?

How can you translate your unheard song and its’ connection to your soul’s mission?

 

Dance with the ecstasy of life and release the wild-woman within.

 

Mirasol