Tarot Wisdom - Kathryn Ravenwood

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Temperance

From The Halloween Tarot

Original Writing by Kathryn Ravenwood 10.12.16

What a happy witch – cooking up a bubbling brew of magic! Everything she needs is at hand; a shelf full of ingredients, books, measuring spoons, flowers for beauty, and of course her Familiar Black Cat. Her wise owl sits on her hat, a lizard (symbol of transformation) has blended right in with the shape and color of the vase, and a darling little bunny peeks out of her pocket as she mixes and blends her potion. Who knows what else is there in her cozy laboratory? She is well stocked to create her magic, her alchemy.

Our lives are an on-going recipe, a concoction, and magical brew of our experiences. Like the witch’s cauldron, we are each a vessel for the physical and spiritual ingredients that make us uniquely who we are. The spilled water on the floor is a reminder of spirit flowing through our lives, sometimes unseen but always there. We are constantly cooking up a new version of who we are. Like a tried and true recipe we have some very basic parts that don’t really change but become more refined as we practice our lives. Sometimes we have to just wing it, using whatever is at hand to make the right potion that allows for an immediate transformation. Like great chefs, we are the artisans of our own lives creating the magic that is uniquely our own. We present ourselves as works of art as we live, grow, learn, and interact with others.

In the Tarot the Temperance card brings a welcome balance. The previous card, Death, has caused us to experience that which must end in our lives, sometimes very painfully. The next card, the Devil, calls to us to go into the shadows and face that which we fear. Temperance gives us a break. We find equilibrium, stability, and beauty. We have tried, failed, tried, succeeded, and failed again. Now we have obtained a level of mastery where all our efforts, wisdom, experience, and risks have come to fruition. We get to feel the magic and know that WE are that magic. We are not stuck or confined to one version of ourselves. We can modify, alter, and re-write how we do this thing called life, all the while accommodating the external events that cause us to internally change. Our cauldron is always there, our familiars ever at hand to assist us in this life long – even eternal - alchemy.

In traditional Tarot, the Temperance card shows an angel blending the contents of two cups, pouring one into the other. This reminds us that our spiritual nature, our soul, our higher self, is participating with us in this great alchemy. We might get bogged down in 3-D living but our higher nature is always at work within us, guiding us, celebrating our delicious new recipes with us.

Fresh home-made bread right out of the oven has a mouth-watering aroma. If anyone is in the house they will be drawn like a magnet to the kitchen, begging for a piece of the yumminess. As we hone our alchemy we are like that luscious aroma, attracting into our lives that which we need to help us continue on the path of growth and beauty. There might be a few toadstools and toes of salamanders along the way, but hey – they are all part of the mix.

What’s cooking in your cauldron?

…Kathryn Ravenwood 10-12-16

Temperance: What is Cooking in Your Cauldron?

Temperance

From The Halloween Tarot

Original Writing by Kathryn Ravenwood

10-14-16

What’s cooking in your cauldron?

…Kathryn Ravenwood 10-12-16

Thursday, October 6, 2016

The Ace of Cups
From the Witches Tarot – Ellen Dugan
Detoxification

Original Writing by Kathryn Ravenwood

We are each a vessel of Spirit. Our physical bodies, made of water, earth, fire, and air, are the living containers that Spirit inhabits, allowing us to enjoy not only a physical experience but to also provide a way for Spirit to expand through us. We use our minds, our hands, our voices, gifts, and talents so Spirit can experience the physical world and do work through us. When we are tuned in and “in the flow” with Spirit we are like the picture above: a shining cup filled and overflowing with the grace and love of the Universe.

There is a cosmic filtration system set up. While we are in these bodies we are constantly learning. The Cups of the Tarot are about water and emotions. The planet and our bodies are about 70% (or more) water so the Cups represent a huge part of how we process life. Ideally, we experience and incorporate the lessons and gifts, releasing that which does not support us. We keep the flow going. The lake under the Cup is filled with water lilies blooming on the surface. The unseen roots of these plants grow and are fed from all the cast off dregs washing out of that cup. It is a scummy, putrid mass if you scoop it out from the bottom but to the plant it is an anchor, food, and the growth opportunity it needs. In this recycling process everyone wins.

However, all is not always well. Our emotional bodies get very clogged with the detritus of life. We experience more than we can continually process: fear, rejection, toxic relationships, loss, broken hearts, shattered self-esteem – the list goes on and on. We find ourselves holding on and when we hold on, the natural order of the Universe - that of give and receive – is stopped. We begin to drown in our own emotional murkiness.

The Ace of Cups is generally associated with things like a blissful new love affair, an overflowing of joy and spiritual love, and all things happy. But when our cup is clogged with all that muck there is no room to receive. We have to release and give away – we need to detox. If you were offered a drink of the most delicious nectar on earth and all you had to drink from was an old rusty cup or a glass caked with yesterday’s milk or coffee you could not receive and enjoy that nectar. But if you washed the cup first…

Try to stop the toxic intake. Forgive yourself. Forgive others. Implore Spirit to help you. Be willing to change and forgive even if you think you cannot do it. Even if the crime against you was truly heinous, be willing to let it go. Start giving yourself some emotionally beautiful moments. Focus on what makes you happy, what gives you joy. Embrace your life – all of it. It is OK and normal that you experienced failures, that people let you down, that things did not turn out how you hoped or expected. Recognize and honor of the gunk you are holding within you. As it begins to filter out of you trust that, like those water lilies, it becomes the base for new growth, to be an anchor for the present and future you.

This is a grand alchemy and nothing less. You will feel the new reaching out, rising up from the mucky layers. As you grow and reach out to the light above, the transformation continues; the buds of new life will form and, like those lilies, you will bloom and grace yourself and the world with beauty. There will be room again in the vessel to let Spirit and life experiences flow through you; the cosmic order of give and take will be restored and you will be once again filled with love, grace, beauty, joy and all things beautiful.

We cannot change what happened but we can choose how to respond. We are talking about emotions here – not the mind, not the will power, not the muscles and joints of our physical bodies. Emotions, like water, have to trickle and find an opening, flow through that opening and clean and clear along the way. It is a journey. The Grand Canyon took eons of time as water simply sought its way through and carved beauty out of layers of rock hard resistance.

The Ace of Cups is being offered to you. Drink up.

…Kathryn Ravenwood 10-5-16

Thursday, September 29, 2016

The Queen of Swords: Mastery of Mind

The Queen of Swords

From The Aleister Crowley/Thoth Deck

Original Writing by Kathryn Ravenwood - 9-29-16

Sometimes I am aware of an acute presence that monitors my thoughts and resulting actions. It is a very precise kind of focus that rises up within me. I pay attention. I notice things. I listen. It is like someone else is looking through my eyes, hearing with my ears, and thinking with my mind. I really like it when this happens because I know I am in charge of my present moment. I tend to make good decisions at these times and I trust myself.

Who is this presence? She is the Queen of Swords. She is that Mastery of Mind aspect that is objective, uncluttered, precise, no nonsense. She has studied, checked the facts, read into the night learning with her avid mind. She holds within her vast knowledge and yes, even wisdom. She is an advocate of Truth, able to keep herself out of the mundane and in the higher realms where she often sits and ponders it all. She raises the bar then calls us and holds us to our ability to rise up to a higher standard. She is not to be crossed as she stands firm, scrutinizing the situation, wielding her Sword of Truth, unwavering and even relentless – ruthless some would say. Warm and fuzzy she is not. She is often referred to as “the woman alone” and she probably likes it that way just fine, thank you very much.

Her lightening quick mind and rapier wit can be the life of the party. Her memory is clear; she can generously and sincerely give a compliment or good advice. You will not find this Queen making simpering gestures or kissing anyone’s feet. She is in command of her mind, her words. She can be the best person in charge, the one who can make quick, objective decisions, the one who can see the underlying order of the situation, and understand the Truth that prevails over even the messiest of conflicts. She carries a big sword (her mind); she can use it to get right to the point, be sharp and concise or, on a bad day, seek to control all who may disagree with her way of thinking. She is not always popular.

I love her. I relate to her. Sometimes I feel her advocacy come through me and am able to be discerning and honest with myself to make positive changes in me. She helps me be a more objective listener and counselor without attachment to the outcome of others’ issues. She makes it very clear that is me who must change and not that I may change others. Sometimes she scares me; I can embody her and take her power too far using my big honkin’ sword to off the heads of any and all that would cross me. In fairness, I find she(and me) usually gives people warnings and chances before that sword swoops down and cuts through the BS, severing it once and for all. In that state she is not likely to be apologetic because she acted on what she thought was absolute truth. She will take responsibility for her action and, if proven wrong, will make amends.

The Queen of Swords’ throne is high in the clouds – the realm of thought and mind where she is Master. The Swords of the Tarot are also the suit of Air – of the East – of New Beginnings. The Queen holds her sword in one hand and the severed head of an old man in the other. The severing of the old dogmatic mind allows room for the new to come in, rising up like the child, whose head we see above her throne, above even her own self. Our Queen is a defender of this child – of this truth – of this ability to bring about transformation through thought and subsequent action.

How can the Queen of Swords enhance your life? What old and trite thoughts and dogmas do you perpetuate that really no longer serve the truth of who you are? Whose words and rules overpower your own? Is it time to cut off a few heads? If so, speak your truth, be your truth, be open to the Higher Truth where wisdom reigns, and then wield that sword and let the heads roll where they may.

…Kathryn Ravenwood 9-29-16

Friday, September 16, 2016

The Four of Swords

From The King’s Journey Tarot

Original Writing by Kathryn Ravenwood

We all need to clear our thoughts at times and get regrouped. That is sometimes easier said than done. The mind loves to circle around the same old concepts and worries, attitudes and beliefs. Our thoughts stack up like layers of clouds that fog our mind and thinking process. Some of these thoughts are beneficial and some not. We must learn to the art of self-negotiation to become master of our own mind.

In the card above we see a person sitting high on a mountain spire. He had to climb up there on a ladder, the rungs of which are swords. Swords represent thoughts. There had to be a conscious thought process to lead him to this place of retreat. From this viewpoint he looks out over layers of clouds -his thoughts - which have pushed up against themselves until there is no space between them; clarity is concealed. The cave behind our quester represents the empty space available when we can reorganize our mind. I find it interesting that the cave is shaped much like how the man is sitting. Thoughts manifest into form. We become what we think.

The Fours of the Tarot are ruled by the Emperor, number 4 of the Major Arcana. The Emperor ideally represents form, formation, the ability to rule, to delegate and the right use of power. In the midst of all the clouds of the Swords it is good to utilize the Emperor’s tools to re-establish order and take command of our thoughts. The mountain peaks in the card remind us of the grounded nature of the Emperor, that in spite of a messy mind, we have the ability to reform our thinking back into order. The discipline and practice of mental awareness builds over time until we, like the mountain peaks, have a vantage point available for discernment and reflection. The Four of Swords is not so much about emptying our mind but in negotiating a better mind space; a place of truce where we stop fighting with ourselves and sort out the facts, fantasies, and fiction.

In the card shown above, we see a few leaves dropping out of the sky, drifting down to where our thinker is sitting. These leaves are inspiration from somewhere outside the mind, outside the cloudy expanse. Swords are the element of air, which is associated with the East and all things new. The green leaves are the fresh ideas, those “ahas!” that pop into our heads when our mind is clear, not when we are ruminating endlessly on the hamster wheel of linear thinking. Some leaves will drift on by but some will land offering new opportunities for thoughts and action.

Our minds are incredible tools. We cannot control the world, other people, or events but we can learn to have better control over how we think and therefore react to what happens. We get to choose what we want to learn, to read, to study and gain mastery of. We can choose to dwell on negative thought patterns or seek out new, stimulating ideas. We might excel in math or music, poetry or prose. How wonderful it is to engage in lively conversations with like minded people. How frustrating it is when our thoughts are so muddled we can’t even recall basic information.

In the Age of Information we are all on overload. Much of what enters our thoughts is simply useless blither. Be the Emperor of your own mind. Take control. Be responsible for your thoughts. No one lives in your head but you. You have the power to clear your thoughts and bring some blue sky into that cloudy field of vision. Let those leaves of inspiration that find you take hold, root into the foundation of the realm of your own mind.

A beautiful mind is a terrible thing to waste. Your mind is beautiful. If you have forgotten that, please rediscover it and let your beautiful thoughts loose into the world. We surely need them.

…Kathryn Ravenwood 9/16/16

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Medicine Woman Cards

9 of Stones (Pentacles)

Sharing the Wealth

Original Writing by Kathryn Ravenwood

What do you know that you could to teach? You might be surprised that what you take for granted is a much needed and basic skill for someone else. In the above card we see a woman on her hands and knees planting a garden. A child stands by watching, learning. The woman has done this dozens of times yet it may be the first time the child has had the opportunity to watch and learn. I love this card as it has so many layers of activity.

The woman was once the child who also had to learn. Someone taught her so she, too, could pass the wisdom and skill along. Being an expert, the woman knows how to just do the job, but she takes the time to carefully teach the child all the steps it takes to make a garden. First, the idea of the garden must happen. Then a spot must be chosen based on many conditions such as sunlight, permeability of the soil, water source, the length of the growing season, and of course, what has worked or failed before. The soil must be prepared, seeds brought in and planted at the most opportune time. The seeds must be watered correctly – not too much and not too little. The difference between a seedling and a weed has to be recognized. As the plants grow they may need to be thinned out. And what to do about the inevitable bugs that show up? The woman/teacher knows what works in her garden – she has seen plants fail and plants thrive. She knows when to plant the greens, the corn, or the squash. She knows about the usual growing conditions and has seen the extremes. She knows to plant above a flood line or to avoid the area that is full of stones. To the child, it is exciting, overwhelming, and all new.

We are each a treasure trove of experience, information, knowledge. Much of it is collective and seems commonplace – we know how to read, do basic math, and drive a car. But not everyone knows even the simple things we take for granted. And, we each hold our own unique mastery representing years of study, commitment and devotion to what we do. We are healers, writers, ceremonialists; we are adepts and masters of The Mysteries. We are parents, friends, teachers, mechanics, bakers, tailors and dancers. We have experienced and survived the painful sides of life as well as learned how to throw great parties in celebration.

My parents and grandparents planted by the Llewellyn Moon Sign Book and had fabulous gardens. The publisher collected information passed down through the generations and then shared it so that knowledge would not be lost. When we teach what we know to someone else, especially a child or a student, we pass along our wisdom for someone else to have, to explore and to use perhaps in new ways that we did not ourselves know. Even the seeds in the garden are teachers. They hold the secret life of the plant locked within them, yet they teach us that a seed cannot grow unless it is put into the ground where it basically dies- gives itself away - to be reborn as a new plant – Osiris risen in the green field….

This is generosity. This is the great give-away of life. We cannot hoard our resources: if we do not give away what we know it is lost. My grandmother made a killer Hungarian Goulash but she did not write down her special recipe and none of us knew exactly how to make it – grandma’s delicious secret died with her.

Don’t let what you know be lost. Teach, share, give; celebrate your unique storehouse of wealth, wisdom, experience and expertise. Give it away. It will all come back, renewed, replenished, and your garden will continue to thrive and produce beauty and abundance long after you are gone.

…Kathryn Ravenwood 09/08/16

Thursday, August 4, 2016

WHAT SNAKE TOLD ME

Tarot Card from Collective Tarot

Original Writing by Kathryn Ravenwood ...10-5-2003

During times of intense growth and change in our lives we can easily become blinded to conditions and actions that are often very apparent and obvious to others. It is as if we have lost our ability to see. This can be extremely frustrating and depressing, especially if we have come to a level of self work that has taught us how to glide through change with understanding if not ease. When times arise that have us totally blocked it is important not to give up and fall into despair.

Lately I have been experiencing a tremendous blindness in my life. I had achieved what I thought to be an expanded awareness of making choices based on that positive heart expansive feeling we get when something is “right.” I was thrilled that I had overcome many obstacles in my life and was able to come to a closer connection with my higher self - closer to enlightenment (I thought). Then, after a series of events that left me close to shattered in personal confidence and wondering who in the world I thought I was to even think I knew anything about higher consciousness, I turned to what “should” have been an obvious path from the beginning - my Guides. They see (while I did not) what is best for us in the big picture. While setbacks and obstacles may seem like defeat and the loss of personal power to us, they see the truth: we are always learning and just because we thought we “got it” at one point in our life does not mean we won’t have to “get it” again by repeating some of the old lessons. After all, we do tend to forget and cannot see how to apply what might have been familiar teachings to new surroundings or conditions.

So in a fit of despair I went into my altar room, lit one candle, started to breathe and asked to be guided to help me see my way out of my grief and desperation. I found myself out in the beautiful plains of Wyoming, a place where I have met a great Spirit Guide, Buffalo, before so I expected to see Buffalo and fall into that wonderful energy I know and love. No one came. I started to sing a little song to the Directions, thanking the Spirits of each Direction for their help, for guiding me and showing me the way. “Thank you Spirits of the East for giving me this new day; Thank you Spirits of the South for teaching me to play; Thank you Spirits of the West for taking me within; thank you Spirits of the North for your wisdom and my kin; Thank you Spirits who are above, the Sun and Moon and Stars; thank you Spirits who are below, unseen ones that You are; Thank you Grandmother Spider for the Web of Life you weave; Thank you God/Goddess for in Your Heart we all are One.” Still no Buffalo! So I drummed and sang for awhile and found myself walking over to a grouping of rocks which were hot with the heat of the sun. Then I heard the lesson.

It was Snake who talked to me and told me what I already knew, had already experienced, but completely did not see in this current situation. We all know that as snakes grow their skins do not grow with them - they only stretch to the point of having to be shed. The shedding releases the old body, so to speak, so the new, larger one can come forward. The old skin is dull, often has scales missing or is scarred or torn. When the old skin is shed it comes off all in one piece, including little snaky eyeglasses where the skin fits over their eyes. If you saw the shed skin laying on the ground it would look like the envelope of the snake - a transparent tube-reptile. The new skin comes in all shiny and beautiful making the snake feel soft and smooth.

What Snake reminded me of was this: before the old skin is shed, there is a period of time when the snake is almost completely blind. A blue film forms over its eyes. During this time of critical transition the snake is agitated, strikes out, cannot eat, and is very defensive and vulnerable. Then the blue film goes away but still the snake has not shed. Maybe the whole process was a false alarm; maybe the snake was just sick or crazy! Even experienced snake lovers can question the process. But then the magic happens and that old skin comes off. Sometimes the snake just wriggles out of it easily and quickly. Sometimes it takes more effort, even requires soaking in water to loosen where the old skin is so tightly attached it resists all efforts to release. Sometimes the snake has to rub repeatedly over rough rocks to scrape off the torn pieces. But, eventually, the shedding is done. The snake is no longer blind, is ravenously hungry, and extremely active.

Snakes do not carry around the old skin as a reminder or a personal cross to bear of their hard times and previous existence. They leave that old skin right where it came off. They don’t cry about it. They just go on. Some reptiles do eat the old skin. This can be viewed as both a nutritional opportunity and as absorption of the old into the new. As a concerned human helper we could help that snake peel off the areas where the old skin is stuck but we risk harming the new skin below. It is just something the snake has to go through in its own time and on its own.

What Snake told me, is that I am in the blind stage. My eyes are blue-filmed. I am aggressive, lost, striking out and defensive. When the shedding finally comes, no matter how long it takes or how difficult the process, I will have gone through another growth cycle, ready to go forward. I am grateful to Snake for this reminder and so feel safer in my blindness knowing it is all part of growth and becoming a new and shiny being - at least for awhile until the process repeats itself.

“After all”, says Snake, “that is the way of life.” So I wait and in the waiting it wouldn’t hurt to go find a nice pool of water to soak in……..

...Kathryn Ravenwood (written Oct 5 2003) on August 4, 2016