The Ace of Swords

Tarot Deck Unknown (unfortunately)

Original writing by Kathryn Ravenwood

I recently was in Scotland for two weeks, answering a call I have been hearing for almost twenty years. Scotland was magical.  I was able to finally see places I have wanted to experience – Rosslyn Chapel, The Standing Stones of Callanesh, and the Isle of Iona. Many places along the road brought unexpected connections to the ancient mysteries. The weather was generally great, the green country gorgeous with lots of waterfalls and rivers; each place we visited had a sense of history and its own unique beauty. I loved it. Rosslyn was perhaps the most special to me but one never knows what will happen on these trips.

My dad once told me we had some Scottish heritage somewhere along the line – my family name is Wilson – and so I was not surprised to have this beautiful land feel very much like home to me and that I had returned home after being too, too long away. However, I was unprepared for a major experience at Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye. 

I was happily on the self guided tour of the castle and came toward the exit point.  A few ancient stone steps led to a lower level. As I walked down and my eyes accustomed to dimmer light, my body started to shake, my heart chakra suddenly opened wide, and I started to cry. There, in front of me in a glass case, was a huge sword – a very large Claymore of obvious fortitude.  I fell to my knees, hand over my heart, as if I was pledging my allegiance to that mighty sword, which is the Great Clan Sword of Dunvegan. I knew that sword; I either fought with it or by it in some other life as a warrior. The experience was so powerful and it is still right with me.

After I was finally able to tear myself away from the Claymore, I knew it had opened something within me. Certainly swords can cut through just about anything (especially one that size!) and I definitely felt different. It was like an initiation or an awakening. I promised myself when I got home I would not fall back into the old routines and habits. I would focus on what was really important, what I needed to do.

Swords are not a new connection for me. When I was eight or ten years old I discovered my grandfather’s (on my dad’s side) ritual sword from the Knights of Columbus in the basement.  It was as wrapped in cloth and stored in a leather sheath. I opened it to find symbols of the Templers and other strange engravings looking out at me. I was stunned. I did not know what it was nor did I ask for fear it would be taken from me so I hid it under the stairs and would go down there to hold it. Even though it was a ritual piece and even though my grandfather had fallen out of favor in the family, I felt so bonded to that sword.  Unable to part with it, I just took it with me when I left home.

The Tarot continues my Sword connection.  The suit of Swords represent our minds and thoughts, the Ace bringing clarity, inspiration, that moment where we mentally draw that line in the sand and take a stand, prepared and ready to defend our principals. It is the big “Aha moment,” the time when the brain fog clears and we know exactly what to do. It is the moment when truth is revealed. Just as physical swords demand attention and training to learn to wield them in good intention and strength, the Tarot Swords teach us that our minds are meant for truth and discovering that truth is one of our paths to mastery.

The Ace of Swords in the photo above is graced by a butterfly reminding us when we hold on to truth and allow it to cut through any illusion, we can be instantly transformed.  This could be a small or very grand change but it happens more than we might recognize. Our minds are easily cluttered, carry old stories and patterns that no longer support our growth, and can be a very negative weapon to ourselves and others. The Ace of Swords is the place of the clear mind, focused and aligned with truth.

May you experience beautiful transformations that lift you into light and beauty.

 

…Kathryn Ravenwood 06.21.17

The Moon 4/20/27

The Moon

from the Anna K Tarot

Original Writing by Kathryn Ravenwood

Oh, the changeable Moon, the Queen of the Night. She sails through the sky, playing with clouds as she hides among them and then reappears, teasing us in her cosmic dance. Her cycle of change daily progresses her from being dark and maybe not even visible, to revealing more of her body each night, her light slowly increasing until she is finally fully exposed. Then, she pulls the veils of darkness slowly back around her until she is again hidden. All the time, she allows us, if we look, to see the form of her whole, round body cloaked in darkness, illuminated by slivers of silver light. She exposes herself so we can witness the ravages of time that she carries – the craters created by crash landings of invasive space travelers who dared to mar her beautiful surface. She is not ashamed of her imperfections and reveals her scars for all to see. With no light of her own to offer, she takes in the sun’s light, reflecting it back to us to illumine our nights and our dreams. The moon also has her dark, unexposed side. The mystery of what is hidden there is topic of endless songs, poems, and ponderings.  

 

We are so like the moon. While we navigate the cycles of our lives, we can feel hidden, exposed, vulnerable to surprise attacks, and carry plenty of scars. We sometimes forget, that as in the picture above, our wholeness is intact– we just cannot always see it. Our light is a reflection of the Source of all Light; and in our own cycles, we let that light shine from us, providing illumination and hope to others who wander in the dark. Our navigation guides are our emotions and intuition. Logic offers little use within these mysterious realms.

 

The Moon card reminds us we must allow our subconscious to come up from the depths and be illuminated, through stages and cycles of growth. In the picture above we see only the surface of a dark expanse of water. What is hidden in the depths of those waters? Monsters of the deep?  Sunken treasure to be sought and recovered?  The moon shines from above sending reflected light dancing across the surface, allowing us only the merest glimpse of what lies just below the surface. Beyond the filtered light of the moon is darkness and the unknown. The ocean is so vast and constantly changing that we could never know it all.

 

The moon controls the tides using her powerful force to entrain the oceans to her rhythms. If the oceans respond so strongly to her, how can we, also made of water, resist her? After a full tide we can walk the beach and see what has been washed up – sometimes trash, sometimes exquisite beauty. Through the cycles of our lives we have different opportunities and conditions to explore our own depths.  Life’s storms roil the waters of our subconscious, dislodging monsters, garbage, or hidden treasure. Like on a warm summer night when we go skinny-dipping, we might jump naked and vulnerable into the depths of our subconscious, ready to explore and celebrate how it holds us. Or, we might placidly slip past the peaceful surface allowing our Light to guide us in curious exploration of our own hidden reefs and grottos. Sometimes, afraid and not ready, we stand on the shore perhaps able to only slip a toe into the water and observe the ripples radiating from even such a small disturbance.

 

We are ever changing, morphing, part of cycles within cycles. More is continually revealed and even more is hidden as we progress along our own dance across cosmic time. As our awareness emerges from the dark of our subconscious and moves toward enlightenment, there is never a void.  Like any body of water, when you pull something from it there is no hole; the waters simply swirl in to fill the space. Sometimes our subconscious sends up a small message that we can’t quite grasp as it surfaces; we can only ponder on lost meanings as that message once again retreats into the depths.  Not to worry, it will eventually reappear and another chance at understanding will be within our reach.

 

May the Moon bless you on your journey, bring you light, heighten your intuition, and bring you peace.  

 

 

... Kathryn Ravenwood  04/19/17

 

The Seven of Swords

From the Prairie Tarot

Original Writing by Kathryn Ravenwood

 

Trust issues.  We all have them.  We may start relationships with friends, lovers, business and life partners open and trusting.  We look into their eyes and see their beauty, warmth, talent, and what they offer to us. We accept it at face value.  Unfortunately, people have secrets (we all do) and sometimes those secrets are the driving force behind motives and actions. There is always the risk that someone we know and trust will deceive us, sneak around or betray us. Maybe it was not the original intention or perhaps it was and the deception was there all along. We just didn’t want to see it.

 

Our relationships with one another can be our biggest teachers. We often see what we want to see, believing intentions are genuine, blindly trusting in someone. As we experience betrayal and deception we have a chance to learn about ourselves.  We start out naïve, not knowing about such behaviors and so do not recognize the threat when it appears. It happens again and we just can’t believe it did! The next time we might start to get suspicious and learn to recognize signals, but sometimes there are no signals to warn us.  We continually are learning about trust and boundaries.  We can learn to repay betrayal and sneakiness in kind (and eye for an eye) or we can learn discretion and come into our own integrity.

 

In the card above a well dressed (and probably very charming) person stands out in the open for all the camp to see. Seven swords are secreted behind the back ready to bring forward and do some damage. Like all swords of power, these swords have names: fear, shame, anger, resentment, retaliation, expectations, and greed are likely possibilities. Remember that the swords in the Tarot are about our minds, the way we think, and Truth – personal truth and discovering Cosmic Truth.  To become a  Master of the Swords we all have to experience what is not true so we learn to recognize those enemies and learn how to survive in our integrity when we must do battle with them. The swords used in the act of betrayal have to be mastered.  When, for example, fear becomes a reality with us – for any number of reasons – we learn to be afraid and we learn to draw that sword to protect ourselves.  Or, if greed is the reality, we might learn to cheat, steal and manipulate to get what we want, possibly because we learned a hard truth of not having enough. The biggest sword is sabotage – to avoid having our own ego/feelings hurt we are the ones to do the first attack so we can walk away “unscathed.”

 

But there are always scars.  The mind keeps repeating the patterns until we are carrying our own bundle of swords behind our backs. How do we break this cycle?  As we work on our self-worth, learn from our mistakes, value our integrity, we find we do not have to engage in sword fights with others. We learn to recognize the warning signs or trust our gut when a similar pattern is presented to us in a new and oh so delightful form. Instead of rushing forward with swords drawn, we stop and give some space. What feels familiar probably is. Look at it. Trust yourself. Lay down the sword of retaliation and try some compassion.  Create some space – step away from the challenge and knee-jerk response and think about it for awhile. Evaluation, discretion, and compassion are far better tools than sharp swords.

 

If you find you must indeed defend yourself – and we all have to do that at times – let your sword be one of personal truth.  If we do not engage in the fight we are far less likely to be wounded or to cause wounds.

 

You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone. Do your best. We all get seduced from time to time. Eventually we find our lives full of relationships with partners who also come from their personal integrity. This place of truth, even if mistakes are made, is a place of growth, love, and transformation.

 

What a beautiful mirror we become for one another.

 

…Kathryn Ravenwood 04/12/17

Ten of Swords - Stabbed in the Back 3.28.17

Ten of Swords

Art by Tammy Wetzel

Original  Writing by Kathryn Ravenwood

 

 

The Ten of Swords is one of the most dismal looking cards in the Tarot. We see a woman lying face down with swords stuck in her back. It would seem someone came up behind her to stab her not once but ten times. A bit of overkill for sure. Looking more closely we notice there is no blood. Why is that? The Swords of the Tarot are about the mind and truth, not the body, so we recognize this is not a physical attack but rather one of the mind. No one thinks inside our heads but us – or do they?

 

Each of the swords in our lovely lady’s back represent thought patterns she has accepted and incorporated as truth. Where did these swords originate? The mind is a field to imprint; it accepts what it is told. We are so influenced by outside voices – parents, teachers, media, friends and lovers it is sometimes hard to tell if we are thinking our own thoughts or those of someone else. When we are young we are totally vulnerable to “programming” and as we age we use that programming, and how we learned to make decisions based on that programming, to go forward into our present thinking. Continual reinforcement of thoughts and patterns habituates them. The negative ones continue to sabotage us until we are like the woman in the card - finally felled by the many painful and killer swords.

 

Powerful clues are revealed in the card. First, the woman is face down. This indicates that she is not looking at or perhaps even aware of the swords; they are behind her; she “didn’t see it coming” and has not “faced up to them.” Second, she has fallen on a moonlit path that meanders upward and on to the full moon. The moon is very much about our subconscious. Its Hebrew letter means “the back of the head” referring to the brain stem and lower brain functions, including instinct. The kind of thinking we are talking about here is not based on conscious awareness, and is not being cultivated in the higher brain at the front of the head. The moonlight is a reflection of the sun or life giving force. How we have lived our lives – in our heads in this case – is a reflection of what we have been told to think or chosen to think. The moon calls us to crawl out of the depths of that lower mind and follow the path to our higher consciousness, suggested by the structure at the top of the path that is only partially visible. At any rate, our girl in the card is flat on her face with a long, long ways to go.

 

Another clue is that the swords are in her back, along her spine. We are reminded that our mental programming becomes very integrated by the nervous system. It takes effort and will to teach our nervous system not only to not pay attention to those swords and their consequences, but to learn to avoid them and accept new, positive thoughts. This is why we cannot say an affirmation for a week and expect things to change. To reprogram the brain and nervous system is like that path; we have to stay on it and keep a goal in sight, even when it is hard to see and only dimly perceived.

 

While this card can easily invoke despair and hopelessness, it really is a card of encouragement. The Tens in the Tarot are the end of a cycle. The Ten of Swords tells us this is as bad as it gets; the only way now is forward (up that moonlit path to higher awareness!) It is time to get a new ending to the story. To stop telling ourselves the same old programmed misery. We are the champions of our own mind. We can follow that moonlit path, step by step, higher and higher, until we have left those swords behind us.

 

The woman in the card is beautifully dressed. Obviously she had been living a rich life when the 10 of Swords finally got her. She is not reduced to rags or poverty but she is being called to get up and step up if she wants to go farther ahead on her path. She can take all the good thoughts with her – all the positive and wonderful aspects of her mind and self-truth are forever. It is possible that because she has come this far on the path that she is able to learn to face the need to do this work.

 

If you are feeling stabbed in the back by old, worn out and destructive tapes in your mind, and want to reprogram your thinking, take heart. The road is long and goes step by step but, even in the dark, the moon lights our way to guide us through. As Tom Petty said, “the future is wide open.”

 

…Kathryn Ravenwood  03/28/17

 

 

Two of Pentacles - HOw is Your Juggling Act?

The Two of Pentacles

From the Tell Me Tarot

Original Writing by Kathryn Ravenwood

 

I have been stuck for over a month. Because I have been stuck I have been struggling to identify my feelings and therefore a way through the stuckness. Today I saw this tarot card from a deck I have never heard of and it was just what I needed. I have been on that swing too long. When I was a kid if I stayed on the swings too long at recess I would get sick and that is just about how I feel. Sick of the back and forth motion, sick of being up in the air, sick of not being grounded, sick of not going forward. Recess is over (for now); it is time to get off the swing and get back to class. Taking this metaphor a little farther, think of how it is to leave recess where nothing is really expected and get back in line, troop back to class, sit at your desk, get the text book out and back to work.  Attention, class!

The Two of Pentacles reminds us that we juggle so many things it can seem impossible to devote our full attention to any one project, thought, goal, or activity. Intentions we made and felt so committed to are now relegated to some forgotten corner of our consciousness. But, it is OK to be lost in duality (which the Two’s represent) and not move forward.

But are we really not moving forward?

Sometimes we have to process life. Maybe an injury or illness has forced us to put plans on hold. Maybe we are sad or some big distraction has sidetracked our goals. I have had plans for about 3 months to write a particular article that has never materialized. Because I could not seem to get that going I didn’t write anything! I read someplace that if you feel stuck, maybe you could just do something different. Give up on whatever is looming over you causing you to feel overwhelmed or inadequate or unable. Just do something else. Juggle things.

Pentacles represent the physical world and the realm where manifestations finally materialize. The Two of Pentacles is about learning to balance our lives and all that is going on in them. Let’s face it: most of us are on overwhelm most of the time just because we live in a world full of opportunities, stimulation, and expectations. We can’t do it all at once. This is where focus comes in to play. Choose something and do it. Just get going. Goals are not being met here but when we learn to allow committed space for one thing at a time we figure out what might not be important that we can let go of, what gives us joy that we want to make more space for, and realize that the housework is never done, the groceries always need replenishing, and yes, we have to sleep.

Here is what I found out about my latest time of being stuck. Stressing over not getting that one particular article written distracted me from all the other options available. I was mad at myself and so resulted to creature comfort distractions. However, in-between binge watching my latest guilty pleasure on Netflix and eating too many snacks, I DID accomplish things! Lots of things got done and most of them were even on my To Do List. I had quality, fun time with friends, participated in beautiful ritual, went to work every day, and maintained my usual routine.

True, I was not particularly creative but that is another Tarot card all together!

So if you find yourself on that swing of indecision, just enjoy the view for awhile.  Feel the rhythm of back and forth. You will get sick of it soon enough.

...Kathryn Ravenwood 3.15.17

From the Morgan-Greer Tarot

The Wheel is Spinning 

Original Writing by Kathryn Ravenwood

Earlier in January I wrote about 2017 being the Year of the Wheel of Fortune (see my blog: www.KathrynRavenwood.com or http://kathrynravenwood.blogspot.com/).  Now, only three weeks into the year, we are feeling the power of the Wheel as it spins. Spoiler Alert: I usually do not write on the Tarot from a political viewpoint but I am doing so today. Still with me? Then read on.

The ruling political party of our country changed hands and just one day later marches and rallies for women’s and human rights were global - the streets filled with an uprising of people not willing to be silent. Protests and marches against the misuse of our Earth’s resources – especially water – are going on right now. People are exercising their Constitutional Rights by taking action on their beliefs and supporting causes that are important to them. Many who have never marched, protested, written to a Congressman/woman before are doing so now. We are stirred up by the power of the Wheel and the vortex of energy it creates. 

The Wheel is about change and “Lady Luck” can be an angel or a devil - what is fame and fortune to one is ruin and loss to another. In the above card we see a king and queen riding high on the wheel of success while at the bottom a poor soul has fallen off his turn at the top. A cosmic hand, partially hidden by clouds, cranks the Wheel. In time the king and queen will fall and someone else will rise. The clouds remind us we don’t know what is coming next.

Let’s use the Tarot to look at the big picture in the framework of the current four-year presidential term. Perhaps in this over simplified exercise we can find some perspective. 2017 is the Year of the Wheel (card #10). The power changed hands and is quickly making itself known. This is only January. We have 11 months to go. 

2018, year two of the term, will be the Year of Justice (card #11). This card is often related to Karma and consequences. “What goes around comes around.”  When discussing a political situation we can expect to see legal activity. Justice is often depicted as a blindfolded woman holding the Scales of Justice, balancing actions and consequences. Not all laws are perfect or carry maximum benefit for all. What will Justice bring in 2018? As the saying goes, “Karma is only a bitch if you are.”

Year 3 of the term, 2019, will be the Year of the Hanged Man (card #12). Who will be hung out on a limb? Health care?  Clean water?  Education? This card is about surrender, letting go, not being in control;  however, the act of Surrender can be very powerful as it frees us from often self-inflicted limitations to open up to other dimensions of knowing, wisdom, and eventual freedom.

The last year of the term, following the linear path of the Tarot, is the Death card, #13. In numerology 2020 = 4, the card of the Emperor, but 13 is also a 4 (1+3=4) so we see an end and transition of the term in Death and an establishment of structure, form, and stability in the Emperor. What’s done is done and has become “written in stone” – at least for now. 

Here are a couple of scenarios to ponder. The current president rides high on the Wheel in full power, the ensuing cause and effect of his actions is demonstrated in the Justice system through laws passed and repealed through the manipulation of truth. The Hanged Man could be the public, not in control and surrendering to the Death of a way of life that came before while the Emperor rises in firmly established power.

OR - the Wheel turns and the People rise up, taking their place of power. Justice is balanced by truth (real truth, not alternate facts), which causes the president to become the Hanged Man who must surrender and discover his lack of control, which leads to Death of his presidency and the rise of the new Emperor/structure that brings stability and new leadership.

2021, the beginning of the next presidential 4-year term, is a 5 – the Hierophant. In the linear progression of the Tarot, it is Temperance (art/alchemy) which is card #14 (1+ 4 = 5 or the Hierophant). Will the current president take on a second term morphing from the Emperor into the Hierophant of the Establishment  who acts as The Leader dictating us with rules, regulations, and pressuring us to conform to what the Hierophant dictates? Or will Temperance bring a blend of physical and spiritual awareness to create a world where we reject rigid rules and blind subjection to power without truth? Will the Hanged Man arise filled with new vision and expression or will he continue to hang ineffectively? Can we rise to a higher alchemy of The Art of Being Human?

None of us can control the big picture or the full effect of the Wheel but we can tap into its energy and momentum to get us moving. The Wheel may not bring us the desired outcome we bet on but we still have personal choice, free will, and the ability to gather information (facts) to move us forward. Each of our individual actions and movements contributes to the whole. As you ponder any number of possibilities and outcomes of the Wheel, Justice, Hanged Man, and Death over the next four years, remember that we have TODAY. We have NOW. We have freedom to speak and act, whether it is in the political arena or our personal lives. So while we cannot control the Big Wheel’s outcome, we can certainly grease the smaller wheels that cause it to move!

…Kathryn Ravenwood 1.25.17

2017: The Wheel of Fortune 

From the Osho Zen Tarot

The Cycles of Change are eternally on the move. Fall turns to Winter, Youth to Old Age, periods of hardship turn into times of joy and realization. As the song reminds us, “sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug.” It is always and ever changing. In 2017 we are given the guidance of card #10 in the Tarot - the Wheel of Fortune. How very appropriate.

The Wheel of Fortune is the impartial and powerful force of life itself. Nothing can stay the same and is always on the move, a constant play of cycles - sunrise to sunset, the four seasons, the moon progressing from dark to full and dark again, the progression of the astrological calendar through Aires to Capricorn. The great Precession of the Equinoxes takes about 24,000 to 26,000 years. Along with that is the grand cycle of the Yugas, marking the Ages of Man’s Consciousness from the peak of Satya Yuga through the depths of Kali Yuga. (We are currently in the Ascending Dwapara Yuga cycle which lasts another 2,083 years or so.) We live on a planet spinning through space at about 1,040 miles an hour as we speed drive down a freeway, talking on a cell phone that is instantly connecting us with someone across the country or the world via a satellite orbiting the Earth.  It really is mind boggling.

2016 was a Hermit year, a time of introspection and self awareness. I truly hope the Hermit brought each of you some peaceful solitude and  understanding of your own inner light. That insight will be most beneficial as the great Wheel now makes her very public turn across the Cosmic Dance Floor. This year the Dance includes a change in political power which, no matter your opinion, is causing a lot of reaction. Some people are happy with the outcome, some angry, some ambivalent. Many are taking action to become more involved through causes they want to lend their energy to. Change leads to more change and eventually to a stasis and then change again. 

The Wheel of Fortune - Fate - is touted in so many songs and sayings - “get it while you can,” “c’mon baby let the good times roll,” “the wheel in the sky keeps on turning - don’t know where I’ll be tomorrow,”“Luck, be a lady tonight.”  The Wheel is no stranger to us. Things happen and our reaction is very often a knee-jerk or gut response. Our emotions ride on the very edge of that spinning wheel. We can feel it is all going too fast and get caught up in the chaos. Change can also find us basking in everything going our way, something we are not always equipped to react to well, perhaps because we have not learned to receive or appreciate our own worth. Or there is the “Gloomy Gus” response of “gee - what’s the use?” where we simply are overwhelmed by the Wheel and let it run over us.

With all this spinning around, there is a much larger lesson available.  At the center of every wheel is the hub, the place where the spokes radiate out providing structure for the forces that cause the wheel to turn. Think of it as a center of energy potential. Potential cannot be still; it must expand and move and that is the Wheel, the basis of life - of experience, growth, evolution, and change. When it seems too much, when the activity and speed of it all overwhelms you making you dizzy, or when you realize your reactions are making you crazy, know there is a place of stability always available - and it is not in trying to hold on for dear life to the edge of that spinning wheel! That place is Center, the place of Awareness of the Now, understanding that this, too, shall pass. This place of the Center helps us to step back out of the chaos and recognize the patterns in our life. Once we can see the patterns we are better able to understand them  - or at least accept them -  and then are more able to make conscious decisions about them rather that repeatedly reacting in the same way. 

Perhaps we discover that we continually choose relationships that do not provide us with healthy support and are able to change that pattern. Or, we understand that periods of down time are to be embraced for rest and renewal rather than berate ourselves for not being productive. Death shows itself to us in the loss of loved ones or satisfying situations and we must face the passage of a cycle and step into an unknown future. We can accept that we indeed do not have control of these cycles but that we can choose how we respond within them. 

When my sister died in 2006, I had been up all night grieving her unexpected passing. Exhausted and depleted, I decided to go into work to finish up some things in preparation for going out of town for her funeral. I stopped in a grocery store to get a little food. Everyone in that store looked so drained, the energy of the store itself stagnant and un-inviting. Then I heard my sister’s voice saying, “be kind to everyone - you don’t know what they are going through.”  And with that voice was change. I looked at each person choosing an apple or standing in the check-out line and, for just a moment, experienced the one-ness of us all as humans living our lives on Earth, each experiencing our own journey, challenges, joys, failures, and dreams. In that moment, I truly felt like I loved everyone. I wanted to hug them all and hold on to that feeling.  In that moment of awareness I had stepped off the spinning Wheel and moved into the Center of calmness and awareness and knew that I would indeed survive the loss of my beloved sister.

None of us know what the next moments or days or year will bring but as it unfolds, remember that you have the power of awareness to keep you from spinning off into space, to keep you centered, awake, and present. 

Blessings on the journey.       …Kathryn Ravenwood, 01-01-2017