December 19, 2020: 1/Ace of Chalices and 6 of Chalices

Well, I guess this will be a Watery day, eh?  In the Decameron Tarot, the suit of Chalices represents the element of Water (and all of its correspondences, including feelings, emotions, dreams and visions), and the soul (the immortal and non-physical part of a living being).  

The Aces of the Tarot Minor Arcana offer possibilities within the parameters of the suit.  No promises are offered, just a hint of the potentials that are currently being presented or that might appear in the near future.  We still have to take the steps needed to access those potentials, but they will be there anyway, whether we grab them or ignore them.  The image on the Decameron 1/Ace of Chalices (my Inner Focus card for today) shows a naked man struggling mightily to carry a huge silver Chalice.  In that Chalice is a naked woman, with her hands behind her head as if relaxing, and her eyes closed.  Despite the fact that in his efforts, the man appears to be rocking and rolling that Chalice (so much that one of her leges swings wildly), she is still somnolent.  The key phrase associated with this card is: masculine force is not enough to control desire.  This image portrays this sentiment perfectly; even the man is getting no pleasure from his efforts to lift and control this Chalice, for we can see that his uncircumcised penis is not only soft, but nudged out of the way by the stem of the Chalice.  It might even hurt to move the Chalice, but the man continues even though he is not getting his desired results.

My Outer Focus card is another of the suit of Chalices, the 6 of Chalices.  The image on this one shows a person with his/her back to us, sitting in a flowery meadow beneath some thickly leafed trees, reading from a book.  The key words and phrases for this card are: melancholy, the need for serenity, and sad memories.  This card is a bit different from the traditional meaning for the 6 of Cups (good will, innocence, indulging in play), although the melancholy presented does not preclude those traditional meanings.  This card tells us that those meanings and memories might create a bit of wistfulness, and it would be best if we spend some time alone so we can deal with those feelings.  After all, emotions can be a wild ride, particularly when they are being stirred up by others.  Yeah, a bit of mixed metaphors there, but you get the picture.

Perhaps we all can identify with these two cards during this holiday season, especially this year, with the influences and constraints of the Covid-19 pandemic.  We are being forced to adjust our lives, and to prepare to celebrate the holiday season and at the same time isolate ourselves in order to keep our family and loved ones safe.  This certainly could add to a sense of being forced to act in a certain way, or a sense that we must force ourselves to pick up the Chalice and do the work even though others don't seem to notice our efforts.  We can heal our souls by getting out into Nature and spending some time alone with the workings of the natural world.  This could allow us to deal with sad feelings, and to remind ourselves that while we might feel isolated right now, the beauty and serenity of the natural world and all the entities that live within it are always available to us.

December 17, 2020: The High Priestess and the King of Wands

**rubs hands together with enthusiasm**.  Okay, a Major Arcana card!

My Inner Focus card is II The High Priestess. The image on the Decameron High Priestess card is interesting.  It shows a naked woman wearing a crown and veil, and a gold necklace with a gold penis pendant than hangs down between her breasts.  She is seated on a book, with her knees drawn up close to her body and her hands also pressing down on the book.  She is holding a large key between her feet, with her left thumb hooked in the loop at the top of the key.  While she is facing the viewers, her eyes are looking at someone or something to the viewer's right.  She has a very serious look on her face.  In the shadows behind her are two men.  The one over her left shoulder has dark skin and is facing the viewer but because of the shadows, we can't see his eyes.  He is wearing a crown and some kind of ornate stole.  The man over her right shoulder is dressed in a dark brown hood and cloak; he is looking at the viewer and is holding his erect penis.  The message of this card is: unhoped for goals can be achieved through study and work, bur remember that every success has its price, so act prudently.

Traditionally, The High Priestess is seen as the guardian of hidden knowledge, knowledge that she protects so only those who have learned to understand and manifest that knowledge may access it.  The usual image associated with The High Priestess shows a robed woman with a rolled up scroll in her lap, seated before a curtain or veil that is held up by two pillars, one is white and one is black.  Our Decameron High Priestess is guarding her hidden knowledge and the key to that knowledge, literally with her body.  We can understand why she is uneasy, for behind her are representations of a guardian of tradition, and temptation to indulge in physical pleasures.  Either one of those two persons could make her job easier in the short term, but in the end they will distract her from her job (guarding knowledge), either by imposing accepted traditions or by offering hedonistic pleasures.  She appears uneasy and uncomfortable, but she is sticking to her role as guardian of knowledge without allowing either man to taint what she guards.  

My Outer Focus card is the King of Wands.  The image on this card shows a gray-haired and bearded man dressed in kingly clothes and wearing a crown and holding a wooden staff that is topped by a penis and a crown, taking a naked woman from the rear.  He is reaching around her with his left hand to grasp her breast.  His eyes are closed and he appears to be roaring with pleasure; her eyes are open and her lips are parted.  The key phrases for this card are: absolute power without questioning, and the weakest partner must surrender.

The traditional keywords for the King of Wands are leadership, charisma and authority.  While this Decameron King appears to be experiencing intense sexual pleasure, he also appears to be completely dominating the situation.  She is naked, he is dressed.  She is on her hands and knees, facing away from him; he appears to be squatting behind her, using his thick and powerful staff to steady himself.  He is exhibiting authority for sure, manifesting the strong passions and extreme experiences of the suit of Wands.

There appears to be a huge difference between the message regarding my inner self and my outer self.  I am being told that I need to protect the knowledge and beliefs that are valuable to me and stick to the plan, even if I feel oppressive or tempting distractions.  I can certainly submit to authority and keep true to myself at the same time, and I do know exactly what situation this is referring to.  I don't need to explain more here.  

This deck seems to present its messages in a convoluted manner, but as I untangle those convoluted messages I get valuable insight.  

December 16, 2020: 1/Ace of Wands and 10 of Chalices

The description of the 1/Ace of Wands may be found in my December 11th post, but to make things easy, it is as follows: 

The image on the card shows a naked woman with beautiful curves and red hair embracing the symbol of the suit of Wands: a tree trunk with rough bark that on this card is growing from thick green grass.  There are branches near the bottom that have leaves growing from them, but about halfway up the trunk the bark has been removed and the wood is carved into an erect circumcised penis.  The woman's arms are around the penis and she is resting her cheek against the head, with her eyes closed and a gentle smile on her face.  Her right leg is wrapped around the base of the penis and her left foot rests on one of the branches growing from the bottom of the tree trunk.  According to the LWB, this card offers the possibility of the beginning of a loving relationship, and it reminds us that sex is a part of nature, and comes from within the cycles and workings of nature.

We get to look at another shade of meaning of this card today, as it is paired with the 10 of Chalices. The image on this card shows a naked woman standing on a rumpled bed, her hands on her waist, leaning over to see her partner, who is on the floor with just feet and legs to the knees on the mattress; that is all we see of her partner.  We can't see either of their faces to determine their moods, but I kind of get the feeling that she is wondering just what her partner thinks he/she is doing. The key phrases associated with this card are: success that may actually be compromised, and an invitation to continue the battle.  One thing I noticed: the drawn-back curtains around this bed have a similar circular design to the curtains on The Lovers (we talked about The Lovers on December 13).  The design is not the same; the design on The Lovers has circles inside of circles, while this card shows only one circle.  So this may be an important relationship, just not one with the depths and texture of that portrayed in The Lovers.

Now, the suit of Chalices represents the element of Water (and all the things associated with Water, such as dreams, visions and feelings), and the soul.  The soul is defined as the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, emotional or intellectual energy or intensity, and a person's moral or emotional sense of identity; the soul is considered to be immortal.  That definition gives us some insight into the image on this card.  

The traditional keywords associated with the 10 of Cups are well-being, harmony, and family.  The traditional image shows a man and woman, are and arm, enjoying a rainbow of Cups in the sky.  They are standing in a green field with a stream or lake nearby; in front of them two or three children play, and in the distance is a home surrounded by trees. The 10 of Cups card is basically seen as representing the fullness of manifestation for the suit in the current cycle.  Perhaps that is what the woman in our Decameron Tarot thought she was getting with her partner, but that hoped-for future may have suddenly come into doubt.  She has not come to physical harm, but it appears that her emotions and self-worth are in protective mode.

The 1/Ace of Wands is my inner card, so once again I am being reminded of the connection between the senses and the sensations of my physical body and the workings of nature around me.  It seems that I am trusting those senses and allowing them to manifest in my connections with others in an open way because I am assuming that everyone is manifesting sensations and pleasure and love the same way, without the taint of selfishness or betrayal.  Somewhere around me there is doubt as to integrity, trustworthiness, and the manifestation of love.  Of course, these are feelings and perceptions and they might not be actually true, only true to the beholder.  The situation is not completed, which is a good thing.  That means a chance to explain and reinitiate the connection is a part of all this.  

Just being myself should not cause a conflict, but even if the intentions are not to cause harm, conflict does happen.  When we care about others, we also care about how they perceive us, so we want to do something about this situation.  

Understanding the natural cycles and manifestations of Nature is a good thing; however we humans can interfere with those cycles, either deliberately or inadvertently.  Today, I am being told to be aware that perhaps things are not as I assume they are and maybe through no fault of my own, but I should not panic.  Just being aware that there could be a misunderstanding approaching could cause a tweak in my own words or actions that prevents it from occurring.  Being proactive in my words and actions could actually create deeper bonds, allowing that 1/Ace of Wands to manifest even further.

December 13, 2020: 1/Ace of Pentacles and VI The Lovers

Okay, three days in a row. I don't expect that to continue, particularly with the Holiday Season being upon us, but I have time today, so here we go.

My cards for today:

Inner Focus: 1/Ace of Pentacles.  The suit of Pentacles represents the element of Earth, the body, and material goods.  This card introduces the suit and its symbolism.  In this deck, Pentacles are represented by a golden coin on which is embossed a picture of a woman with her legs spread in a V shape.  Upright, she appears to be leaning forward and looking through her legs at the viewer; reversed, she appears to be laying down and looking through her legs that are stretched upward.  The image on this card shows a pile of coins, both silver and gold, in a neutral surrounding.  The top coin is upright and on it is embossed a view of a woman who is in the Yoga pose called Embryo, facing away from us.  Her long hair is in a braid, which rests along her spine.  Laying face-up with her spine across the rim of that coin is a naked woman, her toes and her hands are each resting on the pile of coins below her and her torso is arched.  We can't see her entire face, but we can see that she is smiling. There is another person (and here once again I will say "he," but that could be different to you) resting an arm and his cheek across her torso, with the fingers of his other hand tickling her pubic area.  He is also smiling.  The key phrase for this card is: love is indifferent to commercialization, but wealth can sometimes encourage affection.  

That is a really interesting take on the Ace of Pentacles.  Traditionally, this card offers the potential for security, abundance, and tangible results.  It does not say those things will definitely occur, but that they are within reach and it is up to us to act, if we want those things.  Within the image on this card, we see a balance of masculine and feminine energies.  The coins are gold and silver.  The woman is in a vulnerable position yet she is smiling.   The man is holding her in place, yet he is relaxed, not appearing aggressive at all.  Even the coin on which the woman is sprawled is a mix of masculine and feminine symbolism: the coin is gold but the woman is in a submissive pose, facing away.  There is just so much potential to be seen in this image, potential to mix two opposing energies (male and female, inner and outer, expanding and contracting), but the most important potential to me is that joyful affection.  If we can manifest that, the rest is easy.

Outer Focus: VI The Lovers.  Ah yes, a Major Arcana card.  The image on this card shows a man and a woman in a bedroom.  The woman is laying on a bed, her eyes closed, her back arched, and her knees relaxed open.  Her eyes are closed, and by her head is a black and white cat, curled up and looking at the viewer; her hand rests on the cat's rump by the tail.  The man, whose eyes are also closed, appears to have his feet on the floor, with his upper body resting on the bed.  He is kissing the bottom of her ribcage; one arm is bracing himself, elbow on the bed, with his hand gently caressing her breast.  The bed is surrounded by curtains (which are pulled back) and beyond the bed is shadow.  Within that shadow and peaking past the curtains is a man who does not look happy.  The key phrases for this card is: if you have the joy of winning the favor of a young and beautiful person, offer real proof of your passion.  

There are so many images out there associated with this card, but the traditional image shows a naked man and woman in a verdant and fertile Eden-like setting, complete with Serpent, standing before a winged being that appears to be blessing the union.   This card is about strong feelings, and about the long-term connections that can be forged by them, sometimes good and sometimes not.  In the Decameron version of The Lovers, our couple are in what they think is a safe and secure place, and they are deeply engrossed in each other.  This appears to be a long-term relationship where they each know and trust each other; their eyes are closed and neither is clinging to the other.  In fact, except for his hand resting passively on her breast and his mouth on the bottom of her ribs, they do not appear to be touching each other.  The presence of the cat also indicates a bit of discernment, as well reinforcing the sensuality of the entire image.  Not the hot passion of grasping lust here, but rather the more cool and sensual passion of a long-term relationship with deep connections.

These two cards reinforce the idea that there is the potential to create passion even within a long-term relationship if we allow worldly goods to be a foundation rather than a reason to connect to another.  We don't need to grasp and own in order to feel earthy pleasure, and we can enjoy interacting with another and still keep our independence as well as our sense of humor, honoring our own unique Self in the process.  But there is always a danger of outside influences.  We have only to look at the person peeking from behind the curtain in the image of The Lovers.  The Lovers is in the end about finding balance within yourself in order to choose important connections.  That man behind the curtain could be a spurned partner; is there danger from him?  Being alert and aware, like the cat watching us, and choosing carefully, is the answer.  

December 12, 2020: 8 of Wands and 7 of Pentacles

Today's Decameron Tarot cards:

Inner Focus: 8 of Wands.  The image on this card shows a naked woman viewed from the back who is sitting on a wooden bench, with another person kneeling before her (for the ease of description, I will call this person "he," but there is no indication of the gender of the kneeling person).  He has his face between her spread thighs and he is gripping her buttocks for leverage.  The key phrases for this card are: surprise and daring, and a part of the undertaking is complete.  

Let's think about the traditional keywords associated with the 8 of Wands, quick action, expansion, news, and the strongest expression of Fire, the element associated with the suit of Wands in most cases.  The traditional image of this card is one of the few in the Tarot that does not contain a person; it shows 8 Wands parallel to each other, as if shot from 8 bows.  This is a strong and active card that depicts expression or expansion without distraction.  

Back to the Decameron 8 of Wands.  Neither figure is being distracted, and both are focused on the pleasure of the woman.  She is leaning back on her knuckles, with her spine arched and her knees wide, as if she is pleased with what is happening to her.  We cannot see much of her face, just her lips which are slightly parted, but we can imagine that her eyes are closed as she experiences pleasure.  No distraction here.  We cannot see the face of the man who is pleasuring her either, but his fingers are gripping her buttocks with enough intensity to press into her flesh, as if he does not want her to move away.  This makes me think that he is an enthusiastic participant.  

From both viewpoints, energy is rising and becoming more and more focused.  There are no distractions visible and no deviations to the direction the energy is being built toward.  The focus of both persons is aimed at the same result.

Outer Focus: 7 of Pentacles.  The image on this card also shows a naked woman with her knees wide and her spine arched, lips parted and eyes closed.  She is astride a man who is gripping her thighs as he watches her.  There is some shadow-play in this image to be considered.  The man is completely in shadow, and the woman is in shadow from the waist down; across her upper body are shadows that could come from a window consisting of smaller panes separated by some opaque material. The key phrases for this card are: luck in business or love for women, men are bored.  

The traditional image on the 7 of Pentacles shows a person leaning on a staff or rake, looking at a lush plant or tree covered with Pentacles.  The keywords associated with this card are assessment, seeing results, and weighing a change.  Unlike the 8 of Wands, this is not an active card.  Instead, this one is about pausing and assessing what we've done so far so we can decide if it is enough, or more is needed.

In the Decameron Tarot, the suit of Pentacles is about the physical body and material goods.  In the image for the 7 of Pentacles, it appears that the woman is almost reaching the fullness of pleasure, and the man, whose eyes are open and watching her, needs to decide if he needs to do more, or if doing more would derail everything.  The woman would be depending on the man to not derail things, it is the way that she is able to close her eyes and freely immerse herself in pleasure.  While he may also be enjoying things here, the placement of the shadows in the image makes me think that she is the one who is the focus of the card's message.  Like the tree covered with Pentacles in the traditional image for this card, the woman is ripe and appears ready for harvest.  In fact, the bars of shadows across her upper body almost resemble prison bars, hinting that she has relinquished her control of the situation.  It is the man who must decide if the peak of ripeness has arrived or more time and effort are needed.

Both of these cards are about a similar goal. My Inner Focus card seems to indicate that I have some control over the methods for obtaining results.  My Outer Focus card indicates the appearance of surrender to the assistance of others.  Inner passions can certainly be the fuel that assists in manifestations on the physical plane.  Perhaps these messages are not as different as I initially thought they were.

December 11, 2020: A new Tarot deck - The Decameron Tarot; 1/Ace of Wands and 6 of Wands

I am pleased that you all still visit my site!!  Thank you for your interest in my ramblings.

I have found a new Tarot deck and my connection to it is deep enough that I feel I should blog about it.  The deck is called the Decameron Tarot, published by Lo Scarabeo, and it is an erotic deck based on the collection of novellas of the same name.  If you are uncomfortable reading descriptions of graphic images or sexual acts, perhaps this is not the blog for you right now. 

The Decameron (the book) contains 100 tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men that are sheltering in a secluded villa just outside of Florence during the Black Death.  The book was written by 14th century Italian author, poet, and Renaissance humanist Giovanni Boccaccio, who was born in Florence in 1313 and died there in 1375.  The various novellas telling of love and sex found within the stories in the Decameron (probably written between 1348 and 1353) range from the erotic to the tragic, with tales of wit, practical jokes, and life lessons added to the mix.  The Decameron has been translated many times over the centuries.

The artwork of the Decameron Tarot, beautifully created by Giacinto Gaudenzi, is inspired by the tales of the Decameron.  These card images contain graphic nudity, sexual pleasure and sex acts presented in the style of Renaissance art.  Several of the card images present their sexual messages in a light-hearted way, and others use sex and pleasure to poke fun at authority figures.  The deck comes with a small LWB, 2 1/2" by 4 3/4", with 62 pages.  The card meanings are very brief, mostly a sentence or a few phrases; they are presented in six languages, including English.  

My plan is to pull two cards, one for an inner-focused message and one for an outer-focused message, and blog about the card images and meanings.  Usually this kind of blogging allows me to create a deep and textured connection to a deck; hopefully that is what will happen with the Decameron Tarot.

My cards for today:

Inner Focus: 1/Ace of Wands.  The image on the card shows a naked woman with beautiful curves and red hair embracing the symbol of the suit of Wands: a tree trunk with rough bark that on this card is growing from thick green grass.  There are branches near the bottom that have leaves growing from them, but about halfway up the trunk the bark has been removed and the wood is carved into an erect circumcised penis.  The woman's arms are around the penis and she is resting her cheek against the head, with her eyes closed and a gentle smile on her face.  Her right leg is wrapped around the base of the penis and her left foot rests on one of the branches growing from the bottom of the tree trunk.  According to the LWB, this card offers the possibility of the beginning of a loving relationship, and it reminds us that sex is a part of nature, and comes from within the cycles and workings of nature.

Outer Focus: 6 of Wands. The image on this card shows several structures with thatched roofs, one of which appears to be a church, located on a hill covered with green growth; a tree to the left of the image is heavy with fruit.  A figure walks up the hill toward the structures, with his or her back to the viewer.  The meaning offered for this card is married life, privacy, and everyday love.

Here we have two types of love and pleasure: love that is instinctive and without judgement or shame, and love that is in accordance with religious, cultural and traditional rules and expectations.  Both of these are valid, generally speaking and as specifically applied to me.  

Pleasure, including sexual pleasure, is a part of being human.  Our senses can delight us and sate us, and they can torture us with pain and discomfort.  The 1/Ace of Wands reminds me that the perceptions of all of those sensations are a part of life and living. Sex occurs throughout the living beings of nature; it is how life is created and maintained.  Humans are lucky enough to be able to experience physical and emotional pleasure through sex as well as procreation. To me, nature is the robe that Deity wears so we can perceive Her/Him/It/Them.  That in itself tells me that all types of pleasure, including sexual pleasure, are sacred as long as those pleasures are indulged with and through consenting adults.  

However, we live in a world where Harming None is important, too.  We can't always openly indulge in our own pleasures if we harm others, although again what happens between consenting adults in the privacy of their home is their business.  Indeed, privacy is one of the keywords presented for the 6 of Wands, my Outer Focus card.  Choosing a mate, standing before the community and proclaiming the connection between mates (whoever and how many of them there are, and whatever the mutually agreed-upon terms are) protects the mates themselves and creates a community that supports the family being created.  Of course, it is assumed that the family will continue to conduct themselves in accordance with the religious, cultural and traditional rules and expectations that are condoning and protecting the union, at least in public.

I love that I am beginning with these two cards.  We can be who we want to be in private, and still present a public persona that does not harm others, and that supports the community of which we are a part.  

April 26, 2017: New Moon in Taurus

Today is the New Moon in Taurus, my rising sign.  From what I have read online, this New Moon is a good one for beginning the first stages of some kind of manifestation.  There are no aspects with the planets, so besides the correspondences of a New Moon (beginnings) and Taurus (which is ruled by Venus and the Moon, and corresponds with the element of Earth, foundations, health, prosperity and fertility), anything goes.  This New Moon is offering me some general potential, undedicated to any specific direction or task.  Hmmm . . . what should I do with it?

My Dreams of Gaia New Moon card is The Crone reversed.  This is the number 6 card of the Major Arcana of this deck, and it appears often for me, both upright and reversed.  The keywords are feminine power, fearlessness, authenticity, individuality, independence, new purpose, freedom, and shadow self.  This is such a cool card; it tells of being aware of Purpose and it encourages having the courage to fulfill that Purpose, no matter what it is.  In a way, this is a companion card for the reversed Four of Air I threw the other day, because that card hints at what needs to be done in order to manifest my Purpose, and this one encourages me to understand my Purpose, to re-look (even if I think I’ve already understand all there is to be understood).

Before beginning my Pathworking, I’m going to take a bit of time to review each of the ten sephiroth (or “emanations”) of the Tree of Life, kind of setting up a foundation.  The Tree of Life itself is seen as a set of archetypes or correspondences, and I could spend lots of time just talking about the Tree generally.  If we see the sephiroth as emanations or transmissions, we need to see ourselves as receivers of those emanations or transmissions. The information presented is layered; we need to make our way through the layers in order to understand what is revealed to us as we go deeper (always keeping in mind that mis-information appears in order to test our ability to think independently rather than accepting what we are told as “written-in-stone”).  I do need to remember that in order to achieve understanding, I need to chop wood and carry water.  

The Tree is set up with its roots in the physical realm and its uppermost branches in a realm that is almost beyond understanding.  As I stated above, there are all kinds of things to be learned about each sephira.  But understanding the interactions between the individual sephira, pairs of sephiroth, triangles, and all the other multi-directional flows, can be truly exciting.

Let the Pathworking begin!

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