January 2, 2021: 3 of Wands and 4 of Pentacles

Today I have thrown two Minor Arcana cards.  My Inner Focus card is the 3 of Wands.  The image shows a fully dressed man from the shoulders down; he has his shirt pulled up and his pants opened.  Kneeling before him is a woman who appears to be naked but we can only see her from the shoulders up.  She has her eyes closed and the man's penis in her mouth, and one hand on the waistband of his pants as if pulling them down further.  The man is holding his penis at the base, guiding it as she pleasures him; his other hand is on her head, not grasping her hair but resting there and offering more gentle guidance.  The key phrases for this card are: initial success, and give joy and act boldly.

My Outer Focus card is the 4 of Pentacles.  The image on this card shows a naked woman laying back on a rustled bed in what appears to be a dark room, resting on her elbows with her eyes closed and her lips parted as if gasping.  Before her and between her knees is a naked man; his eyes are also closed.  He is enthusiastically sucking on one of her nipples with one of his hands grasping her other breast; his other hand is on her pubis.  The key phrases for this card are: greed, selfishness, and intentionally lustful life.

Both of these cards show one person being pleasured by another person, but there are differences to be seen.  The image in the 3 of Wands appears to be in the daytime.  The interaction appears to be in its early stages, for the man has not taken off any of his clothes, although the woman's shoulders are naked.  There is a power dynamic here because the man is clothed and the woman is not, and the man is standing and the woman is kneeling.  However, she does not appear uncomfortable, and in fact is grasping his pants as if to move them out of the way.  The suit of Wands in the Decameron Tarot represent all of the correspondences of the element of Fire, as well as strong passions and extreme experiences.  I think those last two are the ones that get applied to the messages of this card; after all the experience presented is extreme and the passions are strong, apparently in both.  

The 4 of Pentacles image appears to be at night or in shadow.  Because both the man and the woman seem to be glistening with perspiration, I'm guessing that this interaction has been going on for a while.  The mussed sheets support this.  However, the woman's hair is not mussed, while the man's hair appears to be disheveled, hinting at the power dynamic that could be within this image.  The suit of Pentacles in the Decameron Tarot represent the correspondences of the element of Earth, as well as the body and material goods.  Here, the woman is the one being pleasured, but instead of supporting her partner, she is laying back and allowing him to do the work.  

This is an interesting message.  I may feel that I am offering support and encouragement, but perhaps the message is not being received and someone else might believe the work load is not balanced.  This is something we all need to remember, for merely having the right intentions is not always enough.  If the message does not come through, our intentions are wasted and their energies dissipate.  We need to do the work to get out our message, even if it is only a message of gratitude and appreciation.  Sometimes all it takes is a simple gesture to change everything, like the woman in the 3 of Wands grasping the man's pants to move them away so she has greater access, or the man's hand resting gently on her heading that same image, even as his other hand holds his penis steady so he can better penetrate her mouth.  She is participating and indicating her willingness to participate, rather than laying back and letting her partner do all the work.

Collaborations can be stronger than their individual parts.  

January 1, 2021: 6 of Wands and Knight of Chalices

Happy New Year!  Welcome, those who are just joining me.  A bit of a recap: I am back and blogging again because I stumbled across a really powerful Tarot deck called the Decameron Tarot.  I have been looking for an erotic deck to add to my collection for some time, and I had just about given up hope of ever finding one that spoke to me.  This deck, published by Lo Sarabeo, is an erotic deck based on a collection of novellas of the same name (The Decameron) written by 14th century Italian author, poet and Renaissance humanist Giovanni Boccaccio.  The Decameron (the book) takes place in Florence during the Black Death.  There is a great Wikipedia entry that explains the book in more detail, if you want to know more about the background behind the deck.  The Decameron Tarot deck has awesome erotic Renaissance-style artwork by Gracinto Gaudenzi.  I really like this deck because of its erotic imagery, and because the card meanings are just different enough to make me think.  If you are uncomfortable with erotic or sexual imagery, this may not be the blog for you right now.

Onward!  I am throwing two cards a day, an Inner Focus card and an Outer Focus card.  While I am throwing cards each day, I don't think I will make it here every day, but as you can see by my entries so far, I am here often.  

My Inner Focus card for today is the 6 of Wands, one of the two cards I threw on December 11, when I started blogging about this awesome deck.  On that day, the 6 of Wands was my Outward Focus card, so we will be perceiving its message in a different way today.  The image on the card shows several well-maintained structures with thatched roofs, one of which appears to be a church, all located on a hill covered with healthy growth, appearing green and golden as if late Summer.  A tree to the left of the image is heavy with fruit.  A figure walks up the hill toward the structures, carrying some kind of took, with his or her back to the viewer.  The key phrases for this card are: married life, privacy, and everyday love.

My Outer Focus card is the Knight of Chalices.  This card image shows a fully armored knight with his visor down and gaze forward, riding a brown steed with white socks, holding a spear.  He does not appear to be in a hurry but he is moving forward steadily along a path strewn with a few stones, but nothing too dangerous.  Riding behind him with her hands on the knight's waist is a naked woman.  She is turning back to look at the viewer, and she has a smile on her face.  In the distance are green hills; on top of one of the hills is a large castle surrounded by a strong wall and corner towers.  In the foreground on a large flat stone in an area that the horse and riders have already passed is a silver Chalice; around the Chalice is coiled a green snake.  The key phrases associated with this card are: your lover is defenseless and must cross hostile lands to be with you; watch for betrayal, for the future is risky.  

My Inner Focus card is verifying that with me I see my marriage and my home life as a good one.  I work for The Hubs, and we work well together.  We are both doing okay despite Covid, and we are both very aware that our money situation could change on a dime during this pandemic, so we are being careful.  We are surrounded by friends and family.  All is good as far as my own well-being.  It is the Outer Focus that makes me sit up and take notice, for although it is not telling me to panic, it is telling me that something might not be as perfect as it seems.  The path on which the couple are traveling is pretty well cleared, and on either side of the path are grasses and wildflowers.  It is hard to tell if they are heading toward that castle on the hill in the background, or just traveling past it.  Either way, we can assume that moving forward, things should be pretty safe in the area of that castle.  The chalice and snake in the foreground, however, send a different message.  In the Tarot, the snake can represent sexuality and temptation, but it can also represent having authority over energy; the traditional images of several other cards contain a snake, such as The Magician, The Lovers and The Hermit.  Since the snake is actually coiled around the Chalice, it is obvious that in this card the snake is connected to the basic meaning of the suit of Chalices, which in the Decameron Tarot is all the correspondences of the element of Water, and the soul.  

The knight is facing forward with his visor down, and that means his vision is limited.  The woman is facing backward, and that means she cannot see where they are going, only where they have been.  I need to be aware that temptations will present themselves and try not to let them blindside me.  I can't be overly confident right now or assume that things are going well just because I feel safe and secure.  I need to be aware of the danger of temptation of all kinds, and I need to have a clear plan moving forward, a plan that is created with past experiences in mind, but also with a broad view of the future and with the ability to adapt to whatever shows up.  

December 30, 2020: 7 of Swords and 9 of Pentacles

We are almost to the end of this calendar year.  Let's look at the Decameron Tarot cards of the day, both Minor Arcana cards.

My Inner Focused card is the 7 of Swords.  The image on this one is another of the few images in this deck that does not contain a single person.  It shows a square-shaped castle surrounded by a solid stone wall up on a hill; the hill is covered by green growth with a clear, blue sky in the background.  The arched doorway and arched windows appear open and they are dark; we can't see inside the castle at all.  The key phrases for this card are: plans within the darkness of night; hidden complicity.  

The scene depicted in this card image seems harmless.  The sun is shining, the sky is clear, the grass and trees are thick with summer growth, and there are no enemies in sight.  However, there are no friends in sight either, and in fact, there is not a single person to be seen either in or around this castle.  The castle itself is made of strong stone blocks, and the windows appear kind of small for such a building.  While things appear quiet, we have no idea what is going on inside of the building, and it appears that everyone might be in on whatever is being planned, except for the observer.  If we think about the meaning of the suit, the element of Air, the mind, and the qualities of thought, we could interpret this card as representing someone who has shielded themself from the outside world, not because there are others around or because there is a storm outside, but rather so no one can see what they are thinking.  

My Outer Focused card is the 9 of Pentacles.  We just saw this card the other day, also in the Outer Focus position, but this time the meaning is changed a bit by that Inner Focus card.  The image on the Decameron 9 of Pentacles shows a naked woman laying on a made bed with her eyes closed and a smile on her face, her arms behind her head and her knees and lower legs hanging off the mattress; beneath her are her multi-colored pieces of clothing (appearing to be harlequin) and a belt.  She is wearing a hat that covers most of her hair and a mask over her eyes and nose; she appears quite pleased with herself.  The key phrase associated with this card is: a pleasant surprise and long-lasting situation.

Previously the 9 of Pentacles was paired with XVI The Tower, and while The Tower is not pleasant to deal with, there is nothing hidden about the effects of that card.  Now, however, we are dealing with hidden complicity, and suddenly there are changes to the meanings of our 9 of Pentacles.  Yes, she looks happy, but she is alone.  The bed is made, not rumpled as if a partner had just left.  The belt lying next to her suddenly looks like a serpent.  Even her mask becomes something to think about; why is she hiding her identity?

I'm interpreting these two cards as a warning.  Someone has been working behind the scenes, hiding in plain sight, to manifest their own agenda, and they are pretty satisfied with how things are going.  Things are not hopeless, though.  In the end, those conspiring in the dark are blind to what is happening outside their strong walls, and spending time alone in order to gloat can create a false sense of power.  I need to be aware today, and to protect myself but not to the extent that I block out the outside world.  If I do that, I will end up as blind as those portrayed in these two cards.  

December 27, 2020: 6 of Chalices and VII The Chariot

My Inner Focus card today is the 6 of Chalices.  The image on this one really does have an inner focus, and unlike most cards in the Decameron Tarot, this one has a serenity that is connected to solitude rather than sex.  The image shows a person with his/her back to us, sitting alone with legs crossed and spine straight in a flowery meadow beneath some thickly-leafed trees, reading from a book.  The key phrases for this card are: melancholy, the need for serenity, and sad memories.  I can identify with the feelings created by this card because I enjoy my times of solitude and I grab them when I can.  I rarely have the opportunity to create the scene in this image, but I walk daily for exercise, and that is usually my time to contemplate, meditate or ponder the world and its complexities in a solitary fashion.  

My Outer Focus is VII The Chariot.  Like many cards in the Decameron Tarot, this one exudes light-hearted sexuality.  In this image, we see the rear of a primitive yet strong two-wheeled wooden cart.  On the cart are two people, a woman we see from the shoulders down who is laying on her back with her legs below the knees dangling off the chariot bed, and a man laying on his side, visible from the chest up, next to her.  The man, who is grinning broadly, is resting his chin on one hand while lifting the bottom of the woman's dress with the other hand, exposing her thighs and pubic hair. The woman is reaching toward the man's broad-brimmed hat and lifting the hat away so she can see his face.  The key phrase for this card is: there could be a pleasant surprise during this journey; be careful not to allow the opportunity to slip away. 

I think the message of this pair is specific to me now, after a few days of safely-distanced holiday celebrations.  I do value my solitary time, and I need that time to be healthy and balanced.  But like everything else, too much of a good thing creates imbalance.  I am in the end the one in control of my personal Journey.  Yes, I cannot control the many challenges that appear on the road, and I cannot control the gifts that are offered as I travel through life.  The timing of both of those things and when they appear are also not always under my control.  While the messages of these two cards appear on the surface to be opposing, I can see them as representing polarity (opposing energies that support each other in order to create balance) as opposed to duality (opposing forces the repel each other in order to create chaos).  

I can maintain my quiet center, maintain its strength and health so it is an effective tool, and then use it to choose which road I travel upon as the day progresses.  I don't need to hide away in order to access this quiet center, and can continue to interact and have fun.

December 26, 2020: XVI The Tower and 9 of Pentacles

I hope your holiday celebrations are enjoyable.  For me, today is a "back to reality" day.  Time to get back to my day-to-day life, including exercising and eating in a more normal and healthy way.

Today, my Inner Focus card, XVI The Tower, is certainly a warning that I need to end my little holiday.  The image on the Decameron Tower is not as immediately frightening as the traditional image on The Tower with its blazing fire and lightning strikes and people jumping out of the crumbling building surrounded by powerful waves breaking on sharp boulders.  The Decameron Tower does have a crumbling building in the background, but it looks like it is crumbling more over time because of neglect than because of sudden natural disasters.  In the foreground of the image, sprawled out on green grass underneath the spreading branches of a tree are a man and a woman.  Both the man and the woman are clothed from the waist up, but both are naked from the waist down.  The man is laying on his back with his eyes closed and a smile on his face, his knees bent, with one arm under his head acting as a pillow, and the other hand resting on his chin, as if his thoughts are miles away.  The woman is seated next to him, her bare legs and pubic area visible but not involved; she is leaning against his pelvis with one hand and caressing his erect penis with the other hand. Her eyes are open and she is watching what she is doing, she also has a smile on her face.  The key phrases for this card tell us that The Tower represents the erect and triumphant penis as well as passion and sensuality, but the abilities shown here are inconsistent and possibly offer difficult consequences.  

My Outer Focus card for today is the 9 of Pentacles.  The Decameron 9 of Pentacles shows a naked woman laying on a made bed with her eyes closed and a smile on her face, her arms behind her head and her knees and lower legs off the mattress; beneath her are her multi-colored pieces of clothing (appearing to be harlequin) and a belt.  She is wearing a hat that hides most of her hair, and a mask over her eyes and nose.  She looks quite pleased with herself.  The key phrase associated with this card is: a pleasant surprise and long-lasting situation.

Oh, I get both of these cards perfectly.  The image on The Tower shows a building that has been neglected, and we can imagine that neglect is happening because those responsible for maintaining the structure are off in another world, having fun and not paying attention to what is happening with the building. While there are no sudden calamities presented in this image, it would be just as startling and frightening if the structure suddenly collapsed due to neglect.  In the end, The Tower tells us this very thing: we are neglecting our responsibilities and sooner or later, if we don't consciously balance things out ourselves, there will be a sudden reckoning.  The 9 of Pentacles tells of enjoying the rewards of discipline and focus, and of refinement created by the nurturing of skills to the highest level.  There is pleasure and well-being to be had from that kind of accomplishment but that pleasure could be addictive, blinding us to our current responsibilities.  Discipline as well can be destructive if taken to extremes.  

Bringing myself back to balance after a few days of relaxing of my healthy lifestyle is certainly necessary today.  If I pay attention to the responsibilities that had been put on hold, I will enjoy a well-earned sense of accomplishment and prevent future discomfort.  Okay, then; let's get going.

December 23, 2020: V The Hierophant and the Queen of Pentacles

My Inner Focus card for today is V The Hierophant. This Major Arcana card has a lot of symbolism attached to it, and since the card is connected to the preservation and sharing of religion, culture and traditions of the community, it also has a lot of baggage.  In keeping with Boccaccio's views on people in power, particularly religious leaders, this card image might be a bit disturbing to some, not because of nudity but rather because of what is happening.

The cards shows a man dressed in the garb of a high-ranking priest seated in an ornate chair, his face calm and his eyes either gazing at his lap or closed. Behind him is a tapestry showing the crossed keys of Papal symbolism; another indication that this man is important in the church.  To his left is a large window; his right shoulder is in shadow, almost as if someone else is standing beyond the image.  The priest wears a stole emblazoned with red equal-sided crosses, red shoes decorated with gold equal-sided crosses, a large gold cross on a substantial gold chain around his neck, and a gold and ruby ring on the ring finger of his right hand.  Red shoes have meaning within the Papacy, representing the submission of the Pope to the authority of Jesus, and the blood shed by martyrs (representing the sacrifice they made to Jesus and their willingness to die for their faith).  Before the priest kneels a woman wearing a nun's robe, coif, wimple and veil.  His right hand rests gently on her head, her face is serene, and her gaze is in his lap, as is her left hand.  We don't know for sure, but it certainly appears that she is pleasuring him with her hand.  The key phrases associated with the Decameron Hierophant are: sacredness is not always exempt from sin, power and charisma sometimes corrupts, and act prudently.

My Outer Focus card is the Queen of Pentacles.  This Queen usually represents nurturing, practicality, prosperity, success, independence, and high social status.  Again, we are seeing Boccaccio's scorn for those who see only their own wealth and not the need of those around them.

The Decameron card shows what appears to be several peasants, both men and women, standing in the background and watching as a finely dressed woman and her guard walk by.  The guard walks behind the woman and is wearing a leather vest, a helmet on his head, and he is carrying a large and fearsome pike.  The woman wears a crown, a fine dress trimmed with fir, and a gold necklace; she carries a bag filled with coins.  Her guard, who has his hand over his mouth and is obviously thinking "uh oh, I'm in trouble," has stepped on the train of her dress, causing the dress to rip so much that we can see one of her breasts and her belly, the tops of her thighs, and her pubic hair.  The woman is frantically holding her bag of coins with one hand and trying to grab her torn dress to cover her lower body with the other, and she is not succeeding in either effort.  Coins are spilling from her bag and her dress cannot cover her nakedness because her guard is standing on it.  The key phrase associated with this card is: denial in the name of greed and vanity creates absurdity and the loss of identity.  

Again we have interesting meanings that offer useful messages. To me, all people and most deities are capable of both good and evil.  Being a priest, priestess or other leader of a spiritual or cultural tradition carries with it responsibilities.  One of those responsibilities is to think, speak and act with Perfect Love and Trust, for others are watching and emulating, and depending on the leaders to act within the rules and laws of the accepted faith and to care for all.  Even as a solitary practitioner of Wicca, I have these responsibilities.  I need to be aware of them, and to make certain that each word and each act is offered with the best of intentions.  Being lucky enough to have a roof over my head, food to eat, and winter clothes to keep me warm, does not mean I am above others, and I have no right to act that way.  Today both my thoughts and my deeds need to be beyond reproach.  Even the act of offering charity can be belittling to those I am helping if I present my aid with a superior mindset.  Money does not make anyone superior, and getting caught up in the finery of success, whether in the material world or within my spiritual practice, stains the glow of a healthy Self, and erodes it away.  This does not mean I can't enjoy the pleasure of my senses; it just means that I must do so in Perfect Love and Trust, with Harm to None.

Happy Holidays, however you celebrate.

December 20, 2020: The Empress and The Hermit

Interesting combination of Major Arcana Cards for today, Yule Eve.

My Inner Focus card is III The Empress.  The image on the card shows a jester wearing motley purple and gold sitting on a throne in a strong and majestic room, with a mature and solidly-built Queen, dressed in her finery and wearing a golden crown inset with red, blue and purple gemstones and a golden necklace with a large pendant containing an image of a sheep, sitting on his lap (and I'm assuming, his penis).  Her feel are strongly planted, her skirts are hiked up to her knees, and her hands are resting on her thighs.  Her eyes are open and her lips are parted, and she appears to be enjoying herself.  We don't see too much of the jester; his eyes are wide open as he looks at the Queen over her shoulder, his arms are around her, one arm around her waist holding her bottom firmly against him and one hand on her breast, and his feet are more relaxed, as if she is the dominant one in this image.  The key concept connected to this card is that love and pleasure do not have age limits, however a bit of discretion is good.  

Interesting symbolism here: the sheep is considered a harmless, guileless and innocent animal that represents the natural life that flows into a human's consciousness from Spirit.  Our Decameron Queen is telling us that she is the manifestation of the natural world.  Indeed, on her shoes are equal-sided crosses (representing the four classic elements) contained in a diamond shape which could very well be an octahedron, representing our presence on the plane between Above and Below.  Pairing her with a jester is another interesting symbol.  The jester was seen as being a fool (and there could be a connection here to the symbolism of The Fool of the Majors), however the jester was allowed to make jokes at the expense of very powerful people, usually without suffering consequences.  Indeed, it was often seen as bad taste to punish a jester for his words or deeds.  

My Outer Focus card is IX The Hermit.  Now that right there sounds like a conflict, an "outer" card being represented by an "inner-facing" concept.  The image on this card shows a commonality with The Empress: a jester seated in a chair with his arms around the waist of a woman.  This time, the jester is dressed in more coarse clothing, with a lit lantern on his thigh and a hood and cloak that hint at the garb of a monk. He has a happy smile on his face. The woman is young and curvy, and is standing before him, facing him as he removes her clothing.  We can't see her face but both of her hands are out to her side, the right hand facing upward and the left hand facing downward (similar to the stance of The Magician in traditional Tarot imagery), giving him access to her clothing and her body.  The key phrases associated with this card are: an attractive body distracts even the most staunch ascetic, but don't be deceived by hypocrites and false virtue; deception is present.

The Hermit is traditionally a card that tells of withdrawal and spiritual seeking but in the Decameron Hermit, our monk has his priestly garb pushed back and he is using his lantern to illuminate the body of the wench standing before him as he disrobes her.  Bocacchio is said to believe that many people in power, particularly religious leaders, were somewhat hypocritical in their ethics.  This image does hint at a bit of hypocrisy and its key phrases literally mention both hypocrisy and deception.  

There are a slew of possible messages here.  I'm going to see this as reminding me that while as adults, we are expected to act in a mature fashion on certain occasions.  However, that does not mean we cannot enjoy the pleasures of life, be light-hearted and have fun, and grab hold of sexual pleasure.  If we can balance those things, we will create a kingdom that follows our lead, and ends up happier and filled with joy and well-being.  Attraction is certainly in the eye of the beholder, and we are given two different versions here, but who has the power in either of these scenes, the jesters or the women? We also need to remember that our ethical code gets applied to ourselves as well as others, and we should make certain that we are saying and doing whatever we are saying and doing completely for the right reasons.  We need to be honest with ourselves and be sure there are no ulterior motives hidden behind the happy smile or the groans of pleasure.  Spiritual seeking is very in now, and it is easy to appear legitimate in the eyes of others yet embrace different ethics internally.  However in the end, we know when we look at ourselves in the mirror if we are playing at this, or if truly making the honest effort.