Sunday, 13 September 2009

Tarot People #2: The Page of Cups, Reversed. (Emo Kid)

2 comments Posted by Liani at 07:34


What is emo? According to Urban Dictionary, emo means:


Genre of softcore punk music that integrates unenthusiastic melodramatic 17 year olds who dont smile, high pitched overwrought lyrics and inaudible guitar riffs with tight wool sweaters, tighter jeans, itchy scarves (even in the summer), ripped chucks with favorite bands signature, black square rimmed glasses, and ebony greasy unwashed hair that is required to cover at least 3/5ths of the face at an angle.

...sounds like the Page of Cups on a 'reversed' day to me! The Page of Cups even has jet-black hair, which he keeps under a cap because it's so greasy!

For a modern-day Page of Cups in reverse, check out Elmo's tortured teen cousin and you'll get the idea:

 

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Wednesday, 9 September 2009

Tarot Pets #3: Nine of Pentacles on 9/9/9 (Merlin)

4 comments Posted by Liani at 11:47



Much is often made of the bird of prey in the Nine of Pentacles. Some say that it is incongruous that such a refined lady would have a falcon on her fist, trained to kill on command. They then conclude that the card means 'success after the years of patient dedication it takes to get a hunting bird to do as it's told'.

Well, not really. Falconry was a standard, noble pastime for hundreds of years. The fact that Waite and Smith put a hunting bird on a card featuring a noblewoman may not have seemed as weird then as it could now.

Like many things here in the UK at least, there were explicit rules of falconry. For example, you were only permitted to fly the bird that corresponded correctly with your social rank. Kings could have the big guns, like eagles and ger falcons, priests could have sparrowhawks and servants could only have kestrels.

If you were caught flying a bird that was not rightfully yours, you would be stripped naked, tied 'spread-eagled' (this is where the expression comes from), have raw meat tied to your genitals and then have to suffer as the bird you stole ate its fill. (Who THINKS of these punishments...?)

Anyway, in light of this info, I think that, yes, the Nine of Pentacles signifies the rewards of diligent effort... but also the natural prosperity that comes from knowing your RIGHTFUL talents and embracing them consistently, instead of just aspiring to be like someone else.

P.S. the bird here is probably a Merlin, a smallish falcon that was deemed acceptable for ladies of rank. Another possibility is the Peregrine Falcon, but I prefer the magical name of the former :) The red on its head is merely its leather cap, which she would remove with her right hand and her teeth (at least, this is what I once saw a professional falconer do), before sending it off on a mission.

 

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Monday, 7 September 2009

Tarot Cocktails (and competition!) #1: The Queen of Pentacles

2 comments Posted by Liani at 04:19



I wanted to celebrate the start of the cooler season with fruits of the earth. My favourite herb in anything Italian is fresh basil. Follow that with berries for dessert and I'm anyone's...

You know how sometimes you draw two opposing cards and they combine to make the most precious reading, as long as you add intuition? Well, combining basil and berries works in the same way... as long as you add alcohol!

Try this, chilled. I have named it 'The Queen of Pentacles' because it's earthy and bounteous in flavour:

5 fresh basil leaves
1 shot Grand Marnier
1 shot Chambord (or other berry liquor)
3 dashes cranberry juice.
Chopped strawberries.

Trust me!

Blessings,
Liani xo (on holiday in Stratford-upon-Avon!)

PS: This is way too much fun. There have to be other cocktails out there that you can link to tarot cards... Email your recipes to tarotcocktails@gmail.com, along with the card you are naming your cocktail after. The best entries will be published here on the blog and will receive a free 3 card email reading! Get out the blender...

 

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Sunday, 6 September 2009

Card of the Moment #3: Chariot. 'Movement in Stillness'.

0 comments Posted by Liani at 09:44

Bronze chariot, circa 240 BCE. From the reign of Qin Shi Huang, first emperor of China


Illegitimi non carborundum... (Don't let the bastards grind you down)

We all have 'em... people that sap us, hold us back and demean us. Sometimes sticks and stones aren't in the equation and words DO hurt.

You tolerate it for so long, and then the day of the Chariot arrives. You place some distance between yourself and your past tormentors and move off on your own, victorious, to the opposite side of the globe...

Hang on... although the man on the card has succeded in getting across the river, his vehicle is made out of stone, and the magical creatures he has harnessed seem to be taking an extended pause. (Sphinxes do that. It's the reason why modern engine performance is measured in horsepower and not sphinxpower.)

The fastest way forward, through and out is sometimes not to move much at all. Finding something, anything to be grateful for in the present moment is the most effective way of shifting stuck energy.

It's a paradox truly worthy of inclusion in the Major Arcana, that's for sure.





 

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