Various Paganism, Tarot, Etc

December Story Time (Part 4 Continued from December 16th)

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The Light Seer’s Tarot Into the Sunset ( The Conclusion)

Indeed, the traveler does end up needing the dragon’s help along his journey, perhaps even more than the little dragon needs his.  She keeps his hopes and spirits high (Queen of Wands) when he feels despair that they will never get free of the woods (Three of Swords), and instead of being dependent upon him, she works with him (Three of Pentacles) to find their way through the dark tangle of foreboding shadows.

As they travel together they discover a vastness to the forest which hides many secrets (The High Priestess) and they discover that although dangerous, it is also a place of exploration and discovery (Three of Wands).

As the traveler becomes more and more comfortable in the forest, and less inclined to leave (Death), he and the dragon become a team, and develop the mastery of survival in among the trees (Eight of Pentacles).

The man discovers he is happy, and no longer feels the longing for the accolades he once craved (Six of Wands).  Instead, he he finds that the companionship of the dragon has created a sense of balance (Justice) and contentment (Ten of Pentacles) in his life.

He has learned that life is better with someone to love in it, and someone to love you in turn.  Solitary life may have its benefits, and may allow for the freedom to strive for certain goals, but when you find someone to share your life with, your outlook changes and so do your goals. (The Hermit)

DECK USED:  LIGHT SEER’S TAROT

 

 

 

#IAmAFortuneTeller (non) VR to Mary-Grace Fahrun

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Okay, so the Pagan Perspective is definitely on a holiday break.  So, I decided to do one of my (non)VRs today in place of a response to their regular videos.

One of my favorite content creators, Mary-Grace Fahrun, did a video on YouTube at the end of November about how she uses tarot and about the stigma behind the use of cartomancy for predictive readings. She included a tag for responses, and I very much enjoyed her video and wanted to do a response.

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Like Mary-Grace, I grew up with cartomancy. In my case it was Lenormand cards, then playing cards, and then tarot. In my experience, Lenormand in particular is all about handing you a roadmap of potholes along your path.

I don’t know where the judgement against predictive readings stemmed from, or why it is so prevalent among modern day readers, but it is very prevalent and highly frowned upon by a large majority of card readers out there.

Somewhere in my teens was when I ran into this issue.  I was told that 3rd party readings and predictive readings are ethically wrong, and for a while I fought against using the cards in that way… but honestly? I gave up on that rather quickly.

Interestingly, I am not as strong at reading the past as I am at reading the present and future.

Intuition is intuition, and that information is going to come through whether I want it to or not. So I had a good look at my own moral compass and values and decided that for me? Both 3rd party and predictive aspects are a part of it, or I don’t read cards… because it just comes naturally. And I sure as hell am not hanging up my decks!!

I honestly do not understand why it is considered taboo or why people look down their noses at readers that do fortune telling (predictive readings, telling the future, etc).  I’ve had people say it’s about clients seeing the predictions as written in stone, or taking away choice, etc.  But the fact is?   That is in the presentation, NOT in the predictive aspect.

Doing predictive readings requires the responsibility and sensitivity to make sure those you read for are aware of the fluidity of the future, and how even just having the reading can have the possibility of changing the results, because knowledge is power.  It requires empowering people, so that they can build the future that they want, and be prepared for what is coming.

Any tarot reader, no matter the type of readings they do, has the ability to take away people’s choices and diminish their power.  Not just during predictive readings.  You are tapping into their needs and wants, desires, fears, and the depths of their psyche.  And that requires sensitivity and respect and a sense of responsibility.

So yes… I am a fortuneteller.  I am not ashamed of that.  It’s how my intuition works and fighting against my intuition or ignoring my intuition’s voice is just… not the path for me.

 

Surprise Divination Activity

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I would like you to follow along and do this one in comments.

Intuition Exercise:   Let’s see how the new year will go. Set a music playlist to shuffle then select the 4th song. Listen to it, and use your intuition to pick up on any messages or imagery that sticks out. What song did you get and how do you think your new year will be based on what you picked up from the song?

Interpretation:  Nostalgic and conflicted. I have a lot of restructuring of methods and practices to do over the New Year. Changing gears is hard and it’s difficult not to fall back on old habits. The lessons I’ve learned over the past year have made it clear I need to change up how I’m doing things, though. It’s just not going to be easy.

This style of divination is called Shufflemancy.

Exercise Source: Discord (Server name withheld due to server rules.)

December Story Time (Part 3 Continued from December 16th)

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Bianco Nero Tarot Upon the Traveler’s Path

The young man was so lost in his thoughts of his childhood (Six of Cups) that he wandered off the path and into a deep wood without realizing that he’d lost his way (Two of Wands).

When he comes to the realization of where he is, he realizes that if he wants to survive this trip, he needs to keep on track (King of Swords) rather than allowing his mind to wander and his feet to take him wherever his nose points.

Using his knowledge of the land, he plots a course to freedom from the dark wood (Three of Wands) that will take him back on course to the adventure he seeks. Unfortunately, as he seeks the path that will take him back to the light of day, what he finds is that instead he ends up wandering deeper and deeper into the woods (High Priestess) until he begins to doubt himself and the way forward.

He wanders for a long time, confused as his thoughts and reason pull at him to go one direction and his intuition pulls him in another (revisiting the connection between the King of Swords and the High Priestess), until he realizes that charging forward and plowing along the path is not the answer (Knight of Wands).

He realizes the only way to break free of the dark wood’s grasp is to tap into the skills he learned as a boy (Eight of Pentacles), and he digs through his robes until he finds the compass he’d forgotten he’d earned as his time apprenticing for the king.

Touching the compass and realizing it’s power, he finds a peace within himself and realizes all is not lost (Temperance). He has all that he needs to accomplish his goal (Nine of Pentacles) of getting free of the dark wood.

Choosing to take a momentary break and camp for the night, he pauses to rest and in the night he dreams of a cougar in the trees watching him, silently stalking and observing as it waits for him to show weakness (Queen of Wands). He awakes with a start to find a delicate winged dragon-like creature curled up against his side purring away as it sleeps. Feeling protective of the tiny creature and paranoid from his dream, he is fearful but vows to defend himself and his companion if needed (Nine of Wands).

(…to be continued)

 

Impact of One’s Path

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So… I think that Pagan Perspective is taking a week off this week, as there’s no new question to work with.   Due to this, I decided to snag a question from one of the pagan/witchy type groups I’m a member of on Discord and use that instead.

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Topic for the Week of 12/16: How has your religion impacted your overall well-being? Has it changed how you see the world and other people?

The first part of this question is immeasurable for me. I get a great sense of peace and overall well being from connecting with nature, and the communion of that practice. It is a part of me at my very core, a part of not just who I am but of my internal makeup and my soul.  Because of that, it’s impossible for me to differentiate myself from that enough to really clearly delineate my path from myself and my well-being.  They are simply too integrated to be able to separate them.

I also can’t really say if my path has changed my outlook on the world or other people, as I’ve been (essentially) on the same path my entire life.  Yes, I transitioned from Wicca to a non-theistic Paganism when I left my parent’s home, but not a lot of my inner beliefs really changed in that shift, as I never really connected with deity in the first place.

What I can say is that the deeper I go into my spirituality, the healthier my emotional and mental health become… which in turn improves my outlook on just about everything.

 

December Story Time (Part 2 Continued from December 9th)

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IMG_1176The Adventure Continues

Still in his youth, our intrepid traveler steps onto the path of adventure, his mind wanders back to his boyhood and the reason he has chosen the path he he now treads upon.

Given as an apprentice at a young age, his time before that was quite tepid and boring (Temperance), and his time since has been filled with hard work (Two of Coins) that took not just inner strength (Strength) but also an openness to work with others and at times allow others the praise and sense of accomplishment that he himself desired (Three of Coins).

As he worked through these tender years, he spent his time dreaming of the accolades he could achieve with his freedom (Six of Wands), and with each dream of these adventures and accolades his secret desires for them grew and grew (High Priestess) until it became a burning need in his heart and his greatest wish (Page of Cups).

And thus he took action to free himself from his apprenticeship in order to move forward and seek out his heart’s desires (Knight of Cups).

(To be continued…)

DECK USED:  DARKNESS OF LIGHT TAROT