Weekly Creativity Prompt – Temperance

Prompt: “Pull the card from your deck(s) that matches the card posted below. Compare the imagery between the card provided below and the card(s) from your own deck(s). How would you read them differently and why?”

Tarot of the Hidden Realm - TemperanceTarot of the Hidden Realm – For me this card’s imagery is all about gentle energy and a great deal of focus. She pours carefully, after all, in order to not spill a drop.  The dragonfly in the lower left corner speaks of change. I would read this card as a need to instill more patience and focus into one’s life, redirecting impatience and chaos into healthier and more peaceful alternatives.

Oriental Fantasy Tarot, Gold Moon Major Arcana, Il Meneghello's Tarocco Musica

Oriental Fantasy Tarot – The imagery in this card is closest to that of a standard RWS deck.  There is a balance between earth and water that speaks of connecting emotions to a grounded energy, creating a stability to the unpredictability of one’s emotions. The star in the sky offers guidance, while the budding tree behind the standing figure speaks of the sweet burst of new life beginning to awaken. The imagery here speaks to me about time, and how growth is not immediate but takes time to accomplish as well as a combination of different factors coming together to create the right environment for things to flourish.

Gold Moon Major Arcana – Here I do not see the “connection” aspect that I see in the Oriental Fantasy Tarot’s imagery. Nor the gentle touch that is seen in the Tarot of the Hidden Realm. Instead what I see is that the figure in the card seeks to connect to the viewer.

In the traditional tarot, as well as in the Hidden Realms deck, the figure connects to both earth and water through their feet, signifying a connection between two realms of experience. Here in this card’s imagery it is purely about moderation, steadiness, and balance as the figure pours water from one urn to another without looking… and, the glance towards the viewer seems to hold expectation, as if to say that the viewer also has the ability to use these traits when necessary.

Il Meneghello’s Tarocco Musica – This card is designed to be a of Monteverdi’s Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, where a knight battles a mysterious foe that he thinks is a known enemy, but who refuses to reveal their identity behind their armor until that foe is defeated and the knight then realizes he’s slain the woman he loves. In this operatic story, the woman is then baptized by her love just before her final breath. Knowing the source of the card and what it represents brings special meaning to this card for me and I would read this card as being a word of caution against assumptions and rash action.

DECK USED: TAROT OF THE HIDDEN REALM, ORIENTAL FANTASY TAROT, GOLD MOON MAJOR ARCANA, IL MENEGHELLO’S TAROCCO MUSICA

Gideon’s Challenge

IMG_9459Spring Visitors

Pure and sweet
and fun to meet
petals part
and splay
a sunny center
greets you gaze
as flowers
come out to play
and with
soft giggles
visitors hide
among verdant
green
lean in and
listen close to
what they have to say

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Gideon’s Challenge

IMG_9522The Longing

Gentle hues
flush skin
to bright shades
of pink
while delicate flesh
stretches pale
and creamy
under
sunlight’s kiss
and I wait
for your lips
to take claim
of what the sun
caresses so sweetly

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Gideon’s Challenge

IMG_0026Beltane

Fresh air swirls
sweet and crisp
over senses
attuned
to the earth’s
awakened voice
as smoke unfurls
and the whisper
of intention rises
to coil upon the air
and spring’s energy
joins the waltz
of magic’s dance
ripe
and ready

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Gideon’s Challenge

IMG_9266Regional Oddities

Mystified
I stare
at something
never seen before
and consider why
this is not
more widespread
and while one
sounds disgusting
the other
holds a temptation
to try
that I walk away from

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Gideon’s Challenge

IMG_9512Early Morning Misery

Cold sweat
beads over skin
flushed red
than washed pale
as flesh
chilled as ice
beads with bumps
and fingertips tingle
while the body
struggles
to cleans itself
from the inside
out
and I can’t breathe

Photo © ZenStatePhotography