Tarot Strategies for Life Change

Tarot, Retrograde Planets, The Four of Swords and More

Earlier I wrote an article about the RWS Tarot card, Four of Swords. 

I talked about the startling resemblance between the card's imagery and a photograph of a the tomb of John the fearless, the second duke of Burgundy. The tomb dates back to the medieval times and shows a sculpture in the likeness of John laying supine on top of the casket with his hands clasped in prayer, just as the figure in the 4 of Swords card.

The article describing the piece explained that John and his wife, Margaret of Bavaria, laying next to him, were both depicted as laying on the tomb with his eyes open--they was awaiting judgment.

In other words, they had left the physical world, but they were in limbo. They hadn't been assigned their new place in the spiritual realm.

Many transitions are like this. We don't just go from one place to another in a smooth motion. Instead the journey stops and starts. And there is frequently a block of time when it appears that little is happening at all. 

But these periods of apparent inactivity or gridlock often means that the action is happening internally or on some level where we are not aware of it. In astrology these periods might be expressed as planets in retrograde motion.

Although the people of Haiti and Chile may disagree, to many, it appears that 2010, to date, has been a time where little has been accomplished. The US Congress has effectively been rendered powerless over its gridlock--despite great effort, it has yet to pass health care reform, for example.

If you are feeling frustrated or stuck, take heed of the caterpillar's journey. It enters the cocoon where, it seems, it is rendered completely inactive. But when it emerges, it will have been transformed into a butterfly.

The early part of the year has been beset by a parade of retrogrades. As each planet returns to direct motion, it will release pent up energy. 

Mars goes direct in less than two weeks.

But for now, we are like the warrior lying in the tomb in the 4 of Swords Tarot card.

Stay tuned.

The Fool, the New Year, and a Fresh Start

So we indulged in that ritual in which we celebrate the throwing out of our calendars, more commonly known as New Year's. 

It is a fresh start. Beginning on January 1st, we begin a new tax year, we go back to zero on our insurance deductibles, and we have an opportunity to begin again.

This January 1 begins a new decade--the reviews of the passing year in news periodicals were intensified by ruminations of a decade that many saw come happily to a close.

This has certainly been a tumultuous time.

This would be a good time to adopt the spirit of the Tarot card, The Fool. He blithely steps out to heed the call to adventure even if he doesn't know where he is headed. 

The truth of the matter, much of life is a journey into the unknown. Perhaps this is why so many rely on all manner of oracles, be they meteorologists to tell us whether to carry an umbrella, stock market gurus, economists, actuaries, you name it.

Travel light and be nimble. We are in for exciting times.

Buddhism and Ruminations Upon Cleaning Out The Storage Unit

Today my project was sorting through the junk that has been sitting in the storage unit. 

When I moved into my current space, it was supposed to be temporary. But temporary turned out to be permanent and the stuff in storage has sat all the while.

I didn't want to sort through old stuff placed willy nilly in the stuffed unit. The years, not to mention changes in dampness and temperature, had taken their toll. 

Records and memorabilia that had great meaning at the time, were no longer relevant. Of course, many items stood the test of time very well. And poring through the treasures brought back all kinds of memories.

I came across some items that were artifacts of my life in corporate America. Records, a favorite mug, a desk clock, a pile of old business cards, hooks for the drop  ceiling that held my hanging spider plants were mute testimony of a chapter long ended.

The list of members of an industry networking group now defunct once held great importance. It is safe to say that the vast majority were names of people who were long gone from the industry, not to mention from their employers. And most of their employers no longer exist--they have either been pushed out or merged into oblivion.

In the end, the Buddhists have it right. The material world is impermanent and ultimately an illusion. It is when we can recognize that the essence of a thing is the meaning that we attach to it, that our perspective widens and that the essence of ourselves is spirit that we are free.

Life change, Pluto, Caregiving

Change is funny. 

I mean the kind of change that occurs when people undergo a mental or an emotional shift. 

People, especially if they are at all like me, do not embrace change easily... regardless of what we say. 

In my experience, deep change, the kind that results in wisdom and compassion... the kind associated with the transits of Pluto, seems to occur when my back is against the wall and I have surrender to the inevitable.

Here is another example was caring for my father in his last days. 

We had shared the same house. Little by little I fell into the role of primary caregiver as he became more frail. I struggled to hold on to the life that I had. But as I took over more and more of the day-to-day and he needed more care and supervision, I had less and less energy and time to devote to my own needs.

Finally I just had to let go. I realized we were at a point that I had to put my focus front and center to caring for him. 

Once I made that decision to surrender, the entire energy shifted. The day-to-day was still very difficult, but we were blessed by a kind of grace. 

As for my father, he fought death, the ultimate change, tooth and nail to the bitter end. But after being in pain, he let go, he relaxed... and crossed over. And as his spirit was released from his body, his pain disappeared along with his infirmities. And he was filled with joy and love.

Opening a Bank Vault and Cleaning out the Garage

It's a funny thing about bank vaults.

Bank vaults open very easily at the right time; the time the bank programs them to give access. With the right combination, the heavy doors open with the push of a finger. Try to do the same thing at 3 am, and you'll need heavy explosives.

Life change is like that.

For months I had been dreading the necessary de-cluttering to reshape my house to serve my needs. The clutter depressed me and made it hard to be productive. Its sheer emotional weight and physical presence seemed insurmountable. 

Finally, I did what people eventually find themselves doing when sufficiently pressured by Pluto. I surrendered. I hired an organizational consultant.

Thus far, the bank vault analogy is working. We cleaned out a garage in 4 hours whose floor hadn't seen the light of day in 40 years. And the Gods were with me in helping me clear out one particularly large and heavy, but no longer useful, item taking up valuable space in the basement. 

A neighbor saw me hauling out an old, ratty mattress and inquired about it. He had just moved in and was sleeping on the floor. I didn't think anyone could want it, but you never know until you put it out for trash. He took it.

I told him about the basement item and asked if he would want it also. He agreed to move it out. By the time we were underway, his brother joined to help. We got it out after removing the door. By then they decided they didn't want it anyway. 

So it sat with the other trash. 

After returning from Thanksgiving dinner I looked out of my window. The item was gone. 

The gods were with me.

Life Change, Job Change, Bank Vaults and Timing

Life change is a funny thing. 

You can feel the necessity to change and then you feel resistance. When the change is large the obstacles can seem insurmountable. 

I remember being in my late 20's working at a job that I hated. It didn't start out that way. For the first few years I worked at the company, the management was enlightened and it was an oasis for a young woman trying to build a career in a predominantly male industry. 

But then, for a variety of reasons, there was a turnover in management and the new management made life very unpleasant. This period coincided with a retrenchment in the industry so few jobs were available. Not having other employable skills at the time, I felt trapped. 

Finally I began to investigate other fields and so began my three month odyssey in real estate sales. That's another story.

In my spiritual development circle, I kept receiving messages that my guides were working on getting me out. It was happening, but not yet down in the Earth plane. Just chill, they said. It will happen for you when the time is right.

Think of a bank vault. When the vault is locked, its heavy doors will keep anyone out that didn't have powerful explosives. But at the time when the vault is programmed to open, you can open its heavy doors with your pinky finger. 

So I whined and waited.

Then one day there was a call from a headhunter. It led to a phone interview, then a face-to-face interview, then a job in another state that was a big step up from the one I had.

And, it, too, ran its course.

De-Cluttering Continued

The Pluto/Saturn Gods smiled as my professional organizer worked with me to clean out the garage.

You couldn't walk from front to back without climbing over things. And there was all kinds of stuff in there. Two old pay phones circa 1980 when my Dad and my younger brother went into a less than successful venture trying to generate some income by installing pay phones in various locations. And then there was old medical equipment that had to have been at least 15 years old. Old school photos of relatives who died before I was born and whose names were not known to me.

Truth be told, I had grown up in that house and the garage was always full.

There were treasures, too. Such as an aluminum cookware set in excellent condition. And then items with some value, but which I didn't need. Those made it to the GoodWill location later that afternoon.

We divided the items into three sections. Section one were the keepers. Section two were the throw away items. And Section 3 was where we put items to be donated. 

The pile of trash bags grew and grew. Finally we had sorted through everything. We moved everything out and, for the first time that I ever remember, the garage was truly empty. 

I felt joyous and light to be free of the burden of all of this stuff.

The metal closet that blocked the garage opening, was moved to the very back. It would have a second life as a storage container for my art supplies. A small number of items lined the side. These were items that would be dragged out on trash pick up day.

But for the first time, the garage could take on its primary function--as a place to park the car.

Scorpio and Clutter Continued

It felt good to sign the contract with my personal organizer. It felt like a big step. Now I could go back and blog and tweet about it while patting myself on the back.

I managed to pick away at some items in time for weekly trash pickup. But nothing substantial. Still every paper that is shredded and every item that makes it out the door is a step in the right direction.

Tomorrow I face reality. My organizer is coming and we are going to attack the garage. To echo my inability to run away, the moon is traveling through no-nonsense Capricorn while the Sun continues its journey through Scorpio. The combination echoes the Saturn/Pluto square now in force.

To be continued.

Why would you seek out an astrologer?

I've often wondered what is it that connects the disparate subjects of astrology, Tarot, palmistry, the world of spirit, etc. Being a medium, for example, is a very different activity and requires a very different skill set than, say, being an astrologer. Yet, in the eyes of much of the public, they are interchangeable.

People seek out metaphysical practitioners to deal with their anxiety about the future. They also seek out economists to deal with their anxiety about upcoming economic conditions and watch the Weather Channel to deal with their anxiety about the upcoming weather (do I need to bring my umbrella today?)

But there is more. While many people come to metaphysical practitioners to ask mundane, but important questions about their careers, financial situations, relationships, etc., the core concern is how to make their life flow in a fulfilling way. Or, in other words, to be comfortable in their skins.

After all, people don't seek out metaphysical practitioners when their lives are going smoothly.

Happy Easter, Happy Spring and the Lawn Guy

Easter celebrates spring, the season of renewal. 

Here in Philadelphia where I live, the landscape has dramatically changed in the past week or two. It seems every day I see new flowers, new blossoms on the trees. 

What a contrast to the dried out winter browns of just a couple weeks ago.

Back in late February I started to get hit up by people looking for work cutting lawns. Cutting the lawn? Ha! Back then thinking of spring and growing grass was the farthest thing from my mind. 

My poor excuse for a garden looked very sad with the skeletons of last summer's blooming plants standing guard. I had planted perennials. I was advised that I should leave a foot or two between plants because they would grow in in subsequent years. Believing that they would seemed more like an act of faith than anything else.

The grass itself looked sad in its scraggly brown. The tree, planted on a windy, bitter November day stood naked in the winter cold. The container plants, the ones I hadn't taken indoors looked scrawny. It was hard to believe that masses of yellow Coreopsis flowers bloomed last July or asters bloomed in September.

But this past Monday, daffodils peeked out on the lawn in front of my accountant's house. And grass had turned a vibrant green, the shade of green one only sees in April when the grass shows its young vital self.

The color, the growth buoys my mood. It shows the perennial nature of cycles. That which lay dormant will arise yet again. Nature is rewarding us for toughing out the winter. And as we all experience times of winter in our souls, we can learn by observing Nature's cycles.

To me, that is the meaning of the spring holidays such as Easter.