Monday, April 27, 2015

Moony Mondayness - Strength + Justice = Hope


 


As I was doing a card reading today, I was reminded of something.  In some decks of Tarot cards, such as The Tarot of Delphi pictured above, Justice is number XI or 11.  Other decks occasionally place Justice in the 8th position.  The relevance here would be that if you pick a numerological Life Path card for someone, which helps to determine the Karmic goals that they should focus on in their current lifetime, they might assign them to be either Strength or Justice depending on the deck.  So, how could this affect their path?
My Life Path number is 8.  So most often I am determined to be a combination of Strength and because the numbers add up to 8, I am also considered to have the Karmic qualities of Star, which is the card that represents hope.  If I accept this assignment that would mean that I should help others by being positive and uplifting, fighting to keep my head above slander and/or harmful negative situations, and being tough enough to bounce back when knocked down.
OK, so I am all of these and have been all my life.  If someone were to tell me that I was Justice and Star would that really alter my destiny?  I think not, because if you examine the ideas represented on these cards, you might come to the conclusion that in order to be positive and uplifting to myself and others and bring hope, I would really have to embrace the qualities of Justice and be fair, right?

So, there is a ‘crossover’ here that can be embraced and added in to suggest that, as above, Strength + Justice + Hope!

Remember, if you comment you can go to www.seastartarot.com to claim a free Tarot reading!

Monday, April 20, 2015

Moony Mondayness - Decisions,decisions...


Decisions, decisions, decisions!  What could be more mondayne than all of the decisions we are called to make on a daily basis?  So, I was thinking that the first Monday after the New Moon might be a good time to post something about this subject.  After all, it's a time when we are called to organize the week ahead, and because it's around the New Moon phase, some of us embrace the possibilities of a magickal new beginning, right?  

Sometimes the best way to make the choices that will make the magick happen is to keep it practical. Tie it into your mundane needs and activities, in order to focus on what you really need, and empower your desires.  O.K., so how do we do that?

Look at the cards pictured above.  The first card, Two of Swords, is a painting called The Tragic Poetess, c.1890 by, Lord Frederic Leighton.  She looks tragic, no? But is she?  Could she instead be faced with a challenge and contemplating what her decision might be? She has a bucket of scrolls next to her (choices), the rolling sea behind her, and some dark clouds gathering overhead.  She seems to be pondering her choices. 

This picture connotes how the intellect and the emotions are often tangled.  The character in the picture thinks she knows what she should do, but isn't sure that she really wants to do it.  But as a contemplative poet she is skilled about how to use this 'tangle', having gained an understanding of how emotion affects intellect.  She knows that doing this can be more important than trying to separate the two. How often have you heard, "Think with your head, not with your heart!"  But I'm here to challenge that idea by presenting to you that sometimes it's O.K. and even desirable to use both head and heart together!  

By learning to be sensitive, intuitive, and connected we stand to gain a whole lot more than by constantly trying to only take the cold, hard, logical approach to everything.  Sometimes, we must use our imaginations, learn to be creative and try to be brave, by speaking to what we believe in and what we think is right.  Doing this allows your desires and what you value to be released into the Universal flow, so that the powers that be can offer you possibilities for solutions.  By shaking that creative web in this way you may gain more than you ever thought you could! 

A great example of this is is the character on the next picture - The Enchantress of Wands.  This is a painting of Athenais done in 1908, by John Williams Godward, (both pictures are from the Tarot of Delphi, by Janet Hinkel and presented here with her loving and gracious permission).

Athenais was put into a very bad ( or so she thought at the time) position, after being denied any inheritance from her family's estate.  She was suddenly impoverished and certainly did not want to face a life of destitution.  So, she stepped up bravely, and used her plucky and assertive nature to seek justice in the empirical court.  Not only was she heard, but she so impressed the young emperor that they wed!  She was renamed Aelia Eudocia and the now affluent empress proved herself to be an astute politician and a social strategist.  She used her influence for philanthropic projects, especially education for women, this being so essential to her own success.  She was also a poet in the Classical style.  

Both of these women used their imaginations to create what they wanted for their lives.  Our contemplative poet wanted to help impart better understanding of the meaning of life and our Classical poet, Athenais wanted a better life, but not only for herself.  She wanted to improve the general lives of her society and especially woman.  Could she have done either of those things if she hadn't creatively stood up for basic social justice, or what she believed in?  I think not! 

What do you think?  Leave me a comment about how you think blending intellect with emotion could affect and or improve reality.  I will give a free Tarot reading to anyone who is brave enough to tell me what you think! 

Leave your comment and then go to www.seastartarot.com Special Offers page for your free reading!

Monday, April 13, 2015

Moony Mondayness-Banishing Unwanted Energies

Blessings Everyone!

The 'Supermoon' that occurred on the 4th is waning. Full Moons are both beautiful and powerful energies, but is a waning Moon something we should connect to?  Absolutely!
Wait a minute.  Why would you want to connect to something that's disappearing?  

The waning Moon is the time to connect to banishing unwanted energies.  Think about something you really want gone from your life; Is someone or something annoying you?  Has an illness got you down?  Do you need to banish money problems, pain, doubt, fear?  

Are you getting the idea?  Good!  Think about something you want gone from your life.  Take a piece of paper and your favorite writing implement.  Now write down on this paper what exactly you want to be rid of.  Fold the paper away from you 4 times.  Your intent should be to visualize that as the moon wanes the problem will go away.

Now that you've visualized your world without this annoyance, you can do one of a few things with the paper.  
1.  You can take it to someplace safe for burning, light it and focus on seeing your problem burn away.  
2.  You can bury the paper and see your problem deteriorating and the negative energy being recycled by Mother Earth into something worthwhile.
3.  Last but not least, you can release your paper into a stream of water and watch it float away from you.
After the paper is gone from your site, take a few deep breaths and picture your world as it will be without this irritating energy.  How does that feel?
I hope you enjoyed this post.  Please feel free to leave a comment or ask a question!
Namaste'
Sharon

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Tarot Fans, Happy Sunday & Happy Easter

“Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow.”  


Wonderful insight and stimulation to help us remember that sometimes it's baby steps and small efforts everyday that get us where we want to go!


Namaste'

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Strength

Life can be raw, animalistic and thorny for the "King of the Jungle." But he looks out with peaceful eyes. He has learned that he must work between the worlds in order to connect to the spiritual realm for guidance and strength. This helps him embrace the need for this raw power and use it to empower his life to the fullest. Thus, for him reconciling the need for the wake of carnage and calamity to other species on his jungle path in order for him just to eat. By eating and staying strong enough to deal with this part of his ugly and thorny existence, he is able to achieve his ultimate goals on his Earthly incarnation plain. His message to us? Learn how to achieve and maintain focus and inner peace in order to cope with the raw and thorny lessons on the Earth plain.
Picture from The Wild Unknown Tarot




Thursday, March 12, 2015

Sharpen Your Focus!

The Art of Focus

On Sea Star Tarot I call out to you to let me “Sharpen Your Focus!”    Well, Sharon you say, just what does that mean?  Are you going to fix my spectacles?  Do I need to buy a telescope or a pair of binoculars?  How can YOU help ME sharpen my focus?

I can guide you safely through your issues and troubled waters!  Stay with me a moment while I explain.  When we arise to face what the day will bring, we work on creating and or following a predesignated agenda.  I’m a list maker.  I jot down, throughout my day, all of those things that require more study, some sort of activity, attention, etc.  Then each evening, before I allow myself to relax, I review my list.  If I've managed to check off more than I’ve added, I give myself a pat on the back.   By doing this I ‘sharpen’ my own focus regarding what needs to be done and keep track of my accomplishments.  How many of you write down what you need to do tomorrow and try to stick to it?  This can be a very helpful tool.

But why would you need to consult a Tarot Reader like myself for this?  As simply stated by my business coach, Jenna Matlin, from Queen of Wands Tarot (www.queenofwandstarot.net):

“Our lives are grounded in hard focus; on the road, on our phones, at our emails, etc. The beam of concentration is sharp, but pinpoint small.”

Jenna then goes on to talk about something called soft focus.  She defines soft focus as follows:

“Soft focus is blurry with a wide field of view…”

Okay, so how can blurring my focus sharpen it?  Is this not an oxymoron?  Not necessarily.  A good many of us rarely engage in the activity of soft focus.  We tend to be very “left-brained”, analytical, and critical.  We expect to find the reference to whatever we need advice on in a very logical way.  We strive for efficiency.  Proactivity is the name of the game.  “Get the dictionary, look it up in Wikipedia, search the web for that answer and don’t waste time!”  Does that feel or sound familiar?

What do you think would happen if, when you have a problem to solve, you just take a minute to relax, take some deep breathes, blur your eyes a bit and open to what the creative forces of the Universe might offer?  Or how many of you have you ever done this; just pushed away from a problem and went on to do something else, when suddenly you have an “Ah Ha!” moment and the answers come rushing in?

Sometimes when we arrest our’ hard’ concentration, we actually are able to adjust the sites on our scopes and actually sharpen our focus, which then helps us to connect to the solutions for those elusive problems.
However, if you are so caught up in a crisis and/or even just everyday life challenges that you can't see the forest for the trees, getting a Tarot reading from a legitimate and experienced reader can help you get your act together, ward off “burn-out” and you move forward.  As tarot readers, we are trained in how to do soft focus.  We learn how to quietly move through the forest of our client’s anxieties and let the incoming information we get infuse our minds past the line of fear or the obvious into something deeper.  From this place we can then ‘divine’ the suggestions that the Universe offers up for solutions to the problems and share them with you with our interpretation of the cards and a summary of their meaning, making suggestions to help you grasp what you might do about a given situation.  You must keep in mind, however, that nothing is ever set in stone and as a ‘freewill’ entity you always have the right and need to make your own choices.

I hope you found this information about sharpening your focus helpful and if you think you might benefit from a reading with me, come and check me out at www.seastartarot.com!

Namaste’


Sharon

Monday, March 9, 2015

Good Monday Friends & Tarot Enthusiasts!


Good Day Everyone! In an attempt to take the Mondayness out of your day an send some Florida sunshine your way, I created a little collage. It's a picture story of my Sunday. I sold a couple of Charm Bags, passed out a fair amount of business cards and gave 3 readings. Not a gangbuster busy day, but a very pleasant one full of peace and acceptance... The day was lovely with temps in the upper 70's and lots of sunshine, so since the Craft Fair ended early, my husband and our good friend contrived to reward me for all of my hard work with a bit of sightseeing and an impromptu sail for a bit down the ICW. What a treat! The Nina and the Pinta had come to town. We couldn't be satisfied with a brief land view, so we got up close and personal with the boat! Abundant Blessings to everyone! ~ Sharon Merlier wink emoticon