Tarot of the Week - Hanged Man

Been feeling caught up in a mess of tiny little details?  Relax!  It's annoying, I know, but it's all just a sign from the Universe to slow down, step back, and look at things from a different perspective.  Can't seem to get the shadows on that new painting of yours “just right”? Try turning the canvas upside down.  No matter what has you caught up in one of life's snags, look at it from a different angle, mull things over and allow the answers to bubble up from your subconscious.  It will come, it's just taking it's sweet time, your job is to relax and enjoy the wait.

Lust For Life Is More Than A Song

Before we get to the meat of today's card, let's first look at it from the position of Astrology, Kabbalah, and Numerology.


Venus in Leo – Creative development of passion leads to enjoyment and satisfaction

Zodiac:Leo

Element: Fire

Number: 11 as the perfect combination of 1 and 2 (the cross sum of 11 is 2)

Tree of Life: The connection between Chesed and Geburah*

*Chesed: Condensation, the power of growth and stability. Geburah: Movement and changing, the power of destruction

If you ask me, Aleister Crowley had it right when he redesigned the Lust card. Other incarnations, the Rider-Waite deck in particular, call this card “Strength” and depict its meaning with the image of a woman peacefully prying open the mouth of a lion. Regardless of the imagery, the message remains the same, meet life head on but be aware of the consequences.

Here we see a nude woman, reclining upon the back of a seven-headed lion, wielding the ace of cups in her outstretched palm. Her expression is one of languorous repose, yet even in this seemingly relaxed state she still commands the beast beneath her. In the most basic of terms, the lion represents man, and man's insatiable craving for the red meat of action. And the woman?  Well that's a little more straight-forward, she represents the passion and creativity of the feminine Archetype. Put the two together and you're bound to create sparks. There's a lot of chemistry present in this card, evident by the wielding of the ace of cups, which is depicted here as the inverted astrological symbol of Leo, stylized as an egg-nurturing womb. Quite simply, it's the Lust for life which yields new, invigorating experiences, it's necessary to personal development. But let's look at a couple of symbols in closer detail.

Seven-Headed Lion – According to Aleister Crowley, these seven heads represent the archetypes of the Angel, the Saint, the Poet, the Bacchanalian Woman, the Warrior, the Satyr, and the Lion-Serpent seen upon the tail. Seven is significant here, not just from a numerology standpoint, but also because of the seven chakras – the powerful spiritual centers we carry. Some claim these seven heads represent the forms of Sins we must face from one day to the next. In truth, these archetypes are a part of all of us, their various facets make up our personality and our psyche, they should be experienced, examined, and then integrated as part of our path of personal development. In short, the lion is the beast within ourselves which we all struggle to understand. Not something to be shut out or suppressed, but definitely something to enjoy as part of the life experience.

The Lusty Lady – Some folks have called this gal the Whore of Babylon, even going so far as to say the lion she rides is the ten-horned beast, as if this card is something to condemn. I don't think that's all together fair, or even accurate. Besides, we see this naked lass again in the deck, and we positively celebrate her passions when we see her depicted as the Princess of Wands, so why not afford her the same respect when we see her here again, doing what she loves the most- living life to the fullest and encouraging others to do the same.

What's this mean from a personal growth perspective? In one word: Balance. Okay, okay, you caught me, all the cards are about balance in one way or another. This card in particular stresses the importance of striking a balance between chasing after your desires and succumbing to them completely. It's important to experience life to the fullest, to truly live it, and be present in the moment. What's the point of having a string of thrilling adventures if you can't remember them, or simply fail to grow as a result? Likewise, can you really say you've lived if you spend all your time against the wall, observing the passage of life? At the end of the day, you decide what's best for you, you tame your own inner animal, and you use a degree of Lust to make it happen.  

You Don't Need To Be An Astronaut To Experience A Moon Landing

“And if the dam breaks open many years too soon
And if there is no room upon the hill
And if your head explodes with dark forebodings too
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon. “
Pink Floyd

By now you should be noticing a trend: every single card in the Tarot speaks of some aspect of personal growth and the human condition. If all of us moved in a linear fashion, at the same pace as our peers, we might experience smoother transitions, but man alive we'd be bored to tears.

Life doesn't move in straight lines, it's unnatural, and the forcing of logic and reason upon our inherently cyclical world is a result of mankind's desire to exert some dominion over the mysterious workings of Nature.

No one ever said us humans aren't an arrogant lot. Try as we might, however, this tendency of ours to categorize everything and tie everything up with neat little bows will never make these rotations cease.

After all, how many times have you heard it said that a person will repeat patterns until they've learned the lesson?

We'll continue to date morons until we understand why we're drawn to dolts; we'll continue to take dead-end jobs until we understand why we're compelled to work for the sake of working; we'll continue having the same argument over and over until we realize why we feel compelled sway the mind trapped within a thick skull.

Perhaps if we focused our intent inwardly, rather than outwardly, we'll experience the change we seek.

Within the Tarot, the Moon signifies choice and authenticity. Of all the cards in the deck, it is this one which is referred to as “the karma card”, and in this case karma means “work that needs to be done.” What is this work? Ultimately it is making the all important choice between living authentically, or supporting our false persona or dutiful self.

Is this saying you should go out and just start making decisions all willy nilly because they somehow speak to the needs of your inner child?

Not if those choices ultimately lead to negative consequences. Essentially, the Moon is telling us to take the time to know ourselves better; know what makes us tick, know why we react the way we do to certain stimulus, and possibly find more adaptive and healthier ways of expressing ourselves as a result.

Through self-knowledge we are better capable of making the choice to:

• create a new reality
• maintain the status of our current reality
• release and let go of realities that no longer serve us.

Looking at the card you'll notice the twin Ra kings standing guard at the gates. These Ra kings are sun gods who protect our life force and energy as we change and reclaim our authentic selves. The jackals (symbolizing the Egyptian diety Anubis) are reminders that we must let go of the old in order to pass through the gates and experience something new. While at the bottom of the card we can see a scarab (representing the Egyptian God of Transformations, Kephri) pushing a small version of the sun over the horizon. This homage to the rising sun is symbolic of the renewal of life and the idea of eternal existence.

I've mentioned before, albeit briefly, the Moon represents the universal feminine principle . The ever-changing phases of the Moon and its magnetic pull upon the waters of the earth are representative of our own constantly shifting thoughts and emotions. Being made up of mostly water, we cannot help but feel the tug of the Moon's influence as it transitions from new to full every twenty-eight days. Its magnetic force upon the waters of the earth stands as a reminder to be receptive to the expression of our full nature. Whether we are male or female, the reclamation of our authentic self requires we are open, and introspective, as we work towards revealing ourselves without self-censorship or holding back in any way.

Finally, the Moon is also a symbol of romance. Reminding us that in romantic involvements we see our potential dreams; yet, we're also challenged to remain true to ourselves rather than pretend to be someone we are not. The romantic state can be one of inspiration, or illusion and deception, and the Moon reminds us that we can either reveal, or conceal, our true selves.

If you would like to know what other messages are in the cards for you, please visit my website .

When In Need Of Comfort, The Empress Suggests Rice Pudding

Once upon a time, a naïve young man set out on a great adventure, unbridled by a fear of the unknown and excited about what lay around the next bend. In spite of his excitement, many called him a Fool for setting out with little food, less money, and no map or destination in mind. His road was rough and rocky, but each new experience was met with curiosity and enthusiasm for Life's many mysteries. Our adventurer did not stay alone for long, along the path our hero encountered a traveling circus and decided to take in a magic show. That juggler sure could juggle, and that silver tongue of his moved just as fast! You know what they say about a fool and his money being soon parted? Just the same the experience proved beneficial, our hero received a valuable lesson and was the better for it. Now equipped with a cautious mind for potential dangers, but still fearless about what may come next, our hero soon crossed paths with a mysterious woman. Rather than taking offense at being met with such caution, this Priestess was thrilled to see our hero relying on his intuition, and rewarded him with directions to the castle where he could meet the Empress. Weary from his journey, penniless from his encounter with the Magician, and dirty from sleeping on the floor of the Priestess' cave, our adventuring fool collapsed at the gate of the castle and soon after found himself nursed back to health by the Empress herself...

There's a beginning, middle and an end to the story of the Major Arcana, and I will gladly tell it in full at a later date, for now I want to focus on the gentle woman who nursed the Fool in his time of need. The Empress is the image of the quintessential woman. She is the embodiment of the maternal archetype, bathed by the magnetic and feminine energy of the Moon. Within the realm of Mythology and psychology she is more commonly called The Earth Mother, Demeter, Venus, the Anima, as well as yin energy. She holds in her hand a lotus blossom, to remind us of the importance of approaching life from a place of love and wisdom. Her arm is curved in a way to suggest she is ready to give and receive love in equal measure, from a place of comfort and trust. At her feet you'll find a swan surrounded by its nursing young, and a shield depicting a double phoenix. Both the swan and phoenix are symbols of transformation (from ugly duckling to beautiful swan, the phoenix finding rebirth through flames), and are used here to demonstrate the sort of internal and external transformation the Empress nurtures with her wise and loving embrace. She brings a message of balance and harmony, stressing the importance of taking care of ourselves and being cautious to not over-give or become pushy when there's something we want. Whenever we have an emotional involvement in something, it's natural to want to focus a great deal of love and attention on that task and can easily overlook our own needs, or push too hard to eek out progress at an unnatural pace. Which is why the Empress tries to teach us the value of balancing Love and Wisdom.

What's this mean in a practical sense? I'm a novice in the sphere of blogs (a lot like the Fool I mentioned earlier, and more on him in later articles), but not when it comes to Tarot and a host of other talents. Over the years I've wracked up a series of successes, the majority of which have been relatively effortless. Is this to say that I find this step into blogging, and the expansion of my Tarot reading to a global market, to be unsuccessful? Not in the least! In fact, it's going very well, I'm seeing measurable success and it's exciting, I just want to reach out to more people, faster. I know it's unrealistic to think I'm going to have a global following overnight, but I like to shoot for the moon so I can at least wind up among the stars. Because the results aren't manifesting nearly as quickly as I would like, the appearance of the Empress as today's card is important as a reinforcement for what I know in the back of my mind: success will come through patience and loving effort, but not from pushing too hard or becoming exhausted by pooling all efforts in one direction.

What can you do when the Universe is telling you to slow down, but still you're anxious to see some results? Put a little bit of the Empress' wisdom and nurturing ways to work, and try your hand at my rice pudding recipe. In less than an hour you can have a sweet bowl of measurable progress and renewed faith in your abilities to make good things happen.

Rachel's Rice Pudding – yields several servings of tasty goodness in about 30 minutes.

3 Cups Milk

2 Cups Water

1 Cup white rice (not instant)

¼ - ½ Cup sugar (to taste, and honey can be used as well)

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine milk, water, clove and rice in a medium saucepan and stir over medium-low heat. Stir constantly and stir slowly. Use this time to catch up with someone you love and tell each other jokes, and somewhere in the next 15 minutes you'll notice the liquid starting to warm up. Enjoy the warmth of the steam tickling your wrist, this is an hint of the soul-warming to come when you taste the first spoonful of finished pudding. Make sure to take deep breaths of the clove scented milk too, isn't that wonderful? Once the liquid begins to simmer, you've got another 15 to 20 minutes before it's ready, and this is really based on your preference. If you like your rice to have a little bit of tooth to it, stir for 15 minutes, if you like it softer and creamier, shoot for 20 minutes. If you get to the fifteen minute mark and its thickening up quickly, but you want the rice a bit softer, splash in another ¼ cup of milk and go back to that slow, relaxing stirring. When you've reached your desired consistency, add in the sugar, vanilla and cinnamon and give it another two minutes over this medium-low heat. Serve warm.

After trying this recipe, please let me know how it turned out for you, and if you happen to hear an especially funny joke (or horridly bad pun) while cooking the pudding, please share that too! For those of you who would like to take advantage of my limited time offer of readings for $20.00, please visit my website.

You're a Shining Star, No Matter Who You Are

"Self confidence is the key to the universe." -Carrol Wrackley

The key to the universe. Imagine the ramifications of that comment for just a moment. With confidence, limitless possibilities of personal achievement become available. Those things once thought beyond reach become more than the stuff of dreams. Even better, this tapping into unlimited potential is not an impossible task. Oh, it can seem daunting if you don't know the steps towards gaining confidence. Then there's the ever-looming threat of becoming overly confident to the point of arrogance, which seems to be more heinous than low-confidence in the minds of many people. Maybe the real setback is not the tools and steps necessary for building confidence, but the unlimited possibilities of options available once confidence has been established. Having several options and avenues available is much better than none at all.

Several cards within the Tarot speak of the importance of self-confidence, but none quite so clearly as the Star. The imagery alone speaks of being a conduit for divine influence and then manifesting this divine persuasion in our daily lives. Ponder the relaxed posture of the woman as she tilts her cup of divine light in her right hand, lets it flow through her body then releases it through the cup in her left hand. So confident is she in her connection to the divine that she doesn't even need to look at the cup in her left hand to ensure that this light is reaching its destination. Even as she balances lightly upon the crystallization (translation: manifestation) of her achievement, she looks relaxed, but not the least bit arrogant. Demonstrating the lesson that even as we gain confidence, we must also ensure we do not delve into the realm of false confidence, over-confidence, or snobbery; it's a delicate balancing act which takes practice.

So how does one go about gaining self-confidence? The consensus suggests taking minor risks and reaping the benefits of those small risks turning into small successes, others say daily affirmations are the trick to improving self-esteem, and still others insist there is no quick and easy fix because an individual needs to create a structured road map to navigate from the point A of low confidence to the point B of self-assurance. This last option sounds more like a confidence crusher rather than a confidence builder, but then I've never been one to sit idly by and accept that there's only one way to tackle an issue. Personally, I think if the idea of making positive, lasting changes is daunting in your waking life, you should sleep on it. Literally. I'm serious, put your subconscious mind to work for five minutes a day and you will notice the benefits in just one month. If that won't boost your confidence... well, I'm not about to be a Negative Nelly. Because in all honesty, putting your subconscious to work will not only improve your motivation, and emotional intelligence, but also increase your level of happiness. The perfect recipe for building self-esteem, right?

My friends, I now reveal to you the three step (five minute) process of improving confidence subconsciously.

Step One: Before bed each night, take a minute to make a request of your subconscious. My advice is to start small and make it open ended. Asking your subconscious to reveal ways for you to become a Hollywood mogul might be a little bit ambitious at this stage. I have a lot of great things to say about the power of the subconscious mind, but “miracle worker” is not one of them.

Step Two: Take two minutes to visualize yourself actually able to do this thing. Whether it's getting the motivation to eat healthier, or volunteer more often, you must visualize yourself doing the request you've asked of your subconscious. For the sake of argument, let's say you've decided to ask your subconscious for assistance with selecting a healthier diet. Now visualize yourself preparing food, eating and enjoying that food. Don't do this halfway, really visualize the taste, smells, and texture of food. Yum!

Step Three: Take these last two minutes to visualize how you will feel when you actually accomplish this goal. How do you feel when you taste and digest this meal? Energized? Satisfied? Full? Less sluggish? Whatever it is you want to achieve, imagine that you already have accomplished this goal and let that emotion sink in. Then, go to sleep and let your subconscious to the rest of the work.

Trust in your subconscious' vast resources and allow it to do its thing, its goal is to improve your life. Will you see results overnight? Probably not, but that's because some level of action is required from you. You might not leap right into a healthy dining routine, but keep visualizing this change and start making baby-steps as the weeks progress. Then, about two weeks into your visualization routine, just go for it. By that time you should have established enough emotional support behind your goal that the transition is almost effortless. By creating emotional momentum you also create motivation to see your goals through to successful completion. Successful completion of goals builds self-confidence. Greater self-confidence builds motivation to attain larger goals, and the cycle goes on and on.

Consider this your homework. Establish a goal for yourself and use subconscious techniques to create emotional momentum, then report back to me with your discoveries.

If you would like to book a reading with me, please visit my website.