Marseille and the Devil on April Fool's Day

Today is the first day of April, also known widely as April Fool's Day. Many years ago when I was a kid, I used to thoroughly enjoy playing tricks on people (to be honest, my antics weren't relegated to one day per year, but it's nice to have a day dedicated to trickery!). I remember once when I pretended to have a lengthy conversation with my friend on the telephone (back when landlines were a thing), discussing all sorts of outlandish topics much to my older sister's entertainment and surprise....until the phone actually rang and my ruse was up. My sister was certainly my preferred target (insert devil emoticon).

While I left pranks behind long ago, I ended up giving birth to a new generation of trickster: my daughter Lourdes. She so embodies the energy of "playful naughtiness" that we dubbed her the "Devil," and her favorite depiction in the Tarot is from the Deviant Moon by Patrick Valenza:

This Devil not only features her famous grin, but he is doing her hallmark prance as well. And though I didn't witness it myself, I'm pretty certain that this is how she looked this morning as she was creeping around the house setting up various traps for us to fall into!

This was slipped under my door this morning:

To be fair, last night Lourdes consulted me about the best way to create fake poo: peanut butter and Hershey's syrup, she asked? No, I said - use cocoa powder instead of syrup - less drippy. So I suppose in some way I'm complicit. And my cards seem to agree:

Claude Burdel 1751 Tarot de Marseille 

I recently delved into the world of Marseille (I'm just so completely rapturous about the beauty of these cards!) and am still figuring out how I want to approach reading them. Some people apply RWS meanings to the minor cards, others take a more cartomantic approach, and still others absorb the shapes, colors, and movement in the illustrations and allow that to inform their readings. The funny thing is, all reading styles seem to reach similar conclusions with this trio:

In RWS, the 6 of Wands is about success and recognition, and the 6 of Cups is about childhood, memory, reminiscing, innocent joy. So in that sense I see myself (as the Queen of Cups) remembering my own prankster days (6 of Cups), and supporting my daughter in her endeavors (also 6 of Cups), giving her helpful advice so that her work is a success (6 of Wands) and is appreciated by everyone (also 6 of Wands).

According to Yoav Ben Dov's Marseille meanings, the 6 of Wands represents an alliance of two people working toward perhaps different end-goals, but who share a common interest (very true), and the 6 of Cups not only also relates to a personal alliance, but more importantly "repetition between different generations in the family." Hm. Yep!

This morning I stumbled into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee, and as I went to the sink to fill the carafe, I was showered in water from the sink sprayer, which had been rigged into the "on" position with rubber bands. I'm pretty sure I shrieked in surprise and with the sudden coldness seeping through my shirt. In that light, this arrangement of cards took on a very literal meaning: those six cups are dousing the Queen as she approaches them with her coffee pot, and the 6 of Wands now looks like a great big "X" warning me to beware.

So there you have it!

Goddesses of Empowerment

It is a time of many decks.

I don’t remember ever before being in the position to juggle (in the best sense possible) so many different manifestations of Tarot. Just in the last few months I’ve acquired – either through gift or purchase – the Cosmos Tarot and Oracle, the Dark Goddess Tarot, the Ancestral Path Tarot, the Fountain Tarot, the Tarot of the Holy Light, the Wild Unknown Tarot, and the Steampunk Tarot. Needless to say, I’ve got options. Not that I didn’t before – I haven’t counted lately, but prior to this new lot I had somewhere around 50 or 60 Tarot decks to choose from (not counting oracles). The difference is that I love every single one of these new acquisitions. There is not one that is underwhelming, or “not my style,” or just “nice.” There are no qualifications when I say that they are all wonderful. They all have a unique voice; they all draw me in and excite me with what they might show, and how they might show it.

This, of course, is a fantastic conundrum to be in (that of “which deck to use now?”), and I’ve thought several times recently that I could lose my entire collection, save these, and be quite fulfilled (well, I wouldn’t like to lose the New Orleans Voodoo, or my Thoth..! But you get the idea).

So over the past several weeks I have often found myself using one or two one day, and then switching it up the next. This way I am tasting them all, feeling them out in fairly regular intervals.

So it was that last night I decided to pull a card from the Ancestral Path Tarot – the Hermit – and immediately felt the relief of that simple reflection wash over me. In fact I had just leapt onto my bed for a much-needed (albeit brief) moment of alone time amidst what had been a busy-but-lovely Sunday. I drew the Hermit in the moment I was most aware of my need to embody that quiet, solitary energy.

This morning I decided to draw a guidance card from the Dark Goddess Tarot (this is such a rich, profound, wise, and moving set of cards) and I drew the Magician – Isis. This is my soul card (in terms of Tarot Birth Cards) and also one I’d drawn over the past several months as I moved through the change from my previous teaching position into one of departmental management. It all fit; it was as if the universe was saying: “This is you, it’s your time, you got this.” And here it was again.

I closed the previous week with an important meeting at which I provided a pile of evidence in support of a change that I knew needed to happen. I wasn’t sure what the outcome would be, but in the end the upper management team agreed with me and approved the change. I was walking on air (appropriate for the Magician!). I felt that I’d accomplished something that was as monumental as it was simple, and I was elated to have been able to pull it off. Today I will be sitting in another meeting where I will be explaining this change, and later this week I’ll be doing it yet again, so Isis was very welcome encouragement.  The guidebook for this deck reads:

“See what needs changing and step up to change it. Because you can. Energy is flowing through and around you now, available for you to shape and direct.”

It gave me shivers to read that. One thing that has been most satisfying for me as I walk this new path has been the ability to make positive change where I have seen the need for it for so long – change that benefits the faculty, the students, the program, and the school overall. It is extremely empowering, and there is a breath of liberation within that experience that I have not felt before quite in the same way.

I took a look at the bottom of the deck, and smiled at Baba Yaga, the Hermit, flying through the air in her mortar. It was a gentle reminder that I am still in Hermit-space, and that much of the work I’m able to do now has come from all of the time I’ve spent alone, gathering data, investigating, testing out my theories and making new discoveries. It’s funny because as I thought about my Hermit tendencies in relation to the workplace I recalled how I often call my office “the cave,” and when an instructor wishes to talk in private I often say, “Let’s do it, come into my cave!” The irony, of course, is that my office has no roof, and only three walls. The fourth wall is also a sliding door made entirely of transparent glass, which means that I’ve got a fish-bowl thing going on. Still, there is something to be said for boundaries, and these walls at least give me a designated space in which to sit alone, and a door that, while clear, can still be closed.

On the top of the deck I found Epona, embodying the 6 of Fire. When I made this rather large change last week I was nervous about what the global reaction would be. Would my team understand? A few that knew about it were supportive. I was very confident that they would all feel the same way after I presented the evidence, and yet I still battled some anxiety. Would a partner department be on board with it? It turns out that they are just as happy about it as I am, which was both a surprise and a tremendous relief. The 6 of Fire is not just “success” (though it is that, too). In the Dark Goddess Tarot it is about transformative work that comes about through caring leadership and working as part of a team. This is how I see myself – not as a boss, but as a leader, and honoring the role, value, and strengths of each member of my team is of utmost importance to me.  The guidebook reads:

“Sometimes it takes a herd. And a herd needs a strong, sensitive, balanced leader. Especially when the herd is not of docile sheep but swift, spirited horses.”

My “herd” (I’m not sure they’d appreciate that title, ha!) is most definitely the spirited type, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Accept the accolades, take in the blessings, and store that sunshine. Let it give you strength as you go forward.”

Experiences teach what instruction cannot. Often it is in the doing that the deepest learning takes place. I’m certainly “doing” these days. I don’t have a mold to fill, and every day presents new opportunities for growth and expansion. I will store this sunshine as I continue to walk my nebulous path that materializes with each step I take; and I am grateful.

6 of Wands: A Pat on the Back

I pulled a daily card today to ask what I might expect for my day ahead, and I pulled the 6 of Wands. This was a highly encouraging card to receive on a day when I was slated to have my annual review! I didn't have any real concerns that anything unpleasant might occur, nonetheless it was fitting and very welcome.

Golden Tarot - Kat Black

The 6 of Wands is a very fortunate card when it comes to career recognition, and in the context of an annual review would bode well for a positive outcome and even a salary increase. You can think of this card as a Tarot pat-on-the-back for handling your business in all the right ways.

So I went on with my scheduled meeting, and it was great. My program chair was very happy with me, and called me a "super star" - so it doesn't get much more 6 of Wandsy than that!  Given the double load I'm managing this week, in combination with the fact that I still haven't entirely recuperated from my Blood Moon gazing, I'm grateful for this metaphorical sunshine!

The Tarot Told Me So

I do casual readings often, for myself or for my loved ones, on many evenings during my "down time." The other night I decided to do a short reading on whether or not I could look forward to a promotion in my "day job" any time soon.  To give some back story, I have a great teaching position, the work is interesting, I enjoy helping my students improve their language proficiency, and I enjoy being involved in the wider campus community working on events or collaborating with other departments.  My department manager has given me great reviews, and has told me that she'd love to be able to give me a more senior position at some point... the thing is, "some point" is pretty vague.  I know that the economy isn't great, and last year the school placed a temporary hold on new hires for that reason. In addition, the recent government shut-down meant that a lot of students didn't have access to their financial aid, and the number of newly enrolled students for last semester decreased dramatically.  So I haven't been overly optimistic about the possibility of "movin' on up," despite the energy I'm investing, and the projects I'm involved with.  Nevertheless...why not take a look and see what the cards have to say?

I used my Halloween deck (Karin Lee, Kipling West; U.S. Games), and this is what I received:

The summary of the message: "Yeahhhhhhhhhh.....no.  Ain't gonna happen, sorry!"

The 7 of Imps acknowledges that I've been putting in a lot of effort to improve my department, expand and develop projects, get involved cross-departmentally, etc.  I also get the sense from this card of my colleagues all standing in a line, trudging along.  I'm going with them, fumbling our way towards some imprecise goal (the house in the distance).  But I'm trying to go beyond that, to see the big vision for what we're trying to do, and sometimes I kind of feel like I don't "fit in" in various ways. Also, intra-departmental communication has been a challenge over the past year, and I often feel that I'm swimming against the current.

The 8 of Pumpkins reversed.....yeah, so basically I'm putting a lot of dedication and time into something that may not provide the ultimate rewards and benefits that I hope to see.  I do enjoy the work I'm doing, but there may not be the ability for forward movement in the near future.  I've spent a lot of energy creating new levels of our tiered program, developing new courses, improving my own understanding of my field along the way...and all of that is good, but it may not imply that all of that will bear the fruit I'd like to see.  One example is that a colleague and I were accepted to present at an international conference, very high-profile in our field.  It would be a wonderful way to show others what we're doing, and to get some attention for our department's projects, but our school doesn't support its faculty in attending and presenting at any conferences...which does seem counterproductive...and yet there's nothing that I can really do to change that, as it's very institutionalized.

The 6 of Imps reversed is the anti-money card.  In its upright position this is often the "You will get a promotion or raise" card.  So it's extremely fitting that I should see it in this spread, and receive the news that it's not likely to occur any time soon! :)

So it's nice to have the confirmation that what I've felt to be the likely path of things is probably going to indeed head in that direction.  The benefit is that it encourages me to consider my current position, and what my future goals are.  Where do I want to be in a few years' time?  Will this particular job continue to fulfill me over the long-term?  Will the lack of upward movement end up being a detriment, or will I be able to work with it?  All good food for thought :)