Last week...

Thank you to those of you who posted interpretations of my tarot spread for the week ahead last week. I thought I'd quickly reveal what my trusty little book tells me are the 'official' meanings of the cards, and see how well these interpretations related to the events of last week.

The central card, the Eight of Swords, is supposedly the Significator. This is meant to represent the dominating influence in the spread and, therefore, in my week ahead. The Eight of Swords, according to the book, represents:

Denial. A relationship or project is falling apart and there's little you want to do, or feel you can do, to prevent it. You're in denial and can't yet work out how to go forward, or face up to what's happening. Consult others, focus your thoughts, and drag yourself from emotional lethargy. Break the spell.

Hmmm. This doesn't bode well. It seems as though it's all going to fall apart this week and there's sod all I can do about it. Bummer. I think I'll have a look at the other cards to see what might be salvaged.

The card in the one o'clock position in the spread, in this case the Ace of Pentacles, foretells Monday's events. According to the book, the Ace of Pentacles relates to:

Material success. This card indicates financial gain in terms of growing investments or unexpected gifts, from bonuses to royalties or competition wins. The Ace expresses complete material security, and brings reassurance after a period of uncertainty. The card also signals success for business start-ups and new relationships, so this is a happy, comfortable, and prosperous time.

Cool. As you can imagine, I was therefore really looking forward to Monday! However, whilst Monday was a very enjoyable day, it did not bring financial gain or unexpected gifts. Perhaps Tuesday would bring this success? Indeed, Tuesday's card, the Six of Wands, predicts:

Triumph; Reward. After hard work comes a breakthrough, with fantastic news about a long-awaited award or the ending of a dispute. The Six is favourable for resolving legal matters, delayed contracts, or a work issue - whatever the situation, you succeed and receive a special reward for your determined effort. It is time to feel proud.

It is true that Tuesday was one of the more interesting and, indeed, eventful days of the week. In the evening, I was invited to join a psychic development circle being held in a nearby town. I learnt a lot and met others who were equally keen to develop their psychic faculties. But, surprisingly, neither my tarot cards, nor any of the readings I received from others that evening, predicted my minor disagreement with a tree on my drive home. In retrospect, I should have gone home the way I had come, via the Motorway. But I didn't. Instead, I thought I'd go the more 'direct' way via the back roads. Not, I now appreciate, a good idea when you are unfamiliar with the back roads and it is the middle of the night. Let me just say I arrived home one and a half hours later with one less wing-mirror than I had when I had set off from home that afternoon. From now on I'm not going to put quite so much trust in Google Maps. Six of Wands, my arse.

Wednesday... and the Six of Swords: 

Peace restored. Finally, harmony prevails, and you are able to take time out now that everything is in order. There may be an opportunity to travel abroad for rest or career, and return to the demands of your everyday life with more verve. While the Six does not indicate that a project or problem is resolved, it advises that you will enjoy a little distance from it.

Whilst the wing-mirror was enjoying a little distance between itself and the car it belonged to, the only travel form me today was between various car-repair centres to see who could give me a new one for the lowest price. Moving swiftly on, Thursday's card, the Two of Swords referred to:

A truce. Peace returns after a time of discord and turmoil. You may not trust this truce, but it could present a valuable opportunity to gain perspective on a problem partnership or another troublesome association. Be cautious and factual, and consider every aspect. You will need to balance carefully your needs with those of the other party if you are to come to an agreement.

This card seems to follow on from yesterday's card, the Six of Swords, which also talked of 'peace restored'. But all I was keen on restoring was the car to it's full complement of wing-mirrors!

Friday's Ten of Swords predicted:

Endings. In the suit of Swords, endings are dramatic, and may be shocking. However, on closer inspection of the facts, it's likely that this ending was predictable. A relationship or other arrangement is cut out of your life. The closure is harsh, but necessary; you will recover and be open to new opportunities sooner than you think.

Friday was the day I got the car fixed. I don't think anything was cut out of my life (apart from a broken wing-mirror, etc., etc.). By now I have lost any faith that the cards are going to would provide any insight, no matter how vague, into the events of my week. Saturday's card, the King of Wands was reversed. This means its usual interpretation (if it were the right way round) changes quite dramatically. The King upright means honour and compassion. Reversed it means:

Prejudice. The reversed King has been embittered by bad experiences in the past or he has simply never bothered to question his intolerant attitudes. He is no moral compass for others and is unable to listen to their opinions or deviate from the safety of his stubborn ways. As a symbol of a situation, this card can reveal that negative thoughts are brewing.

The only negative thoughts that are brewing today are about the usefulness of tarot cards! The final card, for Sunday, is the Ten of Pentacles:

Inheritance, happiness. The Ten is often a fortuitous card for families, favouring existing generations and those to come, so it can literally predict a happy marriage and children. In monetary terms the Ten, as the ultimate card of the Pentacles, reveals wealth accrued through generations, so there may be benefits from share dividends, an inheritance, or a gift from a generous friend or relative.

Well, at least it all ends on a very positive note! Sadly, but perhaps not too surprisingly, there was no inheritance nor were any dividends heading my way.  Perhaps, as the Eight of Swords (my 'significator' for the week) indicated, I am in denial. Maybe this project is falling apart before it's begun? Do I need to break the spell?

The week ahead...

As a little 'experiment' (using the term in its loosest sense) I thought I would use my new(ish) tarot cards to tell me a little something about what lies ahead for me this week. According to the little book that came with the deck of cards I bought (The Golden Tarot by Liz Dean if you're interested...), I can do an eight card spread for the week ahead:

For fast insight in the near future, this popular spread uses a central Significator card. A Significator sums up the meaning of a reading, so in this spread it reveals the dominant influences in your week ahead. The other seven cards each relate to one day of the week. To begin, shuffle and cut the cards. Lay down the Significator card first, followed by seven cards clockwise as shown. Interpret the Significator first, then the cards for each day of the week in any order you choose. (p. 8)

So. It seemed like a reasonable thing to try! My eight-card spread is shown in the picture (right). In case it's not clear to make out each of the cards, the 'Significator', the card in the centre is the Eight of Swords. Then, starting with the card in the one o'clock position relating to Monday and going clockwise, we have the Ace of Pentacles (Monday), Six of Wands (Tuesday), Six of Swords (Wednesday), Two of Swords (Thursday), Ten of Swords (Friday), King of Wands [reversed] (Saturday), Ten of Pentacles (Sunday).

Now, I have just read with interest what the book says these cards are supposed to mean. But I wondered if any of you folks with more experience of reading tarot cards might have some thoughts?

All the fun of the psychic fair (pt 3)

One of the main reasons for my doing the psychic fair was so that people who I gave readings to could compare the reading I gave with a reading they received on the same day from another reader. For practical reasons, this meant I could justify giving readings for free as customers would be required to still get a reading from someone else so they had one to compare it to. If I just said come and get a free reading then it might understandably upset some of the other readers, and I didn't want to upset my new friend Psychic Malcolm who, after all, does this for a living. From my own perspective, it would allow me to get a sense of how meaningful my readings were. Were my readings as good as other readers at the fair? Or was I spouting meaningless drivel whilst the other readers were tapping into some mystical source of knowledge? Or, dare I say, the other way round?

Sam, the young magician sat opposite me, was quite sceptical about tarot readings. And he wasn't really intending to pay for a reading today, but was quite happy to get a free reading from me. Even though he wasn't planning to get a comparison reading, I was darned if I was going to let him walk away and leave me staring out from behind my table. As with Psychic Malcolm, I asked Sam to shuffle the cards while calming his thoughts, etc., etc. Sam deftly demonstrated his skills with a deck of cards as he proceeded to elegantly riffle shuffle the card, squaring them neatly on the table before drawing out ten cards from various parts of the deck. Again, I proceeded to give a reading that was probably not a million miles away from what I'd said to Malcolm. Not that I was just simply giving the same stock spiel. No, I was sincerely aiming to build a reading based upon my understanding of the meanings of the cards as they were laid out in front of me. The trouble was, I found myself saying fairly similar things and being suitably vague and impersonal no matter which cards I was trying to interpret. That said, Sam did say that a few of the things I had talked about in the reading seemed to be relevant to his life. The best thing was, Sam now seemed quite motivated to go and get a reading from another reader in the hall so that he could compare it with my reading. There's a little scientist in all of us.

Even better news was that while I had been giving Sam a reading someone else had appeared. Charlotte was now waiting for a reading. And after Charlotte was Sue, and then Vanessa, and then Michael. In fact, it seems word had got out. Even without a sign people had heard about the man giving free readings. Before I knew it, I was booked up for the rest of the day! Rachel took people's names and allowed 20 minutes per reading, which meant I had to be fairly concise. The readings themselves were probably only taking about 10-15 minutes but I took a couple of minutes at the beginning explaining what I was up to and why I was here. More time was spent at the end of the reading as people gave their opinions on the reading they had received and often furnished me with some relevant details of their lives to show where my reading seemed to have relevance.

In general, I think my readings were probably fairly vague. However, much of the feedback from the people I gave readings to suggests that my readings tended to be at least as good as those they received from others at the fair! Even Sam, the magician, had gone and got himself another reading (this time with Angel cards) and said mine was just as good.

However, there were a few times where my apparent accuracy surprised even me. The first of these, and the most dramatic, was in a reading I gave to Linda (not her real name). The first two cards in Linda's reading were the Two of Swords and The Emperor. The Two of Swords was in the reversed position (i.e., it was upside down) which is supposed to relate to 'suspicion'. The Emperor can relate to a few things, but the one that immediately sprung to mind was 'fatherhood'. In the celtic cross spread these first two cards are laid one on top of the other so I started each reading with an interpretation that linked these first two cards. In Linda's case, the obvious interpretation that immediately occurred to me was that there was a difficult relationship with her father. The trouble was, I found it a real challenge to to say this. I ummed and ahhed before finally saying, "these two cards suggest to me that there is some difficulty in your relationship with your father." The reason I found this hard was that it was the first reading in which I was broaching anything that was fairly personal. Up until that point I had kept things at the safe and general level, making reference to changes in the person's life (we're all going through changes right?), success in creative projects, and so on.

But part of the advice given to me by Psychic Malcolm earlier that day, and by others, was that you should go with what you get, "Give what you get!" So that's what I did, even though it made me feel uncomfortable by daring to make an assertion about Linda and her father which was frankly none of my business! But Linda seemed quite happy to accept this. There was indeed some tension between her and her father, caused by a relationship she was having with a friend of his. What I noted about this exchange was not only did I seem to hit upon a pertinent aspect of Linda's life (even if just by chance perhaps), but also her willingness to then tell me details about her personal life which, as I say, was frankly none of my business!

All in all, the psychic fair was a fantastic learning experience for me. I learnt a lot about the challenges associated with giving readings, and ways in which I could improve the readings I give. At the very least, a tarot reading provides a fairly unique context in which to give and receive a fresh perspective on events in one's life, and can be a valuable tool for enabling us to reflect on these events. Sometimes just standing back from a situation and seeing it from someone else's perspective is enough to help us find a way through. And a tarot reading (or some other psychic reading) can help provide that alternative perspective.

I'm still left with the question of whether tarot readings provide anything more than a way of reflecting on events. That is, can they provide a way of tapping into our otherwise ignored psychic or intuitive abilities? Or is that just wishful thinking? Hopefully this project will help me to answer these questions.

Whatever the answers, I have a feeling I'm going to learn a lot about myself and learn to appreciate other ways of seeing the world. And I'm already up one laughing Buddha and one crystal. What could possibly go wrong?

All the fun of the psychic fair (pt 2)

So there I was, sat in a dimly lit corner of a hall in the centre of Witney in Oxfordshire, flanked by a psychic artist and a Psychic Malcolm, waiting for my first client (or subject or victim, depending on your choice of terminology!).

For those of you who aren't familiar with the town of Witney, it's a small market town about 12 miles West of Oxford, with a population of a little over 20,000 people. Right now, all I needed was just one person to meander up to my table and ask for a reading. And then, next thing I knew someone had walked up, sat down in the chair opposite me and asked for a reading!

I was surprised who it was. It was Psychic Malcolm. Apparently, in the thirty years that Malcolm had been giving readings, he had never actually had a reading himself. I felt honoured that Malcolm, nay Psychic Malcolm, would have me be the first and only person to have ever given him a reading! I also felt a little intimidated as I'd be sure that he would be looking at the cards as they lay on the table thinking, "no, no, no... that card doesn't mean that!" However, it would be a start. I'd be able to have a practice run with someone who would no doubt be supportive. I asked Malcolm to shuffle the cards (I didn't ask him to cut the deck in two as PM had previously suggested) and take out ten cards. When choosing cards for your reading, it is advised by those in the know that you should calm your thoughts and to pick out cards that you feel 'drawn' to. That is, you shouldn't necessarily just count off ten cards without giving it some care and attention. Of course, sceptics and cynics would argue that it makes no difference as you're just pulling out cards at random. But tarot theory (or should that perhaps be tarot lore) is that you will be drawn to cards that are meaningful to you at that time. Whether or not there is any truth in this or if it's just bunkum, I thought I should at least ask Malcolm to take out ten cards he was drawn to. I also suggested that if he had a specific question in mind that he would like to be addressed by the reading, then now was the time to clear other thoughts away from his mind and to hold that question firmly in his mind. Whether he did any of his or not... we ended up with ten cards in a pile on the table.

I proceeded to turn over the cards as I lay them out in the formation of the Celtic Cross. The first card in the centre of the table, the second lay across the first, and the next four placed in front of, behind, and to the left and right of the first two cards. The final four cards were lay in a line to the right of the cross formed by the first six cards.

Malcolm looked down at the cards, and I saw his eyes dart from card to card as if to take in all the meaning that was there. And I could imagine a coherent reading was immediately forming in his mind based on what he saw. He looked up at me expectantly. I was still racking my brains, going through the peg system I had used to try and remember the meanings of each of the cards and find a way of transforming the key words associated with each card into something meaningful to say about Malcolm. I don't think either of us would have been impressed if I'd come out with something like, "I get the feeling you're quite an intuitive, dare I say, psychic person...?"

Eventually I was able to craft (or more accurately cobble) together a 10 minutes reading that Malcolm seemed quite happy with. Or at least he seemed quite happy with how I delivered it. And it did help settle my nerves. Moreover, while I had been giving Malcolm the best psychic reading he had ever had, a queue had formed. Perhaps queue is too strong a word. Is it possible to have a queue of just one person? Still, it was one person! A real person! And he was waiting for me! This was it. My first real customer!

As Malcolm stood up and wished me luck for the rest of the day, the young man who had been waiting walked over to say hello and shook my hand. His name was Sam and it turns out he was a local magician who had seen small piece about my project on magicweek.co.uk. As is the case with many magicians, Sam was rather sceptical of the whole idea that tarot cards might be able to convey some kind of mystical information about our lives. I explained a little more about the project as a whole, telling him of my intentions to see if I could develop my psychic abilities for real. He was still sceptical. And understandably so. As I heard myself describing the project and my plans for the coming year, I felt my own scepticism rising within me. What was I thinking? I had left behind a perfectly good, safe, academic position in order to learn to become psychic! Oh but it'll be alright because at the end of the year I'll take a million dollar challenge to prove that I really am psychic. I was clearly deluded. And it was going to take a lot more than a lucky Buddha to save me.

All the fun of the psychic fair (pt 1)

Apologies for the delay in posting an update following Saturday's psychic fair in Witney. Without going into too much detail I (along with Rachel) have been pretty ill since Sunday with liquids forcing their way out of both ends (maybe that was too much detail?).

Anyway, the psychic fair... I was getting all psyched up for it especially after we sent out the press-release in the middle of last week. BBC Oxford picked it up and ran a short piece with me for BBC South News on TV on Friday evening and I did another brief interview for BBC Radio Oxford on Saturday morning. Hopefully these two dips into the local media would bring a few folks looking a free tarot reading to my stall at the fair.

The fair opened at 10am and Rachel and I arrived at quarter to 10. Some of the other stall holders had apparently been there from 8.30, setting up their displays of crystals, wands, etc. We didn't exactly have a lot of setting up to do. A deck of tarot cards doesn't need much setting up, other than a shuffle. Fortunately, Deb, the organiser of the fair had at least provided a dark red tablecloth, but other than that we were working bare (as it were). To help create the right effect Rachel nipped over to one of the stands to buy me an amethyst crystal (for grounding) and a small laughing Buddha for good luck. £5 well spent.

With a couple of minutes to go before the doors opened I had a quick chat with my neighbours for the day. To my left were Elaine and Mark, who were also psychic fair virgins! (As in this was their first time with a stall at a psychic fair... what else could that mean?) Elaine is a psychic artist who will draw your spirit guide. Mark is her partner. Actually, I'm assuming Mark is her partner as the conversation didn't get much past the fact that Elaine is a psychic artist (and, of course, that they too were psychic fair virgins). To my right was Malcolm or, rather, Psychic Malcolm to give him his full name. I felt I had more to learn from Psychic Malcolm as he, too, was offering tarot readings. I told him what I was doing there, although I think Deb had already explained what I was up to. I was concerned that Malcolm might think I'd draw customers away from his stall given that I was offering tarot readings for free. But I explained that anybody getting a reading from me would be required to also have a reading from another reader at the fair with which to compare it to. He was quite happy with that.

To be honest, my concern wasn't so much that I would be drawing people away from the 'real' psychic readers at the fair, but more that I wouldn't get anyone coming to my table for a reading at all. I mean, despite the red tablecloth (thanks Deb) and my lucky Buddha and crystal (bless you Rach), my table looked pretty crap. What's more I was tucked away in the far corner of the hall and, to make things worse we hadn't even thought to make a sign. No sign! What were we thinking?! Why hadn't we made a glossy sign saying "FREE READINGS"? A sign like that would have surely attracted some attention. Even Psychic Malcolm had a sign saying who he was (he was Psychic Malcolm). We did consider making a sign there and then, but the only paper we had were the short questionnaires we were planning to give my 'clients' (if I had any) to complete after their readings. I didn't feel that a hastily hand written sign on the back of a piece of A4 paper was going to do the trick. It could do more harm than good, especially as we didn't even have a pen. The sign would have had to be written with one of the pencils Rachel had rushed out to buy for people to complete the questionnaires!

I thought it might be a good idea to enlist Psychic Malcolm's help. He seemed to know what he was doing. I mean, he had a sign and everything! I had a feeling that he'd probably attract a fair few customers throughout the day so I asked him if he could mention my offer of a free reading to the folks he gave a reading to. He was more than happy to help.

He sensed I was a little nervous about what lay ahead. It could have been his psychic faculties that allowed him to draw this conclusion or it could have been I gave him a clue.

"Malcolm," I said, "I'm a little nervous about what lies ahead."

"Don't worry," Malcolm reassured me, "you'll do fine." I wish I had his confidence. Malcolm proceeded to talk me through a little how he would conduct a tarot reading, while also asking me how I was planning to conduct mine. "You going to get them to cut the deck in two?" he asked. "Er, no," I replied. The little book that came with my tarot cards had said nothing about cutting the deck into two... only to get the person for whom you were giving the reading to shuffle the cards! Malcolm went on to lay out 16 cards into four rows of four, quite different from the Celtic Cross spread using ten cards that I was planning to use. As he started to offer interpretations of the cards that didn't seem to match what I had learnt for each card, I thought I'd better stop him.

"Thanks for the help and advice Malcolm," I said, "but to be honest, this is confusing me more!"

As the doors opened, and people started to trickle into the hall, I wandered back over to my bare-looking table and sat down behind it. And I waited.

What had I let myself in for?

And the beginning of a new one

As luck would have it (although we know that luck is no accident don't we?) there was a 'Psychic Night' on at the pub down the end of our road last night. A perfect opportunity I thought to see how this psychic reading lark is done.

I got down there for around 8. There were three readers: Bev, Rose Marie, and Vicky. I booked a slot with Vicky for 9.20, which would give me time to pop round the corner to the shop for some essentials, nip back home for something to eat and then get back in time for my reading. I arrived back at 9.15 in good time for my slot. I was still waiting at 9.45... I guess it's hard to keep to time when channelling energies and the like (my worry is how to make a reading last 20 minutes... or even 10 minutes!).

Soon enough I was sat opposite Vicky who was, let's say, 'larger than life'. As she took a drag on her electronic cigarette she told me how she worked. "I work with Spirit", she explained as she blew out vapour that resembled smoke.

"I do cards, but I let Spirit guide me", she added.

"OK", I said, all excited wondering what the cards, or Spirit, had in store for me. Vicky instructed me to spread the cards face down on the table, mix them up, and select 10 cards. As I chose each card, I was to pass it to her. Once all 10 were chosen, Vicky placed them face up into the formation I now recognise as the Celtic Cross.


Excellent. Now I’ll get some tips and ideas on how to read this spread. Or so I thought. It seems as though that Vicky, or the Spirit she was connecting with, had other ideas. This particular Spirit, who Vicky thought could be my father’s mother, just wasn’t going to let Vicky get on with the reading. And because my dad’s mum died before I was born I obviously couldn’t connect with any of the (very vague) bits of information she was giving me.

“Perhaps it’s better that we switch and you get a reading from someone else?” proposed Vicky.

“Er, OK” I replied. I felt a bit of a failure. Maybe she’d seen something in the spread of cards laid out between us and she just couldn’t bring herself to tell me. Next thing I knew, the girl who was taking the bookings ushered me to a chair to wait for one of the other readers. Without any further explanation I saw Vicky hurrying out of the door to the pub clutching a cigarette. I assumed this time it was a real one and not the electronic one. Maybe that was it. It was just Vicky’s nicotine addiction that meant she couldn’t read my cards.

Whatever the reason, I was now waiting for Rose Marie to finish with her current client. Would I fare any better with her? Rose Marie at least looked more the part. She was an older lady wearing a red knitted shawl over her shoulders. And I learned a lot more from this reading (at least I got a reading!).

There’s not enough time to go into detail here about what she said. Suffice to say much of what Rose Marie told me seemed to fit. Sure, much of it could have been, and probably was, me taking what she was saying and making it fit to my personal situation. But interestingly she did tell me about a change in my work circumstances! Spot on. Yes, I know that this could be interpreted in so many ways and if it didn’t happen to fit it would probably be forgotten. But let me be impressed for now. She also told me that I would be successful in my new career, so I’m taking her at her word.

In terms of how she gave the reading, the important thing I learned echoes some of the comments on this blog. She didn’t say this card means this, and that card means that. It was more to do with how the cards linked with or reinforced each other and how these were built into a narrative. This is what I need to try to do when I give my readings on Saturday. It’s either that or try Vicky’s approach and suggest they try a different reader before I rush out of the door!

Wish me luck! (Although luck is no accident, etc.)

Pick a card

With just over week to go before the psychic fair, I think I'm just about able to remember the basic meanings of each of the 78 tarot cards. This has been aided by a nifty little memory system based on one described by our good friend Derren Brown in his book Tricks of the Mind!

I guess there's only one way to find out how much I remember... Care to call out a card?

Mystic Moo

In a series of posts earlier this year, I showed an interest in learning to read Tarot cards. Can they really show an insight into our past, present and future lives? In an attempt to discover a little more about how tarot and other psychic readings work, I have set myself a challenge.

Four weeks from today I will be sitting at a table at a psychic fair giving readings. That's right. I'll be giving readings. This means that before then I need to learn what each of the tarot cards actually mean! There are 78 cards in a tarot deck that each have their own meaning (in fact they can each have two meanings, depending if they appear in an upright or reversed position) so this isn't going to be easy. I'll let you know how I get on (but if you read tarot, I guess you'll already know).

A wise man?

The final card of my reading spoke of advice from some kind of 'authority figure' and indicated that I could be about to embark on a new course of learning:

The Hierophant: It is time to take sound advice from someone you trust. The Hierophant often reveals an authority figure, such as a father, teacher, or other mentor. He symbolizes practical wisdom, so his influence can help you resolve a challenge. This card also denotes a spiritual dimension, so it can indicate that you are about to embark on a new course of learning that will bring you closer to your soul's purpose.

One of the original reasons we had arranged to go down to Rachel's parents this weekend was because there was a possibility that we might attend a Beginners' Psychic Development Workshop down that way today (well, if I'm gonna learn tarot I should also try and develop my psychic awareness, don't you think?). If that had worked out, that could have been a been a nice hit for the tarot. But. alas, it didn't happen: There were no spaces. You thought I was going to say it was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances didn't you? Now come on, you know me better than that.

As it turned out we didn't really do much (didn't dare walk the dogs!), other than eat lots of lovely food expertly cooked by Rachel's dad before driving back home in time to watch Lost. In an idle moment on the internet I did have a read of Richard Wiseman's blog, and I would regard Richard as one of my mentors what with him being my PhD supervisor an' all. Richard has only just taken to blogging this month but a few days ago his blog was apparently already in the top 50 on Wordpress! Bloody smartarse. Or is there a lesson to be learnt here?

Bitch on heat

Today's card, the Ten of Swords, was supposed to predict endings:

Ten of Swords: The Ten indicates endings. In the suit of Swords, endings are dramatic, and may be shocking. However, on closer inspection of the facts, it's likely that this ending was predictable. A relationship or other arrangement is cut out of your life. The closure is harsh, but necessary; you will recover and be open to new opportunities sooner than you think.

Couldn't really find anything today that could relate to this. No endings, dramatic or otherwise. The only drama was when we were taking Rachel's parents' dogs, Daisy and Harry, for a walk in Shotover Park near where they live. We let them off their leads to let them have a run and explore the woods. Shotover seems to be popular with dogs and dog-walkers of all shapes and sizes, so it's a case of keeping a watchful eye as dogs greet each other in the way only dogs know how. Now, I'm not a dog-owner nor have I ever been (though I am an enthusiastic walker of Daisy and Harry when we visit and I can imagine maybe having a dog at some point in the future) so I'm not au fait with the etiquette between dog owners as one's dogs sniff the backsides of other dogs as they hello. I tended to opt for a facial expression that tries to convey the "that's dogs for you..." look. And, by and large, I think I achieved the look. This expression seemed to be serving me well right up until the point when Daisy was about to be humped by not one, not two, but three over-excited setters. The "that's dogs for you..." facial expression was quickly replaced by one of mild panic as I yelled out "Noooo!!" and reached to put the lead round Daisy's neck. Freya just peered out at me from her pushchair as if to say "spoilsport".

It is written

The Star: Inspiration and guidance; you have clarity of purpose and great potential now. The water symbolizes creativity and its flow, memory. As the past and the present flow together, so past experiences give you the wisdom to make a dream come true. This is a nurturing card, showing that you are tending your garden well. Ideas flourish as you create fertile conditions for success and happiness.

One of the many nice things about visiting Rachel’s parents for the weekend is that Rachel and I sometimes get the chance to go out on our own while Nana and Grandpa babysit. Tonight we managed to escape to the cinema to watch Slumdog Millionaire. We didn’t know too much about the film beforehand apart from having seen the trailer last week and it being recommended to us by a friend. We were also aware that it had won a few Golden Globes and has been nominated for a million Oscars (well, ten).

In the opening minutes of the film the words appear on screen:

Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 20 million rupees.
How did he do it?

A: He cheated
B: He's lucky
C: He’s a genius
D: It is written

The answers A, B and C fade from the screen, leaving the final answer, “D: It is written”.

The film tells the story of how Jamal got to this point and how his experiences growing up in the slums of Mumbai gave him clues to the answers he would eventually be asked on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? It’s an excellent film about love and destiny, and perhaps an appropriate film for today given the Star indicating how the past and present flow together, so that past experiences give the wisdom to make a dream come true.

Anyway, here's the trailer. Take a look and then go see the film and let me know what you think. (You'll notice that for some reason they decided to change the final answer to “D: It is destiny” for the trailer.)

Take a break

Today is a significant day, as it marks three years of Rachel and I being together. So maybe the Three of Cups is an appropriate card for today:

Three of Cups: Love grows and a relationship moves up to a new level of commitment. A child may be born, or your creativity flourishes as new projects evolve and take form. This is a card of healing and happiness, with myriad opportunities for celebration, sharing, and the renewal of friendship. The Three also predicts healing, so you feel rejuvenated, physically and emotionally.

So whatever happens today, I'm happy to give the Tarot a point.

That said, a couple of meetings at work today seemed to fit nicely with what the Three had to say. This morning's meeting, which I'd arranged last week, was with someone from our Personnel Department about the possibility of taking a career break next year. In September this year, I will have been working at Liverpool Hope for ten years. And it's starting to feel like it! Many of the lectures I now give I haven't updated for a few years, and my research has come to an almost stand still. I just don't want to find myself having been there for fifteen or even twenty years thinking the same thing, having done nothing about it! For at least the last couple of years I have been saying to myself (and to Rachel) that I needed to change. Change my research, change jobs, change something. So I thought I'd start saying it to somebody other than myself and Rachel, and perhaps kickstart the process that might lead to me actually doing something about it! Anyway, the meeting with Cathryn from Personnel seemed to go okay (apart from the fact I had written down the meeting time wrong and was half an hour late!). She seemed to understand where I was coming from and gave me some useful advice.

Later in the day I met with two TV producers working on an idea for a TV show that would look at ghostly experiences across the UK (sound familiar?). It all sounded very interesting and exciting, but they were still looking for the show to be commissioned so we'll see if it comes to anything. Still, could be an opportunity for new projects to evolve and take form perhaps?

The best part of today, though, was the fantastic surprise I got this evening. Rachel called me through and said she'd been a little bit naughty. I immediately guessed that she'd maybe bought something. I was close. Rachel had actually booked a surprise weekend away for us both in Barcelona! She had booked it a week or two before and it would be for a weekend in March, but she had told me today to mark our three years together. I think that could nicely represent an opportunity for "celebration, sharing and the renewal of friendship", don't you agree? Even if you don't, I'm not too bothered... we're going to Barcelona!

Foundation Day

As if we needed reminding, here is what the tarot reading predicted for today:

Ace of Cups: As Cups are associated with the element of Water, or love and emotion, the Ace predicts emotional fulfillment, creativity, and contentment, from falling passionately in love with a person or an ideal to following a spiritual calling or artistic pursuit. Pregnancy and motherhood are also indicated because the overflowing chalice of the Ace symbolizes ultimate femininity.

Well, you'll never believe this but today I fell in love and got pregnant! How about that for a spot on prediction? What are the odds?? No, you're just being silly now (I've got a feeling you're not taking this seriously).

Today was something called 'Foundation Day' at the University at which I work. This is effectively a day of thanksgiving during which we celebrate the foundation of the University and award degrees to students on courses that, for whatever reason, don't get awarded at the main Graduation ceremony in July. The University also awards a couple of honorary degrees and fellowships at this time. (In fact Gee Verona Walker, who I mentioned in a post some time ago, was awarded a Fellowship at one of these Foundation Days a couple of years ago.) This year Fellowships went to a couple, Gerald and Judith Henderson, for their work with an organization called Initiatives for Change, and an Honorary Degree was awarded to Sir Jeremy Isaacs who has been a leading figure in the Arts and Media worlds for over 50 years.*

Suffice to say, I didn't fall in love with Gerald, Judith, or Jeremy (I know, even with those names!). As is usual with these kind of academic ceremonies, we were all dressed in our gowns that displayed the degrees we had obtained and from which universities we oursleves had graduated. Me? I was in a rather fetching purple and red number, complete with sash and a jaunty hat with tassle: a symbol of ultimate femininity if ever there was...!

This evening it was time for my guitar lesson. Yes, despite the "guitar fiasco" last year I am proud to report that I am still keeping up with my guitar lessons. In fact, since Christmas I have switched classes so I am now with a slightly more advanced group (and older... I'm not the oldest student any more!). I'd like to say that this is because Vernon, the teacher, recognised my natural ability and realised that the kids were holding me back. But the truth is that changes to my teaching timetable at the University this term meant that I could no longer make the Monday class. Still this can only be seen as a sign that it is time for my talents to be nurtured to the next level. As the Ace predicts, today I was supposed to be following a spiritual calling or an artistic pursuit. You can't argue with the facts!

*Interestingly, Rachel was actually involved with setting up Sir Jeremy's Artsworld channel a few years ago!

Checkout King

According to my tarot reading, today I thought I'd be recovering from yesterday's battle, so I hadn't really planned much. It was the King of Wands that came up for today. According to Liz Dean (the woman who wrote the the little book that came with my tarot cards):

The King brings calm integrity and compassion. Wise and unassuming, he is loved by family and friends. He may be demanding of others, but he still has energy and ideas. This card reveals honorable conduct. and can also indicate that you will feel comfortable with yourself now. Others respond to you positively.

Not really sure what to make of that. Calm integrity and compassion is my middle name (it's actually David), and you'd be hard pushed to find a day on which I'm not wise and unassuming. It's just part and parcel of who I am (!). Today included a trip to Sainsbury's (rock'n'roll, eh?) but I don't think asking the guy at the checkout for a couple of extra carrier bags counts as being demanding of others, does it?

I was "working from home" today. So, yes, I felt comfortable with myself. And it is fair to say that others did respond to me positively today (I got the extra carriers I asked for, plus a few extra).

So today maybe Tarot gets half a point (though perhaps I'm being a little generous there).

Ready for battle!

This is what my tarot reading for the week ahead came up with for today:

Knight of Swords: When the Knight of Swords arrives in a reading, he heralds a future battle that must be fought so that a resolution to a problem may be found. Dynamic and charming, he may come into your life for just a short period of time, but his verve is infectious: he brings enough energy and determination to meet the challenge with courage.

So I was all set for a battle of some sort today! A fight! Maybe even a "scrap" (does anyone use this term any more?), just like you used to get at school, in which me and my nemesis are surrounded by an over-excited crowd, clapping their hands in unison to the chant of "Scrap! Scrap! Scrap!..." just in case it wasn't clear to any of the onlookers exactly what was going on.

But, alas, it was not to be. No fight today. No arguments. Not even a bicker. Or a cross word. Freya, now a willful 15 month-old woddler, had had a rough night thanks to a combination of teething and an ear infection, but it was Rachel who got up in the early hours and saw to her allowing me to stay in bed as I was to be up early in the morning. Rachel was quite willing to do this (or at least said she was!) so no battle there.

Monday is my main teaching day with six hours of teaching. That all seemed to go off without a hitch, and no arguments, battles, or significant challenges that I can recall. By the time I got home around 7pm, Freya was bathed and ready for bed and Rachel had the dinner on (her own recipe lasagne... the best ever). So still no battles. I put Freya to bed and within 5 minutes she'd fallen asleep. A very relaxing evening lay ahead and an early night. Not a battle in sight.

Tarot nil points.

Next week

I'm learning to read the tarot, so I thought I'd do myself a reading for the week ahead. The spread involves eight cards. The first card is called the 'significator' and supposedly indicates the dominant theme(s) for the week. The remaining seven cards relate to each day of the week. My significator card is the Three of Wands, that's the one in the centre. Here's what the very helpful little book that came with the cards, the Golden Tarot for those of you who know about these things, has to say about the Three of Wands:

The Three reveals creativity and self-expression, and the development of projects. Events speed up, with more communication, action, and reward, as money flows your way. This confirms what you secretly know to be true - that you are really good at what you do.

Cool. Now taking the cards in turn day by day, starting with the card in the one o'clock position as the card for Monday and going clockwise:

Monday
Knight of Swords: When the Knight of Swords arrives in a reading, he heralds a future battle that must be fought so that a resolution to a problem may be found. Dynamic and charming, he may come into your life for just a short period of time, but his verve is infectious: he brings enough energy and determination to meet the challenge with courage.

Tuesday
King of Wands: The King brings calm integrity and compassion. Wise and unassuming, he is loved by family and friends. He may be demanding of others, but he still has energy and ideas. This card reveals honorable conduct. and can also indicate that you will feel comfortable with yourself now. Others respond to you positively.

Wednesday
Ace of Cups: As Cups are associated with the element of Water, or love and emotion, the Ace predicts emotional fulfillment, creativity, and contentment, from falling passionately in love with a person or an ideal to following a spiritual calling or artistic pursuit. Pregnancy and motherhood are also indicated because the overflowing chalice of the Ace symbolizes ultimate femininity.

Thursday
Three of Cups: Love grows and a relationship moves up to a new level of commitment. A child may be born, or your creativity flourishes as new projects evolve and take form. This is a card of healing and happiness, with myriad opportunities for celebration, sharing, and the renewal of friendship. The Three also predicts healing, so you feel rejuvenated, physically and emotionally.

Friday
The Star: Inspiration and guidance; you have clarity of purpose and great potential now. The water symbolizes creativity and its flow, memory. As the past and the present flow together, so past experiences give you the wisdom to make a dream come true. This is a nurturing card, showing that you are tending your garden well. Ideas flourish as you create fertile conditions for success and happiness.

Saturday
Ten of Swords: The Ten indicates endings. In the suit of Swords, endings are dramatic, and may be shocking. However, on closer inspection of the facts, it's likely that this ending was predictable. A relationship or other arrangement is cut out of your life. The closure is harsh, but necessary; you will recover and be open to new opportunities sooner than you think.

Sunday
The Hierophant: It is time to take sound advice from someone you trust. The Hierophant often reveals an authority figure, such as a father, teacher, or other mentor. He symbolizes practical wisdom, so his influence can help you resolve a challenge. This card also denotes a spiritual dimension, so it can indicate that you are about to embark on a new course of learning that will bring you closer to your soul's purpose.

So that's my week sorted. Tomorrow I'm going to have some kind of fight, Tuesday I'll feel better about it, then on Wednesday I'm going to fall in love and get pregnant, and the baby's gonna arrive on Thursday. Time for a bit of gardening on Friday before it all goes tits up on Saturday (still it was nice while it lasted!). It all comes together on Sunday when my dad gives me some sound advice (use a condom?) and I sign up for parenting classes. I'll let you know how it all goes.