SoulTraveler

I can't write about love without the Beatles song "All You Need is Love" coming to mind. "There's nothing you can make that can't be made. No one you can save that can't be saved. Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time - It's easy." The Lovers is a card of choice and decisions that have to do primarily with love. I say primarily because if The Lovers comes up in any other type of reading such as career or finance, it would show simply a decision to be made in that regard. When looking at the Rider-Waite version of the Lovers it has a striking similarity to the Devil Card. The trees on either side of the man and woman were their tails in the Devil card. The tails suggested lust, while the trees hold both the passion and promise of growth. The snake represents the decision that is before them. The sun and angel suggest happiness and pureness of love that will rise above the clouds of uncertainty. In this picture the lovers are s...

The World When we see The World come up in a reading it is very positive indeed. As you can see from looking at the main image, the garland circling the woman who is floating in the air gives us a visual of someone who has attained all that they desire. For me, the figures in each corner of the card represent the four elements of earth, air, fire, and water again illustrating the idea of completeness. The colors used on the woman show love, passion and harmony and the wands in both of her hands show balance and completeness .It’s as if she is saying, I can hold no more because I have it all. When looking to meditate on the energy of The World card, we can focus on what it is we desire to have in our lives in order to feel complete. For example, we might want to concentrate on attaining our goals for a particular relationship, our career, or for furthering our education. As we embrace these goals we focus on the attainment of them knowing that they are within our reach. To enhance this ...

“Sometimes we fall down and can’t get back up We’re hiding behind skin that’s too tough How come we don’t say I love you enough Till it’s too late, it’s not too late” lyrics from Live Like You’re Dying I am often amused by my clients and the paradoxical lives they choose to live. I use the word paradox because many of my clients come to me looking to know when they will be reunited with a loved one. They are always wistful when I can’t tell them a specific time and then when I can see a reunion coming very soon, there are many times when the wistfulness turns to defensiveness. Admittedly there are times when the temptation to bang my head on my computer almost overtakes me when the very same person who has been depressed and frustrated for what seems like an eternity to them, finally gets good news and is now ready to either give their former mate a tongue lashing or not take their calls at all. While I am a huge proponent of communication in all relationships, I am at the same time, ...

Anything Can Be Overcome Hope in Hardship There is nothing in our life that cannot be overcome with time, love, friendship and attention to the matter. The journey that each human being makes through earthly existence can have hardship as often as it is touched by joy. When we encounter adversity, the stress we feel can erode our optimism, eventually convincing us that the issues we face cannot be overcome. In truth, there is no situation so dire, no challenge so great, and no choice so bewildering that it cannot be overcome. Though we may believe that all avenues have been closed to us or that our most conscientious efforts will come to naught, we are never without feasible options. The best course of action may be veiled in doubt, but it is there. When we are honest with ourselves with regard to this simple fact, we can overcome anything because we will never stop looking for a solution to the challenges before us. Self-trust coupled with a sturdy plan is the ultimate antidote to adv...

The Emperor is a card about success and control. When we look at the picture of The Emperor, we see a man who has achieved success in his life. After all, he is the Emperor, he is firmly in control. Looking at his picture, we don’t get the feeling of a warm cozy guy. Seated on his steely colored throne wearing his steel boots, he has the look of a man who means business. When he turns up in a reading as an outcome card he represents a positive outcome. Success is assured. If he represents a particular person, he embodies a person who is mature and probably financially successful as well, but he is also someone who tends to be a bit authoritative and controlling. As a person, he is difficult to deal with because he insists on doing things his way. When I see the Emperor in readings that I do for others, more often than not he is showing up in a shadow position indicating someone trying to get, or maintain control of a situation rather than to let things flow as they will. As you can ima...

French philosopher and journalist Albert Camus said, “in order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion; in order to serve men better, one has to hold them at a distance for a time.” And thus we have the archetype of The Hermit. Whenever we see The Hermit, he is almost always portrayed as an elderly man holding a lantern. In this particular picture he is shown to be standing on the top of a mountain illustrating someone who has reached a certain pinnacle of wisdom, through age and experience. However, he still seeks answers as shown by the lantern he hold in his hand. The pole he is leaning on is reminiscent of the Ace of Wands which represents growth, so we see that through wisdom comes growth. When the Hermit arrives in a reading he is reflecting a person’s desire to have a bit of a retreat in order to think things through carefully. Depending upon where he shows up in a reading he can be indicative of someone actually over thinking things and needing instea...

Although the name can be a bit off putting to the novice tarot student, the Hanged Man is in no danger of losing his life. He seems quite content to be doing nothing. The color red on his pants shows a lack of passion as they are in an upside down position. There is the suggestion that he chooses to remain with his hands tied, as well, as he is not at all upset by his circumstances. The gold around his head shows that he has not only has suspended thoughts of living in joy but is also choosing to suspend spiritual wisdom. When he comes up in a reading The Hanged Man shows a period of stagnation and limbo in a given situation. Needless to say this is not a welcome card because we naturally want to see our lives in some sort of motion. When I look at this card, the Beatles’ song “Nowhere Man” comes immediately to mind because it’s quite a perfect way to describe this card: He's a real nowhere man, Sitting in his Nowhere Land, Making all his nowhere plans for nobody. Doesn't have...

When we look at the Empress we see a woman who is quite serene and well taken care of. She is sitting very comfortably among a pile of pillows and adorned with a crown of stars and a beautiful long flowing gown. Abundance is the word that comes readily to mind when looking at this card. The heart propped up by her chair is white showing the purity and generosity of her love. The stars on her crown shows that she holds many hopes and dreams and from her contented stance, you can sense that she believes she will achieve them. There is a glow of bright yellow around her head suggesting that she radiates warmth and joy. In her hand she seems to be holding the world which is perched on top of her wand. Traditionally the Empress is the card of the mother and as such represents growth and abundance especially around family. She is truly a warm and nurturing woman with pureness of heart and generosity of spirit. She sits ready to help and support her friends and family and in turn is highly va...

The Devil is another one of those “scary” cards that people don’t like to see come up in a reading. Admittedly it is a bit scary, but for a different reason than most people think. When we look at the Devil, he is the largest figure on the card towering over two small humans. Traditionally this is a card that shows addiction with the chains, strong sexual desire shown by the nudity of the man and woman and the horns each of them are wearing along with a tail. The tail, which is associated with an animal or the devil itself, shows the baser side of ourselves. On the tip of the man’s tail is fire, suggesting lustful passion and on the woman’s tail there is fruit suggesting perhaps the temptation from the Garden of Eden. Looking more closely at the chains, we see that although the couple is chained around their necks, their hands are free thereby showing us that they have the power to release themselves from any restrictions. The interesting aspect of the Devil is that he has a belly but...

Perhaps the most feared card in the tarot deck is Death, well, at least to people who are unfamiliar with the tarot deck. And let’s face it, seeing the image and the word Death can be off putting, however the Death card in tarot does not represent the actual death of a person. What it does represent is a transformation of a situation. Depending on where things stand in the present, Death will represent a rebirth or an ending. So for example, it can represent a rebirth or positive change in a relationship that was thought to be over. The image on this card is of Death riding a horse. I really like the use of the black and white colors showing endings on one side and rebirth on the other side. The flag that Death is holding illustrates the same concept with the white flower on top of the field of black. From the darkness of black, life is reborn with the flower. Also, if you look in the background of the card, the sun is starting to rise, showing again the image of rebirth. The woman loo...