a Chariot kind of year

2008 is the year of The Chariot for me based on the numerology of my birthday. And what a Chariot ride it’s been!

In 2008:

• I’m fresh out of college (as of Dec. 07)
• I moved into my first apartment alone for the first time and had to pay all my own bills.
• I found my first “real” full-time job.
• I moved onto a second full-time job, which pays more and makes me happier.
• I moved back across town to live with my boyfriend (I’ve never lived with a bf before – so far so good!)

And 2008 isn’t even over!! Next year I’ll be moving into a Strength year – wonder what that year will bring?

To find your Year Card (according to Mary K. Greer’s “Tarot for Your Self”: add the month and date of your birth to the current year. Then from that total, add up each individual number.

For me: 12+21+2008= 2,041 = 7 the chariot

What is your year card? Have you seen parallels between your year card and the events in your life so far in 2008?

Personal Reading: A Wish Spread

For a while something creative has been nagging at me. I’ve always been a fairly artsy person, and I feel that this part of my life has been escaping from me. Tonight I’ll do a Wish Spread from the book “How to Use Tarot Spreads” to help me figure out the best way to channel my creativity into something fulfilling.

1. What is my wish? Reversed 10 of Cups
2. Do I feel I deserve my wish? Reversed Chariot
3. Opposing forces? Reversed Ace of Swords
4. Forces working for me? Reversed Fool
5. Are there changes I must make? Reversed Page of Swords
6. Is this wish in my best interest? Reversed 3 of Cups
7. Outcome? Reversed Page of Cups

After flipping the cards, I’m totally lost. Maybe I’m not the right person to read this. Maybe I’m so caught up in my own confusion, I can’t see the forest for the trees? I’ve never done a spread where every card has been reversed (and I do shuffle!) Should I try a different spread?

Can anyone with an objective eye in the blogosphere help me decipher this? Or should I return to the cards later concerning this issue?

Tarot Reading: Cups Galore

Tonight I did a Tarot card reading for another person for the first time in a looooong time. As usual, my readings are fairly impromptu.

A friend contacted me saying she’d like to come over and have a reading done because she and her bf had just broken up on Friday. I called her back and she came over, helping me procrastinate on cleaning the house

As I was getting set up she asked “I guess I need to ask a question or something.”

“Sure if you like, that will help provide a bit more context.” I’ve done cold readings in the past and have had great success, but I do like to know a little about what the reading is about.

We began the reading (the Celtic Cross) and this girl had soooooo many Cups come up! In all there was 3 Majors (Chariot, Wheel of Fortune and Strength), 1 Sword and 6 Cups. Crazy!

At first I was worried about being “rusty” since I haven’t read for anyone in so long but I felt quite comfortable getting back into it. It was also the first reading I’ve conducted for someone using my Universal Waite deck, which felt comfortable and easy.

It never fails that most of the readings I do are about love, relationships. At first I figured it was the age of the people I read for (college students), but now I think this is how it’ll probably always be. No matter what the reading, I’m just happy to help and get more experience.

First Thoughts on the Universal Goddess Tarot

When I first heard of this deck, I was afraid that the beautiful Major Arcana cards would overshadow which would most likely be a lackluster, generic Minor Arcana. After doing a bit of reading online, I saw that all 78 cards would feature their own goddess depiction to match the meaning of the card. Since I love learning about goddesses and I was intrigued by the cards’ art, I picked up the deck today.

Initially, I think the deck is beautiful – bright, detailed depictions are certainly my style. Though some reviews dislike the scantily-clad goddesses or disagree with some of the card/goddess match-ups, on the whole I like the deck very much.

To get better aquainted with this deck, I looked at each card and compared it to the traditional Waite cards. This activity gave me a greater appreciation for this goddess deck, as I was able to compare the traditional depictions to the goddess ones. Some were very similar while others were quite different.

My only beef with this deck has nothing to do with the depictions on the cards but the actual construction of the cards. Whereas my Universal Waite deck is crisp with a protective coating, the Universal Goddess deck is thin and feels papery. Basically, I feel this deck is a bit fragile – the cards could easily rip or could sustain water damage or stain.

Other than that, I think this deck has given me a new way to understand the Tarot as well as connect with the Goddess in a new way. If you have this deck, I’d love to know your reactions too!

Getting into Tarot: My Story

My first Tarot reading was actually in middle school when I went to 6 flags during Halloween and there were Tarot readers doing reading for 5 dollars. I remember being captivated by the reader and the designs on the cards (he was using the Waite deck).

Afterwards, when attending events such as renaissance fairs with my family as a kid I was always interested in the Gypsy-dressed readers and their ability to tap into just what the querent needed to hear. How could they glean such interesting insights from a couple of colorful cards? I never pursued Tarot growing up because my family is very Catholic and I was afraid to learn more because my they would disapprove.

Years later I began dating my ex-boyfriend who’s Wiccan. Several of his Wiccan friends read Tarot and they were teaching him how to read too. In the circle that he was involved with, they liked the idea of having your first Tarot deck purchased for you. Though this group likes this method of beginning Tarot, this is certainly not the way it has to be done – nothing bad will happen if you purchase your first deck for yourself. In reality, purchasing your first deck will ensure that you’re going to get one that you’re comfortable with and appeals to you.

In accordance with his circle’s idea, he and I decided that we would pick out and purchase each others’ first deck. Since I knew he was into fantasy and dragons, I bought him the Dragon Tarot. He bought me the Thoth deck. Fortunately, he looooved his Dragon Tarot and really connected with it. Unfortunately for me, the Thoth deck is fairly different from traditional Waite-based decks and I have a really hard time working with the deck. I decided to purchase a deck for myself – the Revelations Tarot, which was recently released at the time. The deck is beautiful and I fell in love with it.

One of my ex’s circle taught me my first Tarot lesson, which is think has been the best one I’ve had. When I asked her to teach me, she picked up her deck (Gilded Tarot, which I also love) and she mixed up the deck and pointed to the first card and asked me what I thought the card meant.

“I don’t know, I haven’t really studied the meanings for that card.”

“Forget about that. Just tell me what you see in the card, what details you notice and what the card could mean to you.”

This method allowed me to develop meanings from my own stream of consciousness. We drilled through several cards, and I went back and did the exercise alone with another deck. Whenever someone asks me for a “quick way” to learn Tarot, I show them this exercise. I think this method builds confidence and empowers the student to have faith in their abilities.

Since then, I’ve collected a few more decks and furthered my studies. My future goals are to begin getting involved in the Tarot community more and learning as much as I can.

That’s my story, so far. What’s yours?