These Boots Are Made For Walking

The Queens of the Tarot have their own distinct personality and in the fall, you will see them ramping through their worlds fabulously attired. So how can you recognize them? The answer, obviously is to look at their feet. This is what I think their feet are wearing.

Queen of Swords (Air) : This cool and fabulous fashionista is wearing silver boots to match her gleaming sword. She is articulate, logical, and makes great points just like her toes. If the Queen of Swords sounds just like you, maybe you need to own this boot too. http://www.aldoshoes.com/eng/storeSection/redirect.cfm?sectionID=b2c/style/productDetails.cfm&itemID=66949323&&var=d&ckey=US&colorid=80



Queen of Wands (Fire) : The fiery and passionate Queen of Wands shows off her flamboyance in animal prints. These boots are purrfect for the catwalk. A wildcat at heart, this lady is not afraid to show her spots. Here's her pick for the season which can be found at http://www.aldoshoes.com/eng/storeSection/redirect.cfm?sectionID=b2c/style/productDetails.cfm&itemID=64004465&&var=d&ckey=US&colorid=25.



Queen of Cups (Water) : This very feminine and coy, daughter of the deep water, usually doesn't need boots. But even mermaids and merqueens can't quite resist this purpulish blue boot which reminds them of their home. So here's where they shop http://www.aldoshoes.com/eng/storeSection/redirect.cfm?sectionID=b2c/style/productDetails.cfm&itemID=67085926&&var=d&ckey=US&colorid=51


Queen of Pentacles ( Earth) : This sensual yet sensible Queen loves the outdoors and is the only one who really likes walking (The Water Queen prefers to float, the Air Queen prefers to fly, and the Fire Queen prances). She prefers shoes that not only look good but also are cosy and keep her toes warm. This is where she buys her luxurious shoes mostly during a sale: http://www.aldoshoes.com/eng/storeSection/redirect.cfm?sectionID=b2c/style/productDetails.cfm&itemID=66951810&&var=d&ckey=US&colorid=22



So, finally, what queen are you or rather which queen is your sole-mate?

Ushering the Festivities: Past/Present/Future spread

It is wonderful coincidence that a festive me is welcoming the festive season. There has been much happiness in the recent past which has flowed into the present and made the future look hopeful and shiny. Today is Dhanteras (Dhan = wealth, teras: thirteenth day of the Kartik month) the first day of the Diwali (Festival of Lights) celebrations. I have lighted a candle to welcome the Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity in my life.
As I move forward in my career and life, I ask my cards for guidance using another three card spread: Past, Present, and Future.

"Past" card: Ace of pentacles
This card is the first card I ever drew for this tarot blog. The Ace of pentacles is always welcome. It usually means a gift of material nature from the heavens. It could an important official document that leads to prosperity (like a job offer, marriage contracts, education degrees) or actual material gain (inheritance etc). This also an excellent card for new beginnings of a material nature ( a new house, a new business venture). For me, it was getting a work permit to work in this country. I think we may label it in the category of "an official document that leads to prosperity". It is indeed a joyful new beginning for the next phase of my career.

"Present" card: King of Wands
The King of Wands is a natural creator and business man, brimming with energy, enthusiasm, and confidence. The gift from the recent past has made my head buzz with new ideas. I just had a great idea a couple of days ago which I shared with my friend who could become my project partner. Wands demand action. So, I need to get my butt off the sofa and act on these ideas. It should be fun since I have the blessings of the King of Wands.

"Future" card: Two of Wands
Again this card is a card that has been discussed in an earlier post. The Two of Wands talk about a partnership in a creative project (Yipee!!). A partnership that is just getting off the ground. This could mean that the time has come to make some decisions in either an earlier partnership or time to work on a new partnership or both. As always, both partners need to put in the required amount of time but this card promises the potentiality of the venture. The 2 of wands also tells us that there are so many possibilities that we almost need to be a eagle and look into all of them.

So summarizing, I am told to be action-oriented, lit my creative fires, and look into all the posibilities. Sounds like a plan. And now, I must soar.

A Spread fit for the Chem Grad

A couple of months ago, I found several fun three card spreads posted by Jen on http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18850. One of them has Velcro-stuck itself in my head.

It is the Gas/Liquid/Solid spread for Chem lovers (Especially to be used, according to Jen, when one is checking the status of what one is trying to manifest). I can think of so many fun ways of tweaking this spread and using it for a ton of questions. But here I am using it in its original form. As I mentioned in the last post, the current focus in my life should be manifesting my two assignments and finishing my coursework, so this spread will be perfect.

My reading:

Gas: What's still in the form of pure energy or thought in your life/What's "hanging out" in the ethers
3 of Pentacles.
The 3 of pentacles refers to those practical skills that integrate personal talents with the social environment. Teaching is definitely fits the bill. So according to the card and its position, I could earn a living and materially prosper in this field as long as I further perfect my skills and allow the spiritual to enter into my material work.

Liquid: What's starting to flow and slowly come into your life.
11. Justice.
"As you sow, you shall reap". I shall be able to manifest these assignments if I put in the necessary amount of time and effort. Fair enough (pun intended).

Solid: What's completely manifested and visible to you.
4 of Swords.
To complete this work, I need to minimize my social relationships and maximize my relationship with myself. That I can attest to and I have understood that.

A three card reading : Body/Mind/Spirit

Situation
I have to finish some pending coursework and submit it on 26 th October. This has been duly noted on my shocking pink Issac Mizrahi designed diary. The files for the two pending assignments have been duly decorated to make the assignments more attractive. So half my work is done. Even though, I am the patron saint of last minute assignments, I sometimes need to start atleast thinking about my work in advance, since the next 10 days are Navratri and I shall be busy appeasing the Sacred Feminine Energy, Shakti.

So today, is the day I start working on the other half. Tarot cards of course have to be consulted and I am doing a quick 3 card Body-Mind-Spirit spread.

Results

Body : King of Wands
I need to be very physically active, social, optimistic.
Good for me, I did some exercising in the morning and am headed to my dancing class this evening.
Mind: 5 of wands
The mind is in conflict. Yes. There are so many thoughts. All running in different directions wanting to post on the blog, write comments on orkut tarot communities, watch TV, make chocolate, start on the assignments, do the dishes---all at the same time. Poor me.
Spirit: Magician

Looks like I have to summon the magician. In this case, the magician seems to represent the ability to manifest what it desired.

I need to *manifest* these two assignments. So off I go.

TC (Today's card) : 2 of wands

As Sun pointed out to me today that I hadn't done a TC in a while. So here it is. The question was: How will my day be?

My ramblings:
I see, a man ( he looks like a trader or merchant to me) with his feet on the ground; two "living" wands on either side of him seem firmly planted to the ground. The word "foundation" comes to me. The man holds the globe in one hand. What are his intentions? Does he seek to make his mark on the world in some way? Do the wands as usual suggest action and creativity and the number 2 a partnership?
There is a picture on the wall which shows a cross, rose, and a lily. Am I at the crossroad; what are the roses (love) and lilies (faith) telling me?

While I am writing all this, I have an epiphany. I know exactly what this card is telling me. This card isn't talking about my day but is directly addressing some thoughts that have been hovering on the border of my conscious and unconscious mind. So I have had a creative idea that combines my mystic and expressive side (to achieve worldly fame , I kid you not ). I am in partnership with someone I "love" and have "faith" on this project. A new situation that was not expected has entered this equation and now I am at crossroads. According to the "Pocket guide to the Tarot" by Alan Oken, I need to make a decision so that I can move forward.

Very true. Sometimes the card don't necessarily answer the question you put to them; they give you answers to questions that you want to know but don't ask. Which is why they are special.

Marriage wishes, hopes, and blessings for my dear friends

The Real Saraswati

My question for the week : Whom/what principle am I going to embody this week? What will be my strengths and weaknesses?
Answer: 8. Saraswati (Karma Oracle)

Goddess Saraswati is seen as beautiful, simple, humble (she is always dressed in white and wears way less jewelery than Goddess Lakshmi) divine patron of learning and art. So this story surprises me (courtesy Karma Oracle). Saraswati is the consort of Brahma (the creator of the world). All the Gods and Goddesses had to preside over a Great Sacrifice . But Saraswati who was taking too much time to beautify herself had not arrived in time (hmm, sounds too much like me). Since time was of great importance here, Brahma created a second wife (Gayatri) to take her place (It must be nice to be a creator; thank god, my sweetheart is not one). So as the story goes, Saraswati was very jealous of Gayatri and in conflict with her but it was later resolved. Her vanity in this story ties in very well with the picture of the peacock in one of the images shown in the previous post.

Coming back to the card and my question, the following are the strengths and weaknesses of this card and mine too for this week.

Strengths:
1. I come from a past life that has been devoted to beauty, art, music, and dance and feel the need to further improve my talents and transmit this learning to others. Every expressive technique is a means of communication and a joy to me.

I have learnt classical dance and painting when I was younger and I was decent in both these fields but haven't pursued it for many years. However, this week I have started dance lessons again and have talked to a friend regarding art lessons. Yes, I like to dress up but on a slightly different note, I find that no matter how mundane or boring a task or how lazy I feel if I add something beautiful to the task, it becomes a thing of joy and beauty.
The second sentence is completely totally too. Along with dance, tarot readings, and art, this blog is also a wonderful means of communication.

Weakness
"Aestheticism, an obsession for knowledge, eloquence, and image can sometimes change into superficiality"

I can see that. For me, everything has to be colorful and beautiful (from my perspective). Colors rule my life. My books, my home, my kitchen, myself, my laptop, my blog, the list goes on.....
For e.g. I will never buy a simple black folder; I just can't get over it. If I have to use a regular manilla folder, I will write some of my favorite quotations on it or draw something and make it pretty.

My Current task
Follow my path, immerse myself in studies, produce, and improve.
"Not to attach myself too much to my creations: Each one of them is not a destination, but a step forwards towards perfection."
A very profound and important statement.

I was very inspired by this card. So made a list of my five talents and resolved that everyday before going to bed I would make sure I had worked on atleast one talent.

Card for the week: 8. Saraswati

My tarot objectives for the week are: 1. practicing on framing the question 2. studying the Karma Oracle deck. Framing the question is of utmost importance in tarot as in everything else that needs an answer. You only get out of the tarot, what you put in. (This idea has been mentioned in several different ways using several different kinds of language). So ask a "precise and concise"question, as my friend would it, to get a precise and concise answer.

The Karma Oracle deck is a 33-card tarot deck which represents Hindu/Vedic Gods , Goddesses and their mounts, symbols, and philosophy. As an Indian, I felt an immediate attraction to the deck but haven't studied it as much as I like too.

My question was : Whom/what principle am I going to embody this week? What will be my strengths and weaknesses?

The card: 8. Saraswati.

Since, this is a week-long project, I will indulge in a deeper study of this card (so bear with me). I put in two images of Goddess Saraswati since there were different attributes that I would relate to in these pictures. Unfortunately, the image of the goddess in the Karma oracle didn't resonate with me at all.

Both these images have several things in common that correlates with my understanding of the Goddess. She is dressed in white which symbolizes the purity of mind, truth, and knowledge. She carries a scroll in one of her hands symbolizing that she rules learning, education, wisdom, and a veena (musical instrument) in the other as the patron goddess of music, sound, and speech. There are several schools and educational institutions in India named after this goddess.

There are a few noteworthy differences : in the first image, she is shown decked with more jewellery than I would normally associate with Saraswati (that genre would belong to her sister, Lakshmi, which incidentally is a name favored by jewelery stores). Also, one image shows a swan ( purity ) while the other shows a peacock (her victory over vanity).

Her attributes are mentioned in this Sanskrit shloka which I recited everyday as a little girl with my mother(Thanks, Wikipedia).

"Yaa Kundendu tushaara haaradhavalaa, Yaa shubhravastraavritha|
Yaa veenavara dandamanditakara, Yaa shwetha padmaasana||

Yaa brahmaachyutha shankara prabhritibhir Devaisadaa Vanditha|
Saa Maam Paatu Saraswatee Bhagavatee Nihshesha jaadyaapahaa||"

English Translation

"May Goddess Saraswati, who is fair like the jasmine-colored moon, and whose pure white garland is like frosty dew drops; who is adorned in radiant white attire, on whose beautiful arm rests the veena, and whose throne is a white lotus; who is surrounded and respected by the Gods, protect me. May you fully remove my lethargy, sluggishness, and ignorance."


Yes, I do need to invoke her. More on what specifically can I learn from this card and utilize in my life, the strengths, and weaknesses inherent in this card, and an particularly interesting story that my mythologically-obsessed mind missed in her teen years in the next posting.

Today's card:

As they say in poker lingo, today I played it "blind". This was a wonderful suggestion given by one of my friends. I asked the heavens to give me an indication of what my day was going to be like through a card. So I picked up a card this morning and have put it aside. As I write this, I still don't know what my card is. So the plan is to write about my day and then see the card and see if the card makes sense. The rationale is that this way I will not be influenced by the card while I write about my daily activities.

Today was a highly efficient day for me. A dear friend of mine gave me the most wonderful and delightful news. I made several personal and business calls, completed some pending correspondences, grocery shopped, cooked, and went to the gym with my sweetheart. I listened to one of my favorite albums and got nostalgic and emotional. In between, I also managed to follow a thrilling cricket match between arch rivals, India and Pakistan. Needless to say, I had a pretty wholesome day and I feel good about it.

I am trying to predict what card could I have got. Maybe I'll try predicting another time.


Ok, so the card is : King of Cups
Yes, I did have an emotional day (Cups) but then I was so efficient and practical too, so I didn't venture a guess. The King of Cups could represent a kind, wise man in my life who gives wonderful advice and is a healer. But today, I don't feel like a King of Cups visited me. So maybe the circumstances embodied the King of Cups. The K of Cups represents a situation where the emotions are just right and beautiful. I guess I felt that when my friend shared something beautiful with me and then again when I was listening to a certain album, some things opened up in me and I was in tears. The King of Cups also means giving your feelings a creative outlet. I wasn't really creative unless you can count dancing passionately while being emotional. Actually, I did have sort of an idea though. I was missing my parents and I thought my Dad would enjoy reading this blog too so maybe I should take a printout of some of my postings and mail it to him. But still, if I have to be objective, I would say that I wasn't channeling my emotions into creative pursuits (practical maybe).

Pink or Sunflower?

Dear Friends,
And now it is time for me to ask this all -important question. Most of you visiting this blog know about my obsession with the color "pink" or "sunflowers" or both. You know how happy both these words make me. The question is which word do you think most defines me, since I am still finalizing a posting name. Counting on you all.

Today's Card: 2 of Cups

Today's card was one of my favorite cards (you may hear this expression often). The number "2" typically symbolizes a partnership and the cups symbolize the emotions. So by just combining these two ideas (pun intended) you can arrive at the very romantic word "union". For me, this card is the union of equals. Like Arjun and Krishna (the two main characters of the great Indian book the "Bhagwad Gita"), it can be platonic love but it is between equals. This card reminds me of a line from one of the poems (which incidentally was read at my wedding) by Khalil Gibran.

On Marriage

"Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
......................................................................................
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow."

Infact, this card in the Osho-Zen tarot deck shows two trees (one with pink blossoms and other with orange) growing near each other but yet there is space between them for love to flow.

How was my day today? Well, I just want to say that I want to go back and live every moment of this beautiful today.

Night

Voila!! I can't believe it. I actually got a gift today (Yes, some cynics might say beginners luck, but :P to them). A dear friend of mine gifted me a CD today "Kirtana" by Robert Gass & On wings of Song. The CD is described as "sacred music to open hearts and awaken souls". Thank you!!

This afternoon, I also wondered if the Ace of pentacles meant that this gift from the heavens would be manifested in a one year time frame. I was inspired by this card to write down some of my creative ideas and I intend to add more details to these creative ideas as time goes by.

Today's Card: Ace of Pentacles

I am so excited about drawing my first card. Here it is : The Ace of Pentacles.
Such a beautiful card!!



My first thoughts about the card:
The card shows a divine hand coming out from the clouds holding a pentacle. My first instinct is that I will be receiving a gift from the heavens. This gift shall be on a physical plane. The garden under the pentacle is very fertile and abundance and points to the abundance this card brings.
I will keep this card in my thoughts and will touch base in the evening.

The Beginning

This blog will be my lab. I intend to design several experiments to study my understanding, the relevance and utility of tarot in my life. For starters, I will keep it simple. Every morning I shall pick a card for myself and then at the end of the day I will correlate my day with that tarot card.