Karma in My Fairy Tale World

I received my "Fairy Tale Tarot" deck along with the companion book "Once upon a time" by Lisa Hunt a couple of weeks back and I have wanted to blog about it ever since. I have been reading Lisa's excellent blog for some time and was eagerly awaiting my very own fairy tale deck which would hardly be surprising considering my love for all things fairy.
The very first question I asked the deck was "What is the story of my life?" The answer was : "0. Red Riding Hood" (The Fool). It is at that instant I realized that this deck was mine. This answer deserves its very own post to explore all that the story and that card mean in my life. But can't help pointing that the Fool is my personality card (based on Angeles Arrien's Tarot Workbook) and also I own a red hoodie which I wear every single time I fly.

Today, early in morning India time, I asked the deck: What fairy tale story do I have to learn from today?
The answer: 11. The Goose Girl (Justice).

Like most fairy tales, justice is a strong theme in the story of the goose girl wherein the goose girl is betrayed by her maid on the way to marry her prince; forced into secrecy by her maid who takes her place but finally the truth is revealed at last.

As fairy tales focus on one karmic thread, it is easier for me to understand what is just. In my life as the karmic threads interweave, I have lived these individual story threads but need to meditate to see the emerging karmic patterns.

For today, the thing that leaps out at me from this particular fairy tale story is the secrecy part. While I am not sworn to secrecy, it is a secret because I simply cannot physically say it. But as in the story, there are ways to let the prince know. The hand of Karma is sometimes so strong in certain relationships that it makes you grasp. While I may not be able to perceive the pattern yet, I know it will emerge and it will be beautiful to look and even more beautiful when I understand.

Clearing the Clouds

When life seems so complicated that I don't even know what to ask; ironically the best option is to ask the simplest (and most effective, imho) of questions. So,

Deck Deck on my writing desk
what does the universe want me to know right now?

Deck (aka the Universe): 2 of Air (2 of Swords) Schizophrenia

Ha, ask and you shall receive. Indeed. Thank you for hitting me with the obvious. This card has hazy nebulous clouds (not in this picture but in the corresponding card in the Osho Zen tarot deck ) that have clouded my judgement so much that I can't decide. A stalemate. My "no" nor my "yes" have any meaning because my "no" contains a teaspoon of "yes" and my "yes" contains a teaspoon of "no" stirred in it.
According to Osho, the way out of this lies not by playing mind games, or making a pro and con list, or letting your mind make more hazy clouds (the mind seems to excel at this cloud creating game) but in following your heart. What if you don't know what your heart wants, you ask (I hear, I hear). Then, says Osho, just jump and make a decision and then your heart will beat so fast that you shall know.

If we don't make a decision, our choices get worse. The clouds condense and freeze your heart or disperse and break your heart (3 of swords), this then leads to the slippery slope of procastination and we go deeper and deeper into more negative states. This path is so many hyperspace jumps away from the path of celebration and the path of totality.

May the universe bless me with the intuition to hear my heart and the strength to follow it!! May I have the decisiveness to use the two swords to kill the half "yeses" and half "no's"!! May I remember that my life is a dance of celebration not an awkward attempt to hold on to challenging situation!!

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.

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).

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.