The Prince of Hearts

The Prince of hearts (of the gasp and swoon variety) raises his cup to adventure, love, and enchantment in the universe and in turn the universe toasts "Bon Voyage" to our royal traveler. This prince is devastatingly handsome, chivalrous, noble, and whatever else your disney coached princess heart can dream of. That I know.
But have you ever wondered what his cup might contain? Yes, it could be wine. But surely, our prince knows better than to drink and drive. Too cool for DUI. I can totally imagine that his cup contains this "Chocolate Caramel Enchantment Chai" from the faraway lands that he dreams of traveling. This chai contains a whiff of adventure, of fantastical creatures, of unfathomable treasures, of deep mysteries, and of hauntingly beautiful princesses. I also happen to know that his cup is made of the darkest and richest chocolate: the perfect aphrodisiac for his valentine. Maybe he is headed for your town tonite. So wear your most dazzling smile and your heart on your lacey sleeve and maybe, just maybe he will offer his cup of love to you.
Or better still, brew your own cup of caramel chai and dash off to your very own adventure. Bon Voyage!!

The Mystical Magical Toolbox for Manifestation and Mindfulness

"The Manifestation Part"

I recently attended a "Creative Visualization" workshop at my friend Erien's meditation center also fondly known as the Lighthouse. Everything that was said in the workshop reminded me of the Magician. The Magician is the master of creative visualization. Literally speaking, he " visualizes to create". The Magician is also the master of manifestation. Have I connected all the dots from "creative visualization" to "manifestation"? Almost. The four missing dots are the Magician's magical tools: magic cup, wand, sword, and coin.
In this workshop, I meditated and visualized what I wished to create. And then with Erien's help, I framed a personal mantra that embodied my creation. (That mantra is so important that it gets its own post).
My mantra is :

"I empower myself to empower others through tarot."

But now, I need to use the magician's tools. I have to align my cup (heart), sword (mind), wand (actions), and coin (resources) to this mantra in order to manifest my creation. I look at these magical tools and these are the questions that they ask me.

1. Master Cup :
Do you feel strongly about this creation?
Does it involve helping yourself and others?

2. Master Sword :
Is it crystal clear, concise and precise?

3. Master Wand :
What actions are you taking to bring about this creation?

4. Master Coin :
What resources (time, money etc) are you using to create?

I ask and answer these questions in an endless loop and have seen my feelings grow more positive and strong and deep; my goals get more aligned to my heart's desire; my actions becoming more energetic and diverse; and discovering many new and old resources that could help me manifest my mantra.

"The Mindfulness Part"

Now I see this magical toolbox available to me everywhere and try to make it work for me. When I am cooking, I see the cup energy in my feelings about food and cooking and the people for whom I cook and the liquid ingredients of cooking (oil, vinegar, water, soy sauce); I see the wand energy in my actions of chopping, stirring, and heating, in my creativity, the fire which cooks my food; I see the sword energy in my knife, the aroma of the food, the precise menus I make for my guests; I see the coin energy in the resources I use to cook my food (the pots and pans), the food itself (the bread, the fruits, and vegetables), the entire kitchen itself which is nothing but the land I cook in, and finally the coins I use to buy my groceries etc. As I become more aware of this toolbox, the more mindful I become.

Whenever you ask for this toolbox, it magically appears . So use it whether you want to manifest something special or you just want to be more mindful.

P.S. My toolbox is sparkly and colorful. Now go find yours.

Enchanted

When I was a little girl, I always had three wishes on the tip of my tongue because you never know when you would meet a fairy. I was always prepared for my fairy encounter. I had the most enjoyable and pleasant time anticipating this fairy encounter (the fairy in my fantasy looked like a cross between a Disney princess and Tinker bell). I would wear my fairy meeting dress (everyone knows that fairies like lacy, frilly, pretty dresses in pastel shades especially pink. I used to call it my Pari (fairy) dress and had several of those) and would have my play tea set in the garden and would spend many hours daydreaming and having virtual play dates with the most beautiful of fairies.

A blog post by my friend, Polymathicus, revived this memory for me. This luminous memory was like a memory fairy wand that touched so many aspects of my life. I looked at my current favorite dress ( a lovely pink, lilac, and green dress from Saks Fifth Avenue) and it was so conceptually similar to my fairy dresses. I goggled and saw wonderful fairy themed jewellery, and wonderful mushrooms and flowers themed bath and kitchen products, and butterfly chairs and flowery tables. I looked out of our patio and saw a setting fit for watching the fairies. So I cleaned our patio and got some delightful furniture from Ikea and now it has become my favorite place. During the day as I sip my chocolate, I watch squirrels and cardinals, robins and blue jays and when I am lucky deers too. I even do mystical fairy readings that have been so accurate and so incredibly sweet. I got the mystical faerie tarot deck which so fits into my current state of mind and seems to belong to my patio. Here's a link if you want to see it yourself http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/mystic-faerie/
(Created by Linda Ravenscroft and text by Barbara Moore)

The colors of this deck are so subtle and seem in complete harmony with the faerie world. The borders of the cards seem to me as windows from which I can watch their world and learn their ways. Conversely, when the light is just right and when they are requested, the faeries also can peek into our life and guide us. This deck is truly enchantingly endearing.

At night, from my patio, I can see the dense forests and fireflies and stars twinkling and inviting me into this world. And when I hold this deck in my hand I seem to have discovered my portal to their world.

And, I Think To Myself What A Wonderful World (Ten of Cups)

After my wedding, many rainbows ago, as we were decorating our home, the first painting I put up was titled "Thanks and Praises" (by Bernard Stanley Hoyles). The painting mirrored my feelings ---I felt like thanking and praising every force and person in the universe who had brought us together as man and wife. I remember humming "And I think to myself what a wonderful world" as I was preparing lunch. Everything seemed wonderfully beautiful and I was happy, creative, and content --- a classic
Ten of cups feeling. (Also note that this post is overflowing with the word "feeling" which is not surprising considering it is a "cup" card and there are 10 of them in this one). This feeling of productive contentment is very different from the heady delirious feeling of falling head over heels in love.

The above mentioned song seems to so completely capture the rainbow-hued happiness of this tarot card. Everyone would like to sip contentment from this cup; so here's the song and the card. Hold this picture in your heart and hum the song as you walk/cook/live and let this feeling fill you. Now excuse me, I have a song to sing.

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD - 24/04/1968

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

The colours of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They're really saying I love you

I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll ever know
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself, what a wonderful world

Oh yeah

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.