Connection Still There!

I actually got brave enough to go back to studying the cards today.  I'd been avoiding it, worried about the connection, mostly, but also worried about doing it in a new room.

The new room was, to say the least, difficult.  It's colder than I'd like, even with the fire going, and not having a desk upon which to write and draw is a pain.  I didn't like leaning down to the coffee table because it meant putting my notebook on my velvet spread cloth and chancing crushing it.  Holding the notebook in my lap while I tried to hold the other book open didn't work too well either, though.  I'll have to see if I can get used to it.

On the much brighter side, I still have a DEFINITE connection to the cards.  I got a very clear feeling from them that it was good and right that I start working with them again, and interpreting the card (the Five of Cups) came fairly easily.  Also, seeing examples in my own life and in the lives of those close to me seemed easier than it was when I last tried.  That could all be a connection to this particular card, but I don't think so.

I'm actually wondering if the long break didn't do good.  Now that I've gotten over my worries, I feel a renewed sense of desire to study the cards.  It's certainly something to consider if I ever feel stuck or mired down in that study.

The Two of Wands

The Two of Wands shows a man holding a hiking staff, standing at a fork in the road.  The path(s) are golden, the vegetation very green, and the sky and distant mountains reds, yellows and oranges.  Birds and a high mountain are in the direction of one fork, a lower mountain on the other.  Two ornate wands, each appearing to be 10-12 feet high, are planted haphazardly in the ground between the two paths, and a stag stands near each.

This card is obviously about a choice or choices.  Based on my personal experience hiking, one choice (the higher mountain) leads to a higher view and greater reward, but is likely to be much more difficult than the other, which is still good, but perhaps not as spectacular. Also based on personal experience, you should be very sure about your commitment to a venture before choosing the harder path.  Consider carefully which would be better suited at this point in your life.

Also, according to the book, items that number two generally indicate the involvement of others.  Obviously I will need to learn much more about each set of cards (aces, two's, etc) after I finish my overall view.  Not to mention numerology, esoteric symbols, and a whole slew of other things.  :)

The Ace of Wands

I have finally started the next part of my journey, which happens to be Step 2 (part 6) in the Easy Tarot Handbook (ETH).  That is, Meeting the Tarot, starting with the Minor Arcana in general, and the suit of Wands in particular.

My first step was learning a few basic facts about Wands in this deck.  They represent Fire here, and most often are about business and work.  And as is appropriate to Fire, the cards in this suit are all red-tinged.

The Ace of Wands is no exception.  Black and yellow compliment an overall red theme.  The single wand emits fire, the planet might be Mars, and the storm clouds are glowing fiery red, presumably reflecting what I choose to believe is the sunset. The book definition you'll have to read for yourselves, Dear Readers, but I will give you my own personal interpretations.

The storm clouds make this, to me, a very good card.  I love storms, especially the violent thunder-and-lightening variety.  And it is obviously a card about beginnings--that special energy-charged quality of the air right before such a storm starts.  And whether the lightening pictured is heat lightening or storm lightening or even simply energy dispersal, it very much relates to Fire and, well, energy.  :)  The appearance of twilight (also a good time for me, as I'm very much a night person) is also a sign of good things coming, and the view of stars symbolizes great potential and the ability to go far.