Hi There!
Thank you for welcoming me as a guest blogger on Tarot Tuesday!
My
name is Diane Riis and I am a Witch practicing earth and intuition-based
spirituality. My business is called Earth and Soul, which helps women write
their stories and connect to their earthy natures as well as their higher,
soulful selves.
About Tarot magic
I have been reading Tarot and using the cards to focus my meditations for over 25 years. This is a great opportunity for me to talk about something I rarely share on my blog www.bellywitch.com even though Tarot is key to self-divination and spirituality for me. What I love most about the deck I use are the archetypes and symbols that have been potent markers to what’s happening in my life and in the world around me.
About archetypes and
Tarot
Let me say that “archetype quizzes” and systems that take our
personalities and categorize them into archetypal language is all the rage.
But, a deck of Tarot cards will tell you everything you need to know about the symbols you should to be paying attention to in the moment.
Because...
You are not ONE
archetype for your whole life!
Goddess forbid! You are a creator, a spiritual being, a living,
breathing, changing, evolving soul and not a fixed, permanent personality that
is label-able for once and for all!
What archetypes seem to be governing you today? That’s where all the
power is. In the now, now, now. And if you don’t like it, you can change
it!
Circle of Life, Ocean,
Devil
So, if you want archetypes, the Tarot is an amazing resource. You will see how Mother, Queen, Page, earth, fire, stars, moon, and more play out in a beautiful, revolving kaleidoscope throughout your life.You will find these images in my latest book Midnight Pages: A Mystical Workbook for Writers, Insomniacs and Night Owls.I use archetypes to guide your journey through the night, to help you make sense of the sleeplessness, dreams and shadows in your own life and psyche.
Motherpeace
In divination and meditation I use the Motherpeace Tarot deck, which is
woman-centric and an alternative to the patriarchal interpretation of
traditional decks and religious/spiritual systems.
The images are rooted in art, myth, Goddess worship, the matriarchy and
the stages of female life. You will find this Tarot deck refreshing, even
though it dates from the early 80s.
Created by Vicki Noble,Motherpeace is a round deck, which takes
some getting used to when it comes to shuffling! It’s rich in ancient meaning
and beautifully drawn.
The accompanying book, Motherpeace: A Way to the Goddess through Myth, Art and Tarot published by Harper and Row, is comprehensive in explaining the sourcing, meaning and interpretation of all the images Vicki Noble uses. It goes into history and context and at the end of each chapter comes my favorite passages: “if you get this card in a reading…”
Here are some tips for using this deck for your own divination and
meditation.
Circles, spirals and
spirituality
Use a circular pattern for your card reading – it only makes sense
considering it’s a round deck! Put your significator card in the center and lay
out the cards in a circle around it. Then, you can use the elements and
cardinal directions to place the cards. Here’s an example:
Sometimes you can pre-select your signicator card to represent where you
feel you are that day. You sift through the cards until one speaks to you. I
let the Goddess decide for me by shuffling a few times, holding the cards against
my belly, then cutting the deck into three, three times then shuffling one more
time. The top card is my significator. Put that in the middle of your table.
North
The next card goes above the significator. It will represent the
watchtowers of the North, which correlates to earth, grounding and the
direction you might want to go in the next phase of your life. Since this card
represents earth, it might mean tangible things so you can also read this card
for insight into how you can obtain the material gifts you want.
South
The cardinal direction South represents sun, fire, passion, creativity, and what wants to come from your heart chakra and solar plexus. Place that card under the significator and let it symbolize what is hot for you now: what needs healing so your creativity can come to life or so that you can find and LIVE what you are truly passionate about.
East
East is air, thought, mind, the power of the intellect. Place it to the right of the significator card and let it represent how you might need to shift your understanding of your current circumstances. Ask, what do I need to know? as you read the card.
West
West is the direction of water, feelings, the oceans of the unconscious
which literally swims with emotion. Place this card to the left of the
Significator and let it represent what is backing up all that you do: your
emotional orientation to life, the past traumas and heartbreaks you’ve experienced,
the subconscious beliefs that might be holding you back. Let images from the
West rise up gently to your conscious mind and see what you can release before
the reading is over.
I know you’ll love the Motherpeace deck and thank you so much for letting
me share about it!
Blessed be,
Diane Riis
You can find Diane’s
most recent book Midnight Pages: A Mystical Workbook for Writers, Insomniacs
and Night Owls at www.themidnightpages.com along with writing
prompts and other things to get you through the night. This book is a journey
through the shadows of the self and the night, helping writers find their muse
and deepen their work through keeping nightly “Midnight Pages.”
Diane is an author,
writer’s coach, and flower farmer. You can find her blog at www.bellywitch.com and her business page at www.earthandsoulpublishing.com.
WRITING PROMPT From Midnight Pages:
Close your eyes. What do you hear, smell, taste? What do you sense at an energetic or intuitive level? Spend some real time. Find at least twenty-five things. When it gets hard to add to the list is when it gets interesting…”
Excerpt:
VIGILANTIA
Vigilantia: lying awake, sleepless, vigilance. The silence and stillness of midnight might feel suffocating, dense, and thick—heavy with foreboding. It might have you lying in bed, heart pounding, afraid of the dark.
Under the cloak of night, your hearing is heightened. Sounds startle you awake as you drowse. Your mind can ramp up: haunting memories, recriminations, regrets, and stuck thoughts keep you from your rest. Some “insights come up as well and sensations: the surge of adrenaline, pricklings on your neck. You might feel the weight of the dark bearing down on you or you notice movement in the shadows. Maybe you have the sense you’re being watched. Something lurks in the dark that’s imperceptible during the day. You might feel like you are not alone, and that subtle presence over your shoulder seems familiar. You wonder if it’s been there before, maybe even always. During the day, with music blaring and people talking, you just don’t perceive it. Ask what message all this has in store for you. Don’t reject what you hear. Don’t dismiss. Allow.
Night belongs to the spirits. –Proverb
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