I did the following tarot exercise today.  It comes from “Understanding the Tarot Court” by Mary Greer & Tom Little.

What you have to do is order the 16 tarot court cards from most to least favourite.  (I used the Rider Waite Smith for this one.)  When you have your final arrangement make some notes for your journal about what you feel about the card and why you put it there.  It is quite revealing about oneself when you start to relate to those difficult court cards as if they were real people.

Anyway, the following is what I wrote down.  If anyone else feels like having a go at this with their own deck, I'd be interested in making comparisons with you:

Deliberated for a long time over this exercise – it wasn’t easy.  Some were easy to choose, like placing Sword King and Queen of Wands near the top.  Others, I kept shuffling around and they could have been in a number of places up or down – like Page of Pentacles who is dead in the middle now, which must be about right because sometimes I like him, sometimes not at all – he started much higher. 

For a while I had the complete Pentacle family together, quite near the top – I split them in the end with the Page of Cups – another one that started higher & moved down – yes, he’s handsome, as are all the pages, but maybe too much of a wet?

Queen of Cups is very near the end of the list – tough, considering she is supposed to be my significator.  But we are not talking Arthurian QofC here – nourishing the earth with the wine from her cup – the RWS QofC is far too self-absorbed and looks mean too. 

Odd in a way that King of Swords is right near the top – he is traditionally a very stern & intimidating figure.  But the RWS KofS looks straight out at me – the only one that does.  I feel he really cares and would only administer his tough justice out of kindness and love.  He is the real father figure of this deck.  So, the order …

1.      Page of Swords:  Handsome, debonair, grounded enough not to be an “air head”.  With his long pony tail flying and his sword aloft, PofS would be a sexy and exciting companion.  I choose him for his intelligence and integrity – a worthy champion.

2.      Queen of Wands:  A friend I could talk to and be inspired by.  She holds a sunflower so I see her as a gardener.  She likes cats too.  Her features are soft – although tight-lipped – more a listener than a talker.  Her legs apart, like a mans’ – this woman is not afraid of her sexuality either.

3.      King of Swords:  Stern, most would say, but I see it tempered with kindness.  Someone I could approach for honest advice.  And I particularly like the way he looks directly at me.

4.      Knight of Pentacles:  Oddly, it’s this guy’s horse that made me move him up the pecking order.  Such a placid Dobbin.  See KtofP as a farmer – down to earth, practical, and reliable.

5.      King of Pentacles:  Feel like I would have a good time in this King’s castle.  Would be partying & enjoying the finer things of life, allowing me to escape from the cares of life for a while.

6.      Page of Cups: This card was higher as I thought “what a pretty boy” – then I thought he may be too much of a dreamer – like, “Doh!! How did that fish get there?”  Stupid boy!  But likeable.

7.      Queen of Pentacles:  Definitely nurturing – holding her pentacle like a baby – but maybe just a little smothering?  I may feel a bit claustrophobic if I spend too long in her presence.

8.      Page of Pentacles:  Another one that was higher & moved down the list.  “Too studious” was the decision in the end.  But I do feel I could learn something in his company.  Maybe the concentration would rub off.

9.      Knight of Cups:  Full of honour and loyal dutifulness, this guy’s heart is on his sleeve.  Was there something about him not being a trustworthy companion?  Well, I’d trust him but he’d have to get down from his high horse first.

10.  Knight of Wands:  Whatever this guy has in his sights he doesn’t seem to like it.  Something has inflamed his passionate interest but I don’t think he as much to offer me.

11.  Page of Wands:  Fascinated by the growth from his wand, like he is seeing leaves for the first time.  Maybe that’s it – he lives in the desert after all.  But I think he may bore me with all his “new growth” talk.

12.  King of Cups:  Gazing into the distance & surrounded by a sea of emotions, this guy has a lot on his mind.  And somehow I don’t think I figure at all on his scale of interest.  Go play with your stupid boats then!

13.  Queen of Swords:  Stern, judgemental, sharp-tongued, tells it like it is.  But at least she holds her hand out in an open gesture – she is not close-minded.

14.  Queen of Cups:  Whilst the Arthurian QofC I love, this one has all the negative qualities – completely self-absorbed, vain, possessive, drama queen, wrapped up in her own emotions – awash with them even - a bitch.

15.  King of Wands – Ready to flare up any minute – temper boiling – hot-headed and a nasty piece of work.

16.  Knight of Swords:  “Tally-ho!”  “Charge!”  Ready for action on the latest crusade – fighting for truth & justice – but pity the poor woman he leaves at home neglected & forgotten.

For me, dreams are so elusive.  I wake with one on the edge of remembering, try to grasp it and it slips away from me, like  trying to hold the wind.  So when I have a strong dream, with physical feelings that stay with me on waking, I tend to take notice.  Last night I had one of those.  This is what I wrote immediately on waking:

Powerful ascension dream.  I had been left behind for eternitys.  I finally heard the call; people see the spaceship and I hear the music calling me up.  I saw my loved ones being left behind.  They saw me lifting up and understood I had to go.  One in particular, an old woman in black, struggled over to say goodbye - I reached down to hold her hand.  Our goodbye was the most beautiful thing.  She saw me turn into a radiant angel.  I felt myself lifting up.  The end of my time on earth was so beautiful yet sad.

What was so strong about this dream was the actual bodily feelings I remember.  First there was the ache of longing because I had been left behind "for eternitys".  Then there was the feeling of lifting up - I really felt myself floating upwards and had a strong sensation of looking down on the faces below.  The woman in black is a strange one.  I can see her clearly now, like a Portuguese widow in black - not known to me personally, yet strangely familiar.  She was like a grandmother figure and I remember she walked badly with a stick, yet "rushed" over to me when she saw me rising up so she would be in time to hold my hand and say goodbye.  It was very touching and emotional.  Then there was me turning into a "radiant angel".  I can see it now, my body becoming transparant with flickering colours like spreading oil on a puddle - I felt so light.  I was becoming beauty and merging with beauty - a feeling of oneness and peace.  All in all, and uplifting dream.  I would appreciate any comments or interpretations.  My husband said it sounded like an out of body experience but I have no previous experiences to judge this by.

I feel so blessed to live somewhere that has spring flowers flowering everywhere.  Take a look at the roses that scramble over the walls.  I wish I knew what variety they are - the scent is deep and rich, the petals flecked from magenta to burgundy to pale pink.  I couldn´t resist gathering a bunch for the house, and as a bonus I´m saving all the falling petals for scented pot pourri.

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Here are some more pictures from my son's wedding.  These were taken at a second ceremony and party which took place in Lucy's home town in West Bengal.  It was for those that were unable to make the 3 day train ride (!) to Bangalore.

You see we are all heaped in silk scarves.  These are given by each guest with a blessing.  My husband and I sat with Owen and Lucy for literally hours while people filed in with gifts for the newlyweds and scarves for us all.

There was a second Lepcha blessing ceremony.  This one was carried out by the old shaman (known as a bóngthíng) who had attended Lucy when she was a little girl.  We felt honoured to watch this fascinating ritual, although our sensitive western attitudes were spared from watching the sacrifice.  The guy was amazing - sitting for about an hour on the cold, hard floor then rising at the end, unaided and without using his hands, in one smooth movement.

The picture of the drink shows Tumba, a millet beer a.k.a. chi or chang.  This is served in a bamboo container with bamboo straw and once it has been drunk someone is on hand to immediately top it up with warm water, which after a minute or two starts the fermentation again.  This goes on until there is no more fermentation at which point a replacement is fetched.  You soon realise:

1.  That if you don't slow down you will get very, very drunk. 

2.  Everyone around you is already very, very drunk. 

3.  Too late!  You are already very, very drunk :O 

I must say that although the taste is not great at first, and avoiding a mouthful of millet seeds up the straw takes some practise, this was one of the best buzzes I have ever had from alcohol.  You can see from the pictures that everyone was up for a real shindig and was having fun.  It's the only time I've seen people that were quite literally falling-down drunk!  Yet the next day, marvel of marvels, no hangover!

We had such a special time among the Lepcha people who treated us like visiting royalty.  Everyone says that Owen and Lucy will have an auspicious wedding because they have good stars and married in a "lucky" year.  In my view, with such supportive in-laws and lovely bride Owen is a very fortunate young man.

kernewes.covenspace.com

Having just got back from India, I decided to post some pictures from my son's wedding in Bangalore last year.  Not only a Westerner marrying an Indian, but one who comes from a small hill tribe in West Bengal called Lepcha. 

I really took to the Lepchas.  They worship nature, the elements, sun, moon, stars and the ancestors - sounds pagan to me :D.

The ceremony was beautiful with the spirit of my son's late grandfathers being invoked and their blessing being requested to protect the marriage.  The elements were called and asked to ensure that nothing bad can affect the marriage.  It was a unique and special event that I felt privileged to attend. 

kernewes.covenspace.com