Lost in Archetypes

7 of Wands

This is yesterday's card; that is, Friday 30 May 2003. (By the way, for these daily one-card readings I'm using the Comparative Tarot deck, which features images from four different decks on each card. I'm specifically using it because it contains the Universal Waite deck, which is pretty straightforward and traditional in its symbolism.) Wands are all about the practicality of day-to-day life, the basics of being human. According to learntarot.com, three keywords for this card are "aggression, defiance and conviction." It's all about taking a stand. Here's what I wrote down at work yesterday:

A man stands alone, brandishing his staff against six others just like it, which stand in the foreground. The look on his face is one of fervor, conviction. He is not a fighter, but he will fight for this because it is something he believes in with all the strength and passion in his being. He is not thinking of whether or not he will win; he knows already that he must, and has put that aside. We do not see the people behind the six oppising staves; they have not assigned the same importance to this battle. For them war is impersonal; an act of coordinated brute strength - it has no face, no individuality. The man opposing them, however, forces them to look and see his face, his perfect solitude. It is the face of the everyday man determined to make a difference.

I think one thing I could stand to learn from this card is how important it is to have opinions. There's a lot of things I'm undecided on, especially when it comes to politics and the like. I'm one of the most indecisive people I know. I did try yesterday, however, to be more assertive when it came to my opinion and decision-making. I'm not sure whether or not it worked, though. It's a hard thing to do.

Introduction

Let's see - where to begin? I've been studying the Tarot - first not-so-seriously and then somewhat-more-seriously - since December of 2000. Which is not a long time by any means. But we all have to start somewhere, right? Anyway, having read about the history behind the Tarot and philosophy about how it works, as well as having done readings (with a fair amount of success, all things considered) for many people and having hours-long conversations and debates with other interested parties about the meanings of the cards, I've decided it's time to tackle the card-a-day method of study.

A lot of sources recommend this, as well as my own father, who's been studying the Tarot for 43 years. The source I'm working most closely with right now is learntarot.com, which is linked over there in the links area on the right. I will do my best to give credit where it's due whenever quoting this or any other source. Not a particularly big fan of plagiarism.

Why keep this journal as a blog? Well, I have friends who are studying the Tarot as well, and I know they might like to read up and comment on the things I learn about it. Also, I hope to be able to glean insight from anyone else who might stumble upon this thing and think, "Hey, I have something to add to that." Hence the upcoming comment link, which should be showing up shortly. Woo, aliteration. Plus I just really, really like blogging.

This isn't, however meant to be any sort of tutorial. That's what learntarot.com and the like are for. In addition to that website I can recommend some very good books on the subject: The Intuitive Tarot by Richard Gordon and Dixie Taylor, and Tarot by Mouni Sadhu. The latter is sort of hard to find, as I believe it is out of print, but definitely worth it if you can get your hands on a copy. I do recommend reading the former first, though, if you're not already somewhat experienced with the Tarot, because Sadhu's work is pretty intense.

Since I'm not by any means attempting to teach people how to use Tarot cards or about the history of them, I also don't feel obliged to defend my belief that they are neither silly nor evil. Suffice it to say that I believe they are a very useful tool for looking inward and being honest with ourselves, and we'll just leave it at that.

All right, I think that about covers anything. Let the over-analysis begin!