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Tarot:
Back to Basics
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by Gigi Miner |
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Welcome to a New Year. No doubt, many of us are still trying to recover from the hectic life that surrounds the holidays. While some of us look forward to the stimulation of such activity, others breathe a sigh of relief when the first of the year comes around. Traditionally, New Year is the time to survey our lives and decide what to keep and what to discard. A fresh start is welcomed and maybe even sorely needed.
Ethyrial Tarot Copyright © 2005 Gigi Miner
Used with Permission
Our card for this month is the Ace of Swords from the Ethyrial Tarot ©. This card is very simple. We have a sword floating in the air, clouds, a bird soaring in the background, and some flames licking the hilt of the sword. Tarot is an art of symbolism. One might think that the more symbols available the better. However, there are times when “less is more”. One of the ideas behind the Aces is that they speak of beginnings or seeds. In the beginning, things are simple or at least appear that way. In fact, by looking at our card, perhaps what we notice most is not what we do see, but what we do not see. One of the traditional meanings for the Ace of Swords is “something good coming out of something bad”. The flames might give clue that this sword is rising out of a fiery furnace. For those of us made of flesh and blood, that sounds unpleasant at least. For a sword, fire tempers the steel. Were it not for that flame, the sword could easily break during a crucial moment. If we follow this further, many of us have been in such metaphoric flames. We have been subject to times that seemed to hold no purpose apart from making our lives feel like a hell. Upon hindsight, however, we might discover that we, like the sword, were tempered by our heated moments. While we do not always appreciate it, we become stronger by the adversities that we face.
Now, let us turn our sight toward another idea behind the Ace of Swords. Swords are often associated with communication, truth, conflict, and thoughts. When life becomes hectic and too difficult to handle, the best advice you might find is to take things back to basics. In this case, our words and thoughts can play a major role in our ability to move forward or not. What we say and think affects how we progress. If our first thoughts in this New Year are ones of depression and defeat, then our opportunity to make a fresh start is already on the way to being nullified. Circumstances may not always present us with easy solutions. No matter how willing we are to go forward, we still carry with us the ripples of previous decisions and situations. If you read last month’s article, this should make more sense to you. The ripples can be altered. Our words are one weapon in our arsenal that can aid us in this quest. While it can seem daunting to begin anything, remember that this is our opportunity to take things back to basics. We all find times when we have been so overwhelmed by difficulties that we have lost our ability to see anything simple any more. Yet, it can begin with something as basic as our words. New beginnings can begin with new words.
One method of counseling that I use for people is to help them explore the situation outside of themselves. When someone is faced with situations that seem too strong to face, I try to turn the conversation around. If someone that you know and care about were experiencing a similar situation, what would you advise him or her to do? By removing the status of victim and turning it to advisor, one’s mind seems to see things from a unique perspective. It is always easier to view a difficulty from the outside. In fact, I will also try to think of a moment that may be similar, but not exactly the same. This further removes the person from their own walls of despair and opens them up to solutions rather then the problems. Taking the outside perspective allows more freedom to explore possibilities. Once we find out what they would advise another, we then take that and apply it to their own life. It is amazing what weight can be lifted by such a practice.
Another method is to change our words. I have written on this many times. I am sure I will write it many more times to come. Our words help to create our lives. If we speak words of defeat and despair, we will see only that. If we speak words of hope and possibilities, we will always see a way through the dark. Even if our words do not create a change of circumstances, they will help to change our perspective. It is easiest to begin this while things are calmer. However, we can still change our words and thoughts if amidst the chaos. I am not saying to declare that the sky is pink when it is blue. I am saying to find a positive spin on things. Instead of telling yourself that you have totally blown things, try asking what lesson you need to learn from the moment. If, for example, you find that you are too quick to speak, then your lesson would be to tell yourself that you will be more careful with your words in the future. Rather then continually beating yourself up over old mistakes, rise above them, find the lesson, and leave the rest behind. That is what a New Year is all about, new beginnings. You have the chance to shed your old skin and start fresh. Your words can help you with that task.
Look at our sword again. Something people tend to forget about the sword is that it is a weapon. A good sword is sharp and cuts. Occasionally, we may find it necessary to cut out the people from our lives that do not respect our choices to move forward. If you are trying to learn from your mistakes, the last thing you need is someone else standing around reminding you of how foolish you felt and how low you fell when defeated. What you do need is someone who will help you to maintain that forward moving perspective, someone who will lend a hand to help you rise off the ground and dust yourself off. A Japanese proverb says, “fall down seven times, get up eight”. What we tend to look at as mistakes are really lessons. When a child begins to learn to walk, they fall down over and over. Were they ever to stop trying to get back up and discover what to do to stay standing, they would forever sit. Our lives are not over just because we reach a certain age. We are all here to learn. The person who ceases to learn, ceases to live. The only way to learn is to risk falling down before we master the lesson. Rather then seeing our stumbling as a mistake, we would be better served in seeing it as part of the learning process. Yes, this time I may have totally messed up that one, but next time I will know not to do that and to try this instead. The bird in the background can remind us to take this alternative perspective and see things from the outside. Often when we change how we think about things, we can change the way we feel about them as well.
Our Ace of Swords tries to remind us to lift our words and thoughts above the clamor of every day life. By getting back to the basics of using our words and thoughts to move our lives toward our desired goals, we may find that the path is a little smoother. Even when it is not, we have our weapon of words to help us cope. We can always take things back to the beginnings. If we forget where we are going, we need only return to the beginning to be reminded of our direction. With a new year upon us, let us find ways to rise above the negativity that seems to surround us. Let us speak words of learning and victory rather then of defeat. Let us think about how to learn from our situation rather then to drown in it. We all face the fires at some time or another. Whether they destroy us or temper us is up to us. Human beings have been given the unique gift of choice. We choose our life, our future, and even our perspective. Some things will always seem to remain out of our control. Yet, we may even affect those things to some degree by using our thoughts and words to take things back to basics when necessary.
A New Year provides us with a chance for a new beginning. If you need this in your life, why not take a chance and try on some new words and thoughts. While they may not magically change everything in your life, with time and persistence, you may find that how you perceive things is altered. Regardless of how we pursue our path in this life, the journey is the thing for which we are here. We can make the journey worthwhile by how we walk that path and what words we choose to use.
May 2006 provide you with opportunities to change your words and thoughts. May it also allow you to create the future that you most desire.
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Gigi Miner,
Tarot Consultant,
Author & Teacher
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Gigi Miner is a minister, ordained by the Universal Life Church, and has a Doctorate of Motivation from the same.
“One of the greatest benefits of Tarot is being able to take control of your life rather then be a victim of it,” is the motto of this professional Tarot consultant, author, and teacher, from upstate New York.
Moonlighting as an adult education instructor, Gigi brings that experience into her Tarot and writing work, helping clients and readers to find their own inner wisdom. Gigi has taught classes on tarot in regular and e-formats.
Believing that "laughter is the best medicine,” there is often a lighter tone to her teachings. When conducting an adult-education class, one of the main questions she asks is, "Are you having fun?” If the answer is "yes" then she knows that her students are learning more then if she were teaching in a more traditional mode.
Gigi has written articles for various newsletters, including Tarot Celebrations, World Tarot Network, and Gateway to Tarot. She has released a book entitled, “Light-of-Day Tarot & Dream Work,” which is available at www.lulu.com/ladyfogg.
Her Novel, “Card Shark” is due to be released this fall via the same website.
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Contact Info:
www.geocities.com/
ladyfogg
Email : gigiminer@gmail.com
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