Ace of Wands

A very energized image. The wand is filled with fire, throwing out rays from the flames. The wand hovers quite close to the ground. Between and above two sun flowers can be seen. Beyond it, only sky - blue sky.

[key]

Creation, power - new life. Creative energy, beginning of growth or life.
Increase, inheritance, birth, adventure, virility fertility, evolution, unfolding possibilities.

In a reading, it signifies spiritual evolution. Could mean seeker's job or dreams are evolving into something else. Balances. Intelligence and emotions, rational thought and dreams. Activity and rest.

This is quite interesting, since my daily draw THEME of the day is the Ace of Wands.

Daily Draw Reflection

DAILY DRAW


THEME: Judgment

This is a day about releasing that which is no longer needed. I am rising above some issues that I am having. I am beginning to let go of some things from the past.


GUIDE: Nine of Swords

The Theme of the day flows into my Guiding Card and allows me to recognize the thoughts and/or beliefs attached to fear which are not real, but of my own making. I am given the opportunity to let go of these things.


MEDITATION: Nine of Pentacles

The harvest is full and as this cycle ends, I can walk through the land of things finished and see the work which was done and taste and enjoy the fruits of my labors. I am guided to meditate on the process which brought me to this point.


SHADOW CARD: Seven of Cups

Following the Guide and Meditation - letting go and reaping the harvest, I stand ready to move toward the next step. Which dreams are ready and open for entry and will further my progress? This speaks of CHOICES.


WHAT IT ALL MEANS:

The two nines here stress the ending, and thus the beginning of cycle.
As I release things no longer needed, especially that which only impedes my progress, I can take a moment to assess my achievements and then move on to the next phase: The choices are many.

Celebration of Light

PAGE OF WANDS

Here is a work in progress. The image, while not showing physical movement, has great energy in it. It makes me feel curious. I want to know more.

The image shows a young girl standing on a dirt road, both hands wrapped around a great wand. Light is glinting off of the crystal at the top.

Practice, inquisitiveness about her work with energy. As with the other pages, she is involved with learning the ways of her realm. Her tunic is the color of the Kingdom, without great flair of flames. Her belt is of the same color and pattern of the Fool's left leg trew. This might show she exhibits the masculine power of her realm. Her hair itself, resembles a lion's mane.

Unlike the others of her family, there are no companions.

*song for the Page of Wands: Celebration of Light

Street Wise Hercules

KNIGHT OF WANDS

"Where's the streetwise Hercules to fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?...

...He's gotta be strong
and he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight.

He's gotta be sure
and it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life!"*

* * *

Here is wildness, sweeping in and making himself known. Showy, but with control. The I-NEED-A-HERO guy of song. His style has a sense of mystery due to his armor, while at the same time you KNOW who it is.

There is somewhat less control of his use of energy - Wildfire!
He's joyful, brilliant, strong. There is a sense of overwhelming (perhaps a bit overstate?) passion and bravery. Courage, daring, someone looking for a cause to champion and preferably a LOST cause. There is also loyalty, fearlessness and nobility shown here. He is proud, and has the capacity to be aggressive, even violent, if the situation call for it.

[image]

In the same kingdom landscape, the Knight makes a splashy entrance. His body, though barely covered, is protected in the places which are most vulnerable (head, heart, loins). As a companion, his fiery steed is full of his master's energy. The knight's helmet is that of a lion. This harkins back again to the Magician.

This card can also mean a journey or a change of residence.


*song for Knight Wands: I Need A Hero by Bonnie Tyler

Balancing Act Daily Draw

DAILY DRAW

THEME: Two of Swords

The Theme speaks of balance, but it speaks of being unable to see myself in space and time, and not knowing if I am or I am not balanced. As a clarifier, I will look at whether this is balance of inner work, or balance of the mundane:

The Clarifier shows the Ten of Wands, which indicates that I am unbalanced in the mundane. I am not balancing work. It speaks of taking on too much work. Not getting the rest I need, or the time I need for myself. I will look further into how to balance myself here after this reading.

GUIDE: Two of Pentacles

How interesting that this comes as my Guide. This speaks of balancing with play. I am guided to find more time for myself. I will have to review the situation and find what needs to be rearranged.


MEDITATION: Seven of Swords

This is interesting, because the first thought is 'covert ops' and meditating on how to 'steal' time for myself. Part of reviewing the situation. Is it like taking from so and so to give to such much, or how ever that saying really goes? More reiviewing.


SHADOW CARD: Two of Wands

Okay, this is THREE twos coming into my daily reading. This means it is a significant reading, and I should not just do the reading and get on with the rest of my day... I should take action, though... here's the kicker, this Two is of balance in the watching and waiting arena. So hmmmm....

OH, and lets not forget that I had two jumper cards that fell out of the deck during my shuffle. The first was the Queen of Pentacles... which speaks quite clearly of meditation, so I need to not just STEAL time, I need to sit and meditate on this situation. The second, and this is where it gets downright eerie (?)... The Two of Cups was the second card. Now, that's balance in ALL suits. That can mean, over balanced (which I doubt, but who can tell), or it can mean that I seriously need to make changes and that all of the aspects: work (pentacles), intellect/mind (Swords), Energy/creativity/beginnings/all the things which the ACE of Wands brought into my meditation yesterday (Wands) and of course the one that got away, but is remembered, the Emotions (Cups).... So I'm either seriously out of whack (or just whack) or I'm over balanced, and I should chill some... but that doesn't exactly jive, when it comes to the mundane... I mean, while I complain a lot, the fact is, comparatively speaking, I don't do jack (or know him for that matter), so what's it all about alphie?:


WHAT IT ALL MEANS: Balance is the name of the game, from every side, in every arena. It's time to take a look; do the Emperor thing... I actually am about ready to begin working with him on the Tarot for Your Self front... that may be why this came up. Ducks in a row, and all that - sounds familiar?

Company's Comin'

QUEEN OF WANDS

"Folks come from miles around
Jumping up and jumping down,
Carrying off,
Carrying on
Til the break of dawn..."*


The Court was full of energy, and I had to say I didn't see any unhappy or dissatisfied faces of those who served in The Court. And I soon learned that the Queen, like her husband, was the reason. A joyousness that was like an energetic sprite filled the air around her. She was all laughter, and gayity, running her domain with exuberance, an infectious sense of fun, that sent out its tendrils to engage all those working there with the same energy. It reminded me of the Peaceful Kingdom in the way that friendliness bubbled over into the activity, and the sense of being welcomed was good. It was the animated extreme of the peaceful sense from the first kingdom I'd visited. I was given delicious food, and lodging for as long as I needed, or wanted. I was invited to join in all of the goings-on of the realm.
I remembered I felt welcomed in the Peaceful Kingdom. Here, I felt I belonged. Either way, it was nice to be with lively, fun-loving folk.

I like this card; this Queen. She is very welcoming. While the landscape remains the same, one of her two compainions is a beautiful copse of sunflowers. The other is a charcoal gray cat. Like her paramour, she holds a crystal staff. There is greater motion in her - almost a sense of a pixie; her eyes twinkle with a sense of knowing what nobody else does, yet. Her gown seems more like a flower, the sense of flames are played down, though the colors are the same. Perhaps she is somewhat more refined. The feminine energy is softer, while still radiant.

[insights]

Here is considerable energy, warmth and passion. She's fond of Nature, generous, yet practical and pragmatic.

*Song for The Queen of Wands: Company's Comin' by Poco

Interview Reading

INTERVIEW READING
The Robin Wood Deck

1. Tell me about yourself
What is your most important characteristic?
THE MOON

I am in the spiritual tradition of the Goddess. I work from the feminine aspect and guide both wild and domestic beings. Hidden mysteries are my most important characteristic and I illuminate the ripples of action.

2. What are your strengths as a deck?
THE HERMIT

I am a guiding light for all seekers. Teaching those who come to me. I shine a light upon the footsteps of all who have come this way. Silence and solitude work hand in hand with contemplation and meditation to aid your journey.

3. What are your limits as a deck?
THREE OF SWORDS

I don't hide the harsh truths. I don't sugar coat things to make it easy for you. Sometimes things hurt and I will show these to you as well. I am tough love. I may not always make sense.

4. What do you bring to the table?
What will you teach me?
TWO OF PENTACLES

Balance is my primary teaching. I speak of teaching you how to balance yourself, your life, in all aspects and eventualities.

5. How can I best learn and collaborate with you?
THE STAR

Seek the light, practice your rituals, and follow the rules you set for yourself when you work.

6. What is the potential outcome of our work together?
TWO OF CUPS

The potential of integration of the physical and spiritual self, and an abiding friendship and love is the greatest possible outcome.

FIRE

KING OF WANDS

Hmmmmm Wands you say? Here I was thinking it would be cups. Who knew? But had I been thinking, I'd have known. Robin is following the casting of the circle from The North on around.

Pentacles = Earth in the North of the circle.
Swords = Air in the East of the circle.
Wands = Fire in the South of the circle.

I bid adieu to The Blades. It was not really a sad farewell, but on the other hand, I did meet some good folk and see things from a much more stark perspective. As I walked off down the road away from the Kingdom of Swords, I wondered where my journey would take me.

If I'd thought the landscape where I'd spent the last month was meager, what I began to notice as I sat and rested after a few hours walk, was that the desert had taken hold here. Nothing seemed to grow, and the few critters which crossed my path either slithered, or skittered across the non-roadway.

I was startled by a voice from behind. "Company. Excellent!" I turned and looked up at a tall lanky man, whose crown, only, gave him away as royalty. Upon first glance, I thought his clothing was tattered, ragged. But I realized as I stood, this was how his robes were designed. "Welcome to Firesign Theater," he said, chuckling.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I am..." he paused a moment. "What I am."

He stood there, one hand clasped around a rather impressive crystal staff, terminated on top, catching and radiating the sun, in a singularity of sorts. His other hand was open, palm up, speaking as much of what he said about himself, as his words did.

"Come, you'll break bread with us, and rest through the heat of the day, should it please you. I know it would please us." He turned, and gestured for me to follow, and I noticed, then that a critter was scrambling along side of him, keeping close. To be sure, I thought it might be a baby dragon of some kind. Fascinating.

I liked this man, right away. His friendliness, while different from the King of Pentacles, was possibly more winning, like he didn't need all the beauty and peace of the Peaceful Kingdom for his essence to shine through. I had to ponder, in fact, on whether the sun did not radiate directly from him. I actually was reminded of The Magician, whom I'd met way back, and whose demeanor felt remarkably like this man's.

[insights]

Here is light. Here is Energy, vibrating in the air itself. Here is Fire. Will. There is a sense that this is the beginning of life; the way 'star stuff' might begin to coalesce into a world. This is the place of the timeline of life in all its aspects; the stages of growth. The sense of easy thoughts translating into nimble words, yet self-controlled. Here is Energy used wisely, creatively.

Song for King of Wands: FIRE by Bruce Springsteen

First FULL DECK Daily Draw

FIRST FULL DECK
DAILY DRAW

THEME: Page of Swords

My eyes note first the spyglass upon the belt of the Page, and this means this will be a day of looking for what is needed to continue. Organizing my thoughts as this new phase of my work begins. All Pages represent a beginning, a learning, and so it will be as I move from the seat of meeting to the place where I will begin applying, and settling into a routine, but also seeking information on creating my Sacred Space, and making a bag or my cards (the box is falling apart). The page also reminds me to communicate more frequently with others, and ask questions so I can gain greater insight.


GUIDE: Eight of Wands

The excitement and energy with this transition has my Universe expanding, and I am soaring up into the vastness of All That Is. I am guided to temper my exuberance so that I can organize myself. Of interest, The Eight of Wands was in yesterday's draw, coming today from The Shadow Card, to GUIDE me.


MEDITATION: Three of Pentacles

Today's meditation brings me to a Mastercrafts man, who teaches me that true mastery takes time; to concentrate on each step, and ensure it affords me the greatest success. A lot of work goes into any project, and layout my plans for this next stage, organize myself so that movement will be smooth, and create the best way for myself to work. Learning from others is of great importance, but creating my own style will be where the magic comes into the equation.


SHADOW CARD: Six of Pentacles

I feel rich today, but it is important to balance myself, and not only seek what others are willing to give, but also to return in kind. Become more involved in the community. We are not islands, and learning, even on the Spirit Realm, is done so I can live more beautifully, and that means in concert with others.


WHAT IT ALL MEANS

As a new phase begins, looking toward how to organize my studies, and learning how to live and work with my Teacher is the form of this new period. There is great excitement, and well there should be, though, it is important not to expend too much energy, as there is much work to be done. There will be organizing, and drawing up plans for what is needed as the next phase clicks into place. Remember to balance myself in the richness of the feeling in which I am luxuriating, to both give and take... exchange is important.

TEN OF SWORDS

"Riders on the storm
Into this house we're born
Into this world we're thrown
Like a dog without a bone,
An actor out on loan..."*

! ! !

Shall I doubt what my eyes perceive? Here I see, perhaps, that which is actual death. Overkill, is more like it. Execution, slaughter, assassinated.

Is the deceased of another land or kingdom?

The image shows a surrounding darkness and yellow river - Luck has run out? - flowing off into the distance. In the foreground is a body of a slain man. Ten different swords have been plunged into his body. BLood is spilled. Loss of a battle? even a war (seeing this is the last card of the suit?). The clothing appears to be deep purple (royalty?) Beneath that he wore an orange/gold tunic. It appears snow is surrounding the body - The winter of life?

[Robin's key words]

misfortune, ruin, defeat, failure, pain, desolation, beyond tears, total betrayal, OR end of the above and the beginning of hope. "Culmination of all swords; the end of strife is suggested. Sacrifice and transformation."


*song for Ten Of Swords: Riders On The Storm by The Doors

Welcome To My Nightmare

NINE OF SWORDS

"...You tell me your blue skies fade to gray,
Tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carryin' on

You stand in the line just to hit a new low,
You're faking a smile, with the coffe to go

You tell me your life's been way offline
You're fallin' to pieces every time..."*

! ! !

There was a book I remember called, "when bad things happen to good people," and if I had to look at one kingdom this applied to it would definitely be The Blades. I mean, come on, being tied up, trying hard just to stay above water, point blank, right through the heart. No wonder these people have bad dreams. Bad days, is more like it. And it's not bad enough to have to deal with it in the waking time, but to have it follow you, dog you in your sleep. That's just wrong.

I'd hear her in the night, but never could actually figure out where she was. It wasn't a wailing, but a muffled sobbing, sometimes a moaning. But it was always there, like it said in the movie, 'The Haunting,' "...Nobody will hear you scream, in the night in the dark. Nobody will come any closer, in the night, in the dark." I'm thinking this place is ripe for a shrink.

I eventually would fall back to sleep, but I had to wonder what was so wrong? Why didn't anybody seem to want to help?

[insights]

The darkness behind the nine swords, which line the wall behind the girl, speaks of the dark places that scare you. Awakened from sleep, the nightmare remains. Whether real or simply a figment of the imagination, the swords tell of being imprisoned. There is fear and sadness. Here is suffering, desolation, doubt, misery; a vicious cycle of brooding about past injuries, that bring on illness, anxiety and distress.

The sad part is that with the swords not being real, it's just symbolic of going around and around, gnawing at a problem. How utterly frustrating!


*song for Nine Of Swords: Bad Day by Daniel Powter

In Your Head They Are Fighting

EIGHT OF SWORDS

"And the violence caused such silence
Who are we mistaken?
But you see, it's not me
It's not my family
In your head,
In your head they are fighting..."*

! ! !

I had the most vivid dreams in this place. I was standing near the top of a hill, looking down toward the sea, when I saw her. Bound, blindfolded and almost completely surrounded by swords that were near six feet tall. A red length of sash wound around her body, shoulders to hips, beneath which she wore a tattered white gown; shredded, giving off a the definite sense of violation. Who had put her there? And why? What had she done? To whom? Terror wafted off her in waves, and I could see her shivering, not because the tides sometimes washed over her feet, around her legs, but out of pure fear.

[insights]

This is a card that feels like an impossible situation. It reminds me of Temptation where a person embodies enslavement, captivity, having been ravaged, imprisoned. It speaks of danger, or believing you're in danger; of being a victim, possibly even the spoils of war.

Her innocence and purity has been shredded. The obvious ideas abound: fear, bondage, restriction, especially through inaction. Also censure, and possibly illness, difficulties, and even paralysis, like the restriction, due to indecision. In general, feeling the task ahead is simply impossible.

The blindfold represents being unable to see your way out of a situation.

Water, the element of cups, is related to emotion.


*Song for Eight Of Swords: Zombie by the Cranberries

Covert Ops

SEVEN OF SWORDS

"Black of day, dark of night
We share this paralyze.
The door cracks open, but there's no sun shining through
Black heart, scarring darker still,
But there's no sun shining through

What I've felt, what I've known,
Turn the pages, turn to stone
Behind the door, should I open it for you?

Yeah, what I've felt, what I've known,
Sick and tired, I stand alone..."*

! ! !

One thing I learned, if I learned anything at all, is you have to get your hands dirty if you're gonna really come to know what these people's lives are about. It was one thing living the high life in the Peaceful Kingdom, passing quickly by the parts of it all that nobody talked about. Here, in the place where life and death hanging in the balance is what defines the essence of the Kingdom of the Blade, I was sinking into the swill of quicksand which was part and parcel for those whose lives play out here.

It was true, a lot of the time, 'there's no sun shining through.' The skies were stormy, and I knew if I was the street urchin Oliver, I wouldn't be able to escape Bill Sikes any more than I could avoid my brush with covert ops right here.

When I saw him, skulking around, slipping in and out of the shadows, lifting the prize blades, now, no longer some training exercise, but the real thing, I immediately connected him to the kid I saw not long ago, learning the tricks of the trade. The chance always exists that someone will take the lessons, and go to the dark side of the Force. What makes it so is anybody's guess. Is it inborn? Conditioned in?

I was standing watching, wided eyed, that imagined flash forward, from the Logan5 of The Blades. Then I wondered about it, and now I felt as if I'd traveled through the decades to Blade5 (now Blade7), a runner, price on his head, disgruntled and either not caring enough for where his actions might lead him, or having fully embraced the Sith within.

Cloaked, and with a stealth that was a skill honed from both his early days, and from a life where success relied entirely on not being detected.

The Seven-ness lies within the bounty this thief pulled in.

[insights]

The general idea of this card would be seen in ideas of betrayal, spying, infiltration. Other possible ways to see this is however, might be found in the idea of stealth, and bravery.

What I find interesting is the sequence of cards here, where Blade5 is followed by the 6, what is the 'rite of passage' which then is followed by Blade7, showing the possibility of a more honorable meaning here.

*song for Seven of Swords: Unforgiven ii by Metallica

The Path To Glory

SIX OF SWORDS

"He's a man in his glory,
A boy in his dreams,
And he's living his living his life in between.

Tomorrow will answer yesterday's dreams
While today he is living in between...

The pathway to glory
Is a long road, it seems
And he's living his life in between."*

! ! !

The world is rife with stories of that time in a person's life when they cross the threshold from childhood to adulthood. The traditional, modern day ones are all about confirmnations, and bar mitvots, and how all peoples celebrate that moment in life when a boy becomes a man and girl becomes a woman. It got me thinking what kind of rite of passage a Blade might have? Fighting dragons, or a first hunt, or winning in competitions that so many courts of all the lands seem to love.

This isn't something which simply popped into my head. Even if I had not just witnessed the 'home coming' of a successful youngster, this had been simmering beneath the surface, as my own journey continued. The things I have learned have gone beyond amazing, when you consider the mundane world of our timeline. So, after I'd seen the boy-become-a-man return to the celebration of his feats, that would likely be told and retold for generations to come, joining the myriad other stories throughout the generations, I wondered where these kinds mettle testing trials had gone over time.

This was the kind of rite which seemed so much more substantial comparatively speaking. What would it be like to have tests to pass, during a journey which might last days, weeks, who knew how long? What would it feel like to be riding across a river to a distant shore, where eons of others's footsteps were etched upon the ground, if not physically, at least the echo of them could be heard in the whispers of the wind, the rustle of the leaves, the darkness in a cave? Their Guide might have been a dragonlord of old, or a great legandary warrior whose ghost, stands like The Hermit atop the mountain, lantern held high, casting the glow, the light at the end of the tunnel, leading the way home. My heart aches with wanting this kind of experience, but I am still too mired in the superficial land of illusion. The most I can hope for in the moment, at any rate, is to live vicariously in the tales told.

[impression and image] There is peace and expectation in this card. The young man glides quietly across the water in a beautiful crafted Swan boat. There is balance with three swords on either side of the front of the boat. Behind the occupant of the boat is an ethereal image of the Spirit Guide who brings this young man forth. The water on the left is placid and less so on the right side. The landscape is more rich and alive than is normally seen in the Kingdom of Blades. There is a dark cave with a pool, near the shore, with a single star shining within and reflected upon the water. There are no storm clouds apparent here.

The rider wears a white tunic, under a purple cloak, and red pants. There is a black band around his arm, representative of mourning... but what loss? The inside of the boat is gold. The six-ness here, shown in the swords, are the six challenges which have been met and won in this rite of passage.

[insights]

This is passing from one state of consciousness to another, higher state. Another meaning can be leaving 'troubles' behind, going to a place of safety, and finding understanding. In itself, being in a boat, can signify a journey by water.


*song for the Six of Swords: Pathway To Glory by Loggins and Messina

Questions on

NOTE TO SELF: get information on significance of a number showing up in a reading two or more times.