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To: alt.pagan,alt.arts.poetry.comments,alt.tarot
From: "Will Dockery" 
Subject: Will's Tarot reading
Date: Sun, 7 Dec 2003 08:25:04 -0500

Will, Will, Will... you are such a good man at heart, but you can be your
own worst enemy. In the very first cards of this throw, I can see the
catastrophic event that you are still mired in; if you had been trying to
straighten out your life, cut down on substances and other temptations that
are potentially harmful, you fell pretty hard at this time.

Your good-heartedness comes out very prominently in the card of the past...
the 8 of Swords, reversed, tells me that at some time in the past, you were
at once liberated, set free in your spirit, cleansed of confusion, and you
helped to liberate another. I believe the cards are speaking of the Dark
Queen, because her card, the Queen of Swords, follows right after the 8 of
Swords... and the Queen is reversed... signifying to me her accident and
severe injuries... I see the 10 of Swords as a future influence, which means
a final, penultimate sense of loss... but coming as this card does
immediately opposite the card of liberation, I have a very strong sense of
self-blame.

You blame yourself for what happenned... but it's not really your fault,
Luv, is it? You weren't even there at the time, were you? In some way, it
was completely out of your control, yet you feel responsible, and it's
tearing you apart.

You are going to find release in an unconventional way, most likely through
your own unorthodox faith. The Hierophant, reversed, tells me this... and
Hon, I don't really see DQ's condition improving... at least, she doesn't
show up in the cards that way... you're going to go through the fire even
more before you finally come out of the crucible, a much purer and nobler
essence. OK, sorry, I'm not usually that esoteric. Bear with me, and I will
try to explain....

You're going to have an enlightening experience that is going to give you
the strength to free yourself once again. That's as much as I can say about
it. I sense it coming through a sort of ritual, but that ritual isn't an
organized religious ritual per se... it's a ritual that is quite off the
beaten path....

Despite the fact that you love to reminisce, you are still afraid of getting
mired in your childhood, sentiments, and nostalgia. Diamonds vs. Rust, you
are afraid of the Rust, even though you probably think you have already
rusted... nope, it's just that the diamond hasn't been quite cleaned off
yet. Remember the crucible image. All of this is happening for a reason...
and at the very least, if you allow it to propel you to the next level, you
will definitely come out ahead.

People can't make up their minds about you. They don't really believe you
are a villain, but they don't know quite *what* you are, and so you remain
suspicious to them. Trickster energy is very hard for most to understand.
However, regarding the most serious of the accusations and slander against
you, you will be exonerated (if you let yourself pass through the fire and
come out on the other side of it).

You are quite the masochist at the time being. You are reveling in the pain,
the self-torture, and your stance is, "Bring on the nightmares!" I know this
because of the 9 of Swords card in the position of your desires. This could
also mean that what you most desire is absolutely certain to bring you the
worst kindof heartache/heartbreak. It could well destroy you. Again, the
crucible image... it is a phase you need to pass *through* while realizing
that there is another side to it... if you enter the black hole in space,
you must do so in the hope of coming out on the other side of it.

The resolution isn't wonderful... but it's not a disaster. I see you as
coming to the point where you are re-organizing your goals, plans, plots,
strategies, and most of all, making new decisions about how to invest your
energies. This is a pivotal point in your life, Will... but I see you
emerging victorious, and with much less baggage, hurts and impediments than
ever before.

The spread contained mostly swords and wands, which tells me that even
though I didn't see great cards of movement, you are in motion, or will
shortly be. Most of the movement is internal; *growth* is your big challenge
during the next few months (end of winter, beginning of spring).  You've
been putting it off for a long time now... that's why it's extra painful to
process. But you're gonna get through it. And you will see that it was all a
series of necessary steps... and it will all seem worthwhile then.

Well, it's not exactly the short version, but it's shorter and more compact
than it could have been. I'm gonna list the order of the cards so that you
can re-create the reading if you like.

#1- Ace of Wands, reversed (where you are right now)
#2 - The Devil (crossing card)
#3 - 8 of Swords, reversed (distant past)
#4 - Queen of Swords, reversed (recent past)
#5 - 10 of Swords (poss. future influence/self outlook)
#6 - The Hierophant, reversed (other future influence)
#7 - 6 of Cups (fears)
#8 - 5 of Swords  reversed (how others see you)
#9 - 10 of Swords (your hopes)
#10 - 2 of Wands, reversed (resolution/outcome)

Darlin', I hope this is helpful. If this wasn't too awful for you, I would
like to do a follow-up reading with the Motherpeace deck (or I could just do
a repeat with the Celtic Cross/Rider if you prefer).




From: "Will Dockery" 
Newsgroups: alt.pagan,alt.arts.poetry.comments,alt.tarot
Subject: Will's tarot reading [part two]
Date: Sun, 7 Dec 2003 08:30:45 -0500
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 have to say that this is one of the more bizarre Tarot spreads I have ever
done for a man. Virtually all of the cards are bursting with female symbols
and their energy. My sense is that you are more or less surrounded by
females at this time... and/or that your mind and heart are nearly totally
focused on a woman.

Card #1:  6 of Wands. Depicted on the face of this card is a naked woman who
is lying in the middle of a circle of fire, as though her body has become
the spokes in a firey wheel. This card represents the power unleashed when
you enter into a state of power and victory. It's a burst of energy, of
newness; you are entering a new phase of your life and experiencing a
release of power and energy. You are also quite intensely focused on the DQ;
these are round cards, and when they are skewed to the right or left, that
indicates too great a force being exerted or too little, respectively;
reversed cards can mean a reversed meaning, but more often they signify that
certain energies are happening on a purely unconscious level, and the
Questioner needs to become aware of this and draw tht energy out. In this
case, the 6 of Wands is telling me that you are focused on her energies to
the point of obsession; even though it "feels good," and you are drawing
strength from this obsession, it can lead to burn out. But you are a person
of highs and lows; if you can ride the rollercoaster and gain something from
each peak and valley, then it will be a worthwhile ride, PoetryMan.

Card #2:  your own questioning:  The Star. This card depicts a woman
chest-deep in a natural pond... in the rain... with a jug of water nearby
and a morning glory vine trailing in front. This card represents the grace
that descends when one opens to love, truth, spiritual wisdom. It's a card
of healing, on all levels of body, mind, heart, spirit... there's an
eroticism to this card as well, a "sexual healing" as well... the liberation
and healing that I saw in the first reading are not only still with you, but
you have found them to be renewed and deepened. My sense is that you are
asking if this feeling can be sustained; you are searching for real love...
you asked once if loved believed in you in return... my gut reaction is "Of
course," but we're asking the cards, not the Fluffy Schoolgirl....

Card #3:  the lesson you are presently engaged in... the 9 of Swords
(again)... in this deck, this card represents your personal nightmares...
this card is skewed to the right, which tells me that you cling to the
negative way too tightly... you expect your nightmares to come true, and so
help to manifest them. A better way of stating the lesson in your life at
this time is learning to focus on what you actually *want* to manifest, not
what you fear will happen regardless.

Card #4:  the root of the matter:  the 8 of Discs (pentacles), which
signifies learning or gaining skills/power in a cooperative environment...
in other words, the people you love, who have taught you your most cherished
lessons... and your most cherished memories. These are the people who have
given you strength. The card is canted to the left... which tells me that
these beloved people may have been taken for granted... or that you have
been unable to really appreciate them in the past, or to show them how you
felt. You may have had ambivalence about them... but this card comes up here
and now because you are beginning to understand how important they are to
you. Relationships are becoming important to you in a new way now, and you
are spending a lot of energy evaluating them.

Card #5, the recent past:  7 of Swords, a trickster card depicting a fox
preparing to enter a farm yard by climbing up 7 swords stuck into a wooden
fence. In this reading, the card is upright... and represents strategy as
well as guilt... some scheme of yours recently brought you a certain amount
of success, but it was a case of winning a battle you regret winning... you
revel in the success, but you still feel a certain sense of guilt.

Card #6:  The sky, or how you think:  The Moon. I'm not too sure what to say
about this. Moon is perhaps the most potent symbol of the Goddess ever...
she represents goddess power, but she also represents the elegant order of
the moon's cycles, the turning of the Wheel, the simple/complex order of
things. You may revel in chaos, but at heart/mind, you are a Taurean lover
of divine order (when it works). If things seem out of kilter, it tends to
cloud and corrupt the whole shebang... I think the lesson here is to take
your love of the Goddess and her flowing nature... and let yourself flow...
the card is canted to the left, so this is an area that you could use more
emphasis in... not that you do not love the Goddess enough (you do!) but
allowing yourself to flow... allowing yourself to yield to the natural
forces in healthy ways....

Card #7:  Future occurence:  The World... this is the ultimate card in the
major arcana, in this deck. It is the card of true liberation and freedom...
you might call it the card of enlightenment, in the Buddhist sense
perhaps... not a sense of nothingness, but a sense of the dance of energies
in the universe, a sense of the connectedness of all things.... that is
coming soon... usually the card in this position comes to pass any time
within the next 2 weeks.

Card #8:  Self-concept:  The Hanged One, canted to the left but resting
exactly halfway toward upside down. Ambivalence, my dear. The love-hate
relationship you have with yourself. On the one hand, you are a lover of
balance... you have a great sense of the balance between your heart and your
head... on the other hand, you tend toward extremes. You may not be very
sure what to make of your own self. Not a criticism here, but a look at
what's going on. On the one hand, you expect yourself to be consistent, to
be able to know yourself at any given time... on the other hand, there's a
part of you that hates boredom, routine, the same-old-same-old, and it
struggles to break up that good old reliable-ness, in the hope of feeling
free. There is pleasure, and there is pain. There is adventure, and there is
regret. *This is one place where I really sense that you need to forgive
yourself... to accept yourself... find out what your rising sign and your
moon are... and embrace that triad... because you're not just a plodding old
Taurus, the way you may have been told. Taureans are ruled by Venus... Venus
is a wild child, ya know... so even though you have an inherently strong
sense of down-to-earth, earth-element values, you are still spiced by Venus'
strong, sensual nature. Embrace all that is in you, Hon.

Card #9, your hopes and fears (which might be the same thing):  the High
Priestess. I believe that your hopes for your life as a whole are pretty
much wrapped up in your search for the perfect mate, your true love, the
woman who is just right for you. Your definition of her is very much the
definition of the High Priestess. You want her to be wise, in touch with
esoteric knowledge, intelligent, creative, mysterious and mystical... at the
same time, you want her to be in tune with the realities of balance and the
natural universe... the H.P. sits in between two pillars which are polar
opposites, purity and experience, yin and yang, male and female... there's a
tremendous amount of power in this woman... primal power that is at once
pure and sensual... tall order for one woman to fill... and expectations so
high that you may even feel no one can truly fill those glass slippers...
You want to find this woman (like Byron's Manfred)... at the same time, you
fear you have either lost her forever or she doesn't exist. This is another
area of your life to ponder... check out what it is you want, expect,
believe, and so forth... you may decide to bring your expectations of
yourself and others a little more down to earth....

Card #10:  House, where you draw your energy from:  Justice. This card in
its basic meaning in this deck has nothing
to do with courts and the laws of humans... it has to do with natural law,
the workings of the seasons and the cosmos... what charges you up and
recharges you is the very goddess energy of the earth... the harmony and
balance you find in the natural world... in just relationships with other
creatures. Not sure if I can explain this one any further... if this is not
where you have been drawing your energy, then you need to begin here. Venus
is very concerned with harmony and beauty... your soul craves it (I'm sure
you've noticed this)... and this is good food for your soul.

Card #11:  Resolution:  more than one facet here... first resolution card is
the Shaman of Discs (King of Pentacles)... this card depicts a young man
riding a horse through a sort of canyon... he's on a quest of sorts... he's
riding off to act as a mediator, interpreter, liason. Peacemaker, in other
words, but bear in mind that he is there to initiate or facilitate dialogue.
He's not riding out for vengeance, nor to make himself a sacrifice... he's
riding out with his shield and his totem the eagle. Different  folks have
different ways of making peace... this will be initiated on your own terms.
But most definitely, the first part of your resolution is making peace.

Resolution #2:  The Wheel of Fortune. [No, you're probably not going on the
game show.] This card depicts all the planets lining up in a straight line
with the sun... and surrounding this alignment is a ring of Goddess figures
from virtually every culture, mostly in their fertile/Mother aspect. This
card signifies a fortunate turn of events, usually dealing with aspects of
prosperity. So... the first step is to reconnect and make peace... the
second step will follow... I suspect that somehow, in the peacemaking you
will suddenly find yourself grasping an opportunity that was formerly closed
to you... or you may have been closed to this opportunity. However this
comes to pass for you, it's going to make a huge difference in your life....
and you will live far more comfortably than you do now....