Living in the Present
Welcome to the Yule Tarot Blog Hop. The theme du jour is “Christmas Present” – a topic that I have no doubt has yielded diverse and interesting posts from our wonderful collection of bloggers. You can find links at the bottom of the page back to the lovely (and prolific) Chloe’s Lenormand Blog forward to Joanne’s Tarot blog or back to Alison’s master list of all the hoppers.
Life is short and at this time of year the days make it seem even shorter. As we hurtle towards the outbreak of festivities with joy, dread, mild panic or all three, perhaps it is time to take a moment to reflect. Alternatively, if you have no time, no time, no time (oops, mild panic creeping out there), and the world has not, in fact, ended as predicted today, you can always wait until the main event is over and you are quietly thanking providence for surviving the food, family and festivities in a warm, overfed and alcoholic glow.
So, to the reflective part:
We all live in a house of cards, some of us literally more than others*, but all things are transient so it behoves us to make the best of the gifts we have and will receive while we can (and you know I don’t mean the iPods and whatever, right?).
*at last count I had nearly 100 decks, but some people actually have their walls lined with them
You can probably guess that I’ve used Corinne Kenner’s Christmas Tarot (which I gifted myself a few years ago) for this one, though I did cheat and draw the cards from a RWS deck as I haven’t printed it out yet <looks shamefacedly at the floor>. Here’s the spread, I came up with for your Yule reflections and the cards that I drew:
What gift has life given me? Temperance
From Corrine’s accompanying booklet:
Just before Christmas, we note the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. The date marks the rebirth of the sun, when days start to grow longer, and light and dark swing back into balance.
The Temperance card depicts that moment of transition, as Father Christmas steps through a darkened forest doorway and the sun’s light follows him. As he makes his way through the darkness, winter’s touch will melt away, because he has the sun at his back.
I *swear* that this is the card I drew and I had no idea of the meaning for this deck until I just looked it up! OK, so it’s Yule and Santa is en route with my nicely balanced gifts. Don’cha just love it when the Tarot is so literal? 😀 I’ll be tracking his progress on the NORAD app with eager anticipation to see what gifts he brings !
How can I utilise and develop my gift? The World
The World is a card of completion and success. In a tarot reading, the World card usually indicates that you have attained a state of wholeness, balance, and unity. Your body, mind, and spirit are one. Like the joyful young woman in the center of the card, you can celebrate the successful completion of one journey, and the beginning of the next.
Yeaaaah – I’m not really using my full potential, am I? I seem to be missing the success part. On the other hand
She’s surrounded by four wreaths — one each for body, mind, spirit, and will. The wreaths all symbolize the cyclical, infinite nature of existence, and the never-ending spiral dance of life….The fourth wreath is a garland of flowers around her head.
I do sell garlands made by a friend, so perhaps the secret of my success lies therein. We shall see 😀
What gift do I have to give? The Wheel of Fortune
The anticipation has been building for hours, and now the time is finally here: the New Year has arrived. The clock is striking twelve, and it’s time to celebrate.
Oh yeah, that’s something I do know how to do, as anyone who has been at a TABI Conference with me can tell you…and I’m a great enabler 😉
This midnight hour is filled with tantalizing promise, as well as a measure of fear. Who knows what the coming twelve months will hold? It may bring new love, or stir old hatreds. New lives will begin, while others will pass away. The year is certain to be marked by its own series of beginnings and endings — much like this one, as we note the passing of the old year and the start of the new.
I give you as my gift….an uncertain future, but I can promise to add fun… if you’ll let me 😀
Have a very happy Yule, Christmas, New Year and Life. The fun starts here.
For more festive Tarot Blog Hop fun, click on the links below :
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Great post, Ania! I should check out that deck as well. 🙂
Thanks, John. I did say I was an enabler 😉
Great writing, BTW, Ania. You could potentially make a living doing that. Love this Christmas deck! How awesome to have that Temperance card come up first.
I would love to make a living writing, Joanne 🙂
I can’t watch all blogs all the time, but do you post regularly? Are you able to guest post on other folks’ blogs (I really need to interview some of my Tarot buddies, actually)? I’ve been thinking about just investing in a social media guru to see how best to be visible (without being obnoxious, of course!) and find my audience.
You do have a writing gift, and I do speak from experience as a critical reader and editor. You are already a great seamstress from all I can tell (still love my Tarot bag). Keep writing, though. Another great talent you have, to stitch words together. 🙂
Thank you 😀
I post when I have time, which isn’t as often as I’d like, and when I have something to say 🙂 I’m happy to guest post (time permitting)
So, I just took my Universal Waite deck (don’t have 100 decks, at least not yet, more like 14!) and had fun with your gift questions.
Here’s a challenge: The gift of the universe to me is the Eight of Swords! In this case, I associate that with the Veil that New Age channelers talk about, the one that creates this illusion we have of limitations and physical time and space, not being able to see and feel the Infinite All That Is, being alone. This is a gift because without it I would not be able to experience anything, I would just Be!
Looks like I develop my gift by hard work, using the Eight (ooh, two eights!) of Pentacles. I think this relates to my study of the Tarot.
My gift is the Sun, which makes sense. Awakening and awareness of the Infinite through reading the cards. Awesome! Thanks, Ania!
An interesting challenge as a gift to you, but I love that your gift to others is the Sun 😀
I loved taking the gift you’re given and then moving forward with that thought. 😀
I posted a comment but it seems to have gone bub i! 😀
Sorry, it got marked as spam for some reason :/
FINE! LOL the wrong one shows up. I said that I liked how you brought the idea of the gift we are given and extrapolated forward to see how to best use it.
Nice spread, Ania. I’ll definitely be trying this one, although I don’t have a specifically festive deck *pouts*
Lovely!
Thanks for introducing me to that deck. It is lovely.
This looks like a deck I’ve got to have! Like Beth, I don’t have a purely festive deck. That must be rectified immediately!!!
Good observation about the garlands, I think!
Ali x
That’s an interesting reading 🙂
Great spread, Ania – short and sweet 🙂 And lovely to have the reminder of this Christmas Tarot. Having recently experimented with printing options, maybe I’ll finally get around to printing a copy out!