This is me when someone comes to the door!

Rider Waite Suit Swords

Ace of Swords – Interesting the hand this time is bright white with a white glow emerging out of a gray cloud but it’s not a huge cloud.  The sword looks like it’s got seaweed coming off the crown on top.  Beneath is a mountain range.

Reversed – wow this feels like a death stab right through the middle killing instantly

Dusty – victory against any obstacle

Reversed = REAL DEATH CARD – sharp, violence, defeat, usually accompanied by vehement rage

Two of Swords – disturbing as the blind-folded woman dressed in a white gown sits on a bench in front of the ocean with two huge swords facing outward (arms crossed) and the moon is a waning crescent but it’s facing down to the left so it looks “off”

Reversed – YIKES this feels like being skewered like sticking cooking nails into a chicken

Dusty – No justice – stalemate, impasse, standstill, writer’s block

Reversed – settlements are reached, action can proceed, ANCIENT SECRETS ARE REVEALED

Three of Swords reminds me of the sacred heart of Jesus images.  A bright red heart is pierced with three swords under three rain clouds?  Grief, broken heart, storm but I don’t get the OMG awful feeling for some reason

Reversed – Upside down feels like a chicken heart with all of the rain drenching like tears

Dusty – Nailed it (pun intended) – despondence, betrayal by someone close, infidelity, slander, public humiliation, lawsuits, breach of contract, severe arguments, blasphemy, heart attack, stroke

Reversed – swift healthy recovery after surgery, restitution

Four of Swords – I remember vaguely Dusty talking about this one.  To me, this card is a tomb.  The man is not alive but a statue on his stone coffin so I can’t ask him anything at all.  Stained glass window and three swords hung downwards over the upper part of his body with a sword sideways on the coffin base.  Crypt feeling but not so much of death but deep deep sleep

Reversed – About to fall on the swords. Upside down feels awful

Saturday, January 9, 2021

Dusty – Nailed it!  Rest after surgery, retirement, honors bestowed posthumously, could indicate an inheritance depending on the other cards in the spread.

Reversed – dishonor, someone is digging up the past, things better left alone, no rest from prying eyes.

Five of Swords – Listened to Dusty’s lesson on this one.

Smug, obnoxious bully gets everyone to leave.  One fellow is distraught as he stops at the water’s edge.  The other is trudging towards the ocean or lake.  Seeing the news in the past few days, this looks like Chuck Schumer calling for Trump supporters to be punished.

Reversed – Upside down the guy doesn’t look so smug.  The two swords he’s holding look about to slip out of his hand.  The other looks like he’s going to drop it.  Not sure how I feel about the other two.

Dusty – “grins wickedly”, open intimidation by a bully, high winds blow on the bully but not on his victims (I did not notice that all!).  weakness amongst the masses

Reversed – end to subjugation, freedom from oppression, concerted team effort to stand up to false authority

Six of Swords – I feel like the boatman is the father and that the little boy is sitting next to his mother who is sick as she’s all bundled up in a large cloak or blanket covering all of her as she’s hunched over.  There appear to be islands on the other bank.  The swords all seem shiny and very large as they are planted firmly in the boat.  The oar seems odd.  Very long and narrow as he pushes the board at an angle to islands.  It doesn’t look like he’s heading towards them.  I feel like I would be adding to their burden by speaking and should just row alongside.  They are in an English punt boat.  I feel like I’m in a regular row boat or canoe.  They look like refugees. I feel like I’m in a boat right behind them.

Reversed – Oh, this feels awful like everything is topsy turvy and worse than before

Dusty – page 188 – Dusty calls it a skiff but those have a distinctive gondola bowing shape

Escape from abuse, relocation from a poor economy, leaving things behind MOVING AWAY from

Reversed –escape is delayed, no way out of the present situation

Strengthened by the act of experiencing versus simple visualization

Seven of Swords – NO WAY would I want to get anywhere near this guy.  He exudes creep, maybe even thief, scoundrel.  The way he is scampering like a male ballet dancer high stepping on his toes looking back over his shoulder makes my flesh crawl.  He is carrying, if you can call it that, 5 swords and two are left upright by the tents.  The tents are super ornate and the landscape looks lush with maybe some trees.  Can’t tell.  The army? Guards are far in the distance around a campfire with one man standing up holding a long long long staff.  But no one sees the thief.

He’s wearing one of those Turkish hats called a fez.

Reversed – This looks like the thief is caught in his own traps.  The tents seem more open.  The yellow sky reminds me of jaundice

Dusty page 190 – cites Aleister Crowley – shifting attention to the band of warriors who were supposed to be guarding the armory

False friend, backstabbing by cowards

USING AN OPPRESSOR’S words or devices against them

Eight of Swords – I remember this discussion from Dusty’s lessons.  I feel like I could rescue this lady and probably should.  She’s blindfolded but it doesn’t look like it’s on that tight.  She’s bound, but by mummy wrappings not by ropes or chains.  The swords are stuck into beach sand or a beach by river with the little rivulets you get when the tide has just gone out.  The castle in the background has an empty feel to it like everyone has fled and this lady was stuck out as a kind of sacrifice.  Her shoulders are a bit hunched up and she’s standing straight.  Very thin lady.

Binding one’s time?????

Reversed – not sure.  Precarious situation, unstable ground, headache

Dusty – page 192 – wake up call to selectively remove things from your life that are collectively causing greater harm than they could individually

Reversed – escape – re-entering society – opposite of what I feel

Nine of Swords – a man with graying hair sits up in bed and is either sobbing or holding his face in pain from a nightmare or migraine.  He is sleeping on a bed up against a wall of swords.  There is a relief on the side of the bed platform of a swordsman lunging towards a man that appears to have fallen backwards.  There are roses on the blanket.

PATHOS – I feel really bad for this fellow but am once again reluctant to just go up and ask him what’s wrong.  I’ll stand in the doorway.

Reversed – Oh my! upside down the headache feels worse.  Falling through rungs.

Dusty – page 194  Anxiety, concern over matters outside one’s control, nightmares, look for the root cause of this effect – the bedspread has roses and the symbols of the zodiac (I didn’t look close enough)

Reversed – emotional release, letting go of old pain and moving on

Ten of Swords – murder most foul.  I remember Dusty telling us to look at the gesture in the dead man’s hand.  I can’t tell if a cloak has been draped across his lower half or if that is all blood.  There is no blood coming from the top four swords but there is blood near his head which is turned towards the ocean or river.  The sky is black but there is a yellow sunset.  No trees anywhere and low hills.  I don’t even want to try to remove the swords and bury the man for fear of being seen.

Reversed – I think the swords are being pulled out, but I don’t feel that the man will be revived

Dusty – page 196 – “Live by the sword, die by the sword”.  Might be an assault on an innocent person.  Death by a thousand cuts.  Incessant pin-pricking to other point of throwing you into a frenzy.  Absolute betrayal, financial ruin, treachery, chronic back pain

Reversed – Dodging the bullet  Resurrection!

Thursday, January 14, 2021

Page of Swords – I think I like this guy  Wind has whipped his hair or blown something that seems attached to the back of his hair.  He’s a bit of dandy the way he stands with his left leg back in a ballet barre routine position.  Rolling hills I think with a tree being blown and either waves or a hill in the distance.  Flock of birds over the cloud.  He looks like he’s holding the sword ready to swing it.  I’d ask him what he sees over his shoulder and where he’s going.

Reversed – Here the neck seems craned in a bad position and the sword tip can’t be seen.  The clouds now look ominous.

Dusty – page 198 “young squire”  Practicing with his sword – represents a person, if a message it’s unpleasant or delivered with disdain.

Reversed – self-righteousness, demeaning manner, poor communication, ill-chosen words

Knight of Swords – Not only do I NOT want to be in this picture, I have no idea where I could go except to ride alongside. His horse looks terrified.  He’s racing headlong into battle with the clouds over head.  The wind is blowing from the looks of the trees.  Barren landscape.  It looks like bird motifs on horse’s blanket.  He looks mad as hell.

Reversed – Oh dear.  Upside down looks like a total frenzy.  Now the horse’s mane looks like flames and the sword looks like it’s piercing the viewer.

Dusty – page 200 Angriest card in the tarot

Unstoppable force, extreme courage in the face of danger

Reversed – bully, abusive, quick to anger, loud, instigator, loudmouth, zealot

Queen of Swords – Damn BITCH!  Harsh, authoritarian mannish.  Again very windy.  The hand is held out but it feels like it’s in mid gesture.  The sword is pointed straight up.  A bird is high up in the sky.  The throne is creepy.  Cherub with nasty looking feet and I have no idea what that thing is at the bottom but it’s disgusting.  Even the clouds are afraid to rise up.

Reversed – now her head looks like a battering ram and the sword looks deadly.  The throne’s imagery is even more disgusting upside down

Dusty – page 202 – LONG LONG description of the type of woman this card might represent

Reversed – insufferably evil or mean-spirited selfish woman TYRANT 

This card will require a lot of study as it’s very, very complicated

King of Swords – Complicated man, stern but sad.  The sword is slightly tilted away from him, ram’s horns on the throne maybe?  Clouds, but the trees aren’t blowing.  Can barely see his toes on one foot.  Hand is resting on his leg.  He doesn’t look that scary.  I’d like to ask him about his life.

Reversed – upside down the cloak looks like waves of tears – now his head and face look really sad  – not sure I’m getting anything right.

Dusty – page 204 – ONLY card where the person stares right out of the card at the viewer

Strong leader, judicious

Reversed – patient man with a cruel, calculating mind – criminal mastermind!

STORY TIME

Long ago and far away, the God of Wind retrieved Excalibur from the sea and held it up high above the land. Eons later a young woman, possibly a virgin, was blind folded and set upon a beach to wait a dragon. She is armed with two swords but she is frozen in place by a spell that binds her to the spot. The dragon’s heart is suspended in mid air and pierced by three swords as the storm God gets ready to rain down on the earth. The dragon slayer lies in his tomb inside a stone sarcophagus carved so perfectly it looks just like the knight as if he lay asleep with his hands in prayer pose wishing he had been more careful the day he slew the dragon.

The dragon slayer’s cousins have switched from wands to swords and having battled it out one more time, have broken up and the victor smuggly sneers as he gathers up the dropped swords. He’s a total jerk and will never let them forget today’s defeat. Broken by the death of her lover, a woman and her small son flee in a small boat having given their last farthing to the ferryman. The same scoundrel is found this time stealing weapons this time from an armory after getting the guard drunk and distracted. To appease the warlords, another young maiden is left tied outside a castle with swords driven into the sand in defeat. She could escape but has been so conditioned to not resist, she stands patiently to await her fate. Inside the castle, the maiden’s brother sobs in despair knowing he did nothing and can do nothing but accept his lot in life. Her other brother tried to save his sister but was slaughtered and lays in the banks of the river skewered from his neck to his thighs. The other brother is still alive and has just heard the fate of his brother which makes him sob all the more.

A cousin has emerged on the scene and has taken up his sword confidant that he can defeat all who challenge him as he practices on the beach unawares that a raging maniac of a swordsman on horseback is racing towards him to run him through at the command of a queen who rules without mercy married to a king who sits emotionless on his throne.

FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION

Dusty has a lot of websites and teaching materials all over the Internet. He’s a Sagittarius which is a mutable sign. He is very irreverent and if you missed my blog post here’s a quick glimpse into why some timid souls might not find his humor as hilarious as I do.

https://howmagicworks.libsyn.com/

Rider Waite Suit of Cups – aka Chalices

January 2021 Journal Entries

Ace of Cups

I like this card.  The same hand as in the Ace of Wands this time holds his/her palm out making the base of a fountain with the cup with an upside down W, a Celtic cross (?) and an upside dove.  There are water lilies in a pond or lake.  The same billowing this time looks more like a pillowy sleeve.

Reversed:  Upside down this looks like the hand is emptying the cup even though the water flows upward and dove is the base

Dusty: Hand of God emerging from a CLOUD

The dove is dipping a Catholic communion wafer into the water!

Water droplets shaped like the Hebrew yod

Hod: (lit. “splendor”); the fifth of the seven Divine middot, or attributes, and of their corresponding mortal middot, or spiritual emotions

Reversed – Separation, trouble in paradise, bitterness, rejection, infidelity

Dusty – new beginnings – reversed – depression, unhappiness, malaise

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Two of Cups – Looks like a devoted couple getting married or renewing vows but the burnt orange winged lion head looks ominous as it is inserted into the snaked caduceus.  Just had to admit I really am not into symbols despite collecting them over the years and reading Manly P.  Hall, they just do not resonate.

Both the woman and the man are wearing wreaths.  I think the lady has laurel and the man roses. The man appears to be reaching for the lady’s cup and not her hand.

I like her blue cape over her white gown.  He’s in yellow with black.  A pretty house is on a small hill nestled in the trees – looks like you’d see out here in the West because the rest of the landscape is barren. I feel like I could go up and ask them the wreaths. They feel like friends.

Reversed once again  got that shiver up my spine.  UNHAPPINESS, foreboding.  Do not like this card reversed.

Dusty – TANTRIC union!  Wow didn’t see that coming.

“Use this card in your meditations to attract the right person for you.”

Successful contract signings in business

Physical manifestation of the concept of he THE LOVERS

Reversed – separation, two people refusing to hear each other out, if coupled with the Three of Swords = infidelity

Three of Cups feels like the 3 Fates or 3 of any kind of archetype goddess celebrating with immense joy – a victory?  Dancing amongst bounty of riches.  Great health and youth.

Reversed I don’t feel that ick feeling at all.  Something about the cups as bells instead of emptying.  Over indulgence?

Dusty – pregnancy, recovery from an illness, good things to come

Reversed – “If you draw this card reversed, simply place it back in the deck and raw another!”

DEEP UNHAPPINESS BROUGHT ON BY SOLITUDE!

Hedonism, alcoholism, drug addiction, withdrawal from society!

Four of Cups reminds me Siddharta Gautama sitting under the Bodhi tree except that this looks like an oak.  The man’s arms are crossed instead of sitting in Sadhana.  He might be dozing off and the hand of god is offering the Holy Grail?  The three cups to the side of the front are odd.  It looks like his one foot is pouring into the one cup.

I get a good feeling and this is one character that I actually would approach and talk to.

I’d ask who he is and what he has learned.

Reversed:        This haunts me – reminds me too much of the hanged man with the crossed leg and the tree and the hand of god looks ominous

Dusty – Some men you just can’t reach – immovable object

Malcontent – Dusty writes the man is discontented

Disappointed in life despite having everything handed to him

Refusal to listen

Reversed – coming out of one’s shell, ending of hiding away from the world

I got a completely different read on this card

==============

11:00 a.m., Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Five of Cups

Stopped to watch Capitol building “riot” – fast forward two years into 2023. The news is just so strange.

9:42 a.m., Thursday, January 7, 2021

Five of Cups – horribly depressing.  Three cups are on the ground to the left and two are upright behind the man.  The man’s hair is graying and his head is bent and he’s hunched over as if in despair.  The river with the bridge and the building on the other side look okay but the sky is grey.  I would be hesitant to interrupt this man in what appears to be grief or despair.  His cloke just hangs and he looks very thin.

Reversed – YIKES upside down the card looks even worse – dreadful heaviness

Dusty – not a total loss but it entails emotional despair and a need for support and healing

Reversed – recovering from distant wounds and pain – recovering alcoholic (how interesting).  Time to forget the past and take positive action 

Six of Cups – this card is overwhelming in its bounty and happiness.  An old stout lady wearing mittens is looking up at a “jester”? handing her a huge cup that is almost the same size as the lady.  Another huge cup is on a podium with an x.  A town with huge house is nearby.  A man with a spear is walking towards the three story building or square turret.

Reversed – Not sure how I feel.  Too much imagery. 

Dusty – Ah Dusty writes strangely dressed boy – with a little girl with a guard in the rear

One of the few cards that depict children

Giving without expectation, machination

Reversed – longing for everything, STRESS, lack of close, deep relationships

Seven of Cups – this is a very creepy card.  Is the man in black dead and seeing a vision in the clouds?  One cup has a head, the middle has a cloth with red fringe like an aura around it, a snake in the next cup over is leaning over onto the fringe, a castle is in one, jewels in the next, a laurel wreath next to that with a dragon menacing in the far right.  All of the cups are aloft in a grey cloud.  The man’s hand is black like his clothes and he looks stunned.

Reversed – Upside down it just looks awful.  Get a sick feeling.

Dusty – man is surprised (so I got that right)

The items in the cups

Beauty (spouse)

Mystery

Knowledge

Glory

Power

Fame

Wealth

Each is a temptation

Opportunities and possibilities but you must choose quickly and wisely

Reversed – indecision, paralyzed by the inability to choose, lack of focus

Eight of Cups – I remember Dusty in the online class discussing this card.  Sun/Moon combined in the sky.  Mountains and a river coursing through rocky landscape.  It looks like he’s looking either at the moon/sun or the river.  He’s leaning a bit on his walking stick.  The cups are stacked like a wall on the bank of the river behind him.

Reversed – Upside down it looks chaotic but the sun/moon still hangs in the blue sky

Dusty – Move across state, country, relocation, travel over land

Reversed – inability to leave a bad situation, imprisonment, situational mess

Nine of Cups –  This card gives me a creepy feeling of having to go to a pawn shop or money lender!

The man is a bit heavier than the average man in the 15^th century.  He gives me the feeling of someone from the Middle East as his skin is dark.  He sits with his arms folded in front of great wealth taunting me to ask him for a dime.  Legs spread two in a taunt.

OMG Reversed I want to cower!  Now the gold cups and yellow ceiling looks like it’s all come to disaster.  Moment before an earthquake?

Dusty – Fabled “wish card”. 

Reversed – “too much of a good thing can be bad”, Beware sugar crash, unfulfilled wishes and dreams

Ten of Cups – Incredibly happy couple of their two children have arrived at a great farm or small estate.  The lady’s blue dress ends in red which is odd.  The man has his arm around her waist and both are reaching out in joy.  The children are dancing in joy.  Blue sky and the cups are in an arch over their heads as if God was blessing everything in their lives

Reversed – Everything falls down but the arch might be a safety net

Dusty – Personal rainbow – cottage estate, couple from Two of Cups have successfully married and had children and bought a fabulous home.  No extravagant displays of wealth but a happy family

Reversed – broken dreams, illusion of happiness, disruption of the home, loss of security

Page of Cups – This is the card that showed up several times in my readings in December

Dandy? In a blue hat/scarf gazes at a blue fish that seems to talk to him.  Tulips? On the tunic.  Waves on a beach are in the background but the sky is gray.  Man does not even seem startled to be talking to a fish.

Reversed – the hat now looks ominous and the fish looks frightened.  The waves now have the feeling of a tsunami

Dusty – Pages have numerous meanings.  Good news.

Reversed – lack of creativity, depression, anxiety, hearing voices in one’s head

Knight of Cups – This card reminds me immediately of King Arthur confidently riding towards Camelot that might be on the cliff but we can’t see it.  Mighty horse.  Wings on the helmet

He sits ram rod straight as the horse is in a dressage trot with the horse’s head pulled towards its knee.  The foot in the blue sabaton or solleret looks like a really skilled rider’s foot.

Reversed – This doesn’t give off a negative vibe.  I’m not sure how I feel about the card upside down.

Dusty – reining in the horse so tightly it can’t lift its head – young man with the ability to focus or obsess completely on a task at hand.  Keeping drive and emotions in check.  Enter into any relationship slowly with caution

Reversed – obsessive, jealous man RULED by his emotions.  Generally unreliable and dishonest.

Queen of Cups – angry looking woman glaring at elaborate cup with angels flanking each side of the cup, cherubs are on the top of the throne.  Her feet seem to be on piles of colorful pebbles on a the beach of a river or the ocean with cliffs in the background.  A strange looking cherub is in the base of the throne.

Reversed – HEADACHE, burdens are too heavy

Dusty – this cup is the most intricate in the Tarot

Emotionally sensitive woman, usually gifted with some sort of psychic ability or creative talent!

Reversed – woman  whose emotions get out of hand

King of Cups – I do not like this man.  Stern, unapproachable, one foot is on the edge of the throne dais which looks like it’s anchored in the midst of a rough sea.  He has a fish clasp. 

Reversed – Like other cards, upside down this gives me a headache.  Heaviness

Friday, January 8, 2021

Dusty – page 174.  “Behind those eyes rage a storm of emotion”.  Supportive man with good character.

Reversed – Shifty devil.  His wood is not to be trusted.  Potential alcohol and drug abuse.  Emotionally unstable.

STORY TIME

Long ago and far away, the God of Wind held a chalice in the palm of his hand as it overflows. A dove dips a communion wafer into the fountain. The blessed water of life flows down into the lake filled with lotus pads. Eons later, a man and a woman exchange vows in a valley underneath a winged lion head and two live snakes forming the caduceus of Hermes, the god of merchants. The happy union of the two leads to much merriment and three daughters who dance with great joy every harvest season. A son, in contrast, sits alone morose and unsatisfied with his lot in life. The God of Wind holds out a smaller chalice, but the son is too depressed to notice. As he ages, he succumbs to depression and self loathing as all of his riches were squandered. Meanwhile, the children of the daughters have inherited a lovely home and share gifts with each other. The son re-emerges from his depression and is tempted by all that life has to offer yet he cannot chose. Eventually, he gives up and leaves it all behind to go on a journey into the wilderness.

The grandfather is now a banker who hordes the wealth his son should have gotten. He makes loans to the less fortunate and takes great delight in his wealth. The grandchildren of the three happy daughters have now grown and gotten married and are raising happy children. They are very grateful for their good fortune and shout out their praise as they glorify all that they have. But the malise passes on to a grandson who ends up talking to a magical fish. The fish instructs the lad to become a knight and seek his fortune in far away lands for a queen that broods and a king who has become enchanted by the same fish so much so that his every thought is dictated by the fish!

For FURTHER READING

https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/making-the-tarot-literary-again

The Two of Cups – A One Page Guide

https://www.theoi.com/Summary/Hermes.html

Rider Waite Suit of Wands

Dusty’s course had a set of files of images of all 78 cards. I downloaded them. I used them to create the grids you see on other blogs but this way I did the work myself, so I can’t be accused of copyright violations.

On New Year’s Eve 2020, Dusty White taught a free Zoom class to let anyone who wanted to study his Easiest Way to Learn the Tarot.  My jaw dropped.  To learn the Minor Arcana, (pages 15-16) one can project his/her mind and STEP into the card just like you see in many stories and a TV series. For a list of such examples click on this link:

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PortalPicture

The best depiction of what Dusty instructs his students to do is found in this scene from Looney Tunes: Back in Action Painting Scene starring Brendan Fraser who is now famous for no longer looking like a heart throb.

The idea of stepping inside a Rider Waite card and talking to the elements painted by Pamela Colman Smith was so cool I LEAPT right in.

In Dusty’s latest class he delved into Smith’s life, so in case you never heard of her, watch this:

With that introduction, let’s flash back to New Year’s Eve 2020 and what I wrote about page 15.

If you were standing inside the Ace of Wands picture, how would it affect you?

I would be freaked out BECAUSE of the wind which might be a GIANT dust devil or a storm rolling in off the hills.  The landscape is not unlike my yard with a castle like ruin? – to the left in the distance – not unlike the estate house on Shadybrook that I can see from my deck.  The disembodied huge white hand could be Vayu-dev’s hand. Not so much Aeolus.  The sapling with sprigs of leaves, some falling off remind me of my poor crab apple that is only half able to produce leaves.  The gray background is like the skies here or back in New Jersey on a raw overcast day where my arthritis hurts and I want to hide in my room.

This card gives me a terrible sense of foreboding.

Reversed is even worse.  It’s like the thumb’s down of the hand of a Roman emperor with the wand about to hit you on the head.  The storm cloud now looks more like billowing hair or smoke and not a storm cloud.  The world turned literally upside down.

Dusty writes that this card is connected to Aries – fire.  It is the catalyst that brings the world into being.

“Aries energy is the will itself so forcibly on the universe, that it simply springs into being”.

This makes sense.

If you were to stand next to the man in the Two of Wands, what would you ask him?

The man reminds me of Christopher Columbus contemplating sailing around the world.  He thinks the planet is much smaller than it is.  He is holding the left wand in his left hand and it only has three sprigs.  The one on the right is somehow standing upright on the castle rampart anchored to the outer wall.  I’m drawn to his red hat.  I can’t find a match in Google images but it’s more of a cap and t reminds me of a cardinal’s hat for some reason.

The white lilies and red berries(?) are also drawing me to look at them.  The landscape looks like an Italian shoreline.

Reversed it looks like he’s just letting go of the globe but it has yet to drop.  The criss-crossed white lilies and red roses seem to jump out now that they are in the upper right hand corner.  His cloak has yet to fall down as well.  Losing everything – money dropping out of the pockets.  Loss of status – the hat that indicates his status will also fall.

In the Three of Wands I feel reluctant to step into the scene because the man feels like an emperor who has either just been defeated or one in exile. His clothes look battered but not yet tattered and his hair is blowing just a bit. The land is barren and reminds me of the road to Reno or the highways of Texas with nothing for miles with just distant foothills.  The yellow background – eww – thought just jumped in that the air is polluted either after a great war or dreadful pestilence.

Never mind – Taking off my glasses I can see he’s standing on a hill overlooking a sea at sunset so the water appears golden and there are at least three ships sailing off out of the bay assuming the bay is surrounded by mountains.

He still seems weary, but Dusty writes that this is an auspicious sign of a job well done and the merchant’s goods are off to be sold.

I guess living in the desert makes me see everything from dry land!

Reversed, I feel like he has a terrible headache and the band around his head is tightening as the ships transform into sigils or Hebrew letters.

I really like the Four of Wands!  It reminds me of either a wedding or harvest celebration at a winery in the Burgundy wine country of France that I saw in a documentary.  The castle looks fairly new and well maintained.  The couple look like Roman gentry who are facing guests in the distance yelling hurry, welcome, come enjoy the party.  It exudes happiness and wealth and joy and abundance.

I think once I learn how to make affirmations with cards, I will use this one!

I don’t get much from this card reversed other than the bounty is weighing down the supports and the hosts are overly giddy and about to sway and drop their fruit bundles.

Dusty writes that this is a “Prime Empire Card”.  Celebration, happy homelife.

Reversed Dusty writes misfortune, being disowned, counting chickens before they hatch, financial misfortune possible

Yikes the Five of Wands looks like 5 brothers who have taken a training session with French batons or quarter staves and turned it into a brawl over petty grievances. The “youngest” in the blue tunic has just blocked a blow from his older brother in red.  The one green may be protecting the youngest or he has a beef with the one in red as well.  The one in yellow and the one in the striped dark blue tunic look like their fight is more vicious.

I don’t feel that these are just young men unrelated to one another.  The sky is a clear blue and the ground looks a bit rugged.

Animosity.  Bitterness.  Jealousy or envy.  Built up hate over injustice.  Hurled insults that can no longer be forgiven.

Reversed it looks like a free for all of chaotic negative energy.  A real brawl.

Dusty- madhouse, devolving into a circus, flaring egos, run away from this mess

Reversed it traditionally means a truce but Dusty also writes beware of political maneuvering, bruised egos, opportunities to find vengeance

6:18 pm., Thursday, December 31, 2020 – I want my piano fixed so I can play these pieces in the Haunted Piano Playlist!

Phone call – Resumed Friday, January 1, 2021

Six of Wands reminds me of Alexander the Great or a beloved leader returning home victorious.  There is a wreath on his staff one man can be seen looking up at him and anther looks off to the side at what the man on the horse might be viewing.  The sky is blue and the white horse looks at the viewer.  I feel like I am riding alongside him.  I like him but I am pensive as he looks concerned at whatever he is seeing.

Reversed I feel that it was a Pyrrhic victory.  Upside down the horse looks like he’s going to vomit.

Dusty – check the surrounding cards – victory or rallying troops

Like me, Dusty writes reversed – UGH – defeat, stolen valor, someone taking credit for your hard work

NOTE this card symbolizes the stolen 2020 election – – I know don’t insert politics but I think it was.

Seven of Wands looks like the epitome of frustration.  Is he standing on the edge of a cliff?  He holds the staff as if he either wants to throw it down in disgust, or he’s getting ready to swing it at the army about to ascend the cliff.  Sky is blue and he doesn’t look like trained warrior by his clothes but he’s fed up and ready to fight.

Reversed – losing footing, attack from beneath, unable to hold on.

Just got a Riesen chocolate covered caramel to celebrate.  It is a cliff! Dusty writes that the man knows he has no choice left but to fight!  Nailed it!

Quotes Sun Tzu – Holding the higher ground in battle in order to be victorious!

Remain calm while whipping your opponent

Check surrounding cards to see if the man is more powerful and better than the attackers

Reversed – don’t expect an easy victory – possible defeat, retreat to solid ground

Could mean weakness or paranoia

The Eight of Wands looks like a scene from Vighnaharta Ganesh when weapons are hurled at the same time towards an enemy.  I cannot tell if they have just been thrown up towards the left or they are about to fall down towards the right.  There’s a building of some sort on the hill in the distance and a lake but no town or city so is this a battlefield in the middle of no where?

Reversed it feels like the weapons have just been thrown possibly by accident at no particular target.

Dusty – quick, sudden burst of energy or action.  Unified sources of action

Reversed – stagnation, missed opportunities, reckless action, scattered or wasted energies

IF PAIRED WITH THE SEVEN OF SWORDS = ambush or call to retreat

The man in the Nine of Wands looks distrustful, leery, angry, possibly with a head wound (white band on his head).  He’s either been sent to a remote outpost to stand guard or he is trying to defend something – maybe a fort or a field or ammunition dump.  To me the wands look like stakes in the ground making a fence, but the ones on the left are too far apart.

Eww.  Reversed it looks like the man has fallen asleep at his post.  His head is pounding.  The fence posts are not firmly supported nor serving their purpose.

BINGO:  Dusty – bandaged head.  Veteran.  Standing guard despite his wounds.  Tired and worn out but watchful.  Conserving his energy for a fight.

Dedication, trustworthiness, sense of duty with the will to carry it out.  Loyalty to a cause.

Reversed – weakness of character, shifty, fear of standing up.  Escapism. 

Ten of Wands looks like me trying to do household chores with a bad back and too heavy a load (bag of kitty litter or dog food or wood).  Trudging forward in pain and weariness toward home.  Duty must be done.  Fight through the pain.  The house isn’t that far, but it seems far if you’re in pain.

Reversed – the wands are about to slip through his arms as the weight is too much.  Back pain or shoulder pain is too much to bear.  Can’t see the destination anymore.

Dusty – fulfillment of a lifetime of efforts and energies.  Be careful what you wish for.

“All that we have said and done catches up with us”.  Luxuries we crave are a burden in turn.  Success has a price. 

Reversed – release of burdens or responsibilities  Shirking responsibilities

11:19 a.m., Sunday, January 3, 2021

Page of Wands – I like this card.  Despite the man looking up towards the top of the wand, I don’t get the sense that he’s arrogant.  He has curly blond hair with a feather in the front of his hat, a hat that looks rather normal even if he wore it today.  Blue sky.  The mountains resemble the pyramids at Giza.  Barren landscape.  His head might be a bit tilted in puzzlement.

I can’t make out the motif on his tunic.  The cape looks new or that of a wealthy person.

Reversed:  I don’t get a bad feeling from this reversed.  Not sure I get any feeling at all.

Dusty:  royal court’s yellow tunic – so I guessed right he is wealthy

Dusty writes that the feather is just a lick of flame!

CARDINAL – instigator, initiations, arrivals

If the Page of Wands shows up with the Ace or Queen – portends the birth of a child or a baby in one of the fire signs!

Reversed – unhappy news, arguments, unruly children, impotence, miscarriages

Knight of Wands – again the feeling of Sir Lancelot but this knight looks like he’s not in control.  Horse looks a bit startled as it rears up.  The foot in the sabaton or solleret looks like the toes are hanging on for dear life and the heal is pointed as far down as it can in the stirrup.

The same three mountains that resemble the pyramids at Giza are in the distance but this time on the left. 

Upside down I get a terrible feeling of the Knight falling while being on fire.  I feeling like the back of his cloke and the plume are on fire and the horse’s mane is on fire as well.  The horse’s body is singed.

Dusty- complete opposite of what my gut feels.  Knight is in complete control rearing the horse to charge into battle. 

Paired with the 6 of Swords or the Chariot – travel

Reversed – charging head without forethought.  Impulsive

Queen of Wands – I watched a video by Dusty’s students and I agree this is woman is either a BLEEP OUT (I used a politically incorrect label – don’t dare use it in public) or a guy.  Truly ugly mannish woman with her legs spread apart.  The Black Cat looks right at the viewer and has an evil look to it.  The creepy stone lions look outward.  There are the same three hills in the background.  There are lions (heraldry) from a coat of arms facing each other in battle above her head.  She looks pensively or peevishly to her left.  She’s holding a huge sunflower.  I think the clasp is a fox head pin.  I would not want to speak to this woman if she is indeed a woman.

Reversed:  YICK  An immediate sick feeling.  Stomach upset. 

Dusty – tomboy, courageous, assertive yet open and friendly

Reversed – impatient, demanding, drama queen, bossy, tyrannical

King of Wands – Do not like this man.  He is facing to the left and it looks like there’s a lizard on the raised dais on the right.  I do like the green part of the cloke.  Not sure what he might have in his left hand if anything.  The lions in the herald banner are whirling with lizards.  His green clad feet are firmly planted on the dais and he looks like he could stand up in an instant.  I have no desire to talk to him at all.

Reversed – I get an immediate headache feeling.  Back crawling feeling with a shiver down the spine.

Dusty – the description on page 144 fits the late Harry Leo Duran to a T except Harry wasn’t a red head.

Reversed – tyrant, rude, bully, domineering boss, violent criminal, self-obsessed megalomaniac

Possible misfortune  NEGATIVE in any reading

STORY TIME

Long ago and far away, the God of Wind thrust out a tree branch into the wilderness. No one was there to take it, but years later a merchant found two similar wands and he stood on his parapet and searched the horizon on the sea for the flags on his ships that would give him insider trading tips on what the trade expedition was bringing to market. He is confident his investment went well and he’s comfortable with his business acumen. As time passed, the merchant’s steward has set off to sell all the wares. He stands watching the ships sail away and he’s just watching the sun set.

The riches from insider trading filled the merchant’s coffers to the point where he was able to buy a castle for his daughter’s wedding venue with the dowry going to his new son-in-law with a catch. The catch was that the son-in-law would have to fight off any business rivals. The young man was so victorious, he was able to get the admiration of everyone in the city as he rode victorious through town. Alas, all good things come to an end. The son-in-law made some bad investments and he had to start farming the land himself. Accusations were hurled at the family and eventually, wounded, the son-in-law had to stand guard just to keep his creditors from getting his harvest. At long last, his fortunes improved and he trudged to town with his harvest.

While in town, he went to a gambling hall and won! With all new clothes he found the wand the God of Wind had dropped eons before and he contemplated a journey. That journey was cut short as he was conscripted and sent off to war in Egypt for a queen of dubious character and a maniacal tyrant. If I get the time, I have to flip each image upside down and create a grid of reversals.

THIS IS A LOT OF WORK DUSTY! A LOT OF WORK. But it’s way cool.

FOR FURTHER READING AND VIEWING:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-easiest-way-to-learn-the-tarot-ever/id403912558

Promo: I will NEVER read for anyone else. I just want to learn this for myself. BUT if you DO want to read for others, I recommend Dusty’s courses.

https://sites.google.com/view/tarotprofessionalcourse/how-to-get-clients

https://www.houseofwhite.net/

Since this is MY blog and I get to write about ME ME ME, I begin with a true story of when I was four years old. My parents had taken me to Florida to visit my mother’s mother’s sister and her husband who had retired there to one of those “villages” on a pond. I remember it well. Alas, no photos. I destroyed all the photos I had of my life – there’s no one to share my memories with nor to pass on to another generation. PLUS, it’s one of those techniques to severe attachments.

BUT, I do remember fishing in the pond behind my great aunt’s house. Didn’t catch anything. Heard my first tales about alligators. In fact, my parents took me to an alligator farm and when I leaned over the small fence to pet them, I can still hear her screeching in my mind to this day and getting yanked back and spanked. Spanked! She also had a fit when they took me a couple years later to a now shuttered fairy tale theme park in upstate New Jersey with deer and goats and petting zoo animals roaming around. My parents were not particularly paying attention and when they turned around there I was surrounded by deer and a goat was eating the big bow off my Shirley Temple style dress! Kids used to get dressed up with patent leather shoes and nice socks, and I had to wear a petticoat and fancy dresses and little hats to go anywhere outside of the back yard. The deer and I were fixated on each other and I don’t think I liked the bow. Anyway I digress.

The best part of the trip to Florida, was my parents had us stay in a motel right on the Atlantic Ocean. We ALWAYS tried to get an oceanfront room or lake front room whenever we traveled. We ALL loved water. Living in the desert hurts my spirit sometimes. I have the mountains but I really need to get to the marina each day.

My parents used to go fly fishing at the beach in New Jersey long long long before I was born. They dated for SEVEN YEARS – pretty much from the time my dad got back from Germany and fighting Nazis up until 1951. THEY LOVED fly fishing. Had all the poles and lures. My mom’s grandfather used to take me fishing at Echo Lake Park or Mindowaskin in Westfield, New Jersey. Bought me a child’s pole. I used to catch minnows.

Anyway, we had beach chairs – mine was child size, and my dad was a few feet away with his pole so he wouldn’t kill me when he swung it, and I had mine – I think it was his because it was the ocean after all. Lots of people were fishing. It would have been 1959 and that’s what people did for fun back then.

Well, I ruined EVERYONE’S day that day. I had no sooner grabbed onto the pole and looked out into the waves when a 12 inch plump shiny POMPANO was tugging. I pulled, my dad was behind me and just like in this next video, the fish flew up into the air and my parents and everyone else screamed. My dad helped me get the fish into my pail and I filled it with water and ran off to talk to my new best friend!

I was only four, so I have no idea how long I “played” with what I would later discover was my DINNER! At some point, my mom would tell the tale, they managed to distract me and she gutted my new best friend, and fried him or her in a pan and served up an amazing dinner. After dinner I went to play with my friend.

Have you ever seen a kid throw a tantrum and accuse their parents of MURDER? It was not a good night for my parents and I had my first lesson on betrayal. For me it was like some sick plot in a Shakespeare play where the protagonist is served his beloved’s liver or something.

Never do that to a child. At some point, it’s time for THE TALK and not the THE TALK about sex, but about where our food comes from. And about life and death and survival. Mr. Chicken, and Floppy Ears may end up as dinner some day and little kids need to know that.

I never got a chance to eat pompano ever again. It was very expensive and I have never seen it on a menu. If my book becomes a best seller, I’m going to order one. Great taste. I can remember that about my best friend. He/she tasted amazing!

But back to my initial point. I do not think it was luck. I remember distinctly causing a lot of the adults on the beach to bitch and moan about why they hadn’t caught anything and this little kid did. They did not congratulate me. They were visibility pissed off. I simply had looked into the waves and immediately caught the fish. DID I become the lure? Was it qi? I can do the same thing with deer and apparently, I did the same thing with a juvenile Bigfoot.

Please like and subscribe and GO FISH!