I must keep this short. For one thing, Dusty White’s Zoom class starts in a half hour, and two, I’m not ready yet to blog about runes and ogham staves. However, I read an AWESOME blog post this morning and if you love wordsmiths and runes, you will love this
I know not the name of the author. Whoever she is, and I think it’s a woman writer, she is a true wordsmith and a true scholar. My friend over at Neptune’s Dolphins is another outstanding writer and researcher and a font of knowledge and wisdom. She also posts great photos of squirrels.
My other favorite blogger and kindred spirit is the Miami Magus. His blog might be too dark for some. It’s okay. We haven’t all had experiences with the unseen and that’s a good thing.
Benebell Wen’s blog is a must read. It blows me out of the water, up into billowing dust devils that plague the dry desert and out to sea miles and miles away and over the cliff in the Pacific.
And then there are all of Dusty Whites’ websites and at least two of his YouTube channels!
If you JUST found me and don’t want to slog through my blog back through time, I often reference someone who called himself the Notorious Doc who I am loathe to say, I married. To figure out what might come across as BITTER, you can watch my HELL Channel series!
If you are faint of heart, skip the videos. They are fascinating cause I tried to make them fascinating but they are gruesome and disturbing just like my book.
Ace of Pentacles – Hand of God emerging from a cloud elegantly holding out a giant, huge, enormous coin/pentacle. Beneath is a huge arch made out of a hedge with a path leading out and a mountain in the distance. Not sure if this is a vineyard or some other plant. I want to reach up and ask for this coin. And I want to walk on that path and go through the arch
Reversed – Upside down the hand looks like it’s holding a basketball about to bounce it. The arch now looks a bit scary.
Dusty – page 208 – beginning of any fortunate enterprise
Reversed – delays in getting paid, missed opportunities, not getting a raise
Two of Pentacles/Coins – I don’t like this guy. He looks <insert pre-1980s offensive label for someone who is mentally deficient.>. His hat looks like a dunce cap. The coins are in a stretched out green infinity symbol like he’s juggling. His green shoes are really bright and he’s at the beach with war ships being tossed about in rough seas but the sky is blue. Guy creeps me out.
Reversed – nauseating. That hat and face upside down is too much. The one ship looks like it’s crashing into his knee. The coins are now tossed about.
Dusty – page 210 – clever accounting, tricky cash flow, juggling finances, dire warning that one’s current money management style
Reversed – finances in complete disarray, overspending, chaos, nervous breakdown
Three of Coins – Crypt or alcove of a dark church at night. Woman is in red and orange, but the monk is in black. I can’t tell what the woman is holding, The man on the bench is wearing a yellow apron? It looks like he’s holding something and his left hand appears to be holding something we can’t see on the wall. I would not want to talk to any of these three people, especially the monk. Maybe because I now hate churches so much.
Reversed – Oh no. Now the monk’s head dwarfs the lady’s head. The guy on the bench looks like he’s on a tightrope and the alcove looks unstable.
Dusty – page 212 – Ah, the man on the bench is a stonemason. Monk and a bureaucrat – that’s a man? Master artist, artistic criticism, critique of one’s work, employee evaluation
BACK HURTS Friday, January 15, 2021 – fast forward to January 2023 – stabbing pain comes and goes – gotta get it checked out
Four of Coins – This man gives me the willies. He’s staring at me with a pensive look. He’s wearing a crown with a coin on top and a coin being held like you might hold an energy call doing qigong. Each foot is on a flattened coin. A large city is behind him. Sky is gray His dark cloak looks ratty. His left foot isn’t flat. Orange shoes. Blue hem to his red tunic. I do NOT want to walk up to him nor speak.
Reversed – Dizzy feeling as the pentacle wants to spin. The city now has an ominous look
Dusty – page 214 – merchant lord only metropolis depicted in the tarot
Hoarding money
Reversed – tight fisted boss or landlord. Obsessive greedy people
Five of Coins – looks like a scene from the opening of a Dickens film. I think the man’s one foot is bare except for some rags and the woman’s feet look bare. They both look miserable. The man with the crutches has the one foot wrapped. No gloves. They are walking in deep snow in a snowstorm. I think they are passing by a stain glass window. They both appear to be wearing worn out clothing. The man looks at me in agony but he’s not begging. I do feel like I should walk over and hand them a hot meal.
Reversed – Oh MY upside down they don’t even look human. The snow now seems overbearing. The stain glass window looks unstable like it might fall out
Dusty – page 216 – man is a leper! (bell around his neck – missed that)
Unpleasant side of society – abject poverty and lack of compassion, refusal to help those in need, loss and despair
Reversed – materialism to the point of spiritual starvation, false gods or spiritual leaders!
I do not like the man as he lets coins fall into the beggar’s hands. The man in blue with a patch on his cloak is begging in desperation. The wealthy man is holding a scale over the man in blue. The wealthy man is wearing clothes of either merchant of upper class man. Can’t find a match but there coat/jacket has short sleeves and he’s wearing a long blue and white stripped sleeved tunic. He has soft boots on. There is a castle in the right corner in the distance. Grey sky so it’s depressing. Oddly the one beggar is draped in bright yellow and the other in bright sky blue.
Reversed – Heaviness. The coins are hovering between the beggar and the wealthy man. Not sure how I feel about the coins. Three are in a row over the one beggar and one is directly over the man’s head. Unsettling
Dusty – page 218 – wealthy man’s robe is threadbare and fraying from much use
Solid citizen, act of charity
Reversed – individual selfishness and narcissism, scam, blackmail, extortion
Seven of Coins – Man looks sad or exhausted leaning on a staff next to large mound of vegetables. Odd purple hills in the background. Looks likes vines with the coins. Orange tunic with blue shirt and leggings.
Reversed – not sure if I get any feeling at all from upside down Coins are STUCK?
Dusty – page 220 – Your heart is not in your work. Boring job, time for a change, nothing left of you at this place
Reversed – you are missing the point, you have something worthwhile and you’ll lose it if you walk away
Eight of Coins – I like this man and would like to ask if he wants me to go get him something to eat. His apron seems tattered in the back. His leg shows a lot of muscle. He’s hammering or eching a coin. One is on the ground but it looks like it’s rolling. The other coins are hanging from a tree. A large estate is in the distance. I can’t tell if he’s wearing a yamaka (kippah) or not.
Reversed – The coins appear to be falling and he looks like he’s clinging onto the bench so as to to fall. Loss of money???
Reversed – sloth, laziness, inattentiveness at school, not applying oneself, unemployment
Nine of Coins – I would like to ask the lady about her falcon and ask how she trained it. She is wearing long yellow gown with red flowers outlined on it. She is standing in a very lush vineyard and has her hand resting on a stack of coins on one side with cons on the other. There are two trees and an estate. She seems very tall and a bit mannish.
Meaning – in charge and ready to take action (the falcon).
Reversed – YUK – the flowers now appear like they are cascading and the coins are slipping out of her hand. The falcon looks dead and she’s holding it by its feet. The whole vineyard looks like it’s bursting
Dusty – 224 – a kept woman! Idle rich. Enjoying your passion and your wealth. Permanent vacation
Reversed – All work and no play – meaningless life
Ten of Coins – I find this card overwhelming – the white haired man almost didn’t even appear until I wanted to see what the two dogs were looking at. A man and woman pass while going through the archway into the town. A child also didn’t pop out until I looked at the woman – child is holding on to the dog’s tail. Just find the imagery too much. Meaning – I have no idea!
Reversed – Earthquake – topsy turvy
Dusty- page 226 – old money, estate card, wealth and power that most people never visit, powerful family
Reversed – loss of economic stability, fall of a great house of power, living way beyond one’s means
Page of Pentacles- This man is attractive. I would definitely want to ask him about the coin he is holding in his hands like a balloon. He has an unusual hat/scart. I like his tunic and he has bare legs I think and boots. He’s standing in a meadow with flowers with a grove of trees and what looks like farmland and a small hill. VERY muscular arms.
This card has a very pleasant feel to it. Hopeful? Looking to the future?
Reversed – letting an opportunity slip out of your fingers. Unease
Dusty page 228 – young squire- News of a raise, bonus, refund, gift.
Reversed – bad news financially, small loss of income
Knight of Pentacles- Do not want to meet this man. His black war horse looks menacing. He looks young but also menacing. He holds a coin in his palm. I can’t tell what the saddle is made of. The landscape is very unusual. – Taking charge. Studying your subject. Still before the storm?
Reversed – death like – I find this card upside down scary
Dusty – page 230 Stubbornness, smug, bravado, readiness to wait out any situation, no compromise
Reversed – complete lack of self-control, weakness, inability to stand up for oneself, foolishness with money
Queen of Pentacles – overwhelming. If I saw this lady, I’d think she was grieving or sleeping. She looks like she’s in a lush environment. I don’t like her throne. There’s a creepy cherub on top with symbols I cannot make out and an ugly ram or dragon head on the armrest which is too low to be useful as an armrest. Pretty green veil? Bright red dress over a white gown. Her hands look tired. Can’t make out the town below on a peninsula. Mountain in the distance. Rose bower.
Reversed – Too many colors all jumbled together. The ram or dragon now looks menacing. She’s holding on to the coin but not very tightly. The crown weighs her down.
Wednesday, February 3, 2021 – note I’ve been leaving out the dates when I wrote all of this but since it’s now January 31, 2023, I thought I’d leave this in place. TWO years I’ve been at this. Two years ago the Notorious Doc was still alive and making my life miserable. I’d try to study, then have to give up. Not so now.
Dusty- page 230 – this queen is the embodiment of the earth and the essence of fertility
Woman of patience and common sense
Reversed – selfish woman, impatient and demanding, evil boss, gold digger, loss of social or financial status – falling from grace, abandonment by husband, world upside down
King of Pentacles – This king looks okay but the bull head on the left side of his throne is menacing. The one on the right looks asleep. The castle looks “imposing” and I never say that. The throne looks ugly and the black makes it look like the throne of a dark king.
Once again too many grapes, too many flowers, abundance gone hog wild.
Not sure what the round globe on a staff is. The king’s neck is wrapped in what looks like a heavy scarf attached to his crown.
I think I could approach this king. His face doesn’t seem mean but I’ve no idea what I’d ask him.
Meaning – over abundance of riches seeped in sadness
Reversed – OH God this just looks like vomit and the castle comes crashing down
Dusty page 234
King looks smug – I thought he looked tired or a bit sad or pensive
CEO, I’m summarizing “hedge fund manager” – inside joke considering the recent news about Gamestop
“Patience is needed in matters of finance”
Reversed – wasteful, small-minded arrogant man “Small” man syndrome, petulance, stubborn, rude, elitist, tyrannical, or bullying cretin
DAMN this card reversed is the late HARRY LEO DURAN!
STORY TIME
Long ago and far away, the God of Windheld out a giant gold coin engraved with a pentacle out over an estate. No one appears to have seen the coin, however, a few years later, a juggler practiced with two coins stretched out in a band in the shape of the infinity symbol while dancing a jig on a beach with mountains in the distance. In the mountains a stone mason was finishing a project in a church alcove when a monk and a patron interrupted him to complain about the design. Three pentagrams are embedded in the arch over their heads, but they seem to only be focused on what lies beyond.
A smug hoarder sits clutching his coins keeping his feet on two large coins. He sits on a throne as if he has placed himself as a toll house demanding taxes and fares before anyone can pass and enter the city in the distance.Usury fees and high rent have driven a woman and her crippled son to find rags to patch their clothes as they hurry through the snow drifts surrounding an opulent church.Other impoverished poor souls kneel at the feet of a rich aristocrat who weighs whether or not they deserve his alms. Meanwhile a serf has labored for weeks trying to harvest cabbages for the winter. He ponders how many coins he can sell the cabbages for at the market. Unfortunately, the serf is tired and he’s not optimistic about how many coins he can earn.
An engraver sits on his workbench working all day producing as many coins as he can. The artisan stays focused for he knows how easy it is to lose his status and his savings. The engraver’s patron stands in her vineyard with a falcon perched on her hand. She has managed her estate wisely and is confidant her wise use of the falcon to keep the vineyard free of vermin has reaped a huge harvest. The lady’s youngest son is cherishing his first earnings while strolling through the countryside. He has learned much of what his mother has taught him, but he is still carefree and not worried about the future.
The youth’s older brother, on the other hand, has joined the military and he’s off in a foreign land holding up his earnings wondering if the war will be profitable or not.The queen who sent the knight off to war is lamenting the decision to send men off to war. She is bent over her gold coin. The queen cannot even rejoice over the abundant harvest that surrounds her. Her husband, the king, has surrounded himself with so much of his wealth he cannot even enjoy his castle nor his wealth. He has become a hoarder just like his ancestor.The queen and king have both realized in middle age that wealth cannot buy happiness nor peace of mind.
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
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.
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 15th 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 Windheld 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 headand 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!
Librarian's Guide to the Multiverse! 