NMR ISSUE 1

Astrological Forecast 1
Beltane
Closer Look at the Tarot: Aces
Earth's Coronation
Eastern Insights
Editorial
Evolutionary Astrology
Guardians of the Four Gateways
How to Eat Meat
Olivine
Solitary Beltane Ritual
Solitary Summer Rite
Stone Banishing Ritual
Summer Solstice
Tarot Images
The Kabalah in Everyday Use
The Oldest Magick
The Other Editorial
Witchcraft: Problems of Study

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Tarot Images

Craig Keene

"Tarot Images" is a series that presents the symbolism of Tarot cards through mental images. Try to guess which card the image represents before your read the answer. Use the feelings you get from the image to help you interpret cards in your readings. These images can help you get past the blocks that wrote interpretations sometimes create.

I will describe a scene that may or may not remind you of a scene in your own past. Try to read the scene without adding your own details or removing something that you don't like. The goal is to make the image as vivid as possible in the conscious mind without altering it.

It is late, the time of night when only bad news comes. The sound of the telephone jars you awake, though not completely. There is only silence on the other end of the line as you answer it. There is a quick flash of anger as you think this might be a stupid joke. You move to slam the receiver down when you hear your name whispered from the other end.

The voice belongs to an old friend, a person you hadn't expected to hear from so late. You listen but say little because you hear the tears across the distance and don't know how to react. Seeing someone else's pain always made you uncomfortable, like you had four hands and no pockets to put them in. Still, this is a friend, a friend whose voice cracks when she asks you to keep her company for the rest of the night.

You both resent and are flattered by her request, but you know the outcome. The desperation in her voice when you agree is almost physical and you're relieved when you hang up the phone.

Every light is on in her house when you arrive. The spectacle of destruction overwhelms you. Magazines, books and knickknacks lie everywhere, strewn like dead fish on a beach. Several pillows had been gutted and a few pieces of pottery were smashed beyond repair. The large mirror over the fireplace is in shards and on the floor. You remember that your friend loved that pottery—now destroyed—because she had gotten it from her boyfriend.

The woman who meets you at the door resembles the house more than the friend you remember does. But, where the house was physically destroyed, she has been emotionally ravaged. Her skin has an almost transparent look and her hands jerk and shake. She wears her grief like a garment, a ten-ton garment that smothers her.

She comes to you and you hold her while she shakes, sobs and tries to speak. She doesn't have to tell you, though, you already know. Oh, you don't know the details, but you don't have to. A boyfriend lost, a pet died, a job lost, they're all the same. She lives alone, but sorrow shares her life and self-pity often visits.

You're on familiar ground now. You know what you have to do. First, listen, then talk and listen some more. The more she talks, the sooner she will feel better. She can't see the good things in her life now; sorrow and grief won't let her. Self pity only makes her feel unworthy of anything beautiful. Yet, the things that mean the most to her are there, even if she can't see them now. They will always be there for her when she is done suffering. You realize that she has already begun to come back, ever since she called you and asked for something worthwhile: companionship.

Examine what you felt as you read the image. Did you feel sad? Angry? Bored? Who did you feel for more, the woman or the narrator? When you apply this to the Tarot, what cards come to mind? Anything in the suit of cups would be excellent and swords would be close. The Nine of Swords is close. If you thought of the Five of Cups, you're right on target.

Examine the Five of Cups as you think about this image. Learn to associate the feelings with the card. The next time you do a reading, think about these feelings and the images they conjure. How do the other cards influence your feelings? When you describe your feelings about cards, you will get the most from your readings.

Regnabo, Regno, Regnavi, Sum sine regno