Erotica Stay-At-Home Giveaway
I’ve posted the details of this year’s Erotica Stay-At-Home Conference Bag giveaway featuring trade paperbacks, assorted promo items and candy. Click here for details:
http://www.lyndilamont.com/contest.html
I’ll be posting another Tarot card blog in a day or two.
Lyndi
Sensual Wicca Ace of Wands
Sensual Wicca Ace of Wands
The choice of a salamander in magical symbology is no coincidence, given its remarkable transformation from a creature of water to a creature of land. Fire elementals were called salamanders. According to Monstropedia http://www.monstropedia.org/index.php?title=Salamander, “The salamander represents those who pass through the fires of passion and of this world without stain…. The salamander is also used to symbolize the flames, which it passes through, and so is a symbol of fire, temptation, and burning desire.”
The LWB for this deck gives the card’s meaning as “A new beginning, a new project, offer for employment, initiative”. Aces generally mean action and beginnings and the association with the element of fire leads us to new beginnings in creative endeavors or romantic relationships.
I’m planning to start writing a new story. What are you being driven to do?
Lyndi
Quantum Tarot: The Magician
Quantum Tarot Magician
The LWB of the Quantum Tarot associates this cared with Electromagnetic Force, represented by the rainbow colors, and describes the figure in the card as seeming to be “playing with energy… bringing consciousness and understanding to illuminate mystery.” The parallels to alchemy are all too apparent to anyone who knows even a little about the subject. The LWB goes on to say:
He represents the light of conscious thought and the ability to manifest an intangible idea or vision in the material world… Whenever we engage in a creative act that makes something out of nothing, we inhabit the magician archetype.
Sounds like the perfect card for a writer, doesn’t it? I’m hoping to tap into some Magician energy as I start my new project, the final story in my Alliance series.
Lyndi
Lotus Circle: 8 of Swords
Lotus Circle 8 of Swords
The Tarot of the Lotus Circle gives the following keywords for this card: Self-Imprisonment, Restriction, Crippling Fear, Denial, Imagined Helplessness, Victimization.
Traditionally, this is the “Damsel in Distress” card though not necessarily physical danger. Swords correspond to the element of Air, meaning intellectual matters. Historically, this card was interpreted as meaning a victim scandal, spread by lies and rumors.
If this card appears in answer to a yes or no question, the answer is No.
Ask yourself: What are you doing to keep yourself immobilized?
Art Nouveau King of Chalices
King of Chalices (Cups)
The LWB says that Chalices represent “the emotional and sentimental sphere”. The King indicates “generosity, helpfulness, a favorably disposed important man”.
In Tarot For Writers, Kenner says that Kings in all suits stand for the element of Air and Cups for Water, so the King of Cups combines both elements. Astrologically, the Kings are related to the fixed signs, so King of Cups would be Scorpio.
Historically, Kenner says this was “a cautionary card, warning of ill-will on the part of a man of position; he could be a hypocrite, only pretending to help”. The association with Scorpio perhaps explains this as many astrologers used to take a negative view of that sign. Scorpio can be spiritual or vindictive, the Eagle or the Scorpion.
Modern tarot readers view the card more kindly as representing a gentle, sensitive, family man.
Lyndi
Albano-Waite IV: The Emperor
IV The Emperor
According to The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Tarot Spreads Illustrated, this card depicts the “Father of Civilization” and his archetypes are “Father” and architect/master builder.
Astrologically he is ruled by Aries.
In Numerology, the number 4 represents good foundations, discipline and organization. It can also indicate a blockage of some kind.
Upright, the card represents “solid foundation, strategic planning”
Reversed: “Time to make a plan, knuckle down”
What this card tells me personally is that I have a good foundation as a writer, but I need to sit down and apply what I’ve learned. It truly is time to make a decision and a plan and then knuckle down and do the work. I’ve been drifting too long.
What does this card say to you?
Lyndi
Lotus Circle: Four of Wands
Four of Wands, Lotus Circle Tarot
I recently went to EPICon2010 in New Orleans and this card reminds me of the lovely Southern mansions in the area.
A couple stands at the foot of a staircase leading to a columned terrace. They seem to have come home.
In The Tarot of the Lotus Circle, Marilyn Campbell lists the following keywords for this card: Commitment; Contentment, Peace; New Home
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Tarot Spreads Illustrated interprets the Four of Wands as follows:
This is where it all starts coming together. Celebration after hard work. Good foundation, strong and stable… can support the design of your dreams.
In a reading, it often points to success and prosperity.
If you’re looking for a yes or no, the answer is yes.
Lyndi
Albano-Waite: The Sun
XIX The Sun
The Sun is one of the most favorable cards in the tarot. The child represents innocence and joy, but the addition of the wall (security) means protected innocence, unlike the innocence of The Fool who usually depicted as a young man about to step off a cliff. The sunflowers imply abundance, as well as hope for a bright future.
In Tarot for Writers, Corrinne Kenner states that “the white horse is a hero’s mount. Horses represent mobility, partnership and social status”. (Horses also represent freedom of movement.) In a story, this card could represent “a child, a farmer, a horseman, a musician or a poet”.
If this card comes up as an answer to a question, assume an emphatic “Yes”.
Lyndi
Art Nouveau Knight of Swords
Knight of Swords, Art Nouveau deck
This knight appears to be a dashing fellow, riding courageously to the rescue or impetuously into danger.
The LWB says that Swords represent “fight and both physical and spiritual sufferance”. If you’re using this card as a significator*, it embodies “an able and courageous man, with a passionate, irascible and insolent nature”. (Typically, a Knight is used to represent a young man and a King for an older man.)
This is all well and good, but what if the card turns up in a spot where a type of person isn’t the answer?
I turned to The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Tarot Spreads to see what it says.
Swords “represent thoughts and ideas” and the element of air. They indicate “how we face obstacles and make decisions”.
The Knight of Swords in a reading “indicates the need to act quickly” or to make a quick decision. It makes sense; knights represent action and swords air, i.e. thoughts, so the two combined means quick thinking.
Lyndi
* A significator is a card chosen to represent either the subject of a reading, or if you’re a writer, could represent one of the characters in your book. I like this article on Significators at The Lotus Pond.
L.
Sensual Wicca: Hanged Man
Hanged Man, Sensual Wicca Tarot
This is my newest deck, and I think this photo is better than previous ones. (I actually looked at the cameral manual to figure out how to take extreme close-ups. What a concept!)
The Sensual Wicca Tarot: A Wiccan vision of the world of sexuality from Lo Scarabeo lives up to its name with some very sensual and sexual images. It differs from traditional decks in avoiding obvious Judeo-Christian images and titles for the cards. In this deck, Queens become Mothers, Kings are Sages, Knights are Acolytes and Pages are Maidens. The images in the cards represent folk magic practitioners from around the world: Europe, Africa, the Americas, etc.
The Hanged Man is traditionally shown suspended upside down by his feet, tied to the tree by a rope. In this deck, he is suspended by locking his feet over the branch, implying that this is, perhaps, self-bondage. The LWB says:
Sacrifice, dedication, a new perspective, seeing things from a different point of view.
In Tarot for Your Self, Mary Greer interprets this card as meaning “suspended action. A time of stagnation and frustration” and I can certainly relate to that. I’ve been in a long period of low writing productivity. I hope exploring the world of the tarot will help to fill my creative well. How can I not be inspired by such wonderful images?
Lyndi
