An Introduction to Poetry
I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide
or press an ear against its hive.
I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,
or walk inside the poem's room
and feel the walls for a light switch.
I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author's name on the shore.
But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.
They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.
-Billy Collins
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Friday, November 8, 2019
Tarot Keywords
The Biddy Tarot website suggests that having a keyword for each tarot card is a sign of proficiency, implying that those without them are mere beginners. I felt challeneged by that statement. I've been immersed in tarot for nearly four decades, but have never made a list of keywords.
In my experience, interpreting tarot cards is a process that depends on various factors, including the specific question at hand, the surrounding cards in the spread, and the unique energy and concerns of the client.
I worried that relying on a few keywords might detract from the deeper listening and connection with the cards, as it could tempt me to rush in with preconceived notions rather than allowing the cards to speak in their own time.
However, I was challenged by Biddy's assertion and so I reviewed her keywords. I discovered that many of them contradicted my experiences with the images and some fell short of capturing the full range of meanings I had encountered in each card. This realization prompted me to embark on the task of creating my own list of keywords, that would include a broader spectrum of both positive and negative possibilities for each card.
I had anticipated that the process of distilling my interpretations into concise keywords would be challenging. Surprisingly, it didn't take long for me to identify a set of words that I consider a reasonable starting point. These keywords, while not exhaustive, may serve as a foundation for my tarot readings, giving me a scaffold from which to delve deeper into the intricate tapestry of meanings that each card can reveal. Here they are:
Ace: Gift of mind, mental clarity, victory, decisiveness / Confusion, difficulties
2: Meditation, focus, unwillingness to acknowledge change, indecision / Releasing the past, dropping defences
3: Mentally obsessed with old pain, recognizing the power of emotions / Gaining insights through words, forgiveness
4: Rest after battle, responding to suffering / Intuitive thinking, incubation, rising from rest
5: Sore winner, slander, shame, bitterness / Release feelings of shame, don't turn anger against yourself
6: A difficult journey, a secret, a rite of passage / Speaking up, disrupting a long-standing situation
7: Disarming the enemy, stealth, clever plan, reclaiming what was stolen / Betrayal of self, need to consult with others but unable to ask for help, avoiding confrontation, impulsive action
8: Self-imprisonment, accepting another's opinion of you, unwilling to seek assistance / Overwork, empowerment, gaining clearer vision 9: Torment, nightmares, unable to make sense of life / Tackling one problem at a time, accept healing
10: Defeat, ending, rock bottom / Relief, take advantage of relief by making changes
Pt: Curiosity, wariness, bring ideas to earth, careless tongue / PTSD, learning to trust, poseur
Kt: Real knight, pursuing ideals / Rushing in where angels fear to tread, haste makes waste
Q: Clear perspective, life wisdom, insightful, candid speech / Hurt and defensive
K: Authority, clarity of thought, discipline, determination / Tyrannical, a bully
Ace: Gift of emotions, compassion, creativity, joy / Repressed emotions, distrusting your intuition
2: Formal partnership agreement, trust, fondness / Imbalance, inequality, breaking of contract
3: Friendship, community, success / Stifled creativity, an affair
4: Apathy, missed opportunity, reflecting on you commitments / Meditation, re-evaluation, listening to your feelings and values 5: Loss, bereavement, hanging on to the past / Acceptance, forgiveness
6: Nostalgia, reunion, innocence, naivete / Gift of memory, acquiring a realistic view of family
7: Fantasy, delusion, day dreams / Creative visualization, choosing what appeals most to your feelings and values
8: Withdrawal, giving up on something you've invested in, disorder / Living inauthentically, aimless drifting
9: Feeling of plenty, wishes granted, water breaking before labor / Dissatisfaction, need for emotional counseling
10: Alignment, happy marriage, happy souls, completeness / Straying from values, broken home
Pg: No preconceptions, creativity, synchronicity, pregnancy / Creative block, emotional immaturity
Kt: Romance, charm, heart on sleeve / Unreliable, inconstant, faithless
Q: Intuitive, visionary, compassionate / Unrealistic, dreamer, self absorbed
K: Emotionally stable, not controlled by emotions, calm leadership / Manipulative, volatile
Ace: Gift of material world, an opportunity, possibility of wealth if you work for it / Ingratitude, lack of planning
2: Disorganization, unclear goals / Adaptability, grace under pressure, dreams coming true
3: Creativity, collaboration, teamwork, artistry, skill, planning / Rushing, carelessness, unskilled work
4: Prudence, prosperity, caution, values / Selfishness, defensiveness, isolation
5: Loss, out in the cold, ostracism, no one to turn to / Hope, survival skills, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps
6: Prosperity, generosity, a helping hand / Imbalance of power and resources
7: Assessment, patience, standstill, rebuilding will eventually succeed / Fatigue, doubt, frustration, giving up
8: Apprenticeship, learning, quality, diligence, keeping goal in sight / Perfectionism, lack of ambition, not taking work seriously, being a workaholic
9: Self sufficiency, luxury / Overwork, imprisonment
10: Family, legacy, established place / Loneliness, limited communication, financial failure
Pg: Message, opportunity, learning, awe / Lack of planning or progress, no sense of what is valuable
Kt: Methodical, conservative / Laziness, boredom
Q: Practical, nurturing, down to earth wisdom / Accepting limits, imbalance in service
K: Success, security, generosity, abundance, wealth / Stifled spirituality
Ace:Inspiration, gift of life, spiritual renewal, energy / Undirected energy, ignoring intuition, hesitation
2: Planning, making a choice / Fear of the unknown
3: Enterprise, putting past behind, committed to new goal / Lack of foresight, not seeing big picture
4: Celebration, thanksgiving, community / Temporary shelter, communication breakdown
5: Strife, confusion, indecision, obstacles / Increased focus on one goal
6: Path to victory, support of others / Disrepute, trophy moment
7: Taking a stand, courage, difficulty / Overwhelmed, defensive
8: Opportunity, swift change / Frustration, sense of urgency
9: Stamina, prepared for battle, knowing whom to trust / Defensiveness, habitual mistrust
10: Overburdened, wands weighing him down rather than lighting his way / Irresponsible, lacking of vision
Pg: Enthusiasm / Pessimism
Kt: Energy / Scattered energy
Q: Vibrant, vital / Inhibited, withdrawn
K: Insightful, courageous / Ruthless, arrogant
While I'm confident in presenting the keywords for the Minor Arcana cards, I found distilling the meanings of the Major Arcana cards more challenging, and I hesitate to share the following keywords. The Major Arcana cards hold significant importance in tarot readings, representing major life events and spiritual themes. Consequently, their meanings can be deeply nuanced and multifaceted.
The list of keywords for the Major Arcana presented below is a work in progress, subject to significant revision as I continue to explore and express my understanding of these powerful cards. Since I first obtained a deck in 1983, my understanding of the images has constantly evolved, almost as if the cards themselves are in a state of change.
So, please approach the following Major Arcana keywords with an open mind, listen to your own intuition, and understand that your interpretations will transform over time as you delve deeper into the cards' mysteries.
א Fool: a beginning, journey of life, inexperience, soul, foolishness
ב (II) Priestess: intuition, choice, freedom, dreams, spirituality
ג (I) Magician: empowerment, all the tools needed, trickery
ד Empress: abundance, love, mother
ה Emperor: structure, experience, father (Aries)
ו Hierophant: guidance, oppression (Taurus)
ז Lovers: choice, indecision, passion (Gemini)
ח (XIV) Temperance: balance opposites, create harmony, poison (Cancer)
ט Strength: inner courage, self awareness, lack of awareness (Leo)
י Hermit: reflection, solitude, a light bearer (Virgo)
כ Wheel: change, putting experience to use
ל Justice: choice, karma, fairness (Libra)
מ Hanged Man: acceptance, perspective, limbo
נ Death: metaphorical death and rebirth (Scorpio)
ס (VII) Chariot: ready to go, focused on path, wholeness of character (Sagittarius)
ע Devil: emotional or subconscious bondage (Capricorn)
פ Tower: sudden change, catastrophe, insight
צ Star: hope, gratitude, grace, teaching others (Aquarius)
ק Moon: intuitive path, self-deception (Pisces)
ר Sun: ecstasy, reward, personal empowerment
ש Judgment: awakening, forgiveness, paying the piper, fairness
ת World: wholeness, understanding and freedom, fulfillment, completion, attainment
EDIT: I don't know why is assigned "overwork" to the reversed Eight of Swords or why I said so little about the Wands even though I have lots of thoughts about them. However, I'm going to let my list of the Minor Arcana stand as is, and continue to consider keywords (or key phrases) for the Major Arcana cards.
In my experience, interpreting tarot cards is a process that depends on various factors, including the specific question at hand, the surrounding cards in the spread, and the unique energy and concerns of the client.
I worried that relying on a few keywords might detract from the deeper listening and connection with the cards, as it could tempt me to rush in with preconceived notions rather than allowing the cards to speak in their own time.
However, I was challenged by Biddy's assertion and so I reviewed her keywords. I discovered that many of them contradicted my experiences with the images and some fell short of capturing the full range of meanings I had encountered in each card. This realization prompted me to embark on the task of creating my own list of keywords, that would include a broader spectrum of both positive and negative possibilities for each card.
I had anticipated that the process of distilling my interpretations into concise keywords would be challenging. Surprisingly, it didn't take long for me to identify a set of words that I consider a reasonable starting point. These keywords, while not exhaustive, may serve as a foundation for my tarot readings, giving me a scaffold from which to delve deeper into the intricate tapestry of meanings that each card can reveal. Here they are:
Swords
Ace: Gift of mind, mental clarity, victory, decisiveness / Confusion, difficulties
2: Meditation, focus, unwillingness to acknowledge change, indecision / Releasing the past, dropping defences
3: Mentally obsessed with old pain, recognizing the power of emotions / Gaining insights through words, forgiveness
4: Rest after battle, responding to suffering / Intuitive thinking, incubation, rising from rest
5: Sore winner, slander, shame, bitterness / Release feelings of shame, don't turn anger against yourself
6: A difficult journey, a secret, a rite of passage / Speaking up, disrupting a long-standing situation
7: Disarming the enemy, stealth, clever plan, reclaiming what was stolen / Betrayal of self, need to consult with others but unable to ask for help, avoiding confrontation, impulsive action
8: Self-imprisonment, accepting another's opinion of you, unwilling to seek assistance / Overwork, empowerment, gaining clearer vision 9: Torment, nightmares, unable to make sense of life / Tackling one problem at a time, accept healing
10: Defeat, ending, rock bottom / Relief, take advantage of relief by making changes
Pt: Curiosity, wariness, bring ideas to earth, careless tongue / PTSD, learning to trust, poseur
Kt: Real knight, pursuing ideals / Rushing in where angels fear to tread, haste makes waste
Q: Clear perspective, life wisdom, insightful, candid speech / Hurt and defensive
K: Authority, clarity of thought, discipline, determination / Tyrannical, a bully
Cups
Ace: Gift of emotions, compassion, creativity, joy / Repressed emotions, distrusting your intuition
2: Formal partnership agreement, trust, fondness / Imbalance, inequality, breaking of contract
3: Friendship, community, success / Stifled creativity, an affair
4: Apathy, missed opportunity, reflecting on you commitments / Meditation, re-evaluation, listening to your feelings and values 5: Loss, bereavement, hanging on to the past / Acceptance, forgiveness
6: Nostalgia, reunion, innocence, naivete / Gift of memory, acquiring a realistic view of family
7: Fantasy, delusion, day dreams / Creative visualization, choosing what appeals most to your feelings and values
8: Withdrawal, giving up on something you've invested in, disorder / Living inauthentically, aimless drifting
9: Feeling of plenty, wishes granted, water breaking before labor / Dissatisfaction, need for emotional counseling
10: Alignment, happy marriage, happy souls, completeness / Straying from values, broken home
Pg: No preconceptions, creativity, synchronicity, pregnancy / Creative block, emotional immaturity
Kt: Romance, charm, heart on sleeve / Unreliable, inconstant, faithless
Q: Intuitive, visionary, compassionate / Unrealistic, dreamer, self absorbed
K: Emotionally stable, not controlled by emotions, calm leadership / Manipulative, volatile
Pentacles
Ace: Gift of material world, an opportunity, possibility of wealth if you work for it / Ingratitude, lack of planning
2: Disorganization, unclear goals / Adaptability, grace under pressure, dreams coming true
3: Creativity, collaboration, teamwork, artistry, skill, planning / Rushing, carelessness, unskilled work
4: Prudence, prosperity, caution, values / Selfishness, defensiveness, isolation
5: Loss, out in the cold, ostracism, no one to turn to / Hope, survival skills, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps
6: Prosperity, generosity, a helping hand / Imbalance of power and resources
7: Assessment, patience, standstill, rebuilding will eventually succeed / Fatigue, doubt, frustration, giving up
8: Apprenticeship, learning, quality, diligence, keeping goal in sight / Perfectionism, lack of ambition, not taking work seriously, being a workaholic
9: Self sufficiency, luxury / Overwork, imprisonment
10: Family, legacy, established place / Loneliness, limited communication, financial failure
Pg: Message, opportunity, learning, awe / Lack of planning or progress, no sense of what is valuable
Kt: Methodical, conservative / Laziness, boredom
Q: Practical, nurturing, down to earth wisdom / Accepting limits, imbalance in service
K: Success, security, generosity, abundance, wealth / Stifled spirituality
Wands
Ace:Inspiration, gift of life, spiritual renewal, energy / Undirected energy, ignoring intuition, hesitation
2: Planning, making a choice / Fear of the unknown
3: Enterprise, putting past behind, committed to new goal / Lack of foresight, not seeing big picture
4: Celebration, thanksgiving, community / Temporary shelter, communication breakdown
5: Strife, confusion, indecision, obstacles / Increased focus on one goal
6: Path to victory, support of others / Disrepute, trophy moment
7: Taking a stand, courage, difficulty / Overwhelmed, defensive
8: Opportunity, swift change / Frustration, sense of urgency
9: Stamina, prepared for battle, knowing whom to trust / Defensiveness, habitual mistrust
10: Overburdened, wands weighing him down rather than lighting his way / Irresponsible, lacking of vision
Pg: Enthusiasm / Pessimism
Kt: Energy / Scattered energy
Q: Vibrant, vital / Inhibited, withdrawn
K: Insightful, courageous / Ruthless, arrogant
While I'm confident in presenting the keywords for the Minor Arcana cards, I found distilling the meanings of the Major Arcana cards more challenging, and I hesitate to share the following keywords. The Major Arcana cards hold significant importance in tarot readings, representing major life events and spiritual themes. Consequently, their meanings can be deeply nuanced and multifaceted.
The list of keywords for the Major Arcana presented below is a work in progress, subject to significant revision as I continue to explore and express my understanding of these powerful cards. Since I first obtained a deck in 1983, my understanding of the images has constantly evolved, almost as if the cards themselves are in a state of change.
So, please approach the following Major Arcana keywords with an open mind, listen to your own intuition, and understand that your interpretations will transform over time as you delve deeper into the cards' mysteries.
Majors
א Fool: a beginning, journey of life, inexperience, soul, foolishness
ב (II) Priestess: intuition, choice, freedom, dreams, spirituality
ג (I) Magician: empowerment, all the tools needed, trickery
ד Empress: abundance, love, mother
ה Emperor: structure, experience, father (Aries)
ו Hierophant: guidance, oppression (Taurus)
ז Lovers: choice, indecision, passion (Gemini)
ח (XIV) Temperance: balance opposites, create harmony, poison (Cancer)
ט Strength: inner courage, self awareness, lack of awareness (Leo)
י Hermit: reflection, solitude, a light bearer (Virgo)
כ Wheel: change, putting experience to use
ל Justice: choice, karma, fairness (Libra)
מ Hanged Man: acceptance, perspective, limbo
נ Death: metaphorical death and rebirth (Scorpio)
ס (VII) Chariot: ready to go, focused on path, wholeness of character (Sagittarius)
ע Devil: emotional or subconscious bondage (Capricorn)
פ Tower: sudden change, catastrophe, insight
צ Star: hope, gratitude, grace, teaching others (Aquarius)
ק Moon: intuitive path, self-deception (Pisces)
ר Sun: ecstasy, reward, personal empowerment
ש Judgment: awakening, forgiveness, paying the piper, fairness
ת World: wholeness, understanding and freedom, fulfillment, completion, attainment
EDIT: I don't know why is assigned "overwork" to the reversed Eight of Swords or why I said so little about the Wands even though I have lots of thoughts about them. However, I'm going to let my list of the Minor Arcana stand as is, and continue to consider keywords (or key phrases) for the Major Arcana cards.
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