Alice's Christmas Message.

 

 

Alice the Wonderland Oracle - Lucy Cavendish

artwork by Jasmine Becket Griffith

Published by Blue Angel

 I decided to ask Alice if she has a message about Christmas, and this is what she said:

Manage to be glad:  By this Alice is suggesting that you are the author of your own happiness, don't rely on others at this time of the year to make you happy, just be happy regardless of the situation. 

Find the lesson: Alice knows that not all Christmas gatherings turn out as you expected. However, if others around you are complaining or frustrated, do not get involved. Instead give it up to the universe and ask to gain clarity on the situation so that you may learn from it. 

It's always Teatime:  Alice knows that sometimes the repetition of the same old same old routine at Christmas can be boring. So why not jazz things up a bit and rework the tradition with those around you. Try something that is more fresh, innovative and fun.

But Alice says, whatever your Christmas traditions are, she wishes peace, joy and love with those who you share it with. 

Merry Christmas

Elements in Tarot Fire - Water -Air Earth - How they both work together and against each other.

 

Learning the meanings of the Tarot cards is big enough, what you say - now I have to learn what the  elements mean.  Calm down it's really not that hard.

 

I'll try to make this as easy to understand as I possibly can.

Let's start by looking at each of the elements. 

The four suits relate to the four elements (fire, water, air and earth) and are concerned with the day-to-day issues of life.
Wands energy comes from the FIre element and is expressed through action, creativity and intuition.
Cups energy comes from the Water element and is expressed through emotion, feelings, imagination and inspiration.
Swords energy comes form the Air element and is expressed through clarity of thought, mental activity and logic.
Pentacles energy comes from the Earth element and is expressed through those things which are tangible - money, practical security, material wealth, physical needs.
As an example of how these energies can work together, consider the creative conception of an idea (Wands); the emotions that support it (Cups); the mental activity that forms it (Swords) and the manifestation of it into reality (Earth).
 

Now depending on  which elements are together in a reading can determine whether they will work together or against each other, by that I mean either enhance the meaning of a particular card or weaken it. Here is a chart to help you see how those elements work.

Strengthening/interactive
Fire and Air
Water and Earth
Fire and Fire
Water and Water
Air and Air
Earth and Earth
Neutral:
Fire and Earth
Air and Water
 

Weakening/incompatible
Fire and Water - Air and  Earth

From this chart you can see which of those elements help each other and which work against each other.  It's easy to see why those elements that weaken each other do, for example you have Fire and Water. Fire can make water boil or water can completely put out fire - either of those are not good.

So a card can be strong or weak depending on which cards lie either side of it. If those elements are weakening next to it then that card will be considerable weakened and if they are strong then that card will be enhanced. 

Now we can see how the elemental factor to the suits can add another dimension to our ability to read the cards. We will be able to look at the spread and look at the elemental factors and see how they either strengthen or weaken an area of the reading.

Now we also need to remember that the Court Cards as a group are also assigned an elemental attribution:  Pages - Earth, Knights - Fire, Queens - Water and Kings -Air.  For example if we look at the Page of Wands his elemental attribution would be Fire/Earth - so in his qualities we have creativity and action (Fire) along with Earth - these two elements are neutral and so it helps to keep if not his feet then at least his toes on the ground.

So if we take a last look at the elemental attributions and how they work what we can see is that Wands work with Swords and Pentacles, and Swords work with Cups and Wands However Swords can block Pentacles, and Wands can block Cups. 

Credit:Original Rider Waite -By A E Waite & Pamela Colman-Smith 
Published by  U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

A Fresh Look at the Courts Page of Pentacles.

 

 

 

 

 

PAGE OF PENTACLES – Earth Element – Money, practical security, material wealth, physical needs.

Keywords – Studious – self reliant ~patient ~
Negative – Greedy ~ impatient ~ lazy~ lacking focus~

Based on the Rider Waite, this Page holds up his coin and gazes at it in a captivated way. He shows us that element of study associated with this page and how he delights in finding out about new things, analysing them and experiencing new projects just for the thrill of learning. 

This Page represents fresh and new opportunities in the material world to be had in the form of a project, job or even a new responsibility – promotion. He is the most grounded of all the Pages, well he is an Earth element and takes his responsibilities seriously. He will work out the best opportunity for himself  and even if it takes time will work towards that goal. Although immature, he is still mature for his age and will use and apply his common sense rather than intuition - not really a dreamer more a find out and do it. Not a risk taker but rather someone who evaluates the situation and finds out the facts.

 He is really a symbol of beginnings and although they may be small, what he indicates is that they need to be viewed seriously and time and effort needs to be put in, if they are to grow.

As another person in a reading he is likely to have the qualities of a conscientious worker who is open to new ideas. He will appreciate and enjoy the material aspects of his life and will take care of them.

As the Pages are messengers, (just to recap: Pages are considered to be the messengers of the suits and are immature. Knights deliver the message and are the teenagers. Queens assimilate the message. The King has mastered the message,)  he may as a message be delivering news about money or a potential opportunity.
 
In a reading he may just be suggesting that you take up a new challenge or project or even a new job all be it that you will have to start at the bottom and work your way up. He may say you need some of his energy and take on some new study or learning.

If you find this Page represents a situation  rather than a person, he may well be referring to a work matter in the form of promotion or new responsibility. He could also indicate a financial reward, maybe a pay rise!

This Page says use what you know, add some enthusiasm and apply a practical approach to your goal and you might just reach it. So an extra message from this Page is enjoy what you do and then you will do it well! Remember though he represents potential, so you should look hard at his message if just may have more to it than you first thought. 

Credit:Original Rider Waite -By A E Waite & Pamela Colman-Smith 
Published by  U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

A Fresh Look at the Courts - Page of Swords

 The suit of swords as we know  represents clarity, mental activity. The Page of Swords is representative of new thoughts. He indicates the ability to demonstrate original ideas and  clear thinking.  He likes to make use of those things he discovers, but his immaturity often can be an obstacle  as to how to make the best judgement.

As you can see  in the image he holds his sword above but he is not paying attention to it. If he is not focused on his thoughts they could go off in tangents, and lead him to act impulsively, and mistakes can be made. This of course is due to his immaturity.  What could this card then tell you if it  appears in a reading? Perhaps it suggests that one needs to make sure of their facts before taking action. There is no place for jumping to conclusions!

Also we can take a different perspective on the way he is holding his sword.  He does seem to have it perfectly balanced doesn't he? Again the sword representing his thoughts could tell us that he has mastered a reasonable balance between his thoughts and emotions.  But, do not be fooled this young chap will never let his emotions take fully over.

Maybe this Young Page hasn't quite got the hang of diplomacy, but he certainly will have a way with words and the ability to make himself clearly understood.

Ok what if this Page represent you in the reading, what could he be telling you?  Remember he is the start of the Courts in his suit, the youngster who is keen to learn fresh and new things, could he then be suggesting that you may need to learn something new, expand your mind etc.  He's not afraid of study.  Or perhaps he reminds you when trying to solve a problem whether you have all the facts to hand. He urges one to ask themselves how they can apply their objectivity best in order to get a result.

We mustn't forget that the Pages in Tarot are the messengers and this Pages message could well be one based in truth and facts. If he shows up he could be bringing you the piece of information you need or at least pointing you in the right direction to find it.

The main aspect of the Page of Swords is that he searches for information and is more than eager to learn new things.

Credit:

Original Rider Waite -By A E Waite & Pamela Colman-Smith 


Published by  U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

A Fresh Look at the Courts - Page of Cups

 

Pages = Exploration, Study - Messenger of their Suit.

  

First of all we need to remember that the Cups energy comes from the Water element and is expressed through emotion, feelings, imagination and inspiration.  So is our Page a dreamer?  Let's find out.

My key words for this Page are: Imagination ~new relationship ~ sensitive~ 

Negative: selfish~ insecure~not grounded~
 

The Rider Waite Page of Cups image is full of symbolism, so before we talk just about the page, let's see what this symbolism could be all about.  The colours chosen for this image do seem to tell us a lot about this character. His tunic appears to be a light blue, this can symbolise both water and sky for us. As a symbol of water, (and notice behind him he has water flowing also,) this can represent reflection, emotions, intuition, ideas coming up from the depth of the unconscious. Note here that the fish is coming out of his cup another connection to water. Do we then ask ourselves if this Page is dreaming or is he allowing his imagination to be set free? 

The blue related to the sky, also represents for him, spiritual aspirations.  Remember this Page is sensitive, empathic even. Are those tulips that decorate his tunic? Flowers are thought to depict spiritual thoughts (higher self coming through) and happiness - after all who doesn't like receiving a bunch of flowers!

Under this tunic he wears a garment that is red/brown in colour. Red is a symbolism for passion, energy and self confidence, while the brown element is earthy, grounding, stability. The two mixed together could tell us that he has to work hard at keeping his feet on the ground, not allow his passions to get out of control or balance.  

His boots are an orange colour. This is a colour that is toned down from the red and could well represent determination along with creativity. The cup he holds is yellow and symbolises for us mental activity.

Now,having looked at all of that symbolism it has told us a great deal about the young page.  He has imagination, even if he is not sure what to do with it just yet. There is a creative element to him, and he will take the time to reflect on those ideas and inspirations that he allows a life to.  He brings us the message of being able to look beyond the obvious and allowing your creativity to come through, but he also cautions us not to be stuck in a dream world. What good are those ideas if you don't set them free? 

Think of this Page as bringing you the message of new beginnings. Now because he is young, he could also indicate news of a birth or new friendship, but not all births are babies, it could also be the birth of a creative project or a sense of new feelings. With regard to the sense of feelings, that could relate to a very new friendship/relationship that must be tended carefully for it to blossom.

This Page as encouraging you to go with your heart when a new idea emerges and to allow yourself the joy of experiencing it.

One more thing to think about with this Page, in the tarot sequence he is number 11 and that breaks down to 1+1 =2. Twos often represent for us union, duality, choice, co-operation and importantly balance.   So our Page is young, not always sure what to do with his 'great ideas' but his number reminds us to keep our feet on the ground and our emotions balanced if we want to succeed.

I hope a this fresh introduction to the Page of Cup has helped you know him just a little bit more. 

Happy Taroting! 

Credit:

Original Rider Waite -By A E Waite & Pamela Colman-Smith 
Published by  U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

A Fresh Look at the Court Cards - Page of Wands

I thought it might be time to take a look at those Court Cards once again. So let's kick off with the Pages.

Pages = Exploration, Study - Messenger of their Suit.

The Pages make me think of someone with enthusiasm for life, they exude new energy, creativity etc.  The Page of Wands has that fiery energy that is expressed through action.

Notice how this Page looks at his Wand sprouting new leaves, new potential, you can almost hear him say,'Now what should I do with those ideas?' He is definitely not afraid of change or of bringing change about. This is where he will use his creative potential. He is the messenger of his suit, and so he delivers news of the potential and if the cards around him support change, news etc. he could be also delivering the news of birth.

The Page is one step ahead of the Ace. No longer is the energy raw, yet to be formed, our Page has taken the idea and is now setting it into motion. His message, that spark of an idea has ignited, now he recognises that he must do something with it.

In a reading he may just be saying that you need some of his qualities. He could indicate that it's time for a change, a new beginning in life.  He could be nudging you to let those creative aspects come to the fore and consider what can be started. He could be telling you that the time is right for that spark of an idea to get a life and get going.

Now as with all the Court Cards he can also represent a person, if so this Page could be saying that person has his qualities of imagination and the ability to act quickly and with enthusiasm. (Remember Wands is a fire element.)  He may be an ambitious person and even though he may not have the experience yet to reach his goal, he will show the passion to follow it.

Wands are a fast moving suit, so another of this Page's messages could well be one of travel, or changes coming into your life.
 

Because he is a Page which means he is young he is not fearful, and will face any that he does experience head on. Think of him as the young boy who will take a chance, enjoy life and always be ready to start something new. 

Our Page is the boy who will turn into the Knight of this suit, and we all know that he goes rushing by as he embraces challanges and new adventures... Whoosh!

I hope after reading this you will know the Page of Wands a little better than before. 

Credit:

Original Rider Waite -By A E Waite & Pamela Colman-Smith 
Published by  U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

Ask Alice- Alice gives her advice about COVID-19

Alice The Wonder land Oracle by Lucy Cavendish - Artwork by Jasmin Becket-Griffith.
Published by Blue Angel.

I decided to ask Alice her opinion on what we should be doing to help ourselves understand better.

She gave me three cards 7 Investigate 29 Find the Lesson and 43 Manage to be Glad.

Alice says we should investigate, by that she means you should find out all the facts, ask the difficult questions and most importantly think before taking action, in other words, she wants you to use your logic not your emotions.

She tells us that life can be a challenge and present us with difficulties, but if you take a step back and find out the real facts, then you will have a better understanding of the situation.

She also says regardless of how difficult it is you must create your own happiness, that's how you will cope with the situation. 

Well, thank you Alice, great advice once again!