The full moon came as something of a surprise to me this month … again. But the good news is that I saw the mark on the calendar before it had passed, and everything sort of fell into place after that.
Pasiphae and Aidan joined Aradia and I on Sunday night. We played the whole thing by ear and it turned out wonderfully. Well, it all turned out wonderfully except for the reading I did. The tarot doesn’t often give me bad news. This month I had a lot of it.
Now, my annual reading promised me an Ace of Wands April and a Prince of Wands May (or perhaps an AW Aries and an PrW Taurus … next Samhain I’ll be more specific when I do that reading).
| HOUSE | CARD | GENERAL | SPECIFIC |
| 1st – Self, Viewpoint | XVIII the Moon | Unconscious forces, self-deception. Facing the conflict between internal forces | Fear of the threshold. Refusal to face something. Self-deception. Why, yes, I am pretty freaked out about this whole transition thing. Why do you ask? |
| 2nd – Finances, Income | XVI the Tower | Swift, shocking, and dramatic change. | Radical change, but for better or worse? The Tower is almost always for worse. This worries me greatly. |
| 3rd – Daily Experiences immediate influence |
X the Wheel of Fortune | Rise or fall of fortune. Transition to new phase. Fate. |
Transition via montage. |
| 4th – Home family, land, roots |
6 Cups | Childhood. Nostalgia. The Past. |
Emo nostalgia whining. Perhaps Aradia and I will be dwelling overmuch on the end of things. Or perhaps I will simply be dwelling overmuch on the parallels between this situation and my previous departures from KC and St.L. |
| 5th – Fun & Pleasure children, hobbies |
Ace of Swords | Sense of power. Strength. Matters of intellect. Decisions. | School = fun? Decision making. |
| 6th – Work illness, duty, routine |
10 Cups | Joy, emotional fulfillment, harmony, prosperity. | Retirement? Conclusion of business deal? Graduation? |
| 7th – Partnership | XXI Justice | Being judged. A fair outcome. Equilibrium, restoration of balance, strategy. | Fair agreements, balanced life. |
| 8th – Taboo / Crisis sex, death, taxes, loans |
5 Swords | Defeat. Kicking ass and taking names (but theirs or mine?). One-ups-manship. Embarrassment. | MOHELA screws me? I have to borrow more money from somewhere? |
| 9th – Higher Perception | 5 Pentacles | Illness, misery, poverty. | Disappointment,trouble. |
| 10th – Recognition career, status, ambition |
5 Cups | Decision regretted. Loss. Mourning. | This does not bode well. |
| 11th – Friendships | Page of Pentacles | Education. Students. | I suspect this means someone from my classes will be important this month. |
| 12th – Secret Hopes & Fears hopes, ambitions |
Queen of Swords | A cold, calculating person. | Am I going to need to cut someone’s head off this month? Or is this about my need to make my school decisions as rationally as possible |
| +2 – Current / Outside Influences | Queen of Wands / XXI the World | Balance of life and work. Competence, energy, drive. // Natural conclusion, End of a journey. |
Although phrased dramatically, this is no news. This appears to be very much about the end of my career at my junior college. My concern is that I’m missing something here. |
THEMES
Me & You – 1st & 7th – Moon, Justice
In many instances, the major arcana are the clearest symbols. In their places, above, they are not incomprehensible – though “Justice” does confuse me a little as a relationship card – but as a progression … I must admit myself to be a little bit lost.
From Where to Where – 4th & 10th – 6 Cups, 5 Cups
This progression – or regression – appears straightforward. I am going to spend a lot of time this moon second-guessing myself, looking at the path I’ve taken and the choices I’ve made.
Fire – 1, 5, 9 – Moon, 10 Cups, 5 Pentacles
There are no fire cards in my fire trine. I have a watery major arcana, a water card, and an earth card. This is a fairly serious imbalance.
Banzhaf’s Keywords says that this trine speaks to temperament and self-development, from which perspective these cards are a particularly mixed bag. The facing of fears and delusions; emotional pinnacle and contentment; physical (or psychic?) illness. I really need to keep my head straight this month.
Earth – 2, 6, 10 – the Tower, Ace of Swords, 5 Cups
There are no earth cards in my earth trine. I have the Tower, a card that defies categorization, an air card, and a water card. My material situation looks … well, I don’t think the word “dire” is entirely out of line.
It’s no surprise that the Ace of Swords – ideas – will consume a great deal of my time. I am still taking classes, after all. The others, though …
Air – 3, 7, 11 – Wheel of Fortune, Justice, Page of Pentacles
Though Justice is an airy card, it is still of the major arcana, and the Wheel of Fortune defies categorization in the same way the Tower does.
Two major arcana cards in my air trine indicates that this is going to be a big issue. Fortunately all of these cards are fairly fortuitous. Things look good for my intellectual and artistic life.
Water – 4, 8, 12 – 6 Cups, 5 Swords, Queen of Swords
Only in my water trine do I have any cards of the associated element. Here, it is the 6 of Cups – childhood memories and nostalgia. The other two cards are air, demonstrating the primacy of my intellectual/rational life over my emotional needs and concerns.
Interestingly, this is the only trine without a major arcana card. Whatever troubles I may have here, they will likely be less significant than those related to the other three elements.