21 Ways To Read A Tarot Card -- step FOUR

Hemera

Step FOUR~Tarot of Vampyres~The Empress

1) The Story.
Once upon a time there was an apple tree in a cottage garden. The cottage was deserted
but one of the apples knew a story about its previous inhabitants. There had been
dwarves. A beautiful dark haired queen had come to the cottage pretending to sell apples
and there was a lot of hassle about the whole thing. Knights on white horses galloped
through the garden and people cried at someone´s funeral and that sort of thing. Finally
one of the dwarves had tossed an apple out from the cottage window and in landed right
where the apple tree still stands. If it hasn´t been felled down and burnt in a
woodstove, that is.

2)The Story re-told in the first person.
I am not like all the other apples who are just talking about ripening. I have decided that I want to become a real apple tree like my mother when I grow up. I think she had an amazing youth and I love all the stories she has told. But the most amazing of them is the story of how she was born and I was reminded by that when I saw that strange lady standing below us again. I think she was part of that story. Back in those days she was said to have taken an apple (my mom) and poisoned and colored one half of it red. Poison I understand, but why color a perfectly beautiful green apple red? That is a sacrilege. Well, anyway, she gave that apple to some young person who supposedly almost died or something. Why did that beautiful Queen do it? I never really got that part of the story. But I know for a fact that a dwarf threw my mom out of the cottage window and she ended up in a compost pile. And well...I guess the compost pile used to be where we are now. The dwarves are long gone but looks like the Queen is still around. Someone said she now lives in this cottage although I have not seen her here often. They say she was thrown out of the castle and told to stay away. I guess she travels quite a bit. Was she really Evil is anybody´s guess. Mom says the girl was not as perfect as is widely believed so maybe the Queen was not that bad either?

3) Personal experiences that relate to some portions of your story.
Snow White has always been my favorite fairytale and favorite princess. I did have rather a difficult mother myself so I think I can relate to the story of the little princess and her evil stepmother. But in human life good and evil are different things than in fairytales where concepts like these are naturally more archetypal.
Somehow I see this Empress could very well be the Evil Queen from Snow While and yet I do not think she is actually evil at all. She is like the Mother Goddess who has both dark and light aspects. Much like any human mother or any human being. I think this Empress is more interesting with all this depth than the average “all good” Empresses from many traditional RWS decks.
 

skye-angelite

4.1. once upon a time, there was an egg...

Loved reading your stories. i have the crow’s magick deck but have never used it, only looked at it. You have inspired me to get it out again, thanks.
 

skye-angelite

1) The Story.
Once upon a time ... I think this Empress is more interesting with all this depth than the average “all good” Empresses from many traditional RWS decks.
Well done Hemera, you are racing ahead. Totally agree with your saying that your Empress has more depth than the average. I don't particularly like the RWS deck so understand what you are saying here.
 

Hemera

Well done Hemera, you are racing ahead. Totally agree with your saying that your Empress has more depth than the average. I don't particularly like the RWS deck so understand what you are saying here.
Thank you :) I have really enjoyed this whole excercise and I find it very inspiring. I have to hold the reins so as not to race even more. Maybe it´s because I´m an Aries? :p
I tried to start with this a few years ago but I guess only now have I found a deck that is resonating with me and interesting enough to keep up the interest.
 

fractalgranny

Loved reading your stories. i have the crow’s magick deck but have never used it, only looked at it. You have inspired me to get it out again, thanks.

oh, i'd love to hear what your experience was! this deck has made a huge difference for me.
 

Tarot Orat

21 Ways - Step Four

Step FOUR - Dark Carnival Tarot, The Hierophant

4-1. Once upon a time, two brothers went out for a walk on a country lane. They saw a strange-looking man, bizarrely dressed, wearing a huge top hat. The older brother said "He looks ridiculous!" and started laughing. The younger brother, not wanting to be left out, started laughing and pointing in ridicule too.

The man glared at the brothers with his red-rimmed eyes, pointed at them with his long-nailed fingers, and suddenly they'd both been turned into clowns in black and white facepaint. "Now you'll know how it feels to be ridiculous!" the man said. The older brother was angry, he tried to rub off the paint, but it just stuck to his skin. "You horrible man!" he shouted. The man became even angrier. "I'm going to send you to a circus where you can be laughed at by the audience every night until you learn your lesson. Only then will you return to your normal appearance." And zap, the older brother disappeared.

The younger brother, though frightened by the man's power, was also impressed; and frankly, there had been many times growing up when his brother had made fun of him, and he would have liked to send him away with a wave of the hand just like that. "How did you do that?" he asked the man.

"I have a magic hat," the man said. "I'm a magician." Suddenly a set of playing cards flew out of his hatband, and he pulled a ribbon out of the air, and a dove flew out from his empty hand.

"That's amazing!" the boy said. "Can you teach me how to do that?" The man smiled for the first time. "Yes, I can," he said. "And if you come with me and listen to everything I say you'll learn to be a magician too, and one day when you've mastered everything, you'll wake up with a magic hat on your head."

"Really? How do you know that?"

"Well," said the man, "once upon a time when I was a boy, I met a man with a magic hat..."

4-2. My older brother and I were walking on a country lane when we saw a strange-looking man in really bizarre clothing and a gigantic top hat. "He looks ridiculous!" my brother said, and started laughing. I thought the man looked more scary than funny, but I didn't want to be left out, so I forced a laugh and pointed at the man too.

The man turned to us with red-rimmed eyes, pointed at us with terrible long-nailed fingers, and I felt a queasy sensation flash through me. I looked at my brother and saw that he'd been turned into a clown. The way he was looking at me showed that something strange had happened to me too - was I also a clown? "Now you'll know how it feels to be ridiculous!" the man said, and then I was sure that I was also a clown.

My brother tried to rub off the paint but it wouldn't come off. He got mad and yelled "You horrible man!" The man glared at him with those red eyes and said, "I'm going to send you to a circus where you can be laughed at by the audience every night until you learn your lesson. Only then will you return to your normal appearance."

And - zap! - my brother was gone!

Honestly, he'd made fun of me a lot when we were growing up, and there were times when I wished I could make him disappear. And even though the man was scary, his power was really impressive.

"How did you do that?" I asked hesitantly.

"I have a magic hat," the man said. "I'm a magician." Suddenly the air around us was full of noise and color: playing cards swirled out of his hatband, a ribbon appeared in midair, a dove flapped up from his empty hand.

It was so surprising and so incredible. "That's amazing!" I said. "Can you teach me how to do that?" The man smiled at me - he had a lot of pointy teeth, but he seemed friendly now. "Yes, I can," he said. "And if you come with me and listen to everything I say you'll learn to be a magician too, and one day when you've mastered everything, you'll wake up with a magic hat on your head."

I wanted to come with him and become a magician, but I wasn't sure how he knew what was going to happen. (Even if he was a magician.) "Really?" I asked. "How do you know that?"

The man smiled again. "Well," he said, "once upon a time when I was a boy, I met a man with a magic hat..."

4-3. I didn't actually laugh at my friend when she started selling Mary Kay, but I did think it was kind of weird for a woman in her 20's. When I thought of Mary Kay, I thought of coiffured ladies in pink suits selling fancy cold cream to middle-aged women. But because I wanted to support my friend, I bought some makeup from her, and vastly to my surprise I LOVED it. Plus, I saw that she was making a couple hundred extra dollars a month, and she was looking much more confident and professional. Suddenly it seemed like it was a great idea...at least for her.

I wound up buying so much from her that she asked if I wanted to start selling too, and at first I was convinced I couldn't - I knew hardly anything about skin care and cosmetics, I was too nervous to approach people and sell them things. She didn't push me, which was good; she just kept being successful and happy! Finally I decided I'd try it, and talked to my friend's sales director. She said that anyone could start out being nervous and inexperienced, but there was a lot of education and support, and if I took advice and learned how to do it, I could be successful too - just listen to people with more experience and learn by doing. She told me she had started out just like me, completely unsure it was right for her, but she had listened and learned and grown and if she could do it, I could too.

(Not that you asked, but I'm doing quite well six months later...I was even the top seller in our unit last month. I'd say it was the right decision. I don't think I'll ever be driving a pink Cadillac but I'm enjoying my own version of the ride!)
 

violetenne

21 Ways To Read A Tarot Card--Step Four

Universal Waite, The King Of Pentacles

4:1) Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived in a small kingdom. She had a simple life as her mother worked all the time to provide for her and her siblings. When the girl went to sleep at night, she would always dream that she could fly up to the stars, so during the day she flew over the kingdom looking for ways to escape to more. One day, she disappeared into the sun and was gone for years. When she returned, years later, she brought back with her millions and millions of gold coins. There were so many coins! It was impossible to fit all these coins into the world, so she carried them in her head… The kingdom that was once small was now fertile, prosperous and without limits. The king's solid throne stood under a beautiful golden sky with greens all around it. The little girl had become the king.

4:2) My name is Leah. I live in a small kingdom with my mother, my brother and sister. My mom works all day… Life has been hard since dad passed away. He didn't leave us any money. His patients didn't have any money to pay him, but he treated them anyway. He said everyone deserved medical care even if they couldn't pay. They called him the king of all doctors. I was his princess and I miss him so much! He used to tell me I could do anything I wanted. All I have to do is try. "You have to always try your hardest and don't give up." Because of my father, I was able to fly up to the sun and absorb all it had to offer. I am so thankful to my dad and to the sun. They showed me how one becomes a king!

4:3) This is the story of my mother. She lost her father when she was only 8 years old, but because of him, she was the little girl who always believed she could do the impossible. She traveled the world when most wemen didn't even go out by themselves. When my daughter was little, my mom would always tell her not to give up easy, to always try harder. I can only dream of becoming half the woman she is. She is now 85.

--Violetenne
 

2dogs

21 Ways — Step Four

Step FOUR: Sirian Starseed, Master of Orbs.

Step 4-1) Once upon a time a boy grew up in a village near a castle and often saw knights riding by. He dreamt of one day being a knight himself but his father, the village blacksmith, told him this could never happen as he had not been born into a noble family. So as he grew older he instead decided to get as near as possible to the knights’ world by learning to make the swords they used. Initially he learned the basic metalworking skills from his father then after mastering those moved on to become the apprentice of a respected local sword manufacturer. He studied and practised extremely hard until his teacher eventually told him he had learnt everything he possibly could and was now ready to go into business for himself. The young man however said he wasn’t good enough yet, there was always some flaw in the swords he was making. One day some of the knights who had come to buy swords from his master asked about some of the swords they were very impressed by and he told them they weren’t his creations, but made by his apprentice. They said they were the finest swords they had ever seen and wanted to buy them, but the young man was reluctant to sell, pointing out problems in them that the knights could barely perceive. Eventually they left without the swords, but on subsequent visits would always ask to see the young man’s latest work, but the same situation happened every time, he was never satisfied that his swords were perfect and refused to let anyone have them. Finally one of the knights had an inspiration - as the young man was such a keen critic of swords, they would give him the position of official sword inspector, where he could be of great use to them by examining and rating the quality of their weapons, identifying any problems developing in their existing swords and assessing the worth of any new ones they were considering purchasing. They gave him magnificent robes and an official throne up on top of a hill high above the village where he would be free of the smoke, dirt and noise and in the bright sunlight able to closely scrutinise the details of the swords in the best possible conditions.

Step 4-2) Another sword to look at, and not much better than all the others. Who makes them all? I’ve never seen a good one yet and I must have been here a great many years now, I sometimes catch my reflection in the blades and I’m certainly not getting any younger. Still I like it here, the stone steps and my throne are hard and clean in the light, much better than that dirty village with the incessant noise of all those people making it very hard to concentrate. Sometimes a sword will catch a reflection of the star high above me - I love that one, it’s like the very point of a sword, the bright important bit without all the attached heavy parts, in fact my perfect sword would be made of light not metal. I try not to look at the reflections though, I need to concentrate on assessing the swords and also there’s that horrid dark blue area behind me, that’s why I never turn round. It feels empty to me, like an enormous hole and I can feel it pulling at me sometimes like an enormous planet or a whirlpool. Yes, the swords, that’s what I need to focus on, that’s what I do, that’s why I am called the “Master of Swords”. What’s this foreign sounding knight calling me? “Master of Orbs”? No, that’s not right, orbs are nothing to do with swords, look here, at the sword, you’re not paying attention.

Step 4-3) Hmm, I am starting to wonder if there might be something I’m missing LOL.
 

TRIANGLE

The Motherpeace deck: The High Priestess

The first part of this stage at any rate..

There were once two sisters who believed in ghost stories. This set them apart from the other members of the household. The younger sister would sneak into the elder's room, after the last light had been switched out. She would whisper lullabies into her sister's ear. The eldest would drift off to sleep and dream of a world like her own, but different. Unlike the usual landscape of grey and cold mountains, the world took on a deep blue hue. The sky hung low and heavy. Unlike her usual quiet temperament, she was bold and felt a strength in her bones. The world was empty, but she would fetch the younger, deep in her slumbers. The eldest would take her sister's hand and hold it tight, and the youngest would feel stronger too. They would walk through woods together, learning this other land. They picked berries that looked like sapphires and would wake with stained mouths and night dresses. Although they rolled their eyes at their daughters, the girls' parents could not account for the deep blue stains, nor could they scrub them clean.

One night, the eldest entered the night world to a strange feeling in her belly. For the first time in their travels, the youngest was already there, waiting for her. She sat on a rock, facing towards their favourite spot, where the ripest berries could often be found. The air was thick; the youngest felt her sister calling her, as though tiny hands were reaching out through the mist, reaching to her. She turned around, and held out her hand, "Can you feel it too?"

They walked past the berries, even though they were ripe as they had ever been. Their bellies didn't want fruit this time. The ache grew more persistent as they moved towards the tallest mountain in the night world, and drew them towards an opening in the mountain's own belly. This was a great cave that they had never noticed before. The air inside it grew heavier and thicker still. They heard the low hum of the mountain's energy and felt safe.

In the centre of the mountain, they found a great cavern. It was the colour of those deep, sapphire berries. And they were not alone. A woman sat solidly on the ground. She was surrounded by stone totems, that had been carved thousands of years ago. The sisters did not know what the carvings meant, but they made their bellies ache all the more.

She was not interested in speaking, but the sisters could hear her. You have been looking for me, the woman said. You have been searching for me and I have been waiting for you. Neither sister was scared. They walked slowly towards the woman, hand in hand. They sat down on the warm, red ground. Their bellies felt heavy and warm, and they knew that they were home.
 

Onion Budgie

21 Ways: Step Four

Step FOUR: Radiant Rider-Waite, Six of Cups

4-1) The old woman had dug the golden cup out of the earth three weeks ago. While turning over the clods of earth with her tiny iron fork, she had struck upon it – and had not realised what it was, at first. But then, releasing it from its brown dirt bed, her grand discovery. The old woman had washed it clean, her bright eyes sparkling at its beauty. Should she sell it? Or use it? Or give it away? How pretty it would look, holding her flowers upon the windowsill of her cottage. She set it down inside her parlour and forgot about it until the next day. But the next day – there were two cups sat there. The old woman could not believe her eyes. And the next – there were but three. Three days after that there were six, then no more. The old woman did not believe in magic, but how else to explain her good fortune? She filled up each cup with a scoopful of earth, and planted in each a small lily in bloom. A gift for her friend, and a gift for her neighbour, and a gift for her daughter, and a gift for her son. Perhaps even a gift for the guard and his wife. Good intentions bring great reward. The next morning, the old woman awoke to find a large pile of coins before her unlit hearth. Her son still says that the fairies brought them all, carried coin by coin in tiny wheelbarrows made from acorns.

4-2) I have had quite the strangest week of it! They say that good things come in threes, but here I am with six. Or, at least, there would be six, if I had not given five of them away. I have the only one remaining. It is a pretty, golden cup, and do you know just how I came by them? The first I found. The others then appeared inside my parlour – Pop! Pop! Pop! And two more pops! – and they arrived on consecutive days, and they arrived with no word of who sent them, or why. My young son Robert said that the fairies must have brought them. I told him that he was a silly boy. I used the cups as planters, and I gave them out as gifts, save for the last. And then the morning after that, the coins arrived. And I don't know who sent those either. Do you suppose that they were dropped down the chimney? My son Robert says that the fairies brought them all, and I believe he might be right.

4-3) Ah, the mystery of good things appearing when you least expect them to, with a kind soul behind the giving. When I was a child, my great uncle Gordon would leave little hand-written notes for me to find, usually propped up upon the radiator shelf in his hallway. They would be signed from a mysterious ghost called “The Phantom”, and within them The Phantom would tell me all about his spooky day, and of all the ghostly things he had been getting up to. As a kid, I half believed that the notes were real, and they delighted me. My great uncle possessed a childlike imagination, and I believe that he had just as much fun in writing the notes as I did receiving and reading them. I hadn't thought about “The Phantom” in many years until writing this piece. A happy memory.