21 Ways To Read A Tarot Card -- Step EIGHT -- part two.

rachelcat

Hi, Althea! I'm one of the group that did the first round in this thread. (Never finished the adept level round, though . . .)

I feel like I should be all teacher-y and make you figure your sayings out on your own, but maybe I can give you a trigger saying for the Empress:

"If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy."

Now it's your turn!
 

Ivy Rhiannon

Ivy Rhiannon, you are doing great, and making fast progress going through these steps. The metaphor's are, in my view, super symbols or group symbols that offer a rich and pointed picture. Yet, there is room for each of us to individually see these in a meaningful-to-us way. Each step at the apprentice level and the adept level has this richness to it. We are all gaining great things from the guiding work of Mary Greer. Dave

Thanks Dadsnook :D I am back again too and in a whole new place it would seem, lol!

Druidcraft Tarot ~ The Fferyllt

8:2:1 - List as many metaphors and sayings as you can that relate to the fferyllt.

It is what you make of it.
The proof's in the pudding.
If you can dream it, you can do it.
There is always a rainbow after the rain.
Don't play with fire unless you expect to get burned.
The sky's the limit.

8:2:2 - Finish the following statements as many ways as you can:

"I am ______(insert metaphor)."

I am what I make of it.
I am the proof in the pudding.
I am what I dream and I can do it.
I am the rainbow after the rain.
I am not playing with fire, unless I expect to get burned.
I am aware that the sky is the limit.

"The situation feels like _________(describe an emotion/sensation implied by the metaphor)."

The situation makes me feel like I can be whatever I want to be.
The situation makes me feel like my actions speak louder than my words.
The situation makes me feel like I can finally achieve my goals.
The situation makes me feel like I can keep my promises and my word.
The situation makes me feel like I can keep going even though I might fail a few times.
The situation makes me feel like I am only limited by the boundaries I set for myself.

8:2:3 - What do these metaphors suggest about your own situation?

Again I am so surprised I drew a card so spot on my situation. This gives me hope to continue my studies and create a new life for myself!
 

Althea Nokomis

Thanks Rachelcat...I like that one. That is a big one in my house. I thought "Don't mess with Mother Nature" too. I looked up some motherly phrases. These are not quite metaphors though but I like them:

"Motherly love is as soothing as a gentle stream"

"Singing her lullaby she sets on the floor until the shining moon sets and shadows come. This is a mothers love"
 

pacificwaters

21 ways, Step Eight (Part Two): Queen of Pentacles (RWS)

The Queen of Pentacles is the card that I have been working with for this study. I have come up with metaphors that appeal to me whenever I see this card.

8.2.1: Metaphors for the Queen of Pentacles (RWS)

-Lost in deep thought
-Enough for a man’s needs
-Prime of life
-Favorable circumstances
-Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown
-Look before you leap/think before you commit
-Hardships of life
-Materialistic abundance
-Concentration hard on the matter at hand

8.2.2: Inserting metaphors in sentences

-I am so much lost in deep thought
-I am in the prime of (my) life
-I am currently facing all the hardships life has to offer
-I am concentrating hard on the matter at hand

-The situation feels like there’s enough for a man’s needs
-The situation currently is laced with favorable circumstances for me
-The situation reminds me of the old adage “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown”
-The situation must have definitely taught you to look before you leap
-The situation indicates materialistic abundance

8.2.3: Personal experience with relation to the chosen card

The Queen of Pentacles so very much relates to the situation that I am in. Neither my personal or professional life are shaping the way I always wished they would. Currently they are at the lowest of lows, which makes me nothing but keep contemplating of – why me, what next to do, will it ever end and so on. The imagery on the Queen of Pentacles (RWS) is a perfect indication for this.
 

fractalgranny

step 8, part 2 - 21 ways - crow's magick

metaphors/phrases for my card, page of cups:

chatterbox
skydiver
jump in with both feet

let’s blow this popsicle stand!
let’s boogie
young blood
happy-go-lucky
pull out all the stops
stick one’s neck out
a happy camper
like a kid with a new toy


you’re such a chatterbox! (the lizard looks awfully chatty!)
skydiver and jump in with both feet (the lizard looks like he/she is diving/jumping out of a circle into the cosmos)
let’s blow this popsicle stand! (the lizard looks like she/she is raring to go)
let’s boogie (the lizard looks like she/he is raring to go, and like she/he might be calling to a friend)
young blood (all of the above, plus the lizard looks young)
happy-go-lucky and happy camper (that’s what the lizard looks like)
pull out all the stops (the lizard is NOT going to stop!)
stick one’s neck out (the way the lizard is in front, jumping out of the circle)
like a kid with a new toy (the lizard looks so happy and enthusiastic)

hey, slow down a bit! you’re such a chatterbox!
look at him. he’s definitely jumping in with both feet.
it’s nice to have young blood like that around.
get out of the way – she’s pulling out all the stops!
he’s not afraid to stick his neck out.
look at her, like a kid with a new toy.

as i’m writing these sentences, i realize that i’m writing this from the point of view of an observer. it reminds me of when i was supervising practicum students, and how i enjoyed watching them get their feet wet and get all excited. right now i’m working on my own but i know when i work in an agency, people often see me as “jumping in with both feet” and maybe thinking, “hey, slow down!” and i’m definitely not afraid to stick my neck out, and can get excited about a new project “like a kid with a new toy.”
 

Hemera

step 8 part 2~Vampyres Tarot~The Empress

Metaphors for my chosen card the Empress:
Still waters run deep.
This is as good as it gets.
Deep listening with the “ inner ear”.
Very old and wise –wisdom of age.
Sadness for humanity.
There is darkness in light and light in darkness.
Those who know do not speak.
Mother Nature: The cycling of energy and biomass: death -and rebirth again in another form..
Do you know that we are all somebody´s food and there are no exceptions?

Sentences:
I am listening to you. Really listening.
I am quiet deep within.
There is a quiet well of living water deep within my soul.
I am sad because you forget the holy laws of Nature.
To love all humanity is to feel sad for them.
I hear music that is not from this world.

Personal:
Listening is a big thing for me now: listening to music, people, and nature. It is very quiet in Nature now here in the North. It is still mid-winter and every little sound of a bird gets magnified. It´s magical really, the way a tiny shy sound of a bird can stop you on your tracks because it is so special and unexpected. It will soon be spring and summer and it will be very different. The Nature will be buzzing with sounds like the bee above the Empress´head. But right now we are still on the quiet edge of winter. I feel like turning inwards and hoping to find a way to that deep well within. I can see in the Empress´eyes that it is there somewhere in us all and that I can find it within if I try. And if I give it some time as things like these need to unfold naturally and not by force. It is so easy to lose the way to that silent center within -and to remember how important it is.
 

fractalgranny

aaaah. reading this is grounding and relaxing.
 

Tarot Orat

21 Ways - Step Eight, part two

Step EIGHT, part TWO - Dark Carnival Tarot, The Hierophant

8-2-1. List as many metaphors and sayings as you can that relate to your chosen card.
It's showtime
Ace up your sleeve/ace in the hole
Keeping a secret under your hat
Earning your stripes
Born to wear the purple
I hold all the cards
Tears of a clown
Not worthy to touch the hem of your coat
Look but don't touch
Eye on the prize
As above, so below
What goes up must come down
All up in the air
Smoke and mirrors
Smoke gets in your eyes
Reading the back of my eyelids
They have eyes but see not
Head in the clouds
None so blind as those who will not see
Blowing smoke in someone's face
Reach out and touch someone


8-2-2. Finish the following statements in as many ways as you can
"I am _______ "

I have an ace up my sleeve.
I am keeping a secret under my hat.
I have earned my stripes.
I am holding all the cards.
I am up in the air.
My head is in the clouds.
I have eyes but see not.
I am dazzled by smoke and mirrors.
I am not worthy to touch the hem of your coat.
I can look but I can't touch.
I am reading the back of my eyelids.


"The situation/figure in the card feels like ______ "
I tried phrasing things exactly like that but it got really stilted and awkward, so I did it this way. (Which is apparently not how anyone else did it, but I didn't read the thread before doing the exercise.)

The situation in the card feels unsettled - everything's up in the air.
The situation in the card feels suspenseful - what's gone up is going to come down, but when, where, and how?

The Ringmaster feels secure - he has an ace up his sleeve.
The Ringmaster feels powerful - he's holding all the cards.
The Ringmaster feels confident - he's earned his stripes.

The clown on the left feels humble - he's not worthy to touch the hem of the Ringmaster's coat.
The clown on the left feels frustrated - he can look, but he can't touch.
The clown on the left feels ambitious - he's got his eye on the prize.

The clown on the right feels suspicious - he thinks it's all smoke and mirrors.
The clown on the right feels stubborn - he refuses to open his eyes and see.
The clown on the right feels threatened - someone's blowing smoke in his eyes.

8-2-3. What do these metaphors suggest about your own situation?

All these steps and I still can't directly identify with the Ringmaster...maybe it's that I still don't want to, he seems so foreign to who I am or think I am. The metaphors that fit for me are the ones about the situation and the two clowns. I feel like my life is completely up in the air, like I should be somewhere by now but I'm stuck looking up at other people who are more successful. What's their secret? What have they got inside (under their hat, up their sleeve...) that I don't? It's easy to feel like the whole idea of the "success story" is just smoke and mirrors. Like it isn't meant for me...I can look but not touch. Sometimes it's easier to close my eyes to it all, go deep inside and do only what feels safe and comfortable. But that's NOT the way to make it any better...I have to reach out, listen and learn, ASPIRE. The only person blowing smoke in my eyes is me.

So, why can't I get into the Ringmaster's skin? Why is it threatening for me to feel secure, powerful, and confident? I picked this card out of the three I drew in Step One precisely because it was the one I least wanted to work with...it made me the most uncomfortable, and I figured that was what I needed to work on. I'm still that clown on the left, the one with his eyes open and looking up at where he wants to be, but afraid he's not worthy. At least I'm not the one with my eyes closed...
 

fractalgranny

aaah, this is why we are meant to do these things together. much easier to learn from each other (or much easier for ME to learn from YOU guys) when there is someone to interact with. because once again i see how i didn't quite use the instructions the way they were meant. so i am going to just play a little with this, with my new deck that i bought yesterday, the cat's eye tarot http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/cats-eye/index.shtml

i chose the ace of wands, showing a cat's paw threatening/playing with a snake that's coming out from under a rock.

a few metaphors/sayings

gotcha!
giving her a noogie
didn't know what hit her
i can't believe this is happening to me
playing cat and mouse
under her thumb
the early bird gets the worm
out of the blue

finish the following statements in as many ways as you can
"i am _______ "

i'm getting a noogie
i'm giving her a noogie
i'm stunned. don't know what hit me.
i'm stunned. i can't believe this is happening to me
i'm playing cat and mouse
i'm feeling like she's playing cat and mouse with me
i'm under her thumb
i'm having her under my thumb
the early bird gets the worm and i'm the worm
the early bird gets the worm and i'm the early bird
i'm stunned - this comes totally out of the blue

"the situation/figure in the card feels like ______ "

the situation feels like some unknown force is saying "gotcha!:
the cat feels like she's saying to the snake, "gotcha!"
the cat feels to me like she's just about to give the snake a noogie
the situation feels like there is a threat that the snake just hadn't thought would happen; and then when the cat showed up she didn't know what had hit her, couldn't believe what was happening to her
the situation feels like someone it playing cat and mouse with someone
the situation feels like someone has someone under their thumb
the situation feels like the saying "the early bird gets the worm" - it looks like it's just after sunrise and the snake isn't fully awake yet when the cat pounces on her
this situation feels like some threat suddenly appeared, out of the blue


my situation

interesting that i identify more with the snake than with the cat. and yes, something happened this week that feels like it. i felt relatively safe there under my rock, even a little smug (i'm a strong snake, after all!) and bang, suddenly i get this email making it very clear to me that this person has the power to threaten me and that i do NOT belong in the cat club.

thanks for giving me the opportunity to look at this again!
 

Tarot Orat

I'm not entirely sure I got the step right myself, lol, but I agree that it's great to have each other's input and insights to work off of as we take on this intensive study project! Even though those of us who are participating right now are all on different steps, we're all in it together :)