21 Ways To Read A Tarot Card -- step FOUR

dadsnook2000

I can relate to your story

When we adopted our first grandchild, days after he was born, it was certainly a different life for as as "second time parents." He was with us for five years before the second, then a third grandchild came along and had to be cared for. As he got a bit older, probably about 7 or 8, he would wistfully refer to those times when we were "a little family" -- meaning just my wife and I and him.

He still laughs at that memory when we take his great grandmother out to eat several times a week -- he goes with us, the two youngest often elect to stay home and play with their friends. We make special times for "the little family" even though he is almost 19 now. Of course, we also give the other younger siblings their special times as well. But it is a reminder to us of how important certain childhood memories and relationships are to us all.

Thanks for sharing. Dave
 

r0sered1ster

21 ways- step four

Baroque Bohemian Cat's Tarot...four of wands

1) Once upon a time, there was a little seamstress cat who loved making beautiful gowns. All the ladies of her town went to her to sew them fine gowns for every kind of occasion. "Someday," she would say to her friend I am going to make the finest of gowns even for the queen herself!"
One day, a stranger appeared in a fancy coach and approached the young seamstress cat with a wonderous and amazing request "{The queen has heard of your beautiful gowns and would like you to come live at the palace and make fine gowns to be worn by the queen herself."
The little seamstress cat could hardly believe her ears! "My gowns are going to be seen on none other than the queen herself!" she squealed with delight! Her friend was worried and aprehensive about such a bold decision to move so far away from friends and family but the young seamstress cat knew that from now on, no queen that has ever lived will wear finer more beautiful gowns than the ones that she could make.

2) I love making beautiful gowns for all the ladies to wear and I know that my creations are the finest that have ever been seen. Finally here is my chance to design for the queen alone! I'm so excited I can barely stand it! Just think, I will live in a grand palace and do what I love to do. My friend is worried that it is too far away but I can't pass up such a fantastic offer as to have my creations seen on the queen!

3) When I was nearing the end of my college courses in landscape design, I was offered a chance to stretch my new found knowledge and become part of something called "master gardeners." It was a program for people to answer questions from the public on everything from house plants to lawn bugs. I was so excited to be recognized for my talents with plant identification as well as being able to learn new things along the way. It was a great opportunity that I snatched up right away and I always look back on the two years I spent with the master gardeners program with wonderful memories of the serious and sometimes silly questions I recieved.
 

squeakmo9

Diligent, True, and Miffed

Edited to add: This is RWS 5 of Swords


The morning had begun as any other morning except for the absence of father's bellowing.
Diligent was the first up, as always, making his way through the darkness, looking for a light, anything to illuminate.
"Damn", Diligent yelled as he stubbed his toe on the corner of True's bed. True, now awakened, far too early then he would have liked, cursed Diligent's clumsiness. Thoughts scattered throughout the room, booming through the dark as if real...

"must he awake so damned early"..."blasted bed post"...and the ever popular..."shut up!"

Upon standing as still as he could Diligence took a moment to orientate, much like a compass. Now he knew where he stood, the kindling just 3 feet away, by the table, with Baby Blue sleeping closest to the door.
Diligent called to Baby Blue for a light, it's always handy to have a baby dragon for a pet.
"light, Baby!"
...in an instant there was light, a warm fire started.
Diligent then started pulling the covers from True, who feigned sleep, and Miffed who WAS deep in sleep and snoring.
Father gone again, Diligent thought to himself, is it the 2nd or 3rd day now?
With both boys awake, the chores of the day would have to be done.
Everything had gone as well as it could until it came time to clean the stable.
Diligent looked to True, and True to Miffed.
Well who was it going to be today?
Miffed looking resented insisted on having father's swords. True wanted no part of the stable work since he had done so yesterday. Diligent thought to well of himself to break his back. Yes, it would be Miffed's turn.
Daggers broke out of Miffed's eyes, knowing the decision. He then quickly insisted on prayer play.
Diligent looked disgusted as these events happened yesterday as well...another thought..."what, again?"
Father's swords came out, all engraved with their family name:
"Father Fandore Paradis
Mother Lagore Paradis
#1 Son Diligent Paradis
#2 Son True Paradis
#3 Son Miffed Paradis"
The boys gathered, quickly chanting their surname over and over, 2 swords fell out...
 

squeakmo9

Diligent, True, and Miffed-in first person

Edited to Add: This is RWS 5 of Swords


I know I opened my eyes but wasn't sure, so I did so again. Yes, the motion clearly told me so, and I could feel the crud in the corner of my eye move left to right.
The room so dark, as pitch black as it could be. Damn, must I have to get up...well, if I don't no one will, that I know for sure.
Did father die, or was it all a bad dream?
So thirsty, must get up now. I feel the chill upon me, damn, my toe!

True:
Blasted Dili, you'd think you would know my bedpost was just beside you as it has always been all these 20 years.
Hehe, you deserved it, AGAIN *snort*

Diligent to himself:
2 or 3 days since father died? Oh, gaw, no dream, damn it all to hell...
light, Baby!
...and there was light.

Get up! That's it! Out of the covers, the lot of you! That means you too Miffed!!

Miffed:
*snore* *snoresomemore*

Diligent:
Good morning boys, get going, get your grub, and let's get to work.

Miffed:
Who does he think he is, the boss of me?

Diligent thinking to himself:
I love to see the sun up in the sky, it'll be a warm one today, probably rain, I can smell it in the distance. I miss father, the boys always listened to him, but now it's on me, all of it. I love them so, but blast if they don't listen!
Damn that stable, ok, who's it going to be?
Watch, Miffed will get pissed, because he knows it's coming...alright, alright, the prayer play, it is.
God, how I hate the coldness of father's swords, but it makes things around here livable, for now.
"Paradis, Paradis, Paradis"
I close my eyes, and see father before me, I sense the swords shift, and drop.

Miffed thinking to himself:
This is soooo not fair, you dropped them on purpose (to Diligent), my name again? I don't have to listen to you...you're not father! I'm leaving!!!

True thinking to himself:
Now, now, cripe, must it always come to this. Why did father have to die, why now? I don't care about the damn stable, I'm soooo tired, so very tired.

Diligent:
Babies, all of you...father would not be pleased.
(to himself)I can't believe their names came out again, I thought it was me, for sure. What is to become of us?
 

squeakmo9

Edited to Add: This is RWS 5 of Swords, real life association.


When I was 20 years old, my parents decided to get into the garment industry. They purchased a sewing factory, mind you they had no experience whatsoever, except that my mother could sew. They saw one up for sale and went for it. At the time I worked in a hospital as a security guard, making minimum wage. I was completely against them purchasing this factory, had a really bad feeling about it, but since we weren't understanding each other very well in those days, and there was no REAL communication...my worries went ignored. I helped when I could, but at times it was intolerable. I remember being the only person in the house, in a short time they took to living AND working there, in the factory. Our house was in shambles, I only would go there to sleep, I felt very alone. This went on for 5 years, until a fire destroyed the factory. It killed my brother, left my mother in a coma for 3 months, my step-father became an emotional wreak, totally "absent"...making me feel alone and responsible for what, and who remained.
 

rachelcat

21 Ways Step 4 Wands, Manga Tarot

4 Wands LS Manga Tarot

4:1

Once upon a time, there was a young girl with red hair. Everyone looked at her strangely because all the other girls in her village had beautiful, sleek, glossy black hair. As she grew up, she often thought about coloring her hair black, but never did for two reasons: 1. Everyone would know that she just colored it, and 2. She really didn't want to be just like everyone else anyway. She kind of liked standing out of the crowd. In fact, it made her kind of cold-hearted and stand-offish. She thought, "I know I'm different, and I like the way I am. I don't need your approval!"

When the time came that she was old enough to participate in the yearly Spring Festival of Maidens, the ladies organizing the singing and dancing thought, "What are we going to do with this odd-ball? All that red hair is going to mess up the lovely symetry of our dances!"

So they thought up the idea of side stages for the first time. "We'll put her over on the left side of the stage between these four posts for the dance portion of the program."

The red-haired girl was a bit upset about this treatment, but it just made her more determined to be the best dancer, just to spite them. So she practiced and practiced.

When she dressed for the festival, she thought, "Too bad. My gown is so beautiful--I am so beautiful--but people will only notice my incongruous hair." At the last minute, she threw on a bright contrasting red obi as an act of defiance, and took up her position between the posts.

As the dance began and she became one with the music, her cold heart began to melt with the beauty of it all. And soon the entire village noticed her confident, passionate swirling for the beauty and artistry it was. They gathered around and finally showered her with their love in the form of flower petals. As their little hearts showered around her, she gave her heart, too. She was no longer resentful or defiant. Se had arrived as a valued, proud, and confident adult member of the village.

Step 4:2

I am a red-haired girl an a world of black-haired people. But I don't care! I'd rather be myself than a counterfeit THEM! They're trying to push me off to the side, but I'll show them!

I am forgetting my pain and pride in the beauty of the dance and the day and nature. And the people I thought were my foes have come to admire and appreciate me for what I really am. I am covered in little hearts! Now I really belong, as myself!

Personal reflections:

I don't think I've every really been an outcast, but I do often feel self-conscious. This is uncomfortable when I also like to be the center of attention. Maybe I don't care ENOUGH what other people think. I have found acceptance by doing well (at my job) and being a knowledgeable person.
 

whipsilk

STEP FOUR
Knight of Pentacles - Tarot of Prague

4.1
Once upon a time a young boy named Chun wanted to go to the Dragon Wars. He had heard of the exploits of the famous knights who had gone, had seen them trotting down the road beside his family's farm with their iron-tipped spears and their jewel-encrusted swords, had smelt the sweat and the smoke as they returned, tired and tight-lipped, to their castles and mansions, had tasted the special flavor of the dust raised by their horses hooves as they trotted along the road, had dreamed of the honor and glory that would attach to his work worn mother and father. One day, he decided to make his dream real. He took Stick, the old plowhorse, from the ramshackle shed where he was stabled, jumped on Stick's back, and set out toward the setting sun and the eerie glow evening brought to the distant Dragon lands in the west. He gave one glance back at his family's poor farmhouse. His dream grew and he KNEW he would kill dragons and become famous.

He traveled west for many days, following the burnished glow of the setting sun. One day, shortly after entering a forest, he passed a glade lit with dancing beams of sun. In the glade was a large blue war stallion, peacefully cropping grass. Chun approached cautiously. Fully saddled, and draped with rich golden reins, the horse raised its head, looked at him, then shook his massive head toward a sapphire gleam in the grass. Investigating, Chun found a complete set of burnished knight's armor in a strange blue metal. A quiet hound, of the type that frequently companioned the passing knights Chun had seen, lay beside the armor. At Chun's approach, the hound stood and trotted over to the boy, gently taking his tattered trouser leg in his mouth and pulled Chun toward the armor. The glade was silent; there was no sign of knight or warrior. Chun fingered the armor lovingly. It seemed rather small for a great warrior. Chun tried the helmet -- it fit. One by one, he pulled on the other pieces of the sapphire suit, and as he fastened the leather straps, the armor seemed to mold itself to his thin body.

The warhorse and the hound had watched him, approvingly it seemed. Fully armored, and feeling very awkward (he clanked a bit when he walked), Chun approached the horse. When he had reached the side of the horse, the steed neighed and nodded his head. Chun lifted himself into the intricately decorated leather saddle and grasped the reins. The stallion began to trot across the grass, pausing only long enough to rub noses with old Stick, who immediately began walking back towards the distant farm.

For days, months, perhaps years, Chun traveled west, seeking dragons. He passed through large walled cities and visited richly furnished castles, always asking the way to the dragons. People always looked disturbed when he asked, said nothing, and mutely pointed west. Chun kept moving on.

At last he met an old man walking back in the direction Chun had come from. He asked the old man if he was headed in the right direction to fight dragons. The old man, stooped and grizzled, nodded mutely, then said "but you can find dragons in any direction, young man." Chun asked if the glow he saw beyond the distant hills in the evening wasn't the glow of dragon breath. The old man looked surprised for a moment, then gently said, "There be dragons there, true, but there be dragons in this direction too," and pointed to the south, "and this," pointing north, "and even that", and pointed east. "What you see, young knight, is merely the glow of sunset. When you stop seeking dragons, and realize they surround you at all times, you'll have found them." The old man limped off. Chun sat immobile astride old Stick, his tattered rags blowing in the breeze, and wondered.
 

whipsilk

STEP FOUR
Knight of Pentacles - Tarot of Prague

4.2
I'm a dreamy boy living on a poor, hardscrabble farm. I see the richly-armored, royally-decorated knights pass by on their beautiful war stallions, and want to join them, to be one of them. My father has told me they go to fight dragons in the west; in the evenings he points to the distant western glow and tells me that is the light of dragons' breath, battling the knights who oppose them.

I lie in my pallet at night and dream of being a knight, imagine the glory of fighting dragons, see their fiery breath and hear their dreadful battle songs. One summer night, just after sundown, I take a final glance to the west and decide, that night, I'll make my dream real. I'll take the old plowhorse and ride west, find a knight and become his squire, save my knightly master and become his companion and friend, fight at his side against the loathsome worms, and be knighted by him for my valour. I plan my whole future. And late that night I set out.

Many days later, I'm passing through a forest and see a glade with a warhorse and a complete suit of armor. The stallion seems friendly; I tentatively try the armor and, almost magically, it fits. The horse (there's a wolfhound there too -- a dog to be companion and friend) seems to beckon me to ride. I mount, and ride westward as the old plowhorse, my final connection with the farm and family I left behind, slowly begins the long journey home.

I travel for days. I meet an old man on the road one day and ask if I'm heading in the right direction for the dragons. His reply is confusing, and as he trudges off, I begin to wonder if I'll ever find a real dragon.
 

whipsilk

STEP FOUR
Knight of Pentacles - Tarot of Prague

4.3
I've always been a dreamer. Even as a young adult, I recall lying in bed at night constructing elaborate fantasies, always hoping that they'd be part of my dreams when I fell asleep. I went through my basic army training creating wild, fantastical scenarios to override the sweaty, workaday exercises and training activities that seemed so mundane.

Those dreams were based in the myths and stories I read as a boy, and never became reality. As I grew older, my daydreams became more reality-driven, and, almost without knowing it, my fantasies started becoming goals. I actually found myself achieving many of those goals -- acting professionally, teaching, achieving a career that gave me a comfortable, secure life, surrounding myself with a happy family, constantly learning and exploring new things, finding a rich appreciation in nature and the spirit.

I don't know how it happens, but dreams can and do become reality...but they must be the right dreams.

Wow! Four steps in one day. I doubt that I can maintain that pace, but I WILL catch up, and I will persevere. I'm finding this to be a most enlightening and challenging study. I've already thanked Dadsnook, but should also thank Mary Greer for an imaginative and rich approach to tarot that I think will lead me into new paths and fresh ideas.
 

tarot4fun

21 Ways - Step Four

Step Four
Golden Tarot - Eight of Swords

#1. Once upon a time there was a nun who wanted to explore beyond the four walls of her convent. She had heard of an old sage who lived in a cave, far off in the mountains. She stole away early one morning before the sun was up and traveled all day until at last she found that cave.

The sage asked abruptly “Well … what can I do for you?”
“How will I know who I really am?” the nun asked.
The sage replied, “If you can find your way home, then you will know what your purpose in life is.”
“Well that’s too easy, I just turn around and go back.” she retorted with disappointment.
The sage chuckled a little and motioned for her to come closer, “Give me your belt.”
Handing over the poor rope that was wrapped around her waist she said, “This is to remind me not to get tied up in material wealth.”
Loosely wrapping the rope around the nun’s shoulders the sage instructed, “Now it will remind you to sometimes carry the burdens of others. Now give me that scarf that is in your pocket.”
“How did you know about that?” she protested, “I keep it hidden, it was a gift from my friend … but we are only to use rough fabrics for our person and not silk like this.” her voice trailed as she reluctantly handed over the scarf.
“This will remind you to let go of your old ideas and walk by faith.” the sage said while wrapping the scarf around the nun’s eyes firmly so she could see nothing. “Now go home.” shouted the sage.
The startled nun cried out, “But I can’t see! … How will I find my way? … What if I fall?”
“Then you will pick yourself up … now HOME!” were the last words of the old sage.

Angry and confused, feeling betrayed and hurt; the nun slowly turned to go back the way she had come. She remembered the path was the only flat part of the mountain. Becoming aware of her foot steps, she ‘felt’ her way home. Slowly, slowly she inched her way along the path, rock to her right and bushes to her left. The whole time she was carefully creeping along the path she had to hang onto the rope around her shoulders. It kept slipping and she tried to hold it just in the place it had been tied.

She had been in such a hurry to find the sage that she had not noticed the fragrant juniper, cedars and trailing thyme that lined the path. Something stirred in her heart as she filled her lungs with the herbs and trees. She remembered Mother Superior called these plants ‘nature’s medicines’. She thought about reading those old botany books in the library when she got back to the convent.

Slowly, slowly she inched along the path, feeling her way for firm footing. She listened to the stream which was only a trickle near the old sage’s cave. It was sounding more like a rushing creek now. Her long coat must have dipped into the water because it was dragging heavy behind her and getting hung on rocks. Trying to hold it up, she forgot to pay attention to her footing and snagged her coat on something sharp. Giving it a tug she heard a ripping sound and then noticed her burden was lighter. Little did she know that the swords stuck in a rock not only guarded her path, but had cut the dangerous train on her coat.

Still holding onto the rope, yet no longer encumbered by the long coat, she soon found her way home. Gently washing out the scarf that had held her sight, she decided to sew it into a pouch for gathering herbs. Today was new and exciting, she had a fresh outlook. Finally, she felt purpose in her life. She couldn’t wait to start reading and learning.

#2. She felt confined; tired of what people expected her to be and do. She went to a wise person to find advice, but was given an impossible task to perform instead. She didn’t think she could do it, but finished the task and found out something about herself that she had forgotten.