Today's Oracle 15th May 2021

Boar (Fearless in Conflict)

The wild boar or pig is a fierce and indomitable creature symbolizing war and conflict. The fury of an enraged boar or army is rightly feared. The qualities of the boar are fierceness, power, and unassailable strength.

Invoking Strong and Decisive Actions.

IF YOU ARE DRAWN TO THIS ORACLE, the conditions ask for strong and decisive actions. To act with power and strength, you must first seek clarity and then act decisively. Conflict, disagreements, and discord can be multiplied by indecision and vacillation. The wild boar is never indecisive, but moves swiftly forward. While the aggression of the boar is needed in everyday life, a fierce focus and determinism are often required in business and professional life. Sometimes you must fight for what you need.

The wild boar is revered for its ferocity and strength. By association, weapons and armour adorned with boar symbols lend fury and courage to warriors. Arduinna, a boar goddess and huntress from the Ardennes Forest in northern Gaul, rides bareback on a galloping boar. Arawn, the Lord of the Welsh Otherworld, rewards Pwyll for his bravery with the precious gift of the first herd of pigs in Wales. The wild boar signifies power, strength, and fearlessness in conflict.

Wild boars personify the terror of war. Celtic weapons and armour bear the symbols of the boar, its mouth menacingly open and dorsal bristles standing straight up. Replete with screaming, yelling, clamouring chariots, clashing weapons, and the neighing of terrified horses, Celtic battles were horrifying, bloody, and noisy. Roaring over the hill in wild abandon and screeching savagely, enemies were often reduced to terror by the tumult. Adding to the din, among the horns are trumpets called carnyxes, fashioned in the shape of a boar's head, its mouth open and snarling. When blown, carnyxes add a horrid, rattling screech to the fury of battle.

Boars and pigs are also prized for their meat. They demand great skill and courage from the hunters and their horses in the hunt. Though often exaggerated, the Celtic fondness for pork and ritual feasting is well known and documented. Warriors extolling their bravery competed for the champion's portion of pork at the feast. Choice pieces of pork were buried with chieftains to prepare them for otherworldly feasting. Pig offerings were made to the gods, sometimes slaughtered with select portions buried as gifts to the Otherworld, butchered and given as food offerings, or consumed in ritual feasting.

The legends from Wales and Ireland portray boars as supernatural, enchanted, and as gifts from the Otherworld. In the First Branch of the Welsh Mabinogion, Pwyll, Lord of Llys Aberth, encounters Arawn, Lord of the Otherworld. For breaking an honour code, Pwyll must exchange places with Arawn for a year and slay his otherworldly enemy, Hafgan. Pwyll keeps his pledge, and after the year is over Pwyll and Arawn return to their own realms. In gratitude, Arawn sends Pwyll and later his son Pryderi wondrous gifts, the most precious being the first herd of pigs in Wales. In "Math the Son of Mathonwy" of the Mabinogion, which chronicles the conflict between northern and southern Wales, the magician Math, the Lord of Gwynedd, envies the otherworldly pigs:

"So they went unto Math the Son of Mathonwy. "Lord," said Gwydion, "I have heard that there have appeared in the South some beasts such as were never known in this island before." "What are they called?" asked Math. "Pigs, lord." "And what kind of animals are they?" "They are small animals, and their flesh is better than the flesh of oxen... " "And who owns them?" "Pryderi the son of Pwyll; they were sent to him from Annwn, by Arawn the king of Annwn..." "And by what means may they be obtained from him?" "I will go, lord, as one of twelve, in the guise of bards, to seek the swine." "It may be that he will refuse you," said Math. "I will not come back without the swine," replied Gwydion. "gladly," said Math, "go thou forward.""

In the Tale of Culhwch and Olwen, Culhwch is of royal birth and cousin of Arthur. Cursed for offending a queen, Culhwch falls in love with Olwen, the daughter of the giant Ysbaddaden. Since Olwen's marriage prefigures the giant's death, Culhwch is given a series of extraordinary tasks to perform by the giant before he can win the hand of Olwen. His quest centers on capturing Twrch Trwyth, a fierce and enchanted boar who was once an evil king, and seizing the shears, comb, and razor from between Twrch Trwyth's ears. Enlisting the aid of Arthur and Mabon, son of the goddess Modron, Culhwch follows Twrch Trwyth and his band of enchanted pigs all over southern Wales, Ireland, and Cornwall before bringing Twrch Trwyth to the ground.

When applied to personal or intimate affairs, this oracle points to swift and decisive actions to curtail misunderstandings or even to stop the actions of others when safety or security is threatened. In specific circumstances, you must protect and defend yourself, physically and emotionally, from the actions of others. Stay centered and resolute.

Today's Oracle 14th May 2021

 Lap Dog, Hound of the goddess (Intimacy with Self)

The lap dog brings healing and renewal to the inmost self. Old habits and traumas may resolve effortlessly. The lap dog's presence signifies an auspicious time to bring loving attention to our deep emotional and spiritual natures.

Invoking the Quality of Loving Attention.

IF YOU ARE DRAWN TO THIS ORACLE, you are attracting the benevolent forces of the spirit world to transform your life from within. It is a graced and auspicious time to heal and strengthen the inmost self. Old, deep wounds may be soothed and resolved without trauma or even conscious attention. Harmful patterns and habits may dissolve effortlessly. Troublesome relationships may clear up, slip away easily, or clear up in healthier and more beneficial ways.

The hound of the goddess conveys gentle companionship to the innermost promptings of the human spirit. Unlike the harrowing hound of hell in Mediterranean mythology, the Celtic hound is kind and helpful, usually sitting at the goddess's feet, resting in her lap, gazing adoringly, or even nursing from her breasts. Associated with the regenerative powers of the Otherworld, the lap dog brings healing and loving attention to our deep emotional and spiritual natures.

A magical encounter with otherworldly hounds is found in the First Branch of the Welsh Mabinogion, when Pwyll, Lord of Dyfed, is out hunting with his own pack of hounds:

"As he listened to the baying of his pack [of hounds] he perceived the cry of another pack, a different cry which was advancing towards him. He spied a clearing in the forest, a level field, and as his pack reached the edge of this field he saw the other pack with a stag running before it, and near the centre of the clearing this other pack overtook the stag and brought it down. Pwyll at once remarked on the pack's colour, without bothering to look at the stag, for no hound he had ever seen was the colour of these: a dazzling shining white with red ears, and as the whiteness of the dogs shone so did the redness of their ears."

The hounds of the goddess epitomize the domestic dog at its best affectionate, watchful, attentive, and loyal. Allied with the healing powers of the Otherworld, the hounds convey the gentle and regenerative powers of the spirit world to heal and restore. Throughout the Celtic world, like the goddess herself, hounds are symbols of nourishment and sustenance, and especially of companionship, even accompanying the goddess in the sacred hunt. The popular Celtic goddess of the North Sea, Nehalennia, was especially favoured by seafarers who invoked her protection on their hazardous crossings. Nehalennia is never without her constant companions, an otherworldly hound or two, sitting on her lap and heedful of her wishes.

Ever vigilant and faithful, the hounds bring the reassurance of divine favour and trustworthy intimacy with the healing and restorative powers of the spirit world.

You have only to let the changes occur naturally. You are asked to trust, allowing changes to unfold freely. The natural cycle of death and regeneration are working quietly on your behalf. Try not to interfere through over activity, thinking too much, wallowing in your troubles or insecurities, or planning the rest of your life. Taking time to meditate and not hurrying may give more spaciousness to the process of change.

Drawing this oracle suggests that the spirit world is now working in a very personal way to assist you. It is as if you are getting a little extra attention right now. Positive changes are already moving within you.

Today's Oracle 13th May 2021

Faery Hill (The Hidden World of Faeries)

By legend, the faeries are the descendants of the Tuatha De Danann, a godlike race who once inhabited Ireland. They now reside beneath the ground inside hills and mounds in the countryside. Their presence signifies inspiration.

Invoking Inspiration.

IF YOU ARE DRAWN TO THIS ORACLE, you are attracted to the spiritual forces around you. These spiritual forces, whether faeries or nature spirits, are sometimes the special friends of poets, artists, playwrights, musicians, and the inventive and creative ones of every trade or profession. The presence of the faeries and nature spirits gives the landscape around you its wondrous qualities, and you are attracted to its supernatural qualities.

The faeries, the people of the goddess Danu, live as neighbours in the hills and mounds of the countryside. Having yielded the land's surface to the Celts, the faeries now inhabit the Otherworld, beneath the ground, where they live merry and carefree lives. Their supernatural presence brings a lively, nostalgic, and passionate feeling to the landscape, especially enlivening the poetry, music, and song with a sensuous and haunting lyricism. Faery hills, in particular, denote unique sources of inspiration from the faery realms.

With the coming of the Celts to Ireland, the powerful Tuatha De Danann, the people of the goddess Danu, eventually retreated from the Middle World on the earth's surface and yielded the land's surface to the Celts. They gently slipped into the Otherworld, where they now live fanciful and merry lives as neighbours in a parallel realm to humans. Living in certain hills throughout the countryside, often ancestral burial mounds called sidhe or sí (pronounced "shee"), the inhabitants of the sidhe are known as faeries. At night some faery hills are seen as ablaze with sparkling lights and alive with merrymaking and music. On certain nights the doors between the worlds open, particularly Samhain (now Halloween), marking the beginning of winter, and May Eve, marking the beginning of summer. On these nights, faeries are often encountered travelling about in our world and may lead humans to gateways to the Otherworld. Familiar caves and cliffs may open, revealing splendid faery castles within. While kindly observers and visitors may be rewarded, interfering with faery hills or castles invites reprisal.

A typical story from Donegal in Ireland tells of a man stacking turf on the bog. Returning at nightfall, he comes upon "a big black hole with mud lying on the surface ... and a kind of big opening down into the ground. He stuck his stick into it." When he tries to pull the stick out, "what did he do but take a jump into the hole. He went down until he hit hard ground at the bottom and began to walk until he reached a castle where there were many people singing and great entertainment and eating and drinking. He sat in amongst them but he did not eat anything" because he might never return home if he ate or drank.

The presence of the faeries living close by animates the landscape of the earth with lively activity. Along with nature spirits particular to trees, flowers, and features of the landscape, the Otherworld of the faeries imbues the natural, human world with movement, exuberance, and passion. Our world mirrors theirs.

While the Celts are unusually attentive to the presence of otherworldly beings who share the earth with us, the earth is sacred wherever you live. If you live in nature, especially in secluded places where supernatural beings are more at ease, you may be especially aware of their presence and passionate, spirited vitality. Quite unlike contemporary notions that portray the faeries as fearful and meddlesome, the faeries would much rather cooperate with us, especially sharing inspiration, visions, frivolity, song, and music. Unfortunately, the faeries - and other nature spirits - have become wary of humans, so attracting their support requires respect and care for our natural environment and the spirits who dwell there.

Today's Oracle 12th May 2021

Treasures (Stone, Spear, Sword, and Cauldron)

The four treasures brought by the Tuatha De Danann to Ireland are the Stone of Fál, the Spear of Lugh, the Sword of Nuada, and the Cauldron of the Daghdha. Each treasure in turn signals power and a challenge for further development of your character.

Invoking the Challenges of Mastery and Power.

IF YOU ARE DRAWN TO THIS ORACLE, you are either naturally drawn to power and authority, or your present circumstances require the right use of power. Power is invariably a double-edged sword capable of cutting in two directions. Your skills may involve a natural talent or expertise cultivated over time. Having mastery makes possible important personal accomplishments, expression, and satisfaction. At the same time, by holding authority you also attract circumstances and events that challenge and further develop your skill and authority. 

Accomplished in the arts of Druidry, the godlike Tuatha De Danann came from the isles to the north of the world to invade ancient Ireland. The Tuatha De brought four treasures with them: the Stone of Fál, which shrieks when a rightful king sits upon it, the Spear of Lugh, which grants victory, the Sword of Nuada, from which no one escapes, and the Cauldron of the Daghdha, from which none leave hungry. Each treasure represents power and its challenges.

Failius, Goirias, Findias, and Muirias were the four cities of the mythic isles in the northern seas. From the cities' great sages, the Tuatha Dé Danann acquired knowledge of Druidry, magic, and prophesy. They invaded ancient Ireland with a great fleet of ships, and upon reaching the western shore, they set their boats on fire and, in so doing, destroyed any hope of returning to the north of the world. Defeating and routing the Fir Bolgs who then lived on the island, the Tuatha De controlled all of Ireland and established themselves at the royal court of the high kings of Ireland at Tara. As recorded in the Book of the Invasions, which chronicles the successive invasions of Ireland, the Tuatha De brought four great treasures to Ireland from the northern isles.

"From Failias was brought the Lia Fail which ... utter[ed] a cry under every king that should take Ireland. From Goirias was brought the spear which Lug [Lugh] had: battle would never go against him who had it in hand. From Findias was brought the sword of Nuadu: no man would escape from it; when it was drawn from its battle-scabbard, there was no resisting it. From Muirias was brought the cauldron of the Dagda [Daghdha]; no company would go from it unsatisfied."

All four treasures recur in the historical legends of Ireland, and feature prominently in Arthurian legend. By tradition, the Lia Fál (the Stone of Fál) still resides on the hills of Tara in County Meath, the mythic center of Ireland and inaugural site of ancient Irish kings. In a curious blend of ancient and Christian traditions, the Book of Invasions tells that the stone made no cry after the birth of Christ.

Unless you acquire personal qualities equal to your talents and skills, your life situations will become untenable and you will not be able to express the talents and skills you rightfully hold. Consider the possibility that the challenges you attract are actually invitations to bring qualities such as greater awareness, confidence, integrity, savvy, kindness, and equanimity into your nature. Take time to reflect on the particular type of challenges you are presently encountering and the unique qualities needed to meet them successfully.

Today's Oracle 11th May 2021

Water Horses (Magical Encounters)

Water horses, are magical horses riding over the seas or appearing from the depths of inland lochs. Water horses appear magically and swiftly. Their presence signifies masculine strength and beauty.

Invoking the Union of Strength and Beauty.

IF YOU ARE DRAWN TO THIS ORACLE, you are called to renew some aspect of your life with the joining of beauty and strength. Perhaps your life now feels too familiar, routine, conforming, or emotionally flat. Your daily activities may lack spontaneity and vigour. Male or female, the depths of your masculinity may long for opportunities to explore new strengths and capacities. You may wish to express your outward authority, mastery, and leadership in tender and gracious ways. If so, new challenges and experiences may be drawing close. Your judgment and skill will be tested. Opportunities to explore the unknown may enter your life. By joining beauty to strength, you have the opportunity to break out of the overly familiar and experience vigorous and harmonious ways of living and acting.

Water horses appear riding across the seas or arising from he depths of lochs. Like sky horses drawing the sun's chariots across the skies in prehistoric drawings, mythic water horses convey the chariots of the god of the seas, Manannán Mac Lir, and his entourage across oceans. In folk stories, swift and radiant water horses arise from the depths of inland lakes to bring prosperity to those who respect and provide for them. The water horse represents strength and beauty crossing into our lives.

Crossing the seas or arising from the depths of inland lochs, water horses bring a bright union of strength and beauty. Glistening in the sun, they combine the strength and vigour of a horse, the radiance of sun in swift flight, and the mystery of its origins beneath the sea. In The Voyage of Bran, a mythical sea horse conveys the chariot of the god of the seas, Manannán Mac Lir, and his company to meet Bran and his sailors, who are in search of the enchanted isle. As Manannán comes closer to the boat he begins to sing:

"Bran's boat shims over calm waters.
Bran's ship is revelling in a clear sea, but to me, in my chariot, it is a flowery plain.
In my gentle land, the home of Manannán Mac Lir, sea horses glisten in the sun, and rivers pour forth honey.
Flowers are growing where Bran sees waves....
Row steadily, Bran, row steadily over my kingdom and you will reach the Land of Women before the setting of the sun."

Manannán and his chariot disappear beneath the waves and Bran and his sailors row on.

Water horses radiate strength and beauty in popular tales from Ireland and Scotland. Many of the stories tell of a poor farmer whose farm is near a lake or the sea. One day he discovers a foal in his field and she grows into a magnificent mare. She is beautiful, of "fine limb and graceful form" and as "swift as the wind and had no equal." Many years later, he mistreats her and she disappears with her foals back into the sea. In a typical story from County Sligo in Ireland, a poor farmer encounters a foal grazing on the shore near his small house:

"One morning when he got up he went out to the well for a can of water for his tea. To his great surprise, he saw a young foal on the shore. He went down to the shore and brought the foal in. The foal grew to a mare and every year she had a foal. This continued for seven years and after some time he was a rich man.... But one morning a strange thing happened. The man went out to the stable to let out the mare. When he was letting her out, he hit her with her bridle. As soon as he did, the mare neighed seven times and the seven foals came galloping up to her. They all turned in the direction of the sea and swam out into the water. They were never seen again."

Frabato - The Magician by Franz Bardon

Frabato

The Magician

Frabato the Magician - Franz Bardon

Franz Bardon was born on December 1, 1909, in Katherein, near Opava in the present-day Czech Republic. He died on July 10, 1958, in Brno, also in the Czech Republic. He attended public school in Opava, and after that apprenticed as a mechanic. His stage name was "Frabato," which is an abbreviation of Franz-Bardon-Troppau-Opava.

You might ask, "who was Franz Bardon?" For those who are not familiar with his work, suffice it to say that Bardon is considered to be one of the most important adepts of our age. According to Bardon himself, he was directed by Divine Providence to reveal to humanity the meaning behind the first four major arcana of the Tarot. While he fulfilled his mission, only his revelation of three of the Tarot cards were published and the fourth has been lost due to the twists of fate. 

The first card, the Magician, was revealed in "Initiation Into Hermetics" (IIH); the second card, the High Priestess, was revealed in "The Practice of Magical Evocation" (PME); and, the third card, the Empress, was revealed in "The Key to the True Quabbalah" (KTQ). Only a small fragment of his revelation of the fourth card, the Emperor, remains and is found as an appendix to the book "Frabato", titled "The Golden Book of Wisdom".

* Troppau is the German name for the Czech city of Opava; because of the particulars of the region's history, many locations in the present-day Czech Republic have both Czech and German names.

The special nature of this work required serious consideration before I published it under the name of Franz Bardon; the importance of the subject matter finally decided the issue. To pay tribute to truth, I should not like to conceal from the reader the fact that, in actuality, Franz Bardon supplied only the framework of facts for this book. Being pressed for time, he left its entire completion and embellishment to his secretary, Otti Votavova. Unfortunately, Bardon's posthumous manuscript was not ready for print, and therefore I had to revise it.

 

I would like to pass on some of the information which, according to Otti Votavova, she received directly from Franz Bardon. According to her, Adolf Hitler was a member of a 99 Lodge. Besides this, Hitler and some of his confidants were members of the Thule Order, which was simply the external instrument of a group of powerful Tibetan black magicians which used the members of the Thule Order for their own purposes. Hitler also employed a number of doubles on various occasions as camouflage. 

Franz Bardon was brought to the Nazis' attention through the negligence of his student and friend, Wilhelm Quintscher (Rah Omir Quintscher). Quintscher had not destroyed his correspondence with Bardon, although he had been asked by Bardon to do so; that is how the National Socialists became aware of him. While they were being flogged, Quintscher lost his self-control. He uttered a Kabbalistic formula, whereupon the torturers were immediately paralyzed completely. When he later neutralized the effect of the formula, he was shot in revenge. Franz Bardon was offered high positions in the Third Reich by Adolf Hitler, but only in exchange for his help in winning the war with his magical abilities. Furthermore, Franz Bardon was expected to reveal to Hitler the location of the other ninety-eight lodges throughout the world. When he refused to help, he was exposed to the cruelest torture.

Among other things, they performed operations on him without anesthetizing him. They forged iron rings around his ankles and fixed heavy iron balls to them. Franz Bardon shared the fate of his fellow prisoners in Nazi concentration camps for three and a half years. In 1945, shortly before the war ended, he was sentenced to death. However, before the sentence could be carried out the prison in which he was being held was bombed. He was rescued from the heavily damaged building by some Russian fellow prisoners and succeeded in hiding from the police in his native country until the end of the war. He then worked his way back to his hometown. 

After the war, Franz Bardon used his magical abilities to determine that Adolf Hitler had escaped abroad, and that he had undergone a number of surgical operations on his face so as not to be recognized. 

The photographs of Hermes Trismegistos, Lao-tse, Mahum Tah-Ta and Shambalah presented in this volume were originally published in the book Das Buch vom Buddha das Westens, by Hans Albert Muller (Verlag des Ordens der Weltvollendung, 1930). This fact became known to me only recently; the photos were first painted by a mediumistic artist from the magic mirror of Franz Bardon. This is the end of Otti Votavova's recital of facts. In the many years of my acquaintance with her I was able to convince myself of her love of truth.

 

In his book The Practice of Magical Evocation, Franz Bardon has written in some detail concerning the fact that certain disadvantages must always be taken into account when any kind of pact is made. Anyone who has thoroughly studied the occult sciences will not find it difficult to judge lodges, orders, sects and groups. One should always be on one's utmost guard wherever money or oaths are demanded in exchange for spiritual instruction, and wherever the secrets are kept by the higher degrees and concealed from the lower ones. 

Evidence regarding the events related in this book will be reserved for people trained and developed in magic. Humankind will have to resign itself to the fact that a great deal of evidence concerning the workings of our cosmos can only be furnished through spiritual means.

 

Wuppertal, June 1979 

Dieter Riiggeberg

Everything you need to know about Franz Bardon is on my Pinterest Boards.

Today's Oracle 10th May 2021

Will O' the Wisp - Jack O'Lantern (Fire)

Will O' the Wisp is too bad for heaven and too clever for hell. He therefore forever wanders the countryside with a wisp of light. Using the creativity of fire unwisely or selfishly brings misfortune. Seek to use creativity and talent with generosity and compassion.

Invoking the Use of Creativity and Talent.

IF YOU ARE DRAWN TO THIS ORACLE, your creativity and talent may be going astray. A wise person uses his or her creativity wisely and unselfishly. Are you undervaluing your talents and skills and therefore undermining your endeavours? Are you withholding your strengths? hoarding them? trivializing them? neglecting them? overlooking their potential and not attending to their development? Are you supporting your talents through proper diet, exercise, and rest?

Will O' the Wisp was a poor and quick-witted man who ill used his talents taunting his neighbours, including the devil. Some say he was an awful man who always got the upper hand with his neighbours, and even with the devil. When Willy died, he was welcome neither in heaven nor hell. He still wanders about the Irish bogs at night with a lantern or his nose afire. His presence signifies the fires of creativity and talent and their right use in the world.

Mysterious lights are seen on the bogs in Ireland at night. Holding a wisp, a lantern, or with his own nose ablaze to illumine his way in the dark, poor Willy the Wisp (also known as Jack O' Lantern) forever wanders the countryside. "Willy the Wisp ... refused admittance of heaven and hell, was given a wisp for light by the devil. And Willy goes about lonesome places from that day to this and the wisp with him."" Willy the Wisp was too bad for heaven and too clever for hell.

When alive, he had been a terrible bad man who played spiteful tricks on his neighbours. His wicked eye was said to have the power to turn a person into a goat. Carried away with his own cleverness, though, he taunted the devil and

"Got the upper hand of Old Nick in every deal. At long last he died and was sent down to hell. When the devil saw him coming he ordered all the doors and windows to be securely locked and bolted. Poor Will walked up and down expecting to be let in at any moment. Losing patience at long last he went over and began peeping in through the bars. What do you say if his nose didn't catch fire! But [he had/ no [chancel of getting in. The poor fellow had to come back to Ireland and he is wandering up and down the country ever since with the tip of his nose on fire. That's the light you see when he's nthe bog.... The fire on the tip of his nose is so strong that all the water in the ocean wouldn't extinguish it. He'll be wandering about night after night till Doomsday and then if the devil doesn't let him in I don't know what will become of him."

Never follow Willy's meandering light in the bog. He will lead a man or woman astray.

Unwise or selfish use of creativity and talents brings misfortune. Wise and generous use of talents brings peace of mind and contentment. Compassionate use of talents brings much joy to the heart. In seeking to develop your talents and how to use them it is wise to seek guidance from those who have manifested their own talents in creative and generous ways. Such guidance will be inspiring and sound, because it is based on having already wrestled with the tensions of ambition and impatience, success and failure, giving and receiving, and passion and resistance.

Today's Oracle 9th May 2021

Hag, the Initiator (Beginnings)

The hag initiates change and transformation, and signals the potential for significant change and transformation in relationships and the affairs of everyday life. Her often terrifying appearance is a test of your readiness for change.

Invoking Readiness for Change.

IF YOU ARE DRAWN TO THIS ORACLE, the hag may be testing your readiness for change. Her presence signals the potential for significant shifts in business and professional life, relationships, and the affairs of everyday living. New beginnings are possible. While the hag's outward appearance may be ghastly, welcoming her signals your readiness for a shift in awareness and fortunes. Anything may happen if you embrace such an unlikely stranger across the threshold of your life.

In Irish myth, a ghastly hag symbolizes the sovereign goddess of Ireland in the quest for the rightful heir and king. Through her, he is joined to the land. When the hag mates with the rightful heir, she signals his sovereignty by becoming a lovely maiden. In Irish and Scottish folk tales, the hag gives birth to the mountains and valleys, hills and rocks, and the various creatures of the land. The hag tests and initiates beginnings and rightful change.

The powerful hag is one of the three aspects of the Triple-Mother Goddess, the sovereign goddess of the land. Typically old and yet ageless, her terrifying appearance tests the readiness of kings and heroes. In Irish, Welsh, and Scottish legends, she enchants her "chosen" heroes with magical powers and confounds and hounds any who spurn her advances. Her shape is spine- tinglingly horrid and yet radiant, as captured in a contemporary poem, originally composed in Gaelic, by Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill:

"She stood naked in the dark, her palms cold like luminous fish on my shoulders:
her hips flashing fire beneath the two moons of her breasts.
I sank my head in her sea-weed hair and bitter waves of sea bruised and battered me, our white-horse waves rusted to rats: all became empurpled.
In the morning waking my head aching I saw sallow scales encrusted her and rotten teeth from the abyss snarled at me and hissed.
I took my awl and last and left the place fast!"

In approaching this goddess, the Irish kings were chosen. By legend, the reign of the U1 Neill, descendants of Niall, was initiated by the blessing of the goddess of sovereignty, the hag. Though the youngest of the five sons of the king, Niall became the king of Ireland from 379-405. As the story is told in an early fifth-century manuscript, Niall and his four brothers were out hunting in the forest and were overwhelmed by thirst. One by one, each brother comes upon a pool of water guarded by a hideous hag. She offers each a drink in exchange for a kiss and each one flees at her dreadful appearance, except for Niall. He kisses the crone and makes love to her. As they kiss, the hag becomes the loveliest of maidens, her face like the radiance of the sun - none other than the goddess of sovereignty herself.

Folk tales in Ireland, Wales, and Scotland abound in stories about the hag, the "Mountain Mother," the "Great Old One," or the Cailleach in Gaelic. Striding across the land, she "lets fall from her skirts" the natural features and creatures of the land. In Ireland, many tales tell of benevolent hags, loathsome hags, hags saved by saints from peril, and hags who turn to hares and turn back into an old neighbour woman again when caught milking the cows!

Life presents many situations that are unsettling, even abhorrent. When troubles arise, they may represent the presence of the hag, artfully disguised. There is no way to prepare for her, except to watch for her presence. She has come to test your nerve and willingness for living in a new way. Welcoming her many manifestations signals a ready and awakened consciousness. Having crossed the threshold of danger, many things - anything - is possible.

Today's Oracle 8th May 2021

New Moon (Wisdoms of the Heart)

The new moon represents the wisdom of the heart, which come with emotional and spiritual maturity. Spiritual traditions everywhere tell of the compassionate wisdom (or intelligence) of the heart. Knowledge is acquired from the implicit and tacit meanings of things in their essence.

Invoking Tenderness and Compassionate Knowing.

IF YOU ARE DRAWN TO THIS ORACLE, you are learning to see with the eye of the heart. There are meanings, understandings, and discernments known to the heart alone, and rarely seen or understood by the intellect, the discriminating mind.

According to the old traditions, the moon is revered as the queen of the night, beauteous and fair. On seeing the new moon rising in the night, the men and women of old Scotland and Ireland bow gently, bending a knee in admiration. "Hail to thee, thou new moon, guiding jewel of gentleness!" Shining in the night sky as the queen maiden of guidance and good fortune, the new moon brings graciousness and maidenly joys to daily life. She signifies tenderness, compassion, and the intelligence of a loving heart.

Along with reverence and rites concerning the sun, stars, and fire, lunar worship is a common feature of the old ways of the Celtic people. Alexander Carmichael, recording the prayers and customs of the Scottish Highlands and the Outer Hebrides in the late nineteenth century, observed these vanishing customs and rites, still then extant among the country people.

In the Island of Barra of the Outer Hebrides, the old men and women "make obeisance to [the new moon] as to a great chief. The women curtsy gracefully and men bow low, raising their bonnets reverently. The bow of the men is peculiar, partaking somewhat of a curtsy of the women, the left knee being bent and the right drawn forward towards the middle of the left leg in a curious but not inelegant manner." Carmichael records several invocations and prayers hailing the new moon, the jewel of the night sky:

"Hail to thee, thou new moon, guiding jewel of gentleness!
I am bending to thee my knee, I am offering thee my love.
I am bending to thee my knee, I am giving thee my hand,
I am lifting to thee mine eye, O new moon of the seasons.
Hail to thee, thou new moon, joyful maiden of my love!
Hail to thee, thou new moon, Joyful maiden of the graces!
Thou art travelling in thy course.
Thou art steering the full tides.
Thou art illuming to us thy face, O new moon of the seasons.
Thou queen-maiden of guidance.
Thou queen-maiden of good fortune.
Thou queen-maiden my beloved.
Thou new moon of the seasons!"

When you begin to see with the eye of the heart, it will be as though a veil has been lifted before you. You will see more deeply into the nature of things, relationships, and events. Your discriminating mind will relax. With your actions more in accord with natural patterns around you, you will interfere less, allowing others and events to mature according to their own design and necessity. Your actions will be more secure and compassionate, supportive of what is implicitly good and natural. In time, these softer wisdom of the heart will bring you greater wisdom and nobility of character.

Today's Oracle 7th May 2021

 Ram-horned Snake (Shape-shifting)

The ram-homed serpent signifies the capacity to change form, consciousness, or action spontaneously and quickly. Close to the earth and in touch with what is needed, the ram-horned serpent freely changes action, mood, form, and consciousness.

Invoking the Quality of Shape-Shifting.

IF YOU ARE DRAWN TO THIS ORACLE, you are urged to bring shape-shifting to some aspect of your life. A present situation may invite a change in attitude, action, or rearrangement of relationships, plans, logistics, or details. Depending on the situation, the changes may be crucial to many people or subtle, perceivable only to you. By sensing the opportune moment, spontaneous shifts in action, consciousness, and outward appearance may occur quickly and effortlessly. Making the same change later may require more time and effort. By shape-shifting now, you will begin to strengthen your capacity to shape-shift when the right circumstances occur in the future.

The ram-horned snake is the Celts' most vigorous image of shape changing. The snake's form, consciousness, and action shift easily and spontaneously. Adorned with the powerful curling horns of the ram, the ram-horned snake brings together the regenerative and healing powers of the snake with the vigour, strength, and fertility of the ram. The ram-horned snake is particularly adept at responding swiftly to changing circumstances.

Shape-shifting, or shape changing, is remarkably common in the Celtic world. From archaeological finds of bas-reliefs depicting the ram-horned serpent of the Iron Age Celts to Irish and Welsh tales and legends of the great oral tradition, shape-shifting occurs frequently. Otherworldly beings, humans, and animals willfully change form when pursued and in danger, or seamlessly change from one form to another as acts of creation. Shape-shifting is the natural inheritance of otherworldly beings. The Welsh bard Taliesin tells of his multidimensional origins:

"I have been in many shapes before I assumed a constant form: I have been a narrow sword, a drop in the air; a shining bright star; a letter among words in the book of origins.

I have been lantern light for a year and a day.

I have been a bridge spanning three score rivers.

I have flown as an eagle, been a coracle on the sea.

I have been a drop in a shower, a sword in battle, a string in a harp.

Nine years in enchantment, on water, in foam.

I have absorbed fire, I have been a tree in a covert.

There is nothing of which I have not been part."

In domestic shrines of the earliest Celts to the medieval tales of wonder and adventure, a swift change in shape, consciousness, or action gives zest and adventure to the Celtic legends and way of life.

The ram-horned snake vividly portrays the prevalent capacity of beings in the Celtic world to shape-shift quickly and spontaneously. The natural capacity of the snake to renew life and the capacity of the ram to act with strength and authority are brought together in this uncanny and vibrant image of a snake adorned with the curling horns of a ram. In a striking portrayal in stone relief at Cirencester in Gloucestershire, England, the ram-horned snake is physically blended with an image of Cernunnos, the antlered Lord of the Animals:

"Cernunnos's body is merged with those of the two ram-horned snakes which replace his own legs and rear up on each side of his head to eat the fruit or grains clustered by his ears."

With practice and increased sensitivity, you can develop the skill of shape-shifting. From a spiritual perspective, as the boundaries between the realms of this middle world and the spirit world grow thinner, the extraordinary qualities of the animals and plants around you may become your expert teachers.

Today's Oracle 6th May 2021

Epona, the Horse goddess (Safe Passage)

The horse goddess Epona carries the dead across the chasm of death into another realm of life. She carries and accompanies us across the chasms of transition and change. Her qualities bring guidance, protection, and safety in transitions.

Invoking the Qualities of Guidance and Safety.

IF YOU ARE DRAWN TO THIS ORACLE, you are bringing protection and guidance into the current circumstances of your life. Epona can help to bring comfort to frayed nerves, companionship in dangerous or stressful situations, stamina and patience to endure and go the extra mile, and guidance in the otherworldly aspects of your passage. Her protection supports safe passage to the other side of the journey.

Epona the Horse Goddess brings the virility and power of the horse to the birth-giving and otherworldly powers of the mother goddesses. As the designated guardian of the dead and those in danger, she transports the dead across ocean chasms and opens the entrance to the Otherworld. Her presence lends companionship and safety during times of danger, insecurity, and challenges to health and well-being. Equally at ease on land, at sea, and in the Otherworld, Epona's guardianship is honoured by the living and the dead.

Epona is always accompanied by a horse, often several horses, or foals suckling from her nipples. Appearing as a woman splendidly arrayed and riding sidesaddle on a mare, or as having the head of a woman and the body of a horse, Epona reigned as guardian of the beginnings and ends of life on earth and as local sovereign. In the Celtic world, she was revered throughout central Europe, extending in influence east to Bulgaria and west to Britain. Identified with local sovereignty to lend protection and associated with the power of horses, she was worshiped by Celts and Romans alike - especially by occupying Roman soldiers and cavalry, perhaps wanting to make some sort of propitiation to the powers of the local goddess.

Aside from the mare, Epona's most distinctive imagery associates her with guarding and leading the dead to the Otherworld. Most distinctive, she carries keys, sometimes only the keys to the stables, but more likely keys to the entrance of the Otherworld.

Common in mythological history, Epona is known as Macha in Ireland and Rhiannon in Wales. In the Irish Táin Bó Cuailnge (The Cattle Raid of Cooley) she is forced by the king to race against the king's horses. She wins, giving birth to twins as she dies at the finish, cursing the Ulster men for nine generations as her divine salvo for their cruelty. In the First Branch of the Welsh Mabinogion, Pwyll, Lord of Dyfed, sees Rhiannon's otherworldly horse and appearance in their first encounter. As the horsewoman approaches, Pwyll sees

"A woman dressed in shining gold brocade and riding a great pale horse.... And anyone who saw the horse would have said it was moving at a slow steady pace.... Pwyll climbed into the saddle, but no sooner had he done so than the lady rode past him. giving his spirited prancing mount its head he turned to follow, supposing he would overtake her at the second or third bound; yet he drew no closer than before.... Pwyll then called out, "Lady, for the sake of the man you love best, stop for me! " "I will, gladly," said she, "and it would have been better for your horse had you asked me that earlier."

Epona is always seen in the company of her mare. During transition and change, you are urged to seek out the company of friends and others you trust and avoid the company of malevolent speakers or nay-sayers. Amid transition, you are unusually sensitive to others - even if you are not consciously aware of it, you can absorb their negative feelings and thoughts. On the other hand, sensitive times are excellent times to listen to the counsel and cautions of others, if they come from a generous heart. Trust your inner knowing to guide you amid choices, but avoid overtaxing yourself by taking in the thoughts of those you don't trust anyway. Be vigilant about the company you keep and you will receive the right guidance and kindly support.

Epona's authority to guide the otherworldly aspects of transition can assist you to stay connected to the spirit at work in your life, especially during times of great change and opportunity. Ask for guidance. Watch for shifting feelings, yearnings, or perceptions, notably things that seem especially alive or dead to you now. Look for emerging patterns seeking to be woven into your life. Trust that transitions can be times of great opportunity.

Today's Oracle 5th May 2021

Thorn Tree (The Sacred Sign)

The thorn tree is sacred and inviolable. Cutting one down brings misfortune for dishonouring the habitats of the faeries of the underground. Take care not to disturb something sacred. Attend to purifying actions and intentions, including actions in the past.

Invoking Purity of Intentions and Actions.

IF YOU ARE DRAWN TO THIS ORACLE, the thorn tree asks you to purify actions and intentions, including purifying those of the past. The thorn tree is sacred and inviolate. It sets a very high standard and should never be disturbed in any way. Impure actions and ill intentions, however minor, harm other forms of life as well as yourself, both outwardly and inwardly. Living in accord with the actions of nature, which sustains all life impartially, is to live humbly and richly, gently and courageously, in the giving and receiving of life. The purity of your actions and intentions, rather than how others think or feel about you, sets your course toward well-being and the acquiring of wisdom.

A faery thorn is sacred and inviolable, as it marks the habitats of faeries, especially a solitary bush growing by itself in an open field. Cutting down a faery thorn brings calamity and misfortune for dishonouring the habitats of the neighbouring faeries. By honouring the sacred thorn, the people of the Middle World acquire the skills for attending and protecting the sanctity of all aspects of life, and they grow in wisdom.

The faery thorn tree or bush reminds us of the presence of the faeries living nearby. The thorn tree marks the habitats of the faeries, and the surrounding ground is hallowed by the thorn. The proverbial wisdom tells us that it is plain foolishness to cut or damage a thorn tree, especially a solitary thorn growing alone in an open space, marking the boundary between neighbours, near a sacred well, faery rash (fort), or home. Even "city people" provide little courtyards amid urban complexes for lonely thorns, fearing to incur the wrath of the faeries. No small wonder, as tradition has it, that cutting a thorn tree is met with disaster, and even death. Nearly everywhere in rural Ireland, the story is told of a local man who ignored the advice of his neighbours, cut down a thorn tree, and died shortly thereafter.

A recent and well-known incident occurred in County Antrim, as told by Jim Grant of Belfast. Some years ago, during the construction of an immense factory, a thorn tree remained untouched by the workers. The local "boys" cleared everything else, but they would not chop it down or interfere with it in any way. The company finally got an Englishman to remove it. He chopped the tree down and bulldozed the roots. The next stage was putting in the Piles, concrete pilings which were approximately 12 inches in diameter and 10 feet long - to give foundation. They laid the first of the foundation with a pile driver, but when they returned the next morning, the pilings were three feet from where they should have been! ... So, they got a new length of Piles and again placed them in the ground. The next morning, the pilings were three feet from their original locations, but in the opposite direction of the first move! So they called a conference to see who was guilty.... The smallest man in the meeting, he stood up and said, "The only way you are going to build your factory here is to replace our tree where it was." So they said to him, "How can we, if it has been cut?" He said, "get it grafted." Nobody believed him initially, of course.... So, they brought a tree specialist from Holland in. He replanted the roots on the tree and grafted it. There is now a wee courtyard in the middle of the factory, with a thorn tree growing. The faery man was never seen again, but the thorn tree thrives.

By tradition, the thorn tree blooms on the first day of May, signaling the coming of summer. Always liking a good party, the faeries may favour the thorn, not only for its fierce, protecting thorns, but for the merrymaking that comes with summer.

The presence of the thorn tree reminds you that all aspects of your life are sacred. Take time to reflect on what you may be overlooking or ignoring in your life. When you identify it, pay attention and protect it. Remember that the thorn tree is among the humblest-looking of trees and that some of the most precious aspects of your life may not be immediately apparent.

Today's Oracle 4th May 2021

Hearth and Family (Right Relations)

In the cold lands in the north of Europe and elsewhere, family and friends gather near the fire at night. The warmth of the fire and the closeness of family, friends, and community is strengthened and valued.

Invoking Friendship, Family, and Community.

IF YOU ARE DRAWN TO THIS ORACLE, it is time to lighten up on your professional identity and worldly status and cultivate friendship, conversation and camaraderie, and family relationships. This oracle suggests that your life activities have carried you too far adrift from the social activities and ordinary joys of life. Being in right relations with those immediately around you is to be relaxed with the human and unprotected side of who you are. In good company, your identity and attachments to status and worldly pursuits can relax, even if only for a short while. This relaxed demeanour is not the side of your nature that you necessarily take to the office, but the side of your nature that wants to be known and nurtured informally and intimately among those you love and trust.

Before the advent of electricity, the rural Celts would entertain one another with conversation., riddles, songs, ballads, and storytelling. With a fire brightening and warming a windowless home, a storyteller would blend fact and fiction to form a seamless tale. After working in the fields by day, men and women would gather around a central hearth for evening levity, swapping of news, and storytelling. The mingling of friends and family and the welcoming of strangers around the hearth represent right relations among people.

Alexander Carmichael describes his experience of the evening ceilidh (gathering time) of the crofters and farmers of the Outer Hebrides in the late nineteenth century. As evening approaches, the house of the town's storytellers is full, making it "difficult to get inside and away from the cold wind and soft sleet without." The house is

"Roomy and clean, if homely, with its bright peat fire in the middle of the floor. There are many present men and women, boys and girls. All the women are seated, and most of the men. girls are crouched between the knees of fathers or brothers or friends, while boys wherever boy like they can climb. The houseman is twisting twigs of heather into ropes to hold down thatch, a neighbour crofter is twining quicken roots into cords to tie cows, while another is plaiting bent grass into baskets to hold meal. The housewife is spinning, a daughter is carding.... Neighbour wives and neighbour daughters are knitting, sewing, or embroidering.... The speaker is eagerly listened to, and is urged to tell more. But, he pleads that he came to hear and not to speak, saying

The first story from the host, story till day from the guest."

The joy and art of ready conversation, music, humour, banter, and repartee are greatly prized in Celtic lands. Even today in Ireland, the soft warmth of a peat fire and lively conversation attract more attention than the nightly news or BBC. In the winter months, much of the home entertainment of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales is graced nightly by the conversation of neighbours, especially if houseguests are willing to oblige an eager audience with tales of distant places (though anywhere will do, like America or England). If you are known for pipin' or fiddlin' or tellin' stories, you will be asked to entertain. A praiseworthy Irish compliment is to be thought a "good crack," that is, capable of setting others laughing, thereby fashioning an atmosphere to forget the cares and struggles of the day. As is proverbial in Ireland, village pubs are the gathering places of neighbours. Here the melodious strains of conversation and music intertwine.

The art of socializing for the sheer joy of it seems curiously dated in the twentieth century. Nonetheless, all of us need the community of right relations, the cultivation of familiar and relaxed social relationships.

THE CURRENT QUALITY OF TIME May 2021

 THE CURRENT QUALITY OF TIME May 2021

Thanks to Jupiter's entry into the peaceful sign of Pisces in the middle of the month, the quality of time in the month of May brings welcome new impulses. Before that, however, there will be renewed vigorous struggle over which path to take. With the conjunctions of Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn in January 2020 and of Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius in December 2020, epochal changes have begun in the collective fabric that will keep us occupied for a long time and need concrete answers. To change nothing will not be an option in the long run. An adequate expression of Saturn and Jupiter in Aquarius would be, for example, to try out changes individually and playfully and to take small steps towards decentralized solutions. However, currently, we are still trying to solve problems in a centralistic and authoritarian way - with moderate success.

Taurus Aquarius On May 2, Mercury, in the last degrees of Taurus, forms a trine to Pluto, and then a square with Jupiter on May 3. The Sun, still colored by its conjunction with revolutionary Uranus in late April, now squares Saturn and the Moon in Aquarius. The cracks and rifts that have formed everywhere in recent months may have turned into deep fissures by now. Stubborn insistence on fixed ideas and rigid world views now leads to unpleasant arguments. However, the tense mood relaxes more and more in the following days: Mercury enters communicative Gemini on May 4, Venus forms a trine to Pluto on May 6, a square with Jupiter on the 8th, and also enters Gemini on May 9. Dialogue could thus become more constructive again.

Dialogue is also a major theme during the Taurus New Moon of May 11, which is in conjunction with Lilith. Mercury is exactly conjunct the Moon's North Node and trine Saturn (on May 12). Mars in Cancer and Chiron in Aries form a square. Who will now have to be the scapegoat and bear the burden of everyone's failings? The time could be used positively to express one's own needs openly and directly, thus allowing relief for oneself and others.

Jupiter in Pisces On May 14, Jupiter enters Pisces. He will only make it a few degrees into the sign for now, returning to Aquarius from July 28 until the end of the year. However, the quality of time will undergo a significant change. Mystically inclined Jupiter in Pisces seeks the origin and wholeness of life. There will be an increased emphasis on connection rather than separation, and spiritual and altruistic themes will gain in importance. The constellations of the following days support this tendency: The Sun, which enters Gemini on May 20, forms a square to Jupiter on the first degree of Pisces on May 21. At the same time, the Moon is in opposition to Neptune in Pisces and squares Mercury in Gemini. The motto of our time - keep your distance - could receive a paradoxical component by the realization that we are all connected in many ways, whether we like it or not.

Saturn retrograde in Aquarius Saturn begins its retrograde phase on May 23, which will last until October 11. What began to take shape in mid-February will be reviewed and consolidated during this time. On May 26, there is a Full Moon in Sagittarius, joined by a lunar eclipse (for a personal interpretation of the eclipse, see the Eclipse Horoscope). Mercury and Venus square Neptune (on the 25th and 27th). These are days that can bring visions as well as foster illusions. Give yourself time for matters to settle. With Mercury retrograde from May 30 to June 23, it may even be appropriate to postpone important decisions.

Today's Oracle 3rd May 2021

Tír na nÓg (Blessed Isle to the West)

The Tír na nÓg is one of many blessed and magical isles to the west. It is the land of the forever young, revelling in beauty, merriment, and harmony. Its qualities are joy, pleasure, peace, and blessing.

Invoking the Qualities of Harmony, Peace, and Blessing.

The blessed isles lie off the west coasts of Ireland and Scotland, as if to follow the sun in its homeward path. At the coming of the Celts to Ireland, the ancient Tuatha De Danann take shelter there. In The Voyage of Bran, Bran and his men wander the seas in search of the Island of Women, a land revelling in harmony, beautiful women, and merriment. In the Fionn Cycle, the young champion Oisín and the princess Niamh of the Golden Hair ride on the sea as if it were a plain to Tir na nÓg, the Land of the Forever Young.

IF YOU ARE DRAWN TO THIS ORACLE, you are becoming more aware of the simple and delightful pleasures of living. The blessings of a land "flowing with milk and honey" in your own terms are coming into your life. Long-held tensions, grudges, hurts, and fears are losing their hold on you. Personal and professional conflicts are being resolved. Harmony and contentment are replacing disappointment and loss. Your life's work is beginning to manifest in clear and concrete ways.

The sanctity of islands to the west harkens back to a mythic time. Dozens of lake islands and islands off the coasts of Scotland and Ireland are revered as sites of homage and pilgrimage, associated with monasteries and abbeys in our time. The prospect of enchanted islands, beckoning the youthful and the adventurous, appearing and disappearing from sight, riding on shining pedestals to glisten in the sun, singing with music to sweeten the air, and bestowing gifts on the virtuous and forsaken has long inspired the Celtic imagination. "West of the sun," for example, is the island of Iona, St. Columba's (Colm Cille) holy strand.

True paradise is a state of grace. No one can give you joy or take it away. No circumstance can deprive you of your dignity or value. No dream come true is necessarily better than the delight and opportunity to dream. No accord, contract, job, relationship, possession, privilege, or status is better than your inmost vision of yourself, the paradise of being fully content and satisfied. In the Celtic imagination, such a blessing is westward, in the direction of the sun's journey homeward, inward to itself, deep within the pleasures of being fabulously alive.

A Brief History of the Tarot

An Introduction by Simon Bloom

For Thousands of year's people have looked to the heavens and made their own assumptions of what all those celestial bodies do to serve our needs here on earth. One of those assumptions was that the Earth was the center of the whole Universe yet nowadays scientists have disproved that theory.

The actual and authentic history of playing cards only goes back about five hundred years, and various theories have been mooted as to the source from which Europe obtained them. It is an established fact that in past ages many eastern peoples, notably those of India, China, and Chaldea, possessed cards which differed materially both in use and design from those known in the West at a later date. It is impossible to trace these prehistoric beginnings of card-lore, but there seems little doubt that the Wise Men of eastern lands regarded their cards with none of the contempt usually bestowed upon them in the West. They held them in high esteem as mediums for the partial revelation of the Unknowable, and included them as a part of their mystic lore. Fortune Telling by Cards, by P.R.S. Foli, [1915]

Tarot cards are a collection of 78 images (22 of the Major Arcana and 56 in the Minor Arcana) representing ancient and universal archetypes, as well as situations that might arise in the course of the lifetime of an individual. The collection is arranged in the form of a pack of cards and is used to gain insights into psychology and metaphysics, as well as foretelling possible future events. The true origins of the Tarot are controversial, having long been lost in antiquity. There are a number of theories, but most scholars agree that its present form originated in the Middle Ages. Personally I believe they could be even older simply because humans have been using symbolism and divination for thousands of years, Shamanism proves my point here and I intend to leave it at that for the time being.

It is thought by many that we owe our cards to the gypsies, who are supposed to have been the offspring of a low caste of Hindus, and who, driven from their own land, found their way, as fugitives, through Western Asia into Egypt, and from Northern Africa into Europe. It is certain that all kinds of fortunetelling, whether by Cartomancy, divination or whatever method, are inseparably connected with that curious, fascinating, highly gifted and elusive people. They excelled in music and all mechanical pursuits, they could learn a language, or distinguish themselves in metal work, with equal ease---but they had to live more or less on the defensive, as very children of Ishmael, and years of persecution only deepened their craftiness, sharpened their intuition, and rendered them more keen to assert their mysterious power over those who oppressed and yet inwardly feared them.

For over 600 years now the Tarot has been redefined, remastered and even messed around with, even up to the present day. Many have thought of the Tarot as "Magical", mystical and even dangerous if used in the wrong way for predictive purposes. The Tarot cards incorporate many other types of divination, such as Astrology, Kabbalah, Karma etc. They have a symbolic nature inherent to themselves and this symbolism defines through our psyche our true inner thoughts of the subconscious. And so we use these pictures and symbols to connect to our own deeper thoughts and through that process, in turn, we connect to the universe, of which we are all apart.

These Romany folk have preserved intact the ancient lore of the East, while incredulous Europe has turned the sacred pages of divination from the book of fate into mere instruments of amusement, and a vehicle for winning or losing money. The gypsy remains a past master in the art of Cartomancy, and though we may scoff, there are very few amongst us who do not feel a sense of disquietude when brought face to face with an instance of her uncanny power. We can afford to laugh when the sun of our lives is shining brightly and all is well in mind and body, but there come dark days in the lives of all, and then some are impelled to seek the aid of these weird sons and daughters of an unknown land.

By many, perhaps by the majority, this inexplicable gift has been vulgarised and debased to a mere means of extorting money from the ignorant and the credulous; but by some it is still held as a sacred faith, possibly no more superstitious than some forms of unenlightened or perverted Christianity.

Interpreting the cards is obviously a major part of reading and understanding them. For the beginner/novice it is paramount to understand and familiarise yourself with the interpretations before you can start to evaluate any reading that you do.

Anything you learn in life has its own basic principles and structure, so therefore learning and understanding these principles and structures give you the foundations to build on in the future. 

As you progress and learn to understand the meanings, you will start to realise that what you have learned at the beginning, starts to change with practice and experience and you will start to formulate your own interpretations, as I have done. 

This doesn't mean, reinventing the wheel, but now you have started to blend your knowledge, experience and understanding into the Tarot system. Interpretation of the cards is always changing as we change within our own society structure but the basic principles and methods stay the same. It's about using your intuition and sensing what is around you and the client. Feel the reading as you lay the cards down, one by one. As thoughts start to build in your mind, speak them out loud, no matter what they are saying. To the client they will certainly mean something.

If you want a more in depth understanding of the Tarot cards click this link. 

The History of Tarot from the French wikipedia is quite lengthy but very good and I suggest using Google Chrome to view it if you want the English version translated.