TarotScopes for Summer Solstice, 1998There are many splendid and glorious THINGS about Europe, sweeties, however,...
Oh wait a moment...That's another piece of writing in progress. Let's begin again shall we? After I returned from dashing about the European Continent, I dutifully (if belatedly) studied the charts, the planets, the houses, the signs, the progress of that damn photon belt, and other related constellatory THINGS, and I regret to say that I came away completely untantalized and thus uninspired. Not willing to remain so stymied, I picked up my current favorite book (a book that vaulted me around the museums, galleries and bookstores of Europe in a constant artistic and literary frenzy) -- Sexual Personae -- Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson by Camille Paglia, and re-devoured a few of my favorite chapters. Without proffering a lengthy dissertation on the chain-reaction of inspiratory ideas that resulted, I decided to slip behind the veil for a bit and use the Medieval Scapini Tarot in a special divinatory ritual to scry a specific Tarot card for each sign with which to apply aside the appropriate planetary leanings.
Merciless in my divinatory quest, I spilled the cards, spread the deck face down and fervidly mixed the cards round and round (counter-clockwise, naturally), thus allowing for the likelihood of (oh the horror) reversed-cards. I used the entire deck in my scrying, so if it's a Major Arcana card in your sign, then obviously it would signify IMPORTANCE. A Minor Arcana card would indicate a tempest in a teapot sort of a thing, whether unpleasant or joyous.
Without further ado but refusing to explain that damn photon belt theory, here now are the Tarotscopes for the Summer Season:
JUDGEMENT. Ring-a-ling. It's time to wake up. It's time to get on your ship that came in before it sails without you and before that damn photon belt screws up the compasses. It's time to drop the dilapidated, mildewed emotional luggage, time to refine your definitions, time to redecorate your internal and/or external form, time to revitalize your secret yet potent ambitions, time to change your tune, shed your skin, butter your bread, even bite the hand that feeds you. IT'S TIME to do something to signify -- even if only symbolically -- a reawakening of some kind. You don't HAVE to make good on transition, however. If you do choose to languish a bit longer in your current state of THINGS, well, be forewarned that the gently sarcastic nudging by your subconscious will turn on you. Instead of letting you have the Key to the new City, your Muse will maneuver you into all sorts of situations where your social environments will become a mirror for your most dreaded insecurities, reminders of lost loves, and missed opportunities. Familiar patterns of dependence will sweep you into their tide-pools of escapism and stasis. Such is the hamster wheel of voluntary stagnation.
THE EMPRESS. Wow. No wonder there were so many damn birthday parties for Tauruses in the last 4 weeks or so. You are in the mix! You are riding the highest wave, wearing the crown jewels, grabbing the brass ring. If not, you SHOULD be. The Empress is progress, fertility of all kinds, pleasure and enjoyment, and the sudden abundance of creative and harmonious possibilities or ideas. You should feel awash in sensations of playful sovereignty along with the magnetic resonance from that damn photon belt. For the next three months you can reap some rewards, have saucy fun amidst cool satin sheets, write some novels, make some music, dance yourself into a frenzy. Do you need extra money? Go out and get some. Now is the season to make the most of yourself and your environments. Pick your most cherished ambition and launch yourself into it.
EIGHT OF SWORDS. Bet you wished this was one of those reversed cards, hmmm? You are officially trapped on a useless, dreary, subconscious-created island. And that damn photon belt isn't helping. Your constant companions are old secret fears, betrayal issues, trust issues, self-esteem issues, depression issues, -- my god! You've gone and washed up on the Island of Unpleasant Issues. There's frustration, anger, exhaustion, embarrassment, ennui, bondage (not the fun kind), tunnel-visioned short-sightedness, the Professor and Mary Ann. This is the summer of your discontent. But it's a Minor Arcana card so this isn't any sort of Life Altering Crisis. And these surly, unenjoyable things can be turned to your advantage eventually -- manna for as yet unsurfaced creativity, the seeding of your etheric nature to stimulate new and unique ideals and ideas for future transplanting into your manifest life. You can even break-up with some of your more tired and dated Issues by looking them squarely in the mirror and saying "I may love you, but I not IN love with you any more."
KNIGHT OF COINS. Slow but steady wins the race. Patience is your vehicle at the moment and you're the People Who Need People sign for the next three months. It's time to make connections, network, lay groundwork and do all those other foundation building things. Working in tandem with others will give you more grounding and increased potentials -- but won't necessarily hurry the results at this time. In other words, you can count on a nice breather from the Fates (they're obvious busy partying with the Tauruses and throwing spitballs at the Gemini folk). In this lull, you can get your bearings, consult the weather vanes, and then take the most direct route to solidifying and manifesting your desires and ambitions, that damn photon belt notwithstanding. You will have to make specific decisions and actual choices about money, creative projects, matters of the heart, and everything else in your life that is doing a balancing act. Now is a very good time to make concrete decisions and then shut the matter to reconsideration because there's a point where "trying to decide" becomes "delaying the obvious" and do you really want to play poker with the Fates when you KNOW they can count the cards --including the ones you can't even SEE?
KNIGHT OF CUPS - Reversed. You've been a naughty, haughty feline, haven't you? And you've been allowed that. Indeed, you've been encouraged, taunted, cajoled and practically ordered into an exploration of interesting kinds of decadence. You had all that cake, frosting and cherry, as well as some champagne truffles and you ate them all, didn't you? You counted all those chickens, put every single egg in the same basket and tossed a multitude of rods into an assortment of fires. Over-indulgence is not a BAD thing, necessarily, but you KNOW that the pendulum always swings back because of gravity, physics, karma, that damn photon belt, whatever. And now the swing-back has begun and ennui is the demon of your Summer. There's still lots of fun, seduction and begin seduced, fertility of mind, spirit, body, and social life but by damn, you feel so very over it all. You need to indulge in bit of abstinence (whatever kind) in order to freshen up the scheme of things.
THE WORLD - Reversed. You didn't finish but you thought you had. You have loose ends in a lot of areas of your life and you need to tie them up -- or cut them off. It's a challenging and anxious time, very much so, because you missed an important lesson (probably after being waylaid by the influence of that damn photon belt), and have to relearn it. Frustration, pressure, emotional and physical stress and perhaps minor annoying injuries and ailments. Like Gemini, you are being tested and tormented by the Fates, but this is much more intense. You need to make some very important decisions in order to redirect your life's course. You need to end some things before you can begin new things. Specifically and especially, you cannot take care of your life the way you have been used to, as the old tried and true methods, perspectives, affirmations, rituals, avoidances -- whatever the tools -- are not working any longer.
SEVEN OF SWORDS. You must be asking yourself lately, "I've gotten this far, right? So far so good, but where the hell is the rest of it?" Well what's your hurry, Libra? You've made some gains, finished up some things, started some new things that are enhancements to or the next step in your progress -- you can even see clearly where you've been as compared to where you've gotten. But if you keep walking forward while looking over your shoulder -- what happens in front of you? You won't know, will you, because you're too busy looking BEHIND you.
FIVE OF WANDS. Busy are you? If not on the surface of things, then you'd better look beneath everything -- there's a lot going on there that you need to pay attention to, and take part in. You now must enter into the fray. Competition, conflict, confrontation, taking a stand, taking risks --all catalysts for changes that need to be made. You can no longer sit on your laurels, jump someone else's train, or hitch your wagon to anyone else's star. If you start something, you'd better finish it or that ball will be dropped and you'll come up empty. For the next three months it is your time to face the music. Specifically, YOUR music in the various forms of karma, debt-paying, favors owed, promises called upon to be kept, etc. And then there's that damn photon belt which is really throwing some magnetic disturbances into the mix, which is why playing it safe or trying to hide under someone else's wings will slam you up against the very experiences or decisions you are trying to avoid.
NINE OF WANDS - Reversed. First let me say that if you other Sagittarian folk haven't already lit a mega 7-day orange candle to attract just about everything you want -- DON'T DO IT -- at least not yet. Not until Autumn at least. That damn photon belt. It sent me spinning last month for jumping the gun. But hey, it was QUITE a Party. But along with and in the wake of the Party comes the reversed Nine of Wands and its associated scenarios -- social intrigues, little deceptive circumstances, unexpected obstacles, annoying disappointments, disputed claims, alarming news, irritating delays, misunderstandings and misread signals -- similar to those irritating Mercury Retrogrades, but nastier.
PAGE OF CUPS. Dream-weaving. Fantasy manifesting into your reality. Playful nuances infiltrating your ideals without hindering your efforts. Lots of creative people and places to experience and/or work with to explore this nebulous yet still fulfilling phase. This is a delightful time for you. That damn photon belt is placing a mist over your tendency to blueprint a definite route for achievements in your future, so the best thing you can do is relax, have fun, become a symbol of what you want to achieve, become what you wish to attract and give yourself every opportunity to explore a more winsome persona. You've done a lot of hard work and some concrete results are appearing. Your stalwart nature wants more manifestation of reward for your efforts, but this is the time to ENJOY what you have already accomplished. You're entering an unusual phase of experience for the practical, efficient, intellect-oriented Capricorn. Your dreamy, spacey nature wants a part in the play and lucky for you, your social environments should be positively silly with opportunity to do this.
TEN OF CUPS - Reversed. You need to rest. You need to do something creative or at least mildly recreational to relieve all that pent up stuff. The tendency is toward a detached depression or generic feeling of loneliness. That damn photon belt is really upping the ante too: Emotional pressures and unpleasant confrontations may loom if you don't pull the plug on some situations now and let what's old and murky drain out of your life. You're shape-shifting into another version of yourself that will propel you into a more hands-on way of running your life and a more intimate way of involving yourself in life.
NINE OF WANDS. If you hold on just a bit longer, you'll be through the tunnel and out on the other side. As you've been traveling through the last six months you've been bounced along as if riding the rapids, or at least tailgating behind that damn photon belt. You've been compelled, propelled and appalled at times, too, all while preparing for the new conditions that the Fates are busy constructing on the other side. This is a time of pressure-cooking and lots of tension under seemingly placid circumstances. Tempest in teapots to be sure, but tempests nonetheless. At this juncture, you may be worn out emotionally. Bitterness or a jaded perspective and cynicism may be filtering into and festering your usually gentle or dreamy Neptunian demeanor. Or, you may have moved bag and baggage into your own fantasy hotel for a while until the rattling around you stops and your nerves are steadier. Whatever the case, you can come out of that cocoon phase as soon as you can tear away that protective encasement.