The Card of the Day: the Page of Swords Reversed, The serious, studious Page of Swords often feels like he is misunderstood, or worse... not respected for his opinions. And he's right in his suspicions but not for the reasons he has devised. No, he can come up with fresh insights and keen observations if … Continue reading Haste Makes Waste
Author: Raleigh
Your cranky gay uncle who lives in Pittsburgh
The Card of the Day: Strength Reversed From Bing AI: The Strength card is a powerful symbol of courage, inner strength, and self-belief. When this card appears reversed, it usually comes at a time when you are starting to doubt your personal power and abilities. This card signals a temporary setback in your confidence and … Continue reading
A Reasonable Fear
The Card of the Day: the Nine of Swords, Reversed. Photo by Andrea Piacquadio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-man-holding-black-eyeglasses-3760137/ You may be feel anxious for someone else who is really troubled right now. On paper, things look very grim. If you wrote out a list of woes it would like very bad. And yet, even if your or their … Continue reading A Reasonable Fear
Signs and Portends
The card of the Day: Four of Cups, Reversed https://unsplash.com/photos/four-white-ceramic-bowls-near-teapot-and-tureen-on-brown-wooden-tray-Cu80T4bZ0rI?utm_content=creditShareLink&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash A common misconception of reversed cards is that they are always negative: not so! Consider the Four of Cups upside down. Where once we were dejected with our lives and dissatisfied with the help support of others, now we are able to leave that dry … Continue reading Signs and Portends
The Card of the Day: The Fool Reversed. "Reynard the Fox" by Ernest Henri Griset (1844–1907), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Today, when I saw the Fool come up reversed, I immediately thought of credulity: an out-of-fashion word these days that indicates a belief in something without proof. Although often confused with the more popular … Continue reading
Agony Aunt
Today's card was the Queen of Swords Ever felt the need to write an anonymous letter to Dear Abby? Facing a problem that only a stranger can make sense of? Then listen to the words of the Queen of Swords, but be warned she may not be as gentle as Ann Landers. Judgmental?Probably? But also … Continue reading Agony Aunt
On Whose Authority?
The Card of the Day: The Emperor Bust of Trajan (reign 98–117 CE), with the Civic Crown, a sword belt and the aegis (attribut of Jupiter and symbol of divine power). Today many Tarot practitioners associate negative traits with the Emperor (ditto the Hierophant, but that is another story for another day). Certainly we live … Continue reading On Whose Authority?
Swords and Embroidery
The card of the day was the Page of Swords Reversed. A lot of newbies -- and some old-timers -- get stumped when they run across court cards. One way of interpreting them is to think of them as a third-party interjecting themselves between the reader the questioner. Put another way, we could stop and … Continue reading Swords and Embroidery
Give a Timely Counsel (Βουλεύου χρόνῳ)
One way to understand this Delphic Maxim is to consider he bias of hindsight: we all have a tendency to perceive the past as having been easily predictable. Saying to someone after the fact, "I knew it was going to happen all along" is not giving them good advice. Timeliness then is the key. If … Continue reading Give a Timely Counsel (Βουλεύου χρόνῳ)
Finish the race without shrinking back (Πέρας ἐπιτέλει μὴ ἀποδειλιῶν)
This Delphic Maxim advises us to do our best. Apollo was a patron of excellence. A race, or indeed any competition, is where we must commit to winning. Even if we do not win, we have both honored the spirit of the race, but we have also learned something about ourselves and how we can … Continue reading Finish the race without shrinking back (Πέρας ἐπιτέλει μὴ ἀποδειλιῶν)
The Bear Oracle 