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Tarot Court Cards Meanings – People and Personalities

incredibly, spookily accurate. They show the people involved, the details of the situation, the past, the present, the future and they even give multifaceted advice to help the querent make the best choice as they move forward.

While notice readers tend to begin learning the Tarot by memorizing the cookie-cutter textbook meanings of the cards, veteran readers know that cards talk to each other in a reading – they form the big picture together. It’s not about each card – it’s about the relationships they create with one another in any single reading. The position of each card is crucial as the cards come together to create a storyline.

In any reading, Court Cards hold special importance. Court Card meanings can give substantial form to any reading, define the characters involved and say a lot about their personalities and how their behavior might affect the outcome.

What are the court cards and what do they mean?

You might have heard about the Tarot Court Cards – Myers Briggs connection, Tarot Court Cards elements (earth, water, fire, air) or their astrological associations. You might have heard readers talk about tarot court cards personality types or having lots of court cards in a tarot reading. In this article, we’ll cover all these topics and more.

The Tarot Court Cards are the cards that are numbered XI to XIV in each Minor Arcana suit. While cards that are numbered I to X show situations and outside factors, the Court Cards show the people involved, including you.

There are four Pages, four Knights, four Queens, and four Kings. So it goes like this: Page of Pentacles, Knight of Pentacles, Queen of Pentacles, and King of Pentacles. Each suit – pentacles, cups, wands, swords – has its own four court cards, totaling sixteen. Here are their meanings.

Page of Pentacles

Someone who has a dream they’d like to manifest more than anything else. Someone with pure intentions and desires but not much life experience. This person could use some guidance or help as they don’t have the skills to lead a big project, a family unit, or a department at work.

Knight of Pentacles

Someone who likes to take things slow, cultivate confidence and surety before acting. This is a person with dreams but also with a lot of patience. His dreams can take forever to manifest because he values stability and calm over anything else. Testing the waters comes first.

Queen of Pentacles

A woman who is content and pleased with what she has. There is abundance and stability in her life and this gives her psychological and worldly comfort. She might say she craves adventure but it ain’t going to happen any time soon. Her throne is too comfortable to walk away from.

King of Pentacles

A man who has achieved material comfort whether through his own making or inheritance. He has what it takes to support himself and a family, and he is not the type who’d squander his fortune by buying unnecessary luxuries. He might seem boring but he is doing the right thing.

Page of Cups

A happy-go-lucky person. Whatever he touches turns to gold but not because he knows what he is doing. He is on a lucky streak and no one knows if this is a lifetime trait or a fleeting thing. A dreamy person who trusts the goodness of the universe. Might sometimes be gullible.

Knight of Cups

man who checks with his heart before he acts. It might take him a while to act but when he does, it’s genuine and thought-through. Sometimes however, this man’s emotions might cause him to have aversion to risk. He is a hero in making; just needs to trust his masculinity more.

Queen of Cups

A woman whose emotions weigh her down. She might be carrying unresolved trauma or grief from the past. She needs to go deeper into her heart, explore the wound, cry it, express it, and heal it. This isn’t the right time for her to act or venture into new territories or adventures.

King of Cups

An older man comfortable with the life choices he has made, even though he might sometimes feel a bit lonely. He is in touch with his emotions and even though he isn’t rich, he trusts his ability to survive and thrive. He is comfortable where he is. He makes a good friend and a lover.

Page of Wands

A lot of desire and ego strength with some hubris. The Page of Wands is like a young adult whose parents said yes to everything when he was little. He doesn’t know how to deal with obstacles. He might take them personally. He is a little narcissistic but it is endearing, too.

Knight of Wands

A passionate young man whose energy can be too much to take. He is ambitious but sometimes borders on greedy. His disposition might have to do with his difficult past, esp. his childhood. Try to understand him instead of judging him. He isn’t aware of his own emotional reality yet.

Queen of Wands

A wise, bountiful, generous woman. She has an open heart and helps whenever she can. Her black cat shows she is no pushover. She knows how to set boundaries and doesn’t mind being alone. Completely comfortable in her skin, she is manifesting her life’s dreams one by one.

King of Wands

A man who has accomplished a lot but still holds grudges against people from his past. They could be former business associates or a former spouse, but he dislikes sharing his fortune. He believes it should all be his. This comes from a lack of trust in the universal abundance.

Page of Swords

A young person who sees the world as a hostile place to conquer. Fights, arguments, capitalism, backstabbing – he believes all these to make up the world. Luckily, he can still change before these beliefs become his reality. Show him love and generosity. He is justafraid, that’s all.

Knight of Swords

A knight who’ll chop anything and everything that’ll come his way. He never stops to check with himself or those close to him. He thrives on action but he also uses action to run away from his feelings. He works so hard because he wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he stopped.

Queen of Swords

A lonely queen. Maybe a widow. A divorcee. A woman who’s experiencing heartbreak. She knows the future can be better but for now she is deep in her grief and this serves her. She doesn’t regret having lived what she lived. She honors it, the same way she is honoring her current feelings.

King of Swords

A king with deluded confidence. Like a leader who thinks he is amazing but leads a country into poverty. He needs to understand that he is fallible too. He needs to make peace with his imperfect humanness. It would serve him to listen to other people and tackle his subconscious feelings of inadequacy.

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Transmutation Ritual

This ritual takes a base energy that is causing you pain or discomfort and transforms it into positive energy.

First you’ll need to get clear on what it is you want to transmute, and what you would like to transform it into. For example, anger may transmute to peace, loneliness to connectedness, low self-worth becomes self-love and scarcity becomes abundance.

To start the ritual, centre and ground yourself, then burn loose incense over a charcoal disc set in a fireproof container. You should choose herbs and resins that align with the intention of the ritual.

Watch the incense smoke while contemplating the negative energy or emotion you wish to transmute. Understand that this painful feeling is shared by many other people.

Once the incense has finished burning, sit comforatably, close your eyes and visualise violet light filling you from the crown of your head and surrounding you.

Now bring your attention to the base energy you wish to transmute. Breathe it in - visualising it as smoke or haze, filling your lungs. When you breathe in, see yourself breathing in not only your own suffering, but that of others too.

As you hold the air in your lungs allow the negative energy to be transformed into positive energy. You may wish to picture it being burned and purified by a violet flame, or simply dissolving and reforming.

Breathe this positive healing energy out into the world, not only for yourself but for everyone else sharing the same pain.

Repeat this until you feel the energy shift and lighten.

[thewiccanrede]

Becoming a Witch or working in the witch craft world is hard enough when you start off. You’re unsure where to start, what to do and who if anyone you can turn to. I started off by reading a lot, listening to books on tape, searching Pinterest and going on YouTube. They ALL talked about different ways to start your journey off right but they all briefly touched base on a book called “Book of Shadows” I didn’t know what this really was. After doing research strictly regarding the “Book of Shadows” is when I found out what it actually is and why it’s so important. So now I started creating my own Book of Shadows even though I still didn’t know what to do, I was just winging it! After time, I finally came up with some items I wanted in my book and “must have” items. I’m now into my journey and have created a great starting point for someone out there who is in the same boat I was. So here we go.

There are so many books, video, websites etc out there it is so hard to focus on where to start. I had papers printed out all over the place, notes written down on sticky notes and notes stored on my phone. Notes, details, ideas EVERYWHERE! I wish I had someone sitting next to me daily telling me what to do first, second then third but I didn’t so I winged it all on my own and I’m still running strong. From listening to podcasts and books on tape recently I realized I’m not alone in this journey. We all normally start off like this. Too many of us start this way feeling alone and unsure where to turn. It can be hard becoming a witch, working within the witch craft world or whatever you are or might want to be is normally hidden at first from your loved ones and friends.

So lets get back to the Book of Shadows details – The first thing you need is a book to create your own Book of Shadows in. Its always great to use a black bound book, leather if possible but cloth will work too. You can also use a binders which is easy to move around pages, add and remove pages and adjust what you already wrote down prior. In this day of age people also have there Book of Shadows online through APPS. But if you are old school like I am, a good old fashion black bounded book is perfect.

Now again 2 years in and I’m still working in my original Book of Shadows. Sometimes I wish I did things different but at the same time I’m very happy with my book. I have now started a few different books which I’ll get into down the line in.

“MUST” HAVE ITEMS

• The Wiccan Rede – this is what all Wiccans base there practice on and around as well as some people who study witch craft that are non Wiccan.

• The background about Wiccan or Witch Craft – Beliefs & Values

• The Wiccan Altar and the Sacred Circle

• Deities, Gods and Goddesses

• Spells, Rituals and Cleansings

• Wheel of the Year – Sabiths Good Idea Items

• Types of Witches – to figure out who you are or want to be and its good to learn about each witch. You don’t have to be only one!

• Moon Phases – Names of the phases, spells per phase and why

• Days of the week spells

• Candle spells

• Crystal spells

• Color spells

• Divination – Tarot cards, palm ready, pendulum work, the all famous crystal ball readings and more.

• Herbs and flower use

Listen, this is just a great starting out point and again nobody’s books are EVER and should not EVER be the same. We will all have similar details in our books BUT the book must be for you and only you. This is your chance to shine and be creative. It should make you feel good to create whatever you want to create – it shouldn’t make you feel like its a chore. If it does, then maybe its not the right moment for you, try again later or on another day. There is no rush! Enjoy, it is a magic time in your new venture!

So mote it be!

[thewiccanrede]

How to Protect and Strengthen Your Energy Field

There are many different ways how we can protect our own energy field and keeping our aura and the chakras cleansed and balanced. Today, we will touch on some of the very effective ones that are very easy to do daily.

Why do we need to keep our aura and chakras cleansed?

We are all energy. Everything around us is energy. Every living being and every little thing has a particular energy vibration (frequency). The lower the frequency, the more of a negative effect it has on our wellbeing.

During our busy day, we deal with other people’s energy and some might not match our frequency and the particles of their energy can get attached to our energy field. This also happens if there are some negative thoughts and emotions directed to you or if you work in a line of service to others and others see you as their “saviour” and may non-intentionally “hook” into your aura which then drains your energy.

Physical and electromagnetic pollution also affects our energy in a negative way. If we are working in a polluted environment or in a place where there are a lot of gadgets, this can really lower our own frequency.

When our energy field has a low vibration, it tends to affect our sleep. We feel irritated, tired and sometimes people feel like they have constant bad luck and that in general their life is out of balance.

What affects our aura is our emotions. If we are feeling positive and happy, our aura will reflect that. If we are “running a program” of negative thoughts and emotions, this weakens our aura and lowers our vibration. In this case, it is a good idea to look deeper into our emotions and heal or release any deep-seated emotional trauma from the past.

So how do we cleanse our energy field?

Smudge yourself with white sage smudge stick or palo santo wood when you come home, especially if it was a really stressful day.

Use crystals to shield your aura. Some of the strongest energy protection crystals are: Black Tourmaline, Nuummite, Shungite, Obsidian, Amethyst and Lapis Lazuli.

Use a protection balm on your pulse points and the Third Eye chakra. You can apply it in the morning, before leaving the house for the day and also re-apply it during the day, especially if you find yourself in a stressful environment. Some people like to apply it also on soles of their feet for some extra grounding.

Visualise yourself in a dark blue bubble or cylinder that goes below your feet and above your head. Dark Blue is a powerful protection colour that cannot be detected or felt as barrier to others.

Have an energy cleansing bath after a long day with some lovely bath salts or essential oils and candles.

Ask Archangel Michael to cut all the cords that are draining your energy and vitality.

These are just a few effective ways to protect and cleanse your energy. You can use a combination of a few, all of them together or something completely different.

[thewiccanrede]

Tarot vs. Oracle Cards

When people are guided to start using cards as a tool of communication with their guides or the Spirit, they are often unsure whether to begin with Oracle or Tarot cards.

We always recommend to listen to your gut feeling, your intuition. The best way to find the card deck for yourself is to look at the decks in front of you either while visiting our store or on our webstore and notice which one draws you in, which one has caught your eye, so to speak.

If you are buying a card deck for someone else, then keep that person in mind while you are looking at the card decks and you will be drawn to the one that is meant for the person you are buying for.

What is the main difference between Tarot and Oracle cards?

Tarot cards follow more of a set structure with specific card layouts and usually 78 cards in a tarot deck (especially in the traditional tarot decks)

Oracles have no set number of cards and use very simple card layouts.

Tarot tends to be more straightforward and to the point in its message and it takes time to really learn and understand it.

Oracle cards are less structured and more suited to lend word of advice to give us guidance and insight into the situation we are enquiring about. They are open to many more levels of interpretation that the strict rules of Tarot don’t allow.

You can also use both, Tarot and Oracle cards. In this case it is probably the best to start the card reading by drawing an Oracle card which will give you a general feeling and a theme of the situation. If you are guided to draw more than one Oracle card, please do so.

Once you get the general message and the feeling from the Oracle cards, then do the Tarot cards spread about this particular situation, which can help you explain in more detail what is going on.

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Meaning of the Divine Feminine & Masculine Energy

Did you know we all use and work with the Divine Masculine and Feminine energy, no matter what gender we are?

When looking at our chakras (energy wheels), the bottom 3 chakras represent the Divine Masculine energy and the top 3 chakras represent the Divine Feminine energy. What is very interesting, is that the middle chakra – The Heart Chakra – represents both. In fact, the Heart Chakra is a perfect balance of both masculine and feminine energies, which represents the unity consciousness.

To support and balance both feminine and masculine energy in your body, you can use crystals, essential oils, meditation, visualisation, energy work.

A lot of people love working with crystals and this list might help you to find some you resonate with:

Masculine energy crystals: Black Tourmaline, Tiger’s Eye, Hematite, Smoky Quartz, Pyrite, Serpentine, Shungite and Red Jasper.

Feminine energy crystals: Selenite, Moonstone, Amethyst, Amazonite, Rose Quartz and Labradorite.

There are also crystals who have both feminine and masculine energy in them and beautiful Larimar is one of them.

If you prefer using essential oils, this list might be helpful:

Essential oils to support masculine energy: Clove, Sandalwood, Ginger, Patchouli and Vetiver.

Essential oils to support feminine energy: Rose, Ylang Ylang, Myrrh, Jasmine, Orange and Lavender

As mentioned above, the Heart Chakra represents the perfect balance of the Divine Masculine and Feminine energy. The Heart Chakra symbol is a Star Tetrahedron. The Star Tetrahedron is the energetic and geometric representation of the human body, male and female, heaven and earth, also called the Merkaba. Merkaba is an Egyptian word and it can be broken down to understand the concept more clearly. The word ‘Mer’ is translated into ‘Light’, ‘Ka’ refers to the spirit, while ‘Ba’ refers to the body or physical being.

The Masculine energy is also represented as the elements of fire and air, while the Feminine energy is represented as the elements of earth and water.

The Masculine energy moves like a laser, while the feminine energy moves more like a ripple through the water. Both together can manifest wonderful things, that is why it is essential to nurture both of them in your life, no matter what gender you are.

We can find many other symbols and representations of the Divine Feminine and Masculine energy around the world and how they also work together in a perfect harmony. Some of the most well-known are: Sun & Moon, Ying & Yang, Silver & Gold.

To boost our creativity and manifestation ability it is important we consciously work with both. The feminine energy works with inspiration, guidance, ideas… The masculine energy supports us with action, getting things done, manifesting our ideas into the physical reality.

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Story Behind Dream Catchers

Dream catcher story goes way back in the Native American Indian history but even to this day, dream catchers fascinate people and are found in many homes all around the world.

According to the Native American tradition, dream catchers are intended to protect people during their sleep from negative energy and bad dreams while letting through the positive energy and good dreams. The good dreams go through the hole in the center of the dream catcher and then glide down the feathers to the person sleeping below.

The story behind dream catchers according to Native American tradition:

Long ago when the word was sound, an old Lakota spiritual leader was on a high mountain, he had a vision. In his vision, Iktomi, the great trickster and searcher of wisdom appeared in the form of a spider. Iktomi spoke to him in a sacred language. As he spoke, Iktomi the spider picked up the elder’s willow hoop which had feathers, horsehair, beads and offerings on it and began to spin a web. He spoke to the elder about the cycles of life, how we begin our lives as infants move on through childhood and on to adulthood. Finally, we go to old age where we must be taken care of as infants completing the cycle.

Iktomi said as he continued to spin his web, in each time of life there are many forces, some good and some bad. If you listen to the good forces, they will steer you in the right direction. But if you listen to the bad forces, they’ll steer you in the wrong direction and may hurt you. So these forces can help or can interfere with the Harmony of Nature. While the spider spoke, he continued to weave his web.

When Iktomi finished speaking, he gave the elder the web and said the web is a perfect circle with a hole in the center. Use the web to help your people reach their goals making good use of their ideas, dreams and visions. If you believe in the great spirit, the web will filter your good ideas and the bad ones will be trapped and will not pass.

The elder passed on his vision onto the people and now many Native American Indian people have a dream catcher above their bed to sift their dreams and visions.

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Astrologers, witches and mystics alike can all agree on the power of the Moon. It’s one of the two luminaries in our sky (alongside the Sun) and an incredibly potent tool for manifestation and magic.

The Moon rules over the subtle, subconscious and intuitive aspects of the self and its wax and wane reflect our own. When we align ourselves with the Moon, we’re tapping into an ancient energy current. One simple way to do this is by making Moon Water.

What Is Moon Water?

You can create Moon water by leaving water outdoors to charge under the moonlight. Because the Moon affects the ocean’s tides, there’s already an energetic connection between the element of water and the Moon. When you add intention (and maybe a crystal or two) you can create a tool that can be used for everything from watering your plants to adding to your bath to cleansing your home.

How to Make Moon Water

· A jar or container ( a mason jar or other clear glass jar, but any container like a jar, cup, or even Tupperware will do)

· Water (from the tap, from a bottle, from a river…just make sure it’s safe to drink if you plan on doing so!)

· A label to date your Moon water and note which sign and phase the Moon is in (like “Full Moon in Libra, April 16, 2022”)

· Water-safe crystals, like rose quartz, clear quartz, or amethyst (optional)

· Cleansing herbs, like mugwort (ruled by the Moon), lavender (for relaxation and healing), rosemary (for protection), or sweetgrass (for positive energy) (optional)

· A lighter and bowl to burn the herbs (optional)

· An intention to focus on, such as peace, love, or acceptance (optional)

Moon water is traditionally charged at night under the light of the Full Moon when lunar energy is at its most potent and we’re easily able to connect to our intuition. You can also make Moon water during a Gibbous Moon, when the Moon is almost full. One caveat: Never make Moon water during an eclipse—eclipse energy overpowers lunar energy so it’s not a good time to do this kind of work.

Whichever lunar phase you choose, check which zodiac sign the Moon is in because this will affect the energy of the water. For example, Moon water charged under a Full Moon in Taurus, ruled by Venus, will encourage love and pleasure while Moon water charged under a Full Moon in Gemini, ruled by Mercury, can help you claim your voice.

If you’re using any of the following, begin by cleansing your jar or container with smoke from your herbs, sticking on your label and adding crystals to your jar. Then add your water. Place the jar somewhere outside (or if you don’t have access to the outdoors, then on a windowsill) so it can absorb the Moon’s energy—even if you can’t see the Full Moon, the water will still charge.

If you’d like, you can take a moment to meditate: Hold your palms over the water and picture the lunar energy moving through the crown of your head, down your spine and arms, through your body, and out of your palms into the water. As you do so, focus on the intention you’re setting, then thank the universe for letting you connect with the cosmos. Finally, leave the water to charge overnight. In the morning, you’ll have Moon Water.

How Does Moon Water Work?

Moon water works for a couple of reasons—the first is because of the nature of the element of water. Energetically, water is receptive. It holds the energy or intention of whatever it’s imbued with. And in the case of Moon water, the water acts as a psychic sponge, holding on to the energy the Moon is disseminating from the cosmos into our world. In this way, the water becomes a sort of talisman holding on to the planetary energy of the Moon for use in future spells or rituals.

The vibration or energy of the Moon water you charge will be dependent on the sign the Moon is in as well as the phase. Because the Moon is at its strongest, most vibrant and potent manifestation during the Full Moon, this is the time that Moon water is usually created.

HOW TO SET AN INTENTION WITH MOON WATER

While it’s never a bad idea to make Moon water for a general purpose (like for tapping into lunar energy) it can also be used more specifically to align with a specific intention. Before you choose your intention, look up whatever sign the Moon is in during the time when you want to charge it. Read about this energy of this zodiac sign. So the Full Moon in Libra would be great for an intention about love magick because Libra is ruled by Venus, planet of love. On the other hand, a Full Moon in Capricorn (ruled by Saturn, planet of structure and restrictions) would be better for an intention around helping you assert your boundaries.

Once you’ve figured out what sort of intention aligns with the lunar phase you’re working with, get clear on said intention, writing it down in the present tense (since this tells the universe this intention is already yours and not something that’s going to happen in the future). I always add, “This or something better, for the highest good of all involved,” at the end of my intentions, just to make sure I’m still open to the possibilities of the universe.

Once you’ve made your Moon Water, read your intention out loud and then hold your palms over the water once again. Charge your Moon Water by visualizing silver Lunar energy moving through the crown of your head, down your spine, through your body, down your arms, out your palms into the water. Continue to visualize this energy pouring into the water until you feel the water is charged and glowing silver with your intention. Then voilà, you have charged Moon water.

How to Use Moon Water

Okay, so you made your Moon Water. Now what do you do with it? Lucky you, there are many options:

· Use it to clean your altar, sacred space, crystals, or any ritual tools.

· Add it to a ritual bath.

· Use it to cleanse your floor (yep, you can just add it to your floor cleaner!)

· Dip your brushes in it when you paint.

· Use it to water your plants.

· Create a fragrant room spray by adding essential oils and alcohol.

· Use it in your essential oil diffuser.

· Drink it so you can absorb it into your body.

· Use it to anoint your body, as a way of energetically cleansing yourself.

· Use your Moon water to make tea. Add herbs or herbal tea that corresponds with your intentions—like lavender for healing, mugwort for psychic messages, or rose for love, then enjoy the ritual of sipping this! BTW: Make sure you use drinking water for this.

· Sprinkle Moon water in the corners of your space and invite the Moon’s energy to cleanse and clear your home of any negativity or stagnancy.

· Use your Moon water as an offering to any deities associated with the Moon or water, like Isis, Diana, or Venus.

· Use Moon water as an offering to your ancestors, as a portal for them to connect to you.

How to Use Moon Water for Manifestation

You can use Moon Water for manifestation by charging it with your intention and drinking it, or by using it in a spell like a honey jar spell, or in a ritual bath. Follow the same steps as above to set your intention with the Moon Water, writing it down in the present tense.

After you create your Moon Water, you can drink it to absorb the energy back into yourself or you can pour it in a bath and add herbs that correspond to what you’re manifesting (like roses for love, mint for money or eucalyptus for cleansing and healing)

HOW TO MUSE FULL MOON WATER IN YOUR BEAUTY ROUTINE

The best part about Moon water is that you can get creative with how you use it. Use it to wash your face and ask for the blessings of the Moon as you do so. (Again, if you’re going to use Moon Water in your skincare routine, make sure you’re not using potable water and not river or ocean water) Beauty is cyclical and ever-evolving and so is the Moon. If you have any water-activated beauty products, you can also use some of the Moon Water to work with them. You can also make a face spray with your Moon water but you may wish to use distilled water for this—you can use organic rose petals and your (distilled) Moon Water for a facial toner, blessed by the Moon herself.

Get creative and let the magick of the Moon and your heart guide you.

And So It Is!