Seven Of Swords

The Seven of Swords usually refers to deception and betrayal. We can see the thief seems to be sneaking off with some swords but the soldiers in the distance may be well aware of his actions. He may be caught simply because he was not careful enough. As we all know, it's often very difficult to "get away with something." When we do something in secret and think we are safe and undiscovered, something goes awry and our secret is revealed to our embarrassment.


This card urges caution when attempting to use cunning to gain an advantage, because it could very well backfire upon us. The Seven of Swords also may refer to the need to act shrewdly and the long run, deception does not produce the reward we desired and may in fact cause much damage to our relationships and reputation


In a reading, this tarot card is an indication that caution and wisdom are necessary in the face of a temptation to achieve gain by dubious means. Sometimes the Seven of Swords means that you are running from something - commitment, responsibility, hard work, love. You may be letting problems slip because you don't want to deal with them but we have to face what has to be faced and the Seven of Swords lets you know when you might be making things worse by running away.

Deck Review- Decks For Youth-The Whimsical Tarot

Who fondly remembers the fairy tales from childhood like the Owl and The Pussycat, Beauty and the Beast, and most of all the lovable and courageous characters from the Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum? Such whimsical stories bring to mind those days of childhood and innocence...well, allow me to introduce The Whimsical Tarot created by Dorothy Morrison and illustrated by Mary Hanson Roberts (the Creator of the Hanson- Roberts Tarot) 

This intensely cute deck is absolutely perfect for the young tarot reader and even the young at heart. It is made up of 78 cards (2-3/4 by 4-3/4) just right for smaller hands and comes with the standard LWB (little white book.) The card stock is the usual sturdy yet flexible US Games stock and has a shiny lamination. The one thing that really stands out to me with The Whimsical Tarot is Mary Hanson-Roberts' use of bright, engaging colors and fairy tale pictures that take me right back to a time where the imagination was everything.

I looked through the cards as soon as I got this deck and had an absolute ball naming all the characters from the tales I so lovingly remember. It was as if yesterday that I remember reading about The Cow that jumped over the Moon, Humpty Dumpty and the Shoemakers Eves, what great memories to share with your child as you travel down memory lane together.

My favorite cards in this deck have got to be The Fool, who is portrayed by the Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz, The Moon with it's pictures of the dish running away with the spoon and the Sandman as the wise Hermit. The accompanying LWB (little white book) gives the basic meanings of each card and I understand that there is a companion book but I have not had the opportunity to read it, I simply must put it on my list of books to get although for a young tarot reader each card is rich with color and symbols that make it perfect for developing intuitive skills.

I highly recommend this wonderful deck to anyone whether child or seasoned reader, I've found that it is not too fluffy and actually reads very accurately. The holidays are coming up and The Whimsical Tarot will make the perfect addition to anyones collection.

US Games Systems
ISBN: 978-1-57281-253-6
Author: Dorothy Morrison
Artist: Mary Hanson-Roberts

Recipe Of The Week

New England Clam Chowder

Ingredients:


4 slices bacon, diced
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 cups water
4 cups peeled and cubed potatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
ground black pepper to taste
3 cups half-and-half
3 tablespoons butter
2 (10 ounce) cans minced clams


Directions


Place diced bacon in large stock pot over medium-high heat. Cook until almost crisp; add onions, and cook 5 minutes. Stir in water and potatoes, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, and cook uncovered until potatoes are fork tender. Pour in half-and-half, and add butter. Drain clams, reserving clam liquid; stir clams and 1/2 of the clam liquid into the soup. Let simmer for about 25 minutes. Do not allow to boil.

Serenity Sunday

Be Thankful For...
by Author Unknown

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?


Be thankful when you don't know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.


Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.


Be thankful for your limitations
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.


Be thankful for each new challenge
Because it will build your strength and character.


Be thankful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons.


Be thankful when you're tired and weary
Because it means you've made a difference.


It is easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are
also thankful for the setbacks.


GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles
and they can become your blessings.


My List:


1.) My children


2.) My pets


3.) Good friends


4.) Falling leaves


5.) Struggles


6.) Triumphs


7.) Gentle rain


8.) Bubble baths


9.) Spice scented candles


10.) Tarot

Silly Picture Of The Week

In contemplation of another nap...

Cat Spell

Spell To Become Closer To Your Cat

Preparation: 
You will need three brown candles and the following herbs:


Catnip-helps create a bond between you and your cat
Vervain-for Peace and Protection
Gardenia-for Spirituality
Saffron-for Strength
Love Seed-for Friendship
Passion Flower-for Friendship


Consecrate each herb before starting. Take 1/2 of the empowered herbs and wrap in a small square of brown cloth and tie it off with a brown cord or string. Take the other half and make a smaller satchet for your pet. Wear yours four days meditating with your pet at least once a day. You can tie the pets satchet on while meditating. After those four days take all the herbs and burn as an incense while sharing a meal with your pet.

The Tarot Court

For many readers, court cards are the most difficult cards in their Tarot deck to understand. In most decks, they lack the convenient titles of the Major Arcana and the helpful pictures of the Minor. So how to interpret them by sight?


If you’ve never been to a Family Reunion, try to imagine one. It may look something like this...Cousin Chuck, a childhood bully, runs around telling everyone how much weight they’ve gained. Right behind him comes peacemaker Bob, explaining how Chuck didn’t really mean the things he said. Across the room, egocentric Aunt Ida has cornered quiet Brother Joe, and is torturing him with unending stories of how she strategized a hostile take-over of her competitor’s company. Everyone brings a camera, and Granny Smith has appointed herself Director of the Photos.


If you look around the reunion with a detective’s eye, you’ll find every one of Tarot's Court Cards posing as your relatives. Court Cards represent personality types. Don’t let gender fool you. Your mom can be the King of Swords and your dad the Queen of Wands. Personality type, not gender is the key.


Exercise


Fill in the Family Tree with your relatives, then assign a Court Card to each. It's okay to use the same Court Card more than once.


In your journal:


1. Were there some Court Cards you used several times? Some not at all? Why do you think this is so?


2. Were there any Court Cards that were harder for you to work with than others? What were they?


3. Did you gain any insight into your family dynamics?


Some fantastic books to read that shows more examples of how to read court cards:


~ Understanding the Tarot Court by Mary K Greer
~ Learning the Tarot: A Tarot Book for Beginners by Joan Bunning
~ Tarot Card Combinations By Dorothy Kelly and Joan Bunning

Deck Review- Shadowfox Tarot

Richard and Jennifer Shadowfox have put together a wonderful deck of varying grey scale images that truly jump right out of the cards at you. This is an excellent deck and I absolutely fell in love with it the moment I looked through it's haunting images. I was drawn to it's appearance online at first glance but once I was able to look at it in person, the pictures were so much deeper than I had imagined.

The Shadowfox Tarot is a 78 card deck that comes in a wonderful 6" x 11 3/8" x 1 1/2" sturdy keepsake storage box along with a 224 page Tarot Book of Shadows that I have to tell you is an amazing wellspring of information in itself. Among the contents of the companion book are correspondences for each card from Alchemical Qualities, Elemental Attributes to Meanings, Mythological Creatures, Influencing Cards and even Musical Moods that enhances the "feel" of each card.

When I get a new deck, I like to shuffle the cards with the question in mind of how we will work together and draw three cards, this generally gives me an impression of the decks personality, and how best we can collaborate together. The deck was a bit sticky coming out of the box, but I found that buffing the cards lightly with a furniture polish wipe took the stickiness right away and the cards shuffled beautifully.

The three cards I drew when determining how we will get along together was the Page of Wands, the Three of Wands and the Ace of Swords. Together these cards tell me that this deck has an abundance of enthusiasm and energy and will offer new ideas and growth to each reading. We shall work in a cooperative, insightful manner with clear answers. This is a deck with a lot of fire and insight and I will absolutely love working with it.

I was quite pleasantly surprised with the Shadowfox Tarot, the images are quite evocative and it's answers are definately straight to the point. This is a wonderful deck full of 3-D imagery and layered insights, I highly recommend The Shadowfox Tarot deck to everyone.

Schiffer Books
Richard and Jennifer Shadowfox
ISBN: 9780764334870

Recipe Of The Week

Salmon Zucchini Quiche

1 unbaked 9 inch deep dish pie shell
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon of butter
1 1/2 cups of thinly sliced zucchini
1/2 cup of chopped onion
one 7 3/4 ounce can of salmon, skin & bones discarded, flaked, reserve liquid
2/3 cup of grated Swiss cheese
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups of half and half
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of minced fresh dill or 1/4 teaspoon of dried dill
freshly ground pepper


Preheat oven to 375ºF. Brush pie shell with egg white. Melt butter in medium skillet over medium high heat. Add zucchini and onion and sauté until crisp tender, about 2 minutes. Let cool slightly. Layer salmon, zucchini mixture and cheese on bottom of pie shell. Beat eggs in medium bowl. Gradually beat in half and half, reserved salmon liquid and seasonings. Pour into shell. Bake until set, about 40 minutes. Cool slightly before serving. 4 - 6 servings

Serenity Sunday

An Attitude of Gratitude

"This is a wonderful time to be living here on earth. Our opportunities are limitless. While there are some things wrong in the world today, there are many things right, such as teachers who teach, ministers who minister, marriages that make it, parents who sacrifice, and friends who help.


"We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues" (Thomas S. Monson)


My List:


1.) My family


2.) Great friends


3.) Fall mornings


4.) Beyond Worlds-Your Tarot Tribe (on BlogTalk Radio)


5.) Custom Tarot bags


6.) Carrots from the garden


7.) Ah Ha moments


8.) Journaling


9.) Honey roasted peanuts


10.) Furniture polish wipes