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Thank-you to Aisling the Bard for holding space for this Tarot Blog Hop and for providing us with insightful questions to ponder:
1. What is the most important thing the spirits of your beloved dead have been attempting to show or teach you this year?
2. What is your personal connection to Spirit, as you define it, whether that be Gods and Goddesses, the Powers of the Land, the Souls of the Dead (or the Living), or in any other way you define this word. How does Spirit connect with you and at the end of this year, what is the primary energy of Spirit that is showing itself to you?
3. What will be your personal Gift to Spirit, whether this is an offering made to Deity, something you will do because of what Spirit has taught you, or some other way of acknowledging the influence of the Living Dead on your own life.
My response. . .
The leaves have turned different hues of yellow, orange & red, and have mostly fallen off the trees here in the Similkameen Valley. Samhain is approaching and the veil between the worlds is believed to be the thinnest on the evening of October 31st. Thus, a powerful time for connecting with your ancestors, who walked the Earth hundreds and even thousands of years ago!
I feel the closest to Spirit when I am wandering through the wild. So, I encourage you take a walk by the water or through a forest and listen closely with an open heart, you will hear your ancestors communicate with you through signs and symbols that are often subtle. It might be a feather that you find, a bird calling in the distance, or a shape you see in the trees . . . your ancestors are in constant dialogue with you, all you need to do is LISTEN!
Do you ever wonder who your ancestors are? Take a moment to ponder what their day to day life was like. What was their mother tongue? What was their occupation or way of life? What gifts have you inherited from them?
Your ancestors are part of you, as the blood that flows through your veins connects you not only to your lineage, but also to distant living relatives with whom you share the same great, great, great, great, great grandmother and grandfather with.
As you peer at the Court Cards, which ones represent your ancestors? My ancestors were farmers, so I am drawn to the King and Queen of Wands. If your lineage is full of warriors or army officers, you may resonate with the King and Queen of Swords . . . perhaps your ancestors were artisans or missionaries then the King and Queen of Cups may speak to you . . .King and Queen of Pentacles for me represent wealthy landlords, merchants, and entrepreneurs. Your interpretation of the Court Cards might be different than mine, as the Tarot is a powerful reflective tool.
Over the last year, I've felt even more proud of my lineage, as I learned about my paternal great grandfather, who gave refuge to people during the Partition of India in 1947. Had he not given Muslims who were fleeing India a safe haven, many would have been slaughtered, as the Partition was bloody and brutal. When my grandmother told me the story of her father-in-law, who is my paternal great grandfather, I wept uncontrollably because I felt a rush of emotions take over. I am proud to be his great granddaughter. I want to leave behind a legacy similar to my paternal great grandfather and I am not sure of how to do that, but that is the message that I've been hearing.
What messages are you hearing from your ancestors? What does the energy of your ancestors feel like? Shuffle through the Major Arcana and choose as many cards as you need to, to describe their energy. I am drawn to The Empress, The Emperor and also The Chariot. Let the Tarot speak to your soul to strengthen your connection with your ancestors.
You may even want to chose a particular deck that is connected to your ancestry. Perhaps your background is Celtic, so you may feel drawn to working with The Druid Craft Tarot. I'll be connecting with The Marigold Tarot or perhaps The Sacred India Tarot, as my ancestors were from Northern Indian. Maybe, I'll use both decks! If your ancestors came from many places, consider yourself blessed and go with the part(s) of the world that you feel the most drawn to. . .and this may change over time, so don’t be surprised.
You can place the Major Arcana & Court Cards that you chose to represent your ancestors on your altar, as many of us do not have any photos or paintings dating back hundreds of years. I don’t know even know what my great grandparents looked like with the exception of one great grandmother. I see the addition of cards to my altar, as an offering to my ancestors because there energy is now represented in my sacred space. The Tarot has the power to be a portal to your ancestors, as you are tuning into their energy and choosing cards that represent their energy.
May your ancestors always speak to your heart!
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wooooahhh this is so huge!Such a unique story passed down to you,what a wondrous legacy you are creating,the light from some wounds.Your heritage is of some rockstars.May your legacy continue to empower so many.really love this blog post.
Your reference to our families in the court cards definitely got me thinking about that relationship (I think we are mostly a Swords family by your interpretation). And yes, you should be very proud of your grandfather. That was such a dark and difficult time in India.
You have an awesome great granddad!! Such a brave thing to do in those bloody times! (For people who are not that familiar with South-Asian history, this equals hiding Jews in your loft during World War 2.) You must be really proud!
Kedves Wildrose,
Sajnálattal vettem észre, hogy nem találom a youtube videóid. Mi történt? Remélem mihamarabb visszakerülnek és készítesz újakat is. Én kb jó egy éve találtam rád és heti, napi rendszerességgel hallgattlak, tanulok tőled. :) Tisztelettel, Márice
I really enjoyed your take on the court cards. I would have thought of artists as wands but the cups make sense to me since art comes from the heart in my experience. And I can see how you’d connect wands with farmers. I felt close to my maternal grandparents when they were alive. Since they were first generation American, I think any deck with a retro (from an American perspective) vibe will work for me. This month I’ve been using the Trick or Tarot deck. Excited to see how it works with your court card exercise :)