Divination Homework
1.) Solitude card
Of the first ten cards in the Major Arcana, the one dealing with the theme of solitude is certainly The Hermit. Placing aside for now the rather relevant definition ("any person living in seclusion; recluse"), the Hermit is a card of introspection, loneliness and an inability to communicate. These very 'qualities' are sought, found or result in a reclusive state. It is, after all, hard to turn your thoughts inwards whilst engaged in a conversation with another invidiual. Thus The Hermit card is, in the main, a card of solitude - of seeking or causing it; whether or not intentionally.
2.) Strength card - triumph vs defeat.
When reading the Tarot, it is important to bear in mind that all cards can be read in a positive or a negative light. Oftentimes a quality's force is represented by the same card that heralds it's opposite. This is demonstrated here with triumph vs defeat as qualities shown in the Strength card.
3.) New Opportunities card
The Magician card, our card of new opportunities, deals also with initiative, potential and confidence as well as action and risks. Power ties these qualities together with the card because all of these qualities are linked to power of some form.
4.) The Emperor and The Empress
Although not complete opposites, at first glance The Emperor and The Empress cards would seem to have less in common than their names suggest (perhaps it was this, in fact, that lead to the renaming of The Empress to The High Priestess in my deck). However, both cards are concerned with goals and success; albeit of differing kinds. The Emperor, a strong card depicting an austere male in a position of authority, seated upon a hard throne of concrete, has a masculine energy to it: it is connected with victory, conquest, competitiveness, protection and authority. The Empress, on the other hand, is seated upon a cushioned chair and surrounded by nature. Her card has obvious feminine overtones; it is associated with fruitfulness, fertility, joy and good fortune.
As connected as they are in their goals, this is the same quality that seperates them and gives them a reason to both be in the Tarot. Just as men and women are fundamentally different, so too are The Empress and The Emperor as they seek to achieve their goals, and so too is the interaction between a reader and their perceptions of these two cards.
(Sorry I went on a bit, these two cards mean a lot to me as they both come up in almost every reading on me).
5.) The Lovers card in own words
Ah, the lovers. Depicted in the Rider-Waite deck as what would appear to be Eve and Adam, with an angel watching over them from above; this is obviously a card of relationships. Despite the name and image, the card refers to more than the relationship between two people destined to be together. This is a card of the heart overruling the head, a chance to change horses from duty to that which your heart desires. While it can represent the appearance of a new love in your life, or be associated with sex, The Lovers are also a symbol of temptation, or of a relationship breakdown.
1.) A card for myself
Of the first ten Major Arcana cards, there are a few that fit either myself or my situation, and although a quick self-reading pulled up an inverted The Emperor, I'm going to go with The Empress because it's something I'm more comfortable writing about. As we know, The Empress is a matriachal authority whose card focuses primarily on fertility and birth, in its many forms. She stands for compromise, creativity and happiness, as well as domestic upheaval and infertility. Anyone who knows me needs no further explanation for why this card is my perfect match - in personality and in situation, as my greatest desire is to have children: an objective that has thus far eluded me. In addition to this, I am a very creative soul and seek little (beyond my main goal) than to give happiness to those around me, and though I am only 24 I have experienced a great deal of domestic upheaval in my life - not least of which being the procedings of my own divorce. In a reversed meaning The Empress could also depict weakness or indecision; something that I must admit, I've been guilty of far too many times. I believe it was, in fact, one of the qualities I mentioned in my application to be Sorted on hat_sorting.
Depending on her placement in the spread, The Empress has a lot to teach me about my situation. Assuming her placement in the spread is favourable, she is a reminder to continue reaching for success and to co-operate with others in order to become successful in my goal to become a mother. Even inverted, she has much to teach me: she is a warning to be strong, make decisions and stand by them; an advisor reminding me that I may have to accept the very real possibility of infertility -- but also a reminder that all is not lost. There are other forms of motherhood open to me. It may also interest you to note that this card has come up in almost every reading I or others have ever performed upon myself.
2.) A card for a PIP
As I'm only a somewhat recent sortee, I've not had a chance to really get to know any of the People In Power, and my 'reading' here is bound to reflect that. I stress here that given that I don't know any of the PIPs well, I obviously don't know any of them personally. I've decided to go with my Head of House, truthful_lies, who I a week or two past added to my Friends List, and the card I've chosen is The Chariot. A balance card, The Chariot focuses on leadership so it's probably fairly obvious why it's the card that I chose.
However, to explain a bit more depth, let's look at the attributes of the Chariot card and of Laura (truthful_lies). First and foremost, there's a sense of victory through teamwork; something that you'll find resonating very strongly from all of Hufflepuff house, and this, I believe, is probably due to the strong sense of TEAM that emanates from Laura herself. It is a card of self belief and assertiveness; which are in some part necessary for a good leader, and I've seen Laura exhibit them both in her duties as HOH. This is a card about working with what you've got, being practical and it is a card of compromise- something that Laura is certainly able to do in a fair manner.
Even in the glimpses I've seen from her LJ of her "other" life, Laura lends herself to my chosen card. She has recently found herself struggling with poor health and other frustrations in life, which if you'll remember is a negative association with The Chariot card. Those same poor health & frustrations have shown Laura's adeptfulness at pragmatism and compromise in strong light, also.
Sorry if the quality is a bit lacking, especially compared to last time. I'm sick and trying to think was like eating instant soup by using a fork.