Weekly Reading: Monday, April 22, 2019-Sunday, April 28, 2019
Welcome to Taurus everyone! We survived the 9 of Wands and Fire of Aries of last week and are now in the very beginnings of Taurus. Taurus is a fixed earth sign which is ruled by Venus and represents the items we own as well as ownership of ourselves. This month we may look to the things we have or have not, we may find ourselves enjoying the fruits of spring, good food, and the arts. We may find ourselves singing when no one is around, and we may also discover that overindulgence may add thickness to our waistlines or thinness of our pocketbooks.
As Taurus also rules the neck, we should watch out for symptoms of excess with neck tension or acid reflux, and it's the perfect inopportune time to catch all of those strep throat bugs that are going around. If you keep your Taurus in check, however, this month has the opportunity to be a comfortable time, but it's easier said than done. Spring has sprung, and we want to enjoy ourselves. So what are we to do? We need to find and maintain balance. I'll go out on a limb and say that many of the cards that we will pull during Taurus will be Pentacles/ Coins to help us find the financial and physical balance we need, and today the King of Pentacles, whom we first met way back on December 8, 2019, like a loving father is there to instruct us.
Before I get into the meaning of the card, I'd like to talk about the Tarot deck for this week: "The Tarot of the Hidden Realm" with art by Julia Jeffrey and book by acclaimed tarot reader and writer, Barbara Moore. I've mentioned it before that my first Oracle Deck was the "Faerie’s Oracle" by Brian Froud and Jessica Macbeth. Each card in the "Faerie's Oracle" is a different fae and through Brian Froud's vivid drawings and Jessica Macbeth's enlightening book, I connected to the personalities found in the cards immediately. The "Tarot of the Hidden Realm" gives me a similar feeling to the "Faerie's Oracle" as every card focuses on a different Fae and there are no symbols, only characters. I'll use the 8 of Wands for example.
In a usual Rider-Waite-Smith deck, the 8 of Wands represents powerful movement and long-distance communication, possibly travel, as eight staves fly across the sky. You often ask "Where were these staves before? Where are they going? Who threw them?" In the "Hidden Realm," a Fae (who looks an awful lot like Kiera Knightly from "King Arthur") cocks her bow to shoot one of her eight arrows. The meaning is the same, but we now have a protagonist to the story of the cards and many questions are answered. I think when reading from a deck such as this, you place yourself less into the cards and see each of the Fae as guardians and messengers. They experience the themes of the cards for us to act as our guide. With every reading I do, I always pull a "message from the universe" card that tells my client what they should do the moment they leave me. In this deck, therefore, every card's message is delivered by a messenger or guide and we can either embody the messenger or learn from them. I believe today we can do both, for as I said above, this week The King of Pentacles has come to visit and whenever a court card shows up, I interpret it as either a person in our lives or ourselves.
Our King of Pentacles looks a bit like Father Christmas, surrounded by Holly and Ivy. The Yule/ Christmas holidays fall when the Sun begins its transit through Capricorn, the ruler of the King of Pentacles. Capricorn occurs during the coldest part of the year, a time when it's more important than ever to remain organized, use all of the resources that are still available to us, and to look toward the warmth of the spring. Winter and Capricorn are long behind us as we find ourselves in lusty, Taurus' Spring. It's not a coincidence that the longest running, and first, Rennaisance Faire in the United States is called the "Renaissance Pleasure Faire" and primarily takes place in Taurus. Capricorn and Taurus are earthbound, elemental compatriots. Cardinal Capricorn is action-oriented, ruled by Saturn, and requires hard work, and fixed Taurus is a little more passive and allows us to finally appreciate and enjoy the seeds that we planted and are now ripe for the picking. Therefore, this week the King of Pentacles is telling us, "work hard so you can play hard." Bosses, father figures, bank managers, chefs, anyone male or female who combines the intellect and planning of air with the grounded realities of earth will be important this week, and since he or she is holding the Lenormand Book they will hold the secrets and the knowledge that we need to get further than we thought we could. Because of Lenormand Book, it's possible that the King represents a teacher. The "King of the Classroom."
Looking at the astrology of the week, it's no surprise to me that the Moon will also transit through Capricorn by hump day. Protect those young projects like The Hidden Realms' King protects his young fae. I, myself, began this King of Pentacles week deconstructing my house to rebuild it into a cleaner, more orderly space. Be the King and protector of your domain. Only then can you let loose with some newly arrived Taurusean fun. Remember, if you need some inspiration, what would your favorite teacher do?
Have a great week everyone!