Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The Lesson of the 7 of Swords

The Tarot has been around for a long time.  The images are often medieval and the archetypes classic.  It only makes sense that, as humanity shifts, the meanings of the cards would also shift.

I feel like part of my work as a reader (of the Tarot), writer and teacher is to bring through these new meanings.  With 78 cards, this could take a while!  I am sure there is a book forthcoming.  In the mean time, y’all get to read of these insights right as they come through!  (And, given the law of attraction, that means y’all are calling these forth and are in co-creation with me!)

The next card that’s up is the 7 of Swords.  This one has been coming up a bunch of times this past week and as a result, I’ve gotten a more complete re-interpretation.

Looking at the classic image, we see a man who is tiptoeing away with 5 of the 7 swords shown.  The traditional meaning of this card is theft.

The suit of swords represents air, which signifies thought and communication. For me, the meaning of this card some time back morphed into the theft of ideas.

In this day and age, it is easy to see how the theft of ideas or information is an issue.  We see (very hyped up) commercials about protecting ourselves from identity theft; we have an entire industry dedicated to copyright law; and the film and music industry are continually pleading with us to not steal their media.

But just this week, I got a whole new perspective on this card.  Rather than it mean the theft of ideas, I now see it as the idea of theft.  In other words, it is here to highlight the belief we have that someone or something outside of ourselves can interfere with our manifestations.

You want a quick trick to find what they are?

First, think about what you most desire, that elusive dream.  Bring it into your primary consciousness.  Go ahead and allow the wanting to flow, and I mean wanting.  I know so many teachers these days tell you not to want, but I’m saying to go for it.  Want it as badly as you can for a moment.

Got a hold of it?  Feel it burning within you?  Take as much time as you need.

Okay, once you have it in mind, now let me ask you some questions.

- Who (or what) do you want to go away so you can have what you desire?
- Who are you competing with for this dream?
- What organization would you do away with (or make yourself exempt from) to get you there faster or more easily?
- What behavior out in the world needs to change or be abolished for your happiness?

Now, if you are not coming up with answers yet, let me ask you these questions.

- Do you believe you would have more money if you didn’t have to pay taxes?
- Which laws would you like to get rid of, right this minute, just because they are just a pain in the neck?
- What rules, imposed by others, make your blood boil?
- If you can change anything out there in the world, what tops your list?

Really look at these things because these are what’s blocking your success.  Not the things themselves, but the idea of them.

I would be happy if this rule was changed.
I would be happy if this person moved away.
I would be happy if s/he stopped doing that.

Every time we entertain these thoughts, we are entertaining the “idea of theft”.

The last time some thing was stolen from me, it was an iPod and it was stolen from my truck, which I accidentally left unlocked that night.

Was this perfection of the universe?  Absolutely!  Why? How?  Well, here is the accumulation of thoughts (that I am aware of) that culminated in this event.

1) I had my first new car broken into 3 times in San Francisco in the early 90s.  The Seats were stolen the second time and the car was stolen the last time. Fear around the safety of my automobile therefore became greater.

2) When I first bought my iPod, I protected it with a screen cover.  I later took the cover off and when I went to clean off the sticky goo, I significantly damaged the screen because I used the wrong type of cleaner.  My fear of damaging my iPod led to the protecting of it, which then directly led to my damaging it myself!  My iPod screen was now cloudy and every time I looked at it, I was unhappy about it.  I didn’t like having a damaged iPod.

3) I wanted a new iPod Touch, but was afraid of spending the money for it.  I thought it was too expensive, but I wanted it anyway.  I kept denying myself of my own desire.  It wasn’t that I couldn’t afford it, I just didn’t want to spend what they were asking for it.

The combination of all of these beliefs, all 7 of Swords type beliefs, resulted in my iPod getting stolen out of my truck.

And would you believe that I still denied myself a new iPod for about 6 additional months?

But, after all of that, the events described above still served me, in many ways.

Many times in my life, once I’ve gotten past some limitation based on fear, I would say to myself, “Why did I wait so long?” 

Yet, we’ve all heard about it when one of our friends tries something that they feared for a long time only to have the worst experience.  “See!  That’s what I was afraid of,” they post on Facebook.

There is no rule for pushing past our limits.  The best that I would say in a general way is to:

1) Identify what you are afraid of.  That’s what the 7 of Swords is here for.

2) Accept that your fear is your fear.  It may have been inspired by someone else, or by some past event, but it is held by you.

3) Theft exists.  We are not trying to convince ourselves that it does not. The point is not to pretend there is nothing to fear, but to find the path ahead despite that fear.  The Strength card reminds us that the courageous are those who have fears and find a way past them.  The fearless are not the courageous, they are just not afraid.

4) You have all the time in the world but no reason to wait.  You can push yourself and possible jump a bit too soon, or you can never challenge the fear and never move past it.  And then, of course, there is everything in between.  It is your choice and all choices are valid.  There is no “right” or “wrong” way.  And faster is not necessarily better.

Through this exercise above, the goal is to see that we hold the key, always.  Our fears may attract a robber, an external obstacle, a person, law or institution that is making it hard for us.  But also realize that not everyone has the same experience as we do with that outside thing.  Why?  Because of their attitude about it.

The Law of Attraction need not be magic to be effective.  Money doesn’t have to fall out of the sky; people or institutions do not need to disappear; the whole world does not need to shift to make us happy.  We simply need to find our own specific guidance to all that we desire.  If you wait for everyone around you to accept a new belief before you give yourself permission to be happy, you might be waiting a long, long time.

Seven is the number of transformation; going deep within to repair or replace an underlying condition.  Air is about thought, so the 7 of Swords applies this to our underlying beliefs.

Now that you have identified these underlying beliefs, let’s offer them up for transmutation!

I ask to be relieved of all beliefs that no longer serve me
And I know I AM freed


Ĕl:ïk

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

A Question about Numbers

A friend and client recently wrote to me asking a question about a set of numbers he sees regularly.  I have received similar questions before and therefore asked if he would be okay with me blogging the answer.  He said, "yes," so here we are.

This is the question as he wrote it:

[My partner] suggested I send you an email about something that happens to me very regularly.  For as long as I can remember, the numbers 3-1-3 have been constants in my life.  My mom was born at 3:13 AM, my dad's birthday is March 13 (3-13), I constantly look at clocks, or things with numbers and it says 313.  Three times this past weekend, I looked at a clock or watch and it was 3:13 PM, 3:13 AM or 3:13 PM.  My mileage read out will say 313 miles, the calorie counter on the tread mill will say 3.13 miles, 313 minutes.  I always point it out to [my partner] and he said to see if you might have some insight into what this may mean!  Any ideas?

Before I get into the specifics of his question, let me describe my own experience, a question I posed to spirit, and their answer.

About fifteen years ago, I started seeing specific combinations of numbers regularly.  When I saw them, I also felt something that let me know there was a message there.

The first set of numbers that I would see (typically on a clock) were 5:26.  This made sense to me because that is my birthday – 5/26.  Soon, the phenomena morphed and I would notice myriad times on a clock that ended with :26. In fact, it really got weird one night when I went to a movie with a college roommate.  As we waited for the movie to start, we talked and conversation led to this oddity that I was experiencing.  Little to my knowledge, my friend was carrying a small digital clock in his pocket and as I spoke of the :26 quirkiness, he slowly pulled it out and looked at it.  His face paled slightly as he turned the clock so I could see it.  It read 9:26! We both shivered!

Years later, the :26 trend gave way to double digits, triple digits and double-double digits.  Examples are, of course, 11:11, 11:22, 12:22, 1:11, 4:44, etc.  Some days, I would catch a number of these as the day went on, and other days, nothing.  I’ve even had phone conversations that spanned the hour between 11:00 am and 12:00 pm where I caught only the double-doubles and never a minute otherwise (11:11, 11:22, 11:33, 11:44, 11:55).  I was completely involved in the conversation not trying to do anything; it just happened that way.

If you read the blog often, you’ve heard me talk of numbers I see when I am writing.  I first write blog entries in MS Word, and that program keeps track of the number of words written.  It only updates every now and again.  Just a moment ago, it counted 444, which displayed in the middle of a natural pause.

So, what do these numbers mean?  That’s what everyone wants to know, of course.

So one day, I asked spirit this question, “Why do you show me the numbers some days and not others?”  I couldn’t quite find a pattern between the days I caught the numbers and the days I didn’t.

Some short time after that, in a moment of absolute clarity, I heard this reply as if spoken to me,
“We don’t show you numbers some days and not others. You sometimes see them and sometimes not.  They are a reminder to yourself of the times when you are listening.  It is just the same with our guidance.  We are always guiding you, you are just sometimes listening and sometimes not.  When you see the numbers, you are simply reminding yourself that you are listening a little bit better than when you do not.”

That made complete sense to me.  It also answered another question I had.  There have been a number of times in the past when I have received very clear information while, let’s say, under the influence.  However, most of the time, it was as if I entered a room where a conversation was already going on.  No one stopped talking to welcome me.  No one said, “Hi David!  Now that you are here, we have something to tell you.”  Instead, I walked into the middle of a dissertation of sorts.  The tapes had been rolling and I just picked it up in the middle and followed along.

So guidance is always forth coming.  That’s why it is always available.  No, we do not hear it all of the time, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

So, now let’s dive into my friend’s specific question.

It is 12:12 right now, and they wish to speak directly.  (My words interjected are placed in [square brackets] ).


Dear M____, What David wrote above, to some degree, applies to you and all reading this. You are within constant guidance and you each set up specific ways to remind yourself of this.

However, in your case, you are doing more than just trying to catch your attention.  You work with machines [computers] and are, at times, surrounded with numbers [in your field of vision on the screen or on paper].  The numbers chosen had to have special and specific meaning for you.

In your case, the numbers date back to before your birth.  They relate and connect your lineage, your mother and your father.  They indicate a longevity of plan.

In the most basic case, they are evidence of something more.  We had David pull three Tarot cards for you.  The first card in the position of “past” is Death (#13).  The center card, your “present”, is the 3 of Wands. And the final card, “future” is the Queen of Wands.  Reading from the center out? 3-13-Q

The 3 of Wands simply means “evidence”.  It is when you can see what is happening on a deeper level.  This 3-13 phenomena is just that, evidence.  Yet it is also a message indicating something about who you are.

In the center of 3-1-3 is 1.  As a 1, you are unique.  Yes, all of you are unique, but you, M___, have an acceptance of this more than most.  You are not rebelling against the whole, just simply being the 1 that you are.

As 3-13, there is another message.  3-13 is also 3-4 (the 13 reducing 1+3=4).  The message here is the creation (3) of stability (4).  Part of your gift to the world is through your creating of stability wherever you set your intention to do so.  You do this in your job every day.  You do this in your family. You do this in your clan [friends].

Returning to 3-1-3, there is yet another message. 
[As I pause, the word count is 1113.]  3-1-3 in this regard means three 1’s and a 3 or 1113.  [Another pause as I arrive at 1131.]  This message is in part a clue for your future.  Three 1s come together and then 3.  Three individuals come together to create.  Allow this coded message to flow into your being.  Allow it to inspire within you some course of action as it presents itself.  This is, of course, a potential that lies before you.

Lastly, 3-1-3 means the creating (3) of self (1) in order to create (3) again.  As you create, you develop a new version of who you are and that new greater version of who you are then goes out and creates at a new and greater level.  That is your purpose; that is your course; that is how you live; and that is how you will continue.  Always look to see how your past creations helped you become who you now are, and then look to where the new you wants to go in terms of future creations.

And this last message is where you are an example for the rest of us.  You (as the 1 between two 3’s) were chosen to help convey this message to everyone.  You all are 3-1-3.  Your purpose is to create (3), your purpose is to create who you are becoming (3-1), and your purpose it to then embrace who you have become to create anew (3-1-3).  This is the cycle of creation as written in A Fool’s Journey.

When you all see evidence of your creating (3 of Wands), be it good/successful/pleasing or bad/unsuccessful/displeasing, know that it is merely information.  In creating your self expression, you are continually deciding on what to keep (3 of Pentacles) and what to cut away (3 of Swords).

Celebrate (3 of Cups) this process!  If you could not see the “bad” results, you could not know how to improve your creating!

It was only a day ago when we showed David, via a dream, masters performing their work.  And a single day later, and in response to that very blog, one of them stands up into the light, for all to see. He, of course, did not know that that was what he was doing!  Ha! Surprise for him!

Who’s next?  Who else would like to drop their mask of modesty and allow the world to see their mastery?  Is it you?
I would like to add a few notes to the bottom of this blog.  The Death card is about Transformation or Transmutation.  In a way, it is a path to stability through significant change.  The Queen of Wands is a woman who is fully within her power.  She remains soft and at the same time radiant.  True power need not look male (even within men).

Also, it is interesting that today is 4-14...

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

What does Mastery look like?

Some of you may recall that in January, I mentioned how 2010 is a 3 year (2+0+1+0=3), and I also mentioned how each quarter of the year would hold the vibration of one of the threes in the Tarot.

Well, we are in the 2nd quarter and I have yet to reveal which three is up.  I actually wrote a blog entry about it a couple of weeks ago, but never posted it.  It just didn’t feel right, so I waited.

And then today, I figured out why.

2010 is a 3 year, but April is a 4 month and spirit wants me to talk about four first.  Notice how last week’s blog was about the 4 of Pentacles.  Well this week, we’re going to talk about an aspect of four.

Within the vibration of 4 is mastery and perfection.

Even as I write that sentence, I am reticent.  If you look at the first edition of A Fool’s Journey, you will notice that I did not include those words within the description of the number four, even though I kept hearing them from spirit.

I resisted them because it didn’t make sense to me.  Why would mastery be four?  Four is not even halfway through the cycle! Four, as I understand it, is the end of linear growth, but there is still more growth beyond it.

And...?
That was spirit again.  I guess their point is that mastery is not the end of the cycle.

Mastery and perfection are two highly misunderstood words in spirituality. As similar as the words are, I am just now realizing how, despite understanding one of them, I was still way off on the other.

To explain, spirit has been showing me the Perfection of the Universe for a while now, and I get it. I really get it.  I see perfection everywhere, when I’m paying attention.  In fact, I see perfection more easily when things go wrong.  Why?  Because I’m able to see how my thoughts created the "failure” in the perfect way.  Where I fail to see perfection is when things don’t happen at all, but that is a whole other story. LOL

So, in understanding the Perfection of the Universe, I stopped looking for things to be perfect (the old definition of the word).  Perfection is not when the whole world reaches peace and harmony.  Perfection is right now, when the whole world can think differently and create exactly as they think. 

Perfection is when one can have everything that they desire even in the presence of others who do not.  Look around, do you not see rich people traveling throughout a world where poor people exist, healthy people moving among the infirm, fit people running past the rest of us.  All conditions exist on this little blue planet.  We do not need every person to think like us to find our happiness.

So, why did that new definition of perfection not get me to a better definition of mastery?  Up until this morning, I thought of mastery as the old style perfection in action.  I thought to be a master, you had to have already created everything you desired successfully.  I thought your life had to be evidence of success, proof of spirituality, a demonstration of abundance.  I would ask myself, “How can I be a master when I’m not accomplishing half of what I desire?”

For a long time, I hesitated to teach metaphysical classes.  I figured, who’s going to listen to me talk about creating higher vibration relationships when I’m single and have been for most of my life?  Who’s going to follow the guidance I’ve received about creating abundance when my income has been insignificant for 5 years now?  How can I help people find happiness when my sad days keep coming back?

And today I got it.

In a reading I received on Sunday, a man says to me that I am doing the same work that Moses did.  I am leading others out of the desert.  And that planted a seed within me.

Moses was in the desert too!
He didn’t have a magical map telling him the way out, but he could hear his guidance, and it came one day at a time for 40 years.

What clenched this concept for me was a dream that I woke from Monday morning.  All night long, spirit showed me one master and then another.  In every case, that master was working on a key to unlock their own chains.  That’s all they were doing.  They weren’t free; they weren’t done; they didn’t even see the evidence of their success; they were just working away following guidance and learning as they went.

Who better to lead you out of addiction than one who has been addicted?  Who better to lead you into marriage but one who is trying to get there himself?  Who better to teach you how to love yourself but the one who has never really loved himself?

The masters, as we used to think of them, have been here on this planet, or so we believe.  Most religions say they will return and save us from this quite imperfect and harsh reality.  But what if that’s not the way it is meant to work?  What if there are masters everywhere and each is discovering their own mastery in their own time?  What if all of us can benefit from what the others around us are working on?

Did Jesus look like a master?  Was he adorned in jewels and rich fabrics?  Was the Buddha?  And why not? Did they not know about abundance back then?

It is easy to look back at the memory of a man or woman and say, “There went a master,” but it is much harder when you can see their humanity at the same time.

Tiger Woods was called a master in his art once, and then the world got to see his “imperfection” and “hanged” him for it.  They put him on a pedestal and then tore him off of it too.

I am sure that all of you have heard it said, “The eyes are the windows of the soul”.  Notice that they don’t say, “The eyes are the cameras of the soul”!  The eyes are biased.  They see as they were taught to see.  We can only read languages we have been taught to read; the others are merely Greek.

Mastery is not what is seen with the eyes.  It is not what is understood by the mind.  It is what is felt by heart, but only when the heart is open.

Mastery, like genius, is only felt by those who are close to their own.

The Fool is a master, yet he looks like a fool.  He is misunderstood by the masses, but he pays them no mind.  He sees them, but gives them no power over his journey.

Now I understand why they wanted me to talk about the Mask, the Shield and the Sword before this post.  As long as we hide ourselves from others for fear of not “looking like masters”, we prevent our true mastery from showing through.  We are not supposed to be Jesus and Buddha.  We are not meant to be perfect and flawless.

Mastery is not the end of the cycle, but rather the middle. Mastery is about awareness and acceptance.  It is when we catch a glimpse of a greater version of ourselves and then continue on the journey towards it.

Accept your mastery and let’s all find a way to our own version of paradise, one sandy step at a time.

Monday, April 5, 2010

The Mask, the Shield, and the Sword

Do you remember that game Rock Paper Scissors? Remember how paper beats rock by covering it up?  Well hold on to that thought because it is an analogy for something we all possess.

Today, I am going to mix my modalities a bit.  I am going to mix a little Astrology and Tarot.

First, we are going to revisit the birth chart.  When looking at a birth chart, the most basic aspects to look at are the sun, moon and ascendant.  The sun indicates your personality.  The moon indicates how you express your heart, how you express your emotions.  And then there is your rising sign or ascendant.

A few weeks ago, spirit described the ascendant as one’s “mask, shield and sword”.  I had previously learned it as your outer personality, the personality you tend to exhibit to those you do not know.

If your sun sign were a rock, your rising sign would be paper. In fact, that is the gift of our rising sign. It is a tool, of our own choosing, and one that we can wield at a moment’s notice. We do this unconsciously. Many a time, when I have tried to guess someone’s sign within an hour of meeting them, I ended up guessing their rising sign (or at least the element of their rising sign).

So why did spirit describe the rising sign as the mask, shield and sword?  Well, it is a mask when we use it to hide our sun or our moon.  It is a shield when we use it for protection, and it is a sword when we defend ourselves through it.  Notice that the mask, shield and sword are just parts of a suit of armor and that there are only subtle differences between their uses.

Let’s look at some examples of how a rising sign can be put to use. Let’s say our rising sign is Leo.  Leo is a fixed fire sign ruled by the sun.  Like the sun, Leo’s like to light up the room.  They like to be the center of attention and their fixed fire energy, like the July sun, can last all day.

So, how does that work as a rising sign?  Well, Leo rising is the aspect of the performer. A person may be shy and introverted, but put them on stage and watch the Leo shine!  In this example, the rising sign is used as a mask, like during Mardi Gras or a Halloween party.  Have you ever found your inhibitions melting away when the anonymity of a mask removes all self-consciousness?

Okay, how about Leo as a shield; what would that look like?  Well, Leo is the king of the jungle and as such, has his fair share of ego. Only the best will do for the lion. In nature, the male lion often lives alone in his lofty nook.  As such, Leos can be aloof.  With Leo rising, one can shield himself from danger by separating himself from the crowd.  “I’m above that behavior,” he might say, and rather than confront a problem, he merely walks away from it.

Now Leo used as a sword is easy to spot, “I am lion, hear me roar”.  Leo, as fixed fire, has a long fuse, but once gone, his fire can burn and burn. If push comes to shove and a Leo rising is backed into a corner, watch out; his fire will burn singeing your eyebrows!

Of course, I know Leo rising so well because I am one!  And, for whatever reason, we seem to run in packs because I know more people with Leo rising than any other.

So, the rising sign, like any other characteristic of our chart is an aspect of ego and ego is nothing more that that part of us that makes us unique.  The rising sign, when used as a mask, shield or sword, separates us from our surroundings.  In this regard, it is again simply an aspect of ego.  In reality, we are not separate, but thanks to ego, we experience ourselves separated from All That Is, and for a reason. Sometimes we love it, sometimes we hate it, but this separation always serves us.

The degree of separation is a choice however, and this brings us to the 2nd part of this blog.

Recently, I have been pulling the 4 of Pentacles in many readings I have done for myself.  The 4 of Pentacles is a little tricky because it can be very positive or fairly negative.

Pentacles represent earth and therefore physical matter.  It can represent our body, our home, or money.  It can also represent our work meaning our livelihood, how we make a living and support ourselves.

To me, physical matter is just slow moving energy and thus the 4 of Pentacles can also represent non-physical energy held within the body and mind.

Four is the number of stability.  It is a platform that once reached, gives us a reprieve from otherwise constant growth.  Often, when reaching the four, things feel pretty good.  Initial goals have been reached and the choice to continue or not is often ours.

So one can interpret the 4 of Pentacles as financial security, a stable job and a stable income.  It can mean money in the bank, savings, having enough with some left over.  When the 4 of Pentacles comes up, we have already successfully created something that we desired.

But at times, the possessions we own own us.  At the 4 of Pentacles, we now have something to lose!  Fear of loss causes us to protect our cache (or our cash).  Fours are conservative and the 4 of Pentacles maximally.

If you look at the card, you will see a man who is holding on to his coins.  They are often times depicted as very large in comparison to his size.  When you look at him, rather than basking in luxury like the woman on the 9 of Pentacles, he looks like a miser, pinching each penny he spends.

So while the 4 of Pentacles can indicate financial success and stability, it can also indicate over protection and stinginess.  It can indicate our cutting off of abundance with fear.

In one deck that I have, the miser clutches his giant coins in front of a wall that is taller than he is (or nearly so).  Spirit said to me once when I was doing a reading for another, “he cannot surpass the wall unless he lets go of the load”.  The coins are large because at this point, what we are holding on to is greater than our own weight.

Once, when in a particularly clear conversation with spirit, they spoke to me about protection.  They said, you can walk around with your skin off, naked and unprotected, or you can walk around in a suit of armor.  When you are unprotected, you can more easily get hurt, but your growth will be fast.  When you are coated in armor, you will feel safe, but with safety comes very slow growth.

And, of course, there are all of the states in between.

And that’s where the rising sign comes in.  Our rising sign is the suit of armor we chose before we were born.  We all have one.  It is with us at all times and can be put on instantaneously.  If we feel unsafe, it is there for our protection.

But it doesn’t have to be used. The knight sheds his armor when he makes love to his lady.

Spirit always says to me, “All choices are valid”. It is your choice.  Protect yourself when you desire protection and expose yourself when you want to. But remember the way of The Fool. He knows that when he asks for growth, spirit may guide him to shed his clothes and run through the forest.  Will he look foolish? Sure. But appearing foolish is not foolish.  Spirit knows what his heart desires and spirit also knows how he is keeping it from himself.  The Fool’s Journey is always from where we are to where we want to be and there are infinite ways to get there.  You can take the fast track or meander the scenic one. You can rest in the sun or frolic through the grass.

Look at your rising sign and compare it to your sun and moon.  Learn how you protect yourself and how you hide your more vulnerable parts from others.  Then ask yourself if you are over-protecting yourself.  Maybe, to reach your most desired goal, it is time to lay down the mask, shield and sword, most especially the sword.

If you need any assistance in looking at these aspects and getting divine guidance on any of it, I am happy to help.  For a cost of $40 and via email, I will be happy to look up your rising, sun and moon signs and gather some guidance for you from spirit on the combination.  We can even focus on a particular subject for the reading.

And I now offer one-question tarot readings via email for only $30, a most affordable way to receive some tools to help you on your way. Visit my website and/or email me for more details.

Many blessings to you as we travel this most beautiful season of the year!