A Cornucopia of Empresses

Greetings!

How could anyone not love The Empress? There she sits at number three, all embracing and full of new nurturing thoughts, ideas and abundance. She makes us smile in a reading, bringing forth creativity and production. Of course she has her gloomy side - she can express her smothering, jealous and petulant nature, but for the most part I see seekers and readers alike, nod and sigh gently when she puts in an appearance. 

So why have I found her so hard to connect with? She's linked with Venus...all that love, harmony and unison stuff. Part of it I'm sure, is that I knew from an early age that becoming a mother just wasn't going to be possible for me. In the big Maiden, Mother, Crone stages of woman, the middle bit was going to have to mean something other than children. So personally, the whole birth feeling didn't always sit comfortably or indeed, naturally.

I thought I had better have a chat with some Empresses (I do feel it should be Empressi!) Now, don't get me wrong, I loves me an Empress and I'm attached to all my women, but I'm not sure it's wholly mutual or unconditional ...

From the left - I thought I'd start with a traditional Rider Waite Smith vision. She's lovely; she's wearing her pomegranates, has a lovely starry crown, she's sitting in nature's abundance but seems a little lofty and distant to me.

From Sharman-Caselli, this gal looks as if she's been sat there a while; she's looking far away and weary, as if that sheaf of wheat is a bit of a burden.

My Crystal Tarot Empress is extremely realistic despite the Klimt-esque get up. She's rather Queenly, formal and remote. I love her but feel I should curtsey and be on my best behaviour in her presence.

These next three have a totally different vibe and I feel closer to all their various aspects. The Empress from the Anna K Tarot (Far Left) is a buxom, full bosomed, come-to-mama wench. Gorgeous! She's far more welcoming and I can believe she's so busy being bounteous to all, she hasn't quite found all of her clothes, or had time to rid her top lip of a little excess hair.

The Cosmic Tarot Empress is the coolest goddess. Awesome....but maybe not given to the whole nurturing thing until she has her jewellery on and poured a cocktail

The delightfully bonkers Paulina Tarot Empress dances with her pink peacock in a swirl of foxgloves and wonder. There are many occasions when we sit down with our crystals and singing bowls, and other times when her poetic nature has to stay in the deck.

These two relate to me differently again. For a start they are both known as The Lady, which takes away something of the grandeur from the word Empress. On the left is the beautiful woman from the DruidCraft Tarot. I adore this deck and use it more than any other. I live in this world, celebrate the wheel of the year with everyone in the deck and can even shuffle such huge cards. I still feel though, that this woman has another chum whose baby is due around the same time, waiting for her in her eco home in the Findhorn community. 

The Sacred Circle Tarot Lady is another beauty. Surrounded by apples and butterflies, the sun and moon, bees and the outdoors, it's all there - but I don't know, I'm still not sure what to do in her presence. I'm not sure she'd join in my dancing.

I truly believe that there are aspects of all of us in every single card and certain moods, certain days, certain clients, show the expressions of each and every one.

Like I said, I love and work with all my Empresses, but....you knew there was a 'but' coming... THIS happened! Recently I was gifted The Wildwood Tarot. I have spent some weeks now journaling (spellchecker hates that word) with this exquisite deck and had a WHOA! moment when I met...

The Green Woman. What can I say? It was like meeting my childhood imaginary friend who I always knew was real. I was moved to tears when I drew her from the velvet bag with the embroidered Moon-gazing Hare, bought especially for this deck. Now I understand The Empress. The Green Woman is engaging with Me. She's reaching right out of the card and I'm walking in. We've whipped up that magical brew together and she's even borrowed my leafy cape. We'll be there for each other from season to season. When my energy is weak at Midsummer (strange but true) she'll be strong, and I'll be stoking up a goodly fire for her come Midwinter - Twins.

 I feel I can now work more harmoniously with my other Empresses and Ladies, knowing I'll always have The Green Woman rustling beside me.

'Til next time,

Margo

Decks: The Original Rider Waite Tarot Deck - A E Waite, Pamela Coleman Smith
The Sharman-Caselli Deck - Juliet Sharman-Burke, Giovanni Caselli
The Crystal Tarot - Lo Scarabeo, Elisabetta Trevisan
Anna K Tarot - Anna K
Cosmic Tarot - Norbert Losche
Paulina Tarot - Paulina Cassidy
DruidCraft Tarot - Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, Will Worthington
The Sacred Circle Tarot - Anna Franklin, Paul Mason
The Wildwood Tarot - Mark Ryan and John Matthews, Will Worthington

My Inner Sun

Greetings!

Thank you to everyone for taking the time to view and comment on the Mabon Tarot Blog Hop. It was great to take part and I cannot wait for the next Hop, taking place for Samhain.

There were some great new spreads created for the Mabon Hop (including one from yours truly!) and I've been interested to try them out. The one below is the work of Olivia Destrades and is called the Inner Sun spread.

Using the gorgeous and whimsical Paulina Tarot, this is what I drew...

Me now - Ace of Cups. This is bang on how I'm feeling at the moment. I am going through a wonderful shift in my psychic development; my cup literally runneth over with new ideas, intuition and inspirations and I'm drinking from it!

The gifts I have to share - Seven of Wands. Aha, this card again! I believe something I have to give is an ability to lift someone during a challenge. I'm good at helping someone see their gifts and bringing them out. I'm not an obvious Wand, but I work behind the scenes on the fire.

The gift I'm still developing - Queen of Wands. I have to laugh at these pesky Wands following me around! Don't you just love the cat in this card? In other decks there is often a cat underneath the Queen's throne. Not here - this beauty takes centre stage. Maybe it's showing me the huge support a Queen can command.

My deepest desires - Seven of Pentacles. Yes indeed....I desire my work passions to grow and hopefully bring some tangible reward, be that reputation or money. I'm happy to progress steadily as much of my kind of work grows through word of mouth. I put the work in and don't expect speedy results, just something of good quality hanging on those branches.

Advice for manifesting my desires - Six of Wands. Looking at this card with its connotations of victory and success had me wondering. Like I mentioned earlier, I'm not keen on being the centre of attention but perhaps I should lift my head up and stop being so self-effacing. Like many people, I'm not brilliant at accepting compliments. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to step to the front once in a while.

Do try this spread for yourself, it really shines a light on things.

'Til next time,

Margo

Mabon Tarot Blog Hop

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 Greetings and welcome to the Mabon Tarot Blog Hop!

Depending on which way you are reading around the Master List, you may have arrived from Andy Boroveshengra or in reverse from Aisling at TarotWitchery. I am so happy to welcome you to Wynn Tarot.

Mabon is the festival of the Autumn Equinox, occurring between Lammas (beginning of August) and Samhain (end of October) and celebrates Day and Night being of equal length. After which the nights grow long and we prepare for the coming of Winter.

Our wonderful wrangler for the Hop is Cristiana C Gaudet and the theme for this Mabon festival is Divination and Myth. As you can see by the tabs on this blog, I have a love of the Festivals and of myth and legend so am thrilled to be taking part in my very first Blog Hop.

I live in Kent in the South East of England, and the above photo shows the nearby Coldrum Longbarrow all shrouded in Autumnal mist. This 3000 year old chamber reminds me that the land on which I live contains a wealth of ancient memories and didn't just appear as 21st Century suburbia!

Where our home lies is slap bang in the middle of an area once shared (not always peacefully) by Jutes, Saxons and Celts. At one time our very garden was part of the land owned by a Saxon general and was covered in woodland of Beech and Oak before gently sloping down to the River Medway.

According to ancient texts (including the Lacnunga - an Anglo Saxon book of healing charms and remedies) dense woodland was both a help and a hindrance to the population. Wonderful for a ready source of timber for shelter and fuel, but problematic due to the Elves. Yes....Elves! 

These dwellers of the dark forests were thought to be the cause of certain illnesses, wild behaviour in humans and livestock as well as nightmares and addled minds. Many historians claim that the probable diseases were due to damp, mould and airborne germs ('elf-shots') - but these were superstitious folk who believed they were sharing the land with the Elves, and that offerings and respect were required. In my own family, whenever we grew fruit and vegetables we were told never to strip a plant bare, but to leave some fruit 'for the fairies' (....and I still do)

When relations between human and Elf were good, the people would be invited to one of the dance rituals the Elves loved. It wasn't unheard of for some Elves to emerge from the woods and come and live underneath a human home (apparently the tidier the better. No chance here then!) and there are many tales of love and marriage between the two. Elves would sometimes bestow a gift of an Elf Book, which showed various magical ways of divining the future.

 Our ancestors and their Elf neighbours needed to live in harmony with the wheel of the year, and moving from light to dark marked a shift in daily living. I have created a Tarot/Oracle spread to journey from this festival of Mabon towards the festival of Samhain at the end of October. I'd like to share it with you....and the Elves!

1 What I balance between the light and dark parts of myself

2 The energy I need for my journey to Samhain

3 The strength I didn't know I possessed

4 What I bring to the dance!

Wishing you bright blessing through this Mabon Blog Hop - I shall now venture into my rain-lashed garden with my offerings .......and sit....and listen....

'Til next time

Margo

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Photo of Coldrum Longbarrow by Margo Benson. Illustration 'Elves' by Arthur Rackham

Colouring my Day

Greetings!

Hmmm...this is a little difficult. In my last post, I was excited to be taking an introductory workshop in Aura Light Colour Essences, Oils and Creams. Now, as I was disappointed beyond measure, I was hesitant to write negatively. However, I told so many people what I was doing that, for integrity's sake, I am going ahead. As I have no wish to be associated in working with these products in any way, I feel I should explain why.

I have no problem with colour therapy. Colours can lift the mood, calm the mind and generally make us happy. I work with crystals and a huge part of their appeal are their beautiful colours. As you can see in the picture, the array presented in the Aura Light arsenal is glorious and I couldn't wait to start understanding how they worked. As well as myriad colours cleverly suspended like cocktails, the bottles house essential oils, flower remedies, crystal remedies and have been prepared with such additions as sound therapy and stellar frequencies (whatever that means!) My own therapies include aromatherapy, crystal healing and Bach Flower Remedies, so I thought this would be right up my street.

'So what's in them?' I asked

The friendly teacher repeated what I have just written and added that, once you have tuned into or been guided to a certain bottle, you inhale from the ones containing essences (ie Chakra essences) or rub on the colourful oil from the Harmony bottles as part of a massage or just on pulse points etc.

'Yes, but what essential oils are in them?' I asked

Repeat of blurb with the addition of saying that one will be given an ingredients list on Level 3 training. Now Level 1 is the first row of bottles in the picture - Level 2 the second row....and so on.

Any of you using essential oils for profession or pleasure know that the molecules within an oil are small enough to enter the blood stream - that is how aromatherapy works. So here I'm being encouraged to sniff a bottle because I'm drawn to particular shade and massage the contents onto skin without knowledge of the ingredients until I have parted with several hundreds of pounds. *Cue a frown*

In some areas of life, I find a heavy handed attitude to health and safety a bit much. But we're talking possible irritation and toxicity here! I carefully source the carrier and essential oils I use on myself and clients. I know where they are from, how they're produced and have batch numbers and use by dates. It's important....think pregnancy or nut allergy. If these bottles worked on the vibration of the colour alone (vegetable dye I was told) then why add oils and essences? - AND why keep them a secret?

With my chosen deep indigo bottle in my hand, the teacher told me that this one had been made with the influence of stellar frequency. I attempted another question:

'Ooh! Like a Full Moon or astrological event?'

Down came the shutters again while the teacher explained that she didn't know exactly how the products were made but just that they were produced under amazing conditions.

Yours truly was beginning to sound like a broken record with questions about the ingredients and wanting more than hints of such marvels without anything concrete. None was forthcoming so in the end I gave up and when the day was over I was more than a little fed up. I wasn't after a secret formula, I'm not about to set myself in competition with the company, but as a therapist, I cannot ask someone to inhale something just because it's a fetching shade of red.

Moving on ... I shall meditate on a card from Denise Linn's Gateway Oracle deck

'Til next time...

Margo

Not in the bag...

Greetings!

Since the Tarot has become a huge part of my life and work, I find I seldom go out without my cards. Some other Tarot chums were telling me that they can NEVER be parted from at least one deck, and I had to admit to not feeling quite right without both a Tarot and a Petit Lenormand deck about me.

 Last week I went on a wonderful day trip, pretty far away from home, leaving very early and not returning until way after dark. It was a gorgeously hot day and I took my smallest handbag with me, knowing that there would be no opportunity this day to need the cards. I squeezed in my mini bag of crystals (known as The Gang) and my amethyst pendulum, plus a 5" Apple wood wand. These items are as necessary to me as my lipstick - and those who know me at all, know that I am never without my lippie!

We had a fabulous day, but at some point around lunch time, I began to feel really twitchy. That unease you experience when you know you've forgotten something. I was missing my cards! I told myself not to be daft - it's not as if I had readings, journaling or research to do, and I'm sure they were perfectly fine at home...or were they? Were they missing me too? I felt I just needed to see them, that's all. I wasn't about to interrupt our day for a quick spread (or a slow one!). No, just to know that they were with me would be enough. I made a mental note to myself to never leave home without them again if this was how I was going to feel. My fellow Tarot chums nodded and tutted in agreement, and admitted that, yes, once Tarot fully enters your life, it's like a surgical procedure to be parted from one's cards.

So, now that lesson's learned, I shall be off up to Northamptonshire this coming weekend for a workshop on Aura Light colour essences, which I'm looking forward to writing about next week. I'm hoping they'll fit in well with my other therapies and add another string to my holistic bow.

I'll leave you with this glorious image of The Fool from The Cosmic Tarot by Norbert Löshe - he has a gang of crystals too!

'Til next time,

Margo
 

Dreams, Challenges and Playlists

Greetings!

This week I had planned to move on from the suit of Wands and open an Oracle deck. However, a couple of friends are going through very challenging times and, not surprisingly, this card has made itself known.

Six pikes and a couple of combatants can be seen heading towards a lone figure, who is fairly well armed himself with a dagger, a sword and his staff/Wand. He looks toned and muscly, possibly from some previous clashes (or in preparation for this one) and is ready for action.

What I often see in this card is that those forces opposing you may not have given you the respect you deserve. Our chap is placed higher up than the foes and exudes a confidence the others may not have seen coming or taken much notice of before.

The sevens can really shake things up and create complications, but can also blast away negativity. A tiny detail I love in this card is the golden boar sitting on top of our solo warrior's helmet. Boar is quiet and private until riled, when it becomes a mighty force. Wild and powerful, Boar can show us our hidden depths, even helping us find our warrior spirit and aiding us on our path. A strong ally indeed. When feeling under pressure from those around you seeking to challenge your ambitions and creativity (traits of Wands) - remember this precious totem and maybe wrong-foot your opponents!

Onto dreaming...

This morning during my daily (mostly, ahem!) workout, I listened to the rock playlist I've assembled on my iPod. The list was on 'shuffle' and, amazingly, the majority of the songs concerned dreams, wishes and journeys in various anthems of hard rock and heavy metal. I took this as a wonderful omen to my own dreams.

I love creative writing and have taken part in the brilliant National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) a couple of times. The aim is to write to write 50 000 words during November - a 'draft zero' of work. My writing has evolved and improved (I hope!) and this year my dream is to write something that can really grow into a full novel.

Card reading is such a huge part of my life that, not surprisingly, I've set my story around an oracle deck. This deck doesn't exist outside of my head and I am having the time of my life inventing it! Maybe I can dream it into being. I'll certainly dig deep to try.

Some lyrics that stuck in my head come from the late Ronnie James Dio and sum up how I feel and want to share with everyone...

'We are sunlight we can sparkle and shine and our dreams are what we're made of..'

'Til next time

Margo

The DruidCraft Tarot - Philip and Stephnie Carr-Gomm. Will Worthington.
Woodland Tunnel photo ©Margo Benson

 

  

Rivalry, Competition and Hens!

Greetings!

Today I've chosen another card from a favourite deck The DruidCraft Tarot, and one more from the suit of Wands. The image shows five young lads engaged in an enthusiastic mock battle. I say 'mock' because they're laughing, no-one lies battered and bleeding, in fact they could be dancing. It is a warm Summer day and the boys have shed any protective clothing. In a reading the card stands for rivalry and competition, often among people of similar talents and abilities. If its in a blocking position then the hitherto friendly tussle could turn out to be something more - a greater, more hostile challenge.

What I love in this particular card is the black hen in the foreground, pecking at some grain. Throughout the DruidCraft deck flows the tale of Ceridwen and Taliesin, and many of the cards show various stages of the story (see the tab at the top of the page). Here, after a long chase and much shape-shifting, the boy Gwion, who accidentally supped the brew of wisdom the goddess Ceridwen had made for her son, has turned himself into a grain of wheat to hide. She has become a black hen and eats him!

When I look at this card, I am reminded to look within for that something extra I may have - another way of looking at things or something others don't see. Is there some possibly forgotten knowledge that I can now bring to the fore?

Wands are about passion, creativity and dynamism and there are times it's good to uncover that inner flame at the root (or grain) of it all.

'Til next time

Margo

The DruidCraft Tarot - Philip and Stephnie Carr-Gomm. Will Worthington.

Greetings!

Welcome to the first post of Wynn Tarot!

I hope to share thoughts, anecdotes and musings on a life of holistic wonderfulness. To kick off, I would like you to meet my Summer stalker, the Princess of Wands

This force of fire has been following me for weeks. She's encouraging my outgoing side and making me move from thinking about my passions to actually putting them out there. I feel her striding out of the card, almost as if propelling herself through the flames of her suit. I swear those salamanders on her dress wriggle with each viewing! The rich colours of orange and green speak to me of energy and growth.

I feel she's guiding me through these warm light days and, instead of letting me hide under the duvet in a dark, cool room - she's throwing stones at my window, waiting impatiently for me to emerge into the sunshine, without a minute to waste.

I was uncomfortable with her energy at first. I'm mildly agoraphobic (sometimes not so mild) and the personalities within Wands can be a tad bold and brash for me, but I've become very fond of her. Her strength will see me through into the cooler recesses of Autumn. This Princess has been like a wild and fun holiday friendship - someone who has reminded me of my younger self and who's traits I'll remember to call upon when I need an injection of fire.

'Til next time....

Margo

The DruidCraft Tarot -  Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm. Will Worthington