Tarot

It’s Not About The Weiner

June 15, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Attempting to write about the general cosmic energy of an eclipse is challenging at best, but sometimes the media works perfectly in providing material that expresses the eclipse energy in a profound and universal way. I am sure that everyone has heard about the scandal involving U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY). The report of his ‘netsexting’ infidelities have appeared in every news outlet from the New York Times to CNN to TMZ – it is virtually (no pun intended) everywhere. Over the next few weeks many stories will be written that have the tone and feeling of the eclipse. The focus might be on what Weiner has done with his “wiener”, and whether or not he resigns from office. However, despite the collective coloring, the eclipse beckons us to question the larger picture, and to realize that it’s not about the “wiener” it is about us.

Lunar Eclipse: 25 Sagittarius

So, what exactly is a lunar eclipse? In astrological terms, a lunar eclipse is an opposition between the Sun and Moon. In this case, the Sun is in the sign of Gemini and the Moon is in the sign of Sagittarius. Since a lunar eclipse focus is on the Moon (a solar eclipse focus is on the Sun) we will find many of the same attributes that occur during an ordinary Full Moon – just highly amplified and focused on larger groups of people. It is common during lunar eclipses for coup d’états to break out, earthquakes and other weather phenomena to occur, riots, epidemics such as flu outbreaks (especially if Neptune or the 4^th and 6^th house are involved), or any other spontaneous eruptions from the general population. For example, the last lunar eclipse at 29 Gemini/Sagittarius and its involvement with laws, legislation, and legal matters spawned the labor strikes in Wisconsin, and the standoff between Governor Walker and his democratic opposition.

The current lunar eclipse also occurs across the Gemini/Sagittarius axis, however this time the Sun is in Gemini and the Moon is in Sagittarius. The Sagittarian emphasis will bring out matters concerning the Judicial branch of government (i.e.. the Wisconsin Supreme court allowing the Wisconsin union law to take effect, and the motion to vacate Prop 8 decision denied), laws, legislatures and legislative officials (i.e. Weiner), foreign relations, and religion. In addition, Sagittarius rules higher education and matters of philosophy.

It’s All About The Houses:

For our friends in the United Kingdom, this eclipse is conjoined to the Ascendant/Descendant (1^st and 7^th house) axis; this reflects a need for the UK to analyze its relationship to the outer world. Moreover, possible problems with foreign relationships could arise. This is a rather interesting hotspot that we should keep a very close eye on. In the United States the eclipse lands across the 2^nd and 8^th houses. On the surface this will highlight issues regarding finances, money, taxes, taxation, debt, credit, possible intense political battles which will result in a resolution (debt ceiling), and that little dirty word – sex! Expect many of these issues to come to the forefront over the next several months, but pay very close attention to July 25, 2011, November 9, 2011, and December 12, 2011 as hotspot days. Other countries that are highly sensitive to the eclipse are Afghanistan, Australia, France, and Israel.

The Deeper Meaning:

As I stated earlier, an eclipse that lands in the 2^nd house has much to do with finances, a countries worth, and what we place value upon. One of the most common keywords for the 2^nd house is, “I have.” We can make predictions based on these surface issues and experience a high level of accuracy, but what does this 2^nd house really mean? At the deepest level the 2^nd house reflects our self worth and our value systems. Howard Sasportas in his groundbreaking book, “The Twelve Houses,” has this to say about the second house.

“We base our whole existence on what we value. When our values change, our whole life focus can alter dramatically.”

The Sagittarian lunar eclipse in the 2^nd house has to do with a value system that is often larger than life. Sagittarius is a “my way” or the “highway” type of sign, after all its ruler is Jupiter who had a zipper problem of his own) the King of the Gods. The religious underpinnings that exist with Sagittarius are cropping up all over the place as changes are occurring to our current establishment – and such long existing laws such as “Defense of Marriage Act,” and “Roe V Wade,” have begun to resurface. Further, we are more focused than ever on what people are doing with their sexual organs – whether it is Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Ensign, Tiger Woods, Jesse James, or the recently exposed Anthony Weiner. In many ways, our countries evening dinner of religious idealism has created a rather sexophobic atmosphere, which repudiates anything beyond the missionary position unless it is happening in their bedroom. In America, sexophobia casts a very large shadow!

The lesson(s) of this eclipse straddling the 2^nd and 8^th house axis is not really about money, sex, out-dated archaic laws, or worn-out religious morals that are the inheritances of a time long past, yet an invitation for us to explore our values. What do we really value? Further, how do our values add to the larger collective? At the end of the day, what we truly value is what we have, and in many cases the only thing we have is ourselves. It’s time we make the most of it!

Tarot Tune-Up:

Take all the court cards out of your tarot deck and shuffle them. Ask the Tarot Court, what do I really value? Pull a card from the deck. Let me know what you pulled!

Storm Cestavani — June 15, 2011

Storm Cestavani is a psychic, tarotist, and humanistic astrologer with over 20 years’ experience. He is the original “Cosmic Weather” forecaster and is available for both psychic and astrological consultations. Nothing is too personal, and nothing is too hot for Storm to handle! To schedule an appointment with Storm simply order the reading you would like, and Storm will contact you to set up your reading. In order to accommodate work schedules Storm is available for evening and weekend consultations.

Do You Control Your Emotions Or Do Your Emotions Control You?

June 13, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

One of the first ideas you learn in Kabbalah is to question everything. This is an alien concept to most religious systems (and I include many metaphysical systems in this category as well), which tend to learn towards blind faith and complete adherence to a perceived “higher” authority. Kabbalists take concepts out of the practical realm, and attempt to understand its meaning with broader strokes in order to then reapply the “gleamed” knowledge in a concrete and more applicable manner. Astrologically, I attempt to do the same thing – understand the deeper meaning of an astrological aspect so we can apply it to our lives in a practical way.

Now let me introduce you to a new feature that will occur with the Cosmic Weather Forecast, which will allow us to incorporate these ideas, which will be called “Tarot Tune-Up”. This will allow you (the reader) to actively participate in the Cosmic Weather Forecast in order to understand how the energies directly apply to you and your circumstances. Understanding our circumstances give us the power to make proactive meaningful changes in our lives, rather than being reactive to the energetic forces around us. After all, the stars impel they do not compel.

On Monday, the Moon continues to move through emotional Scorpio. The Scorpio Moon is intense, intuitive, and understands the deep emotional underpinnings of the motives and intentions of others. However, despite the Scorpio Moon’s need for emotional closeness (which is a necessity for all water sign moons), the fear of being emotional dependent or vulnerable to others prevents true intimacy. We could find ourselves today caught up in circumstances where we attempt to understand the intentions of those that are around us. However, we need to understand that “behaviors” and “motivations” are often the result of much broader circumstances than what appears on the surface.

The last aspect that the Moon will make before turning void of course (1:43 PM EDT) will be an opposition to Mars. Mars is the planet that allows us to go out into the world and get what we want out of life. In essence, he is the warrior planet of the Sun. However, when he gets entangled with the emotional Moon we tend to feel like we are on an emotional roller-coaster, and often we feel angry with our current circumstances. Avoid getting entangled in situations where your emotions control you, rather than you controlling your emotions. The Moon will remain void of course until late evening when it will move into Sagittarius.

Tarot Tune-Up: Using the tarot (you can modify this for any system you may use) pull two cards ask the following questions. How can I better control my emotions? How do I prevent my emotions from controlling me?

Let me know what you pull!

Storm Cestavani is a psychic, tarotist, and humanistic astrologer with over 20 years’ experience. He is the original “Cosmic Weather” forecaster and is available for both psychic and astrological consultations. Nothing is too personal, and nothing is too hot for Storm to handle! To schedule an appointment with Storm simply order the reading you would like, and Storm will contact you to set up your reading. In order to accommodate work schedules Storm is available for evening and weekend consultations.

The 12 Days of Yule: Day 12 — Everything That Has a Beginning Comes To an End

January 1, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Can you believe it? We are on the 12^th Day of the 12 Days of Yule! What an interesting and amazing journey it has been. I first want to thank all of the people that participated, and I hope that this has been a rather insightful experience for you. Understanding the workings of our unconscious is the first step to making lasting change in our lives. Doing these simple exercises of self-reflection will get you started on a powerful New Year that you can manage in a more effective and productive way.

Today, we focus on letting go of the past. What past? Your past! As 2010 draws to a close it is time for us to dump our attachments to the particular experiences of the year that have left us stuck, frustrated, and out of sorts. I know, easier said than done! However, perfection is not necessary – only the willingness to let things go. Whether your issues were financial, career, or relationship oriented now is the time to let go of the past and prepare for the new.

Activity 12:

Write down the issues that you wish to let go of from the past on your Yule page.

Get out your decks. Shuffle the cards thoroughly and ask the following question, “How can I best let go of circumstances that I may have attachments to from the past?” Fan out your cards in front of you, and select one card from the deck.

The card that I drew from the Legacy of the Divine Tarot is Faith.

First, I found it interesting that both of the cards from our last Beyond Tarot intensive on Beyond Worlds appeared in my spread. The Faith card in most Tarot decks is called “The Hierophant” – it is also one of the most difficult cards because of its pseudo religious connotation. For many it brings issues surrounding religious dogma and the abuses of religious authority. Thankfully, I have always seen this card as a need to study or become educated about the mysteries of life and the laws that govern the physical universe.

Personally, one of the ways for me to let go of the past is for me to concentrate on my faith and my spiritual work. I made a decision several weeks ago that I want to focus more on the connection between Tarot and Kabbalah in 2011, and my pulling this card was the universe giving its blessing.

What card did you draw?

—

Faith from the Legacy of the Divine Tarot is Courtesy of Llewellyn

The 12 Days of Yule: Day 2 — Winter Solstice

December 22, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Last night we began Yule season with Mother’s Night Dream. What were your dreams about? What was the theme? If you would like to review yesterday’s activity you can review the blog – here.

The card that I drew from Ciro Marchetti’s Legacy of the Divine Tarot was — The Empress. (If you missed our Beyond World’s show on The High Priestess and The Empress, you can always listen to it in the archives)

Empress Keywords: Nurturing, creation, birth, pregnancy, abundance, mothering, the adult woman principle.

I was rather shocked when I pulled the Empress card. Last night my dream was about finding a baby left out in the cold on the street. I was searching desperately for the parents, but could not find them. I eventually took the baby into my home and started feeding it and taking care of it. In addition, I remember my cat being in the dream as well.

So, what would this reflect about the New Year? Babies in dreams are reflective of new projects, new beginnings, new opportunities, and things that need to be nourished and nurtured. This dream could indicate something new that is coming into my life (hopefully not a literal baby), or the possibilities of fertile relationships and financial abundance. It is rather exciting!

Day 2 – Winter Solstice

Today, the Sun will move out of the sign of Sagittarius and into the sign of Capricorn. Capricorn has to do with structures and organizing principles. It is ambitious,practical, serious, and masterful. It is worth noting that on Winter Solstice, in many religious systems, it is the time when the new Sun God is born. It is not without mistake that Jesus, Mithras, and Dionysus were all “said” (there are tons of questions about Jesus) around the solstice.

Although most of us do not like structure, order, and rules; we are granted a unique opportunity during the month of Capricorn to begin to build structures for the coming year. We throw these under interesting umbrellas such as New Year’s resolutions, but the fact remains that something is going to begin in January, and we now have the ability to map that course and destiny for ourselves. You can become your own master, and create a new game of living. Again, it is rather exciting!

Shuffle the cards thoroughly and ask yourself – what do I need to do to be more individual in the coming year? Take the card out and write it on your solstice paper next to your dream card.

The Card I drew for myself — The 5 of Coins — letting go of self doubt! What card did you draw?

Images Courtesy of Llewellyn Publications

4 Aces & The All Hallows Tarot

October 28, 2009 by Storm Cestavani Leave a Comment

Mary Greer recently put up a new spread on her website called, “The 4 Aces Spread”. I found the spread to be pretty illuminating! The spread brings forth the issues that internally we need to work with. So, if you are interested in using tarot as a form of self empowerment and/or self transformation then this is a spread that I can definitely recommend.

I am using the just released “All Hallows Tarot” (link to all the images) by Robyn Hollister to illustrate the spread. You can visit http://www.tarotconnection.net to get a copy of this wonderfully festive deck just in time for Halloween!

Instructions: Cruise over to Mary Greer’s Website and learn about this spread and how to operate it. Mary gives her own example, but you can quickly return to my site to see another example of this spread in action!

My Chosen Cards:

Ace of Swords as the 1^st Ace reflects that problem solving is where my primary focus is right now. This is very relevant as I am attempting to juggle many different projects at the moment and am trying to find time to fit everything into my already heavy schedule.

Ace of Cups as the 2^nd Ace reflects that I may be ignoring my social and relationship needs. Again, I find this to be very true, as the more I focus on my work related projects I am noticing that my need to be around others and socialize is diminishing.

Ace of Wands as the 3^rd Ace shows the importance of my work and career projects and my personal needs for achievement and moving my career to the next level.

Ace of Disks as the 4^th Ace shows that money and security issues will become important and relevant in the future.

Special Cards: Mary says to place special emphasis on the highest ranking Major Arcana cards. In this case, I only had one — The Hanged Man. Out of 12 cards this seems a rather significant theme for me, and is my inner teacher card.

My Reading:

The Ace of Swords being the first Ace to appear in the spread reveals the current mental struggles I am going through. I am putting together a new website that will take an enormous amount of time and energy. The Hanged Man straight on reveals the sacrifices I will need to make in order to pursue this goal. What will I have to give up?

The Ace of Cups is the area that is complicated in the reading. Cups, of course refer to love and relationships. One of the areas that may need to be sacrificed is my social interactions with others. This could involve both my non-career oriented friends as well as people I am involved with professionally. Since I am a Leo being involved with people and having exchanges with them is important to me.

The Ace of Wands is the “Guide”. The cards in this row reveal things quite clearly. The Queen of Wands and 8 of Wands reflect the need to move forward and be true to myself. These two cards along with the 7 of cups reveal that the choices that I make need to be based on my needs and my personal career direction, and not necessarily the needs of the people around me. However, I could balance out my social needs by discussions and interaction with those around me that I wish to participate in my new website.

Thankfully, finances and security are not an issue revealed by the Ace of Disks appearing last. Although future decisions will need to be made that I cannot see at the moment (2 of swords) it does show that with any enterprise concerns and issues will come up, but I must always make choices based on my own happiness rather than what may please others.

Make sure you check out Mary’s Blog and try out this spread on your own!