M & m: XIII + AoS

[Charlie Brown]

Not Thoth cards, but still...

I've been drawing a major + minor before bed recently in order to have something to think about before drifting off. No question, so no firm definitions/interpretive grounds, just inspiration, association, etc. Although the crap jpegs don't do it justice, I was impressed by the this draw I made with my Grimaud.

The thing that struck me most immediately was the rising of the blade from the ground to the sky. Likewise, the crown and the vegetation ascend.

Sometimes the things we call cliches become that way because they're so basic and essential in their wisdom that they must be shared and, in there sharing, they lose their power to grab us. Seeing something like that when we don't expect it can have a powerful effect as the message bypasses our normal filtering. I think that's what's happened here. Out with the old, in with the new. When one door closes another opens. Out with the old, in with the new. I like Winston Churchill's "If you're going through hell, keep going."

In any case, this pair was inspiring and disarming to me. I probably should have taken a picture instead of using my deck scans. IDK.

Thinking about these cards from a more Thothian perspective, we have the trump of Scorpio (fire) and the seed root of Air. Elementally compatible, the
fire warms the air, showing that this pairing/progression as collaborative. Endings and beginnings are interdependent; two sides of the coin. Together, these cards likewise seem to argue for taking an active role in this. Become the change you wish to see in the world.

I'm reminded now (perhaps for no reason) of the opening verse of the Dharmapada "Our lives are shaped by our minds, we become what we think."

"Art is about building a new foundation, not just laying something on top of what's already there." - Prince

Finally, there's a lyric from a Hall & Oates song that's stuck with me ever since I first heard it around the 4th grade or so:

The strong give up and move on, while the weak.. the weak give up and stay.

[Diana]

These are amazing cards to draw, and your interpretation brilliant.

I've always been struck how rich the soil is in the TdM XIII. And of course, there's the grain of wheat (which too is a cliche).

Aces are it seems to me the most powerful cards of the Tarot. Each one is the actual Source of a particular energy which is diffused throughout all the other Minor Arcana and most likely also the Majors. Sometimes I have been tempted to view the The Ace of Swords as the most powerful, but then I reason with myself that there is surely no hierarchy amongst the suits. It clears the clutter in one fell swoop and delivers a strong message (it would seem that it is an angel holding the sword). But here it doesn't even need to get its hands dirty - XIII has done the sweeping beforehand. The power of the king and queen was only temporal and now they both lie in bits and pieces on the ground.

Looks like a most auspicious reading. Something is rising. And its definitely not the old, but the new to quote you. I think that Sword is offering you back your power.

I'm curious to see what you'll draw the next time you retire to bed, so if you wish to share, I'd read with pleasure. But if you decide not to, I'll just say that I'd eat my hat if the Tarot didn't follow up on this.

[Joan Marie]

I've been drawing a major + minor before bed recently in order to have something to think about before drifting off. No question, so no firm definitions/interpretive grounds, just inspiration, association, etc.

I really like this idea a lot. A little "tarot-puzzle" seems like a really nice thing to drift off to and could influence dreaming in a very interesting way. I love there is no firm question or expectation of any "answer" or anything. Just let it float there and see what happens in dreamland. That would almost take a kind of restraint though from the habit of looking right away for a message. I can see this being a great exercise.

This draw though (these 2 cards) must have been a strange one for you drift off to. And I agree with what you say about cliche's being truths we often ignore because they are so obvious. Doesn't make them less true. But it does challenge us to find another way to express them.

I remember that Hall and Oates song. That was a pretty intense line. And a good example of a powerful expression of a common truth.
I also seem to recall being struck by it as a kid but being too young to know what to do with that information. Too bad I didn't recall it later in life. I can think of a few times it would have really helped me a lot.