Greetings, darling Moonbeams! I hope everyone had a lovely Full Corn Moon this weekend. Thanks for showing up to our weekly Tarot & Tea. You'll all be glad you did, because our card this time offers some relief. The Four of Swords is often a welcome sight in a reading because it represents an invitation to take a rest. After all the craziness of the recent planetary retrogrades and eclipses, it's the perfect moment to catch our breath and reflect while we have the chance. Taking a step away from everything to gather our thoughts will help us gain the perspective to make any necessary course adjustments before resuming our forward movement. Imagine you are on a long hike: here is the time to sit down on a fallen tree, drink some water, check your map, and maybe just listen to the sounds of nature for a little while. The Four of Swords indicates that we might be experiencing a level of exhaustion and need to pull back momentarily to avoid overexerting ourselves. A little peace and quiet can work wonders of renewal on the body, mind, and soul. Taking this brief opportunity to relax and ground ourselves is extremely important because further challenges lie just ahead.
The herbal tea blend for this week's card is Peaceful Tea. A popular choice among Moonbeams, this pretty tisane closely reflects the energy of the Four of Cups. Chamomile, Spearmint, Passionflower, Lemongrass, Skullcap, Roses, Lavender, Catnip, and Stevia comprise a wonderful team of relaxing herbs to help you unwind your body and mind. The flavor of this tea is light, sweet, and subtly complex, offering the additional benefit of soothing aromatherapy as you savor your cup. Peaceful Tea makes a really lovely beverage to sip as you take a little quiet time to yourself. Mildly sedating, it would be a wonderful way to ease yourself into an afternoon nap. Go ahead and give yourself permission to be alone and rest your weary bones. You deserve it and, on top of that, you are going to need your energy for later!
This week, I am excited to feature the Tarot of the Witches by Stuart R. Kaplan. Featured in the James Bond film, 'Live and Let Die', this deck was originally marketed as the 007 Tarot Deck--just a little weird trivia about this weird little deck! There's definitely something unusual about the Tarot of the Witches, although it probably isn't just one thing but rather the way it all comes together. Plain and simple pip cards lacking individual pictorial depictions make this a traditional, Medieval-style Tarot deck. Bold primary colors painted in oil on canvas provide this deck with a solid vibrancy that stands out among other decks. The figures depicted on the cards are strangely out-of-proportion and many display intensely captivating facial expressions ranging from mischievous to oddly minacious, but always... knowing. Even though the Tarot of the Witches features a peculiar aesthetic, the symbolism found on the cards is conventional enough to make this deck an easy read. Definitely not for everybody, this is one of those decks that folks tend to either love or hate. Personally, I just so happen to love the Tarot of the Witches!