BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality New Age Monthly AstroTarot Forecasts

Hi Janet!

I haven't been around much the past few days, but you've been on our minds, and I hope you're feeling better. Hubby says definitely try the warm instead of cold if you think it's muscle - he's had better luck with that (and so have I). I hope you've been able to avoid all this lovely New England weather we've been having, because THAT certainly wouldn't help you!

David says your Pisces reading was, as usual, right on the money! And I'm afraid you've hit this Sag a little too close to home, too! :-) It certainly gave me something to think about!

Warm wishes are headed your way!
Mary

Thanks for the advice, Mary. :love: I'm resting as much as possible... I'll rest especially heavy this week (I think I overdid it today...)

Good to hear the Forecasts are once again accurate for you and David! Yeah, when some of those were coming through, I winced. <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Oh, but Janet, isn't that what Tarot SHOULD be about? Learning our life lessons, whether we want to or not!! :-)

(Besides, I'd never shoot the messenger.)

When I got back to Tarot, after many, many years of still owning a deck (the Marseilles - and maybe that's why), but never touching it, it was mainly as a tool for meditation and growth.

BTW, a bit of a non sequitur, but somewhat related - I inherited a pendant from my great-uncle, the artist (yes, a REAL artist!) which I've been trying to find out about.

My uncle was born around the turn of the century, and studied, in addition to art, astrology, and other mysteries. (This I got from my mother, who grew up in the same house with him, and admired him greatly.) Mom used to say that he had a teacher, who was on the west coast, and would visit his students by astral projection.

After my mother died, and my sister and I were dividing her jewelry, we discovered this pendant or possibly watch fob, which my sister believes belonged to our Uncle Faust. Since she is a Methodist, and I'm the one interested in other forms of spirituality, we agreed that it would be better if I received it.

I have an image of it posted at:
http://www.victory-farm.com/stuff/pendant.jpg

The scanner washed some of it out (especially the ruby, which is quite lovely), but the stones all appear to be real, and are as follows:
ruby, possibly jasper, emerald, sapphire, onyx or jet, possibly tourmaline or fluorite, amethyst, turquoise, topaz, opal, aquamarine, bloodstone.

The center is a crystal (probably quartz), and behind it is an engraving which is hard to see, but is a cross, with radiance around it, and a design behind it which might be a horseshoe or a very crude omega or maybe even pi. (VERY hard to make out!)

Inside the top triangle is what could be a representation of Stonehenge or possibly YHWH in hebrew - although, if so, it doesn't seem to be quite right - more likely stonehenge (especially given the Walter Scott reference).

The words which have been applied (not engraved on the original piece, but on an applied piece of gold) are Walter Scott Hall. (I'm thinking this is "Hall" as in a specific lodge or temple or location of a farflung organization.)

On the back, there are, next to the backs of the twelve small stones, the twelve zodiac symbols.

Okay, I've gone on a bit about this (in part in the hope that something will ring a bell with someone, but also) because, by another totally roundabout way, I've been looking at BOTA.

Every time I see the BOTA tarot deck, I'm drawn to it, and I'm thinking of buying one finally. I just haven't found the perfect deck for me yet, and I don't know if this would be it, but I do like a lot of things about it.

But, I was interested to discover that BOTA discourages the use of Tarot as a divination tool. Anyway, while I was puttering around, trying to learn more about them, I began to wonder if Dr.Case was the teacher that my uncle thought so much of! Obviously, I have to do a lot more checking, but the time period is right, and Dr. Case was originally from New York, as my family was.

I haven't yet seen anything that links him to astral projection, but it wouldn't surprise me.

Anyway, if I've violated some posting rule by straying a bit off-topic, I apologize. But the Astrology and Tarot connection made me hope that you or someone else might be able to help with this.

I guess the pendant has come to mean a lot to me, and I'd hate to learn that I don't like - as in actively dislike - what it represents. But, on the other hand, I'd want to know.

I also find myself wondering if all this is just leading me where I need to go in this life.

Anyway, love and light - and LOTS of warmth to you!
Mary

Hi Mary! *waves*

No such thing as going off topic...at least, not on the New Age board! <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> (I'm the :queeen: of tangents, myself.)

I'll have to take a look at the pendant and such another time. (Just got back from the chiro and I'm not supposed to be sitting much...especially on the computer!)

I was just thinking of BOTA today for some reason. Odd that they wouldn't encourage Tarot as a divination tool. Then again, I don't know much about some of these esoteric societies.

Love and warmth right back at ya! :love:

Hi Janet and Mary,

Couldn't help "overhearing" your conversation, lol... but I can answer your question about a discouragement of using tarot for divination... I don't know much about BOTA itself, but that doesn't matter... it's a particular word that matters. Divination. What they are saying is that they discourage the use of tarot for divination, as in "fortune-telling". They would instead encourage the use of tarot for empowerment. There is a LOT of controversy out there about that very issue, and so I just know that's probably what it's about.

Divination is nothing more than "prediction", really, where one "finds out" what "will" happen in some pre-determined future time. Problem with that is... nothing is written in blood upon stones, and many esoteric systems don't believe in cutting off one's right to choice. So, divination is not a good way to use any tool within that thought framework. Instead, using tools such as tarot for self-improvement is much preferrable.

Well, that's the way I understood that issue, anyway.

'llysa

Actually--and I cover this in my Divination eBook--divination means to receive information through a Divine source. Fortuntelling itself would be trying to predict the future. But divination to seek insight into energy of the past, present and future--it's really just the analysis of energy. If you want to see someone's future, just examine their past and present patterns (attitudes, beliefs, actions). Most people resist change and therefore, some things are pretty predictable.

Here's an excerpt from my eBook:

Just some thoughts... <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for all the input, Janey and 'llysa!

I've continued to read about BOTA, and Dr.Case, since writing the above, and I do see what you mean about the use of Tarot for empowerment. I remember seeing something that said - and I'm paraphrasing here - that of course Tarot can be used for divination, but its true purpose is enabling growth. And it pretty much implied that using it for divination - OR for fortune-telling - would be a "waste."

Anyway, definitely do check out the scan of the pendant - it's a very interesting piece! Much more beautiful in fact than the scan shows. The gold is very rosy - very typical of Victorian pieces - and the stones are bright and lovely. The ruby, in particular, is really RED - not pink as in the scan.

There were, of course, so many different groups about at that time that it may be impossible to trace this ultimately.

My husband has been trying to interest me in Pendulum use, and I tried using a crystal pendant that my mother had given me, with no luck at all (well that could be the bad vibes between us - she was a difficult person, and I never could handle it well).

Finally it occurred to me to try this pendant. I'm afraid I'm still not good, but I did have much better success with this pendant, probably because it is so well-tuned to me after all this time. I wear it almost every day.

Janet, I hope the chiro had good news? We continue to send warmth and light and good wishes your way. This is a horrible time of year, especially so, to have that kind of injury. My rotator cuffs locked up in the middle of one of the worst winters we had - ice everywhere, and every time I'd slip, I'd throw up my arm to balance (or at least try to!). It hurt so badly one time that I almost threw up in the middle of a parking lot - falling might have been preferable!

Well, to bed for me! Cocker Spaniel has to be at the groomers bright and early! :-)

Good night, all!
Mary

Ah! And Janet must be doing better! <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> I hope so! <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

That's some extra info on divination I didn't really process, though I do recall vaguely reading something like that before. It's interesting how we can read and research, and only ingest just what we want to know... lol.

Thanks Janet. :love:

'llysa

Hi Mary and 'lyssa *waves*

I'm not in as much pain as I was, but I'm still prohibited from sitting at the computer for long periods. My chair isn't very ergonomic...

The Universe was sending me messages before this back thing became full blown, but I chose to ignore it. I'm paying the price for my own stubbornness...

I have additional exercises/physical therapy I must do, and still have to be on Ibuprofen, Icy Hot, etc.

IMO, using Tarot or any other divination tool (including consulting psychics) to try to determine and control the future is not only a waste, but a very shallow endeavor. People who do this aren't interested in self development, learning lessons, or self empowerment. Rather, they want a quick fix to their own patterns. This is one of the reasons I rarely do phone readings anymore: I get irritated when people ask me the same question over and over...and that the questions are usually silly relationship questions...

When I read for someone, I want it to be for someone willing to take their life into their own hands. Otherwise, I'll just refund their money (and I've done that).

Good for you, Janet! I haven't often done readings for anyone but myself - I just don't feel comfortable enough for that. I did read one time (a couple of years ago) for my husband, and it was a very interesting experience. It was one of those all-too-rare times when a reading seems to flow through me, rather than, in any way, come from me.

I'm not putting it well, I know, but I'm sure you'll know what I mean. Often I feel that I might be putting myself into the reading, without intending to. It's one of the reasons I don't like to read for anyone else. But this time, I just "felt" what to say, and it was very interesting because it turned out that it opened up some things for him that I didn't even know about yet!

Oh, BTW, I do apologize for mis-typing your name before. I always proofread, but managed to miss that until after I had posted it. My hands have been pretty sore in this weather, and my typing is showing it!

Anyway, I'm not sure I could imagine reading for people who wanted "the future told" for them. That's not what Tarot is for me.

I'm glad you're feeling a little better. I know all about non-ergonomic chairs. When I worked in an office, I was always that pain in the a-- who needed a GOOD chair. Otherwise I wound up pretty crippled.

I finally broke down and bought myself a desk chair last week. Unfortunately, while it is better than the dining room chair I've been using for years, it isn't perfect, and I have to remind myself to get up and move around more often.

Stay warm, stay well, and heal soon.

Light and love,
Mary