By Sarah Taylor
Some time in the past, you took a risk. Today, it has paid off. Now it’s time to draw something to a close, and to develop your creative endeavours. This is a time to move carefully, and with humility.
The Fool, Six of Stones, Four of Wands from the Haindl Tarot deck, created by Hermann Haindl. Click on the image for a larger version.
The symbol of “zero” shows up in each card in today’s reading — although in two of them it is implied rather than explicit.
In The Fool, we meet zero, embodied. The Fool is zero; he’s our hero of zero, the archetype that starts the whole story off. His presence in a reading means that you, intrepid reader, were indeed intrepid: you took a risk, made a move, charted uncharted waters, laughed in the face of danger, or ridicule, or both.
Given The Fool is in the ‘past’ position in this reading, this Fool-ish experience is one that you’ll have more perspective on, now that it’s happened: you’ll be able to identify and describe it in a way you wouldn’t have been able to when it was happening. In fact, you may not have been immediately aware of the presence of The Fool back then. But today you are. You can see how you walked the path of The Fool in that risk, that move, that fool-hardy manoeuvre that got chins, and fingers, wagging.
And so it has brought you here, to the Six of Stones (Pentacles). Success. Here, you can infer The Fool in the circle of stones and the open doorway at their centre. He is calling you again; he is asking you to follow your intuition to the place it is leading you. That’s not for me to know — nor is it a matter of anyone else’s opinion. This is your calling, your decision.
One thing to note about the Six of Stones that may be helpful: like all Sixes, there is an air of ‘moving on’ to the energy of the card. There has been a point of understanding, of insight, of crisis, of consolidation. This is the moment of calling, or cashing, something in. Imbalances are being redressed, but it’s a delicate process, and what will serve you here is to remain mindful of what it took for you to get here — and what it took others to get you here. Credit where credit is due, all round.
Acknowledge, secure, and move forward. At its most practical, do your accounting thoroughly, collect what’s due to you, and pay what is owed. Metaphorically, the same method applies: do your personal accounting thoroughly, own what’s due to you, and give credit and/or make amends where it’s called for. This is more practical than you might imagine; you cannot move forward if a part of you resides in denial, holding you back. And it is worth bearing in mind that this cuts both ways: you may be carrying obligations that were never yours to settle in the first place. Ask for objective assistance to decipher which ones are which, and you’ll find it easier to move on.
Because what you’re moving towards is another “zero” in the shape of the bubble enclosing an eye, set behind four wands, two pointing upwards, two pointing downwards. Balance. Perfection.
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The Four of Wands is in the future position here. It is what you are moving towards as The Fool who is currently experiencing the Six of Stones. It is a ‘threshold moment': it marks a pause between one act of creation, and the next one.
In that moment, as subtle and fleeting as it is, there is a perfect equilibrium between inner and outer, above and below. It cannot last, nor should it. It is there in that briefest of blinks of an eye, in which you can choose to commit to something that draws a part of your journey to a close, and clears the pathway to an evolution of that journey, or to a new venture that is fuelled by the fires of the previous one.
It is unlikely to be a complete break; more likely it is a re-visioning. That re-visioning will go a whole lot more smoothly if you’re seeing clearly — hence the need to clear clutter and square things away now. There is a lining up — a conspiring of sorts — that is happening in your physical world. See what happens if you do your best to move with it and hear the calling of what makes the deepest sense to you when you leave enough space for your inner wisdom to speak to you.
Astrology/Elemental correspondences: The Fool (Uranus), Six of Stones (Moon in Taurus), Four of Wands (Venus in Aries)
If you want to experiment with tarot cards and don’t have any, we provide a free tarot spread generator using the Celtic Wings spread, which is based on the traditional Celtic Cross spread. This article explains how to use the spread.
There would seem to be a sense of inspiration that can now be distilled and made into something concrete (Pentacles) and then a return to the realm of ideas – so ideas breeding ideas, perhaps. Rather a nice little feel to this reading, methinks.
Beautifully encapsulated, Amy – Yes, a really nice feel, which, after the week I’ve had, had me uttering “Fuck me!” when I first turned the cards over
Thank you, Amy.
Sarah, I couldn’t ask for a better reading on this day, my solar return. “From your lips to God’s ears”. Thank you.
Happy Solar Return, aWord! (And you’re welcome – and thank *you*)
Many happy returns! Hope you had a good day.
Sarah…………this is amazing………… SO ACCURATE……………I have found myself on the other side of an energy event from some time back……..identical experiences……showing up………………….
WOW…….I’m with you on the F**K ME….(makes me think …that’s what I was HUMMING when I first arrived)………….thanks so much………..take care……
aWord………..Happy B-Day to you…………Wishing you a great year…………………
You’re welcome, Barbara! I’m very happy it feels as relevant as it does
“It is a ‘threshold moment': it marks a pause between one act of creation, and the next one.”
Percisely the message I was also recieving today. We’re on our way.
Just now realizing, this is also very fitting to the culmination of our (Full) Moon Phase tomorrow.
Speaking of which, I’d like to share the the relative Major Arcana (Transpersonal) Crystal Reading, all of Storm Element cards I pulled and recieved on the New Moon two weeks ago. Starting left (first card pulled) to right, are here below. As so descriptive in word, no intrepretation need be made.
Herderite – Evolution
Turquoise – Wholeness
Mondavite – Transformation
Thank you Sarah, and glad you’re back this week.
Happy Birthday blessings to you aword!!
Ah yes – a tie-in to the Full Moon, P. Sophia – a visual one at that, too. And thank you for adding your reading; I’m smiling at the power of the correspondences.
There are some moments when the world is at your fingertips and in complete balance. This evening is one of those days. Happily I followed your breadcrumb “instructions” before I read them. Always good to be in tune with the Universe.
Thank you.
It sounds like your connection to your intuition is strong and true, Fay!
Question: Is the Fool in this deck poking his finger into a gash in the goose’s breast (or back)? I’m really not sure what to make if that idea — poking a finger into an animal’s wound — except that it does indeed seem a foolish thing to do (and rather cruel…). Or what exactly is this card showing, if I’m seeing it wrong?
Thanks, Sarah!
Amanda – Rachel Pollack devotes at least two or three pages to this in her entry on The Fool in The Haindl Tarot: The Major Arcana. There’s a lot of symbolism, but primarily based on the myth of Parsifal and his encounter with a wounded swan (link here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsifal).
Here’s a little of what Rachel writes:
“In the Grail story the innocent hero, Parsifal, shoots a swan. Parsifal wounds the swan, but wounds himself as well. He becomes conscious of suffering for the first time and so begins the quest that will result in the discovery of love and redemption.”
Welcome back Dear Sarah! I so look forward to your your tarot readings here on Planet Waves. Very validating reading and wisdom that resonates here! Thanks for “our hero of zero!” Speaking of the creative…I hear a song in there somewhere!
I hear one too, Gwen!
And you’re welcome.
Swans mate for life. The symbolism of the cards have revealed themselves perfectly to me. Thank you Amanda for drawing my attention to the symbolism contained in the fool card and the wounded swan and Sarah for your explanation & reading. For me, I am grateful for the hope you gave w/ the 4 of Swords, my Venus is in Aries and I am at a threshold of a very good relationship that serves me much better than the one of the past contained of so many years. When you published this post, it was on the anniversary of my divorce, our wedding cake had glass swans, one had broken years ago…Neale Donald Walsh speaks of being aware of “that which does not serve you.” It took me a long time to understand and appreciate those words.
Being the fool is necessary for our growth & suffering, whether one ever realizes it, is always present with the victim and the perpetrator, whether innocent or not. Relationships are so complex that victim/perpetrator are interchangeable terms. A person grows by relationships, some grow faster than others but relationships are necessary to evolve into a more loving soul. I chose love and am hopeful by this reading.
A-word, happy belated Solar-return, too!