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Lapis Philosophorum » creativity

Reading #15: The process – not the product

Posted in Alchemical Tarot, Journal on September 5th, 2010 by Kristine Gazel

What can the tarot sage tell me about the writing project I’ve just started working on?

For the Situation I draw the Lion King of Coins and for the Challenge coming up is The Materialist or Ten of Coins.

Here, at the beginning, I’m mastering the proces perfectly, but the Challenge is warning me not to be to materialistic about it. After all, writing is a creative and  magical process, though it is also physical and practical (writers write, remember). Also I must think about what my drives are.

Why do I want to write? Am I, after all, too focused on the end product, instead of on the process? Am I writing for fame or the for joy of writing? Am I writing for money or for happiness. If I’m too focused of what I imagine will be the byproducts, I should stop and reconsider.

Interestingly this is what tarot wisdom is telling about the King of Coins from the Alchemical Tarot Study Group:

“The message here is to honor the libido, the animal self, the instincts. Act in strength and possess the courage to pursue what you want. However, keep in mind that well-being is best achieved when this is done without attachment to the end result”

Sometimes it is stunning how precisely the tarot oracle is. This is exactly about honoring the process, without – well – focusing on what it will be in  the end!

Also, the Materialist could be the dull and boresome inner Critic telling me that the very idea of the writing is of no value and that I should grow up and be realistic and do things that really matters. And that I can’t write after all. We all encounter the Critic and he can be a real showstopper, a real pain in the ass kind of character. We should never listen to him!

Instead I’ll be the Lion. I’ll remember why I write and how much I love it. And then Just do it!

Images from The Alchemical Tarot, copyright Robert M. Place, are used with kind permission. Visit the Alchemical Tarot website.

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Reading #13: The Sage

Posted in Tarot on March 21st, 2010 by Kristine Gazel

” [T]he Tarot is like a personal sage that one can converse with whenever guidance is needed. As day to day decisions are made from this place of wisdom, using the Tarot becomes a spiritual path”. Robert Place

The Tarot being a sage, what would he tell me today?

Again I use the little cross and I draw:

The Situation Knight of Vessels being crossed by The Challenge Two of Coins.

The Knight is tapping into the unconsciousness, into the sea of creativity and inspiration, and holds water from there in his Vessel. Also a fish is looking up from the water. This Knight is – as most knights of vessels or cups – a Knight of the Heart, as I can tell from the heart on back of his armour.  He has what he needs and what he came for.

Tarot wisdom from the Alchemical Tarot Study Group says:

“The message here speaks to the attainment of emotional satisfaction. But, when questing into emotions and the unconscious, do not go off foolishly into the depths. Also, you may be getting a message “out of the blue,” perhaps in the form of a synchronicity. It is an unexpected emotional satisfaction. Maybe you’ve already gotten it, and like the knight, need to take notice. Open your eyes to what is around you.”

So what I need I al ready have, I just need to open my eyes for it.

The Two of Coins also goes under the name The Fixation of the Volatile. That is the process of stiffening what is in a flux. Something is preventing me from actually get into a flow and understanding or appreeciating or using what I have found in the water. Perhaps.

From the Alchemical Tarot Study Group:

The image shows an alchemical lemniscate surrounding a sun and moon; these are a gold solar coin and a silver lunar coin, representing the masculine and feminine. … The lemniscate is crowned by two animal heads. The lion represents the fixed in alchemy. It swallows the eagle, which is volatile. This is a fitting image for the earth suit, for it shows fixation in the material plane. A certain danger is present because of the polarization of the masculine and feminine. Their dynamic tension and opposition are being held together in the lemniscate, a manifestation of the higher self, which is able to hold these opposites in balance.

Materially speaking the fixation is neccessary – and maybe it is not that bad after all, maybe this is about realising the fluid insights found in the water and making into something more tangible and fixed, something more useful, so to speak.

The problem is that something will be lost in this process, but I guess that is prize of creating – to make your insights real, choices have to be made. We have to get back onto the solid ground and act upon our insights, and take the responsibility of these actions – ethical or psychological or creative.

So – I guess the Sage is simply telling me: “Get Real!”

Images from The Alchemical Tarot, copyright Robert M. Place, are used with kind permission. Visit the Alchemical Tarot website.

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Reading #10: Creative flow

Posted in Alchemical Tarot, Journal on January 24th, 2010 by Kristine Gazel

January is near it’s end – Thank Goddess! – and I feel that it is loosing it’s grip on me. It is getting better, the Light is gradually returning. It is still freezing cold, though.

I’ve had valuable help from The Alchemical Tarot. Especially the Empress and The Lady of Vessels have been encouraging during this time that I do have difficulties with –  no matter how much I tell myself that it is a matter of view point, about how to deal with it. It just does not make it that much easier, I’m afraid.

So – it is comforting to work with the cards, to receive their messages and to reflect upon them in an every day context.

I now turn again to my favorite tarot deck to ask about creativity, how to get into this creative flow, that I really would like to, of writing. Lately I have experienced some sort of writer’s block. Like the spring of creativity is freezing too.

Again I do the the Little Cross and I get The Moon crossed by The Fool.

Diana is out with her dogs. Again a female figure, that is confidently in contact with the Unconsciousness. Diana is an aspect of the Great Goddess, and I guess a pristine and virginal aspect. She is representing the White Stone or the Albedo and she is  waiting for the Active part to make the process, the conjuction,  complete.

The Alchemical Tarot Study Group says:

Tarot wisdom: The Moon represents the night before the dawn. It is a time of patience, rest and reflection, in which the soft energies of the moon compel us to enter the waters of the unconscious, the heart of the mystery.

As the embodiment of the white stone, the Moon represents a level of mastery in which are in control of our actions, because we are conscious of psychological influences which remain unconscious to others. We have been purified, and now enjoy freedom of choice in our activities, and patient acceptance of the activities of others. As it says in the I Ching, ” strength is on the inside, and glad acceptance is on the outside.” However at this level there can be a coldness or flattening of the emotions, because we still need to fully integrate our libido, and so we wait for dawn.

And it comes as the Fool, blindfolded, and naïve. The Fool is the Prima Materia, the raw material of the process, the alchemist or the artist or the writer at the beginning of the journey, knowing nothing, but ready to begin.

The Fool is blindfolded to signify his ignorance of the basic principles of alchemy. He does not yet comprehend the prima materia, the first substance needed for the Work. It exists everywhere, but the Fool does not recognize it or realize its value. As a result, he risks stumbling about in darkness. The word “blind” derives from the Indo-European term bhlendhow, which means confusion and not knowing where to go. It is related to the word “blunder,” which comes from the Old Norse term blunda, to shut one’s eyes.

Tarot wisdom: The Fool shows us that everything we need to begin our spiritual journey, to initiate change, is within our grasp. We come into beginning with the raw material of transmutation ready before us. If we place our trust in a higher order, we will be guided through the dangers and darkness and into the light. We need only open our eyes and go forward with both awe and courage.

So the Fool is not aware about the Prima Materia, I think, because he is the Prima Materia. But he needs to believe in a higher order to be guided through to the process of change and transformation –  of him self to his Self.

Again it is a question of taking the leap. Because I already know what need to be known. I do however need the agent, or the action, of just starting out on the process.

How many ways do I really need to be to told this? Write – and I will be written.

However  –  since the Moon has to do with retreat and rest, there has to be a delicate balance between resting and acting,  like the balance between ebb and flow. The Fool will experience some ordeals on his journey, therefore he will need to know when to withdraw and recuperate.

Images from The Alchemical Tarot, copyright Robert M. Place, are used with kind permission. Visit the Alchemical Tarot website.

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Reading #9: Clarity

Posted in Alchemical Tarot, Journal on January 17th, 2010 by Kristine Gazel

After shuffling and when laying the two cards on the table, I silently ask for clarity.

I got; The Situation as the Lady of Vessels crossed by the Challenge as The Five of Staffs or The Burning Hand.

The Lady is standing on the water, on top of it, without being afraid of the powers it presents, both as a Force of Nature and as a Symbol of the Unconsciousness, that we are all in danger of being owerswimmed by,  at times. But not this Lady. She is mastering this element, in fact she is it’s personification.

The Alchemical Tarot Study Group says:

Tarot wisdom: You have poise, grace and self-control. Your inner beauty shines out. You have an inner appreciation of how you handle yourself. You are mastering what you have.

This is clarity and differentiation, intuition and being confident, as is also suggested.  But then comes the Challenge as presented by the Burning Hand.

The Burning Hand

Now, the Fives – in my book – is about disturbance, challenge, change, transformation and disintegration. And this is what this hand is telling about.

The hand is about creative energy but also about not getting burned by the very same creativity:

Tarot wisdom: You are enthusiastic and inspired by your work or other fires (channels for your energy). Your creative energy is at its peak, fuelled by the spirit. If your work is all-consuming, or if you are not in touch with your higher self, the message warns that you risk burning yourself up. Do not become a workaholic.

The Hand presents a challenge to status quo, a urge to use my creativity, and this brings about change. On the other hand – so to speak, it also represents a warning of a danger. Of what happens if this creative fire is not wisely guided and chanelled. That this can lead to burn or burn out.

I guess then, that clarity comes with the ability to balance cool water with burning fire and vice versa.

You got the cool water when the fever runs high …

Equilibrium.

Images from The Alchemical Tarot, copyright Robert M. Place, are used with kind permission. Visit the Alchemical Tarot website.

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Birth of Freyja – Ace of Cups

Posted in DruidCraft Tarot, Journal on December 27th, 2009 by Kristine Gazel

Birth of Freyja: – Dec 27th. This card points to issues of love, luck, artistic and creative expression and female wisdom.

Ace of Cups
I do feel lucky, drawing this card.

The is a lot of abundance happening here – if I may put it that way. And again the Moon Sickle hangs high in the night sky – or the morning sky – because it seems like the Sun is rising in the east. The Goddess is in the form of water pouring herself out in five streams. I think I’ve learned that five is the number of Venus (and in the norse mythology Freya) – the goddess of love and luxury.

This card is about dreaming, inspiration, creativity and love, according to the book. Well, I do not need the book to see that. And so it seems to accentuate and second the meaning of the position. This is the gifts of the Godess. This is available to everybody – including me – if they understand how to connect with her spirit as does the High Priestess.

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Symbolic Coach

Posted in Tarot on August 8th, 2009 by Kristine Gazel

I’m very interested in symbols – not only from Tarot, all though this is my main interest, but also from dreams, litterature, astrology, alchemy, mythology and other sources – and now I got this idea from this post about Tarot Pride at Evolutionary Tarot  to simply call me a Symbolic Coach – because that is want I want to: To help others be creative by understanding and interpreting symbols from tarot, writing, reading, dreams etc.  

Now I just have to figure out what to call this in danish …

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