Author: C. LaVielle

Moonshine and the Major Arcana

Posted C. LaVielle2 CommentsPosted in Major arcana, Tarot, The Hero's Journey

The Moon is all about the way we interface with the unknown, or the unconscious , or the astral plane, or the spirit world, or the realms of gods, daemons, and demons, or parallel universes. These are the strange and frightening worlds every hero must travel to complete his or her quest. Since the keys of the major arcana trace the story arc of this journey, The Moon is a pivotal card, casting its eerie shadows over many of the other keys. The card most obviously connected to The Moon is The High Priestess because the planet attributed to this card is the Moon. To make absolutely sure you get the connection most depictions of this card are loaded with lunar images. The High Priestess is the guardian of the threshold between the known and the unknown, the conscious and the unconscious mind, the hero’s ordinary world and the world he must enter to complete his quest. She can either help or hinder him as… Read More »

The Good Fairies of the Publishing World

Posted C. LaVielle12 CommentsPosted in Book Review, Getting Published, Tarot, Writing, Young Adult Fantasy

I was just reminded in no uncertain terms that to become successful in almost any endeavor, it’s not just what you know, but who you know. Back in December I wrote a post about possible reasons why over 44 agents have rejected my manuscript and ended with the thought that I might have to self publish it. A friend of mine, Kier Salmon, immediately e-mailed me. “Talk to me before you do anything,” she said. “I work in the business and it’s easy to get burned.” The next day I got another e-mail from her telling me that Linn Prentis, the agent she works for, loves tarot decks and wants to see the manuscript. I was thrilled to the tips of my keyboard tapping fingers. I waited until after the holidays and then e-mailed it to them as an attachment. And waited… And waited. Last week I finally found the reply in my in-box. It was a rejection letter, but of a very different sort.… Read More »

A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Realm of the Moon

Posted C. LaVielle7 CommentsPosted in Book Review, Major arcana, Tarot

I was writing the last installment about The Moon tarot card when the library notified me that I had materials on hold. Really? I couldn’t remember putting anything on hold. I opened the e-mail. The book was Proof of Heaven, a Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife. Ah, yes. I’d placed that hold over 4 months ago. There had been 32 people ahead of me. This is the longest I’ve ever had to wait for a book; stunning testimony to the fact that there are a ton of people out there looking for, well, Proof of Heaven. Heaven is, by all accounts, a higher dimension. Which is, as you will recall from the previous posts, the realm of The Moon, the territory so carefully guarded by The High Priestess. There are literally thousands of accounts of near death experiences out there, and almost everyone knows someone who has had one. So what makes this one so special?   Dr. Eben Alexander contracted spinal meningitis caused by… Read More »

The Moon, Part IV: The Major Arcana and The Hero’s Journey

Posted C. LaVielleLeave a commentPosted in Major arcana, Tarot, The Hero's Journey

  Continued from previous post….. The Moon in a Tarot Spread: When The Moon comes up in a reading, things become less certain, less concrete and less dependable. This is also a good time for the reader to remember that the moment she begins shuffling the cards she crosses over into the mystical, shadowy realm of The Moon, where magic shimmers in plain sight, the impossible is possible, and things are not always as they seem. Be very careful reading a spread where The Moon is present. It means that both the reader and the querent are seeing the world through moonstruck eyes. The Moon is the card of the psychic, the artist, and the visionary. When these folks work, The Moon is their mistress.  If The Lady is kind, their intuition is sound, their visions are inspiring, and they bring back amazing beauty and profound understanding from her realms. But often, like those who shop at the Goblin Market, the fruits they find there… Read More »

The Moon, Part III: The Major Arcana and the Hero’s Journey

Posted C. LaVielle4 CommentsPosted in Major arcana, Tarot, The Hero's Journey

Continued from previous post… The Hebrew letter Qoph, meaning “back of the head”, corresponds to The Moon. The letter even looks like a head atop a spine. If you think back to your high school biology, you will remember that the back of the head contains the parts of the brain that control the body’s basic, automatic functions, the emotions, and reflex responses—all those things we call “the unconscious”. Resh, the letter which means head, countenance, or face—the front of the head–comes right after Qoph. The cerebrum, which is responsible for conscious thought, is located at the front of the head. Resh corresponds to The Sun, the key of spiritual unfolding through conscious effort or will. The order of these two letters is saying in no uncertain terms that the realms of the subconscious (The Moon) must be opened and explored before true spiritual unfoldment and the mastery of any magical system, or even a successful spiritual life, (The Sun) can be attained. These two… Read More »

The Moon, Part II: The Major Arcana and The Hero’s Journey

Posted C. LaVielleLeave a commentPosted in Goddess, Major arcana, Tarot, The Hero's Journey

Continued from a previous post… The focal point of this card is, of course, the moon. But this isn’t just any moon. It is a full moon, crescent moon, half moon, and invisible dark moon all rolled into one. A woman’s profile on the half moon is the visual equivalent of saying “the Moon is a Goddess”. This way of drawing the Moon isn’t just Pamela Coleman Smith’s idea. Many of the earlier decks picture her this way. The artist is doing everything she can to make the viewer understand that this is the quintessential, archetypal Moon. It carries not only the brilliant power of the full moon, but also the vital, initiating force of the crescent moon, the crescendo of the waxing moon, the ebb of the waning moon, and the quiet, regenerative power of the dark moon. It reminds us that lunar energy is ever-changing, rising and falling, ebbing and flooding in a rhythm as regular and nurturing as a mother’s heart beat.… Read More »

Of course Stephen King can write fairy tales. Bwaaaahaahaaa!

Posted C. LaVielle2 CommentsPosted in Book Review

In his most recent novel Steven King returns to Mid-World, the setting for his Dark Tower series, and seems mighty glad to be there. I had never been to Mid-World before, but within a few deftly written pages, the master storyteller had me well oriented, introduced to the main characters, and ready for what would come next. He did cheat a bit and used a forward to accomplish this, but it got the job done and saved me a bit of puzzlement. The Wind Through the Keyhole is a Mid-World fairytale. This gem of a story nestles snugly inside another story, which nestles inside another story. The reader gets three stories in one. But the heart of the book is the story of Tim Ross, son of Big Ross, the woodcutter. And like all good fairytales it begins “Once upon a bye, long before your grandfather’s grandfather was born, on the edge of an unexplored wilderness called the Endless Forest…” It is a tale of… Read More »

Imbolc, 2013

Posted C. LaVielle6 CommentsPosted in Wheel of the Year

We had a very simple Imbolc this year. I’ve decided I really like simple.  We looked outside around 5PM and watched our holiday lights come on while the sun was still shining. We’ll take them down tomorrow.  We lit a fire in the fireplace.  We took down the evergreen wreathes above the hearth and by the door and burned them.  We played “Here Comes the Sun.”  We put up our early spring wreath of purple, white, and yellow pansies.  We watched the fire.  

The Moon: The Major Arcana and the Hero’s Journey

Posted C. LaVielleLeave a commentPosted in Major arcana, Tarot, The Hero's Journey

  “In order to display the splendours of the sky, the Night plunges the earth into darkness, for the things above are not revealed to our sight except to the detriment of those below.”* Oswald Wirth The Stars above give us hope in our darkest nights and inspire us to achieve goals that during the bright light of day seem impossible and perhaps even nonexistent. But, unfortunately, starlight is dim and very seldom serves to illuminate the below, or physical world. If we want to see both the above and below, we need the Moon. But, as Wirth points out, we pay a price. The Moon hides all but the brightest stars and is very tricksy about the way she illuminates the Earth. Her palate is limited to silvery gray and white and deepest, darkest black. Her light is dim and confusing, often concealing or disguising dangers that would be obvious in daylight. We are handicapped in both the above and the below. The Moon… Read More »