Shrek: Forever After and the Devil...

For those of you that know me, you know that I often have weird ideas and such. I've thought at times that I might be a little Schizotypal even, but I think I get along with people alright...

Anyway, I went with my family to see Shrek: Forever After last night and noticed something interesting toward the end. Hopefully mentioning this won't give any of the plot away for those of you who intend to see it, but here goes... There's a scene in which Shrek and Fiona are chained together in a giant castle room - one on one side and one on the other - so that when one of them moves toward the other, the other is pulled away from them. Then, the dragon that had been guarding Fiona as she grew up appears and begins to attack them. When the dragon entered, I thought to myself "This is the Devil card from the Tarot!" Observe:
It makes sense when you think about the plot of the movie as well. Shrek and Fiona have grown apart and allowed other things (false beliefs) interfere with their relationship. It culminates so well, because if you look at the card, the male and female on the card could choose to free themselves from those bonds if they so wished. The scene with the dragon (which represents all those things that tore them apart - black magic, separate dream fulfillment, holding on to anger, etc.) represented all those things up to that point. It's bloody brilliant! I wonder if they did this on purpose, as it seems so perfect.

the cards speak to me

I decided to give myself a Tarot reading last night. It had been a long time since I have touched my cards which lay on a bookshelf next to my bed.

The first card in my Celtic spread was the Ace of Wands, crossed by the Two of Pentacles. Death was at the top of the cross, and the Hanged Man was set in the future place. My foundation was the Emperor, and in my past was the Four of Swords. In the final outcome, I got the Five of Cups. I was thinking to myself, this is heavy with Death and change and reversal and loss... Where is that in my life? Then today I learn after work that a) my grandmother has had another one of her manic dementia spells and b) my fiance's kid got kicked out of day care after only being there a few days this summer. The cards were clearly telling me that for a while now my shit's been really solid and positive but that my fortune was soon going to change.

What is the lesson of loss? It is that there is always something left over...

"The imagination itself to create new better forms comes with sudden movement with extraordinary effort. The spirit of thunder stimulates visions, a test of one's faith in oneself. The individual is challenged to improve upon and develop his or her project in the face of an envious and competitive world and needs to learn to value ambition and competitive instinct. Rebellion and sudden freedom needs no compromises, it needs valor, bravery and departure from normal behavior in order to carry out the deed, the outrageously new."

from the Coleman Smith Tarot overview

Card taken from the Aquatic Tarot. Author/Artist: ©Andreas Schröter 1995-2002

I BELIEVE that I was around ten years old when I received my first pack of Tarot cards. I was easily drawn in by the way they expressed occult knowledge through such beautiful pictures, and I often gazed at the flowing landscapes depicted on them and imagined myself walking between the two towers of the Moon or hanging upside down alongside the Hanged Man. Verily, I have chosen such cards to reflect my own repository of knowledge, such as it is, and have named my humble blog after one particular card that spoke to me. The Seven of Wands is about standing your ground and making it count, and this is a lesson I feel that I need to learn more about in my life - assertiveness. This card is attributed to the 3rd decan of Leo: signifying Mars in Leo between the dates of August 12th and August 22nd. I was born on August 19th! Thus, perhaps there is a special life lesson for me to be learned in this domain. This card is also known as the Lord of Valour, and, as Virgil taught us, "fortune favors the bold..."