poliphilo

Starting to play with my new Tarot. They're very stiff and resist shuffling. Maybe I should just chuck 'em up in the air and then gather them again. My granddaughter does that with Alice's cards. "Oh look it's raining, and now we're walking through the puddles."

People get very protective of their cards. You know what I mean- sandalwood boxes, silk scarves, no-one can touch them but me. Alice says that's rubbish. She keeps hers on the windowsill with a rubber band round them. I'm somewhere in the middle. I'll keep 'em in their own box, I think. I don't want them getting dog-eared.

First exercise. Shuffle and select two cards. The first to represent your intuition/ higher self, the second to represent your ego.

Here goes then.

Here's my Intuition: The Devil. Hmmmm. And here's my Ego: Death. OK, this needs thinking about...

Ailz says the Devil is just Pan and it's all about woodland frolics. I'm a bit sceptical. Maybe it's more about being a contrary bastard, provocative, mischievous, all that. I look at the Devil as Colman Smith drew him and he's more Baphomet than Pan. I think he's blocking the way, saying "No". Well, I say "No" a lot. I say "No" to most of the bloody world. "Go away, not interested, stop being so silly. Face up to the troooof."

As for Death. I can take that. A chap my age should be all about the death of the Ego.