Tea and Tarot

I clip-clopped across the bridge, feeling like the Billy Goat Gruff, wondering if a troll would pop out, but passed peaceably into the Gypsy Camp to find several travelers seated round a crackling fire enjoying tin mugs of tea. I sat and listened for a bit. Then, restless, I walked about the camp. Near the wood, sat a beautiful Rom woman of indeterminate age, girlhood to crone years flickering across her features as the light hit her face. She beckoned me over.
"You wish to ask a question?" She looked at me, eyes penetrating.
"Yes, I do have a question."

"Do not ask it aloud, my dear, merely pose your question to the universe," she tapped her chest with a finger, "in here." She gestured toward a chair, and as I sat, she unwrapped a brilliant tarot deck from a crismson silk bag and began to shuffle the cards in her hands as she muttered under her breath.
"Focus your intent," she said to me, as she laid the deck on the table, spreading the cards into a fan. "Now choose three cards."
I selected one card, which she laid to my left.
"Past."
The second, she laid next to it. "Present."
The last, on the right, "Future."

Here is my reading. It is quite extraordinary.

Woodwose - Reversed in the Past position. The Woodwose reversed indicates reckless or impulsive behavior, a waste of energy and the frittering away of talent, an unwillingness to give way or compromise, or wrongly directed anger and rage. The Woodwose reversed indicates reckless or impulsive behavior, a waste of energy and the frittering away of talent, an unwillingness to give way or compromise, or wrongly directed anger and rage.


Boabhan Sithin the Present position. When the Boabhan Sith appears in your cards, she heralds bad health, illness, energy drain, and a sense of oppression.


Unicorn in the Future position. When the Unicorn appears in your cards, it challenges you to follow, wherever it may lead. Though this may sometimes be difficult and unpleasant, it will engender changes that prove beneficial in the end. You will develop and grow immeasurably if you meet the challenge with courage and determination.

This gave me much food for thought as I returned to sit by the fire, lost in my own thoughts. I look forward to my journey, but not without trepidation.

(unicorn painting by Gustave Moreau)