Instructions In The Cauldron - Serena Longhi Gelati

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want to undergo chemotherapy, I didn’t want to poison my body. I did all that for Alison. Keeping my mind focused on my target was so difficult.”

      “But you managed at last. Your holistic training has surely helped you a lot!”, granny had always had this power, she could encourage people and help them see the positive side in everything.

      “Yes, I’m sure of that. I devoted my time to the study of Tarots in hospital and during my period of convalescence, when I could read. One night I dreamt I was holding in my hands a small tin box with cards inside: they were “Maria Celia’s” tarots, those cards really exist!”. She took out of her huge bag a small tin box with cards inside. “I bought them online together with a book and I started this new course. I think you can read them…”

      “I’m sorry to deceive you once more, but no, I don’t know any kind of divination. I’m just used to consulting an oracle when the seasons change. If you wish, you could explain us the meaning of Arcana after dinner. I haven’t heard about them for ages. My aunt Ruby, my mother’s sister, could read them; she made a lot of money with them, she was famous in Glastonbury. Unfortunately, I haven’t inherited her gift.”

      “Oh, I don’t want to bore you.”

      “Just relax, the ones who don’t want to listen to are free to leave the room. Let’s have dinner now. Children, wash your hands! It’s ready.”

      The dinner was delicious, granny was a perfect cook. She made traditional dishes: turkey filled with blueberries sauce and pigs in blankets (which were absolutely my favourite). Of course, vegetarian dishes for Stella weren’t missing. Besides our pudding as a dessert, Mal brought a wonderful Yule log.

      According to tradition, when dinner ended we exchanged presents. Sarah got a “Griffindor” hoodie and I got a “Ravencrow” one. After we had cleared the table, mum, dad and Mal started playing Scrubble, Alison and I sat on the sofa watching TV, with lazy Kiki next to us, while Sarah and granny were listening to Stella explaining Tarots.

      She mixed the cards making her bracelets tinkle, she had a mysterious look, she moved them with skill and precision, as if they were an extension of her fingers.

      “These cards can help us to understand the Divine project”, I heard her say. “They don’t foretell the future with certainty, but they tell us what could happen. It’s up to us to understand them and to live what life gives us as a continuous teaching somehow. Cards are a means of divination, they keep us in touch with the real source of All and they must be handled respectfully. Let’s start from Major Arcana, they are twenty-two. The first card is The Madman-0: it represents the start of a new journey. We sometimes throw ourselves into an adventure without thinking about it before, led by too much enthusiasm. Being able to take a risk using our hidden gifts is very important.”

      She turned to Sarah and my granny that small card representing a young man on  journey with a stick, held back by a little dog.

      “Then we have The Magician-I: the wizard, the one who focuses on something and turns it into reality. He knows he is the means the Divine Spirit appears through. We are the makers of our fortunes, just like the man in the card who works with his tools to get what he wants and to evolve.

      We then find The High Priestess-II: she is the symbol of intuition and wisdom. We must be able to keep detached from the material world and listen to the voice of our guide spirits; only by knowing ourselves we will be able to understand the world surrounding us. Can you see the eyes of the woman in the drawing, lost in her thoughts and far away? It looks as if she could see beyond everything. I think she reminds me of an oak, strong and still.

      The Empress- III: this card brings romanticism, love and sensuality. It’s the symbol of a happy moment, full of creativity and emotional fertility. She could be compared to spring, to rebirth. Soon after there is The Emperor- IV: it represents stability, respect of the rules and the ability to listen to our fellow men. It reminds us of a family father and tells us never to use other people. After the Emperor we have The Pope- V: it’s a sign connecting the material to the spiritual word, a Pontifex, that’s it. This card warns us to follow our heart and never to give up to temptation. That’s why it’s in opposition with the Arcane number XV, The Devil. But let’s follow the order; after The Pope there are The Lovers- VI: we are all made of two opposite sides, male and female, positive and negative. We must accept also our shadowy  sides and confide in other people, it’s the symbol of new relationships coming.

      Moving further there’s The Cart-VII: it obviously refers to travelling. You see, the image is that of a coach drawn by two horses. The journey represented could be our soul’s journey on the Earth, so the Cart will represent our body, the means which we need  to live. The card can also foretell the choices we are going to take in a short time, we might afford some extremely uncertain moments. It’s no accident that two horses are represented, the  number “two” reminds us that we always have different choices. The next Major Arcana is Justice-VIII: this one always urges us to uphold our ideas and to act having a full faith in ourselves. We have to find peace and harmony. If we go on we find The Hermit-IX: it underlines how we sometimes need to be alone to find a light, which means wisdom. The card is usually represented by an elderly person holding a lantern in his hand, the symbol of intuition and knowledge, and in the other a stick, the means to overcome the troubles of life. It could be considered as the young man in the first card, The Crazy, having grown up and with a wider knowledge. If we move further we get to the Wheel of fortune-X: it’s the symbol of fate, of the wheel of our life turning in spite of our will. The condition of mankind is not unalterable, it’s continually changing. Our true lightness is often to have the ability to let ourselves be dragged by events. We find soon after The Force-XI: our adult side, the one which has to guide us. We must never hide our emotions, but follow them instead. We don’t have to tame the lion by cruelty, but by our will and wisdom; the lion represents our instincts. We can often find Force and Justice in the opposite order, that’s  Force at number VIII and Justice at number XI. In the following position there’s The Hangman-XII: someone who looks at the world from a different point of view. It could be considered as the moment of “reflection break” leading us to Illumination. Its roots, the feet, point upwards, to the sky, reminding us that we come from the Divine, from something above us. Going on we run into the card we fear the most, Death-XIII: it means the end of a period and the beginning of a new one. That’s part of our life, it’s not always something negative. We must be able to throw away what has become useless in our spiritual growth. In the next place there is Temperance-XIV: it foretells a period of quietness, full of harmony. Moderation leads to peace of mind. This means that the phases of peace and rest are necessary to recharge ourselves.

      We then find The Devil-XV: this card reminds us that the souls descended into the material world and that we are always being tempted. In certain phases in our life, the force of our selfishness brings to light the hidden sides of our Ego, those sides we try to hide from everybody, including ourselves. What the Devil represents is just that: the tempting Ego, our material side which makes us heavier and prevents us from being uplifted. We have to know and to face evil if we want to gain awareness and become  better. Taking the decision of becoming incarnate on the Earth is not easy. Let’s go on to The Tower-XVI: the sudden collapse of a situation. Destruction was necessary to open doors to something different and new; this card will make us understand that unfortunately nothing is eternal.

      The next Arcane are The Stars-XVII: a new phase of life starts with them, characterized by inspiration and creativity. Starlight makes our wishes brighter.

      After the Stars, there’s  The Moon-XVIII: the interpretation of this card is that something mysterious and unknown can interfere with our intuition and deceive us. Nourishing our wishes in the shadow and acting  shrewdly is better, to avoid becoming the target of envy. After the Moon and the Stars, here’s The Sun-XIX: this card wants to tell us that obstacles have been overcome.

      The Sun represents a

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