Tarot Newsletter: The Five of Swords and my latest Tarot Card Tattoo

Tarot tales from Newtown, Sydney, with a brief mention perhaps, of chai and other fascinating things.

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As the moon went full on Friday the 13th, I was at Inner Vision Tattoo getting the latest in my collection of tarot-themed tattoos: The Devil tarot card a.k.a BeelzeBarry a.k.a 'The devil sneaked into the world in the form of a fly'. This sigil was designed for me by artist Barry William Hale and tattooed by Megan Oliver.

I now have seven tarot tattoos (71 to go! Better get cracking on the rest hey...) - you can see the rest of my tattoos here - and I'm now enjoying sitting on the devil card all day :-) Although the healing process means that I can't ride my pushbike for a few more days at least, and have noticed that as I sit on the bus home I start to daydream that I am riding my pushbike along the darkened streets with the cold wind blowing on my face. Soon, Sarah, soon.

From June 27 - July 8 I will be serving on a 10-Day Vipassana meditation course in Blackheath. The last day at work before I go will be Thursday June 26, and my first day back will be Wednesday July 9. I will be serving (volunteering) on this course. Serving means I will still get to do a lot of meditating, but not nearly as much as I would if I was sitting the course. This means I won't be in complete silence, but I won't be accessing my phone or email during this time. If you wish to book in upon my return please contact me from Tuesday July 8 onwards.

And just a heads up that from July 1 I will be putting my prices up (not by much!). This is the first time I've raised them in... gosh I can't remember... 4 years? Longer? Some years anyway. Most services are going up by only $5. More details here.

Read on for the Tarot Card of the Month ~ The Five of Swords :-)

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Tarot Card of the Month ~ The Five of Swords

For those who are reading this newsletter for the first time, every month I talk about the tarot card that appears the most in the month's tarot readings. Even though the cards will always have individual significance, a commonly occurring card can also have a say about what's going on for the whole community.

The Five of Swords have come out of the deck fast and furious this month. Ah, good ol’ Swords. They don’t have the best of reputations with some of us, but I just love the way they are so direct. There’s no beating around the bush when the Swords are in town.

And the Five of Swords. Well, in many ways this card does say, “Look out – potentially tricky times ahead”. This doesn’t necessarily mean we are in for a spot of trouble, though it does suggest that we would do well to slow down a bit, get out of autopilot mode and pay more attention to what is going on around us.

That way we can see any hidden things that need to come to light, like patterns in our own and others’ behaviour, and we can make a quick exit if things are looking to iffy.

Time with the Five of Swords often means that what things look like and what they might feel like are at odds. You might have a bad vibe about something or someone that everyone else seems to applaud.

This doesn’t always allude to danger but it certainly means that there is something more for you to explore about the situation in order to get clearer about whether you need to be personally involved or not.

The Five of Swords images that I have selected from my tarot deck collection reveal different aspects of this archetype:

The Mythic Tarot's card makes an offering to us that we may not want. Just because the person doing the offering has a great reputation doesn’t necessarily mean that their offering is going to be beneficial for us. And perhaps in here is a teaching to ask the right questions so you can be very clear about what is being offered.

Stella’s Tarot’s card reminds us of the loneliness that can come with being different, or just not being understood. Sometimes we need to walk a different path in order to stay true to our understanding of what is right in this world.

I like how the Tarot of the Cat People’s card just seems to be content to wait for something to happen. It’s as if the cats are saying “Now? Shall we make a move now?” “No, no, let’s just wait a bit more.” Always a good aspect of the Five of Swords to remember: is this the time to make a move? Do we need more information? Are we just being fearful (be careful of that one!)?

Finally we come to Five of Air (Swords) ~ Harionago from the Dark Goddess Tarot. Symbolically, Harionago can be a little scary: she is said to flirt with young men and if they respond with a smile and a laugh her hair – which is tipped with hooks – mutilates them. Nasty. How can she help us this month? By reminding us to stay with our own wisdom and not get caught up in the games of others.

The Five of Swords reminds us of the danger of flattery and how succumbing to it can distract us from a path that is far more pure and clearer in its intent.

May you all tread carefully with the Five of Swords this month, taking a breather when you need to and exiting the building when you have to!

Cheerio 'n' best wishes,
Sarah Barry (Psychic Sarah)

P.S Want more tarot stories? I post a Tarot Reading for the Collective on my website every month.

Read on for ways to navigate the strangeness of life, with Dark Goddess archetypes to guide us. (I generally post the Tarot Reading for the Collective in the first week of every month.)

Five of Swords from the Mythic Tarot by Juliet Sharman-Burke

Five of Swords from Stella's Tarot by Stella Kaoruko & art by Takako Hoei

Five of Swords from Tarot of the Cat People by Karen Kuykendall

5 of Air (Swords) ~ Harionago from the Dark Goddess Tarot by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince

I make and sell my very own delicious blend of chai tea - Psychic Sarah's Queen of Cups Chai. I personally select, pound and blend the spices and package every single packet of chai.

1 packet of 220g chai costs AUD$20, and will make you about 30 cups of delicious authentic chai tea. (That's 11 litres of chai - have a party!) Read a review about it here.

You can drink a pot of my chai in-house and/or purchase a packet to take home with you at Suzy Spoon's Vegetarian Butcher, Newtown, and Petty Cash Cafe, Marrickville. Or you can order it online - I ship all over the world! :-)