Return of the Queen, ...careful with that...

My perennial card in readings.  She is Penelope in the Mythic Tarot, associated with the Air sign of Aquarius.

The card in the position of 'finding' me.  Crossed by the Page of Swords, a messenger.

Used to be, one would try to 'find' oneself.  The Dhamma says one should create oneself.  Selves, rather,  bearing in mind anicca -impermanence- following creation.  Arising, persisting, ending of aspects of the self.

So the message of the tarot is for me to become the Queen of Swords.  To embrace her qualities and learn her ways.  Its the old story of looking everywhere for something that is already found.

I just have to realise it.  My goodness, I appear to be carrying a sword.  Furthermore I have a certain regal bearing now that I think of it.  Just as well.  I really must be... careful with that...

Tarot reading practical

The deck is Robin Wood, in the tradition of Rider-Waite-Smith.

The layout used is the Celtic cross, with an extra card as significator at top left.

The suit of Swords is predominant, with four cards.  The entire vertical axis of the cross, in fact.  Since this axis shows the present time, then the person (the querant) is busy with intellect and communication.

Of note is the heart transfixed by three swords - quite a graphic image.  Often interpreted as a loss, the card is more about resolution.  

There are two cards from the Major Arcana:  the pregnant Empress and the High Priestess; the female spirit guide.  In Greek myth they are the mother and daughter - Demeter and Persephone.

My favourite mala

My first malas used glass beads, which have a satisfying weight and texture.

This has turquoise, metal, and garnets. There are three groups of twenty beads, not counting the garnets.

The wire has extra length to allow me to slide the beads along it.

Part the Second of the Immaculate Espresso

My little joke.  To explain, there is a coffee called 'machiatto'.  Being Italian, the derivation is the same as the immaculate conception of Christ.  His Mum Mary was immaculate -unstained- and the machiatto is a shot of espresso with a little stain of froth or milk.

Here is the milk after steaming.  You can make froth by holding the steam nozzle just under the surface of the milk.  You can spray yourself and the kitchen too, and make a lot of noise, and get a painful scalding.

Mostly I have tea first thing of a morning.  It does help to be fully awake before making espresso.

Now we have our shot in the coffee-glass and the 'textured' milk ready to be added.

This is the result of our labours.  Those more skilled can make three layers of black, brown, and white.  But this is good enough for me.  I can have just the right amount of sugar and milk, between a cappucino and a short black.

Its worth the trouble to drink a really good espresso.

Making damn fine espresso

Start up your machine, filled with water. You'll need a jug to 'texture' the milk, and these ingredients: The best coffee beans, from my local roaster. Demerara sugar. Cardamon pods.



Grind the beans and cardamon. Here is enough for one cup. The ground coffee is pressed into the filter with the tamper, and then the filter fits into the handle ...thingy.




The steam wand heats and 'textures' the milk (makes it all frothy). Then you start the hot water pumping through the coffee grounds. This make a lot of noise and steam.


I put sugar into the glass before the 'shot'. The handle thingy is clamped into the machine very tightly, as the hot water is under 15 atmospheres of pressure. Honestly its like driving a steam train. Butch up, bitch, we got a shot a' fine brew to bring home.

Can you believe I do this every morning? Actually its easier than getting the pictures and words to line up.

Oh, and the cardamon and sugar and milk are all optional. This is just my favourite. The machine is in the lower price range. It does the job for me, so why pay more? The coffee beans are where I spend the most, and its because I can taste a difference. I grind only enough for each use so the coffee is fresh.

Guan Shi Yin Pusa

In contrast to the Thai statue, this Chinese Bodhisattva is more ornate and dynamic.

Guan Shi Yin, "She who hears the voice of the World", is the ideal of Mahayana Buddhism. She has almost reached Nirvana, but she delays what would remove her from the cycle of rebirth so that she can help other beings.

She is seated on the lotus throne which denotes her divinity, but one leg is raised for her to step off the throne. Her left hand holds a flask of elixir that will relieve suffering; a metaphor for the Buddha's teaching. Her right hand holds a rosary or mala. Repetition of a mantra and keeping count by using a mala are a sign of later Buddhism.

Gotama Siddartha, Sakyamuni, Tathagata, Samma Sambuddhasa

The centrepiece of my shrine, a Thai rupa seated in half-lotus. The hands are in the mudra of meditation. The wooden plate behind the rupa is seperate, but is intended to suggest the aura of bodhi and lesser attainments of the Buddha. I like the simplicity of the rupa, and because I don't have a seperate room for the shrine I've tried to lend a feeling of emphasis.

Gotama Siddartha is the name of the Buddha.  Sakyamuni means 'sage of the sakya clan'.  Tathagata means 'thus gone' and refers to the attainment of enlightenment or bodhi.  Samma-sambuddho describes enlightenment gained by one's own efforts, which is singular to the Buddhas.  After a Buddha is born and attains enlightenment, he or she can teach the Dhamma to others.  Those who become enlightened from the Buddha's teaching are arahants.