January 5th 2021: Tarot Reading

Shown above is my tarot reading for today, January 5th, 2021. I laid it out with the intention of knowing something I needed to know today. It started out as a one card reading, the Page of Swords reversed, but I needed clarity so I drew a second and even third card ending with (from left to right) The page of swords and knight of wands in reverse and four of cups. These are all cards of the minor arcana. In the four days I have done readings, I have not received a major arcana card, though, there are many more of the minor arcana than major and maybe I need to see the smaller picture rather than the bigger picture right now.

I’m going to ignore the title of the cards for a second. In the first card we have Palla Palla of the Amazoness Quartet. Palla Palla in both the anime and manga was the oldest sibling of her sisters, but the most childish. Her name comes from the Roman Goddess Pallas Athena meaning Wisdom and civilization. The majority of the card is light blue usually meaning trustworthiness and honesty. In english we have the saying “to feel blue”. We can notice a circle in the background which can mean movement, self, infinite or even God.

Now let’s talk about the general meaning of the page of swords, which is talkative, curious, mentally
restless, energetic when face up. As face up, I can relate Palla Palla to many of these qualities, but the card is reversed. In general, the reversed page of swords means all talk and no action, haste, and undelivered promises.

Taking Palla Palla’s backstory, Queen nehellenia awoke the sleeping quartet from their slumber too soon and promised an impossible promise in exchange for helping her get revenge. In my mind, I can relate this to the reversed image.

So I asked for clarity in the reversed knight of wands. Upright, this card means energy, passion, lust, action,
adventure, impulsiveness, but reversed it means haste, scattered energy, delays, frustration.

Mamoru Chiba though cold in the beginning of the anime of Sailor Moon was always quick to act and had passion for Usagi/Sailor Moon and his future daughter ChibiUsa. However, he also was sometimes cold, had strange dreams that caused him confusion and was victim to many evil doers.

In my reading today, I can feel a there is an aspect of my life I am hesitating on. One that is frustrating me and that anytime it comes, I continuously delay. spending time with these cards, I asked for more clarity.

The final card is Sailor Lethe who only appeared in the manga. She appears on the four of cups and represents meditation, contemplation, apathy, re-evaluation. Lethe is part of the word “aletheia”, which means truth. This card was right side up so I feel it is telling me to take time, meditate and re-evaluate the way I am going about the thing or things I say I will do that give me alot of frustration.

So what do you think? What does this reading mean to you? I’d love to hear!

Blessed Be,

Siren Cay

The heart of the cards

It’s a new year and with that I’ve seen many pictures of hope that Covid will just suddenly disappear now that a vaccine is in distribution phases. However, I know that is not the case. Instead I found a new way to possibly find some peace or at least comfort and emotional stability in these trying times.

Back in early 2020, I followed an artist by the name of arisa_chibara on Instagram. She produced a full tarot deck featuring the characters of the Sailor Moon anime. She released a set of images before I backed the the production that I really connected with. On New Years Eve, I finally received my full 78 card deck consisting of both the major and minor arcana. The deck has characters from the anime, manga and even the musicals. However, if you are just starting tarot you want to choose a deck you connect with. Many resources recommend the Rider-Waite Smith deck or Everyday Tarot. For me, I never thought of embracing Tarot until I received my deck. When I opened the packaging and saw the rose gold box and went through each of the 78 cards, I discovered a sense of connection to them. Because of this, I made a decision to learn tarot.

Tarot is an ancient and mystical way to use our intuition to tell fortune. In modern day use, it is used as a self healing tool. I do have a few crystals on the way, but I have found there are ways to use tarot without ever touching incense or oils or any kind. This is helpful for me since I am sensitive to those kind of smells. It is not necessary to have the crystals either, but after receiving a moonstone from a friend about two years ago, I find it helpful when I have high anxiety. According to several sources, crystals are also one good way to cleanse your deck and space.

I am not a witch or wiccan and believe you can speak to the dead, but I started learning tarot on the first of this year and after today’s reading, I find it helpful in learning things about myself, mental state, and I believe it may help me on my life journey and better myself mentally and physically.

Stay Well,

SirenCay

Sailor Moon: Moon Child Controversy

Sailor Moon has been a long time running anime series not only here in the United states, but in Japan where it originated in 1992 based on the manga series of the same name.  Of course, it didn’t air in the United States until 1995, when it was dubbed and adapted for a younger generation.  However, many tweaks and noticeable changes, at least to veteran viewers, were made to the dub to account for what was thought to be inappropriate for children during that time. These included changing characters who were meant to be men to be women because of their physical characteristics, and using language such as “cousins” to hide an lgbt relationship.  Though based off of the manga, neither version followed it quite like Sailor Moon Crystal, a remake of the beloved series released in July of 2014.  Sailor Moon Crystal not only had a unique animation style, it didn’t divert from the manga and its visuals and concept have been up for debate amongst fans since it’s release.  

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Photography by @Clouds Photography on Instagram and Facebook

Group of cosplayers portraying the characters of the popular anime show.

As an anime first released in the early 1990’s, most watchers were in their mid to late twenties by the time Sailor Moon Crystal came into existence and it was harshly judged against its predecessors.  Even though manga artist Naoko Takeuchi had a say in each series adaptation, she was not the writer or producer. The argument today is still which version is better.

If you’re like me, you first heard of Sailor Moon in 1995, when it came to America and became used and still hold the english dub in your heart, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best.  Like I stated above, it changed to suit a younger audience.  It also never aired the arc of the show known as Sailor Stars.  When exposed to more anime, I found the American dub was never the original and watched all two hundred episodes of the Japanese animation.  For anyone like me, this was a game changer and a break into the dub versus sub anime debate, but we’ll save that for another time.  I was introduced to a whole new set of characters even though they were exactly the same.  

After years of searching and being in multiple fan groups, I have found diverse views about the show.  Sailor Moon Crystal, while a big hit in 2014, still took a big hit in terms of controversy.  Fans have debated if it is the best adaptation or worst because it is most true to the manga and has manga-like animation, but like I have stated before.  The fanbase is divided so we will never really know.  For me, I love Sailor Moon Crystal and I believe it to be an amazing adaptation of the original manga, but I will always love the original Japanese sub for its completeness back in the 90’s and the American dub for its pure nostalgia.  So for me, I would have to agree with the fans who say the original Japanese anime is the best one.  Only because it allowed for representation of lgbtq+, transgender, and kept the integrity of the characters. 

An all new me.

After falling into a big rut, I left this site. I stopped writing frequently and I had quite a hard time getting back into it. This Summer, I applied and got accepted as a Transfer student at Temple University as a Media Studies and Production major. It is exciting because after years of health issues that kept me from finishing my degree, I finally got the motivation and confidence to feel like I can finish even if I am 30 years old. So look out, because even if I don’t write everyday. I am hoping to write more. I took a look back on what I’ve written here and I want to continue. So I hope you will continue to take this journey with me.

Sun rises on another day, another chance at a future.

Goodnight and be safe.

-SirenCay

Life through Pokemon…

Some people sit down and look through photos remembering times of their childhood.  I watch this Pokemon AMV created using various clips from commercials, games, and   anime to remember my own.

So In honor of Ultra Sun/Moon releasing this November, enjoy this AMV created by Nekokitkat25hug on Youtube.

 

I’ve played Pokemon since Red and Blue were released for Gameboy in the USA.   I really enjoy playing the games.  The Pokemon and stories keep me playing.

 

Take Care.

~Siren Cay