Faded Tatoos but Deeper Meanings

Just before Christmas 1979 at the illegal age of sixteen I got my first tattoo and it has been with me ever since. These days, when asked I give three pieces of advice to people who are getting their first tattoo: think hard and long about what you want to adorn your skin forever; check the cleanliness of your tattooist and his/her shop, and find someone who has been wearing the tattooists work for a number of years.

Did I follower any of my own advice? Not on the first or the two other times I was tattooed. But I was very very lucky. But now I have three very old and somewhat faded friends, who are as much a part of me as the arms they decorate. I have loved them, fallen out with them and rediscovered a deeper spiritual love for them all.

Each one has a spiritual meaning for me, that I found years after having them done, it feels like they chose me. I am not going to talk about them all; their meanings are too personal.
But I will say a little about the first one. I walked into that tattoo parlour (does anyone still say tattoo parlour?) with the intention of getting myself an early Christmas present. I had never been inside one before and had no idea what I wanted. From the hundreds of designs on the walls a dagger and scroll attracted me. The scroll was blank, I could choose any thing to be written on it, I chose "John", my name.  At that time my full name was John Robert Riley, 20 years ago I legally changed it to John Rowan. At the time of getting the tattoo, I was still a year or so away from my first encounter with the tarot and a few years away from learning the tarot. The tarot itself would lead me to Wicca. But at that time this was all in the future. In the process of tattooing me, without asking me, the tattooist added three stars. It was only many years later, after using the tarot for a few years, that to my great pleasure I realised I had an ace of swords and a three of pentacles on my left forearm.

I still stand by the advice that I wrote  at the beginning of this post, but I would add one more thing, go with your intuition.

In Black Cats we Trust

This symbol is ubiquitous in Japan, I see it multiple times a day. It is the logo of Kuroneko (Black Cat) the countries biggest delivery service. I first put my trust in this company in the Autumn of 1999, when I moved from Tokyo to Kyoto. They promised my bags would arrive by 10am the next day and true to their word they did.  Millions of people put their trust in this company every year.

But strangely, like many Americans a lot of Japanese people regard black cats as unlucky. For me, being English, I regard them as being extremely lucky. I have a great example of how a black cat brought someone good fortune. Many years ago, when I was a driving instructor in England, one day, one of my students was going to take her driving test, but on the way to the test centre she was very nervous and driving very dangerously. I was thinking about cancelling the test, but all of a sudden a black cat ran in front of us. For British people if a black cat crosses their path, it means good luck will come. Instantly, my student relaxed and started to drive well. She went on to take and pass her driving test. Whether you think it was magical or psychological, that black cat brought her luck.

I was lucky to be familiar with a black cat for a number of years. He was one of three cats, that my then partner had. So they were her pets, but when I moved in I think I became the cats pet. They were all wonderful, but this story is about the black one. His name was Junior and he was a big cat.  He taught me many things. For example, it is a waste of a Sunday morning reading in the newspaper what powerful selfish and narrow minded men are doing, it is far more fulfilling to stroke Junior's belly for hours, and hours.  He also taught me that it is fruitless to try and save money and time. He did this by refusing to eat the locally bought cheap cat food I bought. So I had to head off to the distant supermarket to buy the good stuff. The biggest lesson he taught me was how deep animals feeling are and how they can deliberately act on those emotions. We regularly used a medicine spray on the cats to protect them from fleas. Off course they all hated this.  One day I was looking out of the kitchen window and Junior jumped up next to me. I thought it would be funny to pretend to spray him, he quickly jumped down and ran across the kitchen. He looked back and realised he had been tricked. I think this humiliated him and he got his revenge. For the next hour or so he kept himself in my sight at a distance not looking at me. If I came close he would move away an equal distance. Luckily for me we became friends again.

I love cats especially black cats, if a black cat becomes familiar with you, then you are a lucky person.

Tarot Readings in Kyoto

 

 

 

 

日本語は下にあります。

 

For about 30 years I have been reading the tarot. I believe the tarot is really a wonderful thing. But for many people all they want to know is the future. They do not want make a effort to create the future.  But that way of thinking, isn't the real meaning of the tarot. My way of thinking is, if someone wants a good future, the tarot can teach you the way to create it.  If someone wants do the best thing for themselves, the tarot can show them the road to take.

 

I am confident at reading the Tarot in English, so if you would like a reading in English please contact me. The cost is 3000 yen for a reading. Recently I have been practicing readings in Japanese and in the near future I will also do readings in Japanese.

 

If you would like a reading in Japanese now, I highly recommend my friend Naomi Littletree.

 

３０年前ぐらい、私はタロットリーダーになった。タロットは本当に素晴らしい物だと思う。でもね、たくさん人は未来の事を知りたいけど、未来のために努力する事をしない。しかし、その考え方ではタロットの本当の意味じゃない。私の考え方は、もし誰か本当にいい未来が欲しかったら、タロットはそのやり方を教えられる。もし誰か自分のために一番いい事をしたかったら、タロットはその道の行き方を教えられる。

 

私は自信まんまんで、英語でタロットを読む。もし英語でタロットをしたかったら、連絡してください、値段は一回3000円。最近、日本語でタロットの練習をしている。将来、日本語でタロットを読むつもり。もし日本語でタロットをしたかったら、私のおすすめのタロットリーダーはNaomi Littletree.

 

 

John's readings:       
rowan63japan@gmail.com

Naomi's readings:     
http://littletree-houseofgifts.blogspot.jp/

The Magick of Cycling along the River

For this post I have been inspired by my friend Naomi's blog, she sees the magick in everything, especially simple ordinary things. I usually plan my posts: I decide what kinds of images I need; I go out and photograph them; I edit them at home and write the text. But today I had no plan; I knew the story would tell itself, I had belief that I would be taken on a mini adventure.  I put my camera and lens in my bag and jumped on my trusty Green Dragon (cunningly disguised as a red bicycle) and off I went.

Before I knew it I was riding north along the river.  Every mindful of seasonal fashions, she has long cast off her spring pinks and now is wearing an abundance of yellow flowers.

I was often enticed to stop and look at the beautiful creatures living along the riverbank.

Like humans, if you observe birds you can see the patterns in their movements, but of course they have the magick to fly. But when they do, I just jump on my Green Dragon and off I fly.

Butterfly movements on the other hand are amazingly difficult to predict! So are really tricky to photograph,  but that is also one of their great charms.

The Kamo river is a musical place, lots of misicians and would be musicians practice along it's banks.

This trumpet player is practicing under Gojo bridge, less than a minute from my flat.

If you should be crossing this bridge on a moon lite night and hear a guitar softly (or otherwise) being strummed, maybe the moon and the river have worked their magick on me.

There be dragons, Green dragons.

Naomi's Blog

Teru Teru Bozu: A charm for a sunny day

The rainy season has just started in Japan. but no need to fear, if you need a sunny day just call on Teru Teru Bozu, the shine shine monk. He is a little monk doll that wards off the rain. The doll actually looks like a little ghost.  Children often make them from tissue or cloth and hang them in a window the day before they want a fine day. Traditionally if the day does become fine, then the eyes are drawn in and sake is poured on them The link below is a video of an animated version of a traditional (I think) nursery ryhme about Teru Teru Bozu.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnXl9jNy7o0

Naomi's magic blog