Fire contains a dynamic spirit that is ever hungry. It consumes. The more it is given, the more it needs. This is the aspect of Fire that illuminates so well the personality of Tendra. (p.79)
Certain cards are complicated. Complicated, because they are... hum... less-than-positive, and we can't help but wincing whenever they show up in a reading. We say that "every card has a light and shadow", but it seems that some cards have more light while others have more shadow. They seem to be rather negative even at their best.
In the Playing Card Oracles, Tendra (the 10♦) is one of these cards. Her image is that of a young woman kissing the severed head of a man. She represents the hungry part of the fire, the side that consumes utterly. Tendra is seductive, drawing people to her like moths to flame. But once they get close, she burns. She clings, she clutches, she won't let go.
Some of her keywords include needy, demanding, spoilt, wilful, possessive, obsessive, clutching. Her most positive characteristics are her tenacity and the fact she usually represents people with financial advantage... which hardly ever compensate the list of negative traits her very image brings to our mind when we see her in a spread.
Tendra has been showing up in almost every reading I have done for myself lately. It's interesting; in the past 5 years reading with the Playing Card Oracle I seldom saw her! For such a fiery young lady, she was certainly quiet. I even forgot about her.
BANG! Everything changes and suddenly a different folk starts to visit your spreads. And now Tendra is demanding all the attention I have denied her. She is stomping her foot, looking me in the eye and saying "decipher me or I shall devour you".
I have no doubt she will.
I have been thinking a lot about her. Who is Tendra? She reminds me of Salome, the dancer in the New Testament who, after dancing seductively before king Herod's court, demands the head of St. John the Baptist as a payment. Herod, who had promised to give her anything she asked, has John beheaded in the prison and delivers Salome's payment on a silver plate. In Oscar Wilde's version, the reason why she asks for his death is because John spurns her perverse love.
Salome is the symbol a famme fatale. One whose power of seduction is so strong she can even demand the death of a man - and get it! She's la belle dame sans merci; men fear her and women are taught to never be like her. She's dangerous. Fire is an interesting element, because it consumes everything but also dies in the process. When all wood is gone... the fire dies. I believe Tendra needs to be burning; she needs passion to feel alive. And sometimes she burns to ashes...
But... even danger teaches us something. I began to think about Tendra's positive side... about what she could bring into our lives that is good, that is needed.
I also see her as someone with courage and an indomitable will. If she does get her prize on a silver plate, you can be sure she did a hell of a dance before earning it! And she would do whatever it takes to get what she wants.
Although the new age culture encourage us to share, to yield, Tendra may appear in the moments in which we should not give in, lest we give away too much! Sometimes you have to draw a line and say "no". Sometimes you must be aware of your value, and demand the deserving payment for what you are offering. Sometimes you must fight to keep something important for you, instead of letting everyone else have their way. Because no one will protect your interests for you. Tendra is a young lioness, and in her own way, she protects.
Last, but no least... Tendra seduces. Poor verb, usually seen under a negative light... but seduction is a part of our lives. Not only the sexual side. A baby, when he smiles in such a cute way, is seducing. It's telling "look at me, I am cute and vulnerable... love me, take care of me". Tendra may not be as vulnerable, but she tells us to remember that sometimes we have to attract, lure, persuade. We have to get people on our side. We have to help them to see what we see.
Surely, Tendra will never be an easy card, especially because she reflect traits and behaviours that most of us are ashamed of. The Lady of Diamonds does not share, does not release, does not yield. She's not afraid of asking for what she thinks she deserves. She demands, she consumes, she entices. And sometimes she takes it all to an extreme level. But at the same time, she is the one who tells you to protect yourself, protect what you want... to have some dignity! To stop giving so much of yourself in exchange for nothing. To stop worrying all the time whether others approve or disapprove your thoughts, your actions. To impose yourself a bit.
When focused, Tendra is a catalyst. She scorches, but she also transforms. She's is never invisible and, differently from the Queen of Diamonds, she refuses to be a 'secondary' flame.
When lost, when excessive, she's a bleedin' fiery scourge. A force of destruction, whose unquenchable hunger ultimately annihilates itself.
In the Playing Card Oracles, Tendra (the 10♦) is one of these cards. Her image is that of a young woman kissing the severed head of a man. She represents the hungry part of the fire, the side that consumes utterly. Tendra is seductive, drawing people to her like moths to flame. But once they get close, she burns. She clings, she clutches, she won't let go.
Some of her keywords include needy, demanding, spoilt, wilful, possessive, obsessive, clutching. Her most positive characteristics are her tenacity and the fact she usually represents people with financial advantage... which hardly ever compensate the list of negative traits her very image brings to our mind when we see her in a spread.
Tendra has been showing up in almost every reading I have done for myself lately. It's interesting; in the past 5 years reading with the Playing Card Oracle I seldom saw her! For such a fiery young lady, she was certainly quiet. I even forgot about her.
BANG! Everything changes and suddenly a different folk starts to visit your spreads. And now Tendra is demanding all the attention I have denied her. She is stomping her foot, looking me in the eye and saying "decipher me or I shall devour you".
I have no doubt she will.
I have been thinking a lot about her. Who is Tendra? She reminds me of Salome, the dancer in the New Testament who, after dancing seductively before king Herod's court, demands the head of St. John the Baptist as a payment. Herod, who had promised to give her anything she asked, has John beheaded in the prison and delivers Salome's payment on a silver plate. In Oscar Wilde's version, the reason why she asks for his death is because John spurns her perverse love.
Salome is the symbol a famme fatale. One whose power of seduction is so strong she can even demand the death of a man - and get it! She's la belle dame sans merci; men fear her and women are taught to never be like her. She's dangerous. Fire is an interesting element, because it consumes everything but also dies in the process. When all wood is gone... the fire dies. I believe Tendra needs to be burning; she needs passion to feel alive. And sometimes she burns to ashes...
But... even danger teaches us something. I began to think about Tendra's positive side... about what she could bring into our lives that is good, that is needed.
I also see her as someone with courage and an indomitable will. If she does get her prize on a silver plate, you can be sure she did a hell of a dance before earning it! And she would do whatever it takes to get what she wants.
Although the new age culture encourage us to share, to yield, Tendra may appear in the moments in which we should not give in, lest we give away too much! Sometimes you have to draw a line and say "no". Sometimes you must be aware of your value, and demand the deserving payment for what you are offering. Sometimes you must fight to keep something important for you, instead of letting everyone else have their way. Because no one will protect your interests for you. Tendra is a young lioness, and in her own way, she protects.
Last, but no least... Tendra seduces. Poor verb, usually seen under a negative light... but seduction is a part of our lives. Not only the sexual side. A baby, when he smiles in such a cute way, is seducing. It's telling "look at me, I am cute and vulnerable... love me, take care of me". Tendra may not be as vulnerable, but she tells us to remember that sometimes we have to attract, lure, persuade. We have to get people on our side. We have to help them to see what we see.
Surely, Tendra will never be an easy card, especially because she reflect traits and behaviours that most of us are ashamed of. The Lady of Diamonds does not share, does not release, does not yield. She's not afraid of asking for what she thinks she deserves. She demands, she consumes, she entices. And sometimes she takes it all to an extreme level. But at the same time, she is the one who tells you to protect yourself, protect what you want... to have some dignity! To stop giving so much of yourself in exchange for nothing. To stop worrying all the time whether others approve or disapprove your thoughts, your actions. To impose yourself a bit.
When focused, Tendra is a catalyst. She scorches, but she also transforms. She's is never invisible and, differently from the Queen of Diamonds, she refuses to be a 'secondary' flame.
When lost, when excessive, she's a bleedin' fiery scourge. A force of destruction, whose unquenchable hunger ultimately annihilates itself.
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