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According to the Merriam-Webster website:

Our Word of the Year for 2018 is justice. It was a top lookup throughout the year at Merriam-Webster.com, with the entry being consulted 74% more than in 2017.

I own about a dozen books dedicated to symbolism, and (surprisingly) only one addresses the symbolism of nakedness. I thought for sure that Barbara Walker's Woman's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects would address the topic--or even The Book of Symbols by Taschen.

Alas, no.

The power of symbolism--specifically, flower symbolism--really hit home for me on Monday.

My uncle, one of thirteen children, died last week. His funeral was Monday, and it just so happened my husband had July 2-4 off for the holiday, so we were able to attend.

Recently, I bought some Magickal Bath Salts from our local pagan store and noticed that the shop owner had Theban writing on some of her bottles--which I commented on. 

She (a Cabot witch) was surprised that I knew what the symbols were.

In the Tarot, the Swords suit is associated with the intellectual realm--thoughts, communication, bias, opinions, analysis, logic and so on. The sword, itself, is a symbol of power and cutting, engendering dread in many a foe.

And so it is with the Tarot Swords suit, which not only causes fear in many querents and readers--but also reflects the same relating to an issue at hand.

In this episode of my Naked Tarot Podcast, I discusses a recent YouTube video from some punk who thinks that Tarot should NOT be accessible to the masses--because they'll "degrade" the cards, water down the meanings and "turn it into shit". 

Although the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot and Thoth decks are replete with esoteric symbolism (Western Hermeticism, especially), the 78 cards--the underlying structure or "bones" of a Tarot deck--aren't shackled to those two traditions.

In my latest podcast, I discuss The Fool card in Tarot--including Keywords, Esoteric Correspondences and Pop Culture references--as well as decode this image through my 7 Clue Method. Listen in at this link.

What is your favorite version of The Fool? What Keywords do you often associated with this card? Share in the comments below!