Journey in 78 Steps

Reading: Outlook for the Coming Week

I'm coming to the end of my time with the Druidcraft, so I thought I'd put it away with a look at the coming week.

Question: What is the most important thing for me to focus on this next week?

Key Focus for the Week:
Ace of Pentacles

Indeed.  Money (or the lack of it) is a highlighted issue this week, as I'm waiting on a check that will arrive on Friday and meanwhile things are so tight I'm needing to calculate toilet paper usage to make sure we get there. hah!  It's a short term state of broke to be gotten through.  Unfortunately, it's happening more often as gas and groceries go up - my current budget is no longer covering necessities and there's no more money to budget to it.

But beyond that, I'm also focusing on offering readings through LivePerson.  It's slow going and money earned is paid out monthly, so what I do this week is about bringing in a little extra money a few weeks from now, but it is a beginning.  It brings with it the potential for enough extra income in my budget to not have to have these periodic broke weeks where even the most basic requirements have to wait.  So..focus on that and ride out the week.

Strength I have to work with:
6 of Wands

Victory!  I like seeing this here - so we have to be a little creative and strategic about how to make do with what we've got until Friday.  We've done it before, we can do it again.  And most importantly, by beginning a plan to allow me to offer regular Tarot readings, I may be able to be victorious over this whole shortfall in income that makes it necessary to have broke-weeks far too often. 

I feel like this is just reminding me, "Eye on the prize, baby" and to stay positive.

Challenge I need to overcome:
VIII - Strength, rx

Keeping in mind the limits of my own strength is crucial here - both my mental and intuitive reserves (I want to be careful about not letting myself be drained by reading for more people that I normally do) and my physical reserves.  I have arthritis issues that can sometimes make typing painful enough that it effects my ability to read (hard to focus if every word hurts to 'say').  I notice that the weather this weeks includes some thunderstorm predictions and that usually augers more pain than normal.  I'll want to remember to balance what it is I want to do with how much energy I have to do it, and adjust accordingly.  I want to remember that, like any new project, half the battle is not overdoing things and getting worn out.

Advice:
3 of Wands

And here, a final reminder... what I'm doing right now is preparing for the future - I want to be forward thinking and not worry overmuch about just this week, but in the longterm benefits of the changes and effort I make right now.  Things will take time, and right now planning and small steps in the right direction are far more important than their immediate result.  The trees that make up the three wands in this image are small and fragile, but already starting to bud.  This is going to grow and develop, but I need to give it time.

Daily Draw: Ace of Wands

my description:

A brilliant yellow and orange sun radiates from the upper center of the card. In front of the sun, a wand - a cut branch - is suspended, its tip pointing to the center of the sun. Green leafs are dropping off of the wand, 5 to the right and 3 to the left. 

The landscape beneath shows a deep chasm dividing two rocky cliffs.  The one on the right seems to be covered in moss and there is a deep groove in it toward the top. A tall tree is growing up from the ground below.  On the left side, the cliff is composed of piled up stones, including one tall phallic shaped one in the distance.  Standing on the cliff, looking at the wand (or across the chasm) is a buck deer. 

Very subtle, but in the hazy blue sky above the deer, a crescent moon can be seen.

One thing I really like about the Druidcraft deck is how very seasonal the minors are.  I mean, could this possibly be anything other than the start of summer, with that bright yellow sun and green leaves that look newly unfurled?  Its the one deck where I never have to puzzle *when* I'm looking at as well as what and why.

This fiery Ace also seems quite clear that part of its meaning is fiery passion - especially sexual... crossing that chasm that lies between male and female.  The sun and moon occupy the same sky, though the passionate heat of the sun is dominate right now.

The chasm reminds me that this is what passion spurs us to do - whether its sexual passion or following our dreams... it urges us to leap across barriers... to fly where we can't walk.  This fire gives us energy to stay aloft.  It's energy that feeds our desire, as the sun feeds the leaves and turns them green.

Today it's hitting me at a very mundane level - it's the first day of this year that I'd describe as hot - hot enough to wistfully consider putting on the AC, because I'm not getting any good breeze from the open windows.  Wistfully, because I've waited so long for some warmth that I'm absolutely not ready to close up the house again and keep the actual temperature at bay.

So... let it be hot.  I'm off to make some ice tea and put on some cooler clothes.  Hello, taste of summer... could you wait awhile longer to stay here? I was just getting reacquainted with spring.

Daily Draw: XII - The Hanged Man

my description - a nude man is hanging upside down from an ancient tree.  His arms are bound behind him, the cord that holds them wrapped around his chest.  His right leg is crooked and tucked behind his left leg, which is tied securely by the ankle to the tree.  His mouth is stuffed with leaves, giving him the appearance of a living Greenman, and his hair is brushing the roots at the base of the tree. 

There are blackberries and bluebells in the foreground and what I think is mistletoe hanging from the tree, which also is laden with some sort of unripe fruit.  Behind the tree, there is a golden meadow of wildflowers and wheat and a scythe near the wheat.  The time of year appears to be early autumn?  Scattered about are bright red blossoms... poppies?

The blackberries, the fruit still ripening.. the mistletoe, the wheat... everything here, our Hanged Man included, is suspended in this moment in time, preparing for their own sacrifice and harvest. The poppies remind me of death and remembrance and of course, Remembrance Day and those who have sacrificed themselves in battle - but this sacrifice is of a different sort.

This is the sacrifice of action - of choosing to give up one's right to fight against and struggle and move, and instead to let go and allow a situation to develop without one for the greater good, even if it means the loss of oneself.

It's easy enough to think of the big examples of this - it's a big concept.  Odin suspended from the World Tree, Jesus crucified, the god of the harvest mown down to feed the village and make way for winter, and then the examples in history... conscientious objectors and passive resisters who have made change by choosing not to act but to Not Act, and been locked up, called Traitor (this card's old name), suffering ridicule and contempt and deprivation without responding in kind.

It's harder to think of the little examples.. the daily ones.  It doesn't seem to be very comfortable to choose not acting as a giving act, but then I look at our cats - and in the span of a week and a half, our older cat has gone from crying mournfully at the sight of the kitten to what I am seeing today... laying there peaceably, flicking his tail, while the kitten jumps and attacks and generally runs around like a miniature tazmanian devil, and the older one looks for all the world pleased to be used as living cat toy by her.

I think of my plans for the day - and it was a carefully orchestrated list - and setting it aside in favor of a spontaneous visit from a woman who badly needed to talk over a stressful situation, not needing to do anything for her but listen.  I think of overhearing my daughter on the phone telling a friend she isn't going to take sides in a battle because she cares about both people involved.

Voluntarily choosing to do nothing, even if something personal must be let go for the greater good.  It's everywhere and is a very active choice to remain passive.

The left leg - passive response - is tied to the tree of life, while the right - active response - is tucked away for now.    This is a difficult card for me, but I think I get it, at least in glimpses.  It makes better sense if I don't think about it too much... don't get to active with it.  This man has not been sacrificed.. he is fulfilling his purpose peaceably, like the wheat and the blackberries and the fruit ripening until it is ready to fall from the tree.

Daily Draw: 2 of Cups

my description:

A young couple stand facing each other holding cups toward one another as if toasting of offering them to the other to drink from. 

The woman has brown wavy hair loosely pulled back and wears a loose fitting blue wrap garment and a red sash around her waist.  She is holding onto an end of the sash and pulling it taut across her groin area, which highlights the womb region.  Her legs are apart, the left one standing forward in the man's space and this opens the dress enough to see her upper thigh. 

The man has black hair (and an unfortunate mullet), and chiseled features that currently carry a soft look toward the woman.  He's wearing a green striped kilt and sash that flows from behind him and is draped over his right arm, which is around the woman's waist.  His right leg is forward in in the woman's space.

Their focus is only on one another.  They are standing on a flowering grassy lawn near a pond of water and there is a large rock in the foreground.  Behind them on a low hill is some sort of building, flat and long that looks more like a leather belt and buckle than a building to me.  The sky feels close and panoramic and is covered in light clouds through which the sun is shining.

The dance of early flirtation seems very evident in this card.  These two have responded to the potential for connection of the Ace, and here they've each opened themselves to letting the other move into their own space.  The woman in particular is both openly showing her desire as well as flirtatiously barring passage with her provocative gesture with the red sash... saying 'this is here but I'm not quite ready to let you in'.  An age old game for them both with a hint of come-hither and chase.

Beyond the level of simple boy meets girl, there is the notion of union of masculine/feminine, yin/yang, projective/receptive... the woman leads with her left, the man with his right.  At points, they cross over into the other's realm... their feet, ready to move further in toward union... his arm at her waist prepared to draw her closer while she holds back slightly (but prepared to give in when the preliminaries are concluded), the cups they hold up as if about to nourish one another with their own emotional selves.  While opposites, this is a card of the union of equals, each providing to the other what they need, but providing in their own way - they do not duplicate one another, they complement one another and create the beginning of a united whole.

For me today, what strikes me the most is the movement into one another's space.  We've all got that bubble of physical, mental and emotional space where the majority of the world is not welcome.  We instinctively back up when people get too close and as we grow more intimate with a person that bubble shrinks.  Very rarely, we join so fully with another that the bubble practically disappears and of course there are days when our bubble is quite a bit thicker than others.

I woke up this morning just knowing that today was going to be a big bubble day.  It's been a week where I've had a lot of people over to the house, gone visiting, dealing with the new kitten (who not only has no bubble but loves her little baby teeth and claws and thinks I am a great cat toy), and have read for more strangers than I normally do in such a short time frame.

I'm done in... and so oddly, this card reminds me ... not TO connect but what the requirements for connection are... the willingness to let people in.. the willingess to move toward them.. the sharing of emotional energy.. and even that small bit of protectiveness she's got going on that reminds me that boundaries are ok.  Today, I need my boundaries so my connections with others are nourishing for all concerned and don't feel invasive.

So.. quiet time today.  I need to hear the sound of my own heartbeat for awhile.

Daily Draw: X - The Wheel

my description:

a red-haired woman, braids at her temples, is bending over to complete the drawing of a circle in the sand.  She wears a loose blue garment and purple shawl, with a rope belt around her waist.  Hanging from the rope is a small scourge and her feet are bare.  In her left hand she holds a small 8-segmented wheel like a pendulum and in her right a wooden wand used to draw the circle.  On her left arm there is a double spiral arm bracelet.  She is standing before the opening to a cave and the sandy ground where she works is surrounded by rocks.  In the distance there is a flat beach and the ocean.  It's daylight with high clouds that a stretched along the horizon... a wind is blowing, but the overall feeling is of a warm, balmy day.

On the pillar shaped rock behind her (the left side of the entrance), I can almost make out a face.. not so much carved as simply created by the shape of the rock - grass grows from the top of it that gives it the appearance of hair.  It's like a naturally created hint of the Greenman.

This is by far my favorite version of the Wheel card.  In this image I see the synthesis of those things beyond our direct control... the passage of time, the endless cycling of circumstance and condition, but there is no hint of helplessness in the face of that lack of control... rather, this woman works within that process to bring her own actions in harmony with it.  She holds the pendulum... the Wheel of the Year that guides her action and focus... the scourge to remind that we must take the pain along with the joy... that sometimes you sow, and sometime you reap and both are necessary and valuable.  She draws her own wheel, creating a place of sacredness and safety from which to create her own magic.  She stands near the cave that is both the womb where life begins and the tomb where we return to the Mother at our end of days.  In the distance, the ocean reminds us of the spiritual source of all that is.  This cave and that ocean have been here for aeons and will remain long after this one's work is complete, but she is a part and partner to it while she is here.

I love this card. Love it.  It reminds me to appreciate the season of life I am in now.. to open myself up to that passage of time. It reminds me nothing stands still, whether I want to or not, so go with it.  It reminds me that what I do today will have effects long after I am gone and that what happens today was born long before I was aware of it, and yet, my responsibility today is to be in harmony with Today, and not neglect it trying to be somewhere else on the Wheel.  Be Here Now.

Daily Draw: IV - The Lord

my description:

a mature man with greying beard and mustache sits on a stony throne.  He's wearing a green robe, blue armor a red cloak, leather sandals and a leather helmet with stag horns.  He holds a wooden staff in his left hand and his right foot is crossed over his left knee.  There are faded celtic knots carved into the stone throne, but it is otherwise very natural (as if made of rocks piled into the shape of a chair.  There is no detail about the surrounding landscape, but the sky is mostly cloudy with a pale peach tint (like sunrise).  A bird of prey is circling in the distance behind him.   The man looks straight head out of the card, expressionless but his eyes are piercing and stern. There is a highlighted glow of light on the rock above his head, not bright but as if reflected from the top of his head.

My first thought on this guy is that I wouldn't want to have to stand in front of him and tell him I hadn't done something I was supposed to!  His garb seems to be a blend of warrior and priest.  Looking for elemental cues, they're all here though some are less obvious than others - the staff and cloak point to Wands/fire, and the airy background, the bird, and the wind blowing through the cloak are Swords/air.  The stony throne and stags horns are Pentacles/earth.  Water is mostly absent (other than what might be held aloft by the clouds), but I see it in the blue fishscales of his armor.

He is not emotion-free, but very emotion-controlled.  Primarily, he operates his will in a mental environment, with a solid foundation (chair beneath, helmet above) of practicality. 

His sandals suggest to me that he's prepared to act as needed, but he is not on a journey - they aren't boots - his purpose is to stay here and watch over things, making sure everything operates as it should.  And Lord help anyone who doesn't do their part.

The look on his face is actually getting to me - my father was a master at The Look, accompanied by a low voice (I have never ever heard him yell) that would freeze your blood.  What a great skill that was! Once, at a large holiday dinner, one of us kids put our elbows on the table and from his vantage at the other end, he noticed, leaned forward and very softly and sternly said, "Elbows! off!"

The entire table - children, men, women, dogs in surrounding counties, jumped back as if they'd been stung and they (and he!) was so startled by the immediacy and universality of that response that we never did work out who it was he'd been speaking to.  Doesn't matter - when the Lord speaks, everyone listens.  Or else.

Deck of the Week: Druidcraft

Ahhh... I thought I might want to stay with the Celtic Dragon for another week since I gave it short shrift - but doing a full reading with it and realizing that I was having to pry myself forcibly to pay attention to the card (and not just leaning on 'this card means...' that could be done with blank cards with just the name listed) confirmed it...  the Celtic Dragon is just not for me.

So, this week, I want to spend some time with one that I know is - the Druidcraft has become one of my favorite go-to decks.  It blends Wiccan and Druid ideas while for the most part still preserving familiar RWS ideas.  I am very fond of the way it removes Christian metaphor from the imagery because while those are sometimes helpful for the most part  they get in the way for me. (Arguing with the metaphor is not a good way to listen to the message)

The Druidcraft's artwork is earthy and lovely - strong colors, homey people (not all of them pretty but all of them interesting), lush forests and meadows.  Its one I ask before using - there is nudity (and it's earthy and lusty) and not everyone wants to be confronted with pagan ideas when they're getting a Tarot reading.  But it always makes me happy when it's the one they choose - I know it's going to be a good reading and they're going to be tuned in to hearing what it says.

It's just that kind of deck.