Today's Tarot: Nine of Swords (First rule, be careful with yourself)

I'll be honest. It's not the most pleasant of cards. It talks about stress, worry, potential illness, and general malaise. It doesn't mean that your day is going to be like that. It does however mean that you need to be on the lookout for those kinds of distressing feelings and situations. And then, you need to kick their asses into next Tuesday.

Unless you are physically ill in some way, the rest is all negotiable and navigate-able. The key here is to refrain from sabotaging your own balance.

Did you wake up in the middle of the night worried about something you couldn't control? Did you have trouble falling asleep in the first place? I tend to have troubles with the former. I fall asleep fine, but I wake up in the middle of the night and then my brain turns on and then I start thinking about all the details to which I need to see and then I start to worry at them like my cat Kimba does to rubberbands he finds on the floor (believe me, we try to keep them from him and he's a master at opening drawers and getting at them). And then, sleep bids me a teasing adieu and I'm up at 3am wondering how they hell I'll be ready to present to kids or write my book or see my clients or take my hike by the time it's actually time to get up and start my day.

Argh and Grrr and many other words to that effect.

What I'm trying to do is to put it in perspective. The swords are the suit of thought, reason, and deliberation. The nine is the extreme where you try to see all facets and then beat yourself up when you can't. It's the woulda coulda shoulda card in the deck and given half a chance, it will kick your butt.

So what do you do? Distract it. Take the worry and give it something nice to smell (a whiff of vanilla extract does wonders for me). Or, get up, put on your favorite dance music (I tend toward "Walkin' on Sunshine" or "When I Think of You" but I'm old school) and go crazy.

Take a break from your worries and concerns. You won't miss anything. You'll still have the list when you come. But, you will likely come back with a slightly different perspective and hopefully, it won't all feel quite so daunting anymore.

Last but not least, take care of yourself and those for whom you are responsible. At its core, the nine of  swords brings some reason for concern. If it's all internal, I encourage you to utilize the above to deal with it. If any of it is external, remember, there are only so many things you can control. Sometimes, you just have to deal with consequences in the best way you know how. And the best way will always be one where you approach your challenges from a peaceful vanilla-scented, walkin' on sunshine perspective.