Today's Tarot: Nine of Rods (defense, persistence, endurance)

The wounded warrior stands, to the last, to defend the castle. She or he is heroic, brave, true and  defensive. And that last one isn't necessarily a bad thing depending on what we're going through.

Don't get me wrong. I truly believe that sometimes we are under attack. Someone has it out for us and we must do something to either defend ourselves or remove ourselves from the situation. If you choose the latter, if you can walk away, do walk away. Sometimes, you get to the point where it is no longer safe or good for you to remain where you are. Whether it's a job, an awkward meeting with an Ex, or a living situation, it doesn't matter. What matters is taking care of yourself. When you're done, be done. And then do what you need to do to take care of yourself.

We tend to think the situation in which we find ourselves is the only way things can be. We get stuck in the pattern or the paradigm and we don't remember that we can change it or at least shift it. And, we can. What stops us? Sometimes, it's habit or inertia. Often, we just aren't paying attention and suddenly we wake up and realize that we've been in a painful situation for quite some time. And then we begin the laborious process of making the changes that we need to make in order to feel better.

Certainly, we can remain where we find ourselves, stuck and miserable, but when we get to rock bottom, when we're forced into that corner, we'll make changes. We'll get into "fight or flight" and strike out in one or the other of them. The thing is that those actions are often bigger and more explosive than they would be if we had nipped the situation in the bud. When we're fighting for (what might feel like) our lives, we go big or we go home. And that can burn bridges we didn't want to burn in the first place. Remember, that quote that I've written about before, "Diplomacy is the art of telling someone to go to hell in such a way that they actually look forward to the trip."* If we want to remove ourselves from a situation, let's make it as far from incendiary as possible. Let's kill 'em with kindness and then get the heck out.

If however, we choose to defend ourselves, in some respects, we are choosing the much tougher road. Defending ourselves against those who have power over us in some way is particularly challenging because it can be risky. We need to be careful about how we do what we do, but we still need to do it. If we need to put up arms to show ourselves to be righteous, then so be it. Again though, stay vigilant and make sure you that you are true to yourself in your defense. Don't accuse others. Just defend yourself. If you can, let go of your bitterness. I'm not going to tell you to let go of your anger. Anger can be a positive force provided you don't take it out on those who don't deserve it. Anger can help propel you to great heights, but keep everything in perspective. Don't give in to the Dark Side. Let your anger help you make a clean sweep if that's what you need but stay on course and don't hurt anyone (least of all yourself).

So today, defend yourself, if you need to, but then lay down your arms. Don't go too far, go only as far as you need to to keep your peace of mind. Stay vigilant but not paranoid.

Be like the aikido master. Harmonize with your opponents' energy to help them go where they were trying to go and then help them go just a little bit farther than that. Then, they'll be out of your hair and you can go on with your life.

*-Caskie Stinnett

(Robin Wood Tarot)

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Today's Tarot: Three of Swords (heartache, betrayal, choices)

"Torn between two lovers, feeling like a fool. Lovin' both of you is breaking all the rules..."

The Three of Swords always reminds me of the lyrics to this song from the 70s. It feels like you are standing at a crossroads and there are no good choices. In the song, it's about loving two people and needing to decide between them and knowing that whatever you do, someone is going to end up broken hearted. But, this set of choices doesn't have to be about relationships. It can be about whatever choices you face. And when in those situations, often its the chooser who ends up losing because the pain is often overwhelming regardless of which path she or he chooses.

Sometimes, no matter how hard we try to avoid the pain of heartache or worse, heartbreak, we end up feeling torn in half by whatever occurs in our lives. It sucks but there it is. Heartache is a part of life, especially if we choose to live in the here and now and make choices in the here and now. And worse, sometimes, other people's decisions break our hearts. For example, we don't get the promotion we've worked our butts off for. We cross our fingers, say our prayers and submit a poem to a literary magazine and get rejected. We gather our courage, and audition for a play and don't get cast. We tell someone we love them and get an "Um, I really like you as a friend," in response. Whatever it is, however we have to face rejection because someone else got chosen instead of us, we still need to play the game. It's part of living. However...

There comes a day when the game is too painful and it's time to hang it up. Now, I'm not saying hang it up forever, but I am saying, for the moment, do hang it up. Step away from the ledge. Take time to lick your wounds. Don't try so hard. Protect yourself so you can heal and then come back stronger tomorrow. Don't tilt at so many windmills for the moment, if you find you don't have the energy or the heart for it.

Last night, I was at a pub celebrating a friend's Birthday. In the restroom, I overheard a young woman giving advice to a friend. She said, "Son, if the ho' don't want to be saved, don't try to save the ho'...." I took it to mean that while it's okay to tilt at some/most windmills, sometimes, no matter what you do, things will unravel and you will get hurt. So, don't turn yourself inside out and cause yourself a great deal of pain, trying to help someone who just doesn't want or need your help.

Today, that is what I encourage you to do. If the game is too much, if it's too painful. Walk away, heal, and come back tomorrow to try again.

In the words of the famous movie star, the WOPR or Joshua, "Interesting game. The only winning move is not to play."

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Today's Tarot: Death (Out with the old, in the with the new)

Before I go any further, let me state for the record that the Death card really has nothing to do with physical death. It does not portend that someone is going to die. It talks about the ending of a great cycle in our lives. Things have been moving toward an ending for a while now. Some great galaxy has been revolving slowly to a close. Some red giant star is dying so that it can have new life as a white dwarf.

Look at it like an evolutionary process. Something is ending so something else can begin. You cannot have creation without destruction. In order for anything to be created/developed/discovered, something else has to change its state. It has to end its state of being as one thing in order to emerge as the new thing.

Caterpillar to butterfly is an excellent example of this. The caterpillar goes into the chrysalis to "die," to change its state. When it emerges, it is completely evolved.

If you are burning a log of wood in the fireplace, the wood ceases to be wood. It burns and changes its status. In effect, it dies. But, its new life as flame burns brightly.

Whatever needs to end in your life, release it. End it. Let it go.

The time has come to let this paradigm come to a close so a new one can come into being. If you keep holding on to old ways of thinking, feeling, and doing, when instead it is appropriate for something new to develop, eventually you will feel paralyzed. Get in front of it because here's the kicker. The Death card says that even if you aren't ready for the big ending, it's coming anyway. Don't just get used to it. Make room. Enhance your world and your perceptions of you and your world to embrace the change.

The wave of change is coming anyway. You might as well surf it and enjoy the heck out of the ride.

I leave you with the quote from my fabulous acupuncturist Youmei Zhang: "If not this door, another door."

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.

Today's Tarot: Five of Cups (loss, regret, crying over spilled milk and what you can do about it)

Today's Tarot: Five of Cups (loss, regret, crying over spilled milk and what you can do about it)

The Cups are the suit of the emotions in the deck. Some are fantastic like the Ten (love of family, contentment, joy) and some, not so wonderful. The Five of Cups falls in the less than ideal batch. Sometimes, despite our best efforts, we remain steadfastly focused on the negative. We hold on to regrets. We cling to our sadness because it's what we know. We wrap our sorrow around us like a prickly blanket and we don't shrug it off because it is either familiar, or it has sapped our energy to such an extent that we can't even rouse ourselves to take care of ourselves.

That last happens to me because of my thyroid. It's not an emotional source but the results are the same. I get too fatigued to do the self-care that would make me feel better.

The Five of Cups hearkens something similar. If you get to a place of such sorrow that you can't lift a hand in your own defense, it's gone too far. Sure, we can all cry over spilled milk. We've all been there and with the possible exception of the Dalai Lama, we've all done it. We've all hung on to our regrets. And what has it gotten us besides more time spent regretting our actions, our feelings, our thoughts? Really, it hasn't brought anything new into our lives. We tend to get the feedback that we've screwed up pretty quickly. The consequences tend to be immediate or if they aren't, we still internally sense that something is off. What the Five of Cups tells us is that we are still right in that moment before we say, "screw this," get up and free ourselves from the binding, cloying parts of our sorrow.

The time we spend regretting what we did or didn't do, did or didn't say, did or didn't think is much better spent on self-care and self-love. It will have a better outcome than any sort of self-flagellation. I read somewhere that depression is anger turned inward. I think that is one of the best definitions of depression that I have ever read. The insidious thing is that depression seduces us into thinking that it belongs in our hearts. And it doesn't. There is another path, but in the moments when we are saturated with those depressed feelings, we don't see them.

If you look at the card, the figure is focusing on the cups whose wine has spilled. He is lost in the sadness and regret of whatever happened to turn those cups on their sides. There are two perfectly good and full cups just behind him, but he doesn't see them. Or, if he did see them at one point, he didn't and isn't focusing on them. Whatever good thirst-quenching liquid they contain is lost to him because he can only see the spilled wine.

This brings me to today. Today is a good day to look up, look around, do a handstand and try to see things from a different perspective. If you are finding yourself stuck in a pattern of depression, sadness, or regret, stop, take a moment and count. your. blessings. Everyone gets depressed. Research shows that those who are most successful in life take the depression, deal with it and tell it to go take a hike. They remain positive. They don't let themselves get sucked into the whirlpool of sadness. One of the best ways to avoid that emotional drain is to keep focusing in on the positives that you haven't seen or have ignored. They will help you put one foot in front of the other and before you know it, you'll be walking, skipping, and running toward your bliss.

Today's Tarot: Hierophant (learning, knowledge, information)

Learn and then do. Know and then act. Find out and then react. The Hierophant can be a tough taskmaster. He calls on us to know before we act. That can really cramp your style when all you want to do is jump in and get going. But, often when we do that, instead of coming up with the goose that laid the golden egg, we end up with egg on our faces.

Today isn't the day to take a leap. Instead, today is the day to step back and observe. Note what is going on inside and out. If there is something you don't know, look it up, wait for the information to become available. Ask questions. Study. Seek. Intuit. Know.

If you leap off the cliff before you know whether the water is welcoming or whether there are jagged rocks on which you'll dash yourself, you are taking an unnecessary chance. Many days, I will say, it's worth it. Go for it. Roll the dice. Play the game. Leap. Today, not so much.

At the very least, today I ask you to know your own motivations. Know yourself. Know what you want, need, and desire. If it's a secret want, at least be honest with yourself about it. It does us no good whatsoever to lie to ourselves but oh we can be good at it. Our powers of rationalization kick our own butts all the time. If you see yourself rationalizing, stop. Step back and figure out why you are making excuses for yourself or for others around you. There is information for you even in that place of pulling the wool over your own eyes. Something is making you do it. Figure out what that something is and you will be most of the way to fixing it.

I tell my students to "know the rules before you break them." Never has this been more true than it is today.

Today's Tarot: Knight of Cups (emotional, imaginative, aware)

Romantic, moody, emotional, compassionate, creative, imaginative, feeling - these all describe the Knight of Cups. Today is a day to really get into how we feel and what it means to be us in our shoes, at this time and in this place. Sometimes, it's easy to know how we feel. When my cat climbs into my lap and drops down for a nap, I am always going to get all squishy and happy, no matter what else has been going on. When someone cuts me off in traffic and then has the nerve to give me the finger afterward, I am always going to get ticked off. Sometimes, on the other hand, it is tough to put our finger on exactly what it is our heart is telling us.

That's when the Knight of Cups really makes his presence felt. He's the one who gives us that information. He gives us permission, if you will, to let go of the run, run, run, and do, do, do, and think, think, think. Instead, he brings in, feel, feel feel, particularly as it pertains to the instant our emotions change. Sometimes, how we feel changes. We've gone from fine to sad or from okay to happy, and we haven't become cognizant of it yet. We are still in reaction mode and haven't moved toward feeling mode. The Knight of Cups holds that instant in his chalice. It is the changing nature of our emotional state that holds sacred. And he invites us to hold it sacred as well. We don't often honor how we feel and we honor the changes in our emotional state even less.

So, today, I invite you to change that paradigm. Honor your feelings and then go a step further. Try to stay aware of when your feelings shift. That quicksilver, fleeting transformation, when and why it happens is chock full of information for us. If we stay aware of how we feel moment to moment, we make better, clearer, cleaner decisions.

Because, honestly, how we feel will change in an instant and often we have to play catch-up just to get some sense of equilibrium. If we stay aware of these things as they happen, we stay one step ahead of the game.

Today, that extra step of being prepared will be very helpful because your mood and the moods of those around you will shift. Big time. Be careful with your heart. Treat it gently and tenderly, and miracles will happen.

Today's Tarot: King of Rods (Bold, active, creating)

Today's Tarot: King of Rods (Bold, active, creating)

The King of Rods doesn't suffer lazybones gladly. In fact, he strides by those who would sit and do nothing as he creates and achieves. In his mind, there are great deeds to accomplish, great things to invent, and great times to be had. He is active dynamism personified. He calls us to rise up, to take action, to do, to move, to run, to fly.

So, what are we waiting for he asks. Do we need an engraved invitation? If so, here it is. Get up, rise up. Do. Something. Today. Right now! If you want it, you have to strive for it. You must begin in order to achieve. That first step might be a kicker but we must take it.

The card is getting to me. I feel its fire sizzling in my blood and frankly, I'm excited to get to it. Earlier this morning, the sky was drab and gray. Then, the fiery sun peeked through the dingy clouds and flung its rays across the heavens, and now it's bathing me in its glorious light. If that isn't a call to get out there and get moving, I don't know what is. We are our best advocates. We are our best warriors. We are our best leaders, movers, shakers, and doers. So, we can be the ones who take inspiration and give it wings.

This write-up reminds me of the lyrics to one of my own songs. The song is called, "Dare to Start." Here is the chorus and it says it all.



I hope you sing and dance and run the race
I hope you take the chance and play the game
No way to finish ‘til you dare to start
So give it all you've got and risk your heart

So, go. Run. Dream. Fly!

Today's Tarot: Wheel of Fortune (Chance, Luck, Destiny)

Today's Tarot: Wheel of Fortune. 

Chance. Luck. Destiny

Ah, Lady Luck, you can either be salvation or you can be utter destruction and relying on you to be either at any one time is definitely a fool's game.

Today, ride your lucky streak but don't ever depend on it. If you were a gambler, I'd say stop right before you throw the dice that one. last. time. Stop just one short of throwing it all away and you will come out a winner. 

Don't expect the luck to hold forever. Conversely, if things aren't going your way, stop, breathe, and wait five minutes and they'll shift. Lady luck is a fickle mistress but she goes both ways.

Vulnerable only when safe? Is it worth it? (this week's cards)

Ups and Downs Emotionally? Oh yay! (This week's cards: King of Cups, Page of Cups [reversed], Seven of Swords)

I feel like I should be quoting cheesy 80s love song lyrics here, for some reason. But I think I'll just say that if you put yourself out there emotionally, if you are honest about your feelings, and if you allow yourself to be vulnerable and the person to whom you are honest and vulnerable scoffs or otherwise treats you like crap, then get rid of him/her. You don't want that person in your life. Period. There is no excuse for being unkind as a response to someone's honest and open emotional expression (we're not talking stalkers or whatever, here, by the way, as that is not healthy emotional expression). We all feel and many of us feel deeply. Sometimes, those feelings need to be expressed to someone else. It's not just a desire to tell that person how you feel, it is a bonafide need. And that is a vulnerable place to be.

A few days ago, my husband and I were talking about being vulnerable and I said that it was ill-advised to be vulnerable when you are unsafe to be. And that got me thinking. Is it unwise to be open with our feelings when it isn't really a safe space to do that? If the person/people to whom we are open with our emotions reacts negatively or otherwise badly, whose problem is it? What have we done when we have been open, when we have reached out to someone else? Have we possibly put ourselves in harm's way? I believe that we have, as long as we are invested in the outcome. As long as we need to hear a specific response in return, our investment could lead to pain. But, if we have no expectation of a particular response, then all we are doing is getting our own feelings out there. There is a big discussion to be had about having an investment in the outcome but that will come at a later time.

That's what this week's cards mean to me.

The King of Cups says, be broad and open with your heart. Express your feelings. Feel compassion for others and express that compassion. Feel love for others and express that love. Be generous, if that is your inclination.

The Page of Cups reversed says, nothing ventured, absolutely nothing gained. If you never say anything, how will you know what might have been? And if you do say something and don't get the response you desire, then at least you know where you stand (and you know that it says a lot more about the other person/people than it says about you). Then, you can move forward without the regrets and the uncertainty that would accompany never having tried.

The Seven of Swords says: Be prepared to pack your toys and go. Don't waste another second of your time on someone who doesn't appreciate you. Some people are givers. Some people are takers. If you are a giver and you find yourself in relationship with a taker (and this doesn't just mean romantic relationships, either) and if you are tired of always being the one to give, and you make the other person aware of the dynamic and she or he doesn't listen or hear you, then get gone. You deserve to be with people who love you and who give to you as much as you give to them.

Leaving might be scary but in the long run, it is better to spend time in that vulnerable and perhaps lonely place than to keep pouring yourself all over someone else like a tonic, only to have that person take it, bathe in it, and then only want more. You deserve better. We all do.

Readers: Shysters or Gurus? (People's Perceptions and Expectations)

Last night's tarot/palm gig was a doozy. I don't normally read until 1:30 in the morning, but last night, I did and I will pay the price for my late night. However, it was AWESOME (for the most part)! I heard the words, "how could you possibly *know* that?" and "did you Google me?" more than once. One time, I even answered, "Yes, yes I did Google you. In fact, I'm so good that even though I don't know your name, and didn't know you would be coming in to get a reading, I miraculously just googled you and found out all this information so I could say this stuff to you." Luckily, he smiled when I said it and then said, "then how the hell do you know this stuff??" So, we had a nice discussion about interpreting possibilities based on the symbolism in the cards he chose and it went on from there.

I did have one tense moment. A woman was getting a reading and her husband came into the room, turned out the lights, and left. "That was strange," I said and went to turn them back on. A few minutes later, he came back again, opened the door and said, "I can't believe this! You know that everything you are being told is complete BS. None of it is real. And your sons are coming to pick us up." I could have gotten up and said something along the lines of "Hi. I don't come to your place of business and tell you that everything you are doing or saying is complete BS so I would appreciate the same courtesy." But instead, I stayed quiet so the woman could have her say. She just looked at him squarely and said, "It is not BS. Now, get out!" He left.

She turned to me and said, "After what you have just been saying to me, I *know* it's not BS. Sorry my husband is an asshole."

I smiled and we finished the reading.

Seriously, I don't know why on Earth people feel that they have the right to say this stuff to other people. I wouldn't dream of saying it to him, but for some reason, people expect readers to either be complete shysters or completely accurate, in every respect. Doctors are sometimes wrong in their diagnoses until they figure out what's wrong with their patients. And we give them that leeway. It's called the *practice* of medicine for a reason. Yet, readers? Well, we are supposed to be accurate every time (and believe me, I've heard it from people before if I am incorrect on *any* part of a reading, even if every *other* part has been right on). There is something fascinating to me about the trust we place in the various professionals we deal with. Some get leeway to estimate, guess, or spend time and a lot of resources determining answers, and some we want to have it right immediately. With readers, I wonder if it is something to do with the expectation that we have a connection to a different plane of knowledge (which I personally don't believe I do because I interpret possibilities rather than have any psychic ability) and that if we are wrong then we either don't have that connection, or we are shysters.  It's something worth pondering.

Regardless, the gig was great on the whole, the client was incredibly happy, and she said I'd be hearing from her again. Now, that's what I like to hear.

Prepare, prepare, prepare. This week's tarot draw.

This week, we need to make our own luck (except that sometimes we make bad luck as well as good luck, so know exactly what you want before you go for it).

The cards are: Wheel of Fortune, The Magician, Knight of Swords (reversed).

Things aren't really in our control right now. We might be waiting with bated breath for a sign, something to happen that will steer us in one direction over another. But, even though we're waiting, we can still make all the appropriate preparations. So, if you don't know whether or not the hurricane is going to head to your town/state/area, that doesn't mean that you ought not buy a few gallons of extra water, and (rechargeable) batteries for your flashlights. So, if it does show up on your doorstep to blow the roof off your house, you are prepared. And if it doesn't, you have a little extra water and a few more batteries.

The Wheel of Fortune was right side up so chances are luck is with you this week. But, and this is a big "but," luck will only take you so far. With that in mind, the Magician shows up to kick our butts into action. Make sure the intelligent you, the emotional you, the practical you, and the passionate you are all of a mind, and then go do what you need to do or say what you need to say. Having said that, don't just fly off the handle (not a good week for it). Really make sure that know what you want and the best, most efficacious way to go about getting it. If you try for something that is out of reach, no problem, as long as you are prepared. You will get something better in the long run (remember the Wheel of Fortune is right side up, here). But, if you go off half-cocked, then, trouble will brew. Be prepared. Be prepared. Be prepared. Know what you want and need. Lay the groundwork. Build the foundation. Increase your contacts. Reach out to those who might help (and if they choose not to, don't hold it against them. They aren't required to help; you just need to let them know that if they want to, you would appreciate it). Then, do what you need to do.

The Knight of Swords is reversed. That still means, prepare, prepare, prepare. Think through the possibilities and act accordingly. Rash action will get you rash results (to the extreme). Well-thought-out action that fits with your highest goals for yourself? Well, that will get you that much farther on the path towards them.

Good luck!

Until next time, Izolda. http://izolda.info

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Learn (to) Find Joy (in) Solitude

Eight of Pentacles (reversed), Ten of Cups, The Hermit

Sometimes, we think we know it all and other times we realize just how much else we have to learn. This week's cards give a little of both. Here we go...

The Eight of Pentacles is the card of the student. This doesn't necessarily mean going to school in the formal way, though it can. It can also mean keeping ourselves open to learning what the world around us has to teach us. If I use my own life as an example, I am one of the least zen people you will ever meet. I have little tolerance for either being put down or seeing others get put down, and I have no tolerance whatsoever for deliberate cruelty. If you are being deliberately cruel either to me or in a situation where I am a witness, be prepared to be called out on it. Life is too short to waste feeling bad because of someone else's thoughtless words or actions. So, the Eight of Pentacles tells us that either we need to learn the lesson of chilling out and not taking what other people say so seriously (the more zen way) or we need to learn the lesson standing up for ourselves (the not-so-zen way [and yes, I know I'm over-simplifying zen here. So, please don't rake me over the coals here.). Either way, the lesson is ours. Someone well versed in zen might say something along the lines of, we each have a path full of lessons. How do we know that the person who is being put down isn't supposed to learn the lesson of how to respond to these words or more importantly how to practice detachment from the harsh words of others? We don't know, but that isn't the point. Often, the only thing we do know is that in the moment, our feelings (or others' feelings) are hurt and we need to deal with immediate situation. Practicing detachment comes later. Monday or Tuesday of this week you will get an opportunity to practice detachment from someone's thoughtless words. Try, really try to remember that they have no real clue what they are saying. Treat them like a "me now" five-year-old and it will be much easier to handle.

Wednesday and Thursday will bring a blossoming joy. The Ten of Cups provides us with an opportunity to just enjoy the heck out of ourselves (particularly at home or with family). At first, it won't seem like fun, but trust me, once you get into it, it will be. Here's another tidbit from my own life. A few months ago, I attended a convention. I was seated at dinner next to someone I didn't know but I had seen him present on a topic at the convention. He was not a good presenter. He tried but did not really know how to connect with us; he didn't seem like someone you could easily talk to. And remembering that, I felt hesitant to sit next to him. I had already prejudged him and that would be to my shame because holy moly, he was fabulous! Once we got to talking, it turned out that we had a ton a in common, similar backgrounds, a deep mutual interest in folk and ancient musical traditions, and mythology. We had a fantastic and enjoyable conversation and I look very forward to seeing him again at the next convention in December. So, when the opportunity comes, even if it seems like it won't be all that, do it, go for it, try it. You'll like it.

Friday and Saturday will bring some time for repose. Take it! The Hermit provides the opportunity for solitary pondering. And you need it. Heck, we all need it. We all need down time in order to find out, well, just about everything. Want to know your next step? Spend time daydreaming. Want to know which way to go? Spend time reviewing your options. Granted, you could talk it over with others, but that will likely shush the voice that is most important in this scenario. And that's your inner voice. That's the one that most needs to be heard. Spend time in solitude and you will hear it. Once you know the path, you get to go do it. And that is just fabulous.

Self-Care, Self-Love, & Patience

This week's cards rock, on toast, with sugar-free, all natural jam.

The first card: Two of Cups. This card is all about connection, sharing, a soul-to-soul union. If the past comes calling (and by "the past," I mean an old lover/partner/boyfriend/girlfriend/snookly, and that person gave you warm fuzzies and you parted on good terms with love in your hearts, then by all means, consider giving it another go. If not, why then stay on the lookout this week for someone who will trip your "Universe Is Smiling On This Union" switch. Be careful not to jump guns, but seriously, this could be a beautiful foray into a whole new dimension in love.

If that "holy crap, how am I going to handle all this love coming at me" thing doesn't happen, then it's really time to look deep into your soul and see what you need to feel loved, cared for and joyful. Need a foot rub? go get one, or heck find directions on how to give yourself an at home foot spa treatment. In fact, here are some now: http://skincare.about.com/od/caringforyourfeet/ht/footspa.htm. Take the time to decide what you need and then do a wee bit of research and you will move toward that goal.

Tuesday, especially, you will want to practice self-care. If someone starts giving you grief, walk away. Don't engage. They aren't worth it. You deserve better and you know it.

The second card: Queen of Cups. Self-love in all its glory. What does it take to get us to go deep inside and find that small, secret, scared part of ourselves and then nurture it (which by the way is a revolutionary act)? What do we need in order to show ourselves compassion? How far down the road of stress and unhappiness do we need to get before we cut ourselves some slack? This is your mission should you choose to accept it.

This week: Be Kind To Yourself. Love yourself. Give yourself frequent breaks (particularly if you live in the really hot parts of the world. It's brutal out there and we have shorter fuses when nature is being extreme). Drink deeply from life's well, this week. Spend time in repose. Allow yourself to feel, really feel, what's going on inside. Figure out your needs and try to meet the ones you can meet. You might not be able to meet them all right now, but that doesn't mean you won't. And this way, you will at the very least have a set of needs identified. Once you have that, the rest becomes all about finding new and creative ways both to love yourself and to move forward on your path. Oh, and creativity plays a big role here. Be unapologetic about what you create. You are the artist of your own life and don't you forget it. Oh and for you artistic, creative types, now would be a great time to break out your old copy of Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way" (or check it out from your library) and work through the book. You will be delighted that you did.

The third card: Temperance. "Be patient" is one of the worst things you can say to me. WTH?? I want it (whatever it is) and I want it now. The need for patience makes me want to tear out my own hair. I chafe about it. I gnaw and gnash over it. I am not good at it. And you know what? This week, the universe just doesn't give a flying rat's butt. This week (and perhaps longer, darn it) it's all about patience. Things come when they do. And it's our job to get over ourselves, sit down, hush up, and wait for the signal. We will know it when we see it. And it will come.

Today's Tarot: 2/24/12

Today's Tarot: 2/24/12. Ten of Rods, Knight of Cups. Today is about moving on. If you're fed up with someone or something, if you've tried multiple times to work it out and it's just not happening, then take your toys and go. You don't have to stay somewhere that makes you miserable. You have choices and options. Use them. Staying when you really don't want to keeps you from living your life on your own terms and quite frankly, in the long run, your heart can't take it. So, do it a favor and if you're done, be done.