Tower Event Consequences

Daily Draw: The Arthurian Tarot ~ Spiral Tower

The Tower events in our lives are seldom asked for, excepting when we wish something terrible on someone else. Most people hate change and that is the one thing all Tower events have in common. It may be losing a wallet and altering the course of a month, or losing a job, home, or person and altering the course of your year or life.

I'm reminded by this card to look back on some of my own Tower moments in life. What altered? In hindsight what got better? Would I change what and where I am today for what and where I was pre-tower? That is an easy answer. No. Because with the personal growth that came from tower events I came out the other side with a stronger and better foundation.

"Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility." ~ Saint Augustine 354-430 AD

Once again the deck of the week features the quest for the Holy Grail, The Arthurian Tarot by Caitlin and John Matthews, Illustrated by Miranda Gray, Aquarian Press 1990. Out of print, has been republished with white borders. Mid-June 2007 I used their gorgeous Legend, the Arthurian Tarot, one of my favorites.

Laughter, The Best Medicine

Daily Draw: Bohemian Gothic Tarot ~ 9 of Wands

That is just a helmet with feathers on his head, but at first glance I had a good laugh and remembered Johnny Carson and all the adventures he had over the years with animals on his show.

I'm reminded by this card that even when we are on the job or dealing with heavy or serious issues, there is always room for a laugh. It is good for everything that ails us and everything that doesn't. A perfect way to start the day and end it.

"Humor is that which most efficiently recognizes that we are living in an imperfect world, with imperfect arguments and things that are insane, illogical, and irrational. And the only way we can live with that fact is to laugh." ~ Jean-Louis Barsoux

The Bohemian Gothic Tarot Magic Realist Press 2007
I've had this deck since January, have pulled it off the shelf 3 or 4 times, just couldn't take it seriously and put it back. Last week I traded it to another reader for a custom designed stained glass window, so it was use it or lose the chance forever. Well I've used it, and got along with it better than I expected to, but I don't regret my trade bargain. A gothic deck that makes the user laugh every time she picks it up is not a good fit.

The two person partnership at Magic Realist Press design unique decks. They and Lo Scarabeo, as far as I know, are the only two deck publishers in the world that listen to their targeted market and both are to be much credited for that. This is a wildly popular limited edition, long sold out, which is why I was able to make such a delicious trade for it. My set comes with a well written 230 page soft cover book penned by one of the partners, Karen Mahony. In addition to her overview of the cards, the reader gets to see some of the original antique illustrations Alex Ukolov starts with before he does his magic which will give you a deeper respect for the art he has created. Many of their decks also feature Karen's photographer's eye, using backgrounds in Prague, Czech Republic, their chosen home.

While the larger book does not contain suggestions for reversed meaning, the well written 32 page little white book gives prompts for both upright and darker shadow meanings to help beginning users.

Maintaining Balance

Daily Draw: Bohemian Gothic Tarot ~ Fool

Often the Fool is perceived as stepping out on faith or leaping blindly, this Fool makes me think of yoga or tai chi pose which has much to do with internal and external balance.

I'm reminded by this card that my idea of balance and someone else's are two different things. It is none of my business how someone else is dealing with life and recognizing that is part of my own balance. Letting go is a good thing.

"Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony." ~ Thomas Merton 1915-1968

Who Is Who Here?

Daily Draw: Bohemian Gothic Tarot ~ 10 of Pentacles

What a great card, I could string stories together all day based on these figures. At the base the question is who is out to harm who, and who is there to protect who.

I'm reminded by this card that much of the time it is hard to tell the difference. As the 10 of Pents I'll take up credit cards which offer the same conundrum. At their base and beginning they were a short term help-out for people that had excellent credit, plus the same job and address for at least two years. It was very difficult to get a credit card. Of course you know how that landscape has changed now, they have based their house of cards on people with bad credit, not being able to pay off the balance. That house is collapsing and and I say "Finally!!" I hope this card shows some intelligence by both sides from now on. If you can't pay it off when the next bill comes, don't do it. It's just a want, not a need. A 10 of Pentacles life cannot be built on credit.

"To sit patiently with a yearning that has not yet been fulfilled, and to trust that fulfillment will come, is quite possibly one of the most powerful "magic skills" that human beings are capable of. It has been noted by almost every ancient wisdom tradition." ~ Elizabeth M. Gilbert 1969-

Hearts in Harmony

Daily Draw: Bohemian Gothic Tarot ~ Queen of Cups

Today is my day to create, hold, and restore harmony in a group of strong personalities. Including my own.

I'm reminded by this card that it would be easier to be the bystander, the loner...way easier. But sometimes what makes other people happy spills over into something even better for ourselves. And what's a day? Time? How much time have I wasted just this past week? I can do this, surely I can.

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." ~ Mahatma Gandhi 1869-1948

Drive

Daily Draw: Bohemian Gothic Tarot ~ 2 of Pentacles

This looks like a young budding entrepreneur to me, full of life, full of ideas, full of enthusiasm. Her classmates will wonder how she got to be a CEO while they are working the line at a mill.

I'm reminded by this card that much of our forward movement in life comes from within. Anyone can have that spark but you have to want something badly enough to be willing to do the work to achieve it. Lazy bones and couch potatoes need not apply.

"Without change there is no innovation, creativity, or incentive for improvement. Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage the change that is inevitable." ~ William Pollard 1938-

Such Unsweet Sorrow

Daily Draw: Bohemian Gothic Tarot ~ 10 of Swords

Changes are rolling across our life landscapes at a rapid clip, most all for the good, but there will be partings that will never come close to sweet sorrow, they will tear at my heart like a backhoe.

I'm reminded by this card that parting and loss are all a part of life. Seems often that I've had more than my share, but then I look around and wonder how others can bear up under their much larger burdens. Cold comfort is still comfort I guess, and I turn back to easing my own partings.

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." ~ Carol Sobieski 1939-1990

Too Good To Be True

Daily Draw: Silver Bohemian Gothic Tarot ~ Magician

I had a partner in my business for six years that freely admitted she and her husband were multilevel marketing junkies. They fell for every pyramid scheme that came along; they knew better from experience and still jumped in with fervor. They always lost their investment and usually ended up with another bedroom full of stuff that couldn't be offloaded for love nor money.

I'm reminded by this card to wake up and pay attention, particularly in these financially troubled times. There will always be black hearted silver tongued jackals more than willing to part fools from their hard earned money, in the smallest communities and at the international level.

"When we advance a little into life, we find that the tongue of man creates nearly all the mischief of the world." ~ Edwin Paxton Hood 1820-1885

The deck of the week is a limited Silver edition (#84 of 500) Bohemian Gothic Tarot from Magic Realist Press, 2007.

Beginning Againigin

Daily Draw: Oswald Wirth Tarot ~ Ace of Chalices

Thinking caps on our Ace of Chalices, we once more begin again here. I feel old today and the idea of starting anew makes me just want to go back to bed. Yet I love a challenge and a fresh start is an opportunity to do better, rise further, come out the other side refreshed and renewed.

I'm reminded by this card that in spite of grief, in spite of blocks by the holidays, in spite of dragging my feet, change will come and the sooner I buck up and gird my loins the sooner the good things that go with change will arrive.

"Think of things not as they are but as they might be." ~ Robert Collier 1885-1950

I've enjoyed working with the Oswald Wirth very much this week. My readings have been clear and forthright, no monkeying around with maybe. The rich coloring and metallic inks have lifted my spirits in this grey time of my life. Thank you U.S. Games Systems for making this vintage deck available to us. I would have enjoyed a good sit-down talk with Oswald Wirth (1860-1943). He has gained a undeserved and bogus reputation as a Satanist because one of his illustrations in a French encyclopedia was appropriated by Anton LaVey as a logo for his Church of Satan. Even before computer mice people were happy to copy and paste someone else's work and call it their own. A pox on them and the horse they rode in on.

I Don't Get It

Daily Draw: Oswald Wirth Tarot ~ High Priestess

This figure is very regal but much more approachable than many High Priestess images of other decks. She is often so remote and forbidding that readers have problems figuring out how the information she holds can help.

I'm reminded by this card that a different viewpoint can often unlock a mental or physical logjam, solutions that seem hidden or withheld can be achieved if we loosen up a bit, think outside the box, ask someone's opinion or advice. We are adults, this is life, not a school math test. It isn't cheating to look up the answers, only cheating ourselves to think we have to bear every thing in life alone.

"There is a hidden meaning behind all events, and this hidden meaning is serving your own evolution." ~ Deepak Chopra 1947

We Budgeted For That

Daily Draw: Oswald Wirth Tarot ~ Reine de Deniers

I see by the news that the congressional hearing to offload some of our tax money to the auto industry isn't going well. The 3 CEO's were taken to task for coming in three private corporate jets. "Why didn't you jet-pool or downgrade to first class?" was one of the questions they were asked.

The rich are different and that's a fact you can take to the bank. So are the poor and so are the middle class for that fact. I'll bet a year from today that anyone reading this post will be able to say "I wish I hadn't done that" about some action or expenditure this month. I'm reminded by this card that we do what we do because we've always done it that way. And as steward of our finances I need to analyze my coin harder.


"Now Bart, since you broke Grandpa's teeth, he gets to break yours." ~ Dan Castellaneta 1958-

The Best of the Best of the Best

Daily Draw: Oswald Wirth Tarot ~ 10 of Denier

That Will Smith line from MIB always cracks me up. We don't often appreciate it but there are bits and pieces from nearly every day which are the best of the best, and occasionally those full days that remain in our minds forever.

I'm reminded by this card that those perfect days don't come very often and the importance of celebrating and holding on to the smaller moments.
For instance I have to put down my dear Trinity today, yesterday we had some excellent pension news that changed everything going forward for the better.
Yesterday the little lost dogs got an F in deportment for chasing Conway the cat, the day before they got an A+ for the whole day, something that would have been unthinkable a couple of weeks ago.
I cried like a baby when I had to make the decision to close my beauty salon because of health issues, but I would never have been open to richer financial possibilities that came along if I'd remained in business.
Sometimes we make our 10 of coins day and sometimes we only realize it was a 10 of coins day in hindsight. Either way, we need to hold them in our hearts against the 5 of coins days.

"The sun shines and warms and lights us and we have no curiosity to know why this is so; but we ask the reason of all evil, of pain, and hunger, and mosquitoes and silly people." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803-1882

I'm Sorry, I Apologize

Daily Draw: Oswald Wirth Tarot ~ Cavalier de Coupe

Sorry: regretful, feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
Apology: defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning

I'm reminded by this card of the difference.
I'm sorry for all the times I've apologized and really meant I was sorry.
I'm sorry for all the times I've offered my apologizes through gritted teeth or keyboard when I wasn't sorry at all.

"Let us endeavor to live so that when we die even the undertaker will be sorry." ~ Mark Twain 1835-1910

Rome Wasn't Built In A Day

Daily Draw: Oswald Wirth Tarot ~ La Lune

This is the first time I've drawn the Moon card in 2008, odd that because it is my favorite card in any deck. A sign I can't always get what I want? The crustacean is fully in the water, we usually see it emerging onto land showing transformation is in process.

I'm reminded by this card sometimes we are in stasis, and while we may be impatient for things to happen and feel a yearning for measurable progress, time to be still is an important part of our day and life. It gives us time to gather our forces and wits, review what we have already done and tweak where needed, or catch glaring faults we missed the first time around.

"There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls." ~ George Carlin 1937-2008

Under The Surface

Daily Draw: Oswald Wirth Tarot ~ 7 of Swords

Seven Swords, six pointing up ready to use but the guards have become a mechanism freezing them together. The free or seventh sword points down, inactive, inert, just a show piece. The only strength in this image is the flora, surrounding and supporting.

This card is very much like the enormous businesses we see falling like leaves today. Budget experts have been warning the public that a large percentage of people are only two or three paychecks from flat broke. Well guess what, it looks like the bastions of stability in banking, insurance, and commerce have all been using the same non-budget module. Who is the dummy now?

I'm reminded by this card that somewhere deep in each individual are the tools and moxie to take on the challenges to come and arrive on the other side stronger, better, and smarter than we are today. Let fear be the thing that can galvanize, not freeze us in place. It's obvious that Fake It with pretty camouflage isn't going to cut it now.

"I survived because I was tougher than anybody else." ~ Bette Davis 1908-1989

The Oswald Wirth (1860-1943) Tarot is the deck of the week, long out of print and somewhat difficult to find. Wirth's original 22 Trump cards first appeared in 1889. In 1976 U.S. Games added the 56 minor arcana cards and AGMuller of Switzerland printed the deck which features metallic ink, rich colors and much esoteric symbolism.

Rise and Shine

Daily Draw: Lenormand Oracle ~ Sun

I was out walking the dogs this morning about 5:30 and we were treated to a stunning sunrise. We are high on a hill and can see a long ways both north and south and the whole sky was soft ribbons of delicate pink.

I'm reminded by this card that I set the tone for each day, just like the sky does for the weather. I can choose to have a good day or a bad day with my own mindset. Today is going to be a great day!

"The grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never dried all at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls." ~ John Muir 1838-1914

I've enjoyed my week with the Lo Scarabeo Lenormand Oracle. The art is so soft and peaceful, even the unpleasant cards bring their warnings with gentle whispers rather than a slap in the face. It is no wonder this type of deck is so popular with public readers. On the left is a scan of the back which is nothing to write home about, I don't know why they did this style of backs for a few years and I'm glad they've stopped and now seem to be designing backs that enhance the card users experience rather than detract.

Worry Mice

Daily Draw: Lenormand Oracle ~ Mice

Mice, nibbling at everything in the house, reminds me of the worries and confusions that whirl around when lying awake in the middle of the night. I know none of that stuff is important, that very seldom do the things that we waste time worrying about come to pass, yet night after night the fruitless nibbling of worry mice goes on.

"When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened." ~ Winston Churchill 1874-1965

Well, I Meant To...

Daily Draw: Lenormand Oracle ~ Harvest

There is a prairie storm of enormous proportions rising behind these sheaved grains. The potential for a big harvest is in doubt, chances are slim what they worked for can be saved from harm's way in time.

I'm reminded by this card of the great depression, and the today's 40-60 agers future. Our savings habits are pegged at less than 1%, we mortgaged our future rather than saved for it. We've made storage unit owners millionaires with our pack-rat mentality and inability to keep everything we've bought within our own homes. We have no room or desire for our parents treasures, we will be leaving nothing to our heirs but modern Dollar Store carpola. What were we thinking? That Social Security would be enough to live on? That our homes would increase in value so much that we could live on the sale results? We've taken our shiny dreams of cushy retirement and turned them into a tarnished scythe whose only purpose was to cut the legs from beneath us. What were we thinking...and miracles are thin on the ground.

Scarlett: Rhett, Rhett... Rhett, if you go, where shall I go? What shall I do?
Rhett Butler: Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn. ~ Margret Mitchell ~ Gone with the Wind, 1939

Mentors and Friends

Daily Draw: Lenormand Oracle ~ Woman

As an adult my best friends have always been a lot older than I. An analyst would probably say it is because I don't have a very good relationship with my mother, but I say it is because older people have always seemed more comfortable in their own skin, have left the competitiveness and pettiness behind, and have so much knowledge to offer and share. Either way, I've had some marvelous friends over the years who have enriched my life immeasurably with their presence.

I'm reminded by this card of the one drawback to older friends, all but one has died long before I was ready to let them go. My best female friend today will be 81 on November 15, may she live long and prosper. Not just for my benefit, but because she still has a lot of living to do. She just renewed her passport and is planning a trip to someplace warm for January. She is looking forward rather than back, I hope I am doing the same at 81.

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." ~ Abraham Lincoln 1809-1865

Betrayal, Distrust, Hypocrisy

Daily Draw: Lenormand Oracle ~ Snake

Betrayal, Distrust, Hypocrisy. This morning I drew nothing from the snake image except Adam and Eve. But if you believe in the old testament that was the first betrayal, the first hypocrites, the first not to be trusted.

I'm reminded by this card that many of the things we think we believe, we believe because we've believed them so long. If anyone ever watched Steve Irwin handle snakes with his Crikey, Beauty; we have to know that they have quite an undeserved reputation. As do many people. Today I look for the good in others.

"Hypocrisy, the lie, is the true sister of evil, intolerance, and cruelty." ~ Raisa M. Gorbachev 1932-1999

Giving a Gift Back

Daily Draw: Lenormand Oracle ~ Dog

Dog house looks a little small doesn't it? Believe it or not I'm not thinking about dogs today, although we did have a break-though last night with the little unsocialized Doxies, they actually briefly played fetch. Poor little guys, no one has ever played with them before and they are 1-2 years old. Anyway, I'm thinking today of my human faithful companion Rob, today is his 60th birthday. He still looks 25 to me.

I'm reminded by this card, for all the talk of electric excitement of new love interests, we are so fortunate to have both excitement and friendship after 38 years of marriage. Having a best friend that is also sexy is lovely. Funds are tight so, same as for my birthday a few weeks ago, we exchanged hugs and kisses. The only gift you can give back and get even more, what a concept!

"A good companion shortens the longest road." ~ Turkish Proverb

Anchor and Surf

Daily Draw: Lenormand Oracle ~ Anchor

I have been training two dogs the last three weeks, and one of my tools are their 36 inch chain leashes. They are between 1-2 years old and had never been in a house or a car prior to their arrival on our road. They are eager to learn and learn fast but they haven't earned my complete trust yet; one of them lunges at my cats still. Their chains are hooked together at the leash handles and when going from room to room they are learning leash commands, when in a room their leashes are anchored around something heavy. When they pass through the kitchen and office with their Pergo floors the chains make a comforting surf-like sound.

I'm reminded by this card how things come to us in it's own good time, and how often we need anchors too. Sometimes for stability, or safety, or just to give us some think time. I'm grateful when common sense kicks in and gives me the anchor I need, and for the new companionship of two little dogs, Xing-xing and Xavier.

"Neither should a ship rely on one small anchor, nor should life rest on a single hope." ~ Epictetus AD 55-c.135

Something totally different in decks this week, the 36 card petite Lenormand Oracle, a faithful reproduction of an 1890 deck. Now out of print, 2003, Lo Scarabeo. Based on the deck created in 1840, which was based on the 1828 Sybilla Lenormand of 52 cards, both made famous by Napoleon and Josephine's cartomancer Madame Lenormand. The deck of choice of many European 'fortune tellers' for it deceptive simplicity, small size, and beauty.

Frog Ecology

Daily Draw: Animal Spirits ~ Frog

Scientists have been saying at least since 1972 the frog population is declining. Frogs are such an important part of our ecology that this news is akin to the wipe out of so many of the bee hives. Without key parts of the fragile symbiotic relationship in the world around us our life will be pretty bleak, with very limited food sources.

I'm reminded by this card that all life is important. While our inner cities decay the suburbs get covered in concrete. While our downtowns die, malls get larger and larger, which in turn are cannibalized as the satellite outlets and off-prices spring up around the malls. We flee for our safety, but we take our crime with us. We need to hold our ground and revitalize our cities for the health of our nations.

"We think too small, like the frog at the bottom of the well. He thinks the sky is only as big as the top of the well. If he surfaced, he would have an entirely different view." ~ Mao Tse-Tung 1893-1976

Swimming Upstream

Daily Draw: Animal Spirits ~ Fish

Can you tell I'm having trouble drawing anything from this deck? It is beautiful but it is already on my trade/sell list, sorry Susan.

I don't know anything about tropical fish, in this area of the country Salmon reign supreme. The annual fight to go upriver to the streams where they were born, to lay and fertilize eggs, and then to die is a marvel to observe. Small creeks (or cricks as my family calls them) and rivers are absolutely alive with movement for a week or so, for a little while the banks are littered with dead adults then all returns to normal...when you look in the water you see little schools of minnow, and the cycle starts again.

I'm reminded by this card that with few exceptions our lives are cycles also; we get up/we go to sleep; we go away/we come back but within each of us is the power to make each day special in some way, either for ourselves or someone else. What can I do today to raise my light?

"I'll love you, dear, I'll love you till China and Africa meet and the river jumps over the mountain and the salmon sing in the street." ~ W. H. Auden 1907-1973

Walk Like A Lion

Daily Draw: Animal Spirits ~ Lion

I wonder where the phrase 'heart of a lion' came from. When I think of male lions my feminist gene kicks in and I think opportunist...waiting for the lioness to do the work, enjoying the fruits of her labors.

I'm reminded by this card that in the animal world, just as in the human world lack of knowledge causes me to prejudge cultures and lifestyles. Doing some research helps deepen my understanding and appreciation of the grand variety of inhabitants of this big blue marble.

"To prejudge other men's notions before we have looked into them is not to show their darkness but to put out our own eye." ~ John Locke 1632-1704

Yes We Can

Daily Draw: Animal Spirits ~ Puma

The Puma represents power, desire, healing.

I rejoice with the world today for the winds of change at our back.

It's been sort of a whirlwind". ~ Barack Obama 1961-

Fish gotta swim, Birds gotta fly

Daily Draw: Animal Spirits ~ Birds

I love to sit at my dining room table and watch the many varieties of birds at our feeding station. It started out as a diversion for our Siamese house cats, something they could sit at the window and chatter at. But soon it was people tv, not cat tv and we've been buying 50 pound bags of cracked corn and black oil sunflower seeds ever since.

I'm reminded by this card of the scout hummingbirds who often show up in mid-February hanging in front of and glaring through the kitchen window...time to put out the first hummingbird feeder. Of the hootie-hoot of the Mourning Doves, of the chick chick of the juncos, the squawk of the Stellar jays, the screech of the occasional red-tail hawk or eagle, the limping thrush who only comes when it snows. Things seem to get sorted out so simply at the feeding station, I wonder why it is humans nature to be so perverse?

"It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And we cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad." ~ C.S. Lewis 1898-1963

Hummingbird Nectar recipe, from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center
Mix 1 part sugar with 4 parts water and bring to a boil to kill any bacteria or mold present.
Cool and fill feeder.
Extra sugar water may be stored in a refrigerator.
Red dye should not be added.

Monkey see, Monkey do?

Daily Draw: Animal Spirits ~ Monkey

I've never seen monkeys in the wild, only caged and that was many years ago, the zoo saddens and distresses me. In many parts of the world they are as commonly seen as cats and dogs are here. They are smart and clever and what is often of paramount importance in the modern world, they are adaptable.

I'm reminded by this card that adaptability is the way way some species have survived world changes, those that haven't are now extinct. Humans do the same thing; think of people in prison camps...they shortly form communal groups, they fall in love, they have babies; working desperately to develop some sense of humanity in their inhumane straits. We do it in our day to day life with the different faces we put on, our company manners, keeping our lips zipped and doing what the boss decrees.

"Adaptability is not imitation. It means power of resistance and assimilation." ~ Mahatma Gandhi 1869-1948

Forest Friends

Daily Draw: Animal Spirits ~ Deer

We have a love-hate relationship with deer here in the back of beyond. They are beautiful graceful creatures of the forest with amazing agility... and they love roses. We have a split-rail fence across the front of our property with climbing/trailing roses planted in each V. We've pulled them all out this year except two and they'll come out when they are finished blooming. I think I'll move them to our farm, they will get nibbled there but they won't look as daft as they do where they are.

I'm reminded by this card that nature was here first, I am but a temporary guest. My goal in each home we've owned, town or country is to leave it better than when I came. Sometimes that means structural or mechanical improvements, but I'm always happiest when something we've done makes it nice for our forest friends. Except in the case of our roses...The rose on the left is about 8 feet tall. The deer eat from knee high to nose high.

When I looked for an appropriate quote this morning, I got side-tracked into a whole lot of wonderful personal finance blogs...don't ask me how, I never remember how I got somewhere when I start surfing. Anyway, these blogs give me hope for the world, maybe there really are enough people out there with the common sense to save us from ourselves and the mad rush to purchase and trash everything we see. Sometimes I think I'm the only person trying to live simply, within our income, with some put aside for those rainy days.
Take life with a grain of chocolate
Give me back my five bucks
Change can be a good thing
Adventures in voluntary simplicity

The deck this week is Animal Spirits Knowledge Cards, using 48 paintings by Susan Elanor Boulet 1941-1997, published by Pomegranate Communications

Go Ahead, Do It

Daily Draw: Halloween Tarot ~ 9 of Imps

I wonder how grown-up we have to get before that little voice in our head quits saying "go ahead and do it, it won't hurt this once and who will know?".

I'm reminded by this card I will know and shouldn't be doing it. Anything 20 miles over the speed limit is a jailable offense. 20 candy bars should be. Swearing. Slamming doors. Embarrassing kids deliberately. Shouting at pets when mad at humans. I can't speak for anyone else but I hate having those imps in my brain saying "go ahead and do it" because when I do I can feel my inner light dim. I think I'll put my daily mantra up over in the side bar to help keep the imps at bay because the imps are me.

I cage the beast
I lock it up
even then It knows
It hasn't lost. ~ Dr. Patrick Rich

I've had a lot of fun with the Halloween Tarot this week, the art is clever without being macabre and the accompanying book is well written. My only complaint is the renaming of the suits, unnecessary and confusing; the names chosen are not intuitive at all. Bats for swords?? Ghosts for cups?? A 9.5 rating for everything else. Thank you U.S. Games Systems for this gem.