Quirkeries ~ A Personal Tarot Book Of Days

Butt Out

2012-01-27T06:27:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Harmonious Tarot ~ Emperor

He fell out when I picked up the deck, I stuffed him back and he came out again on my fan and draw. If the Moon is my favorite card, the Emperor is my least favorite. And this one is chief of the disliked Emperors.

I'm reminded by this card to wonder why it gets my back up so regarding voluntarily subservient women. It's none of my business, live and let live, right? I'll work on remembering that today.

"The man of power is ruined by power, the submissive woman by subservience." ~ Hermann Hess 1887-1962

Redoubling

2012-01-26T06:16:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Harmonious Tarot ~ 6 of Wands

I'm still pondering how to take the worst day of my life back and make it special and personal again, not tainted by rage and disappointment and grief and betrayal.

I'm reminded by this triumphant couple, having made the decision to do something about it has already softened the grief. I slung the rage from me last year. The disappointment and betrayal are only in my mind anyway. My little hens, who quit laying last summer, have given me two big brown eggs this week. A good omen indeed.

Fanaticism consists of redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim." ~ George Santayana 1863-1952

RL

2012-01-25T06:29:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Harmonious Tarot ~ Justice

Justice might be about putting the hurt on the person who hit and run someone leaving them with no legs. But it is also about harmony and discipline within ourselves.

This card reminds me I often hear myself justifying why I should or shouldn't do or have something. Like I need to 'earn my air' before I'm allowed any. That isn't good, need to work on that. On the plus side we don't have TV and I limit myself to 2-ish hours a day online. That takes discipline but it allows true balance and harmony living space in my real life, or RL as it's been dumbed down to.

"If this were the last day of my life would I be content with it? To live in a harmonious balance of commitments and pleasures is what I strive for." ~ Jane Rule 1931-2007

Indignation Armor

2012-01-24T07:49:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Harmonious Tarot ~ Knight of Swords

Would you believe a full suit of armor or it's predecessor chainmail weigh 45-55 pounds? The weight of the clothing of a fully tricked out woman of the era was also between 45-55 pounds. I find both facts astounding, but I'd have guessed the armor much heavier.

I'm reminded by this card the indignation we dress ourselves in varies by subject. I can wear it all, on my very highest horse if the subject is child or animal abuse. For self abuse, I might armor up in a light scarf.

"One's life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation, and compassion." ~ Simone de Beauvoir 1908-1986

Hanging Around

2012-01-23T06:40:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Harmonious Tarot ~ 4 of Swords

Waiting for someone to arrive, waiting for a letter, or a paycheck, waiting for a vacation, or lunch...

I'm reminded by this card for a number of years I'd set the timer for fifteen minutes when I had some time wasting time on my hands, and work like mad at something until it dinged. Amazing what you can get done in fifteen minutes, I think I'll start doing that again.

"Regret for wasted time is more wasted time." ~ Mason Cooley 1927-2002

Am I Or Aren't I

2012-01-22T05:34:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Harmonious Tarot ~ 5 of Swords

A stay or go image. Think about it or do it. Can or can't. I chose the Harmonious Tarot this week because it is probably the pinkest deck ever made and I'm celebrating being finished with my radiation treatments.

I'm reminded by this card of the cancer patient? victim? carrier? survivors mental crossroads. I've never met one that could take the path and walk away. Mentally we are tied to the disease for life. I could say: it was caught early, the surgery was successful, the margins were clear, the radiation is complete so I'm cured. I don't believe it for a minute though. There is no such thing as early detection, by the time cancer is found you've already had it 3-6 years. If the surgery was successful I wouldn't need radiation. If I was clean and clear I wouldn't need to be tied to five years of tamoxifen and extra mammograms. But for this week...I'm Pink. And clean. I can believe it for seven days, surely.

"I never thought of losing, but now that it's happened, the only thing is to do it right." ~ Muhammad Ali (Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.) 1942

This week's deck is the Lo Scarabeo Harmonious Tarot 2005, based on the art of Walter Crane, with tarotization by Ernest Fitzpatrick.

Sit Up, Stand Up, Show Up

2012-01-21T07:17:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: The Classic Tarot DellaRocca ~ 8 of Coins

Autonomy; independence or freedom, and to carry it further the willingness to be independent or free. Ahh...at that point it is no long a seldom used word but a life style, a choice that requires action.

I'm reminded by this lovely card of my gallons of buttons, sorted by color. The least useful? The gold metal ones. They are shank style rather than having standard buttonholes, so when attached to something they flop. They don't sit up, show up, or stand up. So they don't get chosen when I grab a jar for projects, they just live life on the shelf. Autonomy without action.

"Drink from your own well. Speak from your own heart. Know your own mind. For each man has his own pathway, and whoever would be your guide cannot help but lead you astray." ~ Marcus Tullius Tiro 103 BC-4 BC

I Write It Out Loud

2012-01-20T06:29:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: The Classic Tarot DellaRocca ~ 7 of Swords

Lo Scarabeo suggests the keyword secrets on this card.

Lo Scarabeo is famous for wonderful decks,

infamous for their keyword-ridden accompanying little books.

That's the biggest non-secret I know.

I have no personal secrets; rather I blog, to myself, for myself.

When I think a secret might be getting hold of me I write it out loud,

it robs the fear by exposure or doubles the joy by voicing.

No username here, but the real me, with no secrets.

"To Nobody, then, will I write my journal! Since to Nobody I can be wholly unreserved." ~ Frances Burney 1752-1840

Turkey Wattle

2012-01-19T07:14:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: The Classic Tarot DellaRocca ~ 9 of Wands

The only time I look at my own face is morning and evening teeth/face/hair ritual at the bathroom sink. So I've been tracking the interest my wrinkles have been earning by following the same progress in my Rob's face. We can put up all the barriers against age we want, but those fine and deep wrinkles are a map of our heart and life.

I'm reminded by this card I'm not crazy about the turkey wattle my neck sometimes becomes, but my facial wrinkles bother me not. When little I used to position myself to the side of my grandmother so I could watch those lines, I just loved them. And if my face is becoming my Grandma Pearl's it's ok by me, I couldn't be following a finer path.

"I like the idea of growing old gracefully and full of wrinkles, like Audrey Hepburn." ~ Natalie Imbruglia 1975-

Well Trained

2012-01-18T06:05:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: The Classic Tarot DellaRocca ~ Strength

How many of us would be likely to find ourselves in a situation like this? I guess that is why for many readers this has a rather hazy meaning in a spread. Overcome obstacles? Hang in there? Or the pop-psychology of 'You can do anything if you really want to'? And what is the lion's point of view?

I'm reminded by this lion and the handsomely dressed youth who isn't even breaking a sweat of what it's like trying to train unsocialized puppy mill dachshunds. Xavier and Xing Xing found us in October 2008. Daily dedicated work has now brought us to the point where they will allow us to carry or lift them without desperate struggle to get away/down. We can now touch their mouths and inspect their teeth and still have all our digits when finished. Yet after three plus years, Xavier clamped down on my fingers just this week; I forgot to show him his good boy treat, approach his mouth slowly with it, remind him of his manners, and brush the side of his mouth with the back of my hand before turning the fingers to offer the treat. He forgot he was socialized. Their good points far outweigh the few remaining rough ones, but I'd never let a stranger reach for their mouth, let alone contain them between their legs. That wouldn't be strength, but sheer foolhardiness and the fastest route to life as a eunuch.
"It has never taken long for a dog to train me." ~ Corey Ford 1902-1969

Raggedy Ace Raggedy Hearts

2012-01-17T07:25:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: The Classic Tarot DellaRocca ~ Ace of Wands

I thought this ace looked familiar so I searched my blog for "Ace of Wands" and among the many returns, yes this one was there. I had the same impression of it this morning as I did in December 2008, this ace is way past it's pull date.

I'm reminded by this card it is once again approaching February, the month I've been wanting this quilt on my bed since 2005. It is the last quilt I'll hand quilt and one I've loved since it's inception. So why isn't it finished already? I guess I thought I had all the Februarys in the world. Silly me. I'm quilting madly on it, this is the year I literally put this old project to bed.

"I know now why Franz Schubert
never finished his Unfinished Symphony.
He would have written more but the clock struck four
and everything stopped for tea." ~ Long John Baldrey 1941-2005

I Have To Ask

2012-01-16T05:56:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: The Classic Tarot DellaRocca ~ Queen of Wands

I look at the raiment; silk, brocade, satin, elegant trims, dainty little shoes, and wonder how they ever got them clean. There isn't anything cloth in her attire that wouldn't require dry cleaning today. And the ancient Egyptians with their beautiful linens, much of which was worn knife pleated. Ever own a linen skirt? You look at it, it wrinkles...what did they use to press with?

I'm reminded by this beautiful queen the scientists and archaeologists don't have a lock on the why and how questions, I'm full of them. I think I'll give this queen a ring, see does she want to do lunch. I'll bet she'll literally give me the clothes off her back in trade for my modern wonder fabrics.

"Would that you could meet the sun and the wind with more of your body and less of your raiment." ~ Kahlil Gibran 1883-1930

Kilroy Was Here

2012-01-15T06:35:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Classical Tarot DellaRocca ~ Tower

I don't remember seeing this before in the Tower, a little Kilroy sort of person in that third window. And what in the world is that sticking up attracting the lightening? And have I noticed a cannon on the roof before, or what appears to be a deck off the back? And where did the blue fragment come from by the figure on the ground?

I went through a streak in the '80's reading everything John D. McDonald wrote. All of the Travis McGee novels have tower moments to the nth degree, but his 1985 novel Condominium is about the tower itself. And my eye keeps coming back the figure inside, hanging on with all his thumbs. Will the base hold? Or would he have a better chance just jumping?

"They say I leave at night by the window of my tower, hanging from a red unbrella." ~ Camille Claudel 1864-1943

Last seen here December 2008, this is one of the beautiful historical decks Lo Scarabeo has reprinted over the years. Those few decks are a real gift as most of us could never hope to see, let alone own one of the originals. Published 2007, based on the 1835 Carlo Dellarocca deck.

Viewpoint

2012-01-14T07:25:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Druidcraft Tarot ~ 9 of Swords

Talk about a novelty, I slept like a log last night. So instead of seeing someone sick or worried or frightened, I'm full of sass and see someone wealthy enough to afford that stunning carved sleigh bed, rich coverlets, and not one but nine incredibly crafted swords.

I'm reminded by this figure I'd like to flip him out of his pity party into the street where he can observe people with real problems who don't have time to have a moan, they are too busy scrabbling just to eat. It's all in the viewpoint isn't it, such a moan I had with the 10 of Swords this week, today, no patience with wimping out whatsoever.

"Of all the various delusions, the sense of discrimination between oneself and others is the worst form, as it creates nothing but unpleasantness for both sides." ~ Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso 1935-

Appease or Confront

2012-01-13T05:28:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Druidcraft Tarot ~ 2 of Swords

Appease or confront?

I'm reminded by this card how often we stand at this path over the course of a lifetime. We can go along to get along, we can run away to live to fight another day, we can order our thoughts and marshal our feelings and say our piece and live with the results, or we can leap up and go in with pinwheeling fists or words and likely get the same and achieve nothing. The ancient Ent has seen it all before and is having a slow chuckle at our expense. On the other hand we can get up and move, we aren't pinioned in place except by choice.

"One sure way to conciliate a tiger is to allow oneself to be devoured." ~ Konrad Adenauer 1876-1967

Brain, Back, Heart

2012-01-12T05:47:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Druidcraft Tarot ~ Emperor/Lord

This leg crossed over knee is called the Jupiter position, the same stance in the Hanged Man is called the crane position. One of the reasons I don't pay tons of heed to symbology and go with what my uneducated eye sees, hears, and chooses to deal with.

I'm reminded by the fallow dry earth behind this leader that knowing and directing isn't enough, there also has to be nurturing action of some kind to achieve any results at all. Brain, back, and heart are all needed or the person in power is no more than a robot or dictator.

"There isn't any symbolism. The sea is the sea. The old man is an old man. The boy is a boy and the fish is a fish." ~ Ernest Hemingway 1899-1961

Whose Agenda?

2012-01-11T06:29:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Druidcraft Tarot ~ 9 of Coins

Ever try to train a falcon? Its soaring spirit combined with ingrained distrust of man and no wish for human companionship leaves the trainer with one result. A weapon.

I'm reminded by this falcon of our perceived need for established community filled with people who think and look like us. And what a weapon that is in the hands of political and spiritual leaders. Sheeple can be herded as easy as water runs downhill. This woman recognizes our personal control over mind body spirit is an illusion until we release the tethers that bind us to outside thought patterns with an agenda. The snail of forward motion is missing in this image...

"I tried to like it. For me, it was like being smacked around the head by a piece of IKEA furniture. It hurts, but you've got to admire the workmanship." ~ Bill (Mark) Bailey 1964-

Going Away To Get Away

2012-01-10T05:57:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Druid Craft Tarot ~ 6 of Swords

Sometimes you don't have to go away to get away. This card is generally shown from the side or rear, moving away, toward something else. The sixes can be about the power of patterns and so often we box ourselves into one even doing happy stuff.

I'm reminded by this card, serendipitously, that to sidestep that rut myself I've done my 'puter stint in reverse today, coming to this card and my blog last. It feels weird...like having jeans on that are still damp from the dryer. But it didn't hurt a bit, I'm sure was good for my character, I'll close down the 'puter now and no doubt will feel like I'm ahead of the game all day. Cool.

"Habit is necessary; it is the habit of having habits, of turning a trail into a rut, that must be incessantly fought against if one is to remain alive." ~ Edith Wharton 1862-1937

The Same Only Different

2012-01-09T05:28:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Druidcraft Tarot ~ World

I feel better today, which this card reflects.

I'm reminded by this card even if all the learned minds combined said "you have 18 months to 3 years to live" I could still walk out of the office and get flatted by a bus ten minutes later. So for the nonce, today is what is important. And shortly I'll have a second helping of Qi Gong and that will help. And December 31st's quote, the same only different here, will help. Perspective is a good thing. And in 2020 we'll get together and have a good laugh on me.

"If there is a problem and there is a solution, there is nothing to worry about,
if there is a problem and no solution, there is still nothing to worry about." ~ Tao Te Ching

Ruminating Pessimist

2012-01-08T05:12:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Druid Craft Tarot ~ 10 of Swords

What have we done, what has been done to us, to bring us to this state of affairs? There are four dramas going on in my life: I have breast cancer; in February further testing will show if what is on my lung is or isn't cancer, odds are 75% it is; my mother is swiftly sliding into dementia and obviously can no longer safely live alone, yet at this moment I'm in no position to honor my commitment to keep her here; and my beautiful relationship with my in-laws is dust in the wind. I should be strong enough to put that one out of my mind, and I do in the daylight, but it's the one that keeps me awake in the wee hours, filling me with doubts and recriminations for I know not what.

In 2112 no one will know or care, but it is 2012 and it all seems outside my control and shouldn't be. I've always been the one to tackle the dragon head on, now I slouch in its shadow watching a slow-motion movie of my life implode in front of me. I want to run up behind this figure, kick it's arse, and force it to quit playing opossum. You aren't dead I scream at it. While I think about who to give my quilts and jewelry to and if Rob is strong enough to do home hospice for me. I barely recognize this person as me. Think it could be depression? Chances are good...

From the blog Sources Of Insight, J.D. Meier "Here’s how the pessimism-rumination chain leads to depression: First, there is some threat against which you believe you are helpless. Second, you look for the threat’s cause, and, if you are a pessimist, the cause you arrive at is permanent, pervasive, and personal. Consequently, you expect to be helpless in the future and in many situations, a conscious expectation that is the last link in the chain, the one triggering depression."

The deck this week is a favorite old friend, beginning to look a little chipped and worn, like me. Art by Will Worthington, 192 page softcover book by Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, published by St. Martin's Press 2004 and in steady production ever since which speaks to how popular this deck is. Used here in 3/07 and 11/10.

Lonely At The Top

2012-01-07T05:45:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Tarot de Paris ~ 7 of Swords

Thomas makes a good point with this card; by the very choices that move us to where we want or need to be, we often manage to cut ourselves off from someone or something else.

My hindsight is fine, I can look back on my life and see lots of actions and choices that put me in the loner category. That was never the result I was working toward but it's what I got. As a side issue I wonder if someone who is really at the top, say Hillary Clinton, has made any true friends in the last 30 years or just knows millions of people. Oprah Winfrey? She likes lots of people, it's in her nature, but as far as I can tell Stedman and Gayle King are her friends. And go back to 'before' the climb.

"The stoical scheme of supplying our wants by lopping off our desires, is like cutting off our feet when we want shoes." ~ Jonathan Swift 1667-1745

Unviable Option

2012-01-06T04:59:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Tarot de Paris ~ 9 of Swords

Thomas tweaks his 9 of Swords to show someone who is reaping the wind of ill-advised behavior. Someone who has pushed with no consequences until late in the game.

There are grownups who seem determined to live life as jerks but mostly this is the posture of a child taking a step closer to adulthood; it's just part of the path. It saddens me so many children, unable to deal with or comprehend consequences, reach for that sword of suicide as a viable option.

"Sever the ignorant doubt in your heart with the sword of self-knowledge. Observe your discipline. Arise." ~ Bhagavad Gita

Flux

2012-01-05T05:19:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Tarot de Paris ~ 2 of Coins

This version of the 2 of Coins is a good example of the state of earthly flux in which our existence resides. Rise and fall, come and go, yet matter is still there. Burn wood get ash, but the energy of heat is received in exchange.

In a convoluted way, I'm reminded by this card our life is akin to a plastic bag. There is room for jostling but when we put something in we may have to take something out. Our time is not infinite...a new baby might mean no fly fishing for a while. Buy a house, less weekend getaways, home maintenance never ends. Discover the internet and a whole lot of things fall by the wayside. The key is making a choice, being sure our sack is still full of quality life and not an empty bag of lumps and shadows.

"Make your mold. The best flux in the world will not make a usable shape unless you have a mold to pour it in." ~ Robert Collier 1885-1950

Capering

2012-01-04T06:05:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Tarot de Paris ~ Nine of Coins

It's been awhile since I've had a true capering day, one of those days when you can't put a foot wrong, serendipity rules, and plans or hopes seem to fall into place. What a joy they are to look back on when the grims get a grip on us.

I'm reminded by this card I'm working towards remedying the worst day in my life. It was so bad on so many levels I've refused to acknowledge that day exists in fact or memory. Cancer pales by comparison. I had the bright idea New Year's day to stage a do-over. It is akin to poking a sleeping dragon with a sharp stick; if I can get close enough to take it back before it consumes my heart I will be the one capering indeed.

"We that are true lovers run into strange capers" ~ William Shakespeare 1564-1616

The Things That Matter

2012-01-03T05:01:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Tarot de Paris ~ 10 of Coins

The things that matter is a movable feast depending on the weather and which side of the bed we arose from...at this particular moment in time my top 10 are, in no particular order of importance:

Rob, first foremost and forever
Our animals
Shelter and sustenance
Family and Friends
Clients and work ethics
Mental and physical health

"If you count all you assets, you always show a profit." ~ Robert Quillen 1887-1948

Grieve For An Illusion

2012-01-02T05:29:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Tarot de Paris ~ 5 of Cups

What it was, vs. what it is vs. what it could be. We will be at the farm later today and I'm hopeful as ever, that our broken relationship with my mother-in-law can be restored.

I'm reminded by this card the heart hurt she has done my Rob is probably irreparable in this life time but this statue's pose is not in our repertoire. To grieve for the illusions that were probably temporary to begin with is the fool's errand embedded in the fives.

"Sometimes illusions collide with reality against which they are dashed to pieces." ~ Sigmund Freud 1856-1939

All Aboard, Wands To Cups

2012-01-01T05:33:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Tarot de Paris ~ Ace of Cups

In review, 2010 was a year of Wands, full of actions creating both big closures and renewal. I'm not surprised to see the Ace of Cups for the first day of 2011, I fully expect it to be a year packed with emotion.

Like this dove at the grail, my decks give me unlimited food for thought. I hope you find something here, thank you for visiting, encourage you to say hello occasionally and wish you the very best 2011 has to offer. Viva la Journey.

As far as I know the first of the photo-collage decks, J. PhilipThomas began photographing Paris with this deck in mind in 1981. Thousands of images later his 78 final choices were inspired. This first edition Tarot de Paris and 160 page hardcover book was published by St. Martins Press 2002. The rights have reverted to Thomas who has published a newer tweaked version.

Also used here July 2007 and September 2010. Suits are titled Swords, Water, Wands, Coins, courts are Spirits, Stallions, Queens, Kings. A number of the majors have been retitled.

The Older We Get The Funnier It Is

2011-12-31T05:21:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Feng Shui Tarot ~ Judgment

His expression is slightly amused yet resigned. Like he has just heard some kids talking about sex. Every single generation thinks it invented premarital sex and the older we get the funnier the perception is.

I'm reminded by this card what is old is always new again in some form or other. We need to remember what we thought we were getting away with at 10, 15, and 20 before we summarily judge the generations following us as at worst a completely lost cause and at best hopeless, lazy, and lackluster.

"Some of the time
everything matters

Much of the time
nothing matters

In the long run
both everything and nothing

matter a lot" ~ James Broughton 1913-1999

Tower Graffiti

2011-12-30T05:14:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Feng Shui Tarot ~ Tower

I chose this card rather than my normal fan and draw at random. It is a realistic yet optimistic Tower card rather than the norm of it all falls down. In the lower left we see the damaged and crumbling tower with the black clouds overhead, in the far distance bathed in light sits another tower, whole, untouched, with the pennant of residence bravely flying.

I'm reminded by the walled path between the two towers of living with breast cancer. The initial diagnosis when the world falls down and all the options seem black. And later hope and percentages beckon from the light. My mad monkey of the mind spends its days pounding up and down the path between them. Of the monkey and the cancer, the monkey is by far the more exhausting of the two. And even a whole Tower is still...a Tower.

"It is not adversity that kills, but the impatience with which we bear adversity." ~ Ancient graffiti inside the Tower of London

Body Mind Spirit Strength

2011-12-29T05:57:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Feng Shui Tarot ~ Strength

The mental and physical wall this tai chi practitioner has built will not stand for long as the growing tree encroaches on the corporeal space and the tumultuous mountains of real life overpower the mind. This buffeting is required to keep us awake, alive, active, aware...but we need to create a refuge to have the strength to go another round, go another day, create the mental sanctuary of the wall.

I'm reminded by this card the beauty of knowing and practicing yoga is mentally you can go there anywhere anytime via Pranayama, breath control. I set myself something new to learn each year, once it was yoga and it was the best thing I've ever done for myself. A few blocks from the cancer clinic a Tai Chi center has opened and I've been thinking that might be my focus for 2012. I need all the mental and physical strength I can capture.

"Do not think of yourself as a small, compressed, suffering thing. Think of yourself as graceful and expanding, no matter how unlikely it may seem at the time." ~ Light on Life by B.K.S. Iyengar 1918-

Invites And Repels

2011-12-28T05:52:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Feng Shui Tarot ~ Moon

This side of the gate is the safety of the known. The other side with it's open water and torturous peaks is the unknown; wild, dangerous, exciting...and for many of us too scary to contemplate.

I'm reminded by this card that fear of change is why so few go through the gate, and why those who do have books and movies about their lives. There is something extraordinary about their adventures and inventions that both repels us yet invites us forward from the comfort of the known. I'd be the one who goes through the gate and sits on the steps on the other side with her pant-legs rolled up and her feet swinging back and forth in the water. The pretender. Always wanting to go, always hanging back with conventionality. Perhaps serenity isn't what I'm working towards, but a true cutting lose...to cross the portal and go.

"It is extraordinary how we go through life with eyes half shut, dulled ears, dormant thought. It may be this very dullness that makes life to the incalculable majority so supportable and so welcome." ~ Joseph Conrad 1857-1924

Sailing Serenely

2011-12-27T05:38:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Feng Shui Tarot ~ Temperance

Ah Temperance, thou art so hard to find. Our lifestyles are so packed and we live by to-do lists. What is wrong with this picture?

I'm reminded by this card of serenity. It seems like I've already deep-sixed so much in my life over the last couple of years...but obviously it hasn't been enough, I still feel rushed and pressured. I wish to 'sail serenely forward'...

"Curiosity endows the people who have it with a generosity in argument and a serenity in their own mode of life which springs from their cheerful willingness to let life take the form it will." ~ Alistair Cooke 1908-2004

Inception To Completion

2011-12-26T05:55:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Feng Shui Tarot ~ Magician

He is shown here with representatives of all four suits; White Tiger, Red Phoenix, Black Tortoise, and Green Dragon. His robes and hair and sash all show a flowing sense of movement. He has what he needs mentally and physically.

His magic, which many of us find so hard to tap into, is the ability to both begin and finish. We wouldn't find him starting at warp speed and then lurching to a stop and walking away from a long line of projects because he got bored or couldn't find a tool. I admire this magic, it respects financial resources and the mental, emotional, and physical commitment enough to know the pleasure of completion is even better than the starting was.

"Opie, you haven't finished your milk. We can't put it back in the cow you know." ~ Aunt Bee Taylor

Who Ya Gonna Call?

2011-12-25T05:21:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Feng Shui Tarot ~ The Hermit

Not Ghostbusters, but the Hermit who in this deck is the Feng Shui Master. In various stages of development in all of us, he is the one who guides in our site placements of life. Where our internal entrance, exit, and stairs are, where our physical location and orientation should be.

I'm reminded by this card of people I've known who are like fish out of water, flopping about aimlessly, who've never set or stuck to intention. Of myself and my insomnia. I've occasionally wondered if I'm simply in the wrong earth position and should actually be in South Carolina or Maine where my 4 AM internal clock would be a more convenient 7 AM...and how we'd save ourselves a lot of life grief if we cultivated rather than quashed this internal Hermit.

"The most important thing to understand in that feng shui is really about the energy that's surrounding you in your personal space." ~ Lillian Too 1946-

Up front this week is the Feng Shui Tarot, art by Peter Paul Connolly, 232 page soft cover companion book by Eileen Connolly. Published 2005 by US Games Systems. The suit system is: Red Phoenix=Cups=South, White Tiger=Swords=West, Black Tortoise=Wands=North, Green Dragon=Coins=East. That said you won't be seeing them as I've turned this deck into a majors only and have used the minors in a number of art projects. Each card also includes an I-Ching tri gram in the lower right corner.

Imagination

2011-12-24T04:52:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Gaian Tarot ~What card is this?

Looking back over this week's draws can you identify any tarot cards? The forest fire and campfire are probably wands. And Strength which is more woman and pet. See why I trimmed them? I've been looking at this card for 15 minutes. Which is it or rather was it? And what is it now?

I'm reminded by this card of individuality and creative brainwork. Quilting being my personal passion I've been to dozens of quilt shows over the years and often see two sides of the same coin from my brain point; I'd like to know what were they thinking and others, to wonder why didn't they think. The first being art quilts which didn't speak to me, and the second being quilts with zero zing. Twelve or twenty quilt blocks, all identical, marching back and forth, imagination frozen in mauve and rose or brown and aqua churn dash time warps. No real point to this post except while I appreciate the artist's nine years of work, I'm sorry I'm not smart enough to appreciate it properly as she intended.

"The creative act is the defeat of habit by originality." ~ George Lois 1931-

A Far But Near Place

2011-12-23T06:21:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Gaian Tarot ~ Bill

Many years ago we used to hunt elk with two other couples. This card reminds me of Bill. He was an enormous man in a world not designed for him. He used a tarp for rain gear and when the hunting was good he would carry half while Jim and Rob each hauled a quarter back to camp. He played a steel guitar and sang like an angel, and his .270 Winchester looked like a toy in his hands. When we'd gather wood for camp fire Bill always brought back a Yule log portion.

I'm reminded by this card, the blazing fire, the moon, the watchful bobcat, and the stately fir, of old friends, long gone family and a life time ago in another far but near place.

"Leftovers in their less visible form are called memories. Stored in the refrigerator of the mind and the cupboard of the heart." ~ Thomas Fuller 1608-1661

Ocean Junkie

2011-12-22T07:03:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Gaian Tarot ~ Walking Alone

This image looks like the three mile National Park Service path that runs from the campground at Lake Ozette out to Cape Alava, the western-most point in the USA. About a mile from the coast the very essence of the ocean starts permeating the air, that's where I pick up speed. Ocean scent is my personal cocaine.

I've walked this path a number of times alone, camped at Ozette alone, and today I wonder what was I thinking? Life was simpler when we thought the only pervert in the world was already in jail, that ax murders were something from the Lizzie Borden story. I'm reminded by this pathwalker that was a long time ago, and today I'm on a different path, also one I walk alone. I keep telling myself it won't kill me to do it, with a weak smile for the small joke.

"No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path." ~ Buddha, Gautama Siddharta 563-483 BC

Hand To Mouth

2011-12-21T04:39:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Gaian Tarot ~ Sorebacks

When it is time for salmon to spawn they leave the ocean and come back to the inland rivers and streams where they were born. I was raised on a 40 acre farm intersected by the East Hoquiam River, and the image on this card was a yearly occurrence. Grandpa called them sorebacks because they were no longer the gleaming silver-grey but pinkish red.

I'm reminded by this card of Grandpa Woods. He worked as a migrant laborer most of his life; my dad was born in a shack on an Oklahoma oil field. With thirteen kids to feed I expect each day's dawning filled grandpa's mind with "where will I find enough food for my family today?". One place was sorebacks that no one else would eat. I can only imagine that life yet today much of the world is still hand to mouth. How can that be in a world with time and money to burn?

"When I gave food to the poor, they called me a saint. When I asked why the poor were hungry, they called me a communist." ~ Dom Helder Camara 1909-1999

Something Released, Something Gathered

2011-12-20T06:53:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Gaian Tarot ~ Beach

With an oracle the first thing to pop into the mind is what you focus on. Pop-beads. Remember those? They are so old they are probably new again. I had a red pop-bead necklace that got left at the beach (cockle shells and starfish, get the leap?) when I was about seven. Mother had taken my Grandmother Pearl and I to Westport for a picnic.

Westport has the lovely Grays Harbor lighthouse, one of my favorites, in fact it is the feature in one of only three real paintings I've ever purchased. Perhaps that day, the day I abandoned my beloved beads in childish carelessness, and listened to the foghorn blow, was also the day that set my long abiding love of those sentinels of the sea.

"Inside my empty bottle I was constructing a lighthouse while all the others were making ships." ~ Charles Simic 1938-

Support Team

2011-12-19T06:45:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Gaian Tarot ~ Team

I can't stress how important having a team was during the three years I took care of my FIL, from mild dementia right through home hospice to the end. His children, my husband, his wife, plus the Home Health nurses who came each week...everyone contributed which made my load so much lighter. I'd do it again in a New York minute.

This card reminds me of an insight I had this past week.
Rob was home Wednesday and had some errands to run so all the doggies piled into the pickup with him. I got ready to leave for my daily radiation appointment and was suddenly frozen at the door. Panic stricken. I've been going for weeks now, falala, this is no biggie so why the frozen fear? That's when I realized taking my doggies with me every day has turned them into my own traveling support team. And just how important it's become to have my own little family with me before and after treatment. Never underestimate the power of unconditional love...

"A dog will teach you unconditional love. If you can have that in your life, things won't be too bad." ~ Robert Wagner 1930-

Renewal From The Ashes

2011-12-18T05:58:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Gaian Tarot ~ Forest Fire

Here in the Pacific Northwest, timber is king, the basis of the economy. In the modern world we are diversified, but the settling and success of our roots was based on hardwood forests covering millions of acres.

The commercial forests are mico-managed now, cultivated and replanted as crops, some beginning their third and forth generation growth. I'm reminded by this deck based on nature, of the millions of board feet of timber cut to serve as shelter, of the billions of reams of newsprint, typing paper, toilet paper that is squeezed from the lifeblood of a tree each year. Of forest fires so extensive they could doom the economy of a logging community and turn it into a ghost town. And once again, of devastation, loss, and renewal from the ashes.

"Don't fling your butt in the forest and we won't fling your butt in jail." ~ Forest Service sign

The Gaian Tarot is a nine year labor of love from Joanna Powell Colbert, a Pacific Northwest neighbor. Gaia is Mother Earth and the deck is based on respect and honor of nature in all it's forms. Published by Llewellyn Publications 2011, the set includes the softcover 270 page Journey Through The Gaian Tarot book. I received the deck in trade a few days ago and while a great admirer of Colbert's art and mission I found the reworked images had little to do with tarot, and the renamed suits and titles confusing...so I cut off the titles and borders and made it into a oracle.

We Are A Funny Folk

2011-12-17T05:42:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Legend the Arthurian Tarot ~ 10 of Coins

A winter gathering in Castle Camelot. Look at all that light and here it was, the Dark Ages. I wonder what the average temperature was in a castle at 9:00 PM, even full of people with all the fireplaces going? I wonder that need and common sense didn't supersede convention with women wearing boots and shorter skirts. Can you imagine how filthy dress bottoms must have been?

I'm reminded by this card the past is often romanticized in both fiction and oral history. We are no different. Remember the vacation or job from hell? Within a few days we are telling stories and laughing like loons at life's hard experiences. We are a funny folk, humans. Perhaps that is how we have managed to mostly get by for 30,000 years, and maybe that is the real truth of the 10 of Coins.

"The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and then writes another." ~ James Matthew Barrie 1860-1937

That's Life

2011-12-16T04:46:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Legend Arthurian Tarot ~ 2 of Coins

Tiny little figures on a great big background, much like us and life. These puddles are all Uther got out of his efforts to change the course of a river into a moat for his castle. Son Lancelot finally regained the family castle and then turned around and gave it to a friend.

I'm reminded by this card it's just as well we can't foresee the future or we'd probably never try to do anything. The real gift of the 2 of Coins is even when things don't turn out as we planned we always learn something and we always gain something, whether we are willing to acknowledge it or not.

"The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson." ~ Tom Bodett 1955-

Rich and Dead

2011-12-15T05:28:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Legend Arthurian Tarot ~ King of Coins

Uther Pendragon was the father of Arthur. He was a powerful leader whose soldiers would follow him anywhere. As his health failed he appointed a new leader of his forces, but his army had reversed fortunes. So carried on a litter, he once again led his army in defending their lands. In the end the only way the enemy (Saxons) could defeat him was by poisoning his well.

I wonder about 'the rest of the story'. Queen Igraine and Arthur didn't die of poisoning. Did Uther have a personal well? How big of an invitation to poisoning would that be? Huge I expect... A gentle reminder today that it isn't all roses at the top regardless of how much material goods or power are held.

"Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty." ~ Socrates 470 BC-399 BC

Lughnasa

2011-12-14T07:36:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Legend Arthurian Tarot ~ Sun

The summer festival of Lughnasa, dedicated to Lleu (or the Celtic Lug) is celebrated August 1 and the actual Lughnasa ceremony is said to take place within standing stones. Since standing stones are in short supply in much of the world I expect rocks placed in a circle would serve intent.

I'm reminded by this card not of ancient rites, but of coincidence. I am reading Moonspenders by Jonathan Gash in which Lughnasa came up yesterday. When was the last time I heard or read that word? Years? I think it's great fun when such divergent actions meet in common. Like the Sun card which presages understanding and break through. I think I now know whodunnit.

"There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are given to us to learn from." Elisabeth Kubler-Ross 1926-2004

Broken Hope, Dashed Dream

2011-12-13T05:46:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Legend Arthurian Tarot ~ 3 of Swords

This is Palomides, grieving at his sanctuary for the lost hope of Queen Isolt's love and the lost friendship of Tristan. "I didn't mean it that way!" is probably what he is whispering over and over but done is done.

I'm reminded by this card that many times enormous changes come about in our lives that were started by the smallest of inadvertant actions. We can shout "I take it back!" all day long but done is done.

"In this world of change, nothing which comes stays, and nothing which goes is lost." ~ Anne Sophie Swechine 1782-1857

Yawn

2011-12-12T06:27:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Legend Arthurian Tarot ~ Knight of Coins

Bors, Sir Lancelot's cousin, was everything a good person can aspire to. Excellent skills, honest, loyal, kind, strong supporter of the status quo. Those qualities served him well, he was one of the three remaining knights who survived and achieved the grail quest.

I'm reminded by this knight to wonder why it is genuinely good people often bore our brains out and can inspire active dislike, for no reason other than their very steadfastness. It's a funny old world...

"Somebody's boring me. I think it's me." ~ Dylan Thomas 1914-1953

Renewal and Redemption

2011-12-11T06:32:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Legend Arthurian Tarot ~ Ace of Wands

In Arthurian lore this is known as the Lance of Redemption. Trapped, Balin grabbed it and wounded the Fisher King in the thigh. From that moment the castle and it's lands lay in waste until the time of the completion of the grail quest.

This Ace requires me to admit to two things before I can go forward. Mentally my cancer is exhausting me. Physically in the active sense there is nothing wrong with me. I need both the renewal and redemption of this lance to get me moving again. Would that I can...

"I wanted to live, but whether I would or not was mystery, and in the midst of confronting that fact, even at that moment, I was beginning to sense that to stare into the heart of such a fearful mystery wasn't a bad thing." ~ Lance Armstrong 1971-

One of my favorite decks this week, Legend the Arthurian Tarot, art and 256 page A Keeper Of Words book by Anna-Marie Ferguson, published by Llewellyn Worldwide. My second edition was published 1998, Suits are titled Swords, Cups, Spears are Wands, Shields are Coins.

Fairy Tale Love

2011-12-10T04:32:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Fairy Tarot ~ Lovers

Lovers. Relationships. Soul Mates. We get a lot of questions on this subject, the idea of true love seems to dominate our minds, most particularly when it is missing or awry.

I'm reminded by this card long-lasting forever kind of love fundamentally changes who we are. And maybe that is why it seems so hard to achieve, not everyone can or will meld.

"Our relationship grew when we stopped hungering to be noticed and we started to meld into each other. We talked about how the weight was lifting and how our world changed overnight." ~ James Nykolay 1966-

Inhabit A Shell

2011-12-09T05:26:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Fairy Tarot ~ Queen of Wands

She looks more like the Queen of Swords doesn't she? Alert, decisive, prepared, dressed to the shoes, as we say in FlyLady lingo. The Queen of Wands has stepped into the shell of the Queen of Swords because the need and use of that type of personality was required of her.

I'm reminded by this card sometimes it is required of us too. I have to step outside my blank-the-whole-process-out radiation appointment persona today and speak up about a weird experience I had yesterday. Which means I'll have to be there today, physically and mentally. Which probably isn't a bad thing when I think about. What is life but a series of experiences? Aren't I the one always rabbiting on about being awake to the life we are living?

"All that is within him does condemn itself for being there." ~ Macbeth, William Shakespeare 1564-1616

C'est la vie

2011-12-08T05:55:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Fairy Tarot ~ 9 of Coins

The closest thing I could find to the original of this image is on the cover of a book of fairy tattoos. There are bizarre ways of being famous in this world, and art from the civil war era making it into a contemporary tattoo book is as good as any.

I'm reminded by this card of the flexibility of the very idea of success. It can be all in the eye of the beholder, thee and me, but certainly it is also in the eye of person in the spotlight. What makes me roll my eyes and an instant later have forgotten it completely might be the pinnacle of success and glory to someone else. C'est la vie and merciful journey to us each and every one.

"The crowning fortune of a man is to be born to some pursuit which finds him employment and happiness." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803-1882

Yanking Old Strings

2011-12-07T05:40:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Fairy Tarot ~ Empress

This Fairy Empress channels Isis, and encourages us to dig below the surface of our thoughts, actions, and particularly our beliefs. To ask the why questions of ourselves. This isn't a coddling Empress but rather a taskmaster who refuses to reward sloppy work and sloppy thinking.

I'm reminded by this card, asking ourselves why we do or think a certain way is a hard task. When we get to the bottom we often find the strings that run to old tapes, peer pressure, and habit. And those are the thoughts we most avoid. Yanking a couple of our own strings is rewarding in the end...

"I can laugh at a puppet show, at the same time I know there is nothing in it worth my attention or regard." ~ Mary Worley Montagu 1689-1762

Diplomacy Fairy Style

2011-12-06T04:56:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Fairy Tarot ~ 6 of Wands

Up to date knowledge says the fey don't have fairy wars, nor do they war on their neighbors. If something is big enough, important enough, two are chosen and they fight until there is a clear winner.

I'm reminded of primer school when I first had the bright idea of 'let the presidents fight each other'. Me and a billion other kids that age. Never caught on at the top though did it? It's far too easy to send faceless young men and women off to do the dirty work, to let them be cannon fodder. It is not possible to have a clear winner in today's world, everyone loses. Except the top people who never fight, never get dirty, never get dead.

"Sincere diplomacy is no more possible than dry water or wooden steel." ~ Joseph Stalin 1879-1953

Wish Fulfillment

2011-12-05T05:34:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Fairy Tarot ~ Moon

Do you ever wish on a star, a white horse, birthday candles, the moon?

This card makes me wonder...perhaps the moon keeps coming up because it is waiting for it's wish to be fulfilled.

"Always leave something to wish for; otherwise you will be miserable from your very happiness." ~ Baltasar Gracián 1601-1658

Helping Only Harms

2011-12-04T05:41:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Fairy Tarot ~ 3 of Coins

This Doyle image is titled Teasing A Butterfly. He painted it so that must have been his intent, but it isn't the intent behind an upright 3 of Coins, so perhaps this must be viewed as reversed? Because even good-intentioned efforts to help a friend or family can be the absolutely wrong thing to do and can add years of pain and misery to someone's life, including our own.

Rob and I both have brothers who've had a life-long path with drug/alcohol addiction. We learned far too late in the game via Al-Anon and Nar-Anon that all the propping up and bailing out and sheltering were futile, weakening rather than strengthening, and simply putting off the eventual crash that will finally cause them to try to swim rather than sink. They have to make the decision, they have to make the changes. Standing aside can tear our heart out, but we must respect other's decisions and allow them the full consequences. There, is the only kindness we can offer.

The deck is The Fairy Tarot, published by Lo Scarabeo of Italy in 1997, distributed by Llewellyn in North America. This is a odd variant of the Rider-Waite tarot system. Although they labeled it tarot and it has 78 cards, many of them are far afield from the norm. The book often uses the term Oracle and all 12 of the spreads offered use the word Oracle. That's why I like it, and why many readers don't. The kit edition has a soft cover 157 page book credited to Helene and Doris Saltarni on the cover, but only Helen is credited inside the book.

The art for the majors is by Antonio Lupatelli who has done many decks for Lo Scarabeo, the minors were pulled from the body of artwork left by Richard Doyle 1824-1883. Which explains why the images and meanings do not conform to the norm; there weren't many tarot norms in the group. It makes for an interesting and enjoyable deck, if you like thinking outside the box. Which I do. The suits are renamed Leaves/Swords, Hearts/Cups, Acorns/Wands, Bells/Coins.

Practice

2011-12-03T05:42:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: The Chinese Tarot ~ 7 of Swords

Lot of rowdy swordplay going on here. It seems more Knights burning off energy in practice than murderous intent, much flashing and clashing and no blood.

I'm reminded by this card of my daily yoga practice. To the casual observer it would appear very little is going on. Yet each movement is deep and powerful, warming the blood and strengthening lungs, heart, body, and mind. A stylized practice with intent and joy, what could be better?

"Before you've practiced, the theory is useless. After you've practiced, the theory is obvious." ~ David Williams

I Wasn't Raised That Way

2011-12-02T07:02:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: The Chinese Tarot ~ Knight of Cups

Knights are generally armored because they forge forward, make us go further than we are comfortable, yet are also referred to as the teenagers of tarot. As a teen I didn't think much of my parent's world, yet often walked lock-step with my small group just as Knights must by their very station. Embracing change but hidebound. No wonder teens are mixed up and confused.

I'm reminded by this card it is the armor which saves us, because we can grow new thoughts and feelings without the world ending. Eventually most of us do, sometimes morphing into clones of our parents, more often a nice mutation of the old and new. "I wasn't raised that way" are the words that often come out when invited to go against our grain...

"Don't laugh at a youth for his affectation; he is only trying on one face after another to find a face of his own." ~ Logan Pearsall Smith 1885-1946 Afterthoughts 1931

Wait Five Minutes

2011-12-01T04:59:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: The Chinese Tarot ~ Wheel of Fortune

Occupants seldom seen on the Wheel; phoenix, tiger, turtle, and dragon. Which led me to a twenty minute mouserace around the web looking at other Wheel cards and the wide variation each artist brings to their own deck.

I'm reminded by this card our own idea of good and bad fortune can also vary by day. Breaking a toe can be decidedly unfortunate if you work on your feet. But that fortune can be eclipsed the next day by a tooth ache, a big check in the mail, or a earthquake. Thinking "I'm on a roll this year" or "this is really a grim year" loses sight of the fact the Wheel is never static. Don't like your current fortune? Wait five minutes...it will change. If you are paying attention.

"There seems to be a kind of order in the universe, in the movement of the stars and the turning of the earth and the changing of the seasons, but human life itself is almost pure chaos." ~ Katherine Anne Porter 1890-1980

Self Torture

2011-11-30T05:26:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: The Chinese Tarot ~ Knight of Swords

Instead of rushing toward, this Knight is rushing away from. From what? Opposing army? Tsunami? Forest fire? Enraged spouse? Debts? Internal boogeyman?

I'm reminded by this card, the last is probably what most of us flee. We can scare ourselves worse and in more ways than anything anyone else can think up.

Tim: When you're afraid, close your eyes and count to five. Sometimes it works for me.
Franny Roberts: What happens when you get to six?
Stephen King, The Boogeyman, 2005

Ignoring Temperance

2011-11-29T06:07:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: The Chinese Tarot ~ Temperance

Temperance. Easy to say. Easier to flit from projects rather than finish one. Easier to eat the whole pack rather than pour a serving. Easier to drive faster rather than leave earlier. Easier to walk by the dryer than open the door and fold the clothes. Easier to spend rather than save. Easier to complain rather than correct.

I'm reminded by this card we are none of us perfect, but if we stop to think or focus...we can reverse non-temperance anytime. I raked our long driveway yesterday, nearly killed my back doing it and as I think about it that particular frenzy was probably so I didn't have to think about the mudding sheet-rock job I've been ignoring. I don't know if I was born an idiot but I've certainly worked hard to become one over the years.

"Living never wore one out so much as the effort not to live." ~ Anais Nin 1903-1977

Uber-Confident

2011-11-28T04:48:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: The Chinese Tarot ~ Queen of Cups

I have a friend who dresses like this, a bit because she likes showboating, but mostly because she enjoys dressing up. I've seen her go to dinner in anything from Mickey Mouse ears to tiara with outfits to match. I admire her pizazz and confidence.

I'm reminded by this card confidence is a multi-sided word. I wouldn't say "I'm not going because I don't know anyone" because I like to meet new people. I wouldn't think twice about standing up in front of a crowd and teaching or giving a speech. But I seldom even have the nerve to wear a dress to town anymore, in this uber-casual Pacific Northwest where people wear their pajamas to the bank and the grocery store and a color coordinated sweat suit works for eating out, dressing well creates a mild sensation, heads turn. I wish I had the confidence to dress up, there are a lot of beautiful clothes and jewelry going lonely here.

"If I could give you just one gift ever for the rest of your life it would be this. Confidence. It would be the gift of confidence. Either that or a scented candle." ~ David Nicholls 1966-

Plethora Of Pattern

2011-11-27T06:20:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: The Chinese Tarot ~ 6 of Coins

What strikes me first is the repeating patterns in the coins, the table edge, bottom of the picture, bottom of the frame, the rug, the stack by his hand. I said a few months ago I didn't like ritual, that I avoid it. A reader commented my blog post each day is a ritual. A good poke I've thought about often since.

I'm reminded by this card I do have rituals in my life that give me comfort, stability, foundation to work from and come back to. These have been gifts to myself. On the other side of the six coins are the patterns and rituals I've broken myself from, the ones that seemed to arrive fully fledged because I was inattentive with my time and habits or let someone or something else dictate to me.

"Life forms illogical patterns. It is haphazard and full of beauties which I try to catch as they fly by, for who knows whether any of them will ever return?" ~ Margot Fonteyn 1919-1991

One of my favorite decks this week, from US Games Systems, 1989, art by Jui Guoliang.

Know Thyself

2011-11-26T05:43:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Mythic Astrology ~ Sun

From the book, know thyself is the essential core of the Sun in astrology. This reverses what has been ingrained by well meaning parents; we need to think with a capital I often enough to make a warm and lasting difference in our lives.

I'm reminded by this card we often think in terms of we because we are units in a tribe of some kind. You can see the problem in this by observing widows, widowers, empty next moms, new retirees. Some haven't got a clue how to think on their own, or how to fill their days with meaning and/or joy, or what they even think or know standing on their own.

"If you have a skeleton in your closet, take it out and dance with it." ~ Carolyn MacKenzie

Adrift With The Moon

2011-11-25T05:27:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Mythic Astrology ~ Cancer

The Greek's mythic patron of marriage and family, Hera honored the loyalty and assistance of the crab by placing it in the sky above, recognized each night forever. In ancient Egyptian myth the constellation was called Scarab for the manner in which the scarab beetle nurtures its larva and was part of the summer solstice celebration.

I'm reminded by this card of our own complex and fractured family relationships. The concept of a gathering which would include Rob and I has become foreign and fraught with pain. The one place it should always be safe to go is no refuge at all. I'm like the ghostly ship in the background of this beautiful image, adrift and simply following the moon which each day puts me right back where I started.

"When did it come to Davy Land that exile is a country of shifting borders, hard to quit yet hard to endure, no matter your wide shoulders, no matter your toughened heart?" ~ Leif Enger 1961- Peace Like a River

Corrosive Poison

2011-11-24T05:48:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Mythic Astrology ~ Chiron

Long story short, Chiron was accidently wounded by the poison arrow of his friend Hercules. A corrosive poison with no antidote, Chiron was unable to find release from the pain, yet unable to die from it as an immortal; it eventually transformed him into a healer and wisdom giver.

This brings to mind Nietzshe's famous quote, What doesn't kill us makes us stronger. Walking hand in hand with cancer makes me wonder about that. There is more to the quote we seldom hear, When you look into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you. We are but mortals and things do weaken us mentally or physically which no amount of denial will overcome. Fortunately we really do have miraculous minds and bodies and like a freeway interchange we find routes around a corrosive wound, and do, live on, wiser if not better.

"Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell." ~ Edward Abbey 1927-1989

Leo Rampant

2011-11-23T07:20:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Mythic Astrology ~ Leo

It has been a week of unrelenting grey and rain here; to see our Leo standing rampant with his fiery light and heat is most welcome. Can we even begin to imagine a world before the energy of fire was harnessed to our needs?

I'm reminded this morning of what are now such common place blessings, heat for my home, a range to cook on, hot water, the radiation machine, and this week particularly as I take part in Bonnie Hunter's annual mystery, the electricity to run my iron and sewing machine. All forms of fire unknown as little as 250 years ago and still absent in some areas for the world.

"I sometimes left a good fire when I went to take a walk in a winter afternoon, and when I returned, three or four hours afterward, it would be still alive and glowing. My house was not empty though I was gone." ~ Henry David Thoreau 1817-1862

Reservoir

2011-11-22T05:56:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Mythic Astrology ~ Capricorn

Winter solstice, the seasonal turn to Capricorn is nearly upon us. Like the ground around us our mental and emotional capacity comes to a more fallow time when we need to conserve and rebuild our personal reservoir. And what does much of the world do? Gear up and go full tilt in December, taxing our patience, finances, and strength.

I'm reminded by this beautiful goat and his background of worlds passed away and nature returning that human beings are the funniest creatures on earth.

"For spiritual nature, like bodily nature, will be served; deny it food and it will gobble poison." ~ C.S. Lewis 1898-1963

Something To Fight For

2011-11-21T05:04:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Mythic Astrology ~ Aries

I've often found sun signs a bit like tarot courts, one dimensional in order to have enough personalities to spread over all the signs. That said I admire Aries penchant to fight. If there isn't anyone to fight with they will make something up and fight with themselves.

I'm reminded by this card and my circumstances of all the people I've known over the course of my life who've had cancer and how they fought it. Take an aspirin and think about it some other time. Quality of life over second or third chemo. Trips to third world nations for miracle cures. Never mentioning it outside home. Bringing it up with everyone. Second and third opinions. Suicide. Continue their work routine until the day they died. Quit work and play for a couple of years. Hiding it from family. Most choose to pick up their crutch and walk so to speak, rather than lie there and get eaten alive. I think the key with Aries attitude is to have something to fight for, rather than someone to fight with.

"I quarrel not with far off foes." ~ Henry David Thoreau 1817-1862

Supportive Arms

2011-11-20T06:43:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Mythic Astrology ~ Jupiter

By myth Jupiter is the law and dispenser of justice and the top dog of the top dogs. Also known as Bel, ruler of hurricanes; Odin, ruler of the gods; Zeus, father of gods and men and ruler of lightening and thunderbolts. A lot of heavy capes for one person to bear.

Yet if you look closely at the image he is surrounded by hands and arms offering support and succor. I'm reminded by this card I am not required to be terrified alone. I've surrounded myself with good people all my life but they are not mind readers. All I have to do is ask and I know they will be there, physically or virtually.

"Do you know the terror of he who falls asleep? To the very toes he is terrified, because the ground gives way under him, and the dream begins." ! Friedrich Nietzche 1844-1900

I'll be using the Mythic Astrology oracle, 49 cards illustrated by Anthea Toorchen, 224 page companion book by Liz Greene. This set is designed as a introduction to the world of astrology.

Pressing An Olive

2011-11-19T05:56:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Etruscan Tarot ~ 5 of Coins

This type of 5 came up in the Xultan Tarot also, same type of civilization, you did your part or you perished, no social welfare support system. I think this may be an olive tree? Food of course, but also pressed oil for light and cooking and beauty emollients, and as trade fodder. Olives from the same tree can be processed at the green stage, black stage, and over-ripe or damaged, but the fruit is too bitter to be eaten unprocessed. There is even an anti-cancer agent from the tree wood now.

I'm reminded by this card life is much like the olive, nothing without some input/pressing from us, but it is everything when we put thought, effort, and labor into it. I'm pressing a few olives of my own today.

"Except the vine, there is no plant which bears a fruit of as great importance as the olive." ~ Pliny 23-79AD

Snow Day

2011-11-18T07:53:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Etruscan Tarot ~ 10 of Coins

It is only a skiff so far, I can still see the grass, but today is one of my ultra special snow days. I've no have-to business on the schedule, just a day for me. I'm looking forward to getting a double batch of sugar cookie dough in the fridge (Rob and I will bake and decorate Sunday), getting a good start on my yule cards, (blue and lime!) and hopefully the materials list is up for the annual Thanksgiving mystery quilt at Bonnie Hunter's. (I made two last year, won't do that again, billions of pieces!)

I'm reminded by this card, that I don't have to wear my newest good news/bad news terror like a hair shirt. I have a life to get on with and a snow day all my very own. 10 of Coins day indeed.

"I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow." ~ Scarlett O'Hara, Gone With The Wind 1936, Margaret Mitchell 1900-1949

Complicated Simplicity

2011-11-17T03:39:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Etruscan Tarot ~ 3 of Coins

As a entrepreneur from an early age, when we travel I keep an eye out for what the locals are doing to turn a buck. This card reminds me of the leis and frond hats at roadside stands on Maui. The bowl makes me think of all the gorgeous myrtlewood items in southern Oregon. The coins remind of of the slate tiles of northern Wales and the colorful clay trivets of Mexico.

The bounty of nature, of its cycles of renewal, and of the endless inventiveness of my world companions to find beauty and usefulness in found things is a marvelous gift of living.

"Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity." ~ Charles Mingus 1922-1979

Wait Silently

2011-11-16T05:18:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Etruscan Tarot ~ 4 of Swords

Ever hunted for game or fished? Awful lot of silent waiting goes on. Being cold is usually required. It also involves a three-digit+ gun or rod. Three-digit+ outerwear. Four-six digit+ vehicle combo. Minus time off work income. No showers because you don't want to give yourself away by human scent. That wisdom usually comes from the chain smoker in the group. 'Free meat' is the draw. And that quiet commune with nature...

I'm reminded by this card zen can be found in the wait. Which isn't balanced by the cost and outcome, but still...draw your down time where you can in this cacophonous world.

"The whole wood seemed running now, running hard, hunting, chasing, closing in round something or - somebody? In panic, he began to run too, aimlessly, he knew not whither." ~ Kenneth Grahame 1859-1932

Refill The Cup

2011-11-15T06:38:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Etruscan Tarot ~ Ace of Cups

Ok. New day. New deal. New chance to start fresh.

I'm reminded by this card our mental outlook is what we make it. Worrying about the future forfeits our today.

"Even as a coin attains its full value when it is spent, so life attains its supreme value when one knows how to forfeit it with grace when the time comes." ~ Felix Marti-Ibanez 1912-1949

Go For The Laughs

2011-11-14T07:05:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Etruscan Tarot ~ 6 of Wands

Sometimes it's hard to measure success isn't it? I'm seeing this card today as my radiation doctor and me. I am mentally actually whipping myself to force me to keep the appointment.

I'm reminded by this card it is hard to measure success, because sometimes success in the adult sense of the word often means doing the last thing we want to or think we need to. And doing something that goes against my grain doesn't feel like winning to me. It feels like a failure. They insist it will prolong my life. But at what cost to my body? Yet off I'll go, pushing my sorry breast full of radiation tattoos before me. And I promise I'm done being a crybaby.

"Let the other guys do the crybaby stuff. Go for the laughs." ~ Rip Torn 1931-

Hopeless At Herding

2011-11-13T05:42:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Etruscan Tarot ~ 8 of Coins

Funny how such a sparse image can bring such a flood of memories. The one off the top is the story my father-in-law told me many times through the months when his past memory sharpened and his present memory failed. Or of Rob when he was fostered out as a child and ended up milking 87 cows morning and night for a couple of months. Even with two farms we do Not have any milk cows and that memory is why. Of the spring calves on my own childhood farm, nothing much sweeter than a newborn calf. Of the calf I found floating in the river dead, tangled up in a downed tree, the mother bawling her heart out on the bank.

I'm reminded by this card that memory is a funny thing, funny odd not funny haha, and to be honest I wish I didn't remember a lot of the things I do. We spend our days trying to herd our unruly mind, a rogue juggernaut if there ever was one, which always takes it's own path.

"A Memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen." ~ Edward de Bono 1933-

This week it is the 2006 tarot from Lo Scarabeo based on ancient Etruscan art. The Etruscan civilization predated the Romans and the art for this deck was inspired by or came from tombs and necropoleis in what is now Tuscany. Art by Silvana Alasia, booklet by Riccardo Minetti.

Needs Must

2011-11-12T06:09:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Vampire Tarot ~ Hanged Man

Did Renfield's fear of death drive him mad or did his madness feed his fear of death and the steps he took via flies, spiders, birds, and Dracula to cheat the Grim Reaper make perfect sense?

I'm reminded by this card focusing on the ends and justifying the means we took once we get there sounds almost sane to our ears. Madness indeed...focusing on death, Renfield missed life entirely. Which begs the question, was Van Hesling also mad?

I didn't miss the rat race, but I kinda missed the rats.
Jerry Nachman 1946-2004

Engulfed In Flames

2011-11-11T06:15:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Vampire Tarot ~ 9 of Wands

This has been a long year of burning away for me. I know I'm moving forward but only by hindsight will I know what actions truly helped and what hindered, what I probably should have done, and which move was dumber than a doorknob.

I'm reminded by this card even when we know we are moving forward which necessitates leaving things behind, life, like gods and congress grinds slow but fine. It would probably help if I had a fixed goal, but it's all internal...and engulfed in flames am I.

"This left me alone to solve the coffee problem - a sort of catch-22, as in order to think straight I need caffeine, and in order to make that happen I need to think straight." ~ David Sedaris 1956- When you are engulfed in flames

Influence

2011-11-10T07:52:00.001-08:00

Daily Draw: Vampire Tarot ~ 5 of Wands

A companion card to yesterday's Count, this particular 5 speaks of the power to influence people and events.

I'm reminded by this card to be influenced willingly...I've done my background research and I agree/disagree... is far removed from drinking grape Kool-aid, being herded into cattle cars, buying a mini-cooper based on a movie, or believing in someone's god not because you want to go to heaven but you are afraid of going to hell. Being taken in by that kind of influence has no place in a thinking persons life.

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes." ~ Leonardo da Vinci 1452-1519

Power, With A Side Of Weirdoddity

2011-11-09T05:55:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Vampire Tarot ~ Emperor/Count Dracula

I wonder what first wisenhimer altered Stoker's repulsive Dracula into the tingle-your-lions cool dude we see in today's media? Because it wasn't necessary. People are enchanted by power regardless of it's looks.

I'm reminded by this card of all the powerful baddies that ever lived, and the fawning people who surround them and carry out their every vile wish in return for the potential of a moments notice. Talk about weirdoddities.

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." ~ John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton (Lord Acton) 1834-1902

Do These Lips Make My Butt Look Smaller?

2011-11-08T06:06:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Vampire Tarot ~ Death

We are living in cynically fascinating times. When children of 18-20 are already getting botox injections and implants. When beautiful adults of 30-35 are already getting stretched, pulled, pumped, re-haired, sanded, sucked and bleached into strangers. I find it deeply sad, but my inner imp also finds it far more entertaining than commercial entertainment.

I'm reminded by this card death comes to us all, but how we journey there speaks volumes about our values and inner character. I fear death not , I fear not knowing the real values of being alive.

"One popular new plastic surgery technique is called lip grafting, or 'fat recycling,' wherein fat cells are removed from one part of your body that is too large, such as your buttocks, and injected into your lips." ~ Dave Barry 1947-

Ah. You Have An Idea, I'll Run With It

2011-11-07T06:32:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Vampire Tarot ~ Knight of Coins

Nowadays we don't much bother as the Chinese knock-offers will beat us to market anyway. But things moved slower in the 1800's and in a small country like England it was probably common to know many of the people who were successful in your own area of interest or expertise.

I'm reminded by this card it would be rare indeed if someone today had a new thought. Everything we do is built on what has gone before, and we all shuffle along nibbling a big universal coin together.

"I not only use all the brains I have but all I can borrow." ~ Woodrow T. Wilson 1856-1924

Burning Bridges

2011-11-06T05:56:00.000-08:00

Daily Draw: Vampire Tarot ~ 4 of Cups

In the 4 of Cups the innkeeper tries to talk Jonathan Harker out of continuing on or conducting any business with the Count.

I'm reminded by this card of motivations. How sometimes we soldier forward based on pure intuition, occasionally we allow superstition or peer pressure to dissuade us, and sometimes we cower under our virtual beds out of fear of life and change and making decisions.

"The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn." ~ David Russell 1958-

From Robert M. Place comes The Vampire Tarot and 128 page companion book, published by St. Martin's Press, 2009. The four-color cards are based on Bram Stoker's Dracula and part of the fun of using this deck is rereading my annotated copy of that 1897 classic. The renamed suits are: Holy Water/Cups, Knives/Swords, Wands/Stakes, Coins/Coins.

Brilliance

2011-11-05T08:43:00.000-07:00

Daily Draw: Deirdre of the Sorrows Tarot ~ Sun

You know those people in life, both personally known and those you 'know of'? The ones who are perhaps fairly normal (whatever that is) in most respects but who knock your socks off in some particular way? An odd list yanked off the top of my brain this morning...which will probably seem ridiculous on review, but what is a sunny day for, if not for fun?

Jerry Lee Lewis: I took piano lessons for three years, can't play a note. Am unimpressed with concert pianists. Oh, but if I could play like Jerry Lee...
Cathy Ditton: I went to school with Cathy for 12 years. Never once did I know her to be presented with a word she couldn't spell. Without spellchecker, you wouldn't see me here at all.
Mae Maupin: She could...and I've seen her do it, with grace and style...make a meal for three adults and 4 children out of two slices of bologna. My house is always full of food and I freak out at providing a meal for company.
Warren Buffet: He puts his money and his family to work. I own 5.3722 shares of BRK.B and am proud to be a grain of sand on his financial beach.

A weird mixed lot, but then so am I.

"Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on thee,
and I'll forgive thy great big one on me." ~ Cluster of Faith, Robert Frost 1874-1973

But Only If

2011-11-04T06:54:00.000-07:00

Daily Draw: Deirdre of the Sorrows Tarot ~ World

The cycle or journey of the Fool now being accomplished, guess what. Time to start all over again.

I'm reminded by this card I've said in the course of my life, 'I'd like to start over, but only if I know what I know now'. I guess we're more inclined to pay attention if we are banging our heads against a wall; it wouldn't hurt us to appreciate how smoothly we do tasks and handle trials at which we have become accomplished.

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803-1882

See The Light

2011-11-03T07:37:00.000-07:00

Daily Draw: Deirdre of the Sorrows Tarot ~ 6 of Cups

In this image we have two women, crone and maid, lost in thought. The crone appears to be both warming and cooking by her fire and a jack-o-lantern sits on her mantle. She also has a big jar full of coins. The maid relaxes with her lantern, apple of potential life, big home and a mystery box.

Is the crone remembering trouble and sorrow and too much work and no play? Is the maid frittering away her life without purpose or direction, too much play and no work? I'm reminded by this card both the work and play phases of our life are important and a good balance between gives joy to youth and age. I don't intend to have a tombstone that says "I wish I had of..."

"Tombstone shadow
Stretching across my path,
I got thirteen months of bad luck
Bound to be some pain.." Creedence Clearwater Revival/Green River John Fogarty 1945-

Place Of Magic And Power

2011-11-02T06:25:00.000-07:00

Daily Draw: Deirdre of the Sorrows Tarot ~ Magician

Setting aside my personal terror and stepping sideways into my info-junkie persona, having cancer is a kick. So much information, so much to learn, so many choices, and so many specialists. Yesterday I met my radiology doctor and staff and found a new place of magic and power.

I'm reminded by this card everywhere in the mundane world magic swirls around me, magic that can be captured and used. The main key is to get my head out of my arse and combine my own power with all that comes my way.

"I knew, of course, that trees and plants had roots, stems, bark, branches and foliage that reached up toward the light. But I was coming to realize that the real magician was light itself." ~ Edward Steichen 1879-1973

A Child's Black Heart

2011-11-01T05:55:00.000-07:00

Daily Draw: Deirdre of the Sorrows Tarot ~ 5 of Swords

Why do siblings fight? I'm sure the experts yap on and on about competition and jealously but I'm not buying it for a minute. Where does all that meanness and hate come from in children who've never been exposed to it themselves? And I've often thought religious fanatics and rampaging soldiers have nothing on the cruelty seen in the schoolyard.

I'm reminded by this card we may unconsciously pick up parental prejudices but much of that meaner than a junkyard dog blackness must be born into us. Does it make us better persons to spend our adult life recognizing and fighting back from that wasteful malice? Is that some venomous God's idea of entertainment? And why do we find it acceptable to say or do something to one we love when we wouldn't even consider that conduct with a stranger? No answers today, just more sorrow.

'It is remarkable by how much a pinch of malice enhances the penetrating power of an idea or an opinion. Our ears, it seems, are wonderfully attuned to sneers and evil reports." ~ Eric Hoffer 1902-1983

Careless Love

2011-10-31T06:14:00.000-07:00

Daily Draw: Deirdre of the Sorrows Tarot ~ Knight of Cups

A lover, not a fighter is this Knight, albeit a hesitant and haphazard one. Like parenthood, love doesn't come with any instructions and considering the divorce rate in this country it apparently doesn't come with much patience, tolerance, compassion, or room for compromise.

I'm reminded by this card and many websites like the enrichment journal, the divorce rate in America
for first marriage is 41%
for second marriage is 60%
for third marriage is 73%. It used to be ridiculously difficult to end a bad marriage; I wonder what the underlying reason is behind today's high rates? Is it as simple as unrealistic expectations implanted by entertainment and advertising media? Are we that dumb? This is a deck of sorrows...

"A divorce is like an amputation: you survive it, but there's less of you." ~ Margaret Atwood 1939-

Pointless Reaction

2011-10-30T07:20:00.000-07:00

Daily Draw: Deirdre of the Sorrows Tarot ~ Knight of Swords

Ever ready to shoot off a pinnacle in aid of he knows not what, it matters not. Long on action, short on thought is our Knight.

I'm reminded by this card I was thinking in the night, and recognized one more sad lonely nail proving my post last week about the Hermit and bedrock. There is never any point in rushing off and trying to fix something broken beyond return. Choosing to turn my back on the sorrow and ride forward is much healthier.

We are free to evade the effort of thinking, to reject reason, but we are not free to avoid the penalty of the abyss we refuse to see." ~ Terry Goodkind 1946- The Sword of Truth

A deck from Ireland this week, Deirdre of the Sorrows, softcover 176 page companion book by Deirdre O'Donoghue, art by Wayne McGuire. The first ten pages of Tarot Unlocked introduce Deirdre's simplified system of learning to read the cards. Then each card gets a full page full color spot with the opposing page giving the theory behind the scene or action and how to approach the card in a reading, at the bottom of the page are a few keywords for memory prompts. The cardstock is linen-finish, the deck can be ordered from Deirdre O'Donoghue at her website Tarot Unlocked.

Deirdre's own name and the deck title come from the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology about Deirdre of the Sorrows, the daughter of royal storyteller Fedimid mac Daill, at the court of Conchobar mac Nessa, the King of Ulster. The art in the deck alternates between greyscale and full color, between modern and ancient views, indicating in the end nothing has changed, we all still live out our Swords/Cups/Wands/Coins lives as best we can. My favorite cards are the aces which bear no title at all.

There are no spreads given in the book but something I've not seen included in any other 'how to' book. Deirdre chose three cards for the last page, the Hermit, Page of Coins, the World. She asks the reader to interpret the reading without referring to the book text.

Lifekissed

2011-10-29T07:04:00.000-07:00

Daily Draw: Greenwood Tarot ~ Sun

In the Greenwood, Sun is card 20, adjoining World. The figure is open, to receive the warmth of the sun and the abundance of life. I didn't notice until my 40's that my life was a paler shade of grey. Great husband, great job, lovely home...it was me, I was grey.

I'm reminded by this card I'm now officially in my 60's (the new 40's) I have a great husband, great job, lovely home...it is me who has changed, I am sunkissed and inner-lifekissed and even if the mundane world went in the can, I wouldn't, nay couldn't, return to grey. Life is good.

"Be yourself, everyone else is taken." Oscar Wilde 1854-1900

Renaissance Man

2011-10-28T07:44:00.000-07:00

Daily Draw: Greenwood Tarot ~ King of Swords

Court cards, by need and nature, are basically one-dimensional, otherwise you wouldn't have four courts in a deck, you'd have one card, full-faceted. But modern adults have become via choice or circumstance or the time we live in, can-do, one size fits all, multi-taskers of life, required to fill all roles whether we like it or not. Perhaps a blanket statement but something I've been thinking about a lot since I've become a member of the pink ribbon tribe and been observing how males deal/cope with our breast cancer. And reflecting back 40-50 years and how the men of my mother's age dealt with the same thing.

I'm reminded by this card of Rob's sword personality, the thinker who amazes me with how clearly he can pinpoint the crux of a problem and work out the solution. How deeply his feelings run (cups) and how hidden those feeling are from nearly everyone but me. Of how quickly (wands) he can act, and at this time how badly he wants to be able to fix things, make them right, make me whole again. And how at base (coins) he is the worlds best nurturer and provider. He is the all-faceted man, and today on my birthday I recognize he is the greatest gift I've ever been given and just how much I treasure him. King of everything, including my heart.

"More marriages might survive is the partners realized that sometimes the better comes after the worse." ~ Doug Larson 1902-1981

Outside

2011-10-27T06:31:00.000-07:00

Daily Draw: Greenwood Tarot ~ 8 of Wands

The artist sees this as the coming together from eight points. As I spent time examining the image I saw many yods, the energy of radiant heat, baby snakes going out for a lungful of fresh air. Just an indication my mind is currently outside rather than inside the hearth/home.

I'm reminded by this card how important a home to come back to is when the mind or body or spirit is occupied elsewhere. It colors the whole experience without our even realizing it.

"Inside yourself or outside, you never have to change what you see, only the way you see it." ~ Thaddeus Golas 1924-1997

The Power Of Wait

2011-10-26T07:41:00.000-07:00

Daily Draw: Greenwood Tarot ~ Queen of Cups

We often see Snowy Egrets and Great Blue Herons here. Being so close to the Columbia River there are many marsh areas where they can be observed, observing. Their patience at the waiting game for creatures of the water is legendary, the only thing moving for hours upon hours will be their eyes.

I'm reminded by this card being still, and observing are life skills that must be acquired. From the time we can roll over or pull ourselves along by the elbows humans are on the move. That isn't a fault, but we do miss out on much that would come to us seemingly like magic because we've forgotten stillness and the power of wait.

"Patience is not passive; on the contrary, it is active; it is concentrated strength." ~ Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton 1803-1873

Do Rabbits Fight?

2011-10-25T07:36:00.000-07:00

Daily Draw: Greenwood Tarot ~ 2 of Coins

I looked it up, yes, they can be vicious little warriors. I doubt many have fought on a board balanced on stones in a pool though. Perhaps these rabbits are recognizing alpha and beta, ears up and ears down...or perhaps

I'm reminded by this card this may just be the dance of "so happy we are different but the same". The world is full of same but different and when given an opportunity to meet one on one there are always connections, veins of similarity, and some way to form a bond of kinship. If we want to.

"Challenge is a dragon with a gift in its mouth. Tame the dragon and the gift is yours." ~ Noela N. Evans

Winter Of The Soul

2011-10-24T06:59:00.000-07:00

Daily Draw: Greenwood Tarot ~ Hermit

Switched to number 15 in the Greenwood, Hermit follows the Death of something, and the subsequent stripping to the bone of what is left, by the Guardian. What is left? Nothing. What comes next? I'm hoping via my own Hermit, it is what I make it.

I'm reminded by this card this past year or so I've left two bedrocks of my life behind. It didn't happen overnight; dropped, cast off, stolen, lost, shoved, withdrawn, sandblasted, dipped in caustic, and chipped off with wear...they are both gone, completely. This leaves two voids. One I'm ignoring for the nonce, the other I'm working hard on a lot of different levels to replace with meaningful enriching brainstretching fulfillment. Because life hates voids and will fill them without my cooperation, like it or not. I want better than what is gone to be by my choice, not indifferent infilling.

"All my life I believed I knew something. But then one strange day came when I realized that I knew nothing, yes, I knew nothing. And so words became void of meaning. I have arrived too late at ultimate uncertainty." ~ Ezra Pound 1885-1972

When It Runs By

2011-10-23T05:47:00.000-07:00

Daily Draw: Greenwood Tarot ~ 3 of Cups

Joy spins out, spills over, reaches higher. I don't think about joy much here, the cards have become a way to identify a problem and how I can bring my mind to a better level, or my actions to a higher ground. But joy, that is a subject to be savored.

I'm reminded by this card my take on joy is it's an inner experience, much removed from happy. Joy is a stayer, it is still there warming even through grief or fear or pain, or boredom. It isn't something you can make like a cake or fake with a funny joke. To be honest, I don't know where my joy came from or what adds to it, only that it supports and circles me and I know what it isn't.

"Let a joy keep you. Reach out your hands and take it when it runs by." ~ Carl Sandburg 1878-1967

This week's deck is the Greenwood Tarot, art by Chesca Potter, published companion book by Mark Ryan, 1996 Thorson's/Harper Collins. Chesca wrote a much better companion guide, downloadable at her link above.

Peace Within

2011-10-22T07:16:00.000-07:00

Daily Draw: Wonderland Tarot ~ 10 of Cups

From Chapter One: 'Oh, you wicked little thing!' cried Alice, catching up the kitten and giving it a little kiss to make it understand that it was in disgrace. ... then she scrambled back into the armchair, taking the kitten and the worsted with her, and began winding up the ball again. Alice Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll.

It is only me and my animals and my lovely quilt room today. The fabrics, patterns, threads are organized and ready, my working space is warm and clean and inviting...perhaps selfish and sinful in some circles, but indeed, my idea of a 10 of Cups day; and certainly time I picked up the important threads of my life again. And quietly, in the background, the seeds of a new direction were planted yesterday.

"Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without." Siddhartha Gautama Buddha c.563 BCE - 483 BCE

I Thought vs. I Know

2011-10-21T06:29:00.000-07:00

Daily Draw: Wonderland Tarot ~ 6 of Cups

Chapter two, The Pool Of Tears: 'Not like cats!' cried the Mouse, in a shrill, passionate voice. 'Would you like cats if you were me?' Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
The mouse was easy to offend and Alice did it again and again. She thought they were friends via shared adventure, the mouse knew they never would be.

I'm reminded by this card Rob and I have been married 40+ years and not one of his family have expressed any interest or concern, in any way, about my cancer, nor have they offered any support to Rob. Silly me to think they might; I learned early in the marriage to never expect anything and I'd never be disappointed.

"It is what it is." Urban Dictionary

Caucus

2011-10-20T05:55:00.000-07:00

Daily Draw: Wonderland Tarot ~ Wheel

The Wheel represents the Dodo's idea of a Caucus race.

'What is a Caucus-race?' said Alice; not that she wanted much to know,...
'Why,' said the Dodo, 'the best way to explain it is to do it.'
First it marked out a race-course, in a sort of circle, ('the exact shape doesn't matter,' it said,) and then all the party were placed along the course, here and there. There was no 'One, two, three, and away,' but they began running when they liked, and left off when they liked, so that it was not easy to know when the race was over. However, when they had been running half an hour or so, and were quite dry again, the Dodo suddenly called out 'The race is over!' and they all crowded round it, panting, and asking, 'But who has won?' Alice in Wonderland, chapter three, Lewis Carroll

Whether we win or lose at life is pretty much like the Caucus race. We all begin at different positions, run different courses, and stop and start when we will. So today I ponder the one-up on the Joneses, status, Salvation Army and Jimmy Choo shoes, royalty and commoners, and why any of us give a rip.

"Nature is indifferent to the survival of the human species, including Americans." ~
Adlai E. Stevenson 1835-1914