Right Hand

Daily Draw: Mystic Meg Tarot ~ Queen of Cups

What's she doing with her right hand? This queen is often portrayed as intuitive and caring, sensitive to the feelings of others.

I'm reminded by this card not to take things at face value. We all have left and right hands and sometimes not even we know what they are up to...

"One of the world's most popular entertainments is a deck of cards, which contains thirteen each of four suits, highlighted by kings, queens and jacks, who are possibly the queen's younger, more attractive boyfriends." ~ Daniel Handler 1970-  Lemony Snicket

Reckoning

Daily Draw: Mystic Meg Tarot ~ Judgement

Pregnacy
Mortgage
Marriage
Divorce
Loss
Jail

All these situations and hundreds more are consequences of our actions, or lack of action, and all change our life.  Judgement is not the Tower event itself, but waking up to the results and how we live with them.

"Pay your dues but be sure to get your change" ~ Eve Tahmincioglu NBC

Slosh Slosh Slosh

Daily Draw: Mystic Meg Tarot ~ High Priestess

Discovery, both inside and out.

I'm struck by this stylized card of the dark and the light. Sometimes what we thought we knew wasn't knowledge at all. We think something should be simple and we dig deeper or create an action and suddenly there are ripples everywhere. Good, bad, big, little, slosh slosh slosh.

"Patience, grasshopper," said Maia. "Good things come to those who wait."
"I always thought that was 'Good things come to those who wave,'" said Simon. "No wonder I've been so confused all my life.” ~ Cassandra Clare 1973- City of Glass

In Common

Daily Draw: Mystic Tarot ~ 9 of Cups

Neither far above nor far below, one of many, all equal.

I speak often of being a square peg, but in truth we are all identical, with a few different quirks we like to think of as our individuality. Inside we all love something and someone. We all breathe and hurt and worry about things we can't do anything about, and we all ignore the things we should be doing. If we were put in a room with a homeless tramp and a billionaire CEO it wouldn't take any time at all to find our commonality. Cool.

"I don't understand you. You don't understand me. What else do we have in common?" ~ Ashleigh Brilliant 1933-

Saturday Night Bath

Daily Draw: Mystic Tarot ~ Tower

Akk. I don't believe in fortune telling the future, but drawing the Tower card always gives my stomach a funny turn. Particularly proceeding major surgery. The book recommends a warm bath followed by some minutes of peaceful thought.

Can you see me smiling? I hate baths, can't remember when I last had one. 10 years? 15? Soap scum and dead cells, eeek. Obviously I'm a shower girl. But I'm reminded by this card when life is in an uproar the tried and true short term remedies are a comfort to draw upon. Breathe. Relax. Sleep.

"Childhood is that wonderful time of life when all you need to do to lose weight is take a bath." ~ Richard Zera 1001 Quips and Quotes 

2003 edition of the Mystic Tarot, art by Caroline Smith, 128 page companion book credited to Mystic Meg Ltd.

Such A Crock

Daily Draw: iTongo Tarot ~ Fool

The legend tells of a land girl in love with a water boy and the circumstance and leap of faith that finally brought them together. The Vision Quest asks what is/was your rite of passage.

I remember feeling a foot taller after my first day of school. My first taste of unlimited knowing.
I remember stepping forward to give the salutatorian address twelve years later and thinking what a crock the whole system was. I believe that was the start of my ingrained cynicism...but that bitter pill has actually served me well. 

"If you want to accept life, you have to accept the whole bloody universe. The universe is filled with people, and there is not a single solitary spear carrier among them." ~ Alexei Panshin 1940-  Rite of Passage

Death Never Leaves

Daily Draw: iTongo Tarot ~ 5 of Cups

Shroud, dirt, rocks.
Shouting "come back, come back" falls on dead ears.
Death never leaves, only life.

You come finally to the irreducible thing, and there's nothing left to do but pick it up and hold it. Then, at last, you can enter the severe mercy of acceptance." ~  Sue Monk Kidd 1948- The Mermaid Chair

Ukuph' ukuziphakela

Daily Draw: iTongo Tarot ~ Hermit

Male or female, Induna are appointed by the King. They function as mediators, consultants, ambassadors, peacekeepers.

In my world I can see the izinduana as government secretarys, focused on one area and relied on to keep all the balls in the air. Good luck with that. I expect even with a tribe of 400 many times the induna were speaking to the wind. That said, our Zulu hermit has a lovely place to reflect on and assess the next step in Blyde River Canyon.




"Ukuph' ukuziphakeloa" ...Giving is to dish out for oneself.

Think It To Death

Daily Draw: iTongo Tarot ~ 4 of Swords

Just think a little bit. How many times did we hear that as kids? How many times have we said it ourselves, generally in an exasperated tone? The 4 of Swords asks us to do the same.

I'm reminded by this card looking before we leap is always good advice, but sometimes there is zero chance of knowing what we are leaping to. I'm having second and third thoughts about my lung surgery next month. But what if, but what if, but how about...
I'm just off north to see my mother. Her dementia gives her mental peace, there is never anything to worry about for her. I'll contemplate a middle road, if I can.

"Half the failures in life arise from pulling in one's horse as he is leaping." ~ August Hare 1792-1834

Under The Cloak

Daily Draw: iTongo Tarot ~ 4 of Coins

Recruiter Muhwhira spreading the word about schooling with whistle and wand . Believed to be deaf and mute and live in the rivers, the outfit is made entirely of reeds and topped with the head and wings of a predator bird.

All that to say this. What's he got to hide? I'm reminded by this card of every institution, religion, organization, government, that hides behind a cloak or costume of sanctity. Under the cloak hiding the rest of the story is a mountain of truth. What have I got to hide, what agenda and I pushing?

"Do you suspect you're being dealt a gigantic load? Call out the blowhards, fibbers, storytellers, and baloney shooters in your world. Whip out your B.S.Meter and let them know you know. So they know." ~ JBK Creative

Make It Stop

Daily Draw: iTongo Tarot ~ Six of Swords

When the days are as black as the nights it is hard to find up. 

"On a cold dark cloud, with nowhere to fall but down, like a single, naked, unrelenting tear ... I'm still here." ~ Mindy McCready 1975-2013

Asking For Supper

 Daily Draw: iTongo Tarot ~ 6 of Coins

He is blowing a sable antelope horn to announce first sighting of the evening star Sirius which is a signal to begin harvest. The first sighter is awarded with a cow from the chief's herd. 'Asking for supper' is the Mavhele autumn name of Sirius.

I am reminded by this card when we need to eat/sleep/defecate all else pales in importance. Examples are the the behavior of the survivors in  blacked out New Orleans Superdome after Hurricane Katrina, and those on the blacked out cruise ship Carnival Triumph. In both cases the worst side of our primal personalities ruled. Nearly instantly. We are closer to our most distant ancestors than we care to advertise.

"Four-thousand people on a stranded ship can't flush" ~ Jet Hilton

Published in 2010, this week's deck is from South Africa. Deck art is by Chantal Fielding. Soft cover 144 page book is by Robyn Anne Pollard. The suits represent the myths and tribal traditions of four different areas of South Africa:
Wands are Xhosa/Isibane, South
Swords are Zulu/Assegai, East
Cups are Sotho/Tswana/Moritsoana, West
Coins are Pedi/Venda/Ndebele/Mavhele North

Nothing Up My Sleeve

Daily Draw: Oracle of the Radiant Sun ~ Bluff

Jupiter in Gemini in the 3rd House
Abundance and wisdom
Mental sharpness
Sibling Relationships

What a great card. Ancient Minoan zentangle fetish, objects, symbols, and hands may be showing everything is visible. Or may be showing now you see it now you don't.

I have everything I need now that I'm older and wiser, which I recognize doesn't automatically equal wisdom. I have funny brain skips which means each day, I'm as sharp as I'll every be. My two brothers are always close in my heart, I only wish we hadn't fought so much when we were kids. Amazing our parents didn't send us packing. I'm thankful to be alive, and miss my little sister incredibly.

"Teddy said it was a hat, So I put it on. Now dad is saying, "where the heck's the toilet plunger gone?" ~ Shel Silverstein 1930-1999

Imeldific

Daily Draw: Oracle of the Radiant Sun ~ Ostentation

Saturn in Taurus in the 2nd House
Control, acquisition, possessions of the world

In this world this type of person is publicly scorned and quietly emulated. That said, I'm crazy about big rhinestone brooches and wear them as ostentatiously as possible.

"I was born ostentatious. They will list my name in the dictionary someday. They will use 'Imeldific' to mean ostentatious extravagance." ~ Imelda Marcos 1929-

But Mom, Everyone Is Doing It

Daily Draw: Oracle of the Radiant Sun ~ Convention

Venus in Capricorn in the 10th House
Conservative relationships
Choosey in friends
Conventional in life

A fly on the lightbulb like me sometimes covets that life. Not often though. As a square peg it would be claustrophobic in that round knothole. Kids, shudder. Big mortgage, akkk. Neighbors on the other side of the wall, never. 8-5, not in this lifetime. 

"Of course, in real life, if you needed to block a square hole with a round peg, you’d simply cut-off the correct length of cylindrical bar, rotate it 90 degrees and slide it sideways into the hole." ~ Nick Berry, DataGenetics

Eat Challenge For Breakfast

Daily Draw: Oracle of the Radiant Sun ~ Assertion

Sun in Aries in the 1st House
Personality, self expression
Life spirit, drive
Impulse, spontaneity

To ignore the beckoning couch with it's pile of remotes and snacks and actually tackle something, invent something, achieve something. New. These folks eat challenge for breakfast then ask for another serving. If I have envy in me it is for this type of personality.

"I like scars, they remind you of things" ~ Nirrimi Joy Hakanson 1992-

We Can Love

Daily Draw: Oracle of the Radiant Sun ~ Birth

Venus in Cancer in the 4th House
Love, nurturing, close attachments.  Or
Loathing, starving, controlling relationships.

I'm observer to the 2nd or reversed situation and wonder how they can stand it. One won't go because it is a free ride, the other, only by selling up and moving can free herself.

I'm reminded by this card I can look backward and see how the mutations in this relationship were hardened but I'll never understand why they thought they could live together. What I do know, we can love while not liking at all.

"You get lonely, is what it is. A person's not supposed to go through life with absolutely nobody. It's not normal. The longer you go by yourself the weirder you get, and the weirder you get the longer you go by yourself. It's a loop and you gotta do something to get out of it." ~ Jim Shepard 1958-

Fortune Of Another Color

Daily Draw: Oracle of the Radiant Sun ~ Fortune

Sun in Leo in the 5th House
Life spirit and drive
generosity and leadership
creativity and enthusiasm

These are the goals I aim for each day. This isn't the kind of fortune we inherit or falls off the back of a truck. It is the kind worked diligently over a number of years, in which steady application brings intended and very real results.

"There are no shortcuts to any place worth going." ~ Beverly Sills 1929-2007

Elsewhere Mind

 Daily Draw: Oracle of the Radiant Sun ~ Discrimination

Venus in Virgo in the 6th house
Perfectionism
Discrimination
Efficiency

I'm not a perfectionist but I know many quilters who call themselves one and it is very difficult for them to finish something because it isn't perfect.
Discriminating taste...my little joke about not having much 'stuff'.
Efficiency...knocks my socks off when I read about or see someone doing something I do often, in half the time. Why couldn't I see that process, right in front of me? Perhaps because my mind is elsewhere? That little mad monkey, would that I could cage it.

"Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things." ~ Peter F. Drucker 1909-2005

A beautiful deck this week from the Smith/Astrop team, Oracle of the Radiant Sun, Astrology cards to illuminate your life. The set contains 84 cards and 144 page soft cover book. Connections Book Publishing 2002. ISBN 1-85906-071-4

When I used this deck in 2008 and 2011, since these cards are based on astrology rather than tarot I'll write my posts based on sign/planet/house plus image. An astrologer will fall down laughing, but I'm always happy to have brought a smile~

Deal Me In Please

Daily Draw: Celtic Wisdom Tarot ~ Page of Coins

Airmid sorted out the healing properties of 365 herbs, work and knowledge which was then destroyed. Soul-wisdom tells us her healing voice and wisdom are heard in the friends who accompany us. Who or what is offering us good advice?

All of them. Steady on, easy goes it, face forward, relax.
They say it is the combined will of the audience wanting the contestants in TV game shows to win that produces unusually high odds of winning. We can do this, easy peasy.

"Spock: ‘Random chance seems to have operated in our favor.’
McCoy: ‘In plain non-Vulcan English, we’ve been lucky.’
Spock: ‘I believe I said that, Doctor." ~ Star Trek, episode 206, Doomsday Machine

Dirty Little Secrets

Daily Draw: Celtic Wisdom Tarot ~ Ace of Cups

Can you hear my eyebulbs rolling? Well, never mind the bowl worship, the Soul-wisdom asks how are we being called to receive and grow.

I suppose I have a choice to not accept medicine but me? I choose to take all the help I can get, both mental and mortal, lung cancer surgery is March 4.
Grow? I'm looking forward to June 8 when Brown University is offering this course gratis...just imagine all the Dirty Little Secrets I'll know.

"Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead." ~ Benjamin Franklin  1706-1790

Braying At Shadows

Daily Draw: Celtic Wisdom Tarot ~ 6 of Swords

After a number of time consuming initiations requiring intelligence, the initiate is buried to the waist, given a shield and stick, and defends himself from nine men throwing spears. Do WHAT you odd 6 of Swords?

Soul-wisdom asks what initiation awaits your engagement? My question is can I even engage my brain to take on the next initiation? Or will I drift along braying at shadows, oblivious to the earth being piled up around my feet. One thing it does is eliminate the option of fight or flight. So I guess it's fight but I expect you will hear the occasional bray...

"Donkey: Shrek, remember when you said that ogres have layers?
Shrek: Oh, aye?
Donkey: Well, I have a bit of a confession to make: donkeys don't have layers. We wear our fear right there on our sleeves." ~Shrek 2001

Engaging In Life

Daily Draw: Celtic Wisdom Tarot ~ Ace of Wands

Soul-wisdom today asks where are you being called to engage skillfully and enthusiastically?

Humm. Well, I'd better be fully engaged this morning when I meet with the thoracic surgeon, would be a fool to sleepwalk through that.
I've finished the borders on the Easy Street Mystery, and have prototypes of a smashing corner treatment on the working wall.
The search for a colorful 15 Clone machine continues, the hunt is always part of the fun.
So. A little of this and a little of that and friends for the journey makes for a nice balanced life. I'm behind that 100%. And look how he made the enormous wand zoom off with very little effort and lots of skill.

"With an enthusiastic team you can achieve almost anything." ~ Tahir Shah 1966-

Greet Each Day

Daily Draw: Celtic Wisdom Tarot ~ 5 of Swords

Soul-wisdom for this card inquires which word action or intention is causing harm to another. Can't think of even one. I either have a fairly serene life or I'm not 14 years old.

I'm reminded by this card life rewards and punishes us all, we don't need to waste precious brain cells figuring out how to throw someone under a train. Would be nice though if we were born with a kit that shielded us from bullies and gossips until we grew into our big kid pants.

"I will greet this day with love in my heart." ~ Augustine Og Mandino 1923-1996

Unchained

Daily Draw: Celtic Wisdom Tarot ~ Empress

Many fortunetellers, when seeing this card jump up and shout "eureka, you are pregnant". Or will be or just were. This deck is no different but the soul-wisdom question is: What spiritual nurture is your soul seeking now?

I can safely say "eureka" as this past year I realized my heart found the truth my mind had fretted over for so many years. If we have a soul mine is light-hearted and at peace. I. Let. Go.

“Lone eagles, soaring in the clouds, fly with silent, peaceful  poise,
While turkeys, in their earth-bound crowds, fill the atmosphere with noise"
William Arthur Ward 1921-1994

Worrywart Dither Dance

 Daily Draw: Celtic Wisdom Tarot ~ 9 of Swords

Another nightmare revealed. That instant when your mind steps back and asks for a rewind with a different outcome.

Soul Wisdom from the book: Anxiety about the future and need for control keeps us confined to restrictive patterns of behavior. What are the freedoms and alternatives in your present predicament?

• Ignore it for a few months and have a new CT scan
• Surgeon wants to cut immediately of course 
• Do the Worrywart dither dance
• Actually do nothing at all and let life take it's intended course
• Add a fourth antidepressant
• Make an appointment with my new oncologist for another opinion.
• Sit with my little hens and take their comfort and advice, always good.

"A major life-threatening event should come with a flashing warning sign that either said ABANDON ALL HOPE or SAFETY AHEAD. It was the cruelest joke of all that no one could see the result until they were over the edge, falling into the abyss below." ~ Sherrilyn Kenyon 1965- Invincible

Deck of the week is The Celtic Wisdom Tarot, 144 page hard cover book by Caitlin Matthews, art by Olivia Rayner. this is the 1999 Destiny Books edition. Each card in the book includes Soul Wisdom tidbit to ponder.
The Majors are retitled, the courts renamed Woman/Warrior/Queen/King, the suits each correspond to one of the four seasons, each with its own story to tell. The renamed suits are: Swords=Battle, Wands=Skill, Cups=Art, and Coins=Knowledge.
The cards are relatively large at 5.5 inches X 3.5 inches.

Moonspeak

Daily Draw: Ship of Fools Tarot ~ Moon

To paraphrase the Narrenschiff, turning over moon, sun, land, sea, and stars in the pursuit of fame makes one an even bigger fool than the norm. He is shown here with his compass taking the measure of the universe, with an audience of course. Why bother do anything without blasting it over the lowly unfamous?

The Moon has always been my favorite card in any deck. I like how it pokes our egos, deflates our sanctimonious pomposity, and reminds that famous or unknown, we are simply grains of sand in the larger picture of time.

"As I was driving down Beach Blvd., I saw a building that said, "Self Storage," and I thought, "I wonder if my ego could possibly fit in just one unit.” ~ Jarod Kintz 1982-

Lemony Snicket Days

Daily Draw: Ship of Fools Tarot ~ Tower

This figure seems torn between options while circumstances clearly show his time to ponder choices is over. There isn't any help coming, fire is above and below and the hammer of destruction is poised to  destroy the whole structure.

I know how he feels. I don't know what to do. So I'm going to sew. That should help, right? Mañana es viernes.

 "Are you ready?" Klaus asked finally.
"No," Sunny answered.
"Me neither," Violet said, "but if we wait until we're ready we'll be waiting for the rest of our lives, Let's go."  ~ Lemony Snicket 1970-, The Ersatz Elevator