Hopeless

Daily Draw: Chinese Tarot ~ 3 of Coins

Skill. A skill I admired as soon as I understood the concept was spelling. I'm lousy at it, even though my spell check has told me many times how to spell catagory, and grammer.  And the rules of grammar. Lousy at that too, although I enjoyed the mystery aspect of sentence structure in school, too bad none of it stuck.

I'm reminded by this card of from birth skills; musical, spelling, drawing, cooking, mothering, carpentry...how truly amazing those people are whose skill is a natural. I wish them the sheer good glory of it, long may they ply.

"Me fail english? Thats unpossible." Mr. Wiggum ~ Matt Groening 1954-

Bowl Tossing

Daily Draw: Chinese Tarot ~ 10 of Cups

I was surprised to see this card, I didn't draw it at all in 2015, and only four times in 2014. This is Chung K'uei whose bowl tossing protects people from harm.

I wonder at what level of pressure/stress people generally put aside superstition or prayer and realize life is in no ones hands but their own.
I suppose most never get to that point. It is a very freeing place to be and far healthier. Accepting consequences of all our thoughts and actions changes the entire balance of life. Into a true 10 of Cups space.

"If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment." ~ Marcus Aurelius 121-180 CE

Right

Daily Draw: Chinese Tarot ~ 5 of Wands/Staves

Do we never tire of arguing? What is it that makes us feel anger or disrespect toward someone when we hear an opinion that is diametrically opposed to our own?

I'm reminded by this card it apparently never ends. But just so you know, I'm the one that is right.

"I got in an argument with a girlfriend inside of a tent. That's a bad place for an argument, because I tried to walk out, and had to slam the flap." ~ Mitch Hedberg  1968-2005

Violence

Daily Draw: Chinese Tarot ~ Tower

Ah..the Lightening Goddess blinds the victims and the Cockerel Thunder God stands on drums and beats them with a mallet. Where do these ideas come from?

I'm reminded by this card the ancient ideas probably came from real life...human beings being what we are.

"I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent." ~ Mahatma Gandhi 1869-1948

A Rethink At The Top

Daily Draw: Chinese Tarot ~ King of Coins

The unemployment rate today is 5.5% for the US. 9.6% for the EU. I don't know of any businesses here that aren't actively seeking employees but there are masses of people drawing unemployment.

I'm reminded by this King he can sit on his can and smell all the incense he wants to, but it is a different world now and those at the top need to rework their business from the bottom up. Because it is the bottom that forms the foundation. This is what ABF Trucking has done. I'm quite proud of them, that is a ton of money going out to cultivate good drivers.

"What this country needs are more unemployed politicians" ~ Edward Langley

The deck this week is the Chinese Tarot, US Games Systems 1989

Working Wall Of The Mind

Daily Draw: Creatrix Cards ~ Inspiration

This image is what I call the working wall of my mind. I have a flannel covered wall in my quilt room where I work out color combos, block placement, etc. Sometimes things will be there for weeks while I walk by and mull.

I'm reminded by this card of my Poppy wall quilt. I liked seeing it so much there I left it for about six months. Because it was just a top, unfinished, over time the applique bits haven't quite held their shape and the background needs pressed again. So I have to take it apart and press the backing, reshape the applique, put it all in place, and just 'git 'er done'.   The point of the story is it isn't inspiration at all if it isn't carried through...

"If you only do what you know you can do- you never do very much." ~ Tom Krause 1934-

You Did What?

Daily Draw: Creatrix Cards ~ The Well

From the suit of Grace: Taking action on what feels in alignment with the highest good.

I'm reminded by this card, many times I don't realize I'm making thought out decisions until the deed is done and I see it in hindsight. Makes me feel like the two-headed guy in Men In Black 2. "You did what?"

"On average an adult makes roughly 35,000 decisions a day. No wonder we stall out when it comes to getting started on our goals." ~ Mariana Lenox


Image: Melissa Harris, Creatrix Cards

Teflon

Daily Draw: Creatrix Cards ~ Loved

An acquaintance is being buried today. 27 years old. Suicide.

I'm reminded by this card I could write volumes about depression but the reality of it wouldn't sink in to anyone who hasn't been there. We know we are loved but the concept just slides down the side of our teflon heart. RIP






Art by Melissa Harris, Creatrix Cards.

Food For Thought

Daily Draw: Creatrix Cards ~ Treasure

Buried? Found? Lost? Destroyed? Created? Divided? Shared? Hoarded? Forgotten?

As I sweep through the house in search of KalamaQuilts Ebay fodder I'm often amused at what we thought was worth making room for. If I take the square footage of my home and divide it by current market value + property insurance + property taxes + maintenance, the result is what it costs per square foot to store something.

This card reminds me to release, let go, don't look back, use my ruthless streak to my advantage.

"I am like a book, with pages that have stuck together for want of use: my mind needs unpacking and the truths stored within must be turned over from time to time, to be ready when occasion demands." Seneca  4 BC – AD 65

Art by Melissa Harris

Biggie Sized

Daily Draw: From the web ~ Pulled Heart

Each day,  I pick up things I own, either because I'm using them or because I find them beautiful...and make a decision. OK for now: already useless; down the road this will be of zero or limited use. Because I'm losing my vision.
Today, while scanning photo files for uploading to Ebay I found a folder of images I'd gathered for a sort of personal oracle.
And thought, 'what a brilliant idea, something I won't have to give up for a long time...I can biggie size the images and I can biggie size writing my blog.
This is a 'good thing' a la Martha...a fun upsize to  my day.

"Two people were examining the output of the new computer in their department. After an hour or so of analyzing the data, one of them remarked: "Do you realize it would take 400 people at least 250 years to make a mistake this big ?"

Art by DE ES Schwertberge

2016 Personal Feng Shui

Tibetan Oracle ~ Personal Feng Shui

No wonder I'm falling apart, I'm way out of kilter based on this year and my personal astrology.
Grumpy face, if I move furniture I'll have to clean... oh dear. On the other hand...I've been flinging to KalamaQuilts Ebay, that should count as cleaning. ? .

Amor Fati

Daily Draw: Tibetan Oracle ~ Four Pillars of Destiny

Fire Monkey, Metal Ox                                                                            Earth Dog, Metal Rabbit

My study this week, read right to left, from the Tibetan Oracle kit by Stephen Skinner.  Carroll and Brown Publishers Ltd., 2005. 143 page full color book with 60 cards.

"Amor Fati – 'Love Your Fate,' which is in fact your life." ~ Friedrich Nietzsche 1844-1900

Silver Tongue Honey Words

Daily Draw: Oracle of the Radiant Sun ~ Negotiation

Jupiter in Libra in the 7th House
Promise and Persuade. Justice and Beauty. Contracts.

Fundraiser, grant writer, mentor, social worker, all struggling to better the lot of others, working from the heart. Or the other side of the coin, grand schemes and highly speculative partnerships.

Not much income for the first group...except at the top, who are fat skimming leeches on the back of donors.
The second group skims too, big hooks looking for bigger fish. Can anyone give me an M for Madoff and a P for Ponzi and a C for Crystal Cathedral? Bless the workers in the trenches for not giving up on the people who need and deserve their help.

"The secret is, I'm always mad." ~ The Incredible Hulk

From Charity Navigator:
Donated to any of these top 10 money grubbers?
Rank Charity                Program Expenses vs. Professional Fundraising Fees
1 Disabled Police Officers of America                     6.9% vs.  90.6%
2 Cancer Survivors' Fund                                         8.5% vs.  88.3%
3 Firefighters Charitable Foundation                        6.9% vs. 87.4%
4 Wishing Well Foundation USA                             4.7% vs.  84.5%
5 Children's Charity Fund, Inc.                                 4.7% vs.  79.4%
6 California Police Youth Charities                         16.0% vs.  79.3%
7 Readers Are Leaders Foundation                            0.3% vs.  58.0%
8 Find the Children                                                   32.4% vs. 57.7%
9 New England Paralyzed Veterans of America 36.5% vs.  56.3%
10 United States Deputy Sheriff's Association          6.0% vs.  54.4

Versatility = Adaptability

Daily Draw: Oracle of the Radiant Sun ~ Versatility

Sun in Gemini in the 3rd House
Fortune. Clarity. Afloat.

Berry picking
peeling cascara bark
baby sitting.
All by the age of ten. (I'm not going anywhere with this so feel free to nod off) In 2009 I worked out my Tibetan Oracle four pillars and four natal cards, which required listing all the jobs I'd had to that time. Which eventually resulted in this percentage pie.
Earth = 4 = 36.36%
Water = 0 = 0%
Wood = 3 = 27.27%
Metal = 3 = 27.27%
Fire = 1 = 9.9%

I'm reminded by this card it is way past time to do another round with the Tibetan Oracle, see if I am versatile with fire and water now or if I've just calcified more.

Versatility = Adaptability, my goal this year. Something new this morning. Rob wants us to learn lawn bowls. I'm guessing I'll excel at doing Potato Bowls from the Hog Line. How hard could this be?

Walls

Daily Draw: Oracle of the Radiant Sun ~ Speculation

Jupiter in Cancer in the 4th House
Gain. Support to and from. Attachment.

Gain..with potential loss. Giving to and receiving from family and friends. The attachments that bind us.

I'm reminded by this card we can't pick our family. We can pick our friends. The walls we build to keep people both in and out and why the speculation they are interested enough to even notice the walls? We worry far too much about what other people know and think. They are too busy working on their own walls.

"So Brother Matthew locked the gate behind me, and I was enclosed in the four walls of my new freedom." ~ Thomas Merton 1915-1968

Ground Zero

Daily Draw: Oracle of the Radiant Sun ~ Bluff

Jupiter in Gemini in the 3rd House
Gain. Mental Awareness. Information.

Is it trickery or a sign of serious effort to fake it until you make it? All learning starts at ground zero. What if you know everything about a subject but never apply the knowledge? Is that better or worse than the use it while you learn it camp?

I'm reminded by this card, the immediate reaction is a lot of ifs, ors, buts, responses. But..I'm pretty sure I fall in the camp of prefer the fakers to the hoarders. The fakers are at least excited about their subject. Honestly? I'd even prefer the faker brain doctor. I expect they try harder.

"If we would have new knowledge, we must get a whole world of new questions." ~  Susanne K. Langer 1895-1985

Apocalypse

Daily Draw: Oracle of the Radiant Sun ~ Organization

Mercury in Capricorn  in the 10th House
Change. Duty. Perseverance.

Apocalyptic novels do one thing well, show humans stripped of all comfort and tumbled in with strangers. Organizers quickly shoot to the top knob of the stick. Bad guys in destroyed cities living off the pickings, good guys in some kind of agricultural base. In the current one I'm reading the bad guys are government created eternal vampires with no organization at all.

I'm reminded by this card I think I like these books because they show there are always some good guys, people willing to be organized for the good of all. My cynical mind doesn't believe a word of it, but below there is a mind hopeful that under incredible pressure there really would be some good people.

"Organization is simply the means by which the acts of ordinary men can be made to add up to extraordinary results." ~ William Wickenden 1882-1947

Magnets

Daily Draw: Oracle of the Radiant Sun ~ Convention

Venus in Capricorn in the 10th House
Love. Duty. Public life.

Monica Lewinsky. And millions like her. I get that power, money, fame on any scale is a magnet.

I'm reminded by this card of that recent website hack for people looking to have affairs. I get it. Sneaking around is exciting. I don't get living with the time bomb day in and day out.

"In the 1850 book The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne was given an A for adultery; today she would rate no better than a C-plus." ~ Peter De Vries 1910-1993  I Hear America Swinging

Langoliers

Daily Draw: Oracle of the Radiant Sun ~ Intuition

Mercury in Cancer in the 4th house
Change. Nurturing, Attachment. Home, Family.

Glancing backward we can see just how mercurial life can be. The good and the bad, things we never dreamed we'd do, times we hold dear, the ones we try to blot from our mind.
Life will chew us up, spit us out and we survive because we don't actually see the teeth going up and down.

Safe in my warm house, observation and intuition tell me this is a rarity in much of the world, rather than commonplace. But now I've envisioned them, I can't stop hearing those teeth.

"Your heart is full of fertile seeds, waiting to sprout. Just as a lotus flower springs from the mire to bloom." ~ Morihei Ueshiba 1883-1969

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.

Promise

Daily Draw: Margarete Petersen Tarot ~ Sun

Emancipation. Ability to turn dark to light. Freedom of action. Renewal.

I'm not feeling it. I don't believe in fortunetelling, but perhaps, just for today, I'll take the Sun as promise.

"As the years pass, I am coming more and more to understand that it is the common, everyday blessings of our common everyday lives for which we should be particularly grateful." ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder  1867-1957  On Wisdom and Virtues

Walk Like A Fool

Daily Draw: Margarete Petersen Tarot ~ Fool

Hey...road trip today.

I'm up for it. Lungful of fresh air. Brainful of new ideas.

"Stuff your eyes with wonder." ~ Ray Bradbury 1920-2012

Invested

Daily Draw: Margarete Petersen Tarot ~ 7 of Fire/Wands

This figure looks pained, turns away, while a tiger puts pressure on her central nervous system. Is she accepting ownership for the actions of others?

I'm reminded by this figure investing in the decisions of someone else is a poor investment indeed. How many times have we apologized for, lied about, glossed over, made excuses for someone else? So now our mad mind monkey is joined by clawed pressure on our nerves. No wonder the defender on the seven of Wands card always looks exhausted.

"If you feel demoralized and exhausted, for the sake of everyone, withdraw and restore yourself. The point is to have a long-term perspective." ~ Dalai Lama

Unwanted Gifts

Daily Draw: Margarete Petersen Tarot ~ 10 of Swords/Feathers

When is a gift not a gift?
Does horrific childhood, grief, being a prisoner of war, a penniless refugee, hate, constant pain, being bullied make any of us better or stronger?

I'm reminded by this card the one commonality is survivorship. And it isn't always pretty or uplifting.

"I am a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world." ~  Annie Dillard 1945-

Slippery Slope

Daily Draw: Margarete Petersen Tarot ~ 8 of Cups

Any number of times in life we get bogged down, drug down into a morass of our own making, starting with a lie or a commitment we don't keep.

I'm reminded by this 8 of Cups the way out is usually even harder than the way in. Embarrassment or deep sense of failure being the result because we'd thought better of ourselves. Makes me blush to think of some of the results of my well meant actions and the clean up required. Hard Knocks from the School Of still reverberate if given the chance...

"People die because of microscopic viruses. So does character, our relationships and our self-respect when shameful actions are introduced to the bloodstream." ~ Ken Wert 1965-

Honest

Daily Draw: Margarete Petersen Tarot ~ 3 of Cups

 "Sad and often thoughtless people, we cover our sadness with layers of so-called civilization, wrap our fears in popular culture, and never ever have the opportunity to face any of it and learn to rise above."  Amazon Review: Tracy Rowan, Little Bee

When I pulled this card my first thought went to Third World Nations and the book review above. I had an opportunity recently to travel in Africa for two weeks, first class accommodations, for $5000.00 US. How and why are immaterial, I didn't even consider it.

I'm reminded by this card, above all else, this blog is about personal honesty. I write glancing blow posts because it isn't necessary to blog the deeper story, I remember. I'm not going because I'll see things I don't want to see, learn things I don't want to know and it won't make me a stronger or better person but move me inexorably closer to the black place, the place I wouldn't survive again. Honest. Because I care too much, rather than not at all.

Thoughtful Adaptation

Daily Draw: Margarete Petersen Tarot ~ Ace of Feathers/Swords

Concentrated thought. I remain often amazed at the concept, power, and sheer cleverness of the invention on which I'm typing this post. Forgetting the unparalleled miracle of our own brains.

I'm reminded by this card, in this year of adaptation, my brain carries the load. It helps me remember what loved ones look like as my vision begins to distort them. It reminds me daily, even minute to minute I need to rethink lifelong habits. How many times have I said I like to learn new things? Be careful what you wish for...you may get a peacock feather.

"Never pull away suddenly from a thought or experience. Stay with it until you are indifferent to it or until it turns beautiful. Look at it, love it, let it go." ~ Thaddeus Golas 1924-1999  The Lazy Man's guide to Enlightenment

Margarete Petersen Tarot,  2004 Konigs
Furt edition. 72 page english edition booklet by Krummwisch B. Kiel. Suits are Coins, Cups, Flames (wands), Feathers (swords).

Wanted: Acorn, Sheep need not apply

Daily Draw: Tarot of the Spirit ~ Three of Coins/Earth

The right job, the right skills, right mind...we know when this is in effect because we are on fire. Zero indifference or apathy here.

I'm reminded by this card been there done that got the t-shirt does not apply. This isn't small stuff, but the reason for and joy of living.

"Think of the fierce energy concentrated in an acorn! You bury it in the ground, and it explodes into an oak! Bury a sheep, and nothing happens but decay." ~  George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950

Big Emperor Pants

Daily Draw: Tarot of the Spirit ~ Emperor

The energy, skill, competence to order and clarify, to work through (Banzhaf). Feeling pretty cocky here, our will is in order, yesterday we did our taxes, reservations and plans are in place for May.

I'm reminded by this figure's posture, he is in hanged man pose. and he is looking toward my living room. No cockiness there...mother lived in it for a year and I couldn't enter it without her shouting at me. The Emperor in me knew that was no longer my mother but all my heart heard was how badly I was caring for her, plus the all night shouting about anything she could still think of. Afterward I moved a couple of sewing machines in there and sewed steadily for months, taking back my space, outwaiting the hateful echos until they went quiet. And then I walked out. And there is sits. dusty and abandoned. It is time to turn it back into part of my home, to pull up my big Emperor pants and move on.

"What people resist is not change per se, but loss." ~ Ronald A. Heifetz 1951-

Zen And Stuff

Daily Draw: Tarot of the Spirit ~ 6 of Coins

Does what you give return seven-fold? The Thoth alignment seems to hold to that wisdom. This is the beauty of luck and harmony, our inner values manifesting on the plus side.

I'm not in that belief camp but I'm reminded by this card, just how easy it was to put our estate in black and white yesterday. Like falling off a log really. Try it, you'll like it. We started with zero, when we are gone it will be zero, how zen is that?

"Never in any case say I have lost such a thing, but I have returned it. Is your child dead? It is a return. Is your wife dead? It is a return. Are you deprived of your estate? is not this also a return?" ~ Epictetus AD 55-c.135

Devise and Bequeath

Daily Draw: Tarot of the Spirit ~ Brother Earth/Knight Coins

Akin to mining the diamonds in your own back yard, this figure is amending the soil and carefully choosing the type of seeds to sow. Easy to say in black and white, harder in the real world.

Our appointments to rewrite our wills begin this morning. Funny how hard it is to verbalize the general ideas we've been  harboring. It was much easier 20+ years ago when the whole family was younger and a little money could have made a big difference. 20+ years on we can see how most have ignored their soil entirely. Oh well, perhaps we'll go out like mother, having spent the last penny and not a care in the world.

"People who under ordinary circumstances are perfectly upright and amiable, go as curly as corkscrews and foam at the mouth, whenever they hear the words 'I devise and bequeath." Dorothy L. Sayers 1893-1957 Strong Poison

Trivialize Or Kill?

Daily Draw: Tarot of the Spirit ~ 9 of Fire/Wands

From the book, "As things change focus on the details."  Sunday's play time is over.

I'm reminded by this card politicians and CEOs would respond to that with "you don't/can't see the big picture", get out of your own way.
We trivialize life focusing on details, kill by only seeing the big picture.

"There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception." ~ Aldous Huxley 1894-1963