Today’s Card: The Sun

The sun is a great card. It’s symbols are a child, a horse, sunflowers, and, of course, the Sun. A big bright beautiful blazing sun. The Sun card is about everything good. Think about how you feel in the spring as the sun comes back after a long dark winter. Everything seems new and reborn. Energy abounds. The hard times are past and everything’s coming up roses (or sunflowers in this case).

This is a great symbol for me right now. We’re finally coming out of all the darkness and stress from the unemployment appeals. My notary business is growing and I might actually go into the black next year (this year, everything we make is going back into buying equipment we need for the business). It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off of me. Mark and I were talking just this morning that even with all the stress the last couple of years, we’ve been basically very happy. Now with this stress lifting, it’s like a glorious new day.

Of course, the Wellbutrin I started last week might have something to do with all these great new feelings *laughs*.

Goddess Card: Dana

“You have Divine knowledge that can help others through your spiritual teachings.” Well, I don’t know how much Divine knowledge I have, but I do like to share what little bits of Wisdom I can claim with others. Since I have a couple of readings I’ve promised some folks, perhaps today is a good day to do those. I was going to do them yesterday, but just couldn’t seem to get in the right mindset for them. It seems there may have been a good reason for that. Today seems to be the right day.

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Tarot Card of the Day: The Sun

Today’s Card: The Page of Swords

Like the other Pages, the Page of Swords is carrying a message. But what message? The Swords are associated with the element of Air, so their meanings tend to be around thought, mind, and higher meanings. If you look at the card (in the Ryder-Waite deck) you see a young person standing with sword ready. A fresh breeze is blowing, and the the Page appears to have his head among the clouds.

The Page of Swords is the epitome of dreamer. He’s the person who lives in his head, building not just castles, but entire empires, in the air. But they don’t just dream. This person has her sword ready to take action at just the right moment. Her head is in the clouds, but her feet are firmly planted on the ground. You get a hint of Earth in this card as well as Air.

So the message today (at least for me in my current situation) is to know that my dreams are not in vain and if I act rightly at the right time, those dreams can certainly come to fruition. A good card for today, since I’d already decided to work on my blogs today, and one of my most cherished dreams is to make my blogging eventually become my main career.

Goddess Card: Isis

“This situation involves your past-life memories.” I love the Isis card. She is so much more than the meaning given in this deck (the Goddess Guidance Oracle Cards). Isis is a strong, vibrant female deity. When her husband, Osiris, died, she brought him back from the dead. When he was murdered, she turned to raising their son, Horus. She convinced Ra to reveal his secret names. What Isis wanted, she worked for and got. Just the deity I need to help lead me in my work today.

Of course, my husband has always told me that he believes I was a story teller in a former life. He said he pictured me as one of the old Appalachian Grannies, healing and telling stories, always helping others. It’s an image that resonates strongly with me. I guess I see my blogs as a sort of story telling and reaching out to touch others around me.

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Tarot Card of the Day: Page of Swords

Today’s card: The Hermit

I got up this morning thinking, “I really need to get some work done.” So I asked the cards, “What work should I do today?” My answer, of course, was The Hermit. So I guess work isn’t what I need to do today. It’s funny that all of my readings lately have been telling me to take time, recover from the stress, renew my relationship with myself and the divine. Do I listen? No, of course not! So today, I’m going to lean back and take it easy and do some fun stuff. Maybe I’ll make some clay and play with it. I haven’t done that in forever.

Goddess Card: White Tara

White Tara is another Hindu goddess, this time an aspect of Tara, the Mother Goddess. Her message is “You are becoming increasingly sensitive. Avoid harsh relationships, environments, situations, and chemicals.” Yes, a quiet day just for myself. I understand.

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Tarot Card of the Day: The Hermit

8 of Swords

In the 8 of Swords, the woman stands blindfolded in a marshy area. The water appears stagnant and full of algae and slime. She is surrounded by 8 swords, standing point down into the grounds. She’s not complete surrounded, though. She can move away…there are paths to follow…if she can first overcome her fear of moving and possibly being cut by the swords around her.

It’s so easy to let ourselves be immobilized by fear. For me, it’s probably one of my biggest failings. It’s funny that this message came up for me last night at the Tarot Meetup as well, only more in the positive sense of looking around me to see the possibilities and working with them. So today the card is telling me that even if I can’t see them, the possibilities are still there, and I have other senses to work with than just the one. I must stop the words in my head that tell me failure is certain, and I might just as well do nothing. Yesterday’s reading told me to work on my positive self-talk and affirmations. Today is another nudge in the same direction.

Goddess Card: Sige

“Take some quiet time alone to rest, meditate and contemplate.” Sige is a Gnostic goddess. She is the silence that give birth to Wisdom. It’s so easy when we are lost in our own heads, listening to the tapes of the past play over and over, to forget that we need to recharge our batteries and reconnect with the divine. We need to get away from the adrenaline rush of our fears and anxiety and bring ourselves into a state of balance. Again, a similar message to yesterday. Take one day at a time and stay connected with what is important in life. All the rest will take care of itself.

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Tarot Card of the Day: 8 of Swords

Well, this is certainly an apropos card for my current situation….actually for several current situations.

Six of Swords

The Six of Swords is about movement away from troubling times/thoughts into a more peaceful time.  You see the rough water in the foreground, and the smooth water towards shore.  The foreground is also darker in color, while the background, towards where the boat is moving, is much lighter.  You’re moving out of the dark into the light.  Away from trouble to a time of peace.

Several things in my life are resolving themselves right now.  I finally won my unemployment appeal, which will extend my UI for a few more months (which we desperately need).  I’ve also decided to put my VA business on hold.  I’ve realized that I just don’t want to do this work any more.  The more I was doing the more stressed out I’ve been getting, to the point that I’m actually avoiding my computer and blogs just so I don’t have to deal with VA work.  So, after some long talks with Mark and some soul searching, I’ve decided to concentrate on my notary business  and blogging for the time being.  I already feel a huge weight lifted off of me, and the whole world seems so much brighter now.

Goddess Card: Lakshmi

Wow…this one fits hand in hand with the Six of Swords.    The message on this card is, “Stop worrying.  Everything is going to be fine.”  Those of you who know me also know that I’m a worrier.  Part of that, of course, is the lack of serotonin that goes with hypothyroidism.  I can be a bit paranoid at times and have always had problems with anxiety.  The economic problems of the last few years certainly haven’t helped those problems.

But lately, especially since I quit stressing over the VA business, everything seems to be, as I said before, brighter.  I need to spend some time visualizing happiness and abundance, not to mention some positive self-talk.  It’s true that neglecting our spiritual practices have an effect over the entirety of our lives.  What was it my Novice Mistress was always saying to me? “Be gentle with yourself.”  Sr. Margaret Ann is a very wise woman.

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Tarot Card of the Day: Six of Swords

The Pentacles, of course, are the suit of things material.  They’re about work, finances, career.  The Three’s grow out of the Two’s.  The Two come together to produce a third, so the Threes are about birth, creativity and growth.  In the Rider-Waite deck, the Three of Pentacles depicts an artisan showing his work to possible patrons, so it indicates possible growth in business.

Which is a very apt card for today.  Over the weekend, I sent out my first ever press release announcing the opening of my new Virtual Assistant business.  I found out this morning that the main local newspaper picked it up for an article in the business section.  So, it’s very possible that I will soon be seeing some actual clients for my business.  I’m so excited I can hardly sit still *laughs*.

Today’s Goddess Card:  Artemis

Artemis is the twin sister of Apollo, the Sun God, and a strong protector.  This card signifies protection for you and your loved ones, that your needs will be met, and that your future is safe and secure.  It echoes the strong feelings I’ve had lately of security and optimism.  It’s funny that in letting go of my strong need for the security of employment, I feel freer and more secure than I ever have.

Remember, if you’d like a free 3 card Tarot Reading, just leave a comment here or send me an e-mail.

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Tarot Card of the Day: 3 of Pentacles

The Fours in the Tarot deck are about holding on to what you have.  The Four of Pentacles is about holding onto your wealth, prestige, career, whatever it is that you value.  It’s the card of the miser, who loses everything holding onto his wealth.  This card is a warning against fighting change to your own detriment.  Don’t be so tied to what you have that you don’t see what else is possible.

This is a good card today.  My husband and I have decided to start our own business.  He will do application development and hardware support; I will provide virtual assistance and MS Office help.  With the economy the way it is, this is actually a good time to move to support small businesses.  They can’t afford to hire personnel, so will be looking to outside companies to help with support.

My problem is that I tend to be really attached to what I have.  I not only really like my current job, but I’m really attached to the security of having a job (I think I mentioned that before).  But the way I’m currently working (I work 4 – 10 hour days), it leaves me time to work on the side.  Eventually, if we can work things to where we together make enough to equal a full time salary, then I can quit to work at our business more hours.  In the meantime, I have this job to keep body and soul together.

Goddess Card: Butterfly Maiden

The Butterfly Maiden is a Hopi Native American kachina.  She is a spirit of Springtime, ensuring the crops grow and a bountiful harvest.  Spring is a time of transformation and growth in the world.  Her message is one of letting the old fall away and embracing the new.  We are part of a cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth.  We must embrace the change in our lives if we are to grow and be prosperous.  A very appropriate card to go with the 4 of Pentacles, isn’t it?

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Tarot Card of the Day – Four of Pentacles

First Card – Five of Pentacles

The first card, representing the past of the situation, is the Five of Pentacles.  The pentacles are an earth suit representing that which is tangible: finances, health, job, etc.  The Fives are the proverbial fly in the ointment cards.  It’s a card of difficulties, which is quite appropos, since the reason I was available for this job was that I was laid off from my previous job and was unemployed for almost 3 months.  It was, indeed, a time of financial difficulties.

Second Card – Ace of Wands

The second card, representing the present, is the Ace of Wands.  The Wands are the fire suit and represent passion and energy.  The Aces are about potential, starts, energy that can be directed.  Again, it’s an apropos card for this reading.  I’ve just started taking tech support calls in my job, which is something I really love doing.  I enjoy it and I’m good at it.  Before this, I liked the job, but it was just another job.  But now I’m getting to do several things I really enjoy including tech support and web design work, and I have more energy to apply to my work because I love what I’m doing.

Third Card – Ace of Cups

This is the meat of the reading, the card representing the future, the Ace of Cups.  As I said earlier, the Aces are about beginnings and the energy that goes with them.  The suit of Cups is under a water sign.  The Cups are expressive of emotions and spirituality.  This particular card, in the Rider Waite desks, is usually pictured with a Chalice overflowing, representing abundance and wishes granted.  This card also is often interpreted as the beginning of relationships, whether love or friendship.  It’s a time of blossoming.

I can interpret this in various ways.  My dream of becoming an employee here coming true and providing abundance of…well…everything for me.  It could be the blossoming of friendships here at the job (which really, I’d have to be working here for those to blossom, just not necessarily as a full employee, I could still be a contractor).  It could be indicating a relationship at a new place of employment, again somewhere my passions can blossom.

I’m hesitant to reach too far with my intuition on this one because it’s easy, when reading the cards for yourself, to let your desires color your interpretations.  And I try not to do that.  I must say, though, that I’ve had a very good feeling about this job since it first became a possibility, and it’s only gotten stronger the longer I’ve worked here.  I guess this is just going to have to be one of those wait and see times.  Whatever happens, though, it appears that it will be a time of growth for me.

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Tarot Reading for Employment

The Queen of Cups, as a person, is creative and intuitive.  A person more comfortable in the spiritual world at times than the physical.  In a reading she can refer to a specific person or to the qualities of that person.  In this case, I feel like it’s the qualities that are being called to here.  Somehow, my intuition is important today.  I need to be open to the needs of myself and those around me in order to provide the answers that are needed.

Goddess Card: Maeve

Maeve is a Celtic Goddess associated with the feminine.  In this deck, she represents cycles and rhythms, both physical and emotional.  Her message is to honor the cycles of your body, accept them, in some ways cater to them.  Railing against them is to no avail.

So, are these cards giving me different messages, or are they related.  My only question in pulling these daily cards is, what do I need to know about today?  Well, my intuition, as provoked by the Queen of Cups, tells me that they are related.  That I need to train my intuition on my own physical needs today, and give what my body needs.

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Tarot Card of the Day: Queen of Cups

I’ve been somewhat pagan for years, and been a practicing pagan for about 5 years. In that time, I’ve connected had face to face interactions with other pagans maybe 3 times. Everything I know and do and practice is self-taught in a vacuum. I went to on-line communities and met a wall of “you’re not doing it right”. Well, that’s one of the biggest reasons I stopped being a Christian. I don’t believe there’s just one way to do things. We each have a path to follow, and must follow that path.

It’s been so frustrating for me because I *like* celebrating the divine in community. It’s the one thing I miss about being Catholic, having a community to celebrate and worship with.

How does one find a guide and teacher in the pagan world when everyone is underground and the only ones you can find are the ones that want to control your path?

So I keep stumbling around in the dark, hands outstretched searching for…something…I’m not sure what. I assume that when the time is right I’ll find what it is I need. Until then, I’ll continue groping uselessly.

So, I did a simple 3 card reading on my problem of finding a community.

First Card: Five of Cups

The first card, indicating the past of the issue, is pretty appropos.  In the Five of Cups, you see the figure obsessed with the cups of spilled wine while ignoring those that are full.  Let’s face it, I have a really good life spiritually right now.  I feel more in tune with the divine than I ever have, am finally becoming comfortable with more feminine expressions of the divine, and practice energy work much more easily than I thought would ever be possible.  But I concentrate on the loss of a spiritual community, when honestly, that community was never very accepting of me (I was a liberal feminist with pagan leanings *laughs*, so I didn’t fit in very well with the traditional catholics I tended to worship with).

Second Card: The Moon

The second card, indicating the present situation, is also rather appropriate.  I’ve always been one to let fear override need.  It’s something I always struggle with.  I think, what if they don’t like me? I know, that sounds silly and juvenile, but when you aren’t exactly brimming with self-confidence, it’s a thought that holds sway over you.  I also wonder if I’ll have the energy to be able to work regularly with a group.  Ritual takes energy, and for someone with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, energy can be quite hard to come by.  Add all of that to being a really serious introvert, I’m afraid that even if I do connect with a group, I won’t be able to maintain membership.

Card Three: The Tower

The future of my issue…The Tower.  *sighs* I really wasn’t ready for that one.  I don’t really want to have a major gotcha moment that changes my life and perceptions.  Have I mentioned that I’m not thrilled by change.  I guess my only choice here is to stay as grounded as possible and open to the movements of Fate in my life.  We’ll see where it goes.  Maybe I need to do another reading to clarify this card a bit.  For those who don’t know the cards, The Tower is about false structures that get struck down by truth.  But what structures are false, and what is the truth.  I think I’m afraid to find out.

Goddess Card: Eireen

On the upside is the Goddess Card I pulled for this reading.  Eireen, who is a Greek Goddess who brings peace to all who call on her.  This card urges us to hand over our worries to the Divine and to practice those things that bring us peace.  So I guess that’s my answer for now.  Let go of worry, what will come will come.  Continue as I have, following my path, and let the Goddess guide me.

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Finding a Community