Ace of Wands Archives < Arwen, Professional Joy Seeker

Sorry, You’ve Got It All Wrong!

Why your vision of your perfect day is patently false.

Part of my practice is to draw a card each day. Recently one of the cards reminded me that you are all wrong. That none of you know what a perfect day is. That none of you have any concept of a truly ideal day. How do I know? Well let me tell you what a perfect day is. Then you’ll know.

A perfect day is slightly overcast. There’s a brisk wind coming in that carries just a bit of cool with it so the ambient temperature is around 68. There might even be the scent of rain on that wind. The sky is just a bit gray. The sun is definitely not bright and shining. The wind is the key for the perfect day. It must lift skirts, fluff hair and generally flutter things.

WHAT? Not your perfect day?

Okay. Close your eyes. Tell me what your perfect day looks like. Place yourself right into that scene.

Betcha it’s different from mine in most cases.
Betcha your perfect day is perfect for you.

Now try this. Picture your perfect person. Not yourself. Not your lover. Just your perfect person. What do they say? What do they do? How do they act? What makes them a perfect person to you? Is it what they wear? Is it the color of their hair? Their skin? What about their weight? Did you think about how much they weigh when you were deciding what perfection in a person meant to you? Did you worry about their eye color or their footwear?

Betcha the key things were more internal than external.
Betcha the important stuff was what they say and what they do rather than what they wear or who they know.

So why worry about what others think about the external you, darling? Why worry at all? It’s what’s inside that is important to you. Why should anyone else be different? They are worried about the same things. We all are concerned that we won’t be accepted for this thing or for that thing.

Me? What is my worry?

Being seen as weird.

I worry that I will be seen as weird and not a real business woman because I use Tarot. Because my coaching business uses Tarot to help others seek joy. Because I teach Tarot for a living.

Silly, right? I agree. So I remind myself to co-opt the Austin, TX and Portland, OR. Keep Arwen Weird. And let my freak flag fly! That’s perfect for me. It helps me stay mindful for those of you who practice mindfulness.

So my perfect day, my perfect person and my perfect motto aren’t yours. It’s all good, darling. That means we have room to wiggle and to grow. Room to find our own perfect spot.

Not sure how to find your wise inner self? I can help. Let’s have a conversation using the Tarot as our tools to set your feet on the joy seeking path today.

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

Oh by the way? Lisa Hunt and I worked on a Lenormand deck called Fairy Tale Lenormand. Just released 9/1/16. If you want to learn how to read Tarot my way, check out my upcoming class Trust Your Gut Intuitive Tarot.

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New Year Magic

That bears repeating. ‘I had thought 2013 sucked until I sat down to do the closing ceremony

Today’s card reminds me of my word for this year. I guess that’s appropriate seeing as how this is the last day for that word–although not for the energy of the word.

The Wildwood Tarot‘s Ace of Bows has the title of Spark of Life. This is a deck I need to work with more. The cards are rich with imagery. My friend Louise Underhill of Priestess Tarot works with this deck as does a new friend, Ellen.

One of the treasures 2013 brought to me has been the new and renewed friendships. This year was truly a galvanizing one. Many small sparks have spread into warm fires of success for me. One unlooked for blessing was an offer to blog somewhere. I can’t say where just yet, but it was a pretty big deal for me. It’s a one time thing but still, it’s a big deal.

Add to that my blogging (which I must get back to more regularly) with Witches And Pagans plus the three books submitted in 2013? Yeah, that sums up a pretty fabulous year of writing. Here on this page I managed to post nearly ever day so go me and go Cai (the other half of Marilu Mann.) If you like to read paranormal (and contemporary), go you to http://www.greatmta.com lol! )

This card also points towards a new beginning. The Ace of Bows is new life, new energy and bright, fresh, shiny starts. I’m embarking on a new journey in one week. I’ll be saying “I do” to a special someone. What better way to kick off 2014, right?

I know that I still have things that need improvement. There’s always room for improvement, yes? Things like unburying my guest room/office so it can actually see use as an office. Continued work on my health. More focus on my lines of income. All of those things will be part of my work with the 2014 Create Your Amazing Year Workbook + Planner.

I have to laugh here because I got an email last night. Here’s what K.C. had to say about this workbook.

“Hi, Arwen. While I’ll admit I got the Leonie Dawson workbook because of your 3-card mini read, I’ve sat down to do it and I am amazed. It is so wonderful. (Of course, you knew that already.) I had thought 2013 sucked until I sat down to do the closing ceremony. That in and of itself was a fabulous gift.

In fact, I loved it so much, I gave 2 as gifts using your link.”

[Tweet “That bears repeating. ‘I had thought 2013 sucked until I sat down to do the closing ceremony.'”]

I can so relate to that statement. I felt the same way about 2012! And of course there have been some sucktastic things about 2013, but the beautiful things (and all of the beautiful people) outweighed the suckage.

I’m thrilled to see someone else connect with the special magic of this workbook. It’s so much more than a calendar/planner. There’s magic waiting to happen. I’m looking forward to some time to work on this even more.

What magic do you want to happen in 2014. That’s your journal prompt, my darlings.

Ace of Bows, Wildwood Tarot, Sterling Ethos, 2011
Snag your copy of the 2014 Create Your Amazing Year workbook + Planner at http://bit.ly/TbAIncred . Besides an incredible tool, you will also score a three card Tarot reading from me. Just let me know you got the downloadable version.

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

See you next year! (Yes, it amuses the heck out of me to say that. LOL)

Make ‘Em Laugh! Make ‘Em Laugh!

Today’s card is from the Moon Princess Himiko Tarot. This is an unusually lovely Ace of Wands. This deck is a really mixed bag for me. Only the courts, the aces and the Majors have scenic interpretations. All the rest follow the Marseilles tradition of non-scenic minors. I prefer the scenic.

I woke up laughing this morning. I was remembering a scene from a movie I watched last night. I didn’t watch the whole thing…I just wanted to watch to that particular scene. It’s from the first Kung Fu Panda where Mantis is doing acupuncture on Po. During an intense scene with Tigress, Po suddenly pulls a funny face which totally pisses Tigress off. She’s going to fight him but Mantis interrupts to say what has happened.

It never fails to make me laugh until I cry.

And isn’t that a great feeling? When is the last time you had that in your life? Too long? Well make it happen. Read a book you know will make you laugh. Watch a show that causes you to hoot.

Don’t depend on others for your laughter, darlings. Make it happen for yourself.

Did you know you can watch some old faves for free? Sign up for the 30 day free trial with Amazon Prime today! [aff] If you use that link, you help me. And you cancel after 30. I am a Prime member and love it. I just watched the Avengers last weekend. Didn’t cost me a dime. My Prime membership pays for itself in the free shipping savings. 😀

Now astrologically we have what is called a Grand Water Trine. This is big according to the astrologers I know (and the ones I follow.) I read the write up on Tarot.com. This line really caught my eye.

“If you embrace the positive energy and heightened intuition of this rare planetary alignment, it could lead to emotional breakthroughs!”

Well, heck. I’m in. Are you?

Your 180 second challenge today? Take three minutes to write about what emotional breakthrough you would like to happen.

Oh, darlings? This isn’t about someone else’s emotional breakthrough. It’s about yours so keep it focused on you.

Ace of Wands, Moon Princess Himiko Tarot, OOP

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

Housecleaning Is The Goal???

Today’s card is a fun version from the Housewives Tarot. It makes me wrinkle my nose and think, “But I don’ wanna do it.” I mean I know there are those that enjoy cleaning house. I’m not one of them. 😀

But what catches my eye in this is not the feather duster, but the background. Do you see it? It may be too small in this picture. The background is a blueprint. You see the 10×15 kitchen, the 10×15 master and more. There’s even landscaping sketched in.

Ah yes, the perfect Ace of Wands reminder. What you do in the here and now should be geared towards what you want in the future.

And what do you want in the future? If your goals are limited to physical things/wants, I challenge you to broaden your search. Realize that your goals need to be less “lose 50 pounds and find a partner” and more “wake up happy every day.”

Because while one is completely doable, the other will make the first an afterthought. Once you can wake up happy every day, you will be on the right track.

Wow, Arwen. You really wake up happy every day?

Hell to the no.

I wake up in pain and wondering if I can call out at work.
I wake up, smack the snooze and go back to sleep.

😀 I’m human.

But I reset my mind. I write a daily affirmation. I hold on to that. Do I lose it? Sure, I do.

But the secret to being a professional joy seeker?

I keep the goal in mind.

I seek joy so I can be the person I believe myself to be.

Seek joy, y’all! Pass it on.

Ace of Wands, Housewives Tarot, Quirk Books, 2004 [aff]

How Do You Get Turned On?

This card represents that force in us all when we get TURNED ON and TUNED IN to our lives–when we are truly connected to our soul. How do you make that connection?

Today’s card is from a very interesting deck. It is a group artist effort that was produced in the 80’s. It’s full of feminist energies and images because it is one of the first (and perhaps only) lesbian designed Tarot decks. One of the unique things about this deck is that it is round.

I pulled the Ace of Wands this morning and had to laugh. I’d been on my iPhone pulling daily cards and had gotten the Queen of Wands not once but twice. So no surprise to me to see another Wand. With all the fire energy I’m pulling due to my word of the year, it’s going to happen.

Look at this card. Baby leaping out of the egg. Joy happening. The child is the spark. She is the fuel feeding all of that energy surrounding her. It’s not feeding her. She’s not seeking sustenance. She is sustenance. She is energy.

This card represents that force in us all when we get TURNED ON and TUNED IN to our lives–when we are truly connected to our soul. How do you make that connection?

A blogger I love, Jodi Chapman, talked about her soul-connecting playlist. While I’m not much of a music person (I prefer silence), I do have some songs that just reconnect me.

One of those is a new one on a very recently released album by Anna Fritz. It is the title track and was the thing that hooked me into participating in her fundraiser. The Gospel of Tree Bark moves me in ways I can’t explain. I sometimes listen to it when I just need to get back to myself.

What about you? How do you reconnect with yourself when you feel disconnected? Is it music? Art? Literature? Nature? What reconnects you?

Ace of Fire, Daughters of the Moon (color), Ffiona Morgan 1981

YAY! I just found out that they’ve brought the B&W version back! 😀

Seek Joy, Y’all! Pass it on!

Want to work on your own word of the year? Join me in working with Leonie Dawson’s 2013 Incredible Year Workbook+Planner. It’s never too late to start an amazing year.

Who’s Going To Start A Fire Today?

Destruction in an Ace? But Arwen! Aces are seed energy. They are the promise of the suit. They are GOOD. Right? Right?

Today’s card is one of the ones that came up for me in a recent reading where I finally solidified my sacred word for 2013. I wasn’t surprised to see this card turn up on this random draw for today.

Fire-starter. That’s one thing I think of when I see the Ace of Wands. That can be a good thing. That can be a bad thing. As a water sign, I am a bit disinclined to be a big fire fan. All that heat. All that destruction.

Yeah, okay, so water can be destructive in its own right.

Destruction in an Ace? But Arwen! Aces are seed energy. They are the promise of the suit. They are GOOD. Right? Right?

Well, I hate to disappoint you but aces, to me, are neither good nor bad. They simply are. They can be good. Witness the growing tree giving a place for the blue bird to nest. They can be bad. See the fire in the background? If it gets out of hand, the bird, the tree and the bunny are all going to suffer.

But harnessed correctly, the Ace of Wands is the kind of fiery, passionate, dare I say it, spark of energy that can rejuvenate things. It’s a great card to show up around new projects or projects that need that last kick to sprint to the finish.

I love the smoke rising up from the flames. I’m reminded of the prayers that rise up in so many religious cultures–carried to that Higher Power. Faith is a beautiful thing.

What needs a spark in your life? What could use a little boot to the rear to get you over that last hump or out of that sagging middle?

Take a lesson with the Ace of Wands today and go for it. Passion can carry you forward when nothing else will. Be passionate, darlings. Be alive.

This is from Elizabeth Hazel’s Whispering Path Tarot. It’s self-published charmer that I adore. Good for small hands and a very lovely deck.

Ace of Wands, Whispering Path Tarot, Elizabeth Hazel

Seek Joy,Y’all! Pass it on.

Inspiration, Illumination & Naps

If you were to inspire someone today, what would you inspire them to do? For me, right now, my best offering might be a really spectacular…

Today’s card reminds me that inspiration comes in many forms. I’m tired this morning. I mean really whipped. I did a three hour reading marathon last night and forgot to take water or bring some nibbles. So I read for three hours without ever getting up. Not even stretch breaks.

So my inspiration to write anything this morning hasn’t been there. I realized I needed some Ace of Wands energy. And this card is such a marvelous rendition of that energy. Illumination is the title James Wanless gives this card. It is from his classic Voyager Tarot.

What really gets me is how the hand itself is lit up. All the energy outside is coming in and the energy inside is heading out. Symbiotic.

What I put out comes back to me. That’s actually part of my spiritual beliefs. It’s no small reason as to why I seek joy and urge others to do so as well. What we put out we get back.

If you were to inspire someone today, what would you inspire them to do? For me, right now, my best offering might be a really spectacular nap. Grin! But truly, if I can just maintain my steady joy seeking, then I’m happy.

Illuminate me. What are you sending out to bring back in today?

Ace of Wands,Voyager Tarot: Intuition Cards for the 21st Century,Fair Winds Press, 2008