Scorpio, Waiting & Forgotten

Well at that time in my life, that certainly wasn’t what I wanted to hear. No way. No how. Get wet? What the hell kind of advice was that?

This card reminds me of something my mama said to me. I was weeping and whining about something I wanted. Something I wanted but wasn’t here yet. I was stuck waiting for it. Mama, a true blue Scorpio, looked me in the eye. What she said to me then I’ve never forgotten.

“Get wet.”

HUH?

“Sometimes if all you are doing is waiting for your ship to come in, you need to get wet.”

Well at that time in my life, that certainly wasn’t what I wanted to hear. No way. No how. Get wet? What the hell kind of advice was that?

Grin. My mother was not the most maternal thing in the world if you are looking for the June Cleaver/Carol Brady mom. Her method was to push you a little further than you thought you could go. Didn’t always work for me but she never failed to remind me that I was loved.

This Three of Wands (Witches Tarot 2012 from Llewellyn) shows a man watching over the harbor. He’s got three wands with him. The Ace of wands was the intent and the potential of his desire. The second wand that made the Two of Wands showed his bringing action to his desire. Now with the third wand in hand, he waits to see if what he worked for will flourish.

In writing, the first thing many of us hear once we say, “I submitted” is “what are you working on now?”

That’s a really important concept because as a writer, if you stop writing, you are not producing. And a non-producing writer is forgotten very easily. Most writers don’t want to be forgotten (insider secret into the mind of the professional writer.)

Really, none of us want to be forgotten, do we? So why not get wet? Why not jump in and swim out to see how things are going? If that’s not possible, try this.

Instead of spending your time waiting, spend it working/creating/doing. Make the next thing happen.

Time’s a’wasting.

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

3 of Wands,
Witches Tarot, Llewellyn Publishing 2012

Pick up a copy for yourself.

Burdens, Busses & No

Today’s card reminds me of that children’s game Pick Up Sticks. Only this is a less fun adult version. In this version, instead of only picking the sticks that won’t bring the pile crashing down, you are to pick up as many sticks as you can. The goal here is to see how much you can carry.

Oh! Did I mention that you will also have to keep moving and probably get asked to pick up more sticks as you go?

WHAT?

I know, right. Sounds unfair. I mean who says you have to pick up all these burdens and do all this stuff while you are just trying to move down the road.

Um.

Well.

About that. The person asking isn’t nearly as the person saying, “Yes, I can do that.”

And if you aren’t sure who is agreeing to this, then, sugar, it’s time to check your mirror again.

At some point, you must slam your foot down. You must learn to say no. How on earth can you find joy if you are doing so much busy work? And yes, some of that “if I don’t do it no one else will” crap is just you saying “I need to feel needed so I’m going to do this”.

Sorry, but it is. Reality check. If you got hit by a bus today, someone would take up where you left off. If you say, “No, I can’t join that committee”, trust me, someone will step up.

One of life’s little secrets? You don’t have to do it all.

The 10 of Wands here (from the Witches Tarot, Llewellyn, 2012) shows someone trying to carry a huge bundle up a rocky road. He’s been at it so long, looks like some of those sticks have sprouted. So he’s going to have more work.

What can you let go of? What is just filler? What is just you being a bit afraid to be alone? That being alone isn’t life-threatening. It can be a chance to meditate, do some YOU work.

So practice it with me. “No, I can’t.”

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

10 Wands, Witches Tarot, Llewellyn 2012

Death, Fear & Joy

Today’s card is a grim one. It’s from one of Llwelleyn’s new decks. Here we learn about facing the dark things in our lives. We must understand that some things cannot be turned away from so easily. Even if we run, we cannot escape this specter.

Is it Death? No, it isn’t. Even though this card is the Major Arcana position, it is called the Shadow Side. While Death, aka the Grim Reaper, is present, the two in the foreground seem to cower in fear as if that will stop the inevitable progress of their lives. It’s a fact. We will all die.

What these two young people should be doing is living rather than fearing what will come. They should be standing up to look at the light behind the Reaper. If they did, they would see the welcome waiting for them.

But their time is not now. They are wasting time living in fear.

How much time do we waste? I recently had a chat with a loved one about some major changes in our lives. We both talked about the fear we had around them rather than the joy that could come. Instead of focusing on the good, we both scurried down the path of “OH MY GOD WHAT IF WE FAIL AT THIS?”

What if we had talked about the outcome if we succeeded?

It’s a good thing to talk about potential pitfalls and problems. But I don’t think it is the best thing to focus on them so much that you ignore the good. So the next time you have to have one of “those” talks, allow time for the bad but then focus on the good. Let the good carry you forward while the bad serves as boundaries and reminders of what you don’t want to cross.

Seek joy, y’all. Even when you have to face your own Shadow Side.

Shadow Side (Death), Witches Tarot, Llewellyn Publishing, 2012