Frank Fradella Adventure Tarot Archives < Arwen, Professional Joy Seeker

What About Greed?

I don’t want to face what the song asks me to review. What do I have that I simply wanted and didn’t really need?

This card reminds me of a song by Bernice Johnson Reagon. I heard Sweet Honey In The Rock perform it last night. The concert was amazing. If you ever have the chance to hear this accapella group, DO!

See this man grasping the coins? He’s so angry. He’s so focused on not letting anyone else have what he has. But look at the room. There’s just a wall of drawers behind him. Of course, the scene is that he’s in a bank protecting the money but to me, I see those drawers as all the things he thought he needed.

But he never uses them. They just sit there–in drawers–locked away. Just proof that he has it all. In the song “Greed”, Bernice Johnson Reagon says,

“Greed is a strain in the American Dream
Having more than you need is the essential theme.”

And isn’t that the truth?

Inventory time. What do you have that you wanted but now no longer use? I cringe when I think of what I have just in Tarot decks alone. Now I do use my decks for things like…oh, you know…this post!

But there are things I don’t need. Things that someone else might use, might read, might hang on their own wall.

Greed. It’s certainly not something I want to think about. I don’t want to face what the song asks me to review. What do I have that I simply wanted and didn’t really need?

Ouch.

So today I’m going to put my three minutes, those 180 seconds, to doing a mental inventory on where to start with my purging project. I need to get rid of some things.

I need to consider if I need an iPad or just want it.

What about you? What do you think about the idea of greed?

See the full song here: http://www.bernicejohnsonreagon.com/greed.shtml

4 of Pentacles, Frank Fradella Adventure Tarot, USGames

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

Who Will You Stand Up To Today?

Here we see the character being tormented by the PuppetMaster. This is an age-old battle between these two. I can’t remember the kneeling figure’s name but his nemesis is controlling his mind. He’s lost in old memories, old worries, things he can’t control.

Today’s card is one of my favorite renditions of this card. For those new to my blog, I’m a bit of a collector of decks (understatement). Here is the agonizing, tail-chasing, nightmare-suffering poor poor me Nine of Swords.

From one of my favorite decks, the Frank Fradella Adventure Tarot (US Games, 1992) interprets this traditional card of worry in a slightly different way. Here we see the character being tormented by the PuppetMaster. This is an age-old battle between these two. I can’t remember the kneeling figure’s name but his nemesis is controlling his mind. He’s lost in old memories, old worries, things he can’t control.

If I were there, I’d whisper in his ear, “You don’t have to control it all. You don’t have to make retribution for all your mistakes. You are fine just as you are right now.”

I’d hold his hand and urge him to stand up. Not just to the PuppetMaster who has the power to manipulate dreams by turning them into nightmares. No, it isn’t enough to stand up to his nemesis here.

He has to stand up to himself. He has to look himself in the eye. He has to believe in his own power.

I’ve been here. Have you?

Pretty crappy place, eh? (Did I mention I was good at understatement?)

So what will it take for you to stand up to yourself?

What will you need to be able to look yourself in the eyes so you can see the amazing person that you are?

Who will you reach out to today to ask for that friendly hand squeeze, that heartfelt hug, that flash of a grin?

Will you stay on your knees allowing someone else to turn your dreams into nightmares?

No, I didn’t think so. Let’s kick our personal PuppetMasters to the curb, darlings.

Feel yourself wrapped up in a hug from me. Know that you are just fine as you are right this moment.

I don’t care if your hair isn’t brushed, your bank account is overdrawn, you suffer from any number of physical ailments. I don’t care.

What I do care is that your heart is open, your mind is free and that you understand the two rules to a joy-filled life.

1. Seek Joy, Y’all.
2. You can only control what’s in your hula hoop.

Know that I love you.

9 of Swords, Frank Fradella Adventure Tarot, US Games 2002

Seek Joy, Y’all. Pass it on.

P. to the S. If you are still thinking about , the contest is over on Thursday but it is NEVER too late to start your incredible year. 😀

Directions, Limits & Purposes

I was contemplating that list of one hundred things I want to do for 2013. Walking back from my break to my desk at my day job, it hit me.Tarot is not my life’s work.

Psst! Here for the Awesome Writer’s Muse Giveaway? Keep reading!

Today’s card is one I intentionally drew. I wanted a card to represent this big wow moment that I’ve been leading up to. I needed to demonstrate how this is going to change my life. Doing the work with the has been on my mind a lot.

Oh hush.

I can hear the lot of you gasping, “Noooooo, we hadn’t noticed.”

Don’t think I can’t hear you.)@( ANYWHO!

I was contemplating that list of for 2013. Walking back from my break to my desk at my day job, it hit me.Tarot is not my life’s work.I know, right? I was pretty gob smacked. I would have told you at the beginning of the year that Tarot was it for me. But it’s not.

Tarot is a vehicle for my life’s work. My life’s work is showing you (and me) that you can change your world, recreate yourself by adding these two phrases.

1. You can only control what’s in your hula hoop.

2. Seek joy, y’all.

As Leonie says, “It’s all about aligning your actions with your intentions.” So I’m going to be focused next year on for this new realization.

Don’t panic. I’m not going to walk away from Tarot consultations completely. I am going to be harder to book though because I’m going to limit my readings appointments to a set number per month. I’m still working on that number because I want to make sure I balance things.

One of those things is the book I’m wrapping up. If you want to hear about this book when it’s available, sign up here. This is completely separate from my monthly newsletter with the monthly tarotscopes podcast. I will use this list only to announce availability of this book (and the others that I’m working on like my Fairy Tales Spreads book and my 30 Days To Joy workbook.) So you can expect email ONLY when I have something pertinent to say about the book like “the book is ready.”

And that’s my big news. I’m changing my direction. I’m moving my chariot towards my life’s purpose rather than the vehicle of my life’s purpose. I still love Tarot. I am not abandoning Tarot. I’m just heading in the right direction now.

Chariot, Fradella Adventure Tarot, US Games,

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on!

Speaking of joy! Congratulations to Frank Fradella and his wife. Their twin sons just arrived 12/10!

And, if you are here for the Awesome Writer’s Muse Giveaway, all you need to do to get your free Tarot for Writer’s lesson (it’s the first chapter of my forthcoming book), just sign up for my newsletter. You can also take advantage of my free e-book “Intuitive Tarot”.

Volunteering, Weeping & Control

Today’s card reminds me that sometimes joy is hard to seek. It’s hard when you feel as if the world is dead-set against you ever breaking free of things. It’s hard when you feel as if no one truly cares about your forward progress.

So what do you do when you feel like the 8 of Swords? This card is from the Fradella Adventure Tarot. It’s a particular favorite of mine–this depiction. I was reading with it one day when it hit me.

She’s not a victim. She’s not on that wheel at someone else’s hand. No. She volunteered for that position. She trusted that the thrower would hit the target and not her.

But the important piece is…she put herself there. Look at her. She’s no simpering, weeping miss. She’s a strong confident woman who knows how to take what life throws her way. She knows it’s only a matter of time before she is free again.

She knows that even when someone is throwing blades at her, she is in charge.

Don’t let life win. Don’t give into the “it’s not fair” and “they are all mean to me” mode of thinking. Rise above that. You can’t control others. You can only control yourself. Don’t give them the pleasure of seeing you falter.

Keep. Seeking. Joy.

Here’s a great quote from Robert Louis Stevenson.

“…Find out where joy resides, and give it a voice far beyond singing. For to miss the joy is to miss all.”

To miss the joy is to miss all. Wow. That quote in one of my Oprah newsletters really swatted me hard. I’ll bet this woman strapped to the target knows where her joy resides.

It isn’t out there. It isn’t in the hands of the knife thrower.

It’s within her.

It’s within you.

Find out where joy resides, y’all. Pass it on.

9 of Blades, Fradella Adventure Tarot Deck & Book Set with Book(s), USGames, 2003

Masks, Authenticity & Strength

Today’s card is one that reminds me it’s hard to be authentic. Being authentic. It’s one of those terms we kick around a lot. I know I do. And then today, I saw this quote.

“Belonging starts with self-acceptance … Believing that you’re enough is what gives you the courage to be authentic.”
— Brené Brown

This is perfect for this 7 of Masks from the Fradella Adventure Tarot. It’s a perennial favorite of mine. He offers up masks as his Cups suit. When I first saw that, I was thrown for a bit. I couldn’t wrap my head around it until I realized the beauty of it. Our emotions can be masks.

Here a figure is choosing which face to wear. The decision to be someone else is something many of us face. How often have you talked about “Today I must be the man in charge” or “I have to go be a soccer mom” or any variation?

Take a moment to ask yourself what masks (or roles) you have in your life. How often are you all of them at once? What would happen if you took corporate legal eagle to the T-ball game?

I think Brene` Brown is right. If this character would choose to just go out as themselves, this matter of choosing who to be that day would melt away. He, and I, must learn to believe that he is enough.

Where do you feel like you are not enough? Where do you feel like you are inadequate to the point of needing to pretend to be someone else?

For today, practice being the most important person in the world–yourself. Allow the world to be blessed with the presence of you–real, authentic, honest. You with your nose that’s too big. You with your stomach that pokes out. You with your child who doesn’t behave beautifully at all times. You with all your insecurities…let them go.

And then tomorrow? Practice this concept again. Yes, some people won’t like you. But you know what?

The authentic you probably doesn’t like them either. And that’s okay. We are not here to hang out with the world. Love the world certainly, but populate your hula hoop neighbors with other authentic people. Leave the masks for those who aren’t strong enough to believe in themselves.

I believe in you.

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on. Want to show off your own willingness to chase your own bliss? Get yourself a mousepad to remind you. And schedule a reading with me today. I’ll help you examine how to be your most authentic self.

7 of Masks, Fradella Adventure Tarot, U.S. Games, 2003

Swans, Angst & Compassess

Today’s card is my reminder that sometimes I work too hard at struggling to define what it means to be good to me. A great quote by Marcus Aurelius about this is “Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.”

I particularly love this interpretation Continue reading “Swans, Angst & Compassess”

Musings On The Chariot

How often have you thrown yourself into something only to find out you should have done more research… you should have waited a bit longer? What were the consequences of your hasty decision? Would you have chosen differently if you had taken a few more moments to think?

rws_chariot How often have you thrown yourself into something only to find out you should have done more research… you should have waited a bit longer? What were the consequences of your hasty decision? Would you have chosen differently if you had taken a few more moments to think? These are what I see as the moments when our personal Chariots took over. We were not Continue reading “Musings On The Chariot”

DECK REVIEW: Fradella Adventure Tarot

Fradella Adventure Tarot
By J P Dupras & Frank Fradella
Tarot Deck – 78 Cards – Published by US Games 2002

This review is part of the reviews at House Of Tarot. I do not receive any monetary rewards for you clicking on any of the following links. If that changes, I will edit this and I will always disclose that so folks can choose to not click a link.

Frank Fradella takes his iHero Universe to the realm of the mysterious Tarot. And basically Continue reading “DECK REVIEW: Fradella Adventure Tarot”