Tag: swords

Thoughts, Swords & Purviews

The Universe frequently knocks my noggin, yanks the rug out from under me feet, or yanks my pigtails then runs.

Today’s card was pulled at a perfect time for me. See, I am furious right now. Just sick with anger about a news story that I read. I’ve already kneejerked about it on my personal page. I’ll spare you that here.

What I will say is that the 8 of Swords (Fenestra Tarot, US Games) is the perfect knock upside my noggin from the Universe. The Universe frequently knocks my noggin, yanks the rug out from under me feet, or yanks my pigtails then runs. (FWIW, I don’t have pigtails… :D)

When I looked at this, I didn’t see swords so much as bindings held by others that locked this woman into place. Of course, those are swords but not for me, not now. My fuzzy eyes have locked onto that idea that she’s held captive by others.

Swords are thoughts. Swords are mental actions. Swords are controlled by…????

Ourselves.

Our thoughts are completely within our own purview. So those swords in this card? Not in someone else’s hands. They are emanating from her and being PUT into the hands of others.

Yep, she’s giving them control of her thoughts. I do that. I forget to stay fierce about my joy. I forget to deny outside input into my interior landscape. I plant thorns when I should be planting tulips.

I can’t control others.
I can control myself.

Yep, it’s that simple. If, and only if, I keep fiercely focused on that finding. (Yes, you can assume adore alliteration.)

So today, my job is to reset my mind, to reroute my thoughts, to restore my inner landscape. Yes, the newsstory was horrific. Yes, there is something I can do about it (educate others on what I think the cause is). But no, there is no reason to walk around jacked up about it all day. What good will that do?

And, in a lovely bit of synchronicity–Thanks, Universe– I read Jodi Chapman‘s blog today.

Yes. Be nice to myself. This is what I must do. And I shall!

Will you?

8 of Swords,Fenestra Tarot, US Games, 2005

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on!

Still plenty of time to join the gang who are going to be using C to make 2013 the best ever.

Athletes, Energy & Release

This figure is releasing beautiful orbs. I like to think of them as thought bubbles. You know, like in a cartoon. In each one is something that I’ve said where someone else could hear.

Today’s card reminds me to ask myself one simple question each day. What do I want to release into the world? Now this isn’t a question of loss or of what I want to let go of. That’s a good question too but this is different.

This is the energy I want to put out in the world. This gorgeous card from the Sirian Starseed has been haunting me. It’s the first card that I cut to when I first opened the deck. It’s turned up when just randomly shuffling. So, I think it has something to say to me.

I don’t look at the book until after I’ve thought about the card. I show you how I study/learn/read tarot in my free book. If you want that book, just sign up for the newsletter and it’s yours.

But back to the question. This figure is releasing beautiful orbs. I like to think of them as thought bubbles. You know, like in a cartoon. In each one is something that I’ve said where someone else could hear.

So I have to think, “Were my words positive?” “Was I being negative?” “Was I focused on the good or the bad?”

What did I just release into the world.

Now this isn’t about shame or blame. I screw up. We all do. No one is perfect. For me, the reason I’m here is to make me a better human. So I accept that sometimes I call a customer an idiot or curse at another driver. Life happens.

So I start my day with “what do I want to release into the world” as a focus for myself. Just like any athlete, I have to have a goal in mind. A marathon runner doesn’t just wander into the road thinking, “I’ll just run until I’m tired.” They set a goal and work to achieve that.

What is your goal today? What do you want to release into the world? What thoughts will you try to spread to others? How will you rise higher?

Seven of Orbs, Sirian Starseed Tarot, North Atlantic Books, 2012

Get yours here.

Seek Joy, Y’all. Be a joy athlete and pass it on.

Nurture, New & Swans

I’m so tickled to have folks subscribed that I thought I’d give them a treat just for them. There’s another treat tucked in there as well, but that’s just for them.

Today’s card reminds me of all the things I have to do. I see this gorgeous girl focusing not on all the adults around her but on the baby in her arms.

She, like me, is focused on something new, something coming. She sees the potential in this flightless cygnet and so do I. I’ve been working on my newsletter today along with my monthly Tarotscopes podcast. Did you know I’ve been doing them for several years now?

This month, my newsletter readers will have their Tarotscope podcast announcement earlier than anyone else. I’m so tickled to have folks subscribed that I thought I’d give them a treat just for them. There’s another treat tucked in there as well, but that’s just for them.

If you want to get yours early or want to see what my treat for my November newsletter subscribers is, you can sign up.

So what are you nurturing right now? Are you remembering to focus on the beginning rather than worrying about the end? Do you gaze out your window looking at those who are doing what you want to do or are you keeping your eyes on the prize, the project, the promise you made to yourself.

You can let others lift you up and show you the way like our Page of Swords (Shadowscapes Tarot) is doing. But never forget that you are the one sheltering that new beginning. You are the one watching it carefully to know when it has wings ready to fly.

What do you nurture today?

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on!

Page of Swords, Shadowscapes Tarot, Llewellyn Publishing, 2010

Noses, Spite & Prizes

Then I can remember to breathe and seek joy. Sometimes that joy comes from me laughing at my own toddler (hello T-Rex in a onesie!) response.

Today’s card reminds me that sometimes I cut off my own nose just to spite my face. Decisions that don’t serve my best interests are often made in haste or in anger.

Here we see two workers who seem to be in a race to finish. However, they’ve just chopped down two viable grape vines because they weren’t focused on the outcome–just the moment.

When I make a decision based on the moment rather than the outcome, I am not always doing the best for me. For instance, if I am in an argument with my honey (I know! It happens. 😀 ) and I think, “Oh screw this and screw you…I’d be better off on my own.”, well that’s not really the best immediate action. I have to stop and evaluate everything.

1. Is this a pattern he and I have?
2. Am I coming from a stressed out place making this event worse?
3. What would it look like if I were in his shoes?

Then I can remember to breathe and seek joy. Sometimes that joy comes from me laughing at my own toddler (hello T-Rex in a onesie!) response.

So when you are faced with a decision that is coming from a reaction instead of action, stop. Weigh it out. Evaluate all sides. Check your emotional status and understand that you may not be looking at the long term planning.

I do this at work a lot. I get MAD about what seem like stupid decisions. If I’m an adult and think as if I owned the business, then I can see the value in the long term. It still chafes me to make the changes (I love change, don’t you?) but I can focus on the end result.

Like the song says, “Keep your eyes on the prize.”

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

2 of Swords, Tarrochi di Bacchus, Del Negro 2006

Uzis, Accessories & Will

And look out the window! The troops are coming. If she can just hold off the slathering horde, she’ll make it.

Today’s card is a reminder that sometimes you have to take the high ground even if you have to use force. This means that you can’t let your detractors drag you down. The force is best applied to your own strength of will unlike this fabulous Seven of Swords.

Of course, if your detractors include a horde of zombie party guests, I guess a high heel to the face could be deemed necessary. I don’t know about you, but I’m wondering where she picked up the neat little Uzi.

Still a girl must accessorize, right?

And look out the window! The troops are coming. If she can just hold off the slathering horde, she’ll make it.

So your thought for today is that when you take the high ground, others will come to your defense. Maintain position and never forget the most important lesson of this card.

Two shots. Straight to the head.

Okay, so maybe not in the real world, but you know what I mean. Be firm. Be direct. Don’t be wishy-washy when the 7 of Swords shows up.

Seek the high ground, y’all. Pass it on.

Grin.

Fine!

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

7 of Swords, The Zombie Tarot: An Oracle of the Undead with Deck and Instructions, Quirk Books 2012

P. to the S. I can’t recommend this deck highly enough. It’s packaged with an eye to highlight the zombie theme plus it really actually reads very well.

Sharing, Shadows & Slices

I’m sharing how I do it because I know it works. Plain and simple, I’m not going to hold on to all the important pieces. Hold out your hands. I’ll share.

Today’s card reminds me that sharing is caring. Here we have two young ladies but one has all the important pieces. They might be meeting to solve a problem, but how can they if one holds all the knowledge? And so smugly too!

We know these types. We’ve even been these types. Well, I know that I have. Have you? It’s okay to admit it because that’s how we get better. We address our shadow selves then bring light to those places that need light.

Secret tip from teh Arwen: Not all of our shadow selves NEED light. Some parts are in the shadows because that’s where they do their best work.

I’m an admitted Pollyanna. I have coke-bottle-thick rose-colored glasses. I let the blue bird of happiness sit wherever he likes. I chase rainbows. I climb mountains because they are there.

In a word, I’m obnoxious about seeking joy. OBNOXIOUS.

And I’m fine with that. Those that don’t need/can’t process what it is that I do are not on my radar. I’m seeking joy with fellow joy seekers.

I’m sharing how I do it because I know it works. Plain and simple, I’m not going to hold on to all the important pieces. Hold out your hands. I’ll share.

I want you to be happy. I want you to understand that, yeah, I’m not happy 24/7. But I seek joy 24/7. I may be the world’s biggest bitch at work (hint: don’t talk to me when I’m working because I’ll snap like a loggerhead turtle), but I also will apologize because I know it’s an unpleasant experience to have your head bitten off.

Ptooey. And heads really don’t taste that good. I think I’ll work on giving up that habit of mine.

So what type are you going to be today? Don’t worry about tomorrow. Focus on right now.

Me? I’m going to share my important pieces. I’m not going to use my razor-sharp tongue to slice off any heads of any co-workers. I’m going to focus on seeking joy even when it’s a customer who just needs to bitch at me about things I can’t do anything about. That’s their stuff not mine.

My stuff? That’s the joy-seeking missile stuff. Ready? Set? Aim? FIRE!

Seek joy, y’all. pass it on.

Five of Swords, Dreaming Way Tarot, US Games, 2012

Spirits, Dead People & Crazy

The moments in my life where I channeled someone’s dead relative have always startled me. But I’ve also come to know that I can’t not be the messenger. Who am I to judge what Spirit sends me?

Today’s card is an unusual take on the Page category. In this self-published deck, the artist renames her Courts. The Pages become Muses. Here we see a nod to the woman in the moon image. But this one, for me, seems active. She isn’t going to stay on that moon for long. She’s got a sword to take up. There’s action that needs to happen.

Pages are often the card for messages. Rather than taking a message, it looks to me like our Muse of Swords is having a message brought to her. Perhaps she is simply the go-between.

I often feel like that. As though the messages I bring to my clients were coming from something Other. I’ve called that Other many things finally landing on Universe as the best word to encompass what that is.

Another reader and I swapped readings. She told me that I was being called to be more open about my connection with Spirit. I told her that scared the poop out of me. I have been doing this work since 1980 when I first picked up the cards for real (I had a brief flirtation with divination tools when I was 11). I’m 51 now.

The moments in my life where I channeled someone’s dead relative have always startled me. But I’ve also come to know that I can’t not be the messenger. Who am I to judge what Spirit sends me?

My first incident of mediumship was pretty spontaneous. I was doing a phone reading (yes, I used to be a 1-900 psychic). The deep past showed Chariot Reversed. I blurted out that she’d lost someone in a car wreck on a mountain road early in the morning. He wanted her to know….

And she started to cry when I gave her the message. But it didn’t stop there. I described him along with her front room and patio area to her. I told her he had two messages. The one I didn’t understand was “Don’t move the big pots.”

Then she started laughing while she continued to cry. She told me that’s when she knew I was real. And she told me why.

Since then, I’ve lost track of the times I’ve gotten messages from the Other Side. It’s humbling really as much as it is scary. I mean, really, seeing people who aren’t there is the stuff they make movies out of. I really do see dead people–just not as often as the Ghost Whisperer.

But what about you? Do you get messages that you are supposed to pass along? Do you ignore them because you think you might be thought bonkers?

Yeah, I get it. It’s not easy. But think of the joy you will bring to that one person the message was meant for. Isn’t that worth it?

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

Muse of Swords, Rainbow Traveller, Carmen Waterman, 2012

Get your limited edition deck today.

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

Crows, Swans & Carrion

Today’s card is a terrific expression of this minor Arcana. Traditionally it shows someone being ferried away from somewhere. You are left to believe it’s a Bad Place ™. But in today’s drawing, we see someone rising above it all.

Carried away by a helpful swan, the elfin redhead looks back at what she leaves behind. I see the six swords here as representative of the sorrows of her life. But the crows? The crows are her naysayers. They are the ones who held her back out of fear. They refused to let her rise above her troubles.

Who in your life doesn’t lift you up? Who in your world is a naysayer to every dream you have? I’m not talking about the voices of reason who yank ugly shirts out of our hands when we are shopping. I’m talking about those who mock or laugh at us when we tell those secret hopes and wishes.

Sure! Maybe they have a snowflake’s chance in hell of coming to fruition, but we all need dreams. We all need hope.

So today, I want you to count your crows. Identify which ones are the useful kind who help you see reality. Then identify the ones who are the carrion eating type who are just waiting for you to fall so they can squawk, “I told you so.”

Those? Those that are waiting to squawk? Stop feeding them. You know what I mean. They are in your life because you allow it. Tell them you need supportive friends. Tell them your energy is reserved for those who want to see you succeed.

Tell them.

Shoo them off your sorrows. Quit letting them feed from that old dead part of you. Cut it out of you. And maybe, just maybe, one or three of them will reveal that they really are swans who forgot how to be swans.

No crows, darlings! And really, don’t be one either.

Seek joy,y’all. Pass it on.

Brag about your professional joy seeking! Grab a bumper sticker here.

6 of Swords, Shadowscapes Tarot, Llewellyn, 2010

Grief, Windows & Curtains

Today’s card is a reminder that even in times of grief, there is hope. Here we see someone sobbing into their hands. He’s suffered an unimaginable loss. He is at the window and once he’s released that grief, he can look up and out.

When he looks up and out, he will see hope and possibility. He will remember that there are others who need him. He will be able to draw the curtain on this particular pain and move on.

Yesterday I learned of the death of someone I used to know. He was the son of someone who has become family to my family. I babysat for him while his dad dated my mom. That dating didn’t last, but the friendship did.

One thing I learned from my mother was how to maintain caring relationships past the point of being lovers. Not an easy thing to do when we grieve so hard over the loss. If you love and that love leaves (or you leave that love), it hurts. Even if it was the appropriate reaction–it still hurts.

When you find yourself in that position, remember that you can allow yourself to grieve because there is a window waiting for you. There will always be a window to show you hope and possibility. There will always be a curtain to draw over the grief so that it can fade into the past.

Be gentle with yourself and others today. Remind them that you love them–even if it makes the squirm with embarrassment. It’s important, y’all. You never know when that kind word will help ease some grief that they hold in secret.

I love you. Each of you. I’ve pulled the curtain over many a grief in my life as have each of you. Make sure the curtain stays down. Don’t keep peeking back into the dark, okay? Look out the window instead.

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

3 of Swords, Rumi Tarot, Llewellyn, 2009