Wheel of Fortune Archives > Arwen, Professional Joy Seeker

What Did I Use To Believe In?

Here’s a somewhat macabre take on the Wheel of Fortune. The very talented artist is Lisa Hunt. If you don’t know her name, you should. Besides being one the best known Tarot artist, she is a really nice human being. She even illustrated my Fairy Tales Tarot Spreads ebook! 😀 Enough bragging on Lisa though.

When the Wheel of Fortune shows up, even one with ghosts flowing down and out, I remind my clients that if they want the brass ring life is offering them, then they are going to have to lean out. (Wow. Faulkner would be so proud of that sentence. LOL)

It’s not a matter of whether or not the brass ring is there–of course it is.

The Universe is not setting you up to fail. Promise!

But you are going to have to stretch. You are going to have to take a chance.

If the Fool is the zero card, here he is again at 10. It’s a new beginning for the Fool but it’s not the end of his/her journey. What about you? Where are you on your journey?

This isn’t the end, you know. It’s only another beginning. If the actors knew that when the final curtain fell, that would be their last time on the boards, do you think they would ever start?

Why do any of us start? What makes us believe in stretching? What stops us from believing?

Your journal prompt today is, “What did you believe in that you don’t now? Why?”

Wheel of Fortune, Ghosts & Spirits Tarot, Lisa Hunt, US Games {aff}

#Seekjoy, y’all. Pass it on.

Threads, Lies + Failures

Many colors of ribbon chase across, under and around the brambles or branches. What happens if you grab one? Can you follow it to the end? Will it lead you back where you started?

Today’s card reminds me of a quote my mother had me memorize when she was my Girl Scout leader.

“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.”

That’s by Bacon, not Shakespeare. (EDIT: That’s actually not Bacon either. It’s Sir Walter Scott.) Of course, my smart-assed 15 year old self wondered if it meant that we should get really good at lying first. 😀

This tangled up Wheel of Fortune is from the Wild Unknown. The heart-shaped face of a barn how gazes out from under a waning moon. Or is it waxing?

Many colors of ribbon chase across, under and around the brambles or branches. What happens if you grab one? Can you follow it to the end? Will it lead you back where you started?

How often do we begin a journey only to find ourselves back where we began?

Is that failure?
Is it success?

I would offer that it is success if you learned something along the way. It is success if you changed for the better in following that ribbon. It is success if you discovered how to weave that path into your world.

It is failure if you allow it to be.

So yes, this is about how to find joy even in loss. Even in seemingly failing to move ahead.

For you did move ahead. You did change position. You just forgot to change your view.

Pick up a thread today. Follow it where it where it leads. Learn as you go. Bring back one new idea to your starting position.

Realize that by bringing back a new idea, you’ve forever changed your starting position.

Success and failure may be only an attitude change apart.

Wheel of Fortune, Wild Unknown Tarot, 2011

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

And please check out these awesome products. My best friend, Cai, is using them and LOVING them. I’ve tried them too and they are very good. I haven’t done the 24 day challenge but I’m going to.

How Do You Walk Your Path?

Each path is the same distance apart. From this angle some paths are closer to Enlightenment than others. But if we change our perspective…if we look at it from someone else’s side, those distances will shift, won’t they.

Today’s card is such an unusual version. My normal stock starting interpretation works, but there are other places to go with this one.

Traditionally the Wheel of Fortune is the card of opportunity and the card of fate. The idea is that the wheel turns regardless. It’s up to us to grab the right section. And the Gods know I’ve grabbed the wrong one more than a time or two.

What I love about this Wheel is that the woman is not only blindfolded but also on a ship. Is she coming or going? Is she the figurehead of the boat? Is her sight not important here?

The lotus in the center of the wheel is a lovely representation of Enlightenment. Eight spokes lead in…or do they lead out? The sparkling night sky lies beneath.

So many paths to Enlightenment. None are wrong as long as you are going towards Enlightenment and not away. Why am I capitalizing Enlightenment? I don’t know. It just feels right. Maybe in this post, for today, Enlightenment is God.

How you reach Enlightenment is not important to me. That you do reach it is. The how of it is one of those “not in my hula hoop” pieces. The why of it answers why I think we should always “Seek Joy, Y’all.”

Joy brings awareness of my place in the Wheel. That place is next to my Christian, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Pagan, you-name-it co-seeker.

My place is not on the outer edge shaking my finger at those who don’t know the beauty of the Goddess and the God. It isn’t sitting online chastising those who can’t see the Eightfold Mysteries. It certainly isn’t dissing how someone else lives their spiritual life. (Caveat: hurting others isn’t spiritual and no Deity is down with that. I know that in my bones.)

So come walk the Wheel of Fortune with me. You take your path. I’ll take mine. We’ll meet in the middle. Who knows. Maybe the Wheel will turn and I will walk your path with you or you with me.

All I do know is that I am glad you are here reading this. I am glad you have reached me today. May your personal path be blessed with joy and gladness. May you attain Enlightenment however that looks like on your personal walk through this life.

I’d love to hear how you are walking your personal path today.

The Wheel Of Fortune, Mary-El Tarot, Schiffer 2012

Seek Joy, Y’all! Pass it on.

One week left to get your 2013 Create Your Incredible Year Workbook+Planner. Still holding out? Why? It’s just a tool to help you on your personal path. 😀

Mandala, Flaws & Nibbles

So I grabbed a pencil and created one. Then I set the pencil aside to make this one. Yes, I used a pen and didn’t use a pencil for any of this. I committed to it fully.

Today’s card is one I drew myself. I watched a video on Youtube then dove into the process. I credit two women with my exploration of my visual artistic side. That’s the fabulous Joanna Powell Colbert and the amazing Leonie Dawson. I’ve never met either in person but am involved in their online communities. I’ve taken classes with both as well. Highly recommend both.

I don’t even remember how I ran across this video (it’s called “How To Grow A Mandala). It was short and sweet. Also? It was very clear.

So I grabbed a pencil and created one. Then I set the pencil aside to make this one. Yes, I used a pen and didn’t use a pencil for any of this. I committed to it fully.

Even with the flaws in this (and there are many if you have a critical eye), I love it. It makes me happy. I snapped a shot with my iPhone then used the Camera app (that’s not the native one but one from the iTunes store) to crop and to add what they call the Emo filter.

If this were a card, it would be the Wheel of Fortune to remind us that things are always turning. If you surround that constantly turning, churning wheel with joy, you will keep running in to it.

Remember that joy doesn’t have to be huge bites. It is often small tiny nibbles that eventually add up to a full meal. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.

By seeking joy constantly, you will pile up small joys until they accumulate into piles of joy that you can leap into.

And no, it’s not easy. Sometimes it sucks so hard you can breathe. But then you realize that breathing is a joy. So tiny, small, seemingly insignificant things should be steadily looked for.

One of my joys is that I’m at a point in my 2013 Create Your Incredible Year workbook+planner where I feel as if I’ve actually made some headway. The business version still sits on my dining room table–unpunched, unbound, undone. And that’s okay. I will get to that. It’s a joy that I have the luxury of time to do either of these.

It’s also a joy that you read this. I’m honored by the gift you give me when you read this. When you check out links I share or people I recommend, it thrills me. I want to be on this joy journey with like minded souls. Thank you for joining me.

Remember, when you get your copy of the planner/workbook, let me know. I’ll hook you up with the seeeekrit Facebook group. We are already there waiting for you. Can’t wait for your arrival. Get yours here.

Merry Christmas Eve to all those who celebrate. Me, myself and I? I celebrate them all.

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on!

Mandala 2, Arwen Lynch December 23, 2012

30 Minutes, Carpe & Riddles

The Wheel of Fortune is chance. It’s opportunity. It’s the ability to Carpe Diem (or Noctum if that’s your diurnal preference). You make the most of what comes your way.

Today’s card reminds me of my first thought this morning. 30 more minutes. Just 30 more minutes. I only wanted 30 more minutes to snuggle in bed with my 12 year old cat curled up against me.

Then my mind started. I picked up my phone to check my mail, catch up on my WwF games, answer texts from my sister. Instead of actually taking that 30 minutes, I lolled in bed (I adore the sound of the word “loll”) but got some things done.

In a way, I grabbed that opportunity I had to snooze another 30 but turned it into relaxing in a different way. When I actually rolled out of bed, I didn’t have to face a ton of email. I had deleted most of it or marked “unread” what I needed to come back to.

The Wheel of Fortune is chance. It’s opportunity. It’s the ability to Carpe Diem (or Noctum if that’s your diurnal preference). You make the most of what comes your way.

I could have spent that 30 worrying that I was wasting time or that I needed to get up. I always have something that could be done. But I wanted to loll and my cat wanted to snuggle. He said so by piercing my arm with his nails as he played starfish paws. Owie!

Lisa Hunt’s Fantastical Creatures Tarot (reprinted in 2012 by US Games, thank you thank you thank you) depicts the Sphinx for the Wheel. An unusual choice if you consider the solid, unmovable nature of the Sphinx. But! Consider the riddles that the Sphinx was said to propose to the seeker. If you answered right, there was another riddle or maybe you got the treasure/knowledge you were seeking.

If you had an extra 30 minutes, what would you do with it?

Seek joy, y’all! Pass it on!

P. to the S., I pulled three cards from this deck last night while working on my Create An Incredible Year planner and got this as one of my answers. I’ll be chatting about this on a private Facebook group that’s for everyone who gets this fabulous planner.

Already have yours? Let me know. I’ll add you to the group.

The Wheel Of Fortune,Fantastical Creatures, US Games 2012, Lisa Hunt/DJ Conway, US Games 2012

Cheese, Change & Exercise

Today’s card is a reminder that your cheese is going to get moved. Put on your running shoes. Get ready to act (not react). Be like a scout and be prepared.

It really doesn’t matter how much you dig in. Things will change. And, just like the seasons, it will change again. How often have you been trained for the next “biggest and greatest” innovation at work?

And how often has that been set aside within months for the next “biggest and greatest” innovation?

Yeah. Me too. Happens all the time.

So now that we have agreed it happens, can anyone explain to me why we waste even a millisecond whining/kvetching/railing/trying to change it back?

Ever tried to redirect a river? MMM HMMM, how did that go for you?

So for today, when faced with change that you can’t, well, change, try this.

Change your attitude. Embrace the change. Welcome it with open arms.

See how that works for you.

At the very least you will get some good upper arm exercises every few months.

Seek joy, y’all! Pass it on.

Wheel (of Fortune), Gaian Tarot, Llewellyn, 2011

REVIEW: Tarot Birth Cards And You

Tarot Birth Cards & You by Bonnie Cehovet

Schiffer Publishing LTD

978-0-7643-3902-8

Bonnie Cehovet is someone I know and adore. I want to be clear and upfront about that. I am fair when I review a book. I try to take personal admiration out of the formula. Sadly, that was nearly impossible with this book. I loved so very much about it that this will sound like a “BUY THIS BOOK NOW” review.

So if you want to cut to the chase, click here to buy this book now. 🙂

Let me start with the cons. Continue reading “REVIEW: Tarot Birth Cards And You”

TIME “TWO” MAKE A CHOICE

By becoming a conscious choice-maker, you begin to generate actions that are evolutionary for you and for those that are around you. And that’s all you need to do. ~ Deepak Chopra

Conscious choice-maker. What a concept. I have long known, and preached, that we all have the ability to make choices. Also that we are Continue reading “TIME “TWO” MAKE A CHOICE”

Tarot In 9 Words: The Wheel of Fortune

wheel_fortune_rws One of my favorites of the Major Arcana is the Wheel of Fortune. Not because of what it represents–although that is delightful, but because of my love of trivia. Are you still with me? Poetry about Tarot leads to trivia. Easy, right? Continue reading “Tarot In 9 Words: The Wheel of Fortune”

Musings On The Fool’s Journey: The Fool Meets The Wheel Of Fortune

What does it mean?” he asked aloud but no one responded. One woman reached up to the wheel while another cowered in fear on the ground. As the Fool watched, the Wheel turned moving the demon to the top and the sphinx to the bottom while the snake wrapped its way to the other side.

“Wake up, wake up, little fool!” The old man’s voice sounded far too cheerful for such an early hour. The Fool groaned as he rolled over to blink rws_radiant_fool bleary-eyed at the Hermit.

He accepted the bowl of food sharing a bit with his little dog who whined from the floor. “Where am I to go today? You said something about a wheel last night?”

Nodding his head sagely, the Hermit pointed at the open door. “You must set your feet facing the sun this morning, Fool. You seek something you can’t find but I know that nothing will convince you of that. So head for Continue reading “Musings On The Fool’s Journey: The Fool Meets The Wheel Of Fortune”