Nine of Wands

Today I drew the nine of wands which shows a bare chested man surrounded by wands with what looks like the beginnings of vines curling up them in patterns. Each wand is topped with a crystal. He is looking ahead of him, slightly to the side of the reader so you don't see his face as well, he looks resigned and he is using one of the wands for support.

This man appears to be overwhelmed by the task before him. I've no doubt he will continue to do what he needs to but he looks tired. There are some days that feel like that. When you wonder if you will ever get done what you need to do. On those days it's best to take one task at a time and work until it is complete. Multi-tasking isn't all that it's cracked up to be on a day like this.

Today the Three of Cups

The Three of Cups shows three pretty women dancing in a meadow at their feet are baskets of fruit and flowers, and overhead are vines filled with ripe grapes. The women have blond hair, black hair, and red hair. They are dressed in pink, blue, and green and have wine goblets in their hands. They dance with such abandonment, I can almost hear the music.

Everyone must have a day when they can celebrate being alive. Today is a day for me to enjoy my life and all of its pleasures. There is a saying, Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt, and dance as if there is nobody watching. Most days I get caught up in 'should's' . We need to delete the word should from the English language. Today I'll enjoy my day, each tiny second if it.

Strength

Today's card, Strength, seems to show up for me a lot, three times in the past two weeks. This card lets me know that I have to stand tough and work through what ever come my way.

Over the years I've noticed that cards often show up over and over in readings for one particular person for a period of time, then they disappear from that person's layouts. It is as if there is a need or a situation that must be looked at before the client can move forward. In my own readings for a period of time the Devil card showed up over and over. I finally eliminated a particularly nasty element from my life and the Devil card went away. For this reason I'll be looking at my current situation with regard to the Strength card. What in my life requires me to have inner strength? It often pops up when there is something that I can't change and the only thing I can think of is my grandson is joining the Army in a month. It is always hard to see someone do something you fear, but you can't stop them from living their own life. The Strength card may be telling me to allow him to grow on his own.

Knight of Swords

Today's card is the Knight of Swords, the card shows an intent young man flying on the back of a winged horse. His arm is raised, his hand holding a sword that is surrounded by lightening. The card is nearly all done in shades of gray, black, and white. The only true color on it is the blue cloak lined with scarlet on his back.

This knight is ready and willing to fight in any way he is needed. He believes in truth and justice. Unfortunately the diplomacy fairy wasn't on duty the day th e knight was born. He is super intellegent but has no tact, he will call a spade a spade without hesitation, even if the card wants to be a heart. Today I need to think about the attributes of this card, am I being too diplomatic, there by not giving the truth its due? Am I avoiding some action I know is necessary? There is a lot to think about.

Card Today Seven of Swords

Today I drew the man in the gray cloak, striving for invisibility while he steals the weapons of his enemies.

I'm being told again to look for alternative solutions to problems. If meeting things head on isn't working what is another way to seek a solution? I prefer to solve things through talking, negotiation is my solution of choice. When that doesn't get the right results, where can I go? Physical confrontation isn't a possibility. It is time for me to look to the hidden talents I possess for solutions to every day dilemmas. This card tells me to remove the weapons from the opposition, I need to meditate on that thought.

Daily Card

The Hermit shows a man standing a lone on top of a mountain. He wears a tattered dark gray cloak with a hood pulled over his long white hair. His beard is to his waist. He is smiling benevolently down on the world at his feet. He carries a lantern in his right hand, from it beams of light illuminate the world. In his right hand he holds a walking stick or staff. It is trimmed with a red feather a the top, it matches the red shoes on his feet.

The Hermit represents the man or woman who steps away from society to focus on the voice within themselves. Their wisdom is sought to guide themselves and others to a better use of time and resources. As I have traveled through my life I've found it to be in a state of constant change and movement. Even when I thought it was going to remain calm and stay stable it moved forward with the relentless current of a river. I found out that when you fight the river you get swept away. By allowing the world to move at its own pace and move with it I find my greatest peace. This is a day to let the world move, and let myself relax with that movement.

Daily Card

The Star is a card of hope and endless creativity. It suggests that it is a day for me to look to the source of my creativity and it is a day to look to giving back to the world as well. The woman on the starr pours water from two different vessels one clear for the land and one blue for the body of water before. She is nude with an eight pointed star in the heavens above her. Her nudity suggests innocence as does the calm peaceful expression on her face.

Even though the Star allows us to have faith in our own abilities. It is a card that reminds me without my own participation in my life and the creative process, nothing will happen. The figure on the card isn't watching and waiting she is doing the action. I have to take action for the hope to be valid.

Daily Card

The Nine of Cups, I'm always happy to see this card. It depicts a smiling man with chubby cheeks and a double chin, dressed in purple trimmed in red and yellow. It looks like yellow coins are scattered across his clothing. Nine gold cups are arranged behind him.

It tells me to allow myself to enjoy the pleasures of the world. It isn't necessary to deprive myself of things I enjoy to be a good person. I deserve to enjoy my life. I've always thought of this card as the wish card, the thing about wishes is you must take time to make them carefully. "Be careful what you wish for, because you will surely get it." There is also a caution with this card, indulgence is one thing but over indulgence is another. There is a line that needs to be respected. Things that sound good on the surface often need more investigation before you reach for them.

Daily Card

Today I drew the Queen of Swords. In this deck the suit of Swords represents the element of air, the cutting edge of ideas and the mind. The queen is dressed in a beautiful blue cloak that is trimmed in the white of the clouds. The sleeves billow with a white lining decorated with butterflies and birds, creatures that fly on the breeze. She wears a golden crown on her head and holds a sword in her upright position in her right hand. Her left hand is stretched out in supplication to an unseen being. She wears her hair under a snood, with a pointed crown on her head. She stands in green grass with a bank of roses in bloom at her side. The sky is nearly white with billowing clouds.

I have always called this the card of the icy bitch. The Queen of Swords is honest, forthright and not terribly sympathetic. It is a time to see what must be done and take the steps necessary for the goal to be reached. When I see this card I know I need to stand firm about the situation at hand. It is often a time for tough love. When I was a child my father would tell me that it hurt him more than it did me to punish me, at the time I didn't believe him. Now, I know sometimes in the guise of authority its necessary to be tough. Today I need to look at the world around me with her eyes, and be tough with myself. Procrastination is not an option.

Daily Card

The Queen of Wands for today. She is a powerful woman dressed in yellows and reds befitting royalty of the fire element. This deck associates wands with fire and action. She is, therefore, a woman of action using her personal power to achieve her goals. If you equate her with someone you would recognize in your own past look at the head cheerleader in high school. Words I would use to describe her are active, cheerful, and charismatic.

Today I need to look at what I want out of life and use my personal power to set out for those goals. It is a day of high energy and time to use that for my personal gain.

Daily Card

I swear I shuffled, a lot. Today's card again is the Strength card. This has always been one of my favorite cards. I am fascinated with cats, especially the big ones like lions, cougars, and tigers. I was born in the year of the Tiger, according to Chinese Astrology. So this card, which depicts a large African male lion, strikes a chord for me. Besides it is a very positive card.

Strength is what allows you to hold on, even when you think it is well passed time to let things go. I thought about this card for a long time yesterday. There are times in our lives when you have to allow things to unfold, either because you can't do anything to stop them or because you know this is a situation that you must allow to happen. I think I'm facing one of those times now. No matter how much I want to step in and fix things I don't think I have the ability to do it, and if I did it wouldn't be the right thing to do. This is one of the wisdom to know the difference times. So Strength can mean inner strength to allow things to happen as they should.

Daily Card

Today I drew the Strength card. This card shows a young blond woman with a circlet of flowers in her hair with her hand on the head of a large, male, African lion. She is smiling and the lion looks content. The sky over head is blue and they are standing in a green field.

The Strength card often means you need to use all of your control to conquer your inner demons. Strength doesn't always mean the sort that is found in muscles and biceps, it often means things like self control, patience, and understanding. These attributes are a little harder to acquire. It's a lot harder to wait for events to work themselves through than to jump in and mess them up. I know I've tried it both ways, the waiting is killer but necessary.

Daily Card

Today I drew the ten of wands. It shows a man in a red tunic carrying a bundle of ten wands down a road off in the distance you can see a cluster of buildings. The skies are blue and the hills are green and unremarkable. The only thing that requires your attention is the figure of the man.

Over burdened is the usual interpretation of this card and for this particular day it is probably apt. We are leaving for Boise after work and I have a lot to do getting ready. The past few days I haven't stuck to my schedule very well. I'm also taking this particular card as a nudge in the direction of being more focused. The man on the card is moving toward his goal with a single minded purpose, even though the weight of his load bows his back. In this day and age of multi-tasking, we tend to forget that sometimes it's better to choose one task and complete it before starting another, at least I do.

Daily card

The Five of Swords. A young man with the strawberry blond hair of this suit is making off with three swords. He is wearing a black tunic trimmed in red as he looks back over his shoulder. Laughing at the two men behind him, they are looking the other direction. Two more swords are stuck in the ground beside him.

This is a card that warns of self interest. However, my interpretation of it as a daily card tells me it's time to disarm the opposition, to protect those around me as well as myself. It is a time to look for solutions that will make everyone feel as if they are leaving the field a winner, if only in the sense that a problem has been avoided.

Daily Card

Today I drew the Queen of Wands. The card is very bright, a blond woman in a yellow dress trimmed in red with white suns at the hem. The background is yellow and the earth is reddish brown. She is standing in a patch of sunflowers. This deck, the Robin Wood Tarot, equates wands with fire, which is action.

The Queen of Wands is the perfect housewife/cheerleader, exuding enthusiasm for those around her. She is comfortable in her own skin, as the popular phrase goes. When I see this queen, I look to see what I do well and spend time working in those areas. With the energy of the Queen of Wands, I know I can accomplish what I need to get done.

Daily Card

Today I have the Seven of Swords. The art on this card isn't one of the pretty pictures, it shows a man in a gray cloak climbing over a wall of rock. He carries with him five swords and two swords are stuck in the ground behind him. There is a tent in the background with a red flag flying over it, it is one of several such tents.

I have always got the impression of a man who has gone alone into the enemy camp and disarmed most of them before leaving. He has used a different solution to end the conflict. Fighting the battle of life head on isn't always the best solution for every problem. It is a day to look at things from different perspectives, what will address the current situation without figurative bloodshed. Am I looking at honorable motives or am I dealing with cowardice? I have to say I'm reluctantly going to my 40 year class reunion this weekend. Ouch, I can't believe it's been that long since high school. I nearly didn't go, even though there are a number of people I would love to see. But it works out that I'm going back to Idaho for the weekend anyway, so I might as well do it. I'll let you know how it goes.

Daily Card

The King of Swords, this card depicts a stern looking man with a dark beard. He looks concerned. He is dressed in a tunic that is dark blue at the shoulder and fades to a lighter blue before ending in clouts at the bottom. Over this he wears a white cloak lined with the darkest blue of the night sky with stars scattered on it. He wears a winged helmet on his head. His sword is at the ready.

Kings represent leadership each in the specific area of his suit. In this deck, Swords represent Air, the element of the mind. It is time to use the analytical part of the mind to solve problems. Time to take charge of a situation and work to a solution even if it means having to be more firm than I like. The King of Swords is the good guy who sees the rules as the rules.

Daily Card

The Star depicts a nude, young, blond woman who is pouring from two vessels. One vessel pours into the stream the second pours on to land. There is no end to the water in the vessels. The sky is dark blue with a huge eight pointed star in the center surrounded by seven smaller stars. The foreground is a green meadow the back ground below the starry sky are snow covered mountains.

The first deck I used was the Mythic Tarot and this card was represented by Pandora, showing her with the infamous box. Hope was the message of the card. This card is one that gives you a feeling of peace and serenity, more so than any other in the deck. Allow yourself the time to spend in quiet meditation about your spiritual path. Then look at your life and relate the two. Hope, and spirit by themselves won't bring about change or keep your life on track. Pull the spiritual into your physical life, but do the work necessary.

Daily Card

The Three of Cups shows three young women dancing in a green meadow under blue skies. At their feet are scattered baskets of flowers, fruit, a paint palette and a tambourine,overhead grapes hang from green vines, all giving the impression of abundance and creativity. They wear pink, blue and green dresses of light flowing fabric. They dance with golden goblets, smiles upon their faces.

Joy and community are the words of the day. It is a time to be with friends and loved ones. Dancing and communing with nature are also a good part of the day. This is a good day to see if I can be of help to any of my friends.

Today's card is the Magician. This card embodies all the power of the elements, everything is possible in this moment. The card shows a bearded man in a red cloak. He is wearing the head of a stag as a headdress, the mark of a high priest. The lapels of his cloak are decorated with flowers, leaves, and roses. Floating above his hand is an infinity sign, on his right is a white candle, and a black candle burns on his left. A table sits in front of him, are all of symbols of the Tarot, the Pentacle, the wand, the sword, and the cup. There is also a red rose and a whit rose, nearly hidden by the banner of the Magician. His face is pleasant and kind, he smiles at you.

This card is one of action, energy for new endeavors, for finishing old projects, energy for teaching others. No matter what this card requires me to move forward, stasis isn't possible.

Daily Card

Wow, today I drew the Judgment card. This is a beautiful card from the Robin Wood deck, well I like all of the art in this deck, but this one especially. The center feature of this card is a woman rising from the flames in a cauldron. Arms raised, hands are shown with the thumb, pointer finger, and little finger extended. She is smiling in triumph as her blond hair curls around her nude body. Behind her in shades of yellow, red and orange rises a phoenix, it's wings matching the position of the woman's arms.

Judgment comes at the end of a passage. It is a time to reevaluate your actions and see where you go next. This card calls for proceeding with enlightenment. This isn't a time to follow a path in the dark, but to study and meditate on changes that are inevitable in the near future. A time for rebirth and joy.

Daily Card

Today I drew the Six of Swords. This card shows a blond man dressed in a tunic and cloak riding across a slough in a swan boat. There are six swords available in holders in the wings of the swan. The boatman is an invisible hooded figure that is using a pole to push the boat across the remaining water to the shore. The shore that awaits them is peaceful and green, the sky over head is blue with small puffy clouds. A larger bank of clouds is in the back behind the hills in the distance, letting me know the storms may only be waiting. The water is calm and reflects the land on the shore. There is one dark part of the shore it looks like a place where the bank is raised and undercut by the waves. In the blackness of this small cave is the light of a star. Even though the man has six swords at his hand, available to him at any sight of threat, he is sitting peacefully in the boat.

I see this card as a move toward a more positive time. It often means it is time to move, literally. Although we have been thinking about that, we haven't made any decision to do so as yet. This card tells me the more difficult times are slowly receding from us and we are now able to move forward.

Daily Card

Today my card is the King of Wands. In this deck (Robin Wood) the suit of Wands is associated with fire. The king of each suit represents leadership and the King of Wands acts in a bold manner. He is creative and forceful in the projects he tackles. This king is willing to negotiate to accomplish what he wants and has the charm and charisma to do it.

This card Shows a man dressed in red and yellow with touches of blue in his under tunic and the lining of his sleeves. The staff he carries is yellow with a glowing tip. His left hand is extended palm up. He looks pleasant, but isn't smiling broadly.

Daily Card

Today I drew the Seven of Cups, the card of the dreamer. It depicts a woman lost in the clouds with seven cups filled with riches, drama, nightmares, castles, and monsters. Some dreams can be positive some frightening. Some view this as a negative card, as if day dreaming were a waste of time. For an aspiring writer, this card is very important. Ideas and imagination are the bread and butter for anyone who looks at putting words to paper or to this blank screen staring at me.

This card serves to jog my mental capacity. I once read that the most important thing for a writer to be successful is to keep your butt in the chair. It's been too easy for me to find things that distract me from doing just that. Dreams can only take you so far, in any endeavor in order for a dream to come true, you gotta do the work. This is one card I should frame and put on the wall by my desk.

Daily Card

Today I drew the Five of Cups, one of my least favorite cards. It shows a person wrapped in a cloak with the hood covering the face. She is looking at three goblets of blood red wine that are spilled on the ground. Two that are still full are beside the person, but these are being ignored. The background is pretty unremarkable, a sky with clouds, a rolling meadow, and a cliff on one side.

There are things we lose in this lifetime that seem to haunt us, maybe a love, a job, a child, a pet, or something material, like a house or a car. Letting go is one of the lessons that I'm trying to learn. Over the years of reading cards I've come to interpret this card a little differently. It's a cue to look at what I have, not what is lost. Mourn for a time, then look around at what is still possible in life. Don't allow yourself to wallow in regret and wishing for things to be the way they were, it is a waste of precious time. Look at today as a gift, don't waste it.

New Actions

Trying to find enough time to start something new is always difficult. I, for one, get myself into habits that become seriously deep ruts then it becomes harder and harder to climb out of them. Today I drew the King of Swords for my daily card. He looks like a very strong man with a furrow of concentration on his forehead. For this particular, deck swords are related to air which is thought, intelligence, and creativity. The background shows clouds in the sky, the sort of clouds that can easily become a storm. He is dressed in a tunic that depicts clouds against the serene blue sky. Over all he is wearing a cloak of navy blue with stars scattered upon it. His sword is at the ready.

This card tells me that I must move forward with thoughtful and decisive action. Solutions are available for me if I concentrate and grasp them when they occur to me. The King of Swords seems to have more expectations than any other card, with the possible exception of the Emperor. Looking at it I always see myself anytime I had to visit the Principal's office at school. Before you ask, yes I was sent there more than once. He always seemed to be disappointed that I was visiting him, again. Leaving his office I was imbued with the need to behave a little better and accomplish a lot more if not for me then for him. The King of Swords expects me to be fair, honest, and thoughtful in my actions. He expects decisions to be made and plans to be followed with speed.