The Star

This card shows a woman with long blond hair standing with one foot in the water and one foot on land. She is pouring water from two sea shells, into the water and on to the shore. The sky is clear dark blue with one large star and seven smaller stars around it in a circle. The the background is a sail boat on the water and a building with a telescope on the distant shore. In the foreground is a blooming iris and an ancient tool for a sailor to guide himself by the stars.

The Star represents the hope we all have that things will be all right. It is a good card to draw when you are fearful of what is going on in your life. It allows us to see that no matter what is going on right at that minute, there is much to allow us to rejoice and look toward the future. Fear is a difficult thing to combat, it is rather like fighting smoke. There is nothing substantial and the more you wave your hands the faster it comes back to you. What is it you fear? Is it something that you can alter or is it something outside of your control? Sometimes all you want to do is stand high on a hill and let go of the edges of your fear, allowing it to fly away from you. This is the point that makes the Star card so important.

Queen of Cauldrons/Cups

This card shows a matronly looking woman with a crown, her hair is caught up in a snood her dress is blue with a purple cloak lined with white fur. She is holding a goblet and a peach. Her eyes are dark blue and intense, her mouth is in a half smile.

The Queen of Cups is about relationships and feelings for others. It is a card that asks for involvement in those around me. It is easier to be pleasant with others and allow yourself the satisfaction of helping others in their endevors.

Ten of Wands

This card shows a man in a plain red tunic with yellow stockings and a yellow hood, he is trying to hold and bundle ten rods with leaves still on them.



The Ten of Rods speaks of being overwhelmed with burdens. As Tens represent the ends of cycle, this is a time when the cycle is to be examined, at the very least, and changed if necessary. What tasks are real and not just brought about by other peoples ideas or desires? This is a day for me to ponder this question. I need to decide my own priorties, and not allow others to override my agenda. It seems that I have a good capacity for accomplishing things, but the feeling of being overburdened comes when I'm trying to complete my 'stuff' and someone else adds their 'stuff' on top of it. The past couple of weeks have been a little crazy, with visiting family and other things. Time to get back on my track.

Six of Swords

This card shows a man walking across the rocks in a stream of water. Surrounding him are hands with swords extended from the river. He is moving toward a small island that is covered by shrubs and looks peaceful.

When surrounded by conflict, or in the middle of a situation that seems to have no solution. It is sometimes important to step away for a while. Often moving away allows you to find a creative solution to your problems.

The Tower

This card gives me a start when ever it shows up, even though in a daily card it is more of a poke to get you to get you moving than a card telling of disaster. The art on the card is disturbing. It is shaded with a yellow green which gives everything a strange look. The tower which is the central figure of the card is built of blocks of stone and resembles a sphinx with a very human face. There is rain and lightening in the back ground and the lightening is striking the tower. It is on fire, fire is coming out of all of the windows and people are falling off the tower to the ground. In the forground is a large green frog, frogs represent change.

Time for me to look at my world and see what needs to change. I have been doing that to some degree on the front of employment, but haven't made any changes as yet. The Tower gives me the knowledge that I do need to look at things with an eye to what I need to change now.

Mastery

The Chariot/Mastery speaks of control issues. Either having too much or not having enough. Today I have three of my grandsons here, 2 six year olds and a one year old. It is a reminder that control is all a matter of perception, especially when it comes to kids. It seems you have things in order, they are following your lead and going right where you want them to go, and the next thing you know they are off in their own world playing in the recycling bin or chasing the cat.

What is enough control? Trying to control others is trying to hold back the stream when you are standing in the center of a river. It is a good way to drown. But when you stop holding out your arms and allow the water to flow naturally around you, survival is possible. It is time to recognize the control that I should exhibit is control over myself not over others, even if they are only 3 feet tall. To control the elements within my self important not only for me but for everyone around me. I'll keep telling myself that while the baby chases the cat under the bed for the third time in a few minutes.

Seven of Cups

Today I drew the Seven of Cups, in this deck Cups are Cauldrons. This card shows four maidens in a stream, one has one small cauldron held in her hand, the others have two. One maid is offering a young man on the bank one of her cauldrons. He lounges on the bank obiviously unconcerned about anything.

This card is often referred to as the daydream card, like daydreaming is a bad thing. Writing wouldn't be the same without it. The card reminds us that anything done to excess is a bad thing.

The Chariot

Todays card is the seventh of the major arcana. In most decks it is called the Chariot, in this deck it is Mastery. It shows a fair haired man in a breast plate and red cloak in a chariot he holds the rains to his team of four horses. Each of these horses seem to be of a different element, fire, water, earth and air. His hand is raised but instead of a whip it holds a stem with leaves and flowers on it.

Control, mastering the elements of the energy around us, is the point of the card. Triumph is also a strong part of it. It is a day to look at my control over the things within my sphere of influence. Do I use the control I have over the things I should? It also recomends control with a soft touch, not forcing things to bend to my will, but instead allowing my influence to be more subtle.

Eight of Pentacles

This week must be a time for concentrating on work and all of those efforts. Today I drew the Eight of Pentacles. This card shows a man in a green tunic with a lighter green hood, he has red hair and a beard. He is working on pentacles woven from wheat, like Brigits Crosses. There are six pentacles behind him, he is holding one that he is working on, the inference is he isn't finished.

Today is a good day to work on organization, getting all of the details right, and setting out to finish a project that needs completion. There is such satisfaction in completing a project you would think we never put of that part of a project. But for reasons not currently known to me, I often do just that. Today is a day for me to work on getting at least one done.

Three of Pentacles

Every reader knows that sometimes a card jumps out of the deck while shuffling, it is totally unbidden it simply happens. The rule for me is when it happens, whether I'm reading my daily card or reading for someone else, is to pay attention to the card. This is what happened today so today's card literally jumped into my lap.

The Three of Pentacles shows a young red headed man in a green on green striped shirt. He is using a quill to draw pentacles on paper. The expression on his face is thoughtful and a little bit tense.

This is a day to look to things that I can form and bring to fruition. Whether it is bringing together a group of people to bring about a wanted action, or making something with my hands, this is the day to look for things to happen. Before I pulled my card I sent a story I've worked on for sometime to a friend to read the whole thing. This brings both things into play, I'm working with someone else on something I made. Wish me luck.

Knight of Rods

I changed decks today. I have gone to the Tarot of the Old Path. The deck I was using, the Robin Wood Tarot is ready to retire. I found one of the cards is suddenly missing and, although my family may question my sanity, I don't set out to play without a full deck.

Today I drew the Knight of Rods which shows a young man in a gold helm. He carries a staff at the ready and he looks like he is angry. This card shouts of confidence, temper, and risk.

This is a day to step out in confidence, taking my ideas out to the world to test them out. It is also a time to watch my temper, it doesn't help to get angry and loose track of what I want to accomplish.

Hanging Man, Again

Even when you shuffle several times, there are days when the same card works it's way out of the deck two days in a row. I take this as a chance to look at the card again. Today, with the Hanging Man, I see it as a reminder that I can't force the world to be what I want it to be. That patience is really a virtue. But, I also have this little voice in the back of my mind telling me that I can change my circumstances by letting go of the current situation and taking the risk of something new. Yes, a 58 year old can do new things.

Hanging Man today

The Hanging Man is a card with the figure of a blond man hanging from a tree branch. He is dressed in red pants and shoes wit a white shirt. His legs are hooked over the branch of what looks like a pine tree branch.

Traditionally the message of the Hanging Man is one of patience, things will not change they will remain the same for a period of time. If you fight to win in any given situation you're probably in for disappointment. Allow the world to continue without trying to control every situation. But on close inspection the man is held only by his own will, he can let go at any time. He has the energy to change things he simply must have enough desire to live through the pain that will be created when he does.

Six of Wands, Todays Card

This card features a young blond man on a white horse he is dressed in red trousers and a white tunic decorated with the sun. He carries a banner with a matching sun flying in the wind. The sky is blue as he parades in triumph greeted by the people of the town.

Triumph is the word of the day. This is a day to acknowledge completion of goals met, or at least understand the accomplishments are close to completion. The war may not be over but the skirmish is won for the present. It doesn't mean that everything will be smooth sailing from this day forward, it just means that keeping a good mood and a solid grip on the pencil will get me through.