Look Up!

I hope this week's been treating you well. Mine began in an interesting way -- I was supposed to be in Canton, Ohio for Monday morning. It's hard to get to Canton from Houston, so I had to leave home at 8:30 Sunday morning to fly to Cleveland so I could drive to Canton and get there before dark. It's not that long a drive, but I had never been there before so I wanted to leave a few hours of "just in case" time!

Monday morning as I was eating breakfast, I get a phone call ... "Where are you? You should be here by now" I explained it was only 7:30 and I was almost ready to leave the hotel in Canton. "Canton!? No, you need to be in Cambridge, Massachusetts!" Hmmm ... they kind of left that part out and left in the part that said "Canton, Ohio".

Anyway, it was almost as hard to get to Boston from Cleveland as it was to get to Canton in the first place. Surprised me because Cleveland's a Continental hub and I expected it would be easier.

Anyway, it's always nice to visit Cambridge. My hotel is right across the street from M.I.T. You can watch the morning rowing teams in the Charleston from the hotel! Best of all, there's a Legal Seafood restaurant on the same block! Best clam chowder ever! That's all I've been eating all week!

On to the reading!

We'll again pull two cards -- the first suggests something we should focus on for the week. The second suggests things we might consider in order to fully benefit from the attributes of the first card.

The cards are:

Eight of Pentacles (REVERSED)

The High Priestess (Reversed)

The Eight of Pentacles is one of my favorite cards -- it gives me a real "comfort" feeling. The picture shows a young apprentice hard at work. The key here is that the apprentice is completely and totally enjoying the experience -- he's not feeling that he's "working". He's having fun, he's being creative, he's learning, he's doing what he wants to do. Think of when you were young and your Mom or Dad let you "help" them with a task. You felt completely absorbed and productive (even if you were probably making a mess!)

Whenever we're in this sort of situation, we become so focused on our task that we may not notice other things around us. This can be a blessing -- because we're completely into the creative process -- but it is an imbalance. In general, we should strive for balance.

On the other hand, "balance" doesn't mean we have to straddle the middle all the time. We can swing one way, then swing the other direction. When you average the two, you're in balance! So -- it's okay to become involved in a task ... even almost to the exclusion of all else ... as long as we don't stay there forever!

Our second card -- the Reversed High Priestess -- emphasizes this point. This card is a patient and calm card -- it tends to see the big picture rather than being drawn in by one or two points. By seeing the big picture, we see things that other may miss.

The key here is the "rather than being drawn in -- or focused -- on one or two points" and the Reversal! This points out that we need to be wary of spending so much time focusing on something -- even if it enthralls us -- that we'll miss the big picture!

Focus, mental toughness, and discipline are great -- but don't let these assets get in your way of seeing the total picture! It's okay to closely watch something you find interesting -- as long as you occasionally pick your eyes up to see what's happening around you! If you don't, you may look at at some point to find out you've missed the bus completely!

And that's about it this week; I look forward to seeing you again next week. As always, if you're interested in a private reading, please check out some of the super readers I work with at http://www.woodsongtarot.com/readers.html. I also welcome your comments at http://woodsongtarot.blogspot.com!

Woodsong --
visit Tarot by Woodsong

Change?

Hope things are going well for you -- I've been back in L.A. again, but am returning home in a few hours. The cooler weather's been a nice change -- although I understand Texas has been rather cool as well.

I don't know that I've ever been in L.A. when the weather was "bad" (not counting smog!). This area is blessed with wonderful weather and terrain ranging from beaches to snowy mountains -- and it's unblessed with about 50 zillion people all crammed in the same valley. Traffic is pretty bad -- and I find the highways are surprisingly rundown. People are all pretty nice, though. I think that all the potential weekend activities have them all in good moods!

Clay Aiken is coming to Houstin in July -- concert sold out quickly, but we were fortunate enough to score some tickets early. We have season tickets to the symphony and they offered tickets to us a few days before they went on sale to the public. Symphony tickets used to really be a good deal in Houston -- individual concerts went as low as $15 or so. A couple of years ago there was a changing of the guard -- the old symphony management went and the young folks took over. They more than tripled ticket prices and reduced the number of concerts and the number of guest artists. Perhaps it was needed for financial reasons, but it's no longer as good a deal as it used to be. We no longer buy season-long passes; we only purchase smaller "bundles" (which still count as season tickets).

One of my favorite performers (who hasn't returned since the management change) is a violinist named Kennedy (I believe his first name is Nigel). He's a "bad boy" violinist -- among his CD's are a "Kennedy plays Hendrix"! When he came out on stage, he wore a tuxedo top, sweat pants, and bowling shoes. Fabulous performance, though -- he's mainly a classical performer. I don't remember the main piece he played, but his encore was Vivaldi's "Spring" ... the entire hall was completely mesmerized.

I like violinists -- going to see Itzhak Perlman in a couple of weeks and am really looking forward to it.

On to the reading - we'll again pull two cards -- the first suggests something we should focus on for the week. The second suggests things we might consider in order to fully benefit from the attributes of the first card.

The cards are:

Nine of Swords (REVERSED)

Six of Swords

Two "Swords" this time -- Swords are typically suggest matters of the intellect ... things like "thought" or "analysis". Therefore, we're going to look at things that enrich -- or trouble -- the mind.

The Nine of Swords suggests "worry" to me. Look at the card -- have you ever been so troubled or worried about something that it kept you from sleeping? That's the sort of troubled worry we're looking at. Maybe not quite that intense -- but more than likely something with that potential to become all-encompassing (although it may be temporary).

The reversal can amplify the message here -- although it also suggests that we may actually not have as much reason to worry as we think we do. Let's take a peek at our second card to see if we can find some help ... The Six of Swords can suggest many things -- but change seems to be a common factor. If we put both cards together, we might consider what may happen if we find ourselves worrying about a potential change. What's curious is that the Six suggests that this change may be something we have sought out -- not something that is forced upon us. So ... if it's something that we have sought, why should it worry us?

Well, change is pretty much always unsettling -- because we're moving from the known to the unknown. No matter how unpleasant the known may have been and no matter how interesting the unknown may be, we're still moving to something new -- which can be troubling.

I think we've all had the experience of a lousy job at some point in our lives -- rotten hours, lousy tasks, moron boss, terrible hours ... that sort of thing. When you finally find something more appealing, it seems you always go through the "job changing blues" when you prepare to switch. It makes no sense at all -- you're moving from an unpleasant situation to a more appealing situation -- but the change still makes you feel uneasy!

I find an easy way to move past this is to look "through" the change and focus on the reasons for the change ... or focus on the goal at the end of the move. Perhaps concentrating on the more appealing aspects of the ultimate goal can help you through any uneasy feelings you may have about having to make a change.

Note that "making a change" may not be the actual item here -- we may be instead in a place where we're not even considering a change because of concern about the trouble of change. Look past the potential trouble -- it's only temporary, after all -- to try and determine if a change is what you really want. If that is your ultimate goal, then the price you pay may seem trivial in comparison.

And that's about it this week; I look forward to seeing you again next week. As always, if you're interested in a private reading, please check out some of the super readers I work with at http://www.woodsongtarot.com/readers.html. I also welcome your comments at http://woodsongtarot.blogspot.com!

Woodsong --
visit Tarot by Woodsong

Slow Down; Relax!

I hope your week's begun well -- I'm back in Houston but am still trying to sleep off California time. Maybe one more day will do it. Got tons of errands to do, too.

My American Idol pool is already messed up -- I'm solidly lodged in last place (well, at least 15 other people are tied with me)! To make it worse, I'm even starting to like Sanjaya! I've still got Melinda to win it and Jordin coming in second -- my surprise pick is Lakisha going fifth (or did I pick fourth? I don't remember now)

I've been enjoying the last two days of baseball -- I think I was ready for some slower paced things. Wish the Astros could find a closer, though. Looks like their high-priced free agent acquisition (Carlos Lee) is going to perform the same way as last year's high-priced free agent acquisition (Preston Wilson) by leading the team in strikeouts. Meanwhile, they've got several 300-hitters sitting on the bench not getting any playing time.

On to the reading!

We'll again pull two cards -- the first suggests something we should focus on for the week. The second suggests things we might consider in order to fully benefit from the attributes of the first card.

The cards are:

The Ten of Cups (maybe reversed?)

Four of Swords

Our first card -- the Ten of Cups -- is curious this time. I'm not sure if it's reversed or not! I always follow a strict sequence when I draw a card and set it down -- but my finger slipped and the Ten of Cups fell reversed. However, if I hadn't dropped it, it would have been upright. Most readers pay attention to "accidental" card drops -- so I think I'm going to read this card as if it had been reversed from the beginning.

The Ten of Cups suggests complete familial comfort and happiness. All is well with you and the people you really care about. Since we're going to read this card as if it were reversed, we're going to deviate a bit from this meaning. I'm seeing this deviation as a delay -- as in you're not quite set to reach this state yet ... something needs to happen first.

Our second card, the Four of Swords, offers a clue. The Four of Swords suggests rest and recuperation -- which in itself suggests taking care of your own needs. This could be physical recuperation -- or perhaps mental rest might make more sense. In any case, take stock of yourself -- are there any areas where you feel particularly tired or stressed? The Four of Swords suggests taking the time and doing what's necessary to ease these strains. Once you do, you'll be prepared to move forward and realize the aspects of our first card.

Bottom line, in order to achieve peace with those you love, you have to start by preparing your body and mind to be a participant in that process. If you're pulled taut, you'll find it difficult to help create and enjoy the comfort that awaits you -- take time to put yourself first and take care of your needs!

And that's about it this week; I look forward to seeing you again next week. As always, if you're interested in a private reading, please check out some of the super readers I work with at http://www.woodsongtarot.com/readers.html. I also welcome your comments at http://woodsongtarot.blogspot.com!

Woodsong --
visit Tarot by Woodsong