Turn Things Around!

Hope your week's been going well. I've had a really fun week -- both grandbabies in town at the same time! I've had a great time spoiling them ... and then handing them back to their folks when they smelled bad! Like they say, "If I'd had known grandkids were so much fun, I'd have had them first!"

Having some success on the interview front -- have been called back for a handful of additional interviews. Hope to have an offer next week or so -- keep your fingers crossed for me!

If there's anyone else in the same boat, I'm sending lots of positive thoughts your way.

How about we get onto that 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. Our cards this week are:



Knight of Cups
(Reversed)








The Hanged Man (Reversed)







Once again we have two reversed cards. This is probably appropriate given the state of things. Even if you're not directly affected by bad news, you've certainly heard it and have likely been concerned about it. Perhaps you worry about it -- maybe even too much?

The Knight of Cups is a very emotional card. Emotions are good -- when applied moderately. This Knight's problem is that he is very susceptible to becoming overly emotional. He could let situations control him rather than trying to control the situations.

The Hanged Man offers a way out -- basically, let's just try and view things in a new or different light. Turn things around, look at them again -- you'll likely see things are more positive than you originally thought.

Of course, this card is reversed also -- recognizing that this advice is something easy to say ... but sometimes not too easy to do. All you can do is try. Spend some time considering whether or not there are other viewpoints to consider. Are you seeing things exactly as they are? Or, are your emotions coloring your evaluations? Release a little bit -- step back -- and you might find it easier to recognize a different view.

Listen to Your Intuition

Hope your week's been going well. We finally got a bit of rain down here in Houston; we really, really needed it, too!

Have spent the past week doing the interview thing -- my industry got slammed bad by the stimulus bill and we went through a second round of layoffs (and I got caught up this time!)

So how can the "stimulus bill" not stimulate something? Well, what's happened is that there are government funds allocated for particular industries in the bill. So ... all those industries who were already planning and budgeting for expenditures this year are now saying "Wait, you mean we don't have to spend our own money -- we can spend someone else's?! Let's hold off on our purchases and wait and see what happens!" So, rather than stimulating things, it's had the opposite effect -- slamming on the brakes on growth!

I can't blame the industry -- I'd do the same thing in their shoes. The good news is that eventually this will all go away and things will be able to get back to normal.

So much for my view on economics -- how about that reading instead!

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. Our cards this week are:



Queen of Pentacles
(Reversed)





Queen of Swords






Finally! An upright card -- we've sure been going through a long stretch of reversals lately. Have been seeing some familiar faces a lot, too.

The Queen of Pentacles has been visiting us a lot. We've already talked a little bit about this courtly lady -- she's passionate, she's caring, she's trustworthy, etc. We've talked about how reversals can distort the message of the card -- from trustworthy to non-trustworthy, from caring to indifferent, etc.

What I think's happening this time around is that the distortion is heading in the other direction -- it's extending the original meaning of the card. As we all know, too much of something is sometimes troublesome. For this particular situation, I'm keying in on the "caring" issue. "Caring" suggests feelings and emotions. We often speak of a caring person as being passionate. But ... when you become overly passionate -- you end out letting your emotions get in the way of your observations.

We should always be wary of too much of anything -- what we need is a balance in order to apply all our skills and experiences to guide us along. When we let passions override our other tendencies, we can stray off-course.

Our second card, The Queen of Swords, is exactly the card we want to help out. This queen suggests "street smarts" -- she's had some tough lessons in her life and has learned from all of them. One way to think about "street smarts" (or learning based on experience) is that you don't often have to carefully analyze situations -- you quickly reach a strong gut-feeling, or an intuition, about the proper response.

So, our reversed Queen of Pentacles is listening too closely to her heart -- and our experienced Queen of Swords suggests we listen to our intuition as well in order to keep us from over-reacting.

After all, we've paid a lot to attend the school of hard knocks -- and have learned some great lessons from it. Why waste these learnings -- let's take them into consideration. It may be that our intuition, rather than our emotions, can guide us most effectively for now.

Slow but Steady Wins the Race

Hope your week's been going well. We're sweltering down here in Houston -- temps topping 100 degrees and no rain in sight! I guess we're paying for the cool summer we had last year.

Looks like I will be doing readings at the Sherwood Forest Renaissance Faire next spring (their website is at http://www.sherwoodforestfaire.com). It's a really beautiful setting in the woods about 35 miles east of Austin. This is their first year and it's shaping up nicely. They're only using a small part of their land and are planning on expanding next year (there's a lake on the property that's earmarked for a Pirate Ship!)

My son is helping me build a Gypsy Wagon, or Vardo -- I'll use this rather than a tent ... although I'll probably put up an awning outside just in case the weather is really nice.

If you get a chance to pass by, stop in and say "Hello"! And now ... how about 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. Our cards this week are:



King of Pentacles
(Reversed)





Queen of Pentacles
(Reversed)






Interesting -- two reversed cards. Being Pentacles, they could be interpreted as relating to financial matters. Being the way the economy is, this might even sound about right!

We begin with a reversed King of Pentacles. Kings suggest the attainment of the aspects of their suit -- so we might see this card suggesting a business success or accomplishment. Like Smith-Barney, this King does things the old-fashioned way -- "He earns it!" This king isn't known for short cuts or quick fixes -- he's in things for the long term and does things the slow but sure way. He's steady -- you can always rely on him; as such, he's very trustworthy.

The reversal can suggest some delay in reaching these goals -- or perhaps even a distortion. For instance, lack of trust rather than trustworthiness. Let's take a look at our second card for clues as to how we can remedy this situation.

The Queen of Pentacles is also reversed -- and, since we have a second Pentacle, I'm really seeing this relating more to fiscal matters. This particular Queen is also known for being trustworthy; she cares for folks and is generous and giving. Again, no quick fixes or tricks here -- this Queen is very down to earth and old school.

When we put them together -- we see that one sure way to set the King back on his course is to take the long view. Don't look for quick fixes -- doing things the slow, sure, and old-fashioned way leads to the best chances of success.

Be patient, be steady, be confident. If you're caught up in today's economic messes, consider a long and slow ... but sure ... corrective path. It may be your best chance for long-term success!