Prioritize!

Hi -- hope your week's started off well. We're "almost" getting rain out here west of Houston -- we can hear the thunder and see the lightning and dark clouds -- but not so many raindrops! Sigh! Still have our fingers crossed, though -- our turn has to come eventually.

Started working with a new company this week -- will be training all week. My eyeballs are rolling from reading manuals all week. The product is very similar to one that I used to support, so I understand the market well. It's almost like slipping on an old pair of comfortable shoes!

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:



Queen of Pentacles







Knight of Cups
(Reversed)






These Pentacles sure are getting familiar -- we've been seeing them a lot lately!

We've seen the Queen of Pentacles before -- she's like a sweet and caring grandmother. She has a big heart and sincerely cares about everyone's welfare. When times are tough, she's always there with a smile for you. She's always ready to lend a hand, too. Not too proud to get her hands dirty if need be!

These are all wonderful attributes -- patience, compassion, and willingness to get the task done without putting on any airs. Our second card is reversed, but I think we'll find it very easy to upright him and realize these positive attributes.

This second card, the Knight of Cups, tends to get sidetracked by his emotions. Queens are experienced -- they've been through the mill and know how to ignore distractions. Knights, unfortunately, are still learning and need a little help to stay on task. Being a Knight of Cups, our second card has to watch out for getting a little too "dreamy" and maybe a little too "introspective". If this Knight were building a house, he'd never get started because he never could make up his mind about what color to paint the inside! His emotions would distract him from his true task -- get the house built!

While it's nice to be aware of what's inside you, you still need to take care of the mundane matters surrounding you first. Once you've taken care of your physical house, you'll have some leisure time to think about the "furnishings"!

So -- prioritize! Note what things are most important and most need attention -- and take care of them first! You'll find this let's you realize the good side of the Knight of Cups by putting things in their proper order!

Get Started!

Hi -- hope you had a fine weekend! We had a dear friend up from Baton Rouge and had a full weekend shopping, visiting, and sight-seeing. Trying to get the "back to school" shopping out of the way early. Texas does this thing where they waive all sales taxes on clothes and school supplies for a weekend right before school starting back up. You really want to avoid the stores that weekend -- they're a pure madhouse!

Was glad to see the "experts" down-grading their hurricane predictions for this season -- I'm still pretty hurricane-shy after last year's Ike. Not that it means they'll be right -- just that we won't have to hear weather "conspirary theorists" spouting off for a while. That's always a relief!

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:



Three of Pentacles






Knight of Pentacles
(Reversed)






The Three of Pentacles is one of my favorites cards -- I think of it as a "Joy of work" card!

Have you ever been involved in an activity -- so involved that you don't really notice time passing? You're completely absorbed by the tasks, completely engaged by the challenges. It's a really nice feeling -- when you finally do look up and realize "Wow, where did the time go?", you probably feel like you've accomplished a bit. You've extended and expressed yourself and your skills ... and you don't feel put-upon at all. You've really enjoyed the process.

That's what this card suggests -- performing a task so dilligently that you and the task become one for that short period of time. The work defines you -- and you define the work.

This card simply acknowledges that performing a job well can be it's own reward. I don't think you have to be particularly skilled in order to enjoy this feeling -- I can spend hours playing my guitar (and torturing my family and neighbors in the process!) and I'll feel wonderful at the end ... even though I'm not particularly any good. Those rare times when I get a "cleaning urge" and spend an afternoon fixing up a cluttered room fill me with great satisfaction -- and I end up more relaxed than if I'd have spent that time taking a nap! Doing something well -- or at least being totally involved in doing something -- can give you much more energy than you might have spent in the process!

This is a pretty positive card for us -- it's suggesting there are tasks we can undertake where the results will greatly reward us. So ... what's the hangup?

Well, our second card, the Knight of Pentacles is actually very supportive of this activity. This knight is a plodder -- he stays on task, he stays on focus, and he sees things through to the end. He's not flashy, he's not fancy -- but he gets things done! But ... he's reversed!

In this case, the reversal likely signifies some reluctance to actually get started. Perhaps an ennui, perhaps it's just too darn hot to get started on something, perhaps we just don't feel like we have the energy to devote to a task, perhaps we don't see the point ... could be lots of reasons. The thing to remember is that regardless of whether or not we can see it from right here, we know from the Three of Pentacles that, once we get involved in a task, we'll reap the rewards. It's as sure as night following day -- we KNOW this will happen!

So ... if you feel it's necessary, give your inner Knight of Pentacles just a tiny nudge. It might take a little effort to start a heavy ball rolling ... but once it starts going, it doesn't take much to keep it going. The sturdiness of the Knight and the enthusiasm of the Three suggest this might be a great time to consider tasks or projects -- and that you'll be very successful in those you choose.

Let Loose and Move Forward!

Hope you've been havingt a good one! Things have been pretty hot and dry in Houston -- heat index near 110 degrees and no rain anywhere! Can't wait for summer to break!

Other than that, not much going on. I've been doing a little sewing lately -- am making some cloaks (forty of them!) for that Austin-area Renaissance Faire that's starting up next spring (and I'll be reading at!). You can see some pictures of what they look like here, here, and here. I had to coax two of my daughter's friends into modelling ... they were reluctant until I suggested they could use swords and bows as props. That sealed the deal!

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:




Judgement






Two of Cups







Hooray -- no reversals! Maybe we're out of those woods!

Actually, reversals aren't necessarily a negative thing. Reversals suggest progress -- in the sense that once you address issues rather than ignoring them, you should expect some positive movement. Everyone has problems -- but not everyone works to resolve them. It's not the problems you have that defines you -- it's what you do to take care of them that does.

Okay, I'll get off the soapbox now! Let's take a look at the cards we've drawn. Judgement really suggests positive movement. Quite often we hit spots in our life where we must make decisions in order to move forward. Judgement reminds us to be fair and honest when making those decisions -- if we are, we're better assured of making the "right" decision.

Even more than that, Judgement urges us to make the decision, not to avoid it!

Think of those times when you've felt an issue is weighing you down -- when you finally make a choice that lets you move past (or overcome) the issue, you feel like a great weight's been lifted. You feel refreshed and rejuvenated. You'll probably find the path you're now able to follow is a reward for your decision.

What kind of decision may you face? That obviously can vary -- but more often than not it'll be a decision requiring some type of forgiveness or acceptance. These are the types of hurtful things that can hold us back -- and they're also the types of things that can make us feel most relieved once we can put them in our past.

Our next card, the Two of Cups, suggests where we might look to answer this question. The Two of Cups suggests establishing or strengthening an emotional relationship. This doesn't necessarily mean a romantic tie -- but it could refer to a friendship or an emotional committment to a particular project or event. These sorts of emotional ties tend to reward us -- we receive in return way more than we lay out.

It might even be that we're unable to enjoy a new emotional attachment until we complete the course suggested by Judgement. No need to let things in the past drag us down -- let's embrace the lessons (we probably paid dearly for them), learn from them, close them ... and move on to better things!

And that's it for this week! Hope things go well for you till next time!