Don't Build a Wall!

(Note: In my mailing, I accidentally put the wrong card in the post. It's the Four of Pentacles, not the Four of Cups! I read the Four of Pentacles in the reading, so that part's accurate.)

Hi -- hope this week's been good to you. Summer's about to hit here in Houston ... we had our first 90 degree day last Saturday (but then it cooled off on Sunday ... go figure). Temp's in the mid 80's all week. Winter and Spring don't last too long in South Texas.

I normally talk a little bit about what's been going lately -- but things have just been kind of busy. Haven't had too much time for much anything else. My 18 year old daughter's been a pain, but that's nothing new. I think I've said this before about kids ... "They never get better, they just get more expensive"

Don't even have much planned for the weekend -- I think this'll be a "work around the house" weekend. Have a lot of yard work and pruning that I've been putting off. Great, now that it's getting hot outside, I finally have time to do it!? Should have done this a month ago -- oh well.

I guess the most exciting thing I did this week was spread fertilizer and such in the front yard. That afternoon, the lawn folks came by unexpected and cut the grass -- sucking up all the stuff I had laid down! My luck!

Let's we get 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. Our cards this week are:

Ace of Wands (Reversed)

Four of Pentacles


I normally read these two card spreads as:

1) Something to try and achieve (or resist)
2) Ways we can try to do #1

This time, I'm picking up something a little different. Let's see how this goes.

The Ace of Wands, like all Aces, suggest a new beginning. Wands suggests excitement and enthusiasm about a new project; also suggests the burning energy we feel when we're really into a new idea.

Being reversed, the message is distorted a bit. It could suggest a delay, for instance, or it could suggest a twist -- rather than feeling energetic, we may feel tired and listless. Rather than being excited about something new, we may feel "the blah's" about our situation.

Okay -- typically at this point we'd look at our second card to see how to remedy this. This particular card, the Four of Pentacles, is very confusing in this position. This card suggests walling ourself in -- ignoring outside influences and experiences.

In fact, this card suggests exactly what I'd expect to see from a person who is feeling tired and discouraged -- they don't want to consider anything new ... it might make them even more tired! So ... they build little walls around themselves. That way things may not improve -- but they won't get worse, either!

The truth in this situation is that things do get worse, of course. By keeping the outside world at arm's length, you miss the experiences and influences you need to grow. You may think you're sitting still, but you're actually moving backwards.

So ... in this particular case, I don't think our second card is a recommendation, I think it's a warning. It's saying "You DON'T want to do this if you're feeling the effects of a reversed Ace of Wands!"

If you feel tired, if things seem too complicated, the last thing you want to do is drop out -- instead, the best way to turn yourself around is to join in with the changing world. Listen to and consider the new experiences and ideas swirling around you; this is the best way to get you excited about things again!

You're not alone

Hi -- sorry I missed the last couple of readings; time got really tight between the Renfest and regular work stuff (plus trying to find all the documentation for taxes!)

Things should ease up a bit now -- I've got a talk to do at a conference next week, but I've got most of the prep work done for that. The festival is over now so I get my weekends back -- although I miss it!

Doing readings at a renaissance festival was an interesting experience. I found out that I have a certain number of readings inside of me per day. Once I get to that number, I'm just drained and empty. Sometimes I'd close up shop a little before the end of the fair -- I figured it was like running out of inventory!

Don't know if you saw my final setup with the wagon and my table -- here's what it looked like:






Let's we get 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. Our cards this week are:





Four of Wands




The Empress (reversed)







Kind of curious -- seems like I saw this first card a lot during my festival run. The Four of Wands is a celebration card -- I always envision a group of people watching and approving of this couple. So -- it's not so much that it's a celebration ... it's that other folks recognize and acknowledge that you have reason to be happy.

And what in our lives should we look to in order to realize this happiness? The Empress suggests things around our home life -- our family, our living spaces, our place in the environment. Basically, being "part" of a greater whole.

The reversal could suggest that we're not really seeing this for the valuable asset it is. Sometimes, these are the types of things we take for granted. It's something we see every day so we don't always see it for the strength and support it can provide -- and also for the strength and support we can provide to others in our circle.

So -- what I'm thinking is that in order to always have something we can fall back and take pleasure from -- to feel like "celebrating", we want to be able to look to our family, our friends, and our place in the world. How can we make things better for the folks we care about -- and how can we take pleasure in their support. When we recognize these assets, we'll surely feel a reason for celebration.