Count to Ten ...

Hello All!

Hope this week's been good to you -- I've been busy busy busy.  Guess that's better than the alternative.

Some fun this weekend -- there's a huge gem show twice a year in Houston.  It normally coincides with a huge gun show (they're held in different halls of the same convention center).  I really enjoy both of them.  The gun show is more of a historic show rather than the conventional gun show (although they have the normal stuff).  Lots of historic uniforms, vehicles, gear, etc.  They even have historical celebrities -- a few years ago, they had one of the crew of the Enola Gay.  I get off on that kind of stuff (I'm a big History Channel and Military Channel buff), so really look forward to this show.

The Gem show is just about as much fun -- they have stuff ranging from a couple of dollars to thousands of dollars.  You can pick out rare stones from one dealer, then go to another booth to pick settings -- they'll then set your stones for you.  Really enjoy talking to the dealers and learning the story behind the sources of the stones -- some gems are only found in one particular mine in the world!  Best part is that once you purchase something, the dealers will then send you coupons good for free admission to the next show!

The food is pretty terrible at both shows, though.  Can't have everything!

Let's get on to the reading -- and then on to the weekend!

Our first card this week is ... The Devil!

As I tell everyone, this isn't the guy in the red suit with horns and a pitchfork.  This is that little Devil each one of us has inside ... the one that tempts us to do things we know are wrong -- but we do them anyway!  These things normally reflect poorly on us -- and might even get us in some trouble.  It's kind of a situation where we're own own worst enemy.

Maybe we're feeling short-tempered, so we snap at our spouse or a co-worker.  Maybe we're late, so we drive a little faster than we know is appropriate.  Maybe while we're driving, we answer our cell phone when we really should be paying attention to the road.  Maybe something doesn't work out -- and we blame someone else rather than taking responsbility ourselves.  Things like that -- if we reflect on them later, we'd probably honestly say "I shouldn't have done that -- that's not me".

So not a whole lot of positivity comes with the Devil -- but it's really easy to become ensnared!  What might help us avoid these situations?

Our second card is .. the Four of Swords.

This is an interesting combination -- the Four of Swords suggests taking time to rest, recharge, and revitalize yourself.  I think the key phrase here is "taking time" -- not reacting spontaneously, but waiting a moment, taking a breath, and then calmly reacting.  Remember the old saw about "count to ten before you act"?  That's something we can do whenever we're tempted by our Devil to react inappropriately.

Waiting a little bit gives our responsible self a chance to take over -- and that's who we need to be making decisions!

Have a great weekend -- I'm off to Las Vegas next week and will talk to you then!

Woodsong

It's a Big Boat With Airplanes

Hello All!

Sorry I missed Friday's reading -- I had to go and pay some traffic tickets.

No, these weren't my tickets -- they were my son's.  He's in the Navy and is off on deployment somewhere in the Persian Gulf area.  He wanted to pay some old tickets he received when he was in town ... but the court wouldn't let him do it remotely.  They allowed that someone else could show up at the ticket window and pay it for him, though.

I told him I'd do it for him.  Got the necessary cash, went to the courthouse, waited in line for about and hour-and-a-half.  Finally, get to the window:

"I'd like to pay these tickets for my son."

"Well, he has to pay them in person. Where is he?"

"He's in the Navy; he's on an aircraft carrier somewhere."

"He's what?"

"He's on an aircraft carrier."

"What?"

"An aircraft carrier.  It's like a big boat with airplanes."

"Oh -- well, he can't pay them here anyway.  You're at the wrong courthouse -- you can tell from the ticket number that you need to go to Precinct Five."

"Oh, sorry -- I guessed I missed class the day we studied ticket numbers.  Can you tell me where Precinct Five is?"

"I don't know."

"I don't know either.  Do have you a phone number or any other information about it?"

"No."

(Fortunately, the couple in back of me knew where Precinct Five was -- so I thanked them and got in the car.  Drive across town (driving across town in Houston is not a trivial matter!), get in another line, wait another hour-and-a-half.)

"I'd like to pay these tickets for my son."


(we go through the whole aircraft carrier thing again)


"Okay, that's $614.00 (I have no idea what he did to get the tickets!)"


"Alright."  I start counting out cash.


"Oh no sir.  We don't take cash, only money orders."

I look up at the sign next to the window.  "But your sign says you take cash."

"We do.  But we don't take cash for this."

"But don't the bills say "Legal Tender for all Debts"?"

"Yes, but we only take money orders."

I think one benefit of getting older is realizing when you're not going to win the argument, so you quit before you get frustrated.

Not winning this one, so I leave, find a money oder place, convert cash to money orders, come back.  Wait in line another hour and a half.

"I'd like to pay these tickets for my son.  I have the money orders."

"Alright, let me get your paperwork."

(No aircraft carrier story; darn, I was enjoying telling it.)

"Okay, I'm back.  We just need your son to sign these two forms."

(Cool -- I get to do the aircraft carrier story again after all!)

"Well, I'm sorry, but he has to sign these forms or I can't complete the transaction."

"There's no way that can happen -- my son's off on deployment; with this Korean thing, I have no idea if he's even coming home.  Is there anything we can do?"

(Now, here's where my faith in people and public servants gets renewed.)

"Well, I tell you what.  I need to leave this counter and go stand on the other side of the office for about two minutes.  Perhaps when I get back your son will have managed to sign these two forms?"

Clerk leaves and I grab a pen.  Sure enough, when the clerk returns, my son has managed to sign both of the forms!

All's well that ends -- even if it takes all day!

Let's get on to this week's reading!

Our first card is the Knight of Pentacles.

This cards suggests being solid and steady -- someone you can count on every time to get the job done.  Not necessarily the flashiest or fastest ... but sure and steady wins the race after all.

My problem trying to be the Knight of Pentacles is that I get impatient -- if I don't see immediate results, I get frustrated.  Let's check our next card for some help

Our next card is ... the Ten of Wands.

Okay, this make sense.  The Ten of Wandss is busy plodding away at his task.  He was plodding away yesterday, and plodding away the day before, and the day before, etc.  This Ten doesn't get impatient, though.  He knows (he KNOWS) that he's going to accomplish his task.  He knows that it may be a slow process, but if he keeps at it and doesn't give or or get frustrated, he'll manage to complete his task.

And sometimes that's the way we have to solve problems -- just keep hacking away at them, one step at a time.  Just cause we don't close the loop right away doesn't mean we're never going to manage to do so.  Success is waiting for us -- as long as we take the time to see it through!

And that's what it looks like this week!  Hope you have a good one!


Woodsong

Dive Right In

Hi All,

Hope your weekend was fine -- I stayed home sick yesterday (feeling much better today), so fell behind on the reading.

Uneventful weekend for me -- cleared up my space at the Renfest, did some yardwork and gardening, nothing fancy.  A very easy, low pressure weekend (first in several months)!

Let's jump into that reading, shall we?

First card is the Page of Wands.

Pages tend to suggest the beginning of something new -- new tasks, new projects, new schooling, new friends ... things like that.  Pages are still at the development stage -- you're considering a new project, getting excited about it, beginning to think about what may be involved, maybe even some pre-planning.

Including the point where you think about what go wrong!  Sometimes, when you consider this side of it, you get scared off the project.  After all, if you might fail, then why start it in the first place.  When you think of failure, it saps away your energy and excitement for the project (and the Page of Wands is particularly involved in energy and excitement).

This isn't good -- how can you restore your energy and interest level?

How about using our second card -- The Fool!

This card is really about new beginnings, new journeys.  Things might go bad?  Who cares -- not The Fool!  He's so involved in thinking about a new process that he's oblivious to problems.

Does that mean he won't encounter problems along the way?  No, not at all -- but it does mean he'll wait till that point to deal with the problems and won't let the fact that they may occur stop him from charging ahead!

If something new grabs your interest -- then maybe it's worth it to dive right in.  Don't "think" yourself away from a project -- jump in and learn for real what's going on.

Hope your week's a good one -- talk to you later!

Woodsong

Consider Changes

Greetings!

Hope your week's been going well -- things here in Houston have been ... well, okay I guess.  A front moved through and it's turned kind of chilly (in the 50's -- that's chilly for Texas).  That's not so bad -- but my hot water heater decided to flake out this week at the same time!  I can light it, but it's not always staying lit.  Don't find that out till I try that morning shower -- brrrr!  Had a couple of unpleasant surprises this week!

Seems to be working now; I'm sure it's just the thermocouple getting fritzy.  I remember you used to be able to change those out yourself with a 50 cent part from the hardware store.  Now it takes a plumber and a $75 house visit.  Progress?

My daughter and grand-daughter moved back in the house -- the entire household is now being ruled by a 4 year old!  It's kind of fun -- life is now measured in terms of tea parties and kittens.  Pretty refreshing!

How about our weekend reading ...

Our first card is the Four of Wands.

I see this as a celebration card -- and it also suggests the acknowledgement of others in the course of celebration.  It's not so much you saying "I did good", it's more like other people saying "You did good".  It always feels better when you hear it from someone else!

So what should we consider if we'd like to achieve this celebratory state?  Our second card, the Eight of Cups, offers a suggestion.

The Eight of Cups suggests a change of direction.  It's kind of like reaching a point where you say "It's not that I'm disatisfied with what I've been doing -- but I think I might have more success trying this different route instead".  In the card, we see someone literally "turning their back" on the path they had been following in order to strike out in a new direction.

So -- if what you've been doing isn't getting you to where you want to be -- you might consider changing things up a bit.  Even if you're satisfied with what you've been doing -- you might find another tack a little more promising.  Or you might not -- but it doesn't hurt to at least consider the possibilities!

And that's it for now -- have a great weekend and I'll see you again next week!

Woodsong

Audit Time!

Hi All!

Hope you had a good weekend and a good April Fool's start to the week!  I always forget about April Fool's day and someone always gets me.

This was the last weekend this season for Sherwood Forest Faire -- I get weekends back again for a while!

BTW -- to Courtney in California:  I met your friend this weekend at faire -- she says you really need to come down to visit next year and come to Sherwood.  Come by and say hello when you do!

Let's see what cards we have to start the week ...

We'll start with The Hermit.

This is the wise-old hermit -- he knows things!  His knowledge comes not only from training and learning skills, but also from experience.  When you put book smarts and street smarts together -- you get wisdom.  Knowing to do the right thing at the right time for the right reasons -- that kind of wisdom.

So -- where should we direct this wisdom.  What kinds of questions should we be looking to answer?

Our second card suggests something to consider-- the Seven of Pentacles.

To me, the Seven of Pentacles is an accomplishment card -- especially a career or professional accomplishment.  We took on a hard task and were successful -- hence the sense of accomplishment.

So -- maybe we might consider using our wisdom for a bit of internal career counseling -- a "self audit" if you will.  There are always a number of things going on in our lives -- but maybe we'll spend just a little bit of time thinking about our professional choices.

How's the job?  Going well?  If so, then why?  If not, then why not?  What can you do to make it even better?  Are you doing what you want to do?  Why not? 

Use the wisdom from your wise hermit -- if you have trouble applying this to yourself, then imagine you're giving career advice to someone else in your same position.  What would you say to them?

It's good to "audit" phases of our lives from time to time -- otherwise, we're just going along for the ride and hoping the right things will happen.  If we take a moment for a little review and evaluation, we'll likely discover things we can do to "guide" ourselves in order to better guarantee success.

And that's it for this week -- I'll be back later with more.  Till then, have a great week!

Woodsong

Springtime Projects!

Hi All,

Somehow a holiday snuck up on me!  No work tomorrow -- which of course means lots of home projects.  No way you can get away from "work"!

I'm planning a new gypsy vardo -- it'll be more of a "roulotte" style; will look kind of like a canopy bed on wheels (without the bed part).  Have been planning how to paint/embellish/decorate it -- last night dreamed purple-gold-green -- Mardi Gras colors.  Might be -- still thinking about it.

You know, there's a story about why LSU colors are purple-and-gold.  Story goes that way back the students decided to have a Spring celebration party.  Some drove down to New Orleans to purchase confetti and streamers.  Being that it was near Mardi Gras, there should have been lots of purple, gold, and green decorations.  However, Tulane University in New Orleans was having it's own springtime party and had bought all the green decorations; all the LSU people could find were purple and gold -- which was how the original purple-and-gold began!

Reading time -- we'll begin with the Nine of Wands.

When I see this card I always think of someone who's spent a day doing yard work.  It's the end of the day, he's really tired, but he looks out at his work and is please with his accomplishments.  (BTW -- this isn't me at all ... I spend 10 minutes working in the yard and I start sneezing!)

He's tired -- maybe even exhausted -- but is feeling good about it.  The results have been worth the effort; he's earned the right to be pleased with his situation.

Nice feeling -- so how can we get there?  Let's look at our next card -- the Page of Wands.

This Page is about potential -- being excited about possibilities, beginning to plan projects (like building a roulotte, maybe?)

You want to feel like you've accomplished something?  Well, before you can, you've got  to begin doing something you can accomplish!  Get excited about a project, get excited about the work you'll put into it, get excited about planning it and becoming involved in it.  All of this might sound daunting -- after all, we're talking about taking on more "work", aren't we?

But -- this is a step we MUST do if we want to accomplish something.  You've got to start before you can finish!  And the idea of starting a project should fill you with energy -- not drain you!

Hey -- maybe this is about Springtime projects!  Consider projects that will make you feel good -- and use this energy to help see you through the process!

Have a great weekend ...

Woodsong

Plan and Finish

Hello All --

Hope you had a great weekend!  It turned a little chilly here in Houston -- actually had to wear a sweater today (that doesn't happen all that often during winter in South Texas)!

Another fun weekend at Sherwood Forest Renaissance Faire -- next weekend is closing weekend.  It'll be sad to see the end of the season -- but it has been a long and exhausting run so far.

My younger son called and asked for a vacation recommendation.  He and his wife would like to take a relaxing and inexpensive driving vacation (starting from Texas) in late summer -- I told him to look into New Mexico.  One of the most enjoyable vacations we ever took was a week spent in the Enchanted Circle region .. Taos, Red River, even down to Santa Fe and Albuquerque.  Love the scenery, love the culture, love the food!  Most people think of skiing when they hear "Taos" -- but the town itself and the reservation are both historic and spiritually fulfilling.

I remember another visit to Sante Fe -- it had started snowing that morning and the ground was covered in snow when I parked in a nearly-empty parking lot.  Later that day, the snow had all melted.  When we got back to the car, I had received a parking ticket for "not parking within the white lines".  Of course, you couldn't see the white lines when the snow was there, but what can you do?

How 'bout we pull a reading for this week?


Our first card is the King of Wands.

Kings in general tend to be most concerned with those around them -- they are caretakers and feel strongly about their responsibilities.  The Kind of Wands in particular suggests successful ventures -- and doing what's necessary to ensure success.  That means planning, effective starts, and finishing projects.

Our second card is the Seven of Pentacles.

This card suggests receiving/earning rewards for your efforts -- hard work paying off.  It's also a conservative card fiscally.  Rather than using rewards for a temporary splurge, the Seven of Pentacles would rather save those rewards for future use.

Put them together and we get a short game plan to help us earn rewards -- don't rush in blindly!  Think about what you're doing and why you're doing it.  Plan your efforts to best ensure your success -- then, take the time to do things competently, correctly, and to FINISH what you undertake.  Do so and your chances of seeing rewards at the end are greatly enhanced!

Have a great week!

Woodsong

Take Time before Choosing

Hi there -- hope your week has been going well!

I'm on an assignment in Dallas and have pretty tied up all week.  Finally got a few minutes this morning to pull our cards for the weekend.

I always enjoy hitting the bookstores in Dallas -- plus there's a Mongolian restaurant I really like.  I am SO boring!

How about our cards ...

Our first card is The Moon.

When you look at things under the moonlight, it's difficult to see them clearly.  You may see things that aren't there -- or misinterpret what you see.  Later, when the sun rises, you're able to view the situation properly as it really is.

Our second card is the Two of Swords.

This Two suggests a choice -- or a decision ... a really difficult one.  A choice where you're just not too sure what to do.

And what might make it difficult to decide?  Why, if you're not seeing things clearly, then it's difficult to choose.

When face with a difficult decision, consider whether or not you're evaluating the situation properly.  The Moon might suggest that you're not viewing things as they really are -- but as they may appear to be instead.  If the input is bad, the output may be bad as well.  (Or, as we say in the tech field, "Garbage in, garbage out.")

Take a little extra time to consider the parameters of your decision -- are you interpreting them in the only way they can be interpreted?  If not, then taking a little time to shed a little extra light can make your choices easier.

Have a great weekend!

Woodsong

Stay on Top of it!

Hi!

Hope your week's been going well.  Nothing that momentous over here -- typical South Texas winter weather -- kinda sweater-weather in the morning, but mid 70's or 80's by the afternoon. 

Have tried to see the comet this week, but can't quite view it from my yard.  Well, it's probably my eyes that are the culprit.  Didn't feel like dragging out and setting up the telescope - haven't done that in over 20 years and not too sure where all the pieces and parts are!

I'll have a short weekend at Sherwood Forest Faire this weekend -- have to travel up to Dallas on Sunday for a business meeting that starts first thing Monday morning.  If you get a chance to visit the faire, this weekend should be a good one.

How about we get into a reading for the weekend?

We'll beging with a Major Arcana card -- the Wheel of Fortune.

The wheel reminds us that life tends to go in cycles -- sometimes, things are really good ... but sometimes they're not so good.  If times are good, that's great -- but don't expect they'll always be that way.  If times are bad, don't get discouraged ... because they can improve.

Basically, don't take it personal if things aren't to your liking!  Don't get complacent if things are to your liking!

The important thing about the Wheel is that you can take an active part in extending your time on the top -- or minimizing your time on the bottom.  You shouldn't sit around and hope for things to happen ... you should jump in and take control of matters yourself!

And what does this mean for you?  Our second card answers this -- the Five of Wands.

The Five of Wands suggests contention -- maybe even a bit of a struggle.  This struggle isn't anything you can't overcome -- but it does remind us that some things don't come easy ... we have to really work at it if we want it.





There's a great line in the movie "A Game of Their Own" -- Tom Hanks's character Jimmie Dugan says to Dottie Hinson who mentions the game just got  "too hard" ... "It's supposed to be hard! If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great!

If we're willing to put in that type of work -- and if we keep our minds on the payoff, we'll enjoy most of our time sitting on the top of the Wheel of Fortune!

That's it till next week!  Hope you have a great weekend!

Woodsong

Measure Yourself

Hi -- Happy Daylight Savings Time!

I have to confess -- the only good thing I see about Daylight Savings Time is that now the clock in my car is correct again instead of being one hour off. 

I know the argument about "we'll have more daylight in the afternoon", but the truth is that the days get longer this part of the year anyway; we're going to have more daylight in the evenings naturally.  I don't mind daylight in the early evening; I don't like daylight at 9:00pm.

Oh well, turning rant off.  Hope you had a great weekend (although one hour shorter!).  I had a wonderful Saturday up at Sherwood Forest; had a lot of rain Sunday so I took the day off -- didn't want to risk the drive in the bad weather.

On to our reading ...

Our first card -- 10 of Wands

The 10 of Wands reminds us about hard work -- really putting in an effort to do a job well.  It may be tiring ... but it's also rewarding.  Because of that rewarding feeling, we're ready to tackle the next hard task.  Hard tasks don't daunt us -- because we know that's how we measure ourselves ... by our effectiveness at achieving goals.

The next card is one of the more perplexing cards in the deck -- the Six of Pentacles.

This card is puzzling because it has two totally different meanings at the same time.

Consider -- this card shows a fortunate person sharing his bounty with others.  Sounds like a nice thing to do, right?

The puzzling part comes in when you consider what recipients of this sharing are thinking -- are they happy?  Are they grateful?  Are they jealous?  Are they resentful?  Do they feel anger to the fortunate person? Do they feel it's unfair?  (this can get political really fast, so I'm going to quit now before I get into trouble!)

The story I get with these two cards is that even though you may put in a strong effort to achieve a goal, others may not be appreciative of your work.  They may not feel you worked hard enough -- or that you deserve the reward for achieving that goal.

The important thing to remember is that you can only measure yourself by your own expectations and standards -- not those of others.  If you know you've put in an honest effort and have rightfully earned rewards, then it doesn't really matter what other people may think.  Judge yourself by your own standards -- not those of others.

Have a great week!

Woodsong

Dummy post

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Take the Wheel!

Hello all!

Hope you had a great weekend!  I wish we had a day between the weekend and the workweek to rest up.  I know that's what you're supposed to do on the weekend, but it rarely seems to end up that way.

Spent the weekend at Sherwood Forest again -- it was freezy-breezy cold (also known as "frigorific" in Romanian) Saturday morning, but warmed up pleasantly as the day went on.

Didn't really have a chance to do anything neat -- just a busy weekend.  Got back in time Sunday night to watch the Rockets play Dallas and catch The Walking Dead.  I've read all The Walking Dead comics, so I kind of know what's going to happen ... although they stray from the comics from time to time.

Let's jump into the reading, shall we?

Our first card is:  Two of Swords

This card suggests facing difficult choices.  Whenever we face a tough choice, we usually stall -- we put off making the choice.  Quite often, this means events take over and the choice gets made for us.  Not always the best thing to happen!  It's usually best to take control and actively guide our own path.

Our second card reinforces this:  Six of Swords

This card can suggest a change ... and the way we may feel in the midst of that change.  When we put these two cards together, we have the suggestion that if change is inevitable, then we're better off being proactive and steering it ourselves.

If you're going to end up in the swimming pool anyway, is it better to be pushed in when you're not expecting it ... or getting ready and jumping in?

Once you've made the choice to act, the game's not over.  You now have to take an active hand and MAKE your choice the right one.  Again, don't let events take control -- take control of events instead!

Until later -- and have a great week!

Woodsong

Yep, You're Right!

Hi there!

Hope your week has gone well -- we've had wonderful weather here in Houston all week.  Looking forward to a clear (but cold -- well, at least cold for Houston) weekend.

Getting ready for another weekend at the Sherwood Forest Renaissance Faire.  This weekend will be the mid-point.  Attendance has been very nice so far for the faire as a whole -- although our area has suffered some.

We're at the top of a "circle" of booths.  One food merchant near the top added a bunch of picnic tables in front of his booth this year.  What now happens is that the people who used to "walk the circle" now see the picnic tables as a roadblock and detour around them.  This leaves a void or "dead space" for the three merchants at the top of the circle.

We've all complained to the faire management, but nothing's come of it.  I think we'll probably relocate for next year.

Oh well, enough of my tribulations -- let's get on to the reading!

We'll pull two cards -- the first will be some message, the second will help explain this message.

Our first card is:  The Queen of Swords:

I really like this card.  You're never going to put one past the Queen of Swords -- she's heard all the "dog ate my homework" stories and can see past excuses to find the truth.  The key message of the Queen of Swords is to trust your first impressions -- these are based on your past experience and are most likely going to be your most accurate reads.

Sometimes we don't trust ourselves, though.  We second-guess ourselves.  Ever been in a situation where you said "Oh, I KNEW that was going to happen -- I should have allowed for it!"   That's what happens when you ignore the Queen of Swords.

How can we best recognize the benefit of the Queen of Swords -- our next card gives us some tips -- The Sun.

The Sun suggests seeing things clearly.  Combined with this Queen, it's telling us to consider that our first impressions are likely to be correct.  So -- don't let yourself be talked into something you don't truly believe in!  Your own experience and  impressions are most likely to be the correct call!

Hope you have a great weekend!  See you next time!

Woodsong

Beausoleil!

Hiya -- hope you had a great weekend!  Mine wore me out completely -- I am SO tired today!

Wanted to share something with you that made me chuckle.  I just learned this Friday.  (It's a long story, but has a kicky ending)

I'm half Cajun (Lousiana bayou country) and half Sicilian.  My dad (the Cajun part) was very into geneology and was always tickled about one of our ancestors, Joseph Broussard.

The Acadian people (Cajuns) originally came from the Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island area -- even parts of northern Maine (Acadia).  They were French Canadians and considered themselves Frenchmen.

As a result of the Seven Years war in the mid 1700's, the British took ownership of what was French Canada.  This didn't sit very well with the citizens of the area -- especially the Acadians.

To say they resisted the British would be putting it very lightly -- they aggressively resisted the British ... and the British violently retaliated.

During a series of "wars" (really local skirmishes), the British would deport the Acadians they captured.  They also deported Acadians whose land they took.  This forced exodus of the Acadians was the basis for Henry Longfellow's poem "Evangeline" (perhaps the most popular American poem ever -- it's a hard read, but a real tear-jerker of a story).

One of the foremost Acadian leaders was Joseph Broussard -- also known as "Beausoleil" (or "Sunshine").  Think of the Mel Gibson character in "The Patriot" and you'll get an idea of what he was.  Broussard led guerilla battles against the British for several years -- ambushing troops, cutting supply lines, even privateering.  He was pretty much a pain in the rear and was Britain's "Public Enemy #1" in the area -- although the Acadians viewed him as a patriot, hero, and a protector.

Anyway, he was eventually captured -- spent a few years being imprisoned before he was deported to France.

After a few months in France, "Beausoleil" gathered other expelled Acadians and led an immigration to Louisiana where they settled in and around the Atchafalaya Basin area.  Many families in this French region of Louisiana claim Joseph Broussard as a direct ancestor.

Of course, some of these families moved to other parts of America.  In particular, one young lady who was a Broussard descendant with the last name of "Knowles" -- she met a young man, fell in love, they married, and moved to Houston where they had two lovely and talented daughters. 

In fact, one of these daughters became a multi-Grammy winning artist who was the featured half-time performer at the most recent Super Bowl.

Yep -- Beyonce' and I share a common ancestor! (and that's the kicky ending!)

On to the reading!

Sometimes we get involved readings -- but not this time.  This is a very direct and straightforward reading.

We being with "The World" (reversed).

The World is the ultimate happy outcome -- it's what everyone strives for.  It suggests that point where you accomplish and gain the things you most want in life.  The reversal suggests we'll have to wait to attain this position.

How to get there?  Our second card is "Temperance".

Temperance is following the safe and accepted path.  Temperance doesn't look for risky short-cuts -- it takes the long-term view and the long-term path.  It might take longer -- but it'll get you there.

So -- how to best assure yourself of attaining The World?  The safe and secure path is most certain.  Live right, save your money, don't rely on risky ventures -- and you'll gain what you want in the end!  It won't be quick -- but it is pretty certain!  "Slow and Steady Wins the Race!"

More readings later -- have a great week til then!

Woodsong

Maybe It's Time to Take a Stand?

It's "Go Texan" day here in Houston!  Everyone (well, most everyone) dresses up in Western garb (hats and boots especially) as they head off to work and other daily activities.

It's all to celebrate our annual Livestock Show and Rodeo -- which lasts about 3 weeks.  Loads of country music stars and concerts every night, outdoor rides and attractions, big-time rodeo stuff (I challenge you to watch the bull-riding and not be blown away!), shows for the kiddies.  Oh -- and trail riders.

The trail-riders have been coming in from hundreds of miles away -- on horseback, with chuck-wagons, they've been camping out as they come.  The final day (today), many of the highways in Houston are full of horseback trail-riders (which means you've got to plan your driving very carefully!) 

The whole arrangement is a lot of fun -- we used to do the concerts and shows, but never seem to have the time anymore.  Have a four-year old grand-daughter that we're going to try to bring to the animal petting zoos, though. 

She's all decked out in her western finery, too.  Her nursery school is having a "Go Texan" party.


There's something about wearing a hat and boots that just makes you feel ready to "cowboy up" and take on challenges!

So ... how about a reading for the upcoming weekend?

Again, we're pulling two cards.  The first card is some basic message; the second card further explains that message.

Our first card is:

The Seven of Cups

This card is a "dreaming/thinking" card.  It suggests the time we spend playing "what-if" games in our head.  It's a good card to exercise -- this mental advance-work helps us conceive/envision future paths we may wish to explore -- or paths we may wish to avoid!

Although generally a healthy card -- this card does have a "danger" side!  This danger comes when we spend too much time dreaming "what-if" and not spending enough time making things happen.

And that's kind of what our second card is suggesting:

The Tower

The Tower suggests an abrupt change -- if you've been dithering/dathering (is dathering a word?  If not, it ought to be!) thinking about options, then maybe this is a good time to take a stand, stop the dreaming, and put things in gear to try and achieve the position you've been thinking about?

Problems at work?  Stop thinking about it -- do something about it.  Issues not working in your personal life?  Stop thinking about it -- take action!  Wondering about personal or phyical improvement -- stop thinking about it -- do something!

The real message is that by taking action, you do advance yourself ... even if you don't achieve your goal.  You learn more in the process of taking action -- which makes you that much more likely to achieve your goal next time you get in gear!

That's the message here -- hope you can spot something useful!

Have a great weekend ...

and "Go Texan"!

Celtic Pyramid

Here's a varient on the Celtic Cross spread I like to use.

Rather than laying out the cards in a cross and upright bar, I lay them in a pyramid (I don't use a signifier card).

First, read cards 1 through 10 just like you would read them in a Celtic Cross spread -- but now comes the difference.

With the new layout, cards are surrounded by other cards that can be influencers.  For instance, card 5 is surrounded by 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 9!  This gives you beaucoup opportunities to investigate dependencies.  You can look at these as weaknesses/strenghts, hold back/pull forward, fears/hopes -- whatever feels appropriate.

Once you've explored these, I like to look at shapes.

There are two "hook" shapes in the pyramid I like to use -- cards 1,2,4,5 form one hook (the pink one); cards 3,6,9,10 form the other (the blue one).

I like to read cards 1,2,4 and 5 as a group suggesting where the querant is coming from.  These cards could be a strong base for him to spring forward from -- or they could suggest problems that could be holding him back.

Cards 3,6,9, and 10 suggest what lies ahead for the querant -- what pulls him forward, his desires and ambitions.

Cards 7 and 8 suggest tools and assets he can use to acheive his forward movement or to resolve issues that may hold him back.

Don't forget about reading diagnonals, too -- especially if you find sequences of Majors in the diagonals.

The drawback of this spread is that the additional interrelationships take more time to explore -- but that's what makes this spread a good one to use for an in-depth, deep-dive reading.

Applying Tarot in a Business Setting

I used to work for a large software company as an "international technical specialist".  Sounds cool -- but all it meant was that I promised not to grumble when they'd tell me late Tuesday afternoon that I needed to be in Canada Wednesday morning!

My job was to go in to problem clients -- places where our software just wasn't working, tech support couldn't figure it out, and all our technical people were stumped.  Didn't mean that I was super-smart -- just meant that I tend to look at problems differently from most folks.

I enjoy the "thinking-outside-the-box" process -- but sometimes it became difficult to find new perspectives to a problem.  Remember, all the ordinary and obvious approaches had already been tried and failed.  Wouldn't do me any good to go there and try the normal stuff!

I had dabbled with Tarot for a while, but began to try and apply Tarot to my professional self.  Tarot helps you look at things in a new way, right?  Well the, that's exactly what I needed to be effective as a technical specialist!

I was surprised at how well Tarot and IT (Information Technology -- or computer stuff, if you prefer!) melded together.  Here's an example of what I mean:

One of my first gigs as a technical "firefighter" was for a client in England.  Their problem was that the software we sold them would crash every few days.  No one knew why and our tech support people were day-time only and in California.  That meant when the software crashed, our tech people were asleep.  When the tech folks were at work, the England customer was asleep.

I was sent to try and trouble-shoot the problem.  I didn't know much about the deep technical details of our product -- but what we wanted was a fresh pair of eyes looking at the problem in a different way.

I wanted to think of different ways of looking at the problem (again, all our tech folks had already approached the problem in the normal way -- and failed), so I drew several cards while on the plane to help me think.  One of them was the Four of Pentacles.



The Four of Pentacles (someone made me promise to always call him Mr. Grumpyhead whenever he appears!) suggests someone who has latched tightly onto a resource and keeps it tightly controlled.  He tends not to notice all the additional resources around him because he's focused inwards.

Hmmm -- how to apply this to IT?  Well, at the risk of getting technical, let me tell you about reserved memory.

It's quite common for software applications to reserve a small amount of memory that ONLY they can use.  The idea is that you'll have better performance if you rely on this reserved cache of memory than if you had to go and compete for available memory with all the other programs that are running.

Our application did reserve a small amount of memory -- usually, increasing this amount improved performance; decreasing it reduced performance.

I got to thinking about this reserved memory and the Four of Pentacles.  The Four of Pentacles thinks he's doing right by reserving his resources for himself -- but misses out on the big picture. 

Okay, so the first thing I did when I arrived at the client was to reconfigure the application to not reserve ANY memory at all.  I reduced the memory cache size to zero.

Guess what ... the application began working again -- and didn't fail!

Now, I have no idea why technically this should be the case (although I believe they eventually pinned it to a bug in IBM's operating system software)-- but the techical reasons didn't really matter.  Thinking "outside the box" -- looking at the problem in a new light courtesy of Mr. Grumpyhead -- led to a solution.

There are several books available that discuss using Tarot in professional (non-Tarot) settings -- like accounting, management, engineering, etc.  If you're interested, you might give them a look.

You can always benefit from looking at problems from a different perspective -- and that's something Tarot does very well!

Focus and Move Forward

Hope your weekend went swell! I had a wonderful weekend at Sherwood Forest Renaissance Faire -- good crowds, good shows, good company good food -- well, kind of.

Faire food tends to be your typical fried finger food stuff.  Sherwood actually has several food-vendors with atypical offerings -- problem is, everyone wants to eat there and they often run out of stuff before mid-afternoon.  I have to learn to get away earlier.

I do find good food on the way in, though.  A decent part of the hill country in Texas has a strong czechoslovakian influence (never thought of it before, but the Czech flag even looks a bit like the Texas state flag).  That means wonderful bakeries, pastries, and kolaches. 

A kolache is kind of a yeasty bread roll with a meat filling -- sausage, ham-and-cheese, bacon and eggs, etc, etc.

When I'm driving from Houston to the faire site (near Paige, Texas -- about 40 miles east of Austin), I pass a couple of fantastic bakeries.  There's a very popular one called Hruska's in Ellinger, Texas.  I don't usually stop there because it's so crowded, though.  There's a bakery I like better called Weikel's in LaGrange, Texas (if you're a ZZ Top fan, it IS that LaGrange of "Best Little Whorehouse" fame).  I'll grab a sack of either kolaches or pastries and bring them to share at the faire.  Great breakfast food!

Darn, now I'm hungry.  Oh well, better get on to the reading!

We'll again pull two cards -- we'll use the first to find some positive attribute to ponder on today.  The second card will offer a tip on how we might achieve that positive attribute.

Our first card is -- the Page of Cups.

This Page suggests that fulfilling moment we feel when we find a new emotional attachment -- like a new friendship, a new cause, a new puppy, a sappy commercial or song.  Society often frowns on showing this sort of emotion -- but it's something we all feel and shouldn't be ashamed of.  It DOES tend to make you feel human and good.

The issue with pages is that they don't usually act on their feelings.  They're kind of skittery -- they move from one thought to another and never really spend the time to let that feeling grow and develop.  Not necessarily a problem -- but it does mean they may end out missing something.

Our second card suggests ways we can better this -- Strength. 

Strength is a Trump card (one of the Major Arcana) -- it doesn't suggest physical strength, but inner strength.  Strong character, positive beliefs, good moral basis -- that sort of thing.

This sort of Strength is patient, it believes in the good in all people.  It's also honest, so it knows that there's often some "not so good" in all people, too (there are always was all of us can improve)

In this case, we want to use this Strength to latch onto a special feeling identified by the Page of Cups.  Take time to develop and explore it, to think about it, to investigate it.  Often, by taking time to dig a little deeper, we uncover undiscovered treasures we might ordinally have not seen.

Hope your week goes well -- be sure and check out my Twitter feed at @WoodsongTarot!  I never know quite what I'm going to post there until it happens -- come check it out and we'll find out together!

Yay! A Weekly Reading Again!

Whew!  It's been quite awhile -- and I do apologize for the delay!

Sometimes life kind of gets in the way and you just can't devote the time you want to the things you want to do.  Yep -- it was my turn -- but things now look a little more settled and I think I can start the reading back up again.

Just like we used to, we'll draw two cards from the deck.

The first card will suggest some positive message for the day (or a negative message we want to avoid!).  The second card will suggest ways we might best attain the benefits of the first card.

Ready?

Our first card is the Seven of Wands (Reversed).  This card suggests struggle and contention -- but doing so with every confidence of success.  This card might actually enjoy the struggle!  If we looked at this in a business setting, it might suggest a hard or prolonged sales negotiation.

The reversal could suggest several things -- it could suggest a lack of confidence that might lead you to avoid conflict ... even if that conflict were necessary for success.  An example might be a phone call you need to make to a difficult customer; the call is necessary to resolve an issue, but you might tend to postpone the call simply because you want to avoid the tussle you know will happen over the phone.

It might also suggest where you actually enjoy the conflict part so much that you continue it was past the point where it's doing you any good.  You might drive a hard (but fair bargain) with a customer -- and then continue to hammer until you get even more concessions.  This might be a good deal for you in the short run -- but may result in a lost customer in the long run.

How to avoid issues with our Seven of Wands -- we'll consider our second card:  The Emperor.

This one is an easy fit -- the Emperor is concerned about the overall long-term good for everyone ... and he's willing to take on temporary inconveniences if they'll lead to that long-term good.

So -- if you go ahead and make that difficult phone call, the pay-off is that you'll have a happier customer and an overall better business situation.  If you stop haggling with a customer when you first arrive at fair terms, you may build good-will that will yield an additional pay-off down the road.

Bottom line -- while you may think of your own considerations at first, also consider the long-term implications for your whole overall infrastructure.  This could be your business, your friends, your family, your home.

Hope to keep these going -- things have settled down a bit for me and I can devote the time necessary for these readings.  Hope you enjoy them!

"Something Not Known" Spread

This is a "surprise" spread -- we'll use one of the cards to introduce something the querant doesn't know, but will learn before too long (that's the surprise).

I lay out the first four cards in kind of a "star" shape -- but leave the fifth spot empty at first.

I then read the four cards in this manner:

1) Where you are now
2) Strengths you have
3) Weaknesses to overcome
4) Strengths others see in you

I then lay a fifth card as "something you don't know yet" -- this is the "surprise" card.

If necessary, I'll then pull a sixth card and lay it in the middle as an "outcome" card.

My first season at the faire, I offered different ranges of readings ($2 quickies, $10 readings, $20 readings), I'd use this spread for the middle range.  I quit using it because it just didn't feel robust enough -- now only offer the high-end more complete readings.  I'll now use it as a "free" or bonus spread when appropriate.

For instance, if one person in a couple purchases a reading, I may offer his/her partner this spread as a freebie if they enjoyed the first reading.

Pages -- or, "Who let the kids play with the power tools!"

Here's the thing about Pages -- they're great on coming up with neat ideas ... but they're not very effective about doing the work to implement those ideas.  Not saying they're lazy; I suggest they get so excited thinking about the potential that they never quite get around to doing anything.

I know someone who is always gushing excitement about learning to speak new languages.  She'll go to the bookstore at least twice a month and come home back with books and audio tapes/disks.  She's been doing this at least 25 years -- and the number of languages she speaks so far is ... one.  Great about getting excited about new potential, but not so great at following through.

I'm not saying Pages are failures -- you NEED that sort of excitement about a project to give you the energy to actually realize the project!  We all need Pages ... to start ... but we need other attributes to follow through.

Relationship Spread

I use this one a lot -- it has two paths leading down to a common intersection.  One path is the querant, the other is the "relationship interest".  Spread offers ample opportunity to pull additional cards to further explore various points.

The Spread:

1  What you're looking for
2  What other is looking for
3  What you want from other
4  What other wants from you
5  Weaknesses you bring
6  Weaknesses other brings
7  Strengths you offer
8  Strengths other offers
9  Result

(optional -- you can draw as many of these as is necessary)
10  What hinders result
11  What helps result

Fill the Cross Spread

Well, it's been about a bazillion years since my last post -- things have been very hectic (screwy economy!), but I think they're about to settle down for me (but am keeping my fingers crossed!)

The fourth season of Sherwood Forest Faire starts up next weekend -- I'll once again be out there in the yellow vardo doing Tarot readings!  If you have a chance to pass by (we're 40 miles from Austin, just off 290), please come and say "Hi"!

Rather than post a reading this time, I wanted to share one of the spreads I like to use.  In fact, I use this spread more than half the time at Sherwood.

It's an original spread -- I call it "Fill the Cross".  When you lay the first eight cards out, they leave a little "plus sign" or "cross" in the middle.  After reading the first eight, I lay the ninth card down on top of this "cross".

The spread lends itself well to "General" and "Career" readings.  I can also draw additional cards (if necessary) and create "spurs" off the cards along the edges to dig further if I need to.

Here's how I read the cards:

Card 1: Where you are right now

Card 2: What holds you back

Card 3: What pulls you forward

Card 4: A weakness to be addressed

Card 5: A strength to be utilized

Card 6: How you might turn the weakness

Card 7: How you might apply the strength

Card 8: What you'll see along the way

- and finally -

Card 9: What you'll see at the end

The Spread:

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.

Learn From Your Past

Hi! I hope your week's started off well! I am completely exhausted -- this past weekend was my first weekend reading at a brand new Renaissance Faire and I am totally whipped!

My gypsy vardo worked out very well -- I had half of it set up for doing private readings; I also set up a small table outside for quicker ones. It turned out that the weather was wonderful and everyone wanted to sit outside for the reading. The fair site is kind of wooded, so we had lots of shade and dappled sunlight; it was very pleasant.

The Faire as a whole did very well -- we had a full house Saturday (they had to turn people away from the parking lot!) and did almost as well on Sunday. I think they'll have an expanded parking lot for next week!


I was so busy that I forgot to take pictures -- I'll try and remember next weekend (I'll be there for five more weekends) and will post a couple of photos. Here's a photo I found that shows "part" of my wagon at least! (I'm the blue-and-yellow wagon at the top left)

How about 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:



Page of Wands






Queen of Wands







Interesting that we not only have two cards of the same suit, but they follow a progression (Page to Queen)!

The Page of Wands gets very excited about new ideas or concepts. This page will spend time and energy thinking and planning -- he becomes very envigorated over the idea. He tends to be creative -- this page likes to think "outside the box".

While this page is a great thinker and planner, he's not that great a "doer" -- mainly because he usually lacks confidence in his ideas. Let's peek at our next card and see what we can do to help out.

Well, this is certainly a "confidence" card! The Queen of Wands has earned her confidence -- by learning from her experience in prior endeavors. Doesn't mean everything always works successfully first time -- means that she's learned that obstacles can be overcome. Do this enough and you stop worrying about obstacles -- your experience begins to tell you that you did it before and you can do it again. Obstacles lose their ability to worry you -- which is where your confidence comes from.

A person who believes in themselves tends to influence those around her. If you are confident, others become so as well. That's one of the main strengths of this Queen -- she can influence others by her positive and confident outlook.

Let's put these two together -- our Page suggests you may find yourself in a situation where you're considering a new project or idea ... one that interests you. Although you may find the idea appealing, you may doubt your ability to succeed. If we let the Queen help us out here, we can let what we've learned in past experiences to help pull us through.

Have you had other endeavors in the past where you were able to work through issues? This suggests you'll be able to do the same in any future or planned project. Even projects that failed have lessons for you -- are you more capable to succeed because of past failures? Have you learned from them? Learned things to do? Learned things not to do? Frankly, the more you fail at things, the better positioned you are to succeed at your next venture! Those are lessons you cannot learn from a book -- experience IS the best teacher!

Aim First!

Hi! I hope your week's begun well ... and, speaking as an ex-New Orlean's person ... WHO DAT!!! Been waiting over 40 years to say that and really mean it -- that Super Bowl was really, really nice! Great game, too -- much closer than the score suggests. If one or two plays had gone the other way, the outcome would have been different.

I've had an interesting couple of weeks -- am just getting back from an unexpected trip to Tel Aviv! Really a nice place, nothing at all what I expected from watching US news.

Tel Aviv's a vibrant, modern, and clean city sitting right smack on the Mediterranean ... which means they've got a beach downtown! I felt safer walking around Tel Aviv than I do when I walk around many US cities! Looked and felt a lot like walking around a town in California. It was kind of hard with the time zone differences and the horrible jet lag (coming home, I left at 8:00am and got back home in Houston at 1:00am the next day!)

Delievered my gypsy wagon to the Renaissance Festival yesterday -- I'm amazed at the amount of contructon they have going on. The last time I saw the site, it was basically just woods -- now it looks almost like a Disney village (I mean that in a good way)! I'm not real good at towing a wagon and was crossing my fingers that I didn't find myself in a tight spot and having to back up to manuever. So ... of course I find part of the road blocked and have to do a whole bunch of tricky backing up to make a U-turn on a one-lane road. Not fun at all!

How about 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:




Knight of Swords



Judgement
(Reversed)







I'm sure I've said this before -- whenever I see the Knight of Swords, the phrase I think of is "Ready, Fire, Aim!"

This card is loaded with energy and is chomping at the bit to take on any issue. Energy is good, readiness is good, attitude is good -- but sometimes a little direction would help out. That's the weakness of this card -- without direction, a whole lot of action may take place ... but the issue may remain unresolved.

The trick of harnessing this Knight is to temper it with guidance and direction -- slow it down, have a plan, track progress. Try to change "Read, Fire, Aim" into "Ready, AIM, Fire"!

Let's see what suggestions our second card have for us. Judgement suggests compassion, open-mindedness, and fairness. Judgement is willing to look at all sides of a question and to try to honestly understand all involved viewpoints. It's only by carefully and fairly weighing these factors that a fair judgement is possible.

Being reversed, it's possible that we'll have troubles trying to fairly see all sides of an issue. Perhaps we're stuck to our own opinion and are closed to considering opposing viewpoints? Perhaps personality issues become involved and block us from considering fair alternatives? Perhaps we're attributing unreal reasons for competitors stands? Can you put yourself in your opponents position and see his position from his side? Maybe if you fairly try to do so, you'll see his reasons have value? Maybe he's not taking that stance because he's an argumentative blockhead! (well, okay, maybe he is ... but that doesn't mean his position isn't realistic!)

It's only after you view an issue from all sides that you can honestly say you understand the issue. And ... you really can't come up with a reasonable plan to address an issue without understanding it first. Try and do so -- and then you can turn loose that Knight of Swords!

Keep Plugging Away

Hi! I hope your week's been going well ... mine's been fine, except the power's out this morning. Transformer in back of our house blew, but they're fixing it right now. In the meantime, we get a candlelight Tarot reading!

I'm working off laptop battery and my Sprint air card -- am trying to type fast because I've only got about 45 minutes of battery left! Hope I can get it all in!

Also made great progress on my Gypsy Vardo this week -- here's a quick pic of what I have so far:


You can see more pictures and some of the construction story at Woodsong Vardo.

All the hard (ie, heavy-lifting that I got my son to do) part is done -- I just have some work to do on the inside. Hope to move it to the festival site in a couple of weekends (weather permitting).

How about we get on to that candlelight 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:

Seven of Pentacles (Reversed)

Knight of Wands

Battery's running out quickly, so I'm going to type fast and keep this to a minimum (sorry -- I'll make it up next time!)

The Seven of Pentacles is that wonderful warm feeling we have when we've made good progress on a project -- we've reached an intermediate goal, all the pieces fell into place just like we need them to, etc. Since we're reversed, we have to look at the opposite side -- how do we feel when we haven't made the progress we'd hoped to? Do you feel like you've failed -- even though the project is only partially completed? Do you feel there's no use in continuing -- that the mistakes can't be fixed? Do you feel like folks have let you down? What do you do about it?!?!?!

Our second card is our "pick me up" -- the Knight of Wands. What do you do when times get tough -- you keep plugging away even harder. What do you do when times are going good -- you keep plugging away even harder. This Knight is all about energy -- he's not concerned about temporary problems, he's looking to blow past them to reach his goal.

And that's a message we can all use. Things are NOT going to go perfectly well all the time ... we're going to hit stumbling blocks. That's all they are, though ... stumbling blocks. They're not impassable barriers. Don't get discouraged when you hit a block -- keep working to find a way around it. I think that's a secret many successful people have -- they don't get discouraged by setbacks; they keep working away to reach their goal.

And ... we should do the same! Reaching the goal is what ultimately matters.

I'm going to cut it short right there -- battery is very low. No time for spell or sanity checking (so please accept my apologies in advance for my grammar and spelling woes!). Hope things go well for you till next time!

Your Choice -- Free or No?

Hi! I hope you and yours have had a wonderful holiday season so far -- and it's not over quite yet!

I buy a lot of fabric online from http://www.fabric.com -- and just received a very nice message from them (well, it wasn't just me; it was everyone on their mailing list!). Anyway, the sender expressed a wonderful end/beginning of the year wish and I'd like to pass it along:

"We end a year and a decade that has been tumultuous to say the very least. If you are one of those less fortunate, who have suffered personal, physical, or financial loss, our collective thoughts go out to you, with a prayer that the coming year will be uplifting, rewarding and peaceful. If you have been blessed with good fortune, as we have here, please join me in expressing appreciation for those blessings by tangibly reaching out to those less fortunate."

This has been a topsy-turvy couple of years given the financial and political climate -- I hope everyone is weathering events well and I hope things look up for all of you. Let's all look forward to making this a great New Year!

I misplaced my favorite deck of Tarot cards about 2 years ago -- my original Robin Wood deck. I purchased a replacement (actually, a couple of copies), but that original deck had travelled the world with me and had visited some very special places. Anyway, I was doing some clutter-clearing and found the missing deck! I'm glad to be using it for this week's reading! How about we get to it!

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:




Eight of Swords
(Reversed)






Two of Cups






We've seen this Eight before -- to understand it, just look at the card image.

We see a woman, bound and blindfolded. She's "trapped" inside a cage of swords. We feel for her as we can easily imagine all those times we feel trapped or controlled by circumstances -- when we're unable to implement our own choices and actions.

But -- if we look at the image a little closer, we see that the cords binding her are not tightly tied -- in fact, they look quite loose. A little bit of wriggling and shifting and those bounds will fall free. Furthermore, that "cage" of swords has some fairly large gaps in it -- once free, the woman can easily lift her blindfold, slip out, and walk away free. All it takes is a little effort. Some people will not make the effort -- they'll accept the entrapment; some people will make the effort.

The same way, if we look at those situations where we feel helpless a little more closely, we'll likely find that we're not as deeply trapped as we might think. There are things we can do -- choices we can make -- that can help us break free. We always (ALWAYS) have options -- it's up to us whether or not we wish to implement them.

Since this card is reversed, we might think of situations where we're not recognizing that we do have options. If you're thinking of something where you feel helpless, like you have no control, then that's likely exactly the situation you need to review. You do have control -- all you need to do is look at things a little closer.

Our second card, the Two of Cups, offers some thoughts to help us along. This Two suggests a new (or a renewal) emotional bond. This could be a new romance or friendship, it could be a renewal of family bonds, a growing sense of your self, or perhaps clearing up petty disagreements that stand in your way. Hmmm ... petty disagreements hindering a deeper friendship sound a lot like loose bonds and a loosely-built cage, don't they? They're easy to fix -- they just take a little bit of effort -- and the payoff is valuable.

Weigh the cost against the benefits gained -- you'll likely find the long-term benefits far outway any short-term costs. We always have choices and options to make things better -- it's up to us whether or not we use them!