Queen of Wands - Beautiful Strong Woman

The Queen of Wands represents having the purpose, mission and goals to aspire to be all that I can be as a creative person. She is a woman of action and focus. She strategically uses methods to actualize her objectives in order to realize her goals. Her purpose and mission directly reflects her values and what she stands for and against.

I think she is my favourite Queen, being spirited and inventive with a strong creative imagination that sustains her chosen goals. Today is the perfect day to draw this card.

Penelope is the embodied mythic figure here who is influential, full of vibrancy, exuberance and holds faith in her intuition and heart. She has a deep conviction that all will turn out right in the end.

Penelope as the Queen of Wands becomes the warmth of the hearth fire, and has been called the Sunshine Lady, bringing light and love to the people around her. She is the ancient image of the 'superwoman'. That said, she is not the type to chase after rainbows or fantasies, but has a down to earth practical stability. She  who is self-contained, and is a beautiful strong woman with, tireless energy.

Four of Swords - Trust Your Intuition

Swords are about the mind, the intellect and using rational thought to direct you in your decisions. Up front I am not a sword kind of person. Oh I love a thinking with clarity and using my mind, especially when it comes to life long learning, but only if it`s balanced with the intuition.

Sometimes you can make decisions based on rational thought, and that can be a good thing, but you might also have such and overwhelming intuitive sense about a particular person or situation, that far out weighs, over and above any logical thought you might have. You may also think, perhaps I am being too quick to make a decision and you hold back, if your intuition isn`t working so good. But when intuition surrounds your heart, soul and gut, well you need to listen to it.

This is exactly what happened to me this past week, my intuition antenna was picking up signals loud and clear. The Four of Swords is a great reminder and confirmation that I did the right thing, even though it wasn`t something I could completely explain in a logical way, and could have doubted myself. My decision was based on some rational and commonsense reasons, but I generally based my decision on my strong overwhelming intuitive feelings that I could not ignore.

In the past if I didn`t trust my intuition, it was when, I`ve got myself into trouble. This isn`t what I like to call new age ``woo woo` thinking, but something very real, important and shouldn`t be ignored.. Trust your gut, it will give you strength by way of your inner reserves. Our intuition comes to us through exploring creativity, dreams, synchronicity and by having trust in it`s ability to guide and give us insight into the unconscious and subconscious.

I realized that because I have continuously and increasingly trusted my intuition over the years, and especially through my Tarot readings my intuition has become strong and has served me well and continues to so.

The Four of Swords depicts Orestes in exile at Phocis withdrawn from the world, and in a contemplative state allowing for recuperation and stability.

 This card causes me to reflect on the Indigenous First Nations, Four Directions that represent North, South, East and West that are symbolic of the basic needs, Belonging, Mastery, Independence and Generousity.

Five of Wands - I'm Not Wonder Woman?

Here we see Jason taking on the dragon who protects the Golden Fleece. Medea his lover and helper is close by his side to help him, with her three flaming wands. In life we all have our own personal dragons to slay. I call them shit sandwiches. Not one likes them, we hate them, unless you're addicted to a constant state of hyper-vigilance, which many people are, having grown up in chaotic and dysfunctional families, never knowing what's going to happen next.

Often the concealed lesson that lies within these dragons and sandwiches, is a revelation of exactly what we are made of when we find out our depth of character. But there's nothing easy about it.

The outcome isn't always positive, if we realize that we might be emotionally and/or morally bankrupt, collapsing under all the pressure, and we are paralyzed with a regressive inertia or fear of failure. We might even want or act on feelings of revenge or blame ourselves for having a meltdown that leaves us feeling like a very weak person.

This state I describe as being sick and tired of being sick and tired. I have to let go and turn it over to the universe of the God of my understanding, and ask for help. Sometimes we simply need to get a backbone and be our own heroine or hero and fight. It's a remarkable thing what having a little faith can do, one step at a time. I don't have to solve everything immediately, and I don't have to do it alone. I do have to decide to make some kind of compromise.

When I think I can solve these kinds of battles and struggles on my own, this is when it gets me into real trouble. I'll cut my nose off to spite my face, deluding myself into thinking I'm Wonder Woman! I accepted a while ago that I'm not Wonder Women, but I still have to remind myself of this fact now and again.

This doesn't do anything to change the fact that we'll still have dragons to slay, and shit sandwiches to eat, but if so, find someone to help you slaughter that savage beast, and get yourself an olive. It just might help the sandwich go down a little easier.

Poseidon Gettin' Jiggy With It!

Being the God of fertility, Poseidon will cause you to feel the earth move beneath your feet. His amazing power and raw energy gives birth to a new creative vision that embodies courage and fearlessness.


Poseidon is a natural born, legendary hero, the lord of the physical universe and transforms the immense creative potency and manifests it into the world, which is reflected in an individual's ability to acquire possible material achievement through ambition.

I think this card embodies the combination of having creative vision, and the ability to make money in business.

The head line of this post of course is a joke, but if anyone was up for the job of gettin' jiggy with it, it would be him, who could more than fill the bill, being a fertile kind a guy. Dr. Evil he's not, and he's doesn't need a Mini Me.
 Poseidon's knows the who, what, why, where, when, and how of the hard knock life.

The Hanged Man - What's the Slow Sacrifice? Hurry Up and Wait!

Hurry up and wait, is the common saying you'll hear, usually when we're in a hurry, trying to meet a deadline,but have to wait in a line-up some where. This saying describes the frustration and impatience we can feel when we're caught up in some kind of bureaucratic red tape, or stuck in a traffic jam. We do everything needed to meet our end, but other circumstances dictate the outcome and there isn't much we can do about it..

Hurry up and wait is a contradiction of terms for sure, and The Hanged Man can also seem the same, if we don't see the deeper relevance in our lives. On one hand, it looks to be a card of shear agonizing suffering, though the look on Prometheus' face is serene and peaceful. He is not fighting his situation and has surrendered to the circumstance he's in. He's hanging upside down in the blistering sun, not to mention an eagle is about to eat his liver! Ack!

Prometheus, according to Greek myth, made all the earth out of his own tears, having a deep sympathy for all humankind and has to accept that he must wait in darkness. His sacrifice is for the greater good, trusting in the unseen mystery, in hope of a new and better life for everyone.

At some point in we all make sacrifices, whether we want to or not. Some are self-imposed, others voluntary, and some are born out of circumstances beyond our control. We are often abruptly stopped in our tracks, are forced to slow down, and are perhaps we're not aware until later, that we have been given the gift and opportunity to take stock of our lives and to take inventory of ourselves.  

We now have an opportunity to slow down and really smell the roses, notice little things we never took notice or have taken for granted. We can now see the beauty or even accept the ugly things we can't change.

King of Wands - Heroic Quality

The King of Wands might be the man of my dreams. He represents creative vision, imagination, and a romantic soul. A soul that is guided by a force greater than himself, and symbolizes the influential true spirit of leadership, that is forward looking with great enthusiasm. He is both noble and strong. The King of Wands is what I'd call a man's man, a manly man. ;)

He sets the example of what it means to be a hero. The down side would be that he has a fiery temper, a rather impulsive nature, and can be impatient with others limitations, as he expects humans to rise to the occasion, in order to reach their full potential, and to actualize their capacity in all that they do, so humanity might be more than it is.

Represented by the mythic figure of King Theseus of Athens, he accompanied Jason on his adventure in pursuit and capture of the Golden Fleece. He is willing to do what ever it takes to reach his goals, is courageous and demonstrates many heroic qualities.

The Hermit - Solitude and Silence

The Hermit is the last of the moral lessons the Fool must learn. The lesson of time and the limitations of mortality, and to know and accept that human beings are all ultimately alone. It might sound cynical to say, but there is no 'happily ever after', and there is no one to rescue us to 'make it all better.'

Living in a very rural, coastal and rather isolated place lends itself to really getting in touch with my 'inner hermit'. If I didn't know and accept, deep within myself that this was true, I would've never decided to live here. The silence would be deafening, and the solitude would feel like a kind of confinement. and I'd have to leave.
 It's a conscious decision to self-impose solitude and silence, no matter where we are. If a person isn't comfortable in their own skin, such a psychological introspective location of the mind will never do.

The Hermit is a card I rarely draw, but I am reminded that for me today, it's arrived at just the right time. Regardless if one is alone or in a relationship, it's essential be comfortable, and to even want to spend time alone. It is during this alone time when and where we renew ourselves, and can be quiet enough to hear that quiet voice that has important things to say to us, gives insight, wisdom and discernment in making decisions. 

Taking the time to make solitude and silence a priority in our busy lives enriches our relationship with spirit, with others, and with the God of our own understanding.

Page of Wands - Enthusiasm and Discovery

The Page of Wands is an encouraging card, full of fiery creative spirit and life, imagination, and energy all flow from a place of inspiration and to move forward with enthusiasm and discovery. It is also represents the irritable, unrealistic and restless youth, Phrixus.

This personality needs to be tempered, because the temptation could be to dive in without forethought, and there is a risk of messing the whole thing up, however risk can be a very positive thing that enables growth.

This youth often provokes others and causes problems in one's personal life and work. Here in lies the warning message, look before you leap, and think before you act.

The wisdom of age needs to comes into play. The youthful spirit may not allow for the foresight in his approach to risk, and so careful consideration is required.

As the old saying goes, pride comes before a fall and the childishness that revolves around the ego of immaturity can be the default regardless of one's biological age.

This card makes me think about a saying my mother would always say. "Youth is wasted on the young."
The positive aspect exhibited by Page of Wands points to the power of the imagination and knowing that there is much more where the initial creative idea came from.

Three of Wands - The Humus Pile

Humility is the main theme of the Three of Wands. I'll call it the humus pile, because the three aspects of this pile comprise of three things, like the three wands, humility, humour and being human. The root word of all these words is humus.

We see here King Pelias who usurped Jason's position as King while he was gone, and now Pelias humbly returns to Jason his rightful crown that he stole and now willingly abdicates.

Jason appears to be almost handing Pelias the wands he is holding. 
 Pelias might not find this all so funny right now, but hopefully after learning this lesson he will be able to see the humour of this situation in the future, learning to laugh and forgive himself for being human.

The Three of Pentacles card is such a good reminder.
There is still much room for the development of creative ideas. Hard work lies ahead. Although there is initial completion with strides made, one can't get complacent, self-satisfied, arrogant, deciding this is as good as it gets, having attained a level of accomplishment.

True humility and open mindedness are essential in life. They act as motivators and antecedents to growth to ensure the continuation of creativity. We are always learning lessons, if we are passionate about what we are doing. At the same time, acknowledgement and respect for others accomplishments allows for humility and responsibility.

Ten of Swords - Do You Need a Reprieve?

Lately I can't seem to get away from Swords in my daily draw of Tarot cards. This card makes sense to me today because I had a bit of a reprieve from my nagging problems, like the Furies that have almost done poor Orestes in.

There's not a human being alive that hasn't been through low points in life and sometimes there's nothing else left to be done except a divine intervention of sorts. Some people might consider it luck that changes, or somehow turns around. It could be a change in attitude toward one of optimism and hope, in spite of what negative events are happening. This isn't easy, being hopeful in the midst of crisis when we feel despair.

For me, it's been a habit of having hope that I've tried hard to work at over the years, to keep my sense of humour, and to remember I'm human. I've also needed to see things from a perspective in knowing that things could always be much worse, and to be truly grateful. Living one day, one hour, and sometimes one minute at a time, has made a big difference in how I approach problems.

For many, especially those under violence and persecution throughout the world, who are imprisoned for their beliefs, often times some how find the strength to rise above it all and are able see the beauty in life, in spite of their circumstance. 

I heard one such beautiful 50 year old woman by the name Marina Nemat yesterday, on the CBC Radio Ideas program entitled, Hope Within Horror who talked about how she'd come to see the beauty of life after being imprisoned and tortured in the most notorious Iranian Evin prison, when she was only 16 years old.  It was remarkably inspiring and moving to hear her speak, and sure put life into clear perspective.

Marina Nemat

 "That is humanity -- when we love despite evil, when we care despite evil, when we stand against evil with what can fight it the best. Evil cannot fight evil. My friends taught me that even in a place like Evin Prison, there is a clear road to humanity. And I will never ever forget that"
- Marina Nemat

Six of Pentacles - A Happy Harmonious Day!

The Six of Pentacles is a card of harmony, renewal, a restoration of faith and today, for me it is a card of synchronicity that I've drawn this morning.

 The image seen depicts Daedalus on his knees in front of King Minos of Crete, who presents Daedalus with six golden coins, and is given recognition by the King, who has kept his word, and followed through accordingly with his generousity, sharing his money, and rewards Daedalus after having completed a job well done.

In this life we are not always rewarded for good behaviour. We are often punished for doing good things. Many are rewarded for behaving real bad, like certain politicians I can think of right now...starts with a T ends with a P ;) On the other hand is a heartening thing when we see those who do good,  are rewarded and to see that there is justice in the world.

The online virtual world can be a wonderful way to connect with people almost instantly, and there are many advantages. However there can also be many draw backs. Much of the time you don't always know who you are connecting with, especially when it comes to doing business, because sometimes people don't keep their word, are unkind and even cruel. It can be disheartening, disillusioning and can leave you feeling rather hopeless and cynical about the human condition..

  It's a real good thing to be hopeful toward others and especially with those whom you to do business. It's essential have faith in your own capacities, but it is also essential to have a discerning and wise perspective.

I'm happy to report my faith in humanity and life has been restored today. I have a renewed faith in my own capacity as an artist.
It's a happy harmonious day!