Seven of Wands - Faith in the Unknown Mysteries

The Seven of Wands is a card of struggle, a card of competition, perseverance and faith. Ok, so there are so many things in life we don't understand, and these can cause us to be fearful if we don't have the right kind of attitude. Faith has been an absolute essential in my life and this in turn has helped me to persevere.

 I'll be honest with you, if I came across this humdinger of a critter in the ocean I'd probably swim for the hills. But I'd also have to ask myself, how can a fish possibly be wearing lipstick? And I might well think I've completely lost the plot. I don't think I'd persevere and go back for a second look.

 This unbelievable creature is not a photo shop creation. It actually exists in the ocean, called the Red Lipped Bat Fish.

Red Lipped Bat Fish

I love this little dude, the Leafy Sea Dragon.

Leafy Sea  Dragon

Today on the radio I learned about what's called the Twilight Zone  , a place that exists in the depths of the ocean, so dark and deep, where no one has gone, until a special pressurized chamber was invented to bring these kind of incredible creatures, safely to the surface for scientists to study and then return to the ocean depths.

Often what human beings don't understand we are fearful of, we can sometimes be jealous, or simply not care less about what we don't understand for what ever reason.
But the mysteries we don't understand can hold so many answers to questions surrounding life itself, and can keep us from hubris, which usually gets us into trouble.

Human beings are not greater than nature, we are all part of nature. We don't need to lord it over nature with power and control.
It's a precarious and delicate balance between humanity, the environment and the metaphysical relationship that exists, needs to be paid attention to and we need not be in opposition with nature, if we are to survive and thrive into the future and the seven generations to come.

Many years ago I got my SCUBA certification. Diving in scuba gear in the ocean left me with such a feeling of awe that never left me. I became acutely aware of a world and ecosystem that I never knew existed. It opened my mind, my heart, and gave me a new appreciation and vision of the ocean, where I live, and my place in the world.

In this world, in this century, it's more important than ever to have faith in the mysteries of life. It's what gives us hope least we live and die without purpose.

Seven of Wands - Faith - Trust - Perseverance

Seven of Wands depicts a chaotic struggle. And it is, however order often comes out of chaos. It's been my experience that when surrender my ego to regularly working hard at applying my faith, perseverance, and prayer to my life, doesn't necessarily mean my chaos disappears, but I know I'm much more apt to be able to not simply cope. I begin to move past whatever my struggles are. I grow beyond a survival mode and excel into a thriving mode.

Mostly what I've struggled with in the past and even in my present day to day circumstances is not the struggle I'm having with "The Man" as the 60s adage goes, but it's the fight I'm having more often than not, with myself and my ego.

Seven of Wands - We Can't Stand Alone

This has been called a card of the underdog and can be seen as a situation we can all find ourselves in sometime or another, without having to play the role of the victim, in spite of the struggle. It is a card of faith. We always have the opportunity to see our difficulty, whatever it might be, as a test of our faith, urging us to rise to the occasion and to persevere.
 Of course this is easier said than done when we are going through 'challenging' experiences that I often call shit sandwiches and we can feel completely overwhelmed without a way out, but we don't have to stand alone.

Personally I have to take these kinds of experiences one day at a time, otherwise it would be easy for me to become despondent, overwhelmed and resort to coping mechanisms that would only exacerbate things, making them far worse.

My wise and faithful mother always said, " Things can only go down so far, and then they have to start coming up." I have always found this to be true.

This card reminds me to know and understand that things always change and we can have hope and assurance in knowing that out of the negative can often comes positive no matter how bad they are and we are not alone.

Seven of Wands - Are You Ready To Rumble?

I've never been a fighter in that I never beat anyone up, and was ever interested in that sort of thing. Although I loved to watch wrestling on TV with my dad, and we lived close to Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto and we'd actually go see wrestlers like Sweet Daddy Seeky and The Beast.

 When I arrived in the small home town I was born in, after living in Ontario for 15 years I took serious notice of one thing. The young teen aged girls were physically fighting with one another. It was very strange and a little scary. I felt like a powerless underdog, but my actions reflected my creative intuition that were my weapons of choice, if I was ever confronted, and this resulted in a peaceful outcomes. I also found humour was often disarming or I could simply walk away and vote with my feet.

I'm a fighter when it comes to trying to overcome fear, or when certain challenges present themselves  I force myself to persevere and I try to remain calm. It's a good feeling when I can overcome whatever it is I'm struggling with in stressful situations.

I spent the last week fighting with my printer and finally figured out how to get it working properly. This isn't a spectacular kind of accomplishment but if I can fight those little frustrating day to day challenges, I see it as a kind of creative practice. These scenarios give me the opportunity to practice patience, and to have the trust to have faith, that I can overcome, and it gives me the opportunity to increase my perseverance.  These are all the things I pray for in my life.

The Seven of Wands represents the underdog who is victorious through perseverance and faith. It not about competing with anyone, but ourselves.

Chris Hogan, Will Sasso, and Aries Spears play El Asso Wipo, Señor Bag of Crap, and El Diablo Negro, the Mexican wrestlers.

Five of Pentacles - Letting Go

The Five of Pentacles always reminds me of Persephone descending the staircase to the underworld, certainly not a fun journey, but it's not all bad either.

Daedalus isn't going to the underworld. He's however in a very dark place in his mind and spirit, wrestling with forces somewhat beyond his control, and let his ego get in the way making some really bad decisions, that has lead him here.

Things may look dismal, and foreboding but the moon is lighting his path and all is not lost. It's in his power to change his attitude and to look inward for guidance to provide him with discernment, in order to make the right decision. Indecision and is also a decision, and often waiting is the best choice until the way becomes clear.

Pentacles indicates a financial loss that presents a very difficult situation, possibly causing us to have a loss of faith in ourselves. Letting go, forgiving ourselves, and preparing to start over is the best way to get our bearings again.

What is necessary is to take inventory of how we contributed and exacerbated the problem. Then we can re-orientate ourselves on an financial level and on an inner one.    

Eight of Wands- Motivation

Oh boy, would I ever love to be swimming with the dolphins, like those we see here in the Eight of Wands.
With full sails set, Jason has safely escaped the wrath of King Aeetes. He has faced and triumphed  the over the obstacles, that are now behind him, and he is homeward bound.

I've always been very fond of Wands, but being the 'awefulizer' I am from time to time, this card tends to concern me when it comes up, the sea look rough and it indicates that everything is moving along rapidly, and that if I don't keep up, I could be left behind! Nonetheless, we are urged to be confident in our forward progress, and for me, the Eight of Wands is really a card of motivation.

 An outpouring, and a release of creative activity is implied, after overcoming tension, anxiety and difficulties. Well that's darn good news, and now, play with the dolphins!

Traveling could be ahead, but this is not necessarily a physical journey, but perhaps a kind of inner travel of the psyche, where we are given challenges that enable personal growth. Personal growth often comes to us through difficulty, meeting the challenge of competition and self-doubt. There is a correlation between conflict and creativity, and this stimulates the imagination. As a result our weakness can become our strength, and transform into further motivation, with buoyancy and the confidence to continue the journey.