Two of Pentacles - The Adventure of Little By Slowly

Daedalus stands at his table working on his skills and using the tools of his trade. Decisions are to be made and decisions made in the past have lead to his present circumstances that have benefited him.

Having the tools in hand, to get the job done, we can continue to build a good foundation, one the skill at a time. The challeges ahead will be accomplished if we use discernment in choosing the right tools, and apply ourselves to achieve our goals.

 Sometimes it is easy to get impatient, and ahead of ourselves. We want everything yesterday or immediately, and may even want to give up, especially when we are closest to our goal. Slow and steady wins the race. Little by slowly we can reach our destination. Perseverance, trust and a little prayer goes a long way.

There is always a risk involved if we want to grow.  Adventure in growth is often scary. We can't control the outcome, and the unknown can cause us to be fearful, especially when there are road blocks and hurdles along the road.

Regardless if we succeed or fail life lessons will be learned and confidence will be gained. True it can be a balancing act, in that we should weigh the pros and cons. Sometimes we have to throw caution to the wind, have faith, we need to trust and believe in ourselves.

Conflict, Strife, and Sorrow Versus Self-Esteem, Self-Confidence, and Hope - Three of Swords

I've been gearing up for the coming year and attempting to clarify what it is I want to accomplish. Goals are very important to me, and have become more so the older I get, and the tangible-measurable objectives that I make in order to achieve the goals I've set.

The actions and reactions based on my decisions of the past, influence the goals I choose today.
The Three of Swords speaks of strife, conflict and sorrow. I've had enough of that in life, and the New Year is a great time to take stock, to take an inventory of the past year; to looking ahead to make the coming year free of negative events and full of positive happenings. This may sound idealistic to some.

I understand  very well, I can't shield myself from all things negative in life, believe me I've tried, and failed miserably. What I can do is change my attitude toward those events of conflict, strife and sorrow. I don't have rose coloured glasses on, nor am I a complete Pollyanna, though I do like her. My outlook these days is somewhere between George Jones and Pollyanna. I think those two would get on quite well.

I have been very blessed in my life to have had the opportunity to learn how to change my attitude and my behaviour. There is nothing too easy about it, but so very worthwhile trying, and then finding you have managed to overcome, and this makes me happy because it increases my self-esteem, and confidence. Mostly what it does, is give me hope for the past present and the future. I do not attribute this to my own wisdom, but to other individuals that have set the example and helped me along my path.

When I was studying Art Education in University, and during my training in as a Youth Care Worker, one of the lessons that helped me immeasurably was learning  how to set goals, and measurable objectives. There is a good acronym that can help me do this. S.M.A.R.T. Smart, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time bound, are the descriptive adjectives these letters represent.

I think is is essential I put pen to paper, write out my goals, and then describe the objectives that are the action steps I will take, to achieve these goals.

The negative in life allows us know and appreciate the positive. If I can improve, build upon, and focus on the positive, I think this keeps the conflict, strife and sorrow at bay, or at least some what manageable.

Ending on a positive note, I just finished putting my Christmas 'ornies ' away and am ready to embrace New Year and start writing down those goals and objectives today, because there is 'hope for the hopeless!'

Seven of Swords - Honey Moon & Friday The 13th

The Seven of Swords is an very affirming and timely card for me this Friday the 13th and the rising of the of the Honey Moon. It is also the final card in my study of the Minor Arcana of the Mythic Tarot. It is the strongest card out of the suit of Swords. Representing brains over brawn.

 Honesty may not always seem to be the best policy in life, we do need to be diplomatic and tactful in our dealings with others. We may think we must resort to guile, subterfuge and unethical behaviour, and sometimes we feel the need to do what is expedient for self-preservation.
However crystallizing our goals and making a concrete plan to achieve what it is that we want, will point us in the right direction, if we use diplomacy, and are tactful in our approach when interacting with others. I don't believe we must be or need to be deceitful.

We have successfully solidified our ideas, and have clarified long and short term goals and objectives in order to actualize our vision.
Be forewarned however, do not over-analyze, over-plan, least you get lost in the details and loose your focus.

Trust in your own ability, and capacity to solve your problems logically, this is paramount. It's time to execute your plan and move on to the new stage, which leads to success and accomplishment. The time for theory is over. Make a plan, turning your ideas into reality, this is what is needed now.

Seven of Pentacles - Decision

The Seven of Pentacles represents material progress here and some difficult decision is to be made, in this situation. The opportunity to take a new direction is presented to you, and there is a need for reflection on what you have achieved, and obtained up to this point, take an inventory, so you can decide what direction you want, or need to take in the future.

 There is often risk in taking new opportunities. If you decide to not engage in risk, you may take the safer softer way, but may find yourself stagnating, and unhappy.
Taking a break to contemplate, is a good idea, in order to evaluate, and assess your present circumstance.

You reap just what you sow, which you have done. Enjoy the fruit and rewards of your efforts, however take some time to assess with care and forethought, to make certain you are achieving your goals.

The Minor Arcana and Creative Donkeys

I have been drawing a card a day in order to help me to learn about, and to get familiar with the cards. Today's drawn card was very appropriate for me, and I definitely got the message!

In the days to come, each day, I will be going through and posting each of the remaining 56 cards, which are called the Minor Arcana, these 56 cards, out of the 78, from the Mythic Tarot Deck  and workbook written by Liz Greene and Juliet Sharman-Burke, tell of the common events in our lives - the people, events and forces we encounter every day.

As you can see, working with 78 cards in a deck, there is a lot to remember! It's essential to study, and become familiar with the cards, however it's not about memorizing each card, and meaning. I am pretty hopeless when it comes to memorizing, and have always been this way, so I can't blame it on my age! You could memorize each card and meaning, but a good reader, this does not make, nor does it make for a good reading necessarily.

There is an intuitive relationship with the cards, that happens over time, with experience, encountering each  card, and with regular reading, as often as possible.  Giving a reading with too much information, is overwhelming for the seeker, and for the reader as well I believe, so I want try to keep it simple, succinct and hopefully we will learn together.

Today's drawn card was very appropriate for me, and I definitely got the message!

The Six of Wands is a card that symbolizes reaching a goal worked toward with great effort, and finally it has been achieved. It's vital not rest on your laurels, because there is still lots of work to do!

The suit of Wands represents growth, creative energy, action, ideas and expression of spirit. Creatively moving forward, results in fruitful rewards and benefits.

I won't get too personal here, suffice to say, I know there is an important message here for me to internalize and actualize. I will to pay attention, listen and apply the suggested message given!
I'm a creative donkey!