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.

Seven of Pentacles - Feminine Creativity Vs Masculine Creativity

I've been re-reading my book The Heroine's Journey, thinking and learning whole lot more about my creative purpose and about business.

Daedalus, who is no doubt full of masculine creativity and seen here being propositioned by Queen Pasiphae in the Seven of Pentacles.

When we are offered an opportunity, be it in love or business there are always hard decisions to make that will enable us to either earn and keep our autonomy, or result in us compromising our beliefs, disregarding our dreams and maybe even our soul. We have to decide if we will take the safe path, or the one that takes risk and inspires.

Taking the safe path, so as to not put our financial security at risk or to not threaten some other kind of status-qou can initially appear to be advantageous, but in the long run we will live life feeling unsatisfied,  unfulfilled, unhappy and lost. Whatever we decide to do, monetary gain, ego gratification or power should not be the sole motivation.

Finding our creative purpose will not be revealed on the safe path, but will be found in the creative feminine that allows things to happen naturally.

It is said that "where masculine creativity tends to move forward, feminine creativity tends to turn round on itself, not circularly so much as spirally."

My creative purpose in life, like the heroine's journey is not something that's forced, and I must trust the mystery of this manifestation.

The Hermit - Who's In Charge of Your Attitude?

Generally my attitude toward life is to know I am blessed, especially because I see how much I have to be grateful for. Don't get me wrong, there are days when I can feel like, well what my late husband use to describe feeling like re-fried shit, and needless to say, on those days my positive attitude can be lacking, if not non-existent.You get the picture.

There are also many days when I feel really blessed, especially when I know the universe and the God of my understanding provides a day of synchronicity and where I get the clear message that whispers to me, "you are blessed." I love those days!

This is the kind of day I had today.  My day started with learning about Charles Swindoll. Actually with Marie Forleo, who told me about Charles Swindoll.  He said this. 

"Life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it."


" The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, gift, or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes. 

Charles Swindoll 

Next thing that happened was I got to do my laundry. I know I must sound like I've gone completely doolally, but no I haven't. Why doing my laundry made me feel so blessed was because for many months I have had some serious plumbing issues, and I haven't been able to get fixed for one reason or another. My sweet neighbour friend Tex that I'd blogged about, who had been on the program Canada's Worst Handyman,  and who had magnificently fixed my plumbing problem. 

I have had a washing machine for some time now, that was very generously given to me. But because of my plumbing issues, I haven't been able to do any laundry, unless at someone else's house. 

Today my friend Tex once again arrived to install more pipes, and to hook up my washing machine! I was never so happy and excited to do laundry in my life! I wasn't able to pay him, but he was thrilled to be given one of my horse portrait oil paintings, an old bike I no longer used, that he was going to give his wife, and a brand new sweet kitty for his little daughter. It made me feel so good, twice blessed really.

So what does this have to do with Tarot? Drawing The Hermit this evening was a confirmation, and an affirmation. The lamp that Cronos, the ancient god, whose name means time, carries the lamp of insight and understanding, gleaned from being alone and having a willingness to patiently wait. With this, comes a wisdom, a developed mind and heart, a firm sense of identity, and a deep respect for one's own limitations. And for the blessing of being in charge of my attitude today, I'm very grateful.

Queen of Cups - ' This Is Love Not Fear '

The second Queen that has come up for me this week. The Queen of Cups is a very special one, because she is the Queen who represents the emotional life.

I am no intellectual. I do however have a deep thirst for knowledge, and life long learning, essential to my intellectual intelligence. Because I am person who has a stronger emotional intelligence, rather than intellectual intelligence, my emotional life is of great import to me.

 The workings of the inner life isn't about always wearing my emotion on my sleeve, but being able to know, understand and feel compassion, vulnerability and peace. I believe living a creative life is also manifested through emotional intelligence.

Today I saw this beautiful interview, done by Marie Forleo, with her mentor and Yoga teacher, Colleen Saidman. What she spoke about truly struck a deep a chord within me. I realized what she conveyed, was all that the Queen of Cups embodies and inspires, like the Queen of Cups, 'she allows beauty and sadness to touch her, as she knows this is love not fear.'

Three of Wands - The Work Ahead

It was my mother's Birthday yesterday. She would have been 103 years old. My mother was my mentor, my inspiration. She had a saying, that she would often repeat to me. " You can only go down so far, before you start to come back up." My mother set a great example for me, of what is means to have inner strength, fortitude, perseverance, and persistence.

 I heard something today from Marie Foleo. She spoke of what her mother use to say. " Everything is figureoutable." This has stayed with me all day.

When we have a dream, and a goal it can be overwhelming, and we can begin to doubt that we are ever going to be able to achieve it. It helps a whole lot to be aware of how to break things down in measurable, realistic, achievable steps, and objectives. Many of us grow up not knowing how to do this, and have to learn it from someone who has been there, and continue learning.

Tonight after drawing the Three of Wands, it became clear to me. It was an affirmation and a confirmation as  being a positive and hopeful card, indicating the initial stages of substantive ideas or project, and the satisfaction that comes with this, but at the same time, it clearly points to the work ahead. The card is a good reminder that the follow through is going to involve  creative confidence at the start, but then creative potential and fulfillment can come to a stand still, if we can't accept and allow for the tests that challenge and stretch our ideas as individuals. We cannot allow ourselves to give up, all because we are feeling overwhelmed and burdened by fear of failure or perhaps fear of success.

This is what life is like, lots of emotional ups and downs, hurdles to jump over, and under. We must find ways to go around, bob and weave. But we need to keep going, keep hands on the plow, and our eyes on the prize. Because I know, understand and believe that everything is figureoutable, and you can only go so far down before you start to come back up. This allows us to negotiate from a position of strength.