Page of Wands - Let Your Voice Be Heard!

The Page of Wands in the Minor Arcana makes me think of the old proverb, don't hide your lamp under a bushel.

This card indicates that you should let your voice be heard, don't be shy and speak up! Don't allow others put out your fire, your creativity, ideas, and efforts. Surround yourself with those who nurture, and are supportive of your imagination.

You may find that yourself at odds with some folks, as they could interpret your restlessness and irritability as nothing but notions, when it is simply the fragile beginnings of an emerging creative spirit.

 Pages are messengers and the Suit of Wands ( Rods) symbolize action, energy, growth, ideas, creation and expression of spirit.

The card can represent a young, lively person, full of ideas, who may be an intern or an apprentice. This card shouts the message that good news is on the way, and let your light shine!

Too many of us often have our imagination and creative spirit squelched at a young age and even into our adult life. This not only happens within families, but it happens in our educational system, which makes the world and society a poorer place to live.

We are all born with a creative spirit and imagination. It is a God given gift, and we should all do whatever we can, to develop and nurture it within ourselves, and others, and especially with and for our children.

Two of Pentacles - Balance

This Minor Arcana card, the Two of Pentacles that I drew today is appropriate, and something I find useful for me right now. It's the card that signifies balance; juggling things and the matters of life, and not loosing sight of other areas, that are in need of attention and care. We can't take on more than we can handle.

Material matters may be disrupted in some way.
Daedalus is portrayed here at the table where all the tools of his trade are spread before him. This represents if we take on too much we can loose our way. If we are to put our money and energy to work, we must be firmly grounded, in order to do so with patience and hard work, one step at a time.

Many years ago I learned to juggle with those hard rubber balls. It's not an easy skill to learn. Many folks, when they decide they want to learn how to juggle, or any other skill, think they can skip the steps needed to learn. We start with one ball at a time, one step at a time. Once we can conquer the first skill, we can move on to the next and work our way through each steps.
In a similar way, the concerns we have that pertain to our lives, like juggling this requires us to first have our feet securely planted on the ground, we need to be relaxed, so we can focus, and concentrate on the task at hand. We cannot allow ourselves to be distracted, thwarted by storms, or chaos that are going on around us. Our priorities and goals need to be clear, set in our minds, and built upon on sure footing but being light footed simultaneously.

We learn to develop a skill by watching another who is skilled. Then we are shown the skill, and we follow up with practice, which leads to mastery of the skill. It is important to have mentors, that we can learn from. But it is ultimately up to us to do the leg work necessary for us to accomplish our goals, and we can ask for help.

The key to keeping your balance is knowing when you've lost it. Anonymous

King of Pentacles - Quality Over Quantity

Among all of the Minor Arcana Court Cards, the King of Pentacles is the " General Manager " of the Universe at least this is the individual's intention. The attitude is to take charge and to be in charge.
The individual is very good at being successful,, putting ahead of anything else, the priorities of material gain, via one's organizational skills, the ability to make money, and climbing the ladder of success.

However, the warning is, that a vulnerability exists, in spite of the person's self-confidence, self-image as being powerful, and in control of their life. The higher one climbs the ladder, the further, and harder the fall.

Shortsightedness in seeing what is truly important in life, such as family life, and relationships, will hurt not only those you love, and those who love you, this will leave only loneliness, discontentment, and ultimately unhappiness, if you do not get your priorities straight. Putting material and monetary gain over relationships, will lead to disappointment, disillusion and heartache.

The warning is, we need to be careful what we wish for. Having a quality of life style, as opposed to having quantity is requires using discernment when it comes to ambition, desire for recognition, and need for material security. Power, money and our ego can corrupt. It's the choice we have to make between what is right and wrong, good and bad.

That's the bad news. The good news is, the King is mature man, at the peak of his career, successful and wealthy in a worldly position and achievement. He is a leader, a devoted husband, has the " Midas Touch ", and the gift of actualizing, and manifesting creative ideas in the world, and everything he touches turns to gold! 

King Midas

Nine of Cups - The Wish Card

The card I pulled this morning from the Minor Arcana, the Nine of Cups is a very appropriate one today after hearing very early of someone I love is very near death. I have a specific wish and a prayer for him and his family.

Commonly referred to as the ' Wish Card '. Usually indicated that the Questioner, or Seeker will be granted their wish, often in the form of a material nature, however it can also indicate the fulfillment of an emotional dream. Like the previous card I drew yesterday, the Ten of Cups signifies, peace, contentment and fulfillment.

Here, the Nine of Cups, Psyche and Eros stand face to face. There is celebration of their restored, honest and the forgiving reunion of love for one another. Aphrodite raises a cup, blessing their union.

This card represents an inner journey toward a validated commitment to, and through one's efforts of being true to values, and beliefs within and outside ourselves, come what may.

We all have wishes and dreams. Dreams are important to have in life, and we must have the firm belief in our selves to realistically actualize, and to achieve them, regardless of the struggles and obstacles, that lay ahead on the road. Some dreams, wishes and even prayers are fulfilled and answered, some are not, and they can change along the way and often have to, when there comes a realization, that we must accept, and let go of certain dreams.

Continued commitment to trust and to be loyal to our own feelings, allows us to still believe in our dreams and wishes and that our prayers will in fact be answered.

The message here is relationships and life are not about living happily ever after, whether it be with our siblings, friends, or significant other.

Life is far from perfect, nor are human beings. We make mistakes, and need to find in our heart of hearts forgiveness, toward ourselves, toward others, and toward life itself, which can seem cruel and very unfair.

We need to forgive for ourselves in order to restore our relationships, with ourselves, with others, and with the God of our understanding, in order to find peace, contentment, fulfillment and happiness.

Ten of Cups - Happiness

The suit of Cups represents feelings and the emotions. Out of all the cards in the Minor Arcana, The Ten of Cups is one of my favourites, as it is a card  of happiness, ongoing peaceful and permanent contentment in a united family, and within the realm of the heart.

Statistically the data is not so positive, reflected in our society, regarding relationships. The majority of folks are single. The divorce rates are very high, and chances of divorce, apparently become even greater, the more times we marry. It is easy to feel somewhat cynical, pessimistic and even jaded about relationships within the existing state of affairs between the sexes.

If the facts are correct, those who are married are supposedly happier than single folk. I then ask, if this is the case, why then are there not more people married?
I digress, but that said, it does not mean we can not achieve a very happy harmonious state, we definitely can, but not without work on ourselves and within our relationships.

Happiness is an inside job. No person, place, or thing makes us happy. We are responsible for our own happiness. Happiness is directly dependent on a daily practice and proportionate to being grateful, and having an attitude of gratitude, choosing to not allow the ego to get in the way. Happiness is a choice.

The Ten of Cups points specifically to a spiritual foundation, and connectedness with the Divine. The couple portrayed in the card has that divine foundation, which includes the God of their own understanding. Upon this firm foundation, they have built a deep love, giving their relationship a sustained, continued contentment, and permanence. The couple are winged, as angels, and like angels, are spiritual beings having a human experience.

 It has been said, that when we open our hearts to another, we can see the reflection of God. We pass through many tests, tribulations, trials and difficulties; life is always full of them. Honesty, humility, and acceptance, can connect us to our own souls and then, deeply to another. 

A very holy man once said, when two individuals choose to love one another, they become like two whole intersected circles, or both join one another, within one circle. This circle should expand to be inclusive and outreaching to others. The circle should not decrease, or become smaller, but should increase in size to include others in our lives, as a reflection and example of God's love.

Gretchen Rubin has a great site,  The Happiness Project that I love. I have posted one of her videos below.

Six of Pentacles - Harmony

As you can see, the fellow sitting in the chair is about to generously give his coins away to the man at his feet.

The Sixth of Pentacles in the Minor Arcana, is a harmonious card of philanthropy, generosity and the renewal of faith in one's capacities.

There is reward to be found in the giving of oneself. Benevolence toward another, and toward ourselves restores and renews our faith in the human race, and we are given a belief in who we are, and in our ability. We can be given a hand up when someone demonstrates kindness, and generosity. They believe in us, and we then can begin to believe in ourselves. We need not only to be charitable to others, but to ourselves as well.

 Often we are more ready to always give to others, and forget about taking care of our own needs. It's all about balance and being respectful toward everyone, including ourselves. We can't give away what we don't have.

We can happily accept generosity, but it is essential that we do not take advantage, thinking that we can now relax, sit on our laurels, and do nothing. We need to continue to do our part, and work hard at what it is we can do, figure out and accept what we cannot do, in a way that demonstrates our own personal integrity. Never underestimate the value and importance of small kindnesses.

The slogan that says, by giving it away, you keep what you have, is a good philosophy. At the same time it does not mean that we can expect to be rewarded for our generosity, but we need to believe that things will work out, if we have faith, in spite of our losses and struggles. We discover we can give unconditionally, which makes us better people, we can be an example to others and change lives, including our own.

Ten of Pentacles - Permanence

My apologies to my readers for having no posts as of late. My internet had been up and down, but mostly down the past few weeks, the result of power outages due to Spring snow storms, and problems with my new devices for my internet settings. Thankfully it's all good now!

In spite of nothing in this life being permanent, the internet appears to be, unless it doesn't work! One can get the impression that the internet, and our online presence will live on forever, even after we leave this mortal coil.

Ironically, the card I picked today from the Minor Arcana is, the Ten of Pentacles, the card of permanence, signifying what outlasts us, and the legacy we leave. It can be in the form of material possessions, and life achievements, that are passed on to others and the ones we love. This legacy can also be the creative ideas that endure through the example we have imparted, through our values and beliefs. These creative ideas can  also be in those tangible ways through a book, writing, a painting or other artistic achievements. What is passed on to us or to others matters greatly. What we have achieved , whether it be in material inheritance is something not to be squandered or misused. It can give us not only a feeling of security and contentment, but perhaps more importantly, it gives a deep sense of belonging, and the knowledge that we are loved.

There is a lesson that can be gleaned here, in that we need to pass along, or pay it forward, what is so freely given to us.

Today I saw the return of the Canada geese on my frozen over salt marsh. They come every Spring, and that seems also to be permanent. I hope for their return always year after year.

The one thing that is always permanent is hope, which really does spring eternal, in spite of the storms of life that come our way. It is my hope that Spring will always come again.