Page of Swords - Reason - Curious and Energetic

My thoughts lately and especially today, have been like the Page of Swords in that my thoughts are quickly darting around in my sometimes befuddled mind.

What I especially love about this Page is the message of being curious and energetic. These two characteristics reflect some of what creativity means to me.
Right now I am full of thoughts and ideas about the things I need and want to do, along with all those objectives and goals I have set for myself within the next six months or so.

 When I think about all the things I have to do, it can suddenly feel a little daunting and overwhelming, having so many items on my list. Which reminds me I need to make a list!

I once had one of those bookmark/fridge magnet thingy(s) with very helpful and practical wisdom about how to get yourself together, unstuck, uncluttered and organized. I wished I could find that thingy. This wisdom is specifically in reference to all aspects of life, mind, body and spirit.

One way I can keep this simple is in knowing and reminding myself that, if one area of my life is out of sync with the other parts, I'm out of balance. I can know this on an intellectual level, but to truly know it, I have to make that connection, often it's the longest journey that lies between the head and heart.

Now with the internet, bookmarks and fridge magnets that have such pearls of wisdom on them, might not be in such demand, or have gone the way of the dodo, but I still like them. There is however a copious amount of such helpful information available to the person who is searching for a way to get things done, when life feels overwhelming.

Dan Waldschmidt has one such great list called of 12 ways to get things done when life feels overwhelming.

A Day of Tarot Reading with a Gaggle of Great Gals

Last week I had the very great pleasure of gathering in a beautiful house, that had been very graciously offered for me to give a full day of Tarot readings to group of six wonderful women whom I so enjoyed spending the day with reading their cards. 

Reading Tarot cards is so much about connecting with people, whom most times you don't know, and I find it to be such a rewarding experience involving a deep exchange of thoughts, ideas, and feelings leaving me rejuvenated and happy. It's always my purpose to leave individuals I read for feeling the same.

Over the past eight plus years of learning, and studying about Tarot as a reader, I have found it to be a very positive and satisfying experience for my clients and I have received some wonderful generous feedback, with one or two exceptions to the rule. This always had to do with those requesting readings were in fact not open to having a reading done which made me wonder why they made the request in the first place as they were very closed off, and it was reflected in their readings.

The cards never let me down in providing insight that reflects our most profound conflict, needs and aspirations, both to me and to the individual I am reading for, be it face to face or online. Often during face to face readings there are always some laughs and/or sometimes tears shed, and as Joni Mitchell's song says, crying and laughing are the same important and normal release.

Whenever I have to opportunity to give a reading, it enables me to take the opportunity to educate others and clarify exactly what Tarot is, and what it is not. There are so many misconceptions, misunderstandings and falsehoods that are perpetuated about Tarot, that it has become a very significant part of my own personal mission to dispel these, so individuals can receive the optimal and greatest benefit from their individual Tarot reading, and that I am able to provide for them some tools of discernment that will help them to know the difference between a good reader and one that is lacking.

Nothing bothers me more, than when I hear people tell me the first and last reading they had was one in which their Tarot reader had given them news of an impending death or other bad news.

The ethical reader would never, ever do this, as the first and foremost ethic of the Tarot reader is to do no harm, and to make it clear to the client just how Tarot cards works.

Tarot will give insight into personal growth, increase confidence in decision making, or in other areas of our lives, and can enable personal transformation.


"The way Tarot ' works ' in a predictive sense is as a kind of mirror of the psyche. The archetypal nature of the images strikes hidden, unconscious chords in the card reader, and reflects unknown knowledge or insight in relation to the client's situation-thus apparently revealing things which could not possibly, in any rational way, be dis-cover-able. This is why ' clairvoyant ' or psychic ' powers are not a prerequisite for a sensitive reader, but rather, an awareness of the archetypal patterns or currents at work in life reflected by the images on the cards."

Tarot can reveal where you are presently, how you got there and where to best focus your energy, and we will explore opportunities for clearing obstacles and meeting challenges on your path by focusing on and activating your natural abilities and capacities.

Page of Swords - Choosing Our Response

I said yesterday during a reading that I didn't much like this card, the Page of Wands that I drew a few times, and did again today for my daily draw. The reason I had a negative response to this card was because, I imagined a person(s) engaging in hurtful and spiteful gossip, someone irritable, full of resentment and who is emotionally immature regardless of their age and it made me angry to think of others being so hurtful toward those, they know nothing about, nor their circumstance in life. We all have our own life story, and we are all carrying our own burdens.


Many of these hurtful folk are emotionally arrested in their development in one way or another, and are very uninformed. But looking closer, I saw that it was simply my opinion in relation to some of the readings I was doing for clients. I realized even more than before, that there are no bad cards, but I was judgmental in my response.

I am also one of those individuals who believes that there are also no bad people.There is however certainly bad and appalling behaviour that causes great suffering throughout the world.
I know this sounds naive and even foolish to some, but for me, it's not about taking another person's inventory in judgement, but about talking my own inventory, and about choosing my response to people hurting others or myself.

People are not born behaving badly, they become this way a result of what has happened to them in their own lives, and how they have chosen to respond to it all. There is always the hope they will choose to change their behaviour. In the mean time, I can always choose how to respond to others who are hurtful with forgiveness and without resentment. I know this is much easier said, but it can be and is done.

I spent yesterday with a group a beautiful strong women doing a Tarot reading for each one. I was deeply touched by them and was reminded how the bond between us was very much about our shared human search for meaning. We all are asking the question why things happen to us. I am of the opinion that the question of how we choose to respond to what happens to us in life, is the more important question to ask.

I was so glad to hear that there would be a program on CBC Radio this morning about Viktor Frankl
and his incredible life changing book, Man's Search For Meaning. This is a book I have never read, but I soon will, because fortunately I was able to find it available online, and I downloaded it in a PDF and I am very much looking forward to reading it. I am certain it will help me to answer that question of how to respond to what happens in my life.

Queen of Swords - The Huntress of Perfectionism

The Queen of Swords embodies the mythic figure of Atalanta the Huntress, who was born the child of King Iasus who'd wanted a male child, not a female. She was rejected and abandoned by her father, left on a hillside, but was rescued and suckled by a bear, who was sent to her by the moon-goddess Artemetis-Hecate.

This card urges us to think before we act, to use our intelligence, to be perceptive and brave. She can seem cool, distant and even calculated. This impression can be seen in her deportment and surface identity. Upon closer look there is an individual who has a great depth of character and influence as a brave woman, and a quick thinker. This Queen, with very high ideals, strives for perfection.

However her high standards may be difficult for many of us to live up too. Her perfectionism, can cause a kind of loneliness, as a result of her unrealistic expectations of others that fall short of her idealism. She is always making an effort to prove herself, and projects this on to others, as a result of her once having been expected to be perfect but failed in doing so.

The message found in the Queen of Swords is that we are human, and therefore vulnerable to being hurt. We may demand superhuman perfection from others and from ourselves, but it more than likely will create problems for us.

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.