Five of Wands - Rumplestiltskin

Jason is faced with having to fight the dragon, in order to obtain the Golden Fleece. He has his lover and helper, the sorceress Medea close by his side.

There are many creative ways to fight, to defeat the monsters and dragons in our lives. Having our wands a flame, shines a light in the darkness so we can see clearly what we are up against, and to find our way.
Naming our monsters, speaking their name to another, is much like describing our feelings, which can help us to understand what they are. This gives us the opportunity to know how to cope, and they somehow loose their power over us, or we can rid them from our lives.

This reminds me of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale about the of the manikin Rumpelstiltskin, who gave the young maiden gifts, enabling her to spin straw into gold for the King who eventually promised to marry the young maiden, which he did, making her Queen. The final gift to the little man, was to be her first born child, if she could not speak his name, as she did not know what it was. It was then that the young Queen summoned a messenger to spy on the little manikin, to find out his name.

When the young Queen speaks his name, the spell is broken, and the young Queen is free from the emotional bondage of the manikin, and is able to keep her new born child. The manikin tore himself apart in his rage, once she spoke his name aloud, Rumpelstiltskin.

"The devil has told you that! The devil has told you that," cried the little man, and in his anger he plunged his right foot so deep into the earth that his whole leg went in, and then in rage he pulled at his left leg so hard with both hands that he tore himself in two."

Ace of Wands - Creative Vision

The Ace of Wands is a wonderful card, great affirming news. It challenges us to get out of our comfort zone, in order to pursue what is at present, an undirected goal or what I like to call a kind of creativive vision quest. This can be daunting, because we don't know what the outcome will be, but it is exciting at the same time. We have to decide that we want to commit, to be ready, and up for the challenge. We need to believe we can achieve our creative goals.

Inspiration and new beginnings. It could be the beginning of a new enterprise.
In the Mythic Tarot we meet the King of the Gods Zeus, who Jason must obtain the sacred Golden Fleece, the symbol of creative vision. This creative vision inspires, and motivates us to move away from the confines of convention and explore new paths that open our imaginations.

Zeus is the embodiment of what all our creative vision can be, the sky is the limit, and this creative energy is a force of nature within us. Trust this creative power and energy. There is adventure ahead in the pursuit of a vision. Be brave!

Five of Wands - Struggle

Here in the Five of Wands we see Jason having to face and fight the formidable dragon, who guards the Golden Fleece. The card represents struggle.

 As an artist who wants to make good art , I am no different than any body else in that, I always need to be prepared for the unexpected  struggles in life, especially when aspiring and striving to accomplish goals. Often times, the closer we are to actualizing our dreams, the unexpected happens from out of no where, and we have to be prepared to fight that Jabberwocky dragon. We then find out just what we are made of, and how bad we want to achieve that goal. Nothing we want comes without hard work, commitment, persistence, and fighting for our creative visions. These visions can be limited by our own regressive inertia, fear of failure, or apathy, all of which represent our own inner dragon, that we need to do battle with, and cannot be avoided.. We need to rely on our gut instincts, be willing to make compromises, without sacrificing personal integrity.

Four of Wands - Reward & Harvest

Wands are the suit of action, energy, and growth. Often we can feel overwhelmed by daunting challenges and tasks. But, when we achieve these difficult tasks we feel wonderful, and can celebrate what we have achieved.

Not unlike Jason in the Four of Wands, who pursues and eventually captures the Golden Fleece, along with his trusted friends who help him, we can not do it alone, without the direct or even indirect help and support of others. The saying, " It takes a village to raise a child. " comes to my mind.

We need to find strength, creative vision, intelligence, deep feeling, and empathy; all the individual characteristics of each one of Jason's trusted friends. If not from our real friends, we can draw from our inner resources that are available to us in order to reach our goal. When we discipline ourselves, applying hard effort and work, with these resources, we will reap and harvest the rewards and we will find freedom. However, keep in mind that this is just a stage on our journey, and harder challenges lie ahead , before we reach our final goal.

No matter how big or small the challenge facing you, you can achieve it through faith, and having a belief in yourself. Breaking it down into steps helps a great deal, and the task at hand will not be so overwhelming. Try not to worry about the future, nor regret the past, as there is nothing that will drive you more crazy. Live in the present moment, and do what you need to do with concerted effort, and if you need help or even moral support, ask your trusted friends. They are sure to help you. After all, friends help friends.

Demeter is the goddess of the harvest