Ten of Wands

A little while ago, about a week ago, I drew the Ten of Staves as a daily card. It stayed on top of my deck until recently because it was just such a powerful and important card for me at that time. 

For starters, the Ten of Wands - as, I image is the case with most "ten" cards - is another card in the deck that heralds the end of a cycle, a time of being near completion, having come to close to achieving one's goal. It can me that you are shouldering a heavy burden or responsibility, but that you are in the home stretch.

Another way of looking at the card is an indication that you are maybe taking on more than you can handle. You can't say "no" to more responsibilities (be they stressful and/or fun), and you are burning out. You are you trying to do too much or you are not doing what you need to to support yourself in order to be successful. I see a figure who is exhausted and overwhelmed, and maybe who needs to just take a fucking rest for a minute before picking up all those burdens again and moving towards the destination once more.

I call this "the self-care card." That is, at least, exactly what my first impression was upon reading the LWB which came with the Tarot Mucha. When I pulled this card on April 19th, I had that same immediate read on what the card was telling me. Not only have I been really busy with school, work, internship, the community garden, and more, but I've also been undermining myself with too much beer and not enough sleep. I was coping with my stress by having a few too many beers on the weeknights, staying up late reading or listening to podcasts or knitting, because that was what was keeping me sane. But it definitely wasn't healthy.

After meditating on what this card is telling me, I've done a good job recently of cutting back on the booze and getting more sleep. This is something with which I will continue to struggle, but I think of the Ten of Wands as a card which reminds me that I can't be effective if I never rest, and that if I want to reach goals that I set for myself in my life, I need to be healthy. 

A Deck Interview with the Tarot Mucha

As always, this delightful Deck Interview spread comes from Beth at Little Red Tarot! Enjoy the stream of consciousness analysis... and sentence fragments.... AND the shitty iPhone photos. =D

Questions:

1. Tell me about yourself: what is your most important characteristic? Knight of Staves (Wands)

The Knight of Wands is passionate, active, reckless, and driven. This deck is not afraid to make things exciting and even a bit dangerous at times. This deck is not going to hold back. It's all about diving in head first, joining the fray, in pursuit of finding the truth, in pursuit of a noble goal. This deck won't pull its punches. But its motivation is always going to be to seek the truth. This deck will be honest and passionate and will expect me to be honest with myself and to put in the passion and the creativity to get the most out of it.

2. What are your strengths as a deck? King of Cups

The King of Cups is joyful and exuberant. He is compassionate and open-hearted. He brings harmony, love, and acceptance. He urges us to set out on a spiritual path, promising support in the form of solid emotional and spiritual guiding energies. This deck will have strong feelings about things. This deck will be very much concerned with the emotional and spiritual aspects of what it is telling me, perhaps it will not be very literal or concerned with practical aspects. It is worth pointing out that there are NO pentacles showing up anywhere in this Deck Interview Spread, which could support that theory.

3. What are you limitations as a deck? Five of Swords

Tension, conflict, and disagreement. The cards may not always play nice with one another. Maybe the deck will seem like sometimes it doesn't know what it is trying to say. The cards may fight one another. It's my job to find the compromise. And, looking ahead to the Ace of Cups and back to the King of Cups, it means I need to follow my intuition and inner guidance to find the harmony among the cards. It won't work to try to force them into submission with logic and spreadsheets (at least not only those things). 

4. What are you here to teach me? Eight of Swords

I have more control and power and agency in my life than I realize. Maybe it's telling me to be grateful for what I have in my life, and realize that I have everything I need. If I believe in myself, I can easily cast off the bonds that are holding me back and give myself more freedom. I don't deserve to feel shitty, basically. Nothing will ever come from giving up or giving in to depression. If I am honest with myself and willing to tap into my intuition, creativity, and passion, I can better my circumstances and come to a heightened place of confidence and contentment. 

5. How can I best learn from and collaborate with you? Ace of Cups

Have an open heart, don't hold back, trust your instincts, your intuition. Come with a full heart and be emotionally invested, be willing to be vulnerable. 

6. What is the potential outcome of our working relationship? The Hanged Man

Astounding realizations, enlightenment and understanding. For me, I think this means understanding myself. But also, attaining a higher level of spiritual fulfillment and satisfaction. I will be able to gain a completely new perspective on life, one that leads to greater happiness. 

Further Thoughts

I'm interested by the fact that not only did I get two Cups cards, but I got the Ace and the King, representing one completed cycle. I think it goes to the idea that the supportive, intuitive, and emotional energies of the King as the strength of the deck, and the Ace as the way in which I can best work with the deck, will be what help me with the more challenging aspects like the Knight of Staves and all that Swords energy. I also think of the fact that there are cycles within cycles, and also that when we reach the completion of the journey, we begin anew. I think it means that I will always find something new to learn in this deck.

Two Court (The King and the Knight) cards gives this deck a lot of potency and power. Those swords are troublesome for me. Maybe this indicates I've been putting too much stock in rationality/logic and need to embrace my intuition and creativity. I love the Hanged Man because that is exactly what I am seeking: a deeper understanding of my spiritual and emotional self. I think another aspect is saying that this deck will give me back what I put in. It's asking me to put in cups energy, and it will help me grow in that area. Similarly, I'm being called to tap into strong passionate energies and be willing to be uncertain and take risks sometimes by the action of the Knight of Staves. I really relate to the idea that the Knight of Staves is single-minded and even possibly reckless and ruthless in his pursuit of his goal, but in addition to this he is 100% loyal and honest. I think this deck will ask me to face difficult truths and will require me to be completely honest with myself in order to get the most out of the relationship.

Daily Draw 4/14/16 - Nine of Staves

Happy Thursday! I thought we might be in for a little bit of a change after all that cups energy! Today I drew the Nine of Wands, which are called Staves in the Tarot Mucha. 

I don't recall much about this card from my initial look through the LWB. I know that Wands/Staves represent the element of fire, and that the suit generally indicates passion, action, and creativity. Before looking up the meaning of the card, I'd like to just take a moment to reflect on the image. 

I'm really loving the borders of the minor suits, each of which has its own theme. The staves have an almost autumnal look. To be honest, I'm having a hard time interpreting the image. I suppose my only feeling is that of being well-supported, she is confident in her ideas and her resources. Maybe she's not quite ready to take action yet, but she's marshaling her forces. Those are just my first impressions.

Taking a look at my notes, this card can mean that one is dealing with a heavy burden or a difficulty. I wrote down "shouldering a heavy burden in the late stages of a journey," and "a position of strength; have faith in your preparations; have faith for the final push." 

With this mind, I take another look at the card and notice that she does seem a bit fatigued, and like she has indeed come a long way. But the feeling of having prepared yourself well and feeling confident that you can deal the final blow is coming through strongly. It's sort of like hitting the wall in the last few miles of a marathon, right? You've trained for this, you are capable, now it's time to put one big final effort in and finish strong. It's a pause to collect oneself and steel oneself for the final push; you're in the homestretch, don't falter now. But I really like the idea of this card representing that deep breath and pause before taking that final step.

Well, this makes a lot of sense for me right now, as I am coming into the final month of grad school. I suppose this card is a good reminder that I can't just muddle through the last few weeks - I will get a greater reward if I push hard to finish strong and make the most of these final miles. I am right in the thick of this at the moment, as I am putting in hours at my internship every single day after work, completing coursework, and looking for jobs. 

I'm also thinking about the action of moving from all of that cups energy into wands/staves energy. I've been doing a lot of introspection and personal reflection... now it's time to tap into my willpower and strength and resolve to get some shit done in my life! I'm feeling bolstered by and energized by that time of reflection, though. Having that cups background is helping me dig deep and find the motivation for that final push.

With this in mind, I'm off to work on some job applications!