Future Tarot     -     Tarot Chat: Wednesday 9.30pm EST

(From the Future-Tarot March 10 chat.)

[Jen G] I got the lease on the building. My husband got a full-time out-of-the-house contract gig and he’s got clients coming into the marketing business. What the HELL? Yes, my question is technically, “What the hell?”

[Serenity Bly] Yeah, I’m with you on the What the Hell???

[Jen G] Uh oh. Weird cards? Just please, for the love of Jehosephat, no Seven of Cups. *fingers crossed*

[Serenity Bly] Not even shuffled yet, but I couldn’t make heads or tails of your question. lol

[MoonlitKim] So busy your head is spinning, Jen?

[Jen G] With so much going on, what needs to be my main priority? He has a full time job and a business and I have a business and we have three kids 5 and under. Something’s got to give, methinks, but I’m not sure. Maybe we really can do it all.

[Serenity Bly] Why don’t you want a Seven of Cups?

[MoonlitKim] Wasn’t it in last week’s reading?

[Jen G] Because that would represent my fear and I don’t want to know about my fear. We’re already well acquainted. lol

[Serenity Bly] *ponders* What were the cards from your last reading again?

[Jen G] Chariot, um, King of Pentacles. The first one is escaping me.

[Serenity Bly] Ok, not these cards then, but these are funny.

[Jen G] What are they?

[MoonlitKim] I could be wrong too. It just sounded familiar.

[Serenity Bly] In the past you’ve got my favorite, Page of Wands. Ideas, fire, energy, running with it, and get a complete mess of everything going on in your life because it’s all exciting and filled with passion.

[Jen G] Check.

[Serenity Bly] But, now you’re pregnant again. *hopes she’s joking because Miss Michele is the one who does pregnancy predictions not me*

[Jen G] Not pregnant, so that’s a bonus.

[Serenity Bly] The Empress comes up in the present, and, assuming you’re NOT actually pregnant again, it shows a sense of nurturing, growth, and development.

[Jen G] Or just owning all the chaos in my queen-like way, but probably more what you said.

[Serenity Bly] You are cultivating what you already have, harnessing your strengths in the feminine to make your existing ideas flourish and become something great and mighty in their own right.

[Jen G] True.

[Serenity Bly] Your Queen-like way is the Queen of Wands in the future.

[Jen G] SWEET! YES!

[Serenity Bly] It’s showing you really and truly harnessing all that, taking charge, and pulling everything into line. “I am woman, hear me roar,” Jen G style.

[Jen G] Less whiny wife and more my normal self.

[Serenity Bly] And, despite you saying Miss Michele and I don’t know you as well as we think, what I see here is the Jen G. I THINK I know.

[Jen G] I had a discussion with hubby last night that this new biz was MINE not his.

[Serenity Bly] The one who knows how to make things happen and get things done.

[Jen G] I have a split personality that’s pretty dramatic. Not like Sybil or anything, but two sides that are way different.

[MoonlitKim] You’re going to rock it all! Bam-pow!

[Jen G] Most people only know the one half.

[Serenity Bly] There is definite take charge going on here and I’m not sensing any negative from you using your strengths to make this happen. There isn’t a sense of stealing his thunder or stepping on his toes.

[Jen G] Oh, thank goodness!

[Serenity Bly] So, I’m not really sure how to tie all that into “What The Hell?”, but hopefully you’ve already figured it out. lol

[Jen G] So I’ll either get a part time nanny or take the kids to the office. Whatever. It will all be good. That was the most perfect reading ever. Not just because you said exactly what I needed to hear, but hey, it doesn’t hurt.

[Serenity Bly] I see this as you juggling those priorities beautifully, Jen. You can do it all.

[Jen G] Not needed, more like desperately craved.

[Serenity Bly] It’s the kind of superwoman the rest of us working mothers aspire to be.

[Jen G] Thank you so much!

[Serenity Bly] And, Jen, whatever this is, The Empress wants me to remind you, “It’s your baby.” That’ll make more sense to you than me.

[Jen G] Ok. I’ll keep it in mind. I called the business my baby last night, but that’s probably not it.

[Serenity Bly] Actually, that’s probably exactly it.

[plaidearthworm] I’d like one, only if you have the time.

[Miss Michelle] For sure!

[plaidearthworm] Cool! This is about Wisecrack Zodiac. An opportunity has been presented to me regarding the book. I don’t have the manuscript finished yet, but I’m wondering if I should pursue this opportunity. Is it worth it?

[Serenity Bly] Oh, whose cards are we doing plaids reading with? Should I be shuffling?

[Miss Michelle] I’ve drawn for Plaid.

[Serenity Bly] Ok, what did you get?

[Miss Michelle] The Devil, the Fool, Queen of Wands. To sum it up in a sentence, Plaid, I would not take this opportunity because there’s a better one on the horizon. However, use it as an impetus to finish the book. Because you’ve been letting temptation and distractions get the better of you. The Fool says if you were to take this opportunity, you’d be jumping in blindly, without all the facts. I’m sensing this may be a royalty-only offer or something equally “eh.” Do your research really well on this company and offer.

[Serenity Bly] The Devil also indicates that you won’t have the freedom to follow your creative interests, you’ll be under someone else’s final call. And you might prefer to do things differently and find your hands tied.

[Miss Michelle] It’s flattering, but you may come across an opportunity that’s even better. Before you sign anything, check Everything over. (And that’s not only with this company, but anything related to this project.)

[plaidearthworm] Bide my time. And it has spurred me into more creativity.

[Miss Michelle] On the other hand, The Fool ALSO has the effect of sparking you on to finish the book. You’re jumping in to it on all 8 cylinders now, just because you’re so excited someone DOES want it.

[Serenity Bly] And, in the project you do in the future YOU lead, and you rule.

[plaidearthworm] Plus we’re getting a tax refund, so I’ll have some spare non-content writing time to focus on finishing the manuscript.

[Miss Michelle] But the Queen of Wands, yes–what she said.

[plaidearthworm] I like it! Thanks so much!

[Miss Michelle] So take the positive energy, and definitely look into the offer — if only to learn what you don’t find desirable about it.

[Serenity Bly] But the ultimate advice is to weigh your options and don’t leap into anything blindly.

[Miss Michelle] Kind of like going on a job interview when you don’t really want the job. Ask the right questions, use it as practice, but then thank them for their time and move on.

[plaidearthworm] Cool. I tried to do a reading myself last night on this, but nothing made sense. What you’re saying lets me know why.

[Miss Michelle] It can be very hard to read for yourself. Serenity Bly and I don’t do it anymore, now that we have each other. Well, aside from my accidental cards, and we saw how THEY turned out. lol

[plaidearthworm] Plus the 10 card spread gets complicated for me. Just trying out the deck Wynter got me.

[Serenity Bly] It’s hardest to read for yourself because you’re vested in the outcome. You try to make the cards say what you WANT them to say. And sometimes, ten cards are too many. They’re great for delving deeply into a situation but when you just need a little insight or guidance three to six cards are better.

Cindy asks, “I just recently started a relationship with a new man. What is the significance of this relationship? I’m looking for whatever guidance or insight they want to share. Thanks so much for your help!”

1. Your Present Self – Eight of Cups

You’ve had your share of heartbreaks and love gone wrong. You’ve learned to walk away from pain and sorrow. You’ve developed relationships that grew, for a time, and ended. I get the impression you’re not long out of a deeply emotional relationship and you are still carrying the wounds of that relationship within your heart.

2. The Crossing Card – The Lovers (reversed)

The way your heart it still tied to your past love is also reflected in The Lovers (reversed) as a crossing card. Often, The Lovers represent choice and in this case I feel like you’re doubting your past choices. A part of you reserves your heart because you’re yearning for an old love and feel like your choices are no longer yours to make.

3. The Crowning Card – Three of Cups

The Three of Cups shows clearly this new union. It’s a fond partnership that has the potential to be loving and giving. This new person in your life cares for you but also senses your reserve. He’ll champion for you, and your friends support your union, but you’re still not totally committed within yourself.

4. Aspects You Cannot See – Seven of Swords

Unfortunately, this could mean that your current love interest is shoring up his own defenses and preparing to walk away. He can sense your hesitation and is contemplating his own choices.

5. Influences That Are Ending – Page of Cups

In the past you’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on your own situation. You might have come across to others as being a little self-centered and insensitive but you’ve needed to discover your personal worth and that is one of the things the Page of Wands does best.

6. Influences That Are Beginning – Ten of Wands (reversed)

After spending time in introspection you’re beginning to feel caged and dominated. A part of me feels like your current love interest may be a domineering force but I also get the impression that much of your caged sensation comes from within your own thoughts. You’ve been very hard on yourself and unless you consciously take action to let go of dis-empowering thoughts you’ll continue to create obstacles to your own happiness.

7. Attitudes You Need To Change – Knight of Wands (reversed)

One of the obstacles that come from within is a strange sense of reserve. I’m literally getting a “jolting” sensation, stop, start, stop, start, stop. Like every time you let yourself go and live a little you catch yourself and slam on the breaks. The Knight of Wands needs to be free to chase, free to dream, free to charge forward with his inspiration and ideas. You need to embrace your inner knight and charge forward. Put aside fear or decorum and give into your passions and natural spontaneity.

8. How Others See You – Queen of Wands

You ARE a woman who is in command of her destiny. At least others see this in you. To the outside world you’ve already mastered your desires and you get what you want. You rule the animal kingdom with a core of strength and certainty. If others see this in you then it IS in you. Do you need to believe it of yourself?

9. Your Hopes and Fears – Two of Cups (reversed)

The fears that show up readily in the Two of Cups (reversed) are clearly the cause of past pain and anguish. You’ve felt abandoned and unloved in the past and you’re afraid of rejection and heartbreak. You don’t want to be alone and while you desperately hope to find a lover who can be “the one” you’re thoughts often linger on all the reasons you feel loving others is dangerous.

10. Potential Outcome – Ace of Swords (reversed)

Ultimately, going back to your original question, “What is the significance of this relationship?” the final card in this Celtic Cross Spread tells me that the answer is, “Learning to communicate.” For a very long time you’ve kept your own counsel. You’ve held your tongue instead of sharing your doubts, concerns, and pain. You’ve shown the strength of the Queen of Wands in yourself but hide your weaknesses. Doing this creates a sense of detachment and distance. Your new love interest has one foot on the threshold of your relationship, he’s not sure if he wants to leap in or leap out because he’s not getting clear signals from you.

The Ace of Swords in the final position shows a growing ability to communicate with the people in your life, to let them into your inner sanctum. Learn to let down your guard and open up to the people in your life so that you can embrace the true joy that comes with love. Heartbreak is real, yes, loving can hurt, but if you turn your back on the risk of future pain you’ll miss opportunities in the present to be very happy. Express your fears, talk about what you truly want, what your hopes and dreams for the future are, to this new love. Talking openly will strengthen the bonds of this relationship, but more importantly it will give you the tools you need to deal with all the people in your life that you care about.

On Monday, Miss Michele drew the Queen of Pentacles as our card of the week. It is interesting to reflect each day on how the Queen of Pentacles influences our lives. Each of the Court Cards have distinct representation within our lives and, as family-oriented women, the Queens often resonate with Miss Michele and I more closely than other cards.

In Tarot, there are four Queens -one for each of the suits- and each Queen is unique. The Queens collectively, however, share many traits. They represent a degree of evolution and growth, a level of mastery and talent.

Queens are self-assured, confident, able, and committed. They are aware of their place in the wider world and understand their power, their command, over themselves and their environment. They are the matriarch of their family and the leaders in their field. Queens know that their role is vital to the health and happiness of those around them.

Queens as Family Women

• A Queen of Pentacles builds a warm home and welcoming hearth. She is committed to providing the best for her family. She focuses her time on making sure every member of her family has what they need to be happy and successful. She is also concerned with self-worth, personal identity, and social standing. Many child-stars have Queen of Pentacles mothers, those women who encourage their children to be the best, stand out, perform, be great.
• A Queen of Cups makes herself emotionally available to her children. You’ll often find a Queen of Cups choosing to stay home rather than work. She’s often the school mom, spending her days in the school canteen or helping to manage the school fundraisers. She’ll also spend time in the home creating an environment where every member of her family feels her love, from the careful folding of sheets to home-cooked meals.
• A Queen of Wands is inspired and passionate. She’s the advocate of charity and causes. She loves adventure and can be enthusastic and excitable. The Queen of Wands might organize camping trips and vacations for the holidays. She gets her children invoved in craft activities and after school sports. She’s the story-teller who wants her family to dream and imagine, she wants her children to grow up confident and filled with a fire for life.
• A Queen of Swords is motivated and organized. This Queen keeps an orderly home and maintains and manages the structure and routine of her family. It is often a Queen of Swords who will work outside of the home, providing for her family financially as the bread-winner and setting an example of hard working loyalty. The Queen of Swords encourages talking, family dinners, and one-on-one time with each member of her family. She might not show outward affection as easily as other suits but wants her family to do well and to achieve.

Queens as Career Women

• In the workplace, the Queen of Pentacles often works in very textile ways. She’s hands on and wants to be actively involved through each stage of the process. These women tend to lean toward hand or machine crafting with woods and fibers. They often make excellent chefs or gardeners with an eye for preciseness and the hands for fine-skilled, light-touch work. These women see trade and commerce as balance and often find themselves trapped trading hours for dollars, they risk under-valuing their craft but are also in the position to create work wherever they choose to as their business is their talent.
• The Queen of Cups is a healer and carer. You’ll often find these queens gravitate to jobs where they can be of service to others. Because of the emotional intensity of their careers, these Queens are at risk of stress related illnesses. They are prone to depression and are often very sensitive to the moods of those around them. This makes them excellent doctors, nurses, carers, counselors, therapists, even teachers. When a Queen of Cups chooses a career it is usually one where she feels deeply and can be involved on a personal level, she needs to feel like she makes a difference in the lives of others.
• A Queen of Wands will flourish in a career where she users her creativity and inner fire. She’s a risk taker and may choose to be involved in active roles that take her outside, traveling, or into adventure. These queens often become writers, landscapers, designers, and artists. These queens may also be those outstanding women who join the military as pilots or in other intense and traditionally male positions.
• The business world is often the frenzy in which a Queen of Swords will find greatest satisfaction. These strong-minded women handle numbers, routines, and people. They make excellent public speakers and politicians, accountants, lawyers, and architects. The Queen of Swords will enjoy putting her intelligence and communication skills to use in her career and is results focused and action empowered.

No matter which path a Queen of any suit may take, their inner sense of worth and confidence helps them excel and achieve. These women are capable and talented.

Finally, I want to acknowledge that just because we consider these Queens a ‘she’, these traits are not gender biased. There are elements of these Queens in all of us and in all of those around us to varied degrees. Queens represent a feminine energy. Warmth, emotional availability, caring, and gentleness, being generally considered feminine aspects, are not exclusive to women or to any particular age.

Can you see yourself in any of these Queens? Can you begin to imagine how the roles these Queens play come together with the other court cards? In what other ways do you think the Queens might influence our lives?

The 2009/2010 year will be a busy one for Dawn. Ultimately, there is balance within her focus but, as is so often the case, balance is rarely found in a single moment. Balance tends to be seen in hindsight or from a distance. The coming months will be a mixture of excitement and hard work with the new year offering an emotional start to 2010 and an opportunity to grow and learn. Lets look more closely at what the year ahead has in store for Dawn.

June: The Fool

June heralds a new beginning, a brand new venture, or a new youth and energy to your existing projects. I feel like you’ve opened your eyes to a new way of living and rediscovered the joy that can be found in each simple breath. The Fool is young and exuberant. He rushes blindly, taking risks, and is just beginning his journey. Like the Fool, Dawn has had the opportunity to begin again and to approach life with a fresh, untarnished perspective.

July: Judgment

With inside knowledge I have a strong impression that this card foretells the successful financial and legal settlement of Dawn’s new home. Judgment often implies dealing with paperwork and the finer details involved in closing a deal. In some ways it is an end to one process but as one ends a new adventure begins.

August: Five of Swords

After two highly charged months, August brings forced reflection, pause, and confusion with the Five of Swords. You’ll be facing daunting choices and may find that you’re not in a position to know which option is the best. Adjusting to the recent changes in your life is going to be a greater challenge then you expected and you may feel like you’ve lost power and momentum as you’re forced to reestablish balance and security.

September: Knight of Pentacles

The Knight of Pentacles in September shows that you’ll soon find your feet, rebuilding your home and family around you. The knight begins establishing a more permanent place in the world and brings his skills to the fore creating an environment that suits his needs and those of his loved ones.

October: King of Pentacles

You’ve done everything right and will reap the rewards of your earlier planning and careful consideration. The King of Pentacles is blessed with all he desires in the material world and in October you’ll be in a position to truly appreciate your situation in life. October may introduce a positive influence who will be a role model or guide you want to emulate for continued success.

November: Three of Wands

In November you’ll again begin looking ahead at all there is still to do. The Three of Wands reminds you that you’ve completed one stage of the grander project but it is not time to rest upon your laurels. More work is ahead of you but you have the knowledge and the inspiration to flourish.

December: King of Swords

When I first picked up this card he came out on his head but I got the sense that this King of Swords is a masculine influence that will come into your life. Coming in December he could be Santa Claus, or perhaps, he simply brings the gift of new knowledge and an opportunity to learn. He may even be offering you the chance to teach what you already know but more likely is a teacher himself who brings you new understanding.

January: Five of Wands and Ten of Wands

The mix of these two wands is interesting. January brings with it a challenge that will spark your passions and bring out your fighting spirit. There is no way you’ll let this latest hurdle frighten you. The Five of Wands shows you making strategic battle plans but the Ten of Wands leaves you feeling deflated. After the excitement and adrenaline of conquest the prize is less than you expected.

February: Eight of Pentacles

And so, you take your Eight of Pentacles back to the work station, returning to what you know best. You’ve done well in the past and have solid skills that give you success in business. February may feel repetitive but the solidity of steady work you are familiar with is exactly what you need after the chaos January presented.

March: Five of Cups

For ten months you’ve been focused primarily on home and business. You’ve been clear-headed and professional, facing down any challenge with determination and reveling in your success with dignity and calm. The Five of Cups in March shows emotional upset that could be related to the tragic loss of a cherished relationship. This separation leaves you grieving for what you once had and the turmoil of emotion will linger through the months ahead.

April: Knight of Swords

The supportive encouragement of a friend, The Knight of Swords, gives you strength to charge onward through the melancholy of March and into April. This friend may make life a little unruly but the chaos and disruption keep your mind busy. Ultimately, this friend’s purpose is to shake you out of a rut and bring change and action back into your life.

May: Seven of Cups

May finds you quietly seeking guidance and advice. You’ll find yourself reflecting on past choices and reevaluating the direction you’ve taken with an eye to future happiness. The Seven of Cups asks you to listen carefully and head the warnings and direction you’ll be given at this time.

June/Outcome: Queen of Wands

I felt a need to draw another card making this 12-Month Spread actually 13 months. This final card brings us full circle which allows me to draw on the strongly positive and empowered influences of this Queen of Wands who has come through stronger, inspired, and empowered from the last few challenging months. She is you, Dawn, embodied in confidence and in command of her environment. Her message is clear, you’re a beautiful and intelligent woman who has the inner strength to face any of life’s challenges. Take time to reflect on how far you’ve come and all you are today whenever you feel daunted by the future.