My Cups Overfloweth

Using my Goddess Tarot app on my phone, I pulled a simple daily spread.

Ten of Cups, Queen of Cups, Seven of Cups, Ten of Wands - Goddess Tarot App

So many cups!  So much water.  I'm not feeling particularly emotional lately, but we have been having some very wet weather with flooding in places.  Along with the gray weather I tend to feel a bit down, but I have been working on feeling happy regardless of my physical circumstances.  This spread does seem to reflect that work.

In the past position the Ten of Cups reminds me that I have, along with my husband, built a really good life.  Our 26th anniversary just passed (still waiting to celebrate due to illness) and we have a four wonderful children.  We are surrounded by supportive friends and extended family, and we have a comfortable home.  Really, my life is the stuff that dreams are made of.  I could spend all day lamenting the dreams I have let go and completely miss the bliss in front of me.

The Queen of Cups in the present position represents the fact that I really have been making a conscious decision to be happy right now and live more fully in the present.  I'm choosing to draw from the well of abundance and joy as opposed to the well of regret and self-criticism. I'm feeling the way I've been wanting to feel without all of the striving and fighting myself of the past.  I'm doing well!

The Seven of Cups in the future advises me that, at some point, I'm going to need to take this feel good stuff to the next level, from fantasizing and planning to action.  I've been thinking of things I want to do with my life, both big and small.  For example, for a few days now I've been wanting to get into my kitchen and do some baking, but I have yet to actually do it.  That is due, in part, to the fact that I've been ill, but I'm starting to feel much better, so I'm looking forward to doing a little baking, decorating, and cozy-ing up of my home this week.  I have longer range goals too, but I'll be happy to start with the small stuff for now.

Card number four represents the overall theme of the reading, and it's interesting that with all of the good emotional stuff happening I am feeling very tired and overwhelmed as this card suggests.  Like I said, I've been ill, but it is also that I've spent weeks in a state of waiting and not knowing what to do with myself.  What I am getting from this card is advice to pace myself.  I am feeling like moving and getting busy again, but I can easily overwhelm myself if I expect to accomplish too much right now.  This is a busy time of year for me, but I can choose what is most important to me and let the other stuff take care of itself or sit a while longer.

Joy

The Spreading the Joy spread found in the little white book that comes with The Joie De Vivre Tarot by Paulina Cassidy is delightful! 

 0 - What is joy to me? Page of Coins. 

I enjoy learning new things, and a new project can be invigorating, especially if it is an artistic or creative one.  There are several things I've loved in the past that I don't do anymore like making glass beads and jewelry, singing, playing guitar.  I also love inspiring others to learn along with me and watching others learn to do one of the crafts or projects I enjoy.

 1 - Where do I find joy the easiest? Ace of Coins

 Fresh starts and opportunities.  A new idea with a plan about how to bring it into being.  I tease my husband all the time and tell him, "I'm an idea woman!"  Often the idea involves work for him.  Eh, I'm all about the planning and the ideas, but the actual work involved with making those ideas a reality is another story which leads me to,...

 2 - Where must I work to find joy? Nine of Wands

I need to work at following through on those plans and ideas, giving them some muscle, and then I will experience the joy that comes from working hard for something and accomplishing a goal.   This makes me think of those novels I've started writing and haven't finished, the online art class I paid for and still haven't completed a single lesson or the embroidery project sitting in my nightstand drawer that I began before my marriage so I'd have something sweet to hang on my bedroom wall as a new bride.  That was 26 years ago!

 3 - What do I allow to block my joy? Five of Cups

Focusing on what I lack instead of intentionally noticing what I have is blocking my joy.  Instead of allowing myself to enjoy what I have I'm always looking for the next thing that will make me happy.  So often I'm desiring the next bite of pizza instead of the delicious bite that's already in my mouth.  I'm waiting for the Summertime instead of enjoying the new life that Spring brings or the opportunities to hunker down and enjoy the warmth of my home that comes with Winter.  Constantly striving and chasing after what I don't have takes all of my attention away from the abundance all around me.

 4 - Who should I watch to learn more about finding joy? The Sun

The card in this position is meant to point me to a "joy mentor."  I have some ideas what the Sun might represent.  The divine?  Is it God, which I often associate with light and warmth?  Or maybe it is literally referring to the sun.  I have always said that nothing lifts my spirits like a sunny day, and it's so true.  Maybe I could learn about finding joy if I try to remember how a sunny day makes me feel and bring that spirit into my life even on gray days.  I could ask myself what the sun does for me on a physiological level and think of ways to provide those things when the sun isn't around (like taking a vitamin D supplement or using my full spectrum light box during the Winter.)


5 - What joy is the Universe gifting to me at this time? Two of Cups

 I often think of a romantic relationship or a very close friendship when I see this card.  I have been distancing myself from both lately.  Bad feelings about myself have kept me from giving all of myself in my relationships.  My marriage has been more of a business partnership, and I have been avoiding my friends.  I have three different friends from three different parts of the country that are going to be in my area this month, and I've been considering making an excuse for why I can't meet with them.  I've been cancelling lunch dates and declining party invitations.  The Universe is gifting me with  love, friendship, companionship, and SEX, if I will only let myself receive those things.  Joy!

Let Go and Just Be

Ten of Cups, The Lovers, The Tower - Tarot of the Magical Forest

 I always freak out a little when The Tower comes up in a reading, especially if it's in the, "outcome," or, "future," position, as it is here.  Interestingly though, just before I pulled these cards I was having a conversation with some random person in my head.  (This is not unusual for me.)  I was telling this random person that when I do a reading, I tend to look at the cards as a counselor giving advice, as opposed to a fortune teller telling me what will be.  Sure, I do think of them as giving a glimpse into possible outcomes, but I still believe our decisions affect our outcomes.

The Tower is a little different, though.  Tower events happen to us all, and we rarely see them coming.  Painful and sometimes terrifying at the time, the event brings a much needed change, perhaps a change that has been resisted.  Still, I'll try to keep my own words in mind when considering these cards because I think it's significant that they came to me just before I pulled them.

The Lovers card in the position of my current situation makes a lot of sense.  This card from the Tarot of the Magical Forest has a real Yin and Yang feeling to it.  One white rabbit, the other black.  A tree with flames that looks a lot to me like a tree in fall, losing it's leaves, while the other looks lush and is bearing fruit.  The snake in the tree and the angel in the sky further remind me of choices: good or bad, right or wrong, pure or evil.

I wonder if this card is asking me to accept those things about myself that I find repugnant.  I wonder if this is just another guidepost among the many I've gotten lately telling me how important it is that I accept myself unconditionally.  Or maybe I just want to see it that way, as that puts a kinder spin on that Tower card over there.  I'm thinking (hoping?) The Tower card is referring to recent prayers and pleas to the Universe I've been making lately.  I've been wanting to surrender and let go of always striving to be better and be able to trust that God has my back and will bring all things together for my good without my needing to make it happen.

Or are The Lovers telling me I have a very important choice to make?  Choose unwisely, and that Tower will bring me to the very place I'm supposed to be anyway, except that it will be the more shocking and upsetting way to get there.

The Ten of Cups reminds me that I have a good life and a loving, supportive family.  I know that whatever comes for me in the future I'll have help along the way, if I can remember to ask for it, and if I can allow myself to lean on others during those times when I have trouble standing on my own.  It may also indicate the end of a cycle.  Summer is almost over and soon the dark months, as shown in the stormy sky of The Tower card will be upon me.  I have to take extra self-care measures to get through those months.

Self acceptance, gratitude for all I have, surrendering and letting go.  These seem to be the theme of my life lately.  It would be a relief to stop trying so hard and just be.

Retreat

The Hermit - Galaxy Tarot

Today's, "Card of the Day," from my Galaxy Tarot phone app was The Hermit, which is fitting for the day considering I cancelled a lunch date and declined a party invitation for this evening.  I haven't been feeling well and really haven't had the energy to socialize lately.  Actually, I've been craving a solitary retreat, as I do from time to time.  Anyone know a comfy monastery?

Oh! I found one that welcomes visitors:  Our Lady of the Rock