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.

Baby Queen of Cups

Queen of Cups Reversed - Revelations Tarot

I know exactly how to connect this card to my day in a sweet and whimsical way, which might surprise because the reversed Queen of Cups is anything but whimsical.  She is manipulative.  She is given to emotional outbursts.

Zach Wong, the creator of the Revelations Tarot says on his website:

"She is a temptress. She pulls on emotional strings. She dances and dazzles with her magic and charms with her flirtatious promises of happiness."

These descriptions make me smile because I am thinking of the baby we had the pleasure of babysitting at my house today.  She is just a year old, and she had us wrapped around her little finger.  She would shriek when she didn't immediately get what she wanted, and she would reward us with huge smiles the minute we complied with her wishes.  Babies don't mean to manipulate us, but they've been given cuteness and charm, and our sweet little guest sure had a way of turning a houseful of big people into her servants.  It was fun.


 

Breaking Old Worn Out Patterns

Yesterday I received a little sunshine in my mailbox from Magic Mentha.  I won her Blogiversary Giveaway of a Tarot: The Complete Kit, along with a couple of other thoughtful goodies thrown in just because MM is a sweetie.  This is a cute little tarot deck, and I love it!  Thanks, MM!

I dove right in and used the suggested spread that came with the kit. 

A

B- C- D

A. What's at hand?
B.  Past influences.
C.  Ponder this.
D. What to do.

What's at hand?  Six of Pentacles.  This card makes me think of giving and receiving, which is very appropriate for this time of year.  The loaf of bread shown on this card is perfect because this is the time of year that I find myself doing a lot of baking.  In fact, this weekend I'll be baking another birthday cake.  We're having family over for a birthday party for my fourteen year old, which reminds me, I still need to buy her gift!  I also have a pretty messy house to clean up, but this card isn't just about giving.  It's also about receiving, so I think I will "receive" plenty of help from my husband and kids.

Past influences?  Queen of Cups.  This card speaks to me about my relationship with my family, and in the past, this has been a hard time of year for me.  There is so much I want to do to make this time special for them, and I feel like I never quite measure up.  The drops of water next to the queen makes me think of tears, and the downside of this queen is that sometimes she doesn't see things clearly because she can get a little stressed out.  Maybe she is putting too much pressure on herself, trying so hard to make everyone else happy.  She needs to remember to love herself too.  That's another message I have gotten from this card repeatedly.  The little book that came with this deck says, "Don't get bogged down by trivial details or the demands of others," and that speaks to me right now.

Ponder this.  Two of Swords.  Maybe I don't have to "do it all."  Maybe this card is asking me to think about what is really important, so I can make some choices about where to apply myself.  Maybe I will have to disappoint some people in the process, but I do need to think clearly and choose wisely.  That white dog under the table sticking his tongue out at me will get over it.  He's still there at the ponderer's feet, right?

What to do?  Ten of Wands.  I need to recognize that I feel incredibly burdened every year around this time, so perhaps this year it's time to approach things differently.  In fact, the little book says, "Break out of stubborn patterns and look for new approaches."  That sounds really good to me!  I've been feeling a sense of dread as the days tick past.  I've been wanting to hide my head in the sand and do nothing, but that will insure that I have another stressful holiday season.  It has become a pattern that I willingly break this year.  Instead of feeling stressed and glad when it's all over, I'm going to think of ways to make this a relaxed and special time for me and my family.
 

Queen for the Day

Look at that! I drew another queen today.

Queen of Chalices - Tarot of the Magical Forest

It seems appropriate because today was my birthday, and my family made me Queen for the day.  They cleaned up, made dinner, and baked me a delicious lemon cake from scratch.

Control Your Destiny

The first thing that came to me when I saw the cards I pulled for my daily spread is that I can expect to experience mood swings because of where I am in my lady cycle.

Queen of Swords, Queen of Cups, The Wheel - The Joie De Vivre Tarot

That's certainly been true of my day already, and it's not even noon.  I didn't get much sleep last night, so I'm feeling low on energy, and earlier while I was reading my book I started crying.  Usually, if a book is going to make me cry, it's at the end, but this was  right smack dab in the middle of it.  True, it was a poignant moment, but still,...unusual for me.

I'm not sure what advice these cards might have for me.  Those two queens are so different from each other, and yet, I can see myself in each of them.  The look on the Queen of Swords' face is priceless, and if you asked my kids, I'll bet they'd say they've seen the same look on mine when they've done something that doesn't make me happy.  Still, if one of them has a problem or is worried about something, I'm the first person they run to because I almost always can understand what they are feeling.  They know I will listen without judging and offer comfort or advice.  Moms are good like that.

The Wheel of Fortune has meant hormonal cycles in readings I've done before, but I think maybe today it's also a reminder that I decide how to react to the circumstances in which I find myself, whether it's with the Queen of Swords' clear vision and intellect or the Queen of Cups' empathy and intuition.  The decisions I make will always affect the outcome. I have a lot of control over how my life goes, and if at any point during the day, I don't like how things are going I can change course.

edit:  Actually, I remembered incorrectly.  It's The Moon that I've had come up referring to menstrual cycles before, but the Wheel as cycles in general.  I think the advice is still sound, though.

"Destiny is not a matter of chance, but of choice. Not something to wish for, but to attain."

~ William Jennings Bryan

Communing, Communion, Community, Communication

Queen of Cups - Revelations Tarot

 As I look at this card, the Queen of Cups, the first thing I notice is the cup that is being held out as if it is being offered to someone.  It reminds me of  the sacrament of communion in the Catholic faith, in which I was raised.  Looking more closely I see the reflection of the queen in the cup. 

It would be good for me to give some of myself to others today.  As an introvert who spends so much time in my inner world, it's easy for me to become self-absorbed.  I've been very focused on my goals, my feelings, and my spiritual growth, but getting stuck there isn't healthy.  Today I will offer the cup of myself by reaching out and communing with others, which, practically speaking, means getting my butt off the computer!

“One can acquire everything in solitude except character.”
~ Stendhal, Five Short Novels of Stendhal: The Duchess of Palliano, Vittoria Accoramboni, The Abbess of Castro, Vanina Vanini and The Cenci

“Allow the way to your great work to be guided by your service to others.”
~ Mollie Marti