Friday 17 January 2014

No time for lemonade-stand thinking

I received a new tarot deck yesterday and thought I'd try it out today. It's the Bonefire Tarot  by Gabrielle West, self-published in 2013. I drew a card of the day: The Devil. Avoid temptation. Okay. I found myself drawing another: What should I avoid? Page of Coins. What should I do instead? Ace of Swords.

Bonefire Tarot, West 2013
I can see that I should avoid first impulses today, temptation to fall into old patterns, represented by The Devil. The Page of Coins squeezing lemons threw me for a minute--then I realized she must be making lemonade for a lemonade stand, the traditional first business enterprise of a young person. (I think it might be mythical. I don't know anyone who ever had a lemonade stand. But still, the image persists of a youngster sitting in the front garden peddling lemonade to the neighbours.) I can see how this applies. Today's temptation, amongst other things, might be to hole up somewhere on my own at work and continue making my own little plans. That is not a good idea. The Page of Coins may have enthusiasm for business enterprises, but she doesn't have any experience. She might be better off consulting others - or at the very least, enlisting someone to help her, to go in as a partner, share their thoughts and collaborate. The Coins suit, though, isn't so much about thinking as doing, and so the mucking in should be of a practical nature. Although the final card, advising what I should do instead, is the Ace of Swords. So perhaps instead of getting stuck in to some earnest but perhaps misguided busy work, I should use razor sharp thought to help me see the proper way to proceed. The Sword is slicing through an apple - could it be the apple of temptation? There is also a snake there. I just wonder if that is Garden of Eden imagery. The snake can be an ally as well as an enemy. Like the sword itself, he is double-edged. I like that all-seeing eye on the crown of the sword. Not fooled into false thinking or sent in the wrong direction. That's how I must be today. Not misdirected. I must recognize at every hand the temptation to blurt out or act on impulse, without thought. Today should be a day of measured actions.

Well, if I do all these things, what will be the outcome? I drew 7 of Wands. It certainly would keep me in a well-defended position. I had a look in the LWB: fending off all comers, defending your boundaries, keeping the moral high ground, overcoming creative blocks. Good then. 

My advice for the day: watch out for the temptation to give in to any innate weaknesses (for me, that would be blurting out my thoughts without considering consequences, and overthinking in an emotional way--ie, worrying!). Avoid lone busy work brought on by enthusiasm which might not be the most effective use of my time, chosen because of inexperience. Instead, use my head. Ask questions, seek advice. Be logical -- and keep emotions out of it. 

4 comments:

  1. What an amazing deck this is. The bright colors are jumping of my screen. She has a very own style of painting. beautiful!

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  2. Ha ha, I actually saw a couple of kids with a lemonade stand last autumn ;) It's a very busy, fun looking deck - reminds me a little of the Pearls of Wisdom... Hope you avoided loner-ism and worrying :)

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  3. Bonefire Tarot is long gone from my collection, Pearls of Wisdom is still here. I just quickly came to dislike the art style.

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    1. Pearls of Wisdom does have a fun and healing element I didn't find in the Bonefire. Still, I like the latter for its quirkiness and slight darkness. Neither are favourites, though. Moving to temporary digs, I chose just 8 tarots. Hmm, what would it be like if I permanently culled my deck that way! Nah, I loves my preciouses :D

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