7 of Batons (and at last a Queen of Wands I can relate to)

TdM Camoin-Jodorowsky 

This colourful version of 7 of Wands is from the Camoin-Jodorowsky Tarot de Marseille. I don't actually own it; I found this image online. It differs from the Dodal (which I drew the card from in real life) in the darker blue segments of the rods and the vines. Dodal has all pale blue in the centre, except for the four red diamond shapes, and instead of dark blue leaves, red stems and gold outer leaves, there are gold stems with pale blue tulip shapes having large red stamens or protrusions. Personally, I don't think it makes any difference at all to the reading of this card.

Seven of Batons signifies a struggle. Troubled plans. Hmm.

I drew a few more cards to get some idea where my struggles lie, and came up with Force + Queen of Wands + Temperance. That's three draws in a row for Temperance, by the way.

Dodal Tarot, Flornoy 2009 

Where am I struggling? Wow. That Queen of Wands really stands out. She looks knackered! I've been tracking my sleep for the last month. I made a chart and for each day I will colour in a square if I manage to sleep 7 hours in a night. In the month of June, I slept 7 hours five nights. The rest of the nights were around 5 hours, sometimes less. Last night I slept 5.5 hours. I really do not know what to do to solve this problem. But let's back up.

I wanted clarity on the 7 of Wands, so I drew Force. That suggested taking control of a situation, but I wondered what situation, and as Force is facing right, I drew to see what she's facing. I got the most exhausted looking woman in the tarot world, Dodal Queen of Wands. I wanted to know where the two of them are headed, since they both face the same way, and I drew Temperance. Maybe I'm dehydrated. There's a stream of pale blue running down the front of the lion, and Temperance pours water and stands beside water. Temperance's wings are made of pale blue, maybe water is the answer to some of my troubles. It looks like it might be time to get Temperance to write me a stalker letter. 

In the meantime, though, that Queen of Wands needs looking after. She don't look too good. That wand she carries must be a really heavy burden, it's a doozy. Not to mention that axe wound to the chest she's got there. Good lord -- I know what those are! The Big Baton is my recent projects of home buying and worry about work (a hobby of mine), and the chest wound is the Big Bad that happened to me nearly two years ago. Those are the reasons she's so worn out. Trying to be 'strong' has led to this deteriorated state. She needs Temperance -- and I'm seeing that today very strongly as liquid, liquid and more liquid. Keep pouring the water. On a higher level, this could be fluidity. What did Camelia Elias say about Temperance? 'She knows how far to stretch her elastic.' Well, some of my elastic is stretched too thin and some of it has perished from lack of use. The thing to do today is drink plenty of liquids and ---

Wait! I see a rhyming element! The hands in Force stretch the jaws apart. The hands in Temperance stretch the water between jugs. How far can they stretch? 

Temperance is looking straight at the axe wound in the Queen of Wands' chest. 'Temperance can annoint,' says Camelia Elias. 'She can make things smooth.' How can Temperance help heal that weary Queen of Wands? Strength appears to be looking straight at it as well. How can Strength help? 

Strength and Temperance both wish to heal the Queen of Wands of her burden. They stand on either side of her, facing her. And yet she stares directly out of the card at us, rather like one of those characters from 'The Office', or Oliver Hardy when Stan does something stupid. 'I'm sick of all this,' she seems to be saying. 'Too much crap. Too much.' Will she ever take the healing that's on offer? Strength and Temperance both appear to be trying to show her how far to stretch, when to stretch and when to release. She ought to listen. Of course, they both eye the strange wounded spot on her chest. Maybe they're hinting about knowing how open or closed to keep her heart.

Is there some way in which you are weary today? Is there some struggle for you? How are you stretched too thin? How are you not stretched enough? How can Temperance heal you today? What Strength do you have to see you through?

Right, I'm off to get a big glass of water...