The craftsman, the patron and the cleric

Same card two days in a row. Three of Pentacles. I've written about it a few times over the years.

The craftsman confers with the patron and the cleric.

Working with others to make your vision come alive. A shared vision comes into reality through working together. Each member of a team contributes his own skill set to create the desired outcome. Reaching a shared goal through cooperation.

The wheels are well and truly turning on our house purchase. The solicitor has been instructed, paperwork sent in, payment for searches will be sent today, surveys have been paid for. There's nothing else for me to do now except wait and keep chasing to see how progress is being made. I've also sent the occasional text to the vendor to update him on our progress, and he says they've found a house they want to make an offer on, so let's hope it's accepted and not in a chain.

I've read it takes 8-12 weeks to get to exchange of contracts. So that would put us around week of 8th August...we might be in a house by September! This is assuming of course that all surveys come back good...

What's happening in your life that calls for a shared goal, teamwork, and the contribution of many different skill sets to achieve? What team are you working in? Which are you, the craftsman, the patron or the cleric? How are you all three?

Teamwork plus

Today's card is 3 of Pentacles. I'm taking this to mean that my behind-the-scenes team is going to be beavering away today to get the work done to complete the sale on our house. I suppose I'm the guy in the yellow and red cloak -- overseeing and poking and prodding a bit to make sure everything's moving apace. Like yesterday. I kept at my mortgage broker until he finally took my call, and it's a good thing I did because he'd asked for the wrong level of survey for this property. He apologised, made an excuse. So now he has to go back and change it today. I will be there through this whole process, making sure it gets done right, because to them I'm just another number, but to me, this is my life. You can bet I'll be checking up on whether he changed that survey.

Everyone's got a job in this. I'm the agitator.

Order from chaos - the craftsman in Daniloff Tarot

Today's card is 3 of Pentacles from Daniloff Tarot, a self-published deck from Alexander Daniloff. This card shows off a few of the qualities of the minors in the deck. The colours are more limpid than in the majors, slightly washed-out hues. Another thing to notice is the curious faces in the deck. They seem 'put together', like rag dolls or puppets more than human beings. If you look closely, you can see that the man's nose looks 'attached' to his face. I find this style of art interesting. It's a sort of 'Wizard of Oz Scarecrow' look. It is pretty consistent throughout the deck. Human figures have faces that remind me of puppets.

The 3 of Pentacles (or Coins) here portrays the expected scene of a craftsman working on a cathedral. It has the usual configuration (from RWS) of three coins carved into an archway. In addition, there are three gold coins on his garments (shoulders and hat). Interestingly, the two observers (a priest and a nobleman) are missing from the scene, and so the interpretation of collaboration or team work is less obvious, though one could still read them in I suppose -- there has to be a patron of this project, and the building, presumably, is still a cathedral. The work being does seems a bit more shambolic, with that rather haphazard-looking scaffolding in the back and some sort of copper pot with liquid slopping over its side. Still, the theme of working to a plan, of crafting something carefully and diligently, remains.

I found out on Thursday I have been shortlisted for Area Librarian and my assessment is next week. I need to begin work today on my 10-minute presentation. Right now I feel about as shambolic and mournful as this guy looks. But he'll make order out of the mess (as soon as he realises he's got the plans upside down) and so will I. :)

No place like home

Shining Tribe Tarot, Pollack 2001

I am working from home today, yay! It is one of the few perks of my current day job. One day a week, I don't have to go in to the office. I enjoy working from home. Lots of people say they don't think they could do it, that they would find themselves too distracted by chores around the house and so on, that they like to keep a clear division between their home life and their work life, etc. But I actually like working from home. I get up in the morning, and I can start as early as I like -- which of course means I can finish as early as I like. I have no distractions such as exist at the office. People are less likely to telephone me from the office, so the phone isn't ringing all the time. People aren't walking up to me to ask questions or give me something additional to do. I can actually focus on tasks and steadily work through them. I can have a nice cooked lunch because I can just get up and go back and forth to the kitchen stir and check on things and keep right on working. Then there's no commute at the end of my allotted hours (an official work day is 7.40 hours, but I am on flexi time so as long as the hours work out to 37 per week over a four week period, it's all good.) And that means if I pack up at 3:45, I'm already home. Done! Seriously, I wish I could work from home every day. Only not on the stuff I currently work on -- on something else. :)

Today's card from Shining Tribe Tarot is a work card. In RWS, it is the 3 of Pentacles, and shows a craftsman working on a cathedral detail while a monk and a patron watch and discuss. I often interpret it to mean craftsmanship, skill, artistry, and sometimes team working. In an actual reading I have interpreted it as taking pride in skills and also as being oversupervised. In looking at Rachel Pollack's 3 of Stones, I don't really see these meanings. I've looked at it for a few minutes now and can't quite a fix on what she's going for. Taking it from the top, a blue circle on the left, a yellow circle on the right.  Could they be the moon and sun? Then a downward pointing triangle hovers over a low range of pointy hills. The triangle points toward a cave door in which a figure stands. On top of the triangle is a shining people glyph. A striped snake descends the left side of the triangle. Multi-colored birds fly up the right side. In the middle of the triangle, a turtle clims up toward three colored spirals connected by wavy lines.

There is a sense of motion in the image, as the snake moves down and the birds fly up, and the turtle moves up. When you stare at it long enough, it begins to look rather like a machine. Perhaps it is a sort of machine cranking out life. So there is a sense of creating here. The shining people glyph seems very happy up there. He's the master mechanic, perhaps. I can begin to see a relationship to the RWS (I'm not surprised, as Pollack is a great fan of RWS and has written about it extensively). Let's look at the book:

triangle = creative power
snake = energy of imagination
birds = realisation, the joy of realisation
rondels = life, death and mystery, joined

So it is a sort of machine of creation. The energy of the imagination and will descends to the meditator in the cave (the 6 hills represent the 6 of the Lovers card, according to Pollack) and then specific ideas emerge.

'We believe that to succeed we must put all our energy and attention - indeed our whole lives - into our goals,' Pollack writes. 'People who practice meditation, or the detached action of tai chi, often discover they can accomplish more, and at a higher level, when they keep a calm center.'

Perhaps this is why I enjoy working from home. I am certainly calmer and more focused here.

Teamwork

Today it's back to work for me having been off since 11 April. It hasn't been a terribly pleasant break, unfortunately.

I need to have a  meeting with my manager first thing this morning to come up with a work plan for me, or an agreement at least, of a pattern of working from home, or permission to work from home as and when, because I am going to need to be freely available to attend various medical appointments to treat a variety of problems I've been experiencing lately.

The 3 of Coins, or Pentacles, shows a craftsman consulting with what appears to me to be a monk and possibly a wealthy patron or perhaps the designer of the building. I am taking this to mean that there will be cooperation and supervision of my work through this time. I'm dealing with anxiety right now and the reaction of my work place to my request to work from home more frequently is part of that anxiety. Twice a week for a time would be useful right now.

Week ahead - Deck of the Bastard

Rough night with dental discomfort/pain and nausea. Let's look at the cards for the next week and try a little predictive reading, then look at them again on each day:

Row 1: Sat Sun Mon
Row 2: Tue Wed Thu

Row 3: Fri

Today - 6 of Pentacles

This is a time when I must assess how much of my neediness in the material plane is down to perception. I feel quite on my knees to/at the mercy of events with regard to my physical body at the moment. I do feel at the mercy of those who seem to have more power over this aspect of my life at the moment; in this case, the dentists. I also feel that I am begging for mercy from a higher source for a good outcome.

It would probably not be a bad idea to get some perspective on events. There are many people in the world much far worse off than me with my dental pain/discomfort but the resources to eventually take care of the problem, even if I have to experience some pain for a few days or weeks, and even if the procedure is not the most pleasant in the world. No matter what happens, the worst case scenario for me is a tooth extraction. My life is not on the line. I'm not looking at chemo or open heart surgery. 

So this card is both an assessment of my current feelings and a call to remember I'm not the only one having troubles and in fact am better off than most.

Sun - Empress

It's hard not read every card in light of my most pressing problems. The Empress here suggests a day in which I should nurture myself in every way possible, mother myself. I should focus on the ways in which I do feel healthy. I should avoid talking about my problems. The Empress is a doer, not a talker. 

Mon - Justice

It's Easter Bank Holiday. It hardly seems fair to me that my dental woes have invariably fallen across weekends when the dentist is closed. Then, it hardly seems fair that the dentist is closed on weekends. A practice open on Saturday would do a booming trade. I can only hope that whatever discomfort I've been in for the last few days has seen a reduction.

In any case, the Justice card doesn't seem a harbinger of doom. Depending on how you number your cards, Justice is my year card. (The numbers of your date of birth added together and reduced is your year card. Mine is 8, which in some decks is Strength, in others Justice. I lay claim to both because my age is 47, 4+7=11, which seemed a coincidence too handy to ignore). 

It could be that Monday will be a day when I must deal dispassionately with the fact that life is impartial in dealing out woes. Or a day when I make connections between events and see the cause and effect. I might reach a solution or decision of some kind. 

Tue - 3 of Pentacles

It's back to work after being off since 11 April, but I must say, it hasn't been an especially fun holiday. There will be so many tasks to catch up on. I am not looking forward to it. I think I will probably be consulting with my manager a lot (if she's in). Team work is called for. 

Wed - The Devil

I think I know what this might point to. I originally booked off half a day's annual leave for this day (hubby asked me to). Should I go ahead and take it? Or should I stay at work for the day? The Devil is about feeling helpless, in bondage, thinking negatively, believing the worst, choosing to remain in ignorance, or any number of bleak concepts. It could be a day that I am tempted to call in sick altogether. But perhaps this could just point to a very busy day at work in which I feel like a slave! 

Thu - Wheel of Fortune

Does the worm begin to turn? Something is going to change on Thursday, anyway. I do hope it's for the better.

Fri - 9 of Cups

This looks hopeful....particularly following on from Devil, to Wheel, to 9 of Cups, as if a low point is reached on the Wednesday but looking better by the Friday. It is generally interpreted as achieving what you desire. I know what I desire as an outcome -- a settled down mouth, no pain, and able to eat without worrying about it. 

I'm going to do each entry for the next week in the evening to see how things actually panned out.

With good comes right

Golden Tarot (Visconti-Sforza)

This week I will be drawing from the oldest decks in my collection: Visconti-Sforza, Tarot de Marseilles, Soprafino, and Rider-Waite Smith.

Today I've drawn the 3 of Coins from the Visconti-Sforza. It's the oldest almost-complete tarot known, painted for the Vistconti-Sforza family. Their family motto, 'A bon droyt' (With good, right), appears on many of the cards, particularly in the coins suit. The coins themselves are the sun from the Visconti-Sforza family crest.

The 3 of Coins often means team work to me, which makes perfect sense for today, because I will be working with two colleagues to  shortlist for two new members of staff. We will need to work quickly, efficiently and with a spirit of cooperation in order to get this task done in the allotted time, and of course the outcome of our work is very important. It's always vital to recruit the right people, even if the job is just a part time of very few hours a week doing relatively mundane tasks (which this is). You still need someone who can do the job and is reliable!

I quite like the Visconti-Sforza deck, and the Golden Tarot is a nice kit, but be warned. Some of them are printed crooked. Mine is one of the crooked ones. (This card is slightly crooked, some of them in my deck are very off-centre indeed!) Instead of an exchange, I settled on a refund, because I didn't want the hassle of possibly getting a second poorly printed one and having to go through the returns process again. The good folk at Book Depository let me keep the flawed copy, so I use it anyway. Though the crooked cards are quite off-putting I must admit, it is a nice deck to have in my collection, however flawed. :)

Lord of Works - 3 of Disks

Oh look, another 3 from Thoth Tarot. Looks like Mars in Capricorn. This card is known as Lord of Material Works.

DuQuette explains that this image is a view from above a pyramid resting on 'desolate desert' of grey sand that represents the 'great sea of Binah'. At the three corners of the structure are wheels. Each wheel contains a symbol for one of the three alchemical symbols, salt, sulfur, mercury.

I myself notice that these wheels look a lot like the Buddhist 'dharma chakra' or 'wheel of Dharma'. You often see the wheel with eight spokes, representing the noble 8-fold path. The 12-spoke wheel can represent the twelve links of dependent origination. It could also be a reference to the twelve signs of the zodiac, or any of the other significant 12s in various philosophies. Also I've just realized: 1+2=3.

This is a card of craftsmanship, skilled work. It reminds me that I should 'work smarter, not harder', as the saying goes. Angel Paths says the card encourages us to examine our lives for the 'apparently immoveable object' and then to 'lean on it with all our might.' Well, now, today is my day off and I don't feel inclined to any navel-gazing in search of barriers to break down today. However, I did receive my offer letter for my new job yesterday, and today would be a good day to read all that thoroughly and get all my Is dotted and Ts crossed. I'm also going away tomorrow to attend the fabulous Marsden Imbolc Fire Festival, and so need to do my usual map-finding, packing and other preparations for a weekend away. And I have just started out on a new hobby called 'Zentangles', and I borrowed a book about it from the library yesterday which I will have a read of today, after I get back from the hairdresser's. I spent half my lunch hour yesterday marching around the town centre in search of Sakura micron pens -- but even the local papercrafting and hobby shop didn't have them. You know, you try to patronize local small businesses, but almost invariably they don't have the thing you want, and so you end up ordering online anyway. Well, one can but try. If they don't have what I need, not my fault. The last time I bought a substitute option from that papercraft shop was when I wanted to colour the edges of Celtic Tarot blue, and they didn't have the inkpad I wanted, and so I took the shop girl's advice and got a different brand. It was a disaster. So there's no way I'm buying anything other than Sakura micron pens for my zentangles, even if the first one I've done is just done with a plain old black biro. :)

Like the Wichita Lineman

Aquarian Tarot (US Games 2006)

The little guy in this card from Aquarian Tarot (2006) looks more like he's scaling the wall of the the cathedral than building it in David Palladini's version of the 3 of Pentacles. The long window opening onto nothing but sky gives a great sense of scale and height. I imagine that if we pulled back the perspective we'd see that the carver (or climber as the case may be) is clinging high above the cathedral floor, a vast space of air and potential peril all around him. The ceiling is still high above his head. The intricately tiled floor is many feet below him. If he falls, he falls. No safety net, no climbing belt. Just his own natural agility and dexterity.

That's a bit of a departure from the usual RWS image, which shows the craftsman standing on a ladder of some sort in a low alcove a cathedral, a church official and a patron of some sort looking at plans and observing him at his work. That card often makes me think of how teamwork is such an unacknowledged part of artistry, or how some people are willing to stand back and let someone else do all the work, depending on the question and the card position in the spread. Here though, I just think, Wow, that guy is all on his own, and to be honest, he looks like he could easily slip and slide right down that bit of stone masonry. In fact, he might even be beginning to slip in this picture. Sounds slightly familiar. I'm on my own this weekend, and I do feel a bit like I'm hanging from my fingernails. Well, it's 4.48 AM and obviously I am still up. I don't do well when left to my own devices. I need the remainder of my team to function.

Ancient Italian Tarot Pairs: Day 7

3 of Coins                                           The Tower Rx

I don't usually bother with reversals, but I thought I'd leave this one and take a look at it. This is the last day of the week with Ancient Italian Tarot, drawing in pairs: 'Embrace - Release.'

I've drawn the same 'Embrace' card today that I drew on Wednesday, 3 of Coins. I am seeing the combination today as advising me to embrace my work and release fears about losing my job. (Or for that matter, of husband losing his.) In a way, it could be taken as a repeat of yesterday's message, to attend to the moment and not be carried away by worries about 'what if this happens, what if that happens' scenarios. Now the Tower being reversed adds a new dimension to the combination. I don't take reversals to be a simple opposite meaning. I see them as a deepening of the meaning. I decided to consult Jonathan Dee's 'Tarot: Interpretation and Divination' because not only does he feature the Ancient Italian Tarot in that book, he devotes a page each to upright and reversed meanings of majors. (Plus, I usually agree with most of his interpretations!). He writes: 'The initial indications of the reversed Tower may be even more disruptive than its upright meaning. You may be accused of something; there may even be a form of forced isolation included in the oppression. On the other hand, you may be rebelling against some form of tyranny, showing a side of your personality that will come as a shock to others.'  So, the reversed Tower would indicate expecting the worst, and possibly worse than the worst! Suspicions of scheming, tyranny, undermining and overthrowing. Well, the draw today tells me to release all that, and instead to embrace 3 of Coins, letting my talents shine, and making the most of opportunities, particularly at work. Interestingly, Jonathan Dee says the presence of only one 3 card in a draw can show 'a lack of energy.' I wonder why he says that, where that idea comes from.

Oh, well, so for today, I will focus on my work and release any 'sky is falling' thoughts or feelings. :)

Ancient Italian Tarot Pairs: Day 5

'Life isn't as serious as the mind makes it out to be.'

~ Eckhart Tolle

3 of Coins                                    9 of Swords

Another 'Embrace -- Release' draw from the Ancient Italian Tarot today. Today's advice is to embrace 3 of Coins and release 9 of Swords.

Three of Coins always makes me think of work, because it is a card of craftsmanship, and to a degree also of team working. The Nine of Swords is usually about painful overthinking, to the point that your worries invade your dreams or even keep you awake at night.

All week the cards have told me to embrace cups and coins, and to release swords. In other words, to embrace reality -- the reality of my physical life and of my emotions -- and to release worrying, stressing, overthinking, or attempts to outmaneuver the body and heart through doublethink. It's interesting to me that wands haven't popped up so much -- I'm usually stalked by Knight of Wands or Queen of Wands, the cards of fire and action. This week seems to be pointing me inward, not to my mind, but to the breath and to the spirit.

On a more mundane level, this combination of cards advises that I trust in my own skills and get on with my tasks, and not worry about it. It's not the day to have 101 contingency plans. Today's the day to just do something, trusting that I know what I'm doing.

How'm I doin'?

RWS

Prairie Tarot, Robin Ator 2010

A very traditional 3 of Coins we have today from The Prairie Tarot by Robin Ator, 2010. A craftsman working on decorating a structure with three coins (or pentacles), pauses as two onlookers observe his work. As in the RWS version, one of the onlookers seems to be the patron of the project (the older man), while the other might represent a muse, a softer, more emotive point of view (the girl).

In the RWS, the craftsman works on a cathedral detail, the patron appears to be a monk, and the artistic character is a man in a flamboyant robe holding plans. Maybe he is the designer of the building. Or, perhaps the man in the decorated robes is the patron, and the monk represents the spiritual muse of the cathedral (knowing what we know about monks, such as the Cistercians, it seems more likely the monk is the businessman, though).

In a reading, the 3 of Coins often signifies receiving feedback on your work, considered opinions on your job (usually positive). It can also signify working as a team, though it seems to me that the man standing on the bench is doing the actual work while the others are providing their input. Still, without the artistic vision, the financial backing, and the skill of the craftsman, nothing would be built at all. It takes all three. So maybe the card can remind us that every member of the team has an important contribution, even if in the moment it doesn't seem that way. (This message reminds me a lot of yesterday's Justice message!)

Here's a riddle in the dark for you

Arthurian Tarot, 1990

What do you get when you cross the Cerne Abbas Giant, the Long Man of Wilmington, and Wayland's Smithy? 

You get today's card from Arthurian Tarot (Aquarian, 1990), Stone Three.

What a bizarre image, but as 3 of Coins is the card of craftsmanship, it works on many levels. First, there is the craftsmanship of the little standing stone, a monument to an ancient skill. Then the field to represent agriculture. The roads show signs of civilization. And of course the figure itself is both an example of artistry and handicraft as well as portraying the blacksmith, whose skills were considered sacred and magical. (And you'd have to have special powers to do your smithing both nude and in a rather excited state that would surely distract).

May all I do today be done with care and skill.

Mantra: Om shree vishwakarmaya namo namah (Vishwakarma is the Hindu god of arts, architecture, crafts and creation in general. He is the blacksmith to the devas.)

Flower essence: Larch (for confidence in abilities)

Baby it's cold inside

Wicca Moon Tarot by Shirlee@Wicca Moon

First thought: Oh what a pretty card! Pentacles, earth, north, snowy wood. How nice!

Second thought: What the heck has a tree with a face, gripping a crystal ball with the top of its head, got to do with career/craftsmanship/recognition for good work?

These are the associations I have with 3 of Coins, and I don't see any of that in this card. The card can also point to perseverance and the effort that goes into spiritual/psychic development, which may be what this take on the card is pointing to.

I think it will serve me well to view each card in the Wicca Moon pack through the narrow paradigm of Wicca in order to see where the artist is going with the image. A glimpse through the cards yesterday suggested that there is a rather narrow focus here. Looking at the card,  I see that the Younger Futhark 'Hagall' or 'Hagalaz' is carved on the tree in white. (Although on inspecting lots of the cards, I see that the artist draws this little image on many of them. Maybe she doesn't mean it to be read as a rune. Maybe she does. Hard to say this early in my explorations.) In any case, the rune means something like 'hailstone' or 'sleet'. The rune suggests, in its mundane sense, bad weather, and can foretell a disruption or blast of some kind. Right, okay. What has that got to do with 3 of Coins? I can see how it goes with a snowy wood.

Well, it's my opinion for daily draws to it's best to keep readings on the most mundane level. So I think this card may be predicting that it will be cold at work today. Maybe the boiler is going to break down.

Let's just see what happens.

Master craftsman

Today's card from the Sol Invictus Tarot by Kim Huggens and Nic Phillips is 3 of Coins, represented by Wayland the Smith.

You don't need to know anything about Wayland the Smith in order to understand this card. I can't see how any aspect of his back story would have much of a bearing on how it is interpreted in a reading. Clearly from the image, Wayland is a blacksmith and master craftsman who makes everything from the humble horseshoe, to decorative shields, to fine jewelry, and perhaps even coins. (The coins in the curiously skewed perspective of the foreground may be his work, or his payment. It's not clear.) You don't really need to notice that the sun on the shield is the symbol on the backs of the Sol Invictus Tarot cards, or recognise the White Horse of Uffington, or notice that the rock formation seen out his window is Wayland Smithy in Berkshire, although it might make you feel a bit smug that you know all these thing without looking at the companion book. ;) The most important thing is that he is doing the work of master craftsman, and doing it very well. It's hard work, demanding, something he must pour sweat and labour into. But this card isn't just about the work being hard (that would be more the 8 of Coins, which also signifies somewhat boring, repetitive, sometimes 'soul destroying' types of rote work--though sometimes not!). The 3 of Coins also celebrates the skill of an artist who can take one thing and shape it into another. It's the joy of the process of creating, the satisfaction of doing good work, the pride of seeing what you've made and knowing it's the best there is.

One of my favourite cards that captures this feeling really well is the 3 of Coins card from the Vanessa Tarot (Lynyrd Jym Narciso, US Games). Here you have a seamstress in her shop, having just completed a lovely gown, knowing the Vanessa Tarot, it's most likely for some celebrity!  The seamstress looks extremely pleased with herself, and the sun glinting through the window sprays off the gown in rays like the spangles of a star. Why, there's practically choirs singing in the background. Sol Invictus, being the beefy Divine Masculine deck that it is, has chosen a sweaty smith to convey the same idea of hard work done proudly and well.

What this card might have to do with my day today I am not sure, because my main objective is to get 5.00 and be done with it! Alas, I have to work tomorrow as well. Never mind! Whatever I do today, may I do it in the spirit of 3 of Coins, and do my best at it.