Daily Draw- Judgment, Five of Swords, Empress

Deirdre of the Sorrows Tarot- Judgement, Five of Swords, The Empress

Today I am using a spread I have often used called Thorhammer's Daily Spread, which was crafted by someone I knew on a forum, a lovely Australian lady named Kat.  The positions are "What I Did Well Today", "What to Leave Behind From Today" and "What to Carry Forward From Today".

What I did well today- Judgment:  Generally speaking, Judgment is a card that urges me to spiritual self care, to listening to the call I am hearing, so that I am not left behind as others move forward.  That is a kind of generic meaning for that card, for me.  This one features a lightning bolt bearing god and a more distant angel, supplicants offering what they may have, and one soul turning away, choosing to remain a dessicated corpse.  It's a heavy card, deep with meaning.  Today, I made a vat of chili, wrote a little, and laid about, resting up from some sleepless nights and the rock concert last night.  In that way, I cared for myself, gave myself a respite I really needed, so I followed the meaning of the card I have, but the imagery of this card is not necessarily restful or of a calling nature.  I did not have any great epiphanies, except to not rub one's eyes immediately after dicing jalapenos, so I struggled a bit for the meaning of this card for me today.

I think today, this card is more about forgiveness, and the proper dispensing of Judgment.  And the person I forgave was me.  Usually I am very hard on myself, and while I work at home, discipline is a part of getting that work done.  In most circumstances, had I essentially taken the day off work, I would have beaten myself up terribly for that, but today I just went with it.  The little nap and the mindless tv watching has left me refreshed.

What I need to leave behind from today- Five of Swords:  I don't need to fight, and I don't need to "win".  I experienced a bit of a bump in the road of a longtime friendship today, and this particular person and I are notorious for bumping heads, and hard.  I could very clearly see where I thought he was in the wrong today in our conversation, but I decided to just let it go, because it's his life to lead, not mine, and his lesson to learn, if it is his time, and even assuming that I am right where I think I am.  I don't need to win at any cost, and people's feelings matter more to me than being right.  At least that is what I am working on.

What to carry forward from today- Empress:  More cooking tomorrow, more cleaning and laundry, because when you have five kids that never ends.  I take extreme delight in the small pleasures of home and hearth, and I enjoy making my home pleasant, so this card is not a surprise.  After finishing NaNoWriMo about a week ago, I have found the habit of writing at l east 1,667 words is sticking, so that creativity, at a good clip even, continues to flow, and the Empress is all about nurturing the creative aspect of ourselves, as well as others.  And incidentally, I find it far easier to write with a full and warm belly at a clean desk without chores weighing on my mind, so by taking care of those things I am freeing myself for other work I like more.

Deirdre of the Sorrows Tarot- Knight of Coins

The shadow card of this reading is the Knight of Coins, slow and steady wins the race.  Energy to get projects started, that I have in spades, but what really determines success is not so much that we can start things, but that we can see them through.  Writing books, building a business, nurturing a marriage, raising kids, these are all long haul, big picture concepts, and I am working on being consistent in my efforts with each rather than the explosive surges of energy I have at various times.  I need to utilize those, as well, but I need to build a life of good habits, because how we spend our days becomes how we spend our lives, and we see more return for the little consistencies than for the sun spark burst method of reaching goals.





These cards are from The Deirdre of the Sorrows Tarot Deck by Deirdre O'Donaghue and Wayne McGuire, available from her website, Tarot Unlocked.