Daily Draw - When Strength Isn't Enough

Fenestra Tarot - Two of Cups, Strength, King of Cups

For this week I have picked a deck that is easy, in that it is largely a Waite Smith clone deck, meaning that it almost perfectly mirrors the art of Pamela Colman Smith under the instruction of Arthur Waite, done in one artists' particular style.  The earth tone colors and androgynous figures of the Fenestra Tarot by Thai artist Chatriya Hemharnvibul and published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc. is just what I need to kick off a new year of blogging.  Familiar enough to be comforting, but with a fresh set of eyes for me.  I have had this deck for quite a few years, but have rarely done more than glance at it.  Let's get to know it together.

Today I am using a Daily Spread which I attribute to a member of a forum I no longer frequent, Thorhammer.  It is an introspective spread which allows for examination of the day just passed rather than making a prediction of the future, and this is one of the best uses of reading tarot for myself.  The positions are "What I did well today"  "What I need to leave behind from today" and "What I need to carry forward into tomorrow".

What I Did Well Today - Two of Cups.  I'm very lucky.  I know what I am supposed to be doing with my life, at least most of it.  This family first and foremost.  Writing.  Tarot.  I am also very lucky because this is a quiet moment of life which allows for time for all those things.  I made a deal with myself, which was that if I was given this time I would honor and I would do my work.  The Two of Cups is a card that signifies sacred contracts to me.  Sometimes that includes a lover, and it becomes a miniature Lovers card.  In this case, for me today, it is the sacred contract I made with myself and the one I have with God.  I'm doing my work.

What I Need To Leave Behind From Today - Strength.  This fiery card nestled between two Cups has been weakened, and with the positional meaning of the spread I can see that I am reading the shadow energy of this card.  I am Taurus, through and through, and most of us are not known for our subtlety and nuance.  I power through most issues, demanding that everything be on the table.  I expect me to pull my own bootstraps up, hitch up my big girl pants, and buckle down to make things happen, and by and large that is what I expect from my family and loved ones, too.  Some situations call for a little more finesse and a finer eye to the shifting shades of grey that exist in life.  There are some things that cannot be powered through, and as I do my work, internal and external, I need to be more sensitive to the particular energy of the situation rather than having a one size fits all mentality.

What I Need To Carry Forward Into Tomorrow - King of Cups.  Again, we are looking at a softness of attitude that I sometimes lack.  Like the figures that populate our dreams, Court Cards often indicate aspects of our own personalities, and in this spread I see no other options for this tender and compassionate King.  I need to be gentle with myself and with my loved ones tomorrow too, because that will get results where the bullheaded stubbornness I am prone to will only cause damage.  And wine.  I should definitely have a glass of wine.

Fenestra Tarot - The Star

Shadow Card energy - The Star.  I read the bottom card of my shuffle as a little extra tidbit of knowledge, something that will add to the spread or that I need to know in my reading.  The Star is so many things- Hope, most of all, wishes granted, healing, a promise of dawn soon coming.  I often read The Star as a Sun-ish energy, bright and bringing great blessings, because our Sun is also a Star, but The Star is further away.  It's still a wish unfulfilled, but it is a promise that the Sun always rises.  We just have to hold on.  For me today, I relate to the healing energy of the water bearer, and I see myself in the card, with the keys to my own healing, as long as I accept the flow and not try to impose my own will and understanding.  It can be so hard to let go and just let things happen as they are meant to, but the struggle for control is an even bigger illusion anyway.