The Hermit

I cannot believe it has been since October since I last wrote - crazy! I started back to school this Fall, and I have been so busy that unfortunately I have had to put the Tarot aside for more earthly studies..lol. So in a way, I, myself have been the hermit for the last 2 months.

As is very common for me, I find myself reading Tarot more often during times of stress than during times of calm. Thankfully I have not had to rely on the tarot too often this semester regarding school. There have been issues come up where I was reading a bit with Blysse, but aside from those adjustments, my deck has sat on my alter waiting for me..

Which is where it was when my brother was unexpectedly called in to court this week. I am truly beginning to wonder if this divorce he undertook this summer will ever end. The tarot this summer said not anytime soon and spoke of the expense. The question of Do I have Faith in the Tarot from 2007 Readers Studio rang in my ears and still does. In that regard, it has been a long summer and even longer fall and I have a new understanding of the type of expense involved in an upside down Ace of Pentacles.

So we have been through mediation and co-parenting counseling and bankruptcy, and yet after all this he is served with contempt charges that he did not sign the mediation papers. Apparently his lawyer felt them too vague and instead of her attorneys fixing this, they filed a contempt of court charge instead. I give Aaron credit, I am not sure I could sit in co-parenting counseling talking about parenting plans and not choke the person who is all the while suing me, costing me thousands of dollars I do not have which should be going toward raising my children. It is most frustrating.

So I ask the tarot Sunday night, what does Aaron need to know about court tomorrow?
1. What you have: The Queen of Wands reversed.
2. What you need to know: 8 of cups reversed.
3. What you get: The Hermit

So I tell Aaron, watch out, the Queen of Wands is on fire and ready to take prisoners tomorrow. She is a jealous and vengeful witch planning to deliberately undermine you and is making trouble. And Aaron asks.. what can she possibly do - HA! That is the beauty and caution of the Queen of Wands - she can do ANYTHING.

The 8 of cups told me that he was not walking away so easily from this situation, he was about to be drawn in and embroiled, regardless of his desire to avoid this - though I did not understand to what extent. The card talked about resisting spending time alone, and dreams of escape stymied, finding it hard to let go and move on, sticking to a process to ensure success.

But the outcome of the Hermit.. that was a bit mysterious. He is a guide, mentor and role model. His secret is that of Home and the promise of eventual rest, peace and protection, and I felt like he was asking Aaron to follow him down that road...

Of course there was no agreement met in court and they now will be at a hearing tomorrow. While I was not surprised necessarily by this outcome, I felt his pain and frustration.. so I was compelled once again to discuss this with the universe: What does Aaron need to know about Wednesday's court date?
1. What he has: Ace of Swords reversed.
2. What he needs to know: Knight of Swords reversed.
3. Outcome: The World.

I see the reversed ace as the judgment and the anxiety and stress that resulted. Words and logic used to deceive, clashes with authority. The whole suit of air is coming down around him.

The reversed knight is about an out of control, fanatical knight who is seen as ridiculous, inept, full of hot air, arguing theories that are irrelevant. Im hoping this is referring to Jeannie and her attorney and not to Aaron's. Based on the outcome, I would say this would be the case..

The World - I feel things will come full circle and in a good way, victory after struggles. Finding individual freement within inescapable time and space constraints. Involved in challenging experiences and handling it well.

Today he was then served more papers regarding discovery demanding his email, phone bills, hotel receipts and anything else you can imagine that might be personal and none of anyone's business, especially hers.

The readings fit, they work, they gel. I think there is an element that my brother and most people dealing with these types of situations hate acknowledging, and that is that these things take time and we cannot just bounce back or around so easily, even when it is tempting to do so. Inner contemplation i feel is a big message being offered here in the first reading and sometimes it is hard for him to quiet down enough and slow down enough to really listen. I am at a loss as to how to get through in this regard..

After receiving those papers today, gosh i even worry they will be checking out my blog here.. i really ought to give them something really good to read, huh..lol

I know better than to question myself, and the question again reverberated in my head.. Do I have faith in the Tarot?

I do - but I think where i lack faith is not in the universe but in those who seem to run it lately. I do not have faith in the legal system, nor in my fellow man most times, definitely not in lawyers or the psycho soon-to-be-ex-sister-in-laws they represent.

Conflict

Before getting into my usual ramblings here, I want to wish all my Jewish friends reading a happy and healthy new year!

My new year is not off to the greatest start, I must admit, which has me totally depressed, and what do I do when im depressed without answers, thats right - i read tarot! LOL

Im working with a new spread shared by Art Rosengarten, who, btw, is absolutely kewl and has an awesome yahoo group called Tarotpsych. If you are into tarot and psychology, or even just tarot, definitely check it out.. lots of really brilliant and insightful people in this group posting away and sharing sooo many great insights and pearles of wisdom, ive totally learned so much just in the past few months since joining.

So Blysse comes home from school with 4 other friends, 2 girls and 2 guys, one of them being her boyfriend. They had all planned to spend the new year with us. We had a great holiday dinner which was really fun. However, we then all spent the balance of the weekend watching Blysse and her bf be attached at various parts of themselves, which was thoroughly nauseating and very uncomfortable for the rest of us. And no matter what I said to Blysse, alone or with her bf, she would nod her head and then go back to assume an attached appendage position. Urrgh. I finally got so sick of the 2 of them I took them back to school early, as i was sooo tired of playing warden. Literally, the first night Eric and I were up til 2 am as every time we turned around, they were lip-locked on the couch. Now, it hasnt been that long (ok well maybe it has) so we understood this, and we finally separated everyone. Fine. Didnt stop them from assuming the attached position the next day.

I could get into more gory details, but i will spare us all.. suffice it to say, i am not a proponent of boarding schools, i think teenagers need more structure than what they offer, and my daughter in particular. Not just cause of the out of control teenage hormone thing.. but its as if the girl has no family or is not part of a family anymore. She hates when i call her.. the whole 9 yards. If she were 18 or 21, it would be bad enough, but at 15 i think its b.s.

So I did a reading today using Art's spread..

1. How things appear: Page of pentacles.

2. What is really going on: 6 of pentacles reversed

3. What needs to come out: The Magician

I did this with the Rider Waite deck and originally referred to Mary Greer's reference of Reversed Cards.. but i have to tell you, i just was not satisfied with this.. didnt make much sense. So I pulled out the computer reference that came with my Tarot of Dreams deck. This reference was done by Lee Bursten, and the more i read and use this reference, the more fantastic I think Lee Bursten is. I love this deck as well, btw, i just have a really hard time shuffling it and never feel like ive completely put my energy into it.

The page of pentacles is this young girl, looking at the world in her hands.. experimenting, trying things out on the material plane. Fascinatingly enough, the page of pentacles has the immature characteristics of the earth signs, including Taurus, virgo and capricorn). Not coincidentally, Blysse is a Taurus. Lee talks about this page learning material reality. Hmmm..

What is really going on, i feel, with the 6 of pentacles reversed is an uneven giving and taking. I totally feel imbalanced by this situation. Lee also mentions that the guy in the card is benevolently giving out money, but in his other hand, the scale is still tipped one way and imbalanced. So while Blysse may be spending time with us here, she is certainly not giving of her time or energy truly. Or while I am giving of my time and energy, there certainly is not much to be receiving at the other end.

Another really interesting thing about this card also is its astrological characteristic of being Moon in Taurus which talks about how we have a "tendency which causes us either to be encouraged or resistant according to our personalities to express maternal, compassionate, protective insticts in a patient and tireless way." hmmm.. this fits.

On the the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, this card falls at Wholeness, which strives to make things whole.

What needs to come out is the magician. Again, i was kind of stumped.. using my tools or having the power to manifest anything I wish just did not seem to fit. BUT - in reading Lee's interpretation, i realize also that the magician is a teacher and guide and mentor and he uses the 4 elements to problem solve. So I think what needs to come out is the teacher and mentor in us and we need to use the 4 elements to work this out.

On the tree of life, this position is the intersection between reason and reality - that which helps us make sense of what we see around us. - this leads us back so beautifully to the page who is trying to do just that.

I love Tarot because inside one card are about 100 layers of information there to be uncovered, its so amazing to me.

The pictures are the oracle cards I drew. I meant to draw 1 and 2 came out.. another fascinating thing. First was conflict - Duh! Heroic - the empowered side of caring energy that seeks justice and equality. This felt like it plugged straight into the 6 of Pentacles for me.

End of Summer

It has been quite some time since I have blogged, almost all summer - and yes, it has been that busy! Lots of great tarot stuff though!

Did some reading at Eclectic by Nature, 2 psychic fairs and also some private readings in the store. The psychic fairs were great, we had a lot of fun. Thanks to those of you who were kind enough to share your lives and secrets with me, hopefully I was able to help with some enlightenment or comfort.

I also met some new people this summer who are really amazing. I got in touch with a group of people studying intuition and angels in Winston Salem. Now, those of you who know me are saying.. angels Maris? really? Um - that would be a very loud and resounding YES!! I highly encourage anyone reading this to speak to your angels frequently, as they seem to be rather receptive and are just waiting for us to ask for their help. We had an amazing experience with this over the summer, and I will send my heartfelt thanks publicly to all the angels I spoke to who helped us in our time of confusion and need this summer. They most definitely showed up.

But this group of people are teaching me a lot, and I have found my inspiration again. I was really getting discouraged that I may have truly lost it after leaving Las Vegas, and it was getting to the point of depressing. However, I have really met a lot of like-minded people in this group who share my passion and interests, who are wonderfully gifted and through this I am learning a lot from them.

We are planning to collaborate a bit, which is really exciting to me. They, as well, are interested in learning about tarot, and I am interested in learning more about tapping into my intuition. Both go together really, really well. So in addition to studying intuition and angels with them, we are also going to be studying beginning tarot as well together. I am really excited about this, I think this will be awesome!

In all the chaos around here, I really have not gotten to do much reading this summer. Last week was the first time I have read for myself all summer:

What I have: King of Swords reversed

What I need to know: 3 of pentacles

What I get: 4 of cups

Im not sure what the king of swords is about - maybe my thoughts being all jumbled up and scattered and fragmented? It also talks about rigidity and discipline, having high standards as a parent, being critical and demanding as a spouse but intelligent and honest. Ok, i can see that. I have definitely been on Eric's case over the last 2 or 3 weeks big time in regard to the job and career thing. I also have some pretty high standards for my daughter. She did end up being able to board at school this year, and I have reiterated my expectations in that regard to her, as I cannot afford private school if she is not going to be serious.

The 3 of pentacles talks about collaboration and materialization of sacred. Creating things of value. Mary Greer also mentions serving or receiving a summons. So over the week i have been collaborating with Brad, my friend from WS, to work on tarot as well as intuition. I also received a summons, as Blysse's father has finally, finally been served court papers regarding his contempt of court for not supporting Blysse.

The 4 of cups discusses needing some grounding or quiet time. Maybe ignoring gifts which are being offered right in front of you. Hmmmm

This week's cards:

1. 4 of pentacles reversed

2. Hermit

3. 5 of pentacles reversed

So I think the 4 of pentacles reversed refers to my work situation. Ive not had a great week at work between last week and this one. Ive made some very stupid errors and there may be some serious issues coming up in this regard. My reactions in this regard tend to be extreme - sometimes very defensive like today, usually I am fearful and stressed as I cannot afford to lose my job. It definitely blocks me and hangs me up..

The hermit talks about a guide or mentor - furthering my education, which I am doing.. UNCG started last week and I have been crazy with homework and trying to find classes and need to write a paper on my goals, and i need to apply to my major college. I am also seeking spiritual education as well as offering it.

I hope the reversal of the 5 of pentacles is referring to the stress of my job and working easing up and not instead intensifying the 5. I could use the stress to ease up and break.. we shall see.

Ace of Pentacles as an Enemy

Last week during Aaron's trial, i did a spread for him that James Wells taught us at the Readers Studio. The shape is this arrow sign pointing up:

5

3 4

1 2

1. Resources: Page of Swords

2. Obstacles: 6 of Swords

3. Advantages: 5 of Swords

4. Disadvantages: Ace of Pentacles

5. What higher self wants you to know: King of Pentacles

So the ready mind engaging in trouble shooting, alert, quick witted, spying and surveillance. Being vigilant and watchful - Got it.

Inability to leave a situation, stuck mentally and physically with delays in plans, etc. as an obstacle.. yup.

Advantage - while not particularly flattering to Aaron, gaining from the misfortune of the PWFH being foolish, ok.. Salvaging as the air clears, good.

Then I came to the disadvantage of the Ace of Pentacles. How in the world can this card be a negative or a disadvantage? This has plagued me all week.

So on the tarot psych board the exercise last week was to choose 3 cards, 1 as a friend, 1 as an enemy, and 1 as a stranger. Last week, one of the posters had her friend as the Ace of Wands and her enemy the High Priestess.

This week's tweak on this was to then make your enemy your friend and your friend your enemy, and she posted how the Ace of Wands might be her enemy. Ok.. too much fire, passion, assertion, I got it.

Then the lightbulb went off for me.. Too much generosity, too much money, too much work, too much effort could very well be a disadvantage of the Ace of Pentacles. And hence the enlightenment, as just last night speaking to my brother, the PWFH was asking for some money from him, asking him to be generous, and he said he would consider it if she would be more agreeable to some other terms. This is money he doesnt have necessarily.. but would have to come up with it should he choose to be agreeable.

I called him up.. I shared that it is not advantageous for him to be this generous with his money, this agreeable with this type of person, as it will never end, the need too abundant, the requests and demands overwhelming and overflowing.

This would feed into what his higher self is saying to him regarding the King of Pentacles.. Eric is right in this interpretation, he needs to be the king in this regard, needs to make the rules and set the boundaries.

Fascinating...

Contemplating Strength

Doing lots of blogging this week, doing lots of readings too. I couldnt really hone in on the what i needed to know card this week until today, though. I was thinking maybe the silent strength was needed of me to support my family, but I dont think so. And certainly that would not facilitate an outcome of the hermit.

Then this morning im reading my email and there is yet another email alerting me to a change in the schedule to one of my meetup groups, specifically this group I just joined called Positive World Spiritual Meetup group. I was asked to join by one of the members who is also in a few of our other groups as well, she had written to me on my profile page, and while this is not necessarily my thing, per se, i did join in support of her.

So she keeps sending out these notes that the details of the meetup have been updated, yet they are the same, no changes have been made from day to day, so i go over to the main page to see if maybe Im missing something. And there is the blurb to this other person, found on the main page in the shout section, that 1 person should not keep him from joining the group, he should be doing what works for him and not allowing other people to ruin it for him.

Ok.. so in regard to this person she wrote this to, this guy has been upset with me for some strange reason, Im not sure why. He had been signed up for our last tarot meetup. I ended up cancelling the meetup because 2 or 3 hours before the meetup was to meet, only 1 person whas signed up to attend, and it would be quite awkward to hold a tarot reading meetup with just 1 person, it just is not the greatest energy, as he is a brand new reader, etc. So I cancelled the meetup for that night.

He got very upset and wrote me this note about how he felt.. explained how much he looks forward to these meetups, and shared some personal issues, which I will not post here, explaining Life as it is for him and the basis of his upset. Understanding and feeling horribly, I then extended some invitations to join us at various other activities and followed it up with a call the next day leaving a message and emailing him. He wrote me back basically asking me to leave him alone, that he was uncomfortable, and asking me not to contact him.

While Ive been kind of bewildered by this, I do respect his feelings and wishes. It has not escaped me that all the groups which we share in common he does not attend those activities where he sees I am coming. This hurts my feelings, as i feel terribly because I really like this person, but again, I respect his feelings.

So when I see this comment on the main board, I really am internalizing this, thinking he is referring to me. This really devastates me. First, I do not understand his reaction. I honestly tried to be sensitive and empathetic to his situation he shared, and while I can understand feeling uncomfortable about sharing too much sometimes with a person, I dont understand necessarily sharing that with other people this way.

And why the organizer of this group would post her response or counsel to this person publically on the home page of a supposed positive spirituality group is ... very telling of her. She advertises herself as a lightworker and reiki master, running a group on positivity, posting negative personality issues on the first page of her board.

I did email her asking her to give me a call, as I wanted to confirm that this reference was about me. Hate to be upset or offended if its not, but i highly doubt this is the case.. too many coincidences. Of course, she hasnt called me.

But my first instinct beyond that is to leave this group, as I really dont have much interest in it anyway, and that is before the lightworker, Reiki master posted this. I certainly do not feel supportive of a person who is so thoughtless, let alone negative this way either.

So then the Strength card comes to mind.. as does my outcome card for the week. In contemplating this, i definitely see my insides behaving like the lion here.. all fire and temper. Am I looking for this person to be the person to make the lion in me feel better? Should I be doing this for myself.. embodying the energy of this card, which would be a patient, kind, sensitive caring woman. Im trying.. ive been trying all along in regard to both of these people.

My instinct all along in regard to this gentleman is that when I see him to go over and give him a supportive hug and tell him how happy I am to see him. I feel that way.. i know underneath that his behavior is that of a person who is lonely and in pain and not about me.

But this other lady.. shes been rubbing me the wrong way for a bit. Shes one of those people who is kinda loud, always talking, knows something about everything. She goes to these meetups and ends up being the assistant and center of attention..lol.. which is great, i like the leader in her. But there is always something over the top about her. I had invited her and her husband over one night to play cards, as she was saying they are trying to make friends here.. and they were going to come, but like 3 days before cancelled because she had to work. Yet when we were walking told me she thought I didnt like people who had been married before based on me asking her how many times she had been married. Feeling terribly and telling her so, I explained I asked that question because i was trying to get to know her, not judge her. Of course, had she been doing the same, she would have found out that I, too, was previously married. I felt this had a lot to do with her cancelling. I was fine with her cancelling, it really was not a big deal and i kinda felt like they would..

But I can see the hermit card outcome, as my other instinct is to exit out of these groups I am in with her. I know this is my hurt feelings lashing out. Again, the quiet energy of the Strength card comes to mind and I guess the key to approaching this lies in this energy for me. I do not have the time or desire to have this type of thing in my life. I am waaay too old to have this immature, gossipy negativity, nor do i need to belong to groups where I am not having a great time, and I can quietly with strength and dignity do my thing elsewhere. I dont like being shoved out of things.. where i miss out on fun stuff while everyone else is out making friends - I dont want to be the enlightened hermit in a cave with just my illuminated lantern.

I cannot seem to get out of my own way when it comes to this stuff..LOL

The Lord of Ruin - Validation

So this card has been chasing me around this past week in regard to my brother, and today I am starting to get some validation on this. I cant remember which position this came up in his original cube reading, though it has to be either change he can prepare for or what he is not seeing. Urrgh.

Then when I asked flat out after doing his reading if he will get temporary custody, this card came up again. Not good.

So then I get the call today from my mother who had gone with Aaron (my brother) to see the lawyer in prep for next week. She mentions the card to me on the phone, as I told her I was worried, and also mentions that Aaron had a dream last night that he was being stabbed in the back. Well..

So apparently after they trade affidavits, i.e. Aaron sees those that his wife collected and she sees his, they see that there are 2 affidavits from friends of my mother not only supporting the Psycho Wife from @#$%!! but also trashing my brother stating he asked one of them to lie, and both stating that my parents were unkind and ganging up on his wife and my brother did not support her (maybe because shes PSYCHO!). This came as a HUGE blow to my parents, as they have been really kind to these 2 people, above and beyond the scope of friendship, if you ask me. And while my mother's friend is not responsible for the actions of her child or her child's husband, she did know what they had done and never said anything to my mom, which considering all they have done for each other, was pretty devastating to my mom.

The Lord of Ruin is starting to materialize. BUT - Im not so sure this is necessarily a bad thing. This card is not just about feeling stabbed in the back, in fact remember that swords is a picture of the mind and does not necessarily refer to a literal meaning, though certainly it can. The 10 of swords is also about endings and release, the ending of unwelcome situations, bad habits, depressive and harmful phases. I would definitely classify this entire divorcing/custody experience that way, and I would also definitely describe the relationship/"friendship" with this group of people in this way.

The relationship between my mother and her friend, we will call her C, and my mother and C's family has been needing to be cut off for quite a while. This has been very difficult considering C and my mother have friends in common and belong to many of the same friendship circles. I think this incident will make it much, much easier for my mom to release this group of extra baggage.

It brings to mind the 2nd card of the reading I did for this situation this week, the 8 of swords. I see where some sharper, less defeated ways of thinking need to be used - not just regarding the divorce case, but also regarding the company we choose to keep. I can see where the focus of the victim mentality needs to be adjusted and how that is binding the hands of everyone and blinding them to the truth in front of them.

I can also see brighter days on the other side of the 10 of swords card. I cannot imagine that anyone in their right mind would find either of these 2 people credible references. The situation of their own family is disastrous, with C's daughter having left her husband after spending the last year in bars everynight, telling him she was doing karaoke with her girlfriends when, in fact, she was cheating on him with a now unemployed bartender. In turn, her husband has been arrested for domestic violence, with my parents having bailed him out of jail by mortgaging their home last year (nice way to say thanks, huh). I do not think I am biased when I say that if I was a judge, I would have no time for the opinions of a mother who has spent the last year carousing in bars every night while her children are home with the father she is cheating on, nor would I have any time for the man who was arrested for beating her. Neither obviously uses good judgment - and I would wonder about the person calling them friends enough to recommend their opinions be taken into account regarding the welfare of 2 children.

So that could tie into the final outcome of the 4 of cups.. the gift sitting right in front of all of them which they have not been seeing.. or into the 6 of wands that came as the next step..

Strength?

Wow - its been a month since Ive posted.. guess Ive been busy! And so I have! My reading for this week:

1. What I have: 2 of wands

2. What I need to know: Strength

3. Outcome: The Hermit

Ive been thinking and contemplating on this reading ALL DAY. I get the 2 of Wands, because that really is sooo me right now. Im just on the verge of getting busy with my life, and Im talking really busy, but im sitting in limbo right now, setting things up, taking care of other things in order to get ready to move into the next phase of things. Im contemplating my whole world right now really.

Blysse has been accepted as a boarding student at school. Whether she goes or not remains to be seen. Her father, affectionately known around here as the POS (ill leave that to your imaginations) has yet to help out support-wise. She has called him a number of times and he says he is going back to work and will help, but he hasnt helped in over 3 years, so the likelihood of that is wearing thin, which will be devastating for her. Eric and I have crunched and crunched the numbers, and there just is not way around it, we cannot do it without his help. So this remains the big question upcoming next month.

If he comes through, and Im trying to send positive energy and vibes and visualizaitons in that direction, she leaves home and there I will be looking through the portal between the wands with the world in my hands deciding what to do.

I was accepted to UNCG and am registered for a full semester. So right now is the calm before the storm, the calm before I walk through that portal, again, to really change my life and take it in a new direction. Questioning did I take on too much work or class or studying.. contemplating, knowing I can do it and getting ready to do so.

And also on the brink of what to do with this tarot stuff. I was set to do 3 workshops this summer, one I did. Not a huge response for that or the one from this past weekend, birth cards, which I ended up cancelling, as I ended up with the weekend off from work and decided to head down to Atlanta to see the family. Beginning tarot classes start in the Fall, not sure how that is going to end up. I am scheduled to read this coming weekend on Sunday and also the Sunday before I leave for the beach, and much of what I will choose to continue depends on these dates and whether or not I am busy enough. I certainly do not need a third job, definitely dont need one where I am not earning money for sure! So Im kinda on the brink deciding about this as well. So the world is definitely in my hands and my destiny to be decided..

Strength - Im not sure about this. I have no idea what this is supposed to mean. Strength is more than just an inner strength. Its befriending the lion, I think, or maybe I am the lion roaring away.. ? I was reading the hard copy of the card meanings that came with my Tarot of Dreams deck. Ciro did the artwork, but the meanings were done by Lee Bursten, who really is fantastic too. He mentions that the Strength card is part of a triumvirate consisting of The Chariot, Strength and The Devil. A triumvirate is a commision of ruling body per Webster. The woman in the card controls the tiger from her intuitive center. She dominates the tiger not by brute strength, but through intelligence, sympathy and love. So maybe this is a hint at how I might have to deal with those things arising in my life..

The outcome of the Hermit is interesting. Normally the hermit is removed from others, kinda sitting back and meditating on what is needed. But the secret to the Hermit is Home. This would be a great stabilizing thing for me considering that mine has been shaken from its foundating, first having to move unexpectedly, now having it kind of possibly being pretty empty come the fall - but I can see through strength how I can make this work for me -

One of the things we finally did was get a second car - which is working much, much better for me now that I can get out of the house and do things on my own instead of being stuck here all day or now in the evenings while Eric is at school. Plus it will help me get to class on my own without having to wait on Eric. This ability to contribute and control more of my life helps center and bring me home.

I do see a key to this reading being a sense of balance - having it, needing it, maintaining it. Maybe sharing it..

I did some readings this past weekend for my family. Urrgh.. i felt sooo not on my game! Not sure if it was me or the cards.. or both, but probably it was me..LOL. My readings for my brother havent been what I would like them to be. I think his doubtful energy affects me. Last time I read for him with my Quest deck and spent the entire reading describing how it would look with the Rider Waite. This time I just took out the Rider Waite, not that it helped. I did a cube of change - it was ok. Then yesterday I did another reading for him here at home:

What does Aaron need to know about getting primary custody of his kids?

1. What he has: 9 of Pentacles reversed. --> got this - feeling entrapped and this being intensified, not all is well in his environment (duh!). Contentment and safety threatened. Victim of deceipt, difficult to relax. All this makes sense considering he has to live with Psycho Wife from @!#$!! until at least after his hearing next week.

2. What he needs to know: 8 of Swords --> It seems to describe more to me the mental thoughts and pattern of his wife, being a prisoner of your own thoughts and prejudice.. to see things differently, the bubble would pop and one would be free of the bondage of the ties, though the ties are loose and one can get out of them at any point. Interesting..

3. Outcome: 4 of Cups. In a negative light, this could mean not being satisfied with things you have, where nothing is good enough. I can see this. In a positive light, it can represent a desire to better your life. Wouldnt that be great for him!

Man - im really liking this accompanying interpretations with this deck!

When I flat out asked if he will get temporary custody, i got the 10 of swords, which I also got in his cube this weekend. I just dont know how to interpret this. Im trying not to fall into that trap of not liking what I see or putting in my own judgment versus what the card is showing. For instance, when i see this, my first instinct is not to think negatively that it means he wont get it, because I know how crazy she is and cannot imagine how any judge would not see this! But as a tarot reader, i sooooo know better than to do this, its been taught to me one too many times for sure! (Last time I ignored what was in front of me and thought I knew better than the tarot, Bonnie ended up having twins!)

I asked what his next step should be - 6 of wands. I kind of think this is positive. Obviously the title to this card is Victory. I also felt like it meant to be a leader. Lee Bursten mentions that even though the man is victorious, this is just for a moment in time. I can see this as a positive thing, though im not sure how this plays out with the previous 10 of swords... does that refer to Aaron, Jeannie, the situation.. ? Validation i guess will be here soon enough!