A reading for Cat - Part II

That is the second and final part of the reading I have done to Cat, who blogs over at Cat's Journal!
Her feedback is in red and indented.

~*~

Cat's second question was "which is the best way to communicate my plans to my boss?"

Head (♦/Fire): 3♦

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Throat (♣/Air): 11♠

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Torso (♥/Water): 2♣

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Feet (♠/Earth): 3♥

I had to smile when I saw the 3♦ again! Your mind and spirit are quite active right now, and this is a great card to have your reading. All is potential - from here you can grow so much!

And that also sounds very promising to me!

Pampero and The Necklace give us a rather direct answer: the best way to communicate your plans to your boss is... telling him. Just like that.

I had to grin at this because it's so simple and so true.

You see, the Jack of Spades isn't really a guy of seductive words and diplomatic ways. He's a good person, loyal and reliable, but sometimes a bit rough in the way he does things.

Well, that does sound a lot like me. It also sounds like my boss. (Now that I think about it, we really ARE similar in this aspect.) So, yeah, he'd expect me to just tell him something like this, just as he would just tell me.

You'll have to be quite direct. Your boss may at first refuse to take it seriously, then complain or brood about it... but you should still remain objective and honest. Make yourself predictable, tell him how you'll do things form now on and when you plan on leaving. Give him time to prepare and adjust to the news. Show him that you have prepared in advance, and that you will do your best to make sure they can continue your work without big problems.

This is very good advice. He will definitely not like the idea of losing me and may not react positively at first, but he'll also appreciate my honesty. It's true, I'll need to be able to competently answer his questions about when I want to leave and what happens until then. While I won't enjoy seeing him in a bad mood, it won't be difficult for me to show him I've taken care to pass on my knowledge to others so that the company doesn't suffer too badly. After all, it's not my intention to burn any bridges if it can be avoided.

The 3♥ in the Feet position shows that your decision will cause some disturbance and ambivalence in your workplace - perhaps with your boss and/or some co-workers. But it'll pass... try to keep your heart calm and stay a bit detached. Don't get into emotional confrontations. This is a very temporary disturbance.

And even more great advice! I think you're right, there will likely be some hard feelings from some people, for a while. Yes, I need to stay out of the whole emotional mess of that - which might actually turn out to be the biggest challenge for me here! But forewarned is forearmed, so I hope I'll be able to follow your advice here and stay as detached as necessary. However, it's good to hear that this will be only temporary.

Thank you very much for reading for me. The first reading confirmed a lot of what I already had suspected, so that's good. The second reading offered very useful advice and some well-placed pointers about what I can expect as a result of sharing my plan with my boss. That also enables me to better time WHEN I'm going to tell him.

A reading for Cat - Part I

Cat and I decided to exchange reading a while ago, as a way to break our habit of only reading for ourselves. She is the author of the blog Cat's Journal and a fellow member of the Aeclectic Tarot Forum. A while ago, Cat shared the reading she did for me in her blog, so now I am posting here (in separate posts) the two readings I have done for her, as well as the feedback (in red and indented). Of course, I have her permission to do so!

Thank you very much, Cat, for this opportunity! :-)

~*~

Cat is planning some changes in her professional life, and she plans to take some time off in order to reorganise her affairs. Her first question was "how do I best prepare for my 'sabbatical time' within the next four weeks?"

Head (♦/Fire): 3♦

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Throat (♣/Air): 11♥

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Torso (♥/Water): 12♥

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Feet (♠/Earth): 13♣

Wow! First of all, that's quite a crowded reading! We have a Jack, a Queen and a King! I wonder if this can represent the many "voices" inside you giving you ideas, or the actual interference from others.

Probably a bit of both. :)
I also have another association to the feeling of "crowdedness" that you described. You see, I spent a lot of my current holiday so far with cleaning, de-cluttering and re-arranging my living space - and as a side effect my mental/emotional space seems to have been cleaned, de-cluttered and re-arranged likewise. I believe that was badly needed and long overdue, on both the physical and the mental/emotional level, so I'm not feeling like I wasted my precious holiday doing so many household tasks. :)

The 3♦ (The Necklace)  is a very good card to have at the top of the reading. It shows that you have ideas bubbling inside you, and that to prepare to your sabbatical time you must start giving them form. Not simply imagining what you may do, but consciously choosing the steps that will take you where you want to go.

The last half sentence resonates most with me, because that's the part I've been neglecting a bit so far. But you are of course right: after having the ideas there needs to be the next step of choosing the next step to realize them. After having made some space within and around me, it finally seems realistic to do just that.

The 11♥, La Hire, is the Jack of Hearts, and he's a guy that is quite unpredictable. I get the feeling that you'll have to protect yourself a bit from some people, who will try to convince you that what you are doing is wrong or dangerous. La Hire tells you to be careful with what you share, and with whom you share it with.

I'll keep that in mind. So far, however, I've been surprised by the complete lack of criticism/warnings I encountered when I told people of my plan to do an unpaid sabbatical. Even my mother, who I thought would at least be skeptical, is fully supportive! But then I haven't yet told this plan to people who will probably disapprove (especially people at work), because it's too early for me to do that. It might become an issue later on, however.

The Queen of Hearts, Déja (12♥), is well accompanied by the King of Clubs, Sol (13♣) in this reading. She is the one who trusts her inner voice and hunches - he's the guy who lives inside books and rational theories, believing only in what can be proved and in what makes sense.

Yes, that pretty much describes the two inner voices I hear. The decision as such is pretty much based on a strong hunch that it would be a good idea, but the actual doing also requires some research and rational thinking in preparation. After all, I will eventually be required to explain this is a way that doesn't make me sound like a complete nutcase! I think this is where the two are a good team.

In order to prepare for this change in your life, you'll have to have both the Queen and the King in you. Emotionally, you need to trust yourself, trust your choice, trust that while the path may be unclear you are doing what you want to do.

Yes. I'm glad that my feeling "this is the right thing to do" is so strong that I'm not seriously arguing with it. Even when I'm still a bit unsure where exactly this sabbatical will take me - but then again, that's the point of going on an adventure like that: not knowing exactly how it will change you, right?

In a more practical sense, the 13♣ reinforces the message of the 3♦... plan carefully, take no shortcuts, try to create a "modus operandi" of how you'll implement the necessary changes in your life. Check if you have with you all that you need for your journey before you go out into the woods!

True. There is still some research I need to do (e.g. find out about health insurance matters) and some decisions to make about time frames and such. I also believe it would be good for me to give myself a kind of "mission statement" for the sabbatical, so I don't forget why I'm doing this and so I have a way to check in with myself periodically and see if it's working or if something needs to be changed.

To sum up: in the next four weeks, you need to carefully organise your ideas so they may become action in the future, and not just dreams. Set small but objective goals for yourself. Also, you need to protect yourself against those who don't - and maybe even won't - understand why you are doing this. Don't let too many people interfere, at least not in these initial moments while you are still preparing yourself.

Good advice, all around! While I shared the idea with some friends, I'm trying not to tell too many people about my plan, especially as long as it's still in development. I'm also not planning on letting others deter me from that idea and its realization because I just know it's the right thing for me to do.

Trust your vision - you have both the emotional and mental conditions to do this.

Now that sounds very promising indeed! Thanks for confirming my own feelings about this.

The 13 Witches Runes ~ Part III

Here is the third part of the 13 Witches Runes study. Today we will see more 4 runes: Crossroads, Star, Waves and Scythe. The next post will be the last one, and will include the explanation about the 13th rune - the Eye - along with some extra information.

If you are enjoying my posts, please consider buying Susan Sheppard's book A Witch's Runes. It's the most complete guide to the 13 Witches Runes that I know. What I give here is just a small preview!

~*~

Crossroads

With this rune, we begin a series of more "challenging" symbols. The Crossroads most basic meaning is opposition, be it explicit or subtle. Something or someone is working against your plans and opposing your desires. It shows that your efforts and ideas are giving no results, because something is "freezing" them, in a sense. Hence, this rune is also related to stagnation.

Very often this rune brings frustration for the person who draws it, because it is as if they were constantly walking into walls. One may feel inclined to change their goals or to stop seeking something all together, but the Crossroads do not tell you to give up. They tell you to change your strategy, because the path you are at right now is blocked. And there are many ways to reach the same place. Be careful to not put yourself in a victim position.

When the Crossroads appear it means that you'll need a lot of willpower to get what you want. Often you'll have to try again and again before getting any results, and everything will appear to evolve quite slowly. You may be confronted with periods of loneliness, isolation and with lack of support. This is a true test to your inner strength and resilience.

My blessing

Despite my situation of utter heartbreak, as well as the shock, the loss and the grieving that come with... I still consider myself a very blessed person. Because I have wonderful people around me, both in real life and online, who give me strength, love and support. And I am lucky for being able to share with them both the good and the challenging times.

I am also grateful for the opportunities I have of being here for these wonderful people when they need me! I learn and grow through their experiences too, and because of them I am a better person.

Thank you, dear friends, wherever you are or whatever is your path. I love you all!

You don't need to send me your blessings - you are my blessing.

After the sledgehammer

Beware when you use the sledgehammer.

I should have warned you of that in the last post. But I didn't know for sure what comes after destruction. Now I do. Lessons are sharp knifes, they leave scars.

Beware, because other people also have their own sledgehammers... and they may be getting ready to deliver a horrible blow. Not because they are evil, nor because they want you to be miserable. But because they have their own Towers to bring down.

That's what happened to me. I tentatively  knocked one brick out of place and all came crumbling down right on my head. The other side had used their own sledgehammer, quite unexpectedly. We don't build our Towers alone, so I suppose we don't get to destroy them alone either. If we are not the force hitting the bricks, we are the secret acid corroding the steel frame.

I have spent the last three days in utter despair, crying all the time, barely eating, looking around me and wondering if I'll ever feel like myself again. Today I could cry no more. No tears would fall, no sob would rise to my throat. My words sound calm because my mind and body are exhausted from the chaos... in my core, I am still an open wound.

But I am not ready to leave the wreckage just yet. I have things to find here - pieces of me. If I go now, if I deny this, all my suffering will have been in vain. I am still missing amongst the debris, and I must find what is left of me. What is true.

Keep this in mind when you decide to use that sledgehammer: there's a huge pain that follows the blow. A lot of negative thoughts and self-blame, in a torrent of lost dreams. A lot debris. So think carefully.

That said, remember: we can all survive this. We will lay down and cry for three days straight, but on the fourth day we will get up again and walk. Even if it's painful. Even if it's meaningless. We will walk. And we will heal.

And someday the greenery will cover the collapse zone once more.

Doll in the debris photo © APF/getty image.

Boy, fetch me a sledgehammer...

Like many people living in a rather Hanged Man moment...a moment in which nothing seems to happens and yet, inside you, you cannot find peace... I have been longing for a Tower. For a lightening, for a storm, for a sign that the world is moving.

I have always thought that the Tower was something that happens to the person. It falls on our heads, out of the blue, and before we can make sense of what is going on, we see the bricks and the fire all around us. And then we realise something has gone wrong.

Something has gone terribly wrong.

Thus, even if we had it coming, the Tower is still unexpected. It is something that hits us, that throws us to the ground, something we have no control over, whatsoever. With the Tower we are always the victim of something bigger than us - even if our own choices lead to such catastrophe.

But... all the books that describe the Tower just as that... I am sorry, but these books are lying by omission. Because this Tower... it's kind of easy even when it's hard. It leaves us no choice, it's a bomb dropped on our heads, and we have no other option but to accept it and pick up the pieces of what we used to be.

How about the Tower that we have to trigger? 

Nobody talks about that one. Nobody wants to think that they may have to be the perpetrator of destruction. Because it involves making a choice. Because many times it involves being hated and misunderstood for this choice. Because it involves committing ourselves to a dreadful task.

I know everyone likes to claim that they always prefer to have a choice no matter what... so do I... but after a long time in battle, when we are drained and tired of having to choose, and no option is better than the other (each will bring its pains and its rewards)... we wish the choice could be taken from our hands.

But it won't be. There's no Eye of God, no holy lightening to punish us. All comes from within. We slowly realise that we must grab that heavy sledgehammer and knock the bricks out, one by one. There's no God, there's no destiny, there's only us and this painful and exhaustive work of destroying something we built, something we hoped that would last forever. Something we put part of our souls into.

Even if we know it's for the best. Even if we are sure there's no other way. Even if it was an elephant in the living room of our souls - we will remember it. And we will feel that pang of guilt when we recall whose was the hand that brought it all down.

But if it must happen... fetch me a sledgehammer, and I shall bring about that Tower.

Rider Waite Smith Tarot: Centennial Edition © US Games Systems, Inc.