Card of the Day, 3 July, 2019

The Ten of Wands

Keywords:  Burden, Hard Road, Overextending

To me this card is kinda bleak.  It's gray and the path is blocked.  There is too much going on and so nothing is really happening.  Time to simplify things and open up that path once again.  You have taken on too many things and can't get it all done.  

"The suit of wands is about enthusiasm, instinct, personal energy and movement. Tens are about taking the suit to its logical conclusion. Thus in the Ten of Wands, we see a depiction of burn out. What was once excitement has become too much of a good thing. There is no focus, the excitement has essentially imploded upon itself.

This card reminds you that enthusiasm is not the only necessary ingredient! The fiery energy of wands can lead to taking on more projects, tasks, and plot lines than you can reasonably follow through with. When you reach this maximum capacity, everything becomes slowed and burdened. It is now necessary to prioritize and declutter so you can get on with the good stuff."

Hopefully you haven't taken on too many tasks and can make it through your day.  Be mindful and simplify and declutter as you go along today. 

Card of the Day, July 2, 2019

Card of the day today is the Three of Cups

Keywords:  Community, Networking, Friendship

For me this card means you've found your tribe.  You have that support group to aid in your endeavors. Sharing thoughts and ideas.  It's a beautiful card.  

The longer interpretation is as follows: 

"Three birds are hanging out on a branch, twittering away to one another. The sun sets behind them and they are silhouetted in the warm glows of red, orange and yellow. Three cups line the bottom of the card. It is a comfortable scene of community, sharing and enjoying good company. These birds could be gathering for any number of reasons. Perhaps they are showing support for one of their number. Or maybe they are just gossiping about the days’ events! This is another of the more straightforward cards in the deck. The image successfully evokes feelings of social gatherings, chatting with interesting folks, and the pleasant side of interacting with a group.The sunset is one of the most notable aspects of the imagery here. This deck is strategic with use of color, and this is one of the few cards that gets a verifiable color bath. The warm colors conjure that beautiful feeling when the sun is going down and you’re somewhere you know you belong.

Three of Cups Tarot Card Meanings in General
In the Waite-Smith tarot tradition, this card shows three women standing in a circle, each holding up a cup in an intertwining manner. There’s a lot of talk in the metaphysical community about “finding your tribe” and this is the tarot card that correlates to that concept. When you find a network of people who uplift you, magic happens.
This card reminds you that your group identity is just as valuable as your individual identity. The network you interact with has a profound impact on your energy. Deciding who to surround yourself with is one of the most empowering things you can do."

So I hope you find this influence in your day today.  Be aware of your surrounding, and the PEOPLE you interact with.  You know that core group that makes you feel good.  HUGZ to you all. 

Card of the Day, July 1 2019

Hello, and look at this, two days in a ROW!!!  It's a good start that I've kept with something for two solid days!!  

Today's card is the Ace of Wands

Aces are the beginning of any suit, and the element associated with Wands is FIRE.  

KeyWords:  Igniting Energy, New Beginnings

This card to me is all about new beginnings and the energy to move you along that path.  You know what's on your mind and you have the energy to go do it.  It is fitting for me, as my first book on Dragon Magick arrived yesterday.  I started to read it but my allergies just wouldn't let me concentrate.  So I know this is the Universe telling me to get going down this path.  

Here's a breakdown on the card from another site devoted to the Wild Unknown Tarot:

"Patches of fresh blossoms and leaves are sprouting from the wand in the card’s center. This sprouting foliage gives the effect of bursting life and untapped potential. The imagery throws back to that of the Fool, where we saw a chick perched on a branch. Perhaps this is the same branch?

Around the wand is a field of white-hot energy, which merges into orange and yellow rays. These are primal colors, associated with energy that is directly connected to source. This is a reminder of the suit’s association with fire. There’s a radiating energy at work in this card, as indicated by the lines radiating outward from the central wand. The use of lines here show an energy that is not stagnant, but in radiant motion. Fire is an active, outward moving element.

The Ace of Wands is a brilliant flash of inspiration that might lead you anywhere. You are in a position to blaze your own trail. The only way to find out where this initial momentum will lead you is to keep following that warmth!"

If you are reading these posts let me know with a comment below.  HUGZ to you all. 

Starting again. Card of the Day, 30 Jun 2019

Ok here we go.  I've decided to delve into Dragon Magick, and I've a couple of books and my Celtic Dragon Tarot deck to help me on that journey.  

In combination with that I have decided once again to pull a card a day and work with my main tarot deck (Wild Unknown) to see how I progress with card meanings and to reflect at the end of the day where I noticed the card's energy.  

Today begins the new path.  

The 8 of Pentacles

An intricate, well-crafted web expands across the entirety of the card. In the Seven of Pentacles we saw the assessments being made, and in the Eight of Pentacles the actual labor is progressing. The hard-working spider who has built this web sits in the center of the card, focused on the task at hand. Four pentacles, spaced evenly and purposefully, line either side of the web.

If you are going to build a web, you need to be devoted to your craft. You need to be willing to joyfully immerse yourself in your work. For the spider, it isn’t about rushing through the process to get to an end result. It is about embracing each part of the work with dedication and attention to detail.

The Eight of Pentacles is a card of down and dirty effort. In order to take the passionate energy of the wands and the emotional energy of the cups and turn it into something real, we need to be willing to, well, do the actual WORK! This is the message of the Eight of Pentacles.

And from another site:

"The Eight of Pentacles heralds success as a result of sustained and concentrated efforts.  Your commitment and unrelenting effort has paid off and you are now in a very strong position.  While others around you have been running around like headless chickens, trying this and that, you have kept your head down and hammered away on making progress in very specific areas.  Where you are now is not a case of just being lucky for you have earned every cent of your success from serious application and self-discipline. This Card very often deals with finances and career but the success that accompanies this Card can be applied to any area of your life.  Not only are you a success at what you do, but others see you in that light as well.  You may see yourself as someone who is just getting on with their work but from the observers point of view, you are a role model and inspirational.

One of your many outstanding qualities is the impeccably high standards you set for  yourself and everything you get involved in. You believe, that if a ‘job is worth doing, then it is worth doing well’.  You are scrupulous in your attention to detail and the quality of your work is excellent. The Eight of Pentacles suggests that you are highly qualified in your field of expertise and probably have attained other ‘above and beyond the call of duty’ diplomas and credentials.  It is no doubt that you are ‘top of your field’ and ‘top of the class’.  You would be considered an expert by your peers and someone who has vast experience behind them. You are highly sought after.

Another of your qualities is patience, and when this Card appears in a Reading, it will be asking you to take your time and not attempt to take any short-cuts with what you are doing.  It is quality and not quantity that matters at the moment so you must pay attention to the fine detail and not just be in a hurry to get things finished and done. Only your best work will do and possibly even more is expected of you now, so do not disappoint.  Keep hammering away until you get it just right.  You have really come a long way and should be proud of your abilities and all that you have achieved."

So sounds like I'm on the right path here.  I know to be successful on this journey I need to put in the WORK.  It begins today.  HUGZ

Card of the Day, 4/23/19

So I've decided to start pulling a Tarot card each day to help me learn my cards even better.  Also I've decided to start a blog with each card so I can keep a record and see if there are any trends that develop, etc.  

Today's card is the Three of Pentacles.  

Teamwork, Determination, Focus.   Those are the keywords for this card.  

As you can see there is a mountain looming in front of you, but the three pentacles are linked and facing the mountain.  You have that team assembled and you are ready to face the challenge.  You have the support system in place and you can do what is in front of you.  

This is interesting for me, as I've started on my journey of accepting and embracing my gifts, and growing as I learn how to use them.  I've gotten amazing input and guidance from a friend, and so I'm going down this path.  

Working on meditation to help shield and ground myself.  Working on the visualization aspects, as that is NOT easy for me.  I just can't pull up a mental picture at will.  Maybe I'm trying too hard, or maybe I'm not trying hard enough.  It's a skill to learn, and it will take time.  I've learned many things over time.  I every so often find something that I made when I first started sewing, and I can see how far I've come from there.  I have to put in the time and effort, and that is what I am beginning to do.  

I'm doing this here and not on Facebook, to keep myself accountable, and just myself.  I don't need to put it there as this is my journey alone.  

Thoughts

What a wild week it has been. The introduction of the iPhone 4S, the death of Steve Jobs. I want to address a couple of things here concerning the iPhone 4S and all those that are disappointed that it wasn't the iPhone 5. The original iPhone 4 was introduced 16 months ago. It was a leap above and beyond anything that came before it or you could find in any smart phone. It still was selling hand over fist up to the announcement of the next phone. In those intervening 16 months how many Android based phones have been released? Where are those devices in comparison to the iPhone 4? I honestly believe they have just recently caught up to and are slightly ahead of the iPhone 4. (4G speeds, cloud type features, 8MP cameras, etc.) I haven't heard of anything amazing or ground breaking on any of them, they have just caught up. Now the iPhone 4S is not breaking any new ground, if you don't include the Siri assistant in this mix. They have a better camera, a faster dual core processor a couple of new cool features in iOS5. Add in Siri and yes I know it's still 'beta', but there is pretty much the only leap Apple had to make. It's not just voice commands, it's moving into AI (Artificial Intelligence) territory.

A system that understands regular words, and can follow along the context of your queries. That was the killer "just one thing more" for this presentation. If you have an iPhone 4 already it's probably not worth you upgrading, wait for the iPhone 5. If you are in my situation, still using my original Motorola Droid for these past 18 months than it's one giant step into the future.

I feel we get bombarded with technology and the latest and greatest come out every two months. Some people have to live on that bleeding edge, I am not one of them. Because Apple has been gaining ground in the PC world, people now expect every new device to be revolutionary and ground breaking. That's easy to do when you've got 10% of the market. It's harder and harder as that percentage grows. The hype and rumors on the new iPhone started way back in February or March of this year. We've had months of leaks and people posting their wants and desires. I believe with this release Apple has kept to their philosophy of bring out technology that amazes and just works. Keep it simple and intuitive to use. No need to read a 500 page book to figure out how to turn it on.

How easily we forget the early iMacs and the small steps they took to transform into what they are today. What about the early iBooks and how quickly underpowered they were. Those same devices turned into the MacBook, and the MacBook Pro lines of laptops that will stand toe to toe with anything on the PC side from now to four years from now. (When I'll be trading my MacBook Pro in for a new one.) Apple has grown into an amazing company, and I for one, am excited and relieved that they are not sacrificing quality and amazing design just to 'keep up with the PC's". It's never been that way at Apple (Minus a few years there when they strayed) and I hope it never will be.

I know the arguments "Closed system", can't upgrade components, can't do this, can't to that. At the end of the day I've got a computer that I can turn on and use. I don't have to wait for a 3 hour virus scan to complete, I don't have to worry about some stupid virus attacking my computer. I can surf the web, chat with friends, get work done and not worry. Yes I know as market share rises more attacks will come, but there are far fewer holes to patch in the Apple world. Also Apple has a track record of just cutting off older technology when it becomes too much to try and support it. Having only used Apple for just over five years now I haven't had to face the situation where a program I use daily is now going to be cut and I've got to find a work around. Or 'gasp' switch to something new that actually works better. We do get stuck in our 'comfort zones' and yes people do not like change. (Just look to the latest Facebook updates to see how well that is received.) Just remember the world is ever changing. 5 years ago a phone with a touch interface was something that couldn't be done and would suck horribly. Today millions use their iPhone, or Android phone and if it's not touch screen it sucks horribly.

If you've actually read this far thank you. {*************************} HUGZ to you all. Smile a little more, hold the door for someone entering, or exiting a store, complement a coworkers outfit, inject just a little positive into the world everyday. See what amazing things can build out of the smallest efforts.

One more step

So here we are one step closer to those dreams. "Don't ask, Don't tell" was officially repealed today. Gays and Lesbians can now openly serve in the defense of their country. It puts me in a reflective mode. Having actually been there and done that I can take time now, almost 20 years since I left active duty in the Army, to look back and possibly share what this means to me.

Funny how with a 20 year gap and the perspective of age(yeah I was young once and didn't believe that shit then.) how you can see events with a different clarity. Please don't take this as a sob story, or the plot for a really good movie of the week (showing my age there). So there I was a young man in his early 20's that knew it all but was desperately trying to figure out what was wrong, and why I was 'different' from all of my friends in that one crucial area. Sure we'd just returned from WAR and having 1/2 a bottle of MGD kick my ass was an affront to my proud Polish/Irish heavy drinking ancestry. Call us Alcoholics and we'd wear the badge with pride.

It's easy to blame your actions on the alcohol, it's much harder to escape the harsh reality when you're looking into the mirror two days later stone cold sober. All I 'knew' about gay men came from Hollywood and TV. The prancing queen that was over the top flamboyant and that was sooo far removed from the person I was I couldn't understand. I knew that was NOT me and I could never become such a thing, I'd rather be dead then end up acting like that. Things were still black and white for me back then, there were no shades of gray, no possibility that alternatives existed. So I wanted to be numb, if you can't think you can't face truths, you don't have to deal with it. As I'm sure any addict can tell you this is a classic behavior. It's a phase, it will pass, etc, etc etc etc.

Did I mention the Polish/Irish ancestry? To boil it down let's say 'stubborn' is a trait. Not to mention that I was raised much better than to just 'settle' and just take the path of least resistance. I have no idea what my outward projection was, but from what I can tell it was a totally different thing than what was going on inside. (This is not a sob story just let me get this out before you come give me a hug.) I end up getting out of the Army through a loop hole that will guarantee my Honorable Discharge (trust me in the early 90's before Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and holding a Top Secret security clearance this is a MAJOR plus) and end up making new friends. Life progresses.

So let's back up a little. Not to sound conceited but I was always a smart kid, curious, I wanted to know how things worked. Not the most co-ordinated of kids, but loved to be outside playing as much as sitting in the house reading a book. I remember the times Dad took me into work (Electronics Technician in the Navy) and he and a friend would show me how to tear down a radio or a radar rack and then they would watch me do it on my own. (Always ensuring I didn't electrocute myself or cause damage to their test systems.) On the times I got stuck they would show me again what to do from that point and then reset the failure and have me try again. Showing me what to do and explaining why and the theory as I went. I'll also credit and love forever my Aunt (Anut) Kathy who never would allow cable TV into her house. "You're better off reading a book than watching TV" she'd tell me. My parents read, and I read. Aunt Kathy would question me about the books I've read or what I was currently reading. It wasn't a 'test' it was a conversation. She'd ask me about the story, characters, what I thought, etc. One AMAZING person that the world lost WAY TOO SOON.

So anyway there I am. More a 'geek' than a 'jock'. I went from 5'4" and weighing prolly close to 175lbs when I was 12 to 6'2" and weighing just about 100 lbs by 14. The dramatic loss of weight and gain of height left me really uncoordinated. Sports were hell, my body would not do what I saw others doing and they laughed, so I avoided them at all costs. (I'm about 96.7% positive that anyone still reading this can identify with a good chunk of what I'm saying.)

You meet the person you are supposed to meet when you need to meet them. I firmly believe this as it has played out again and again in my life. (Blaine and Darrell to name but two.) From that skinny kid in Great Lakes, IL to the man that loved and learned from my partner (if even for the brief 18 months we had together.) Ronnie I am the man I have always been destined to become. A man that proudly supports our military and is in awe of the History unfolding infront of me. Ronnie served in the Navy, and I served in the Army, had we been allowed to serve openly and proudly would we have ever met?

Think on that as I close this post. Prolly one of the main things that spurred this post. As always I send my love and energy to you all {*********************}

HUGZ