Hard Head

From the Tarot of the Crone, the Witch (Knight) of Wands; from the Transforming Dragons deck, Antalgo:

          "I know my desire," declares this Witch/Knight. Many people have a longing for something (contentment, security, belonging, etc.) but few of them have a specific goal with a strategy to reach it. No wonder she's fired up with enthusiasm. But what some of her elders know (which they'll let her figure out) is that life doesn't always run on our schedule or according to our plan. Unexpected events, obstacles, and challenges have a way of getting us off track. Here is where the dragon Antalgo enters, whose head is so hard it is often mistaken for a rock. He'll encourage her not to budge from her original plan, to be stubborn and refuse to listen to alternatives. This tactic will make all progress come to a halt, possibly permanently. She would do well to learn resiliency, maintaining her determination but with a large portion of flexibility tossed in.

Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it's less good than the one you had before.

~Elizabeth Edwards

The Wisdom of Age

The Ten of Disks (Pentacles) drawn this morning from the Tarot of the Crone is quite different that most RWS versions of this card:

A elderly woman sits in a throne-like chair, with her boney knees and shoulders protruding.  Her body has seen and experienced many things in this life, and she holds that wisdom within her.  The verse that is associated with this card says: My world may be smaller.  My soul is not.  I spent about three hours with my mother-in-law yesterday; she'll be 91 at the end of this month.  Like this woman, she can't get around like she used to, but that aging body contains a world of wisdom.  Her life occurs mostly on the inside now, but that is no less of an adventure.  She teaches me to value the lessons my body has learned through experience, as well as the wisdom it still has to teach me.

     The card pulled from the Transforming Dragons deck today is "Antalgo:"

This dragon's head is so hard it is frequently mistaken for a rock.  He'll never be accused of being flexible, spontaneous, or open-minded.  His lesson is to remind me that I don't know everything, that my perception is only a view from one point, and that being a rebel sometimes means just being obstinate.  There are older and wiser people in my life, who have already traveled the rivers I'm about to go down; if I can open my ears and listen, I might miss some of the boulders and find the paddling much easier.