This week I'll be using Poppy Palin's Waking the Wild Spirit Tarot, published by Llewellyn, along with the 2nd edition of her companion book, Stories of the Wild Spirit, published by Slippery Jacks Press. I'll also be drawing from the Saltwater Reading Cards, created by Laura Bowen and published by Rockpool Publishing. Today's cards are Spark/Ace of Fire (Wands) and Crocodile:
As a mother and child gather dried branches, a father attempts to produce a spark by striking flint rocks. The Ace of Fire brings passionate inspiration that can motivate us to start something new. But - as anyone who's attempted primitive fire-making knows - it can take some tenacity to build a useful fire, no matter how much enthusiasm you have. It helps not to wait too long to begin, or our eagerness will fade and fail to supply the energy to persevere. Yet Crocodile appears to warn that there may be a hidden obstacle we need to be aware of, so we shouldn't jump in without being alert or prepared. As a teen, I shared a junker car with four step-siblings that we all used for work. I learned the hard way to always check the gas gauge before I took off anywhere. In the words of J.R.R. Tolkien, "It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near one."
