The Challenge of Relationships

From the Classic Tarot, the Knight of Cups; from the Constellations Deck, Draco:

All those gazillions of people and then me, on the outside. Because how do you meet a new person? I was very stunned by this for many years. And then I realized, you just say, "Hi." They may ignore you. Or you may marry them. And that possibility is worth that one word.

―Augusten Burroughs

The Knight of Cups, like all the knights, is focused and single-minded. But this knight's interests are interacting with others and developing relationships. Yet how does someone who is shy and socially awkward do this? Draco, Latin for dragon, is a constellation in the far northern sky. In Greek mythology, the dragon Gigantes battled the Olympian gods for ten years before Athena killed it. She tossed it into the sky where it froze at the cold north celestial pole. Draco represents challenges, and in this case, in making friends or finding partners. For such a challenge, Eleanor Roosevelt is a wonderful role model. A shy, awkward child, she would learn to overcome enough of her anxiety to become one of the most outspoken First Ladies of the White House. She reminds us that part of the problem is where we place our focus: "Don’t be concerned about whether people are watching you or criticizing you. The chances are that they aren’t paying any attention to you. It’s your attention to yourself that is so stultifying."

A young Eleanor