Mind Training

This week I'll be using the Tyldwick Tarot, created and self-published by Neil Lovell. I'll also be using the Antiquarian Lenormand, created and self-published by Maree Bento. Today's draws are the Chariot and the Lady/Ace of Spades:

This charioteer is missing a few limbs - a signal that his efforts will mainly be a mental effort rather than a physical one. The tapestry behind him ("The Boar and Bear Hunt") emphasizes the charioteer's hunt for what he desires. The statue itself is that of a Greek ephebos - meaning an adolescent male who was of age to train as a soldier. His 'horses' are Naxian sphinxes; they were seen as merciless guardians of tombs and sanctuaries. In this card, they warn that we need to guard the mind well. The Lady is represented by Madame Marie Curie, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, and she is the only woman to win the award in two different fields (physics and chemistry). She managed her many accomplishments while married with children. The Lady is a reminder that we should not let gender, class, or any other label stand in the way of the goals we want to reach.

A gender line... helps to keep women not on a pedestal, but in a cage.

~Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Outlook Hazy

This week I'll be using the Tyldwick Tarot, created and self-published by Neil Lovell. I'll also be using the Antiquarian Lenormand, created and self-published by Maree Bento. Today's draws are the Moon and the Lady:

          The Moon card is muddy and unclear; I imagine if you asked the mirror in this card for answers, it would reply "Outlook hazy." This is one of those periods when it is simply better to sit back and ride things out rather than stir the pot. Discernment is way off, possibly because of wishful thinking, opinionated thinking or emotional thinking (and since this is the Moon, my bet would be on the latter). With such cloudy vision, the best action is simply no action other than observation for now. The Lady card represents an important female, and in this card it is Marie Curie. Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel prize and the only woman to win two prizes in separate sciences (physics and chemistry). Among her many achievements, she led the world's first research into the treatment of tumors with radioactive isotopes and developed mobile x-ray units for field work in WWI. However she died from aplastic anemia due to her exposure to radiation in her work. Even the brightest and most intuitive people can't know or foresee everything, so there's no shame in stepping back and admitting that one's view is muddied.