Hopeful Futility

From the Vision Quest Tarot, the Seven of Air (Swords); from the Bird Cards, "Rooster:"

          Like the Thoth Tarot, this version of the Seven of Air/Swords is called "Futility." It's that feeling of being caught between a rock and a hard place, knowing that no matter what I do the final outcome is going to be the same. Yet there are still decisions to make and actions to take, though I might spin my wheels because I feel so stressed. This card made me think of an acquaintance whose husband was recently diagnosed with brain cancer. Without an operation, he would live three months; with it, he could live possibly five years but with functional deficits caused by the surgery. The disease will kill him either way, quickly or slowly.

          The Rooster card is a call to wake-up and take some action. Trying to keep a pillow over my head in hopes all my troubles will disappear is not an option. Toerien describes hen energy as "putting up with" while rooster energy breaks through that sense of restriction and drudgery. There are things I can't wish away, situations over which I have little control. But what I can do is work on changing my attitude about them; I might not be able to change the outcome, but I can bring comfort and calm to aid in making that journey.

There's Bad News and Good News...

From the Jolanda Tarot, the Eight of Swords:

The bad news is there are killer bees heading my way; the good news is I can control them with my mind.  I don't think there has ever been anyone who criticized me, doubted my abilities, or laughed at my dreams more than I did myself.  My mind can be used to creatively enhance my life or to destructively tear it into tiny bits.  But with cognitive training and techniques such as meditation, I can rein in my thoughts and turn them in the direction I wish to go.  It's a solution that has to be simmered, not microwaved, but it will keep those pesky critters at bay better than Off repellant.

From the Bird Signs deck comes "Rooster:"

This studly fowl is protector of the hen house - nothing gets past him without his say-so.  He's also the neighborhood alarm clock; he crows to show his enthusiasm about each morning, almost as if saying, "Bring it on!"  Rooster reminds me to have the same fearlessness in meeting my day.  If there are nameless fears, I should track them down, scrutinize them carefully, and see if they are real or just a figment of my "what if" mind.  If they are real, I need to contact the hen house - I've got good friends and family members who can support and encourage me through whatever challenge I face.

World-weary or Excited?

From the Vision Quest Tarot, the Mother of Water (Queen of Cups):

For the past few days, I've been dragging myself around feeling like I'm in a fog.  I told my husband that I wasn't feeling apathetic because I still cared about things, but I was just tired of caring.  I feel worn out from it.  So I was not too surprised to read in the LWB one of the key phrases for this card (besides the usual "compassion and empathy") was world-weariness.  That describes my current mindset to a "T."  But as I look at this image I see the woman is holding two cups instead of just one.  She keeps one full for herself so that she can offer the other cup to other people.  It would be easy to blame people, places, and things from preventing me in keeping my own cup full, but that would not be the truth.  Sometimes I just need to make "me" a priority.

From the Bird Cards comes the "Rooster:"

I am a morning person who loves to be up before the daylight.  But I'm not the perky, bouncing-on-my-toes kind of morning person; I prefer a quiet peacefulness to start my day.  But here is Rooster, encouraging me to be excited about the day ahead.  Instead of making a list of things I have to do, I look with pleasure at the things I get to do.  This will take some practice...