Make Hay

From the Tarot of Durer, the Wheel of Fortune; from the Philosopher's Stone, Tension:

          Bless his heart... this poor dwarf thinks Lady Fortune is the most beautiful lass in the world, but that's because his good luck is on the upswing. Once that wheel goes around and runs over by him, I bet he imagines her looking not-so nubile and lovely. Fortune (Life) doesn't really play favorites; as Matthew reminds us, the sun rises on both the evil and the good and the rain falls on the just and unjust. Best to make hay while the sun shines and adjust to the rainy days that come. The card Tension shows what happens when we don't adapt and accept what fate brings. Stress can be enough of a burden all on its own, but endured for long enough, it can literally break us and our relationships apart. There is no such thing as a perfect life or even a perfect day, unless it is a life or day without the weight of expectations.

A Crack in the Facade

From the Tarot of Durer, the Seven of Wands; from the Philosopher's Stone, "Tension:"

The booklet that comes with the Durer explains this card as "the ability to act and avoid problems." Yet this guy is sitting on his bum and has hidden most of his body behind his shield. There doesn't seem to be anything that suggests being proactive, instead he appears to be hoping the lion on his shield will scare people away so he can continue to sit there. He's living in the illusion that if he pretends there's nothing to deal with, maybe it will just go away on its own. However, he's got himself sandwiched between a row of staffs and a shield which tells me on some level he knows otherwise.
The boulder and earth seem to be having such an effect on each other that a fissure has developed. When we experience a healthy dose of adrenaline, we get pumped up to take flight or fight. Either way, we are dealing with the situation that confronts us. But the Philosopher's Stone card shows what happens when the stress becomes so great that we freeze instead. We start coming apart physically, emotionally and mentally. My advice to the soldier would be to do something, anything, that is different from his habitual reaction. The result can't be much worse than what's about to happen now.