Tarot, Day. . . 22

I'm just gonna pick up counting from the last post since I haven't done this in over a week. It's been a very eventful week, involving a lot of packing and a lot of interviews and my damn usually-reliable car breaking down again (second time it's broken down in a month and neither time did the shop even do me the favor of offering an oil change; I had to go get one yesterday!). But today I did all sorts of productive things, so it's time for a good proper Celtic Cross spread to make up for the time. Using my vampire deck, because it's time.

The first card, the Cover card, is today the Four of Pentacles. The cover card "reveals the substance of the question," essentially showing what the spread is about. The Four of Pentacles, Holding Tight, symbolizes "Maintaining the status quo." This seems like an odd choice of words for the symbolization because the key words include a lot of stuff like "Enrichment" and "Gain of money," and the Situation section of my book says straight out "The Four of Disks represents financial security." The card may be warning of being "too conservative" or "miserly" and that I "must learn to delegate rather than do everything yourself," which I suppose is possible. The book notes that "If your question was about finances, the Four of Pentacles assures security and material acquisition." I could certainly use some security about now. The spread as a whole also has four Pentacles in it, so it seems to be staying closely on topic with a focus on financial and material matters.

The second card, the Crossing card, is Major Arcana XI, Justice, symbolizing "Being judged. A fair outcome." This is one of those cards that is basically what it says on the tin--it can represent legal affairs, but more often it represents getting what you deserve and having to deliberate wisely to make decisions, that sort of thing. In its current position as the crossing card, it represents obstacles, opportunities, resources, and other factors modifying the question raised in the cover card. Together they create a "micro-cross" representing the essence of the spread. In this case, it seems to be revealing my central worry about whether or not I succeed at my new job--will I get what I deserve and will I deserve for it to go well? Hopefully, this micro-cross is indicating that if I am careful and diligent, I will get the stability I want.

The third card, the Beneath card, shows "past influences affecting the matter, past experiences, repetitive behavior, motivations, where the question comes from," etc. In this spread it is Major Arcana I, The Magician, representing "Mastery of special knowledge. Focused energy." Key words include "The cumulative result of disciplined training" and "Marketing yourself." As a situation card, it says "You are about to take advantage of the expertise you have gleaned from a period of disciplined training. . . . You are able to promote and market yourself to those who are interested in making use of your special skills and knowledge." Whether this refers to my editorial skills or my skill at getting interviews (which seems to have been pretty good this time around), I do not know, but it seems fairly on point. I have tried to "observe, experiment, remain adaptable, refine your skills, and learn about how to manipulate the world" this summer, so hopefully the placement of this card means I have managed to do so to some degree.

The fourth card, the Behind card, shows "influences that are just passing out of existence," and in this spread is the Two of Swords, Stalemate. This card symbolizes "A tense situation. An impasse" and since it is the behind card I hope that means the stalemate is over. MOVING ON.

The fifth card, the Crown card, shows "ideals, goals, option, intentions, avenues of development, possibilities, and opportunities." While that makes it sound like it would usually be a positive card, in this spread it shows up as Major Arcana XV, The Devil, who represents "Bondage. Self-imposed limitations." I suppose that's a warning, then. Key words include "The power of negative thinking. Finding it hard to let go" and "Unnecessary guilt. Heavy commitments. Confronting your personal demons. . . Excessive attachment to material goods." I guess it's warning me that I am at risk of getting too attached to job- and money-related things, which is possibly true. Apparently, when the Devil appears, it's time to "review your bondage to material goods, unbridled passions, harmful relationships, and financial security." I will certainly have to keep that in mind.

The sixth card, the Before card, "reveals forthcoming circumstances and influences coming into being in the near future," and in this spread is the Knight of Pentacles. Under the element system, this is the Earth aspect of Earth, occupied solidly with physical and material issues--for me, probably job, housing, finances, and physical health. All of those are going to go through some changes or need some meticulous sussing-out in the next few weeks.

Moving on from the Cross to the Pillar, the seventh card, the Self card, "symbolizes where you stand on the issue." In this spread, my Self is the Page of Pentacles, a card of fire and earth, representing someone taking a practical and materially-based approach to their grands passions. I. . . will have to think about that for a bit, actually. My little book characterizes the Page of Pentacles as Studiousness, representing "A small financial gain. Education." Key words include "Good news about money and finances" (!), "Slow and steady progress," and "Eagerness for learning." As a situation card, it claims "You may soon be presented with an opportunity to make money or engage in a new business venture. Be sure to do your homework so you can be in a position of advantage." Note to self: Do more research on content marketing. "You could become involved in some kind of research involving close attention to detail and lots of paperwork." Sounds like my life. "Education can benefit you at this time." Education can always benefit you, little book.

The eighth card, the House card, is about the querent's environment and the opinions of the people around them. The house card here is Major Arcana XVII, The Star, representing "Hope." This may literally refer to hope for an improved living situation in the coming week; it may also mean my Team Me is rooting for me; it may mean both. The Star indicates that "This is a good time to exert yourself because you can achieve your ideals." Overall, this card indicates that my environment is positive and optimistic.

The ninth card, the Hopes, Fears, and Expectations card, shows (obviously) one's hopes, fears, and expectations regarding the question at hand. This is our last Pentacles card for this spread, the Three of Pentacles, A Job Well Done, representing "Beneficial use of talents." This is extremely accurate, I think! Key word include "Early stages of accomplishment," "Employment" (yes that is a hope!), "Professional growth" (dear god yes that is a hope too), and "Competence. Sincere effort. High standards. Expertise. . . . Doing a job the right way." A lot of my anxiety revolves around my ability to meet my own standards, I think. Anyway, as a situation card it says "You will be rewarded for doing a competent job and making use of your skills, knowledge, and talents" and that "You will have an opportunity to earn money professionally for what you know." It also accurately points out that I "desire status, recognition, or approval from others, and you feel a sense of accomplishment for a job well done." I do miss that feeling.

The last card, the Final Outcome card, is here the Nine of Cups, The Wish Card, representing "Desires fulfilled." Another "exactly what it says on the tin" sort of card, its key words include "Enjoyment. Contentment. Pleasure. . . . Comforts, Health. Happiness. Plenty. . . . Financial well-being." It also includes "Smugness," but hey. The S&A commentary says "When the Nine of Cups appears, especially as an outcome card, you will get what you desire. This card promises material benefits and physical luxury." Huzzah! Now I just have to not get so attached to it that I turn into a soulless miser, as per my warning of The Devil. At any rate, I think this reading has calmed me down a little from the overweening paranoia I've been feeling since I got my offer letter on Thursday, and has restored a bit of my confidence, which is good. But just a bit; I don't want to get cocky or lazy--that'll bring the eye of the Universe back onto me, and I was hoping it had wandered off to fuck with somebody else for a little while.

Since I feel so much better, I should maybe get back to doing these daily.

More on Paddy's green isle

In my quest to read all of the weirdo coffee table books on Ireland that are older than I am that my family owns—this is an entire collection, by the way—I rescued a copy of Ireland: Past and Present from my mother’s To Be Thrown Away After The Realtor Is Done Using It To Stage The House pile. Edited by Brendan Kennelly, a professor of something at Trinity College, Dublin, and containing essays by him and by other professors of various things at Trinity College, this book gives an interesting peek into Ireland as it was in 1986, including the lamentable state of its typesetting technology. Seriously, the uneven bolding and spacing gave me a headache.

As it is a coffee table book, the bulk of the volume is given over to beautiful, picturesque, full-color spreads in a slightly eighties degree of fuzziness but which are nonetheless quite green and lovely. Ireland seems to be a country well-suited for making coffee table books about, because while the history itself is completely fucked up, the landscapes are breathtaking and the ancient art is gorgeous. (The obligatory section on sport is somewhat less picturesque, consisting mostly of action shots of red-faced men in awkward shorts, but it’s definitely amusing.)

One major theme in both Irish literature and Irish coffee table books that I have noticed is that any Irishman or Irishwoman intelligent enough to write a book has Opinions about the failings of the Church and the government and the stupidities of his fellow countrymen, and they all seem to be basically the same opinions. Like, 95% of twentieth century Ireland is either blowing people up in Derry and Belfast or being prudishly Catholic, and the other 5% is writing about how terrible it all is. If anyone since Eamon de Valera has written anything about how no, the political and social order is JUST FINE, THANKS, I haven’t seen hide nor hair of it. (Needless to say, inasmuch as I get to have opinions on what Ireland was doing when I was fetus, I’m on Team Writers here.) Brendan Kennelly’s article on “the closed mind” is actually quite moving, both cutting and optimistic at the same time, laying out a portrait of a proud, wounded, and contradictory people trying to develop and maintain a national identity in an increasingly globalizing world. There’s also some great commentary on the tension between the idealized Irish Mother and Ireland’s actual tradition of turning out strong-willed, intellectually badass ladies.

Different sections of the book move seamlessly between well-researched historical and sociological commentary and the personal narratives of the authors, giving a pretty decent overview of the shifts and contradictions of Irish life over the centuries.  It definitely leaves the reader wanting to do further research into a lot of these subjects, or at least it does if the reader is me. ::makes mental note to track down good versions of all the Irish myth cycles:: ::and to pick up an annotated Yeats one of these days:: ::and to go to Ireland::

No joke, my biggest complaint about this book really is the typesetting. And that’s not even because the rest of the book is so good, even though it’s pretty good, it’s because the typesetting is just that awful.  Partly it’s super eighties looking and partly it’s just poorly formatted. Like, I was compelled to go and Google the publisher to see if they’re still around—they are—and if they look like they’ve gotten their shit together at all in the past 28 years—which it looks like they may have. (Actually, I’m looking through their website and now I kinda want to check out their book about Tom Gilmartin.)

Anyway, I guess this book is going back in my stash until I am enough of a real grown-up to have a coffee table to put it on.