Never Insult the Oracle: it has a sense of humor.

When I first started dabbling in the tarot (around about college age) and was new to the language of the cards I found myself either unhappy or confused with my queery and I would ask the same question several times, each time trying to get the answer I wanted, sort of like playing the slot machines. If one coin doesn't do it, maybe another will. Of course the first answer was always the best and the subsequent draws seemed to mock my efforts. Then I heard someone say that you should only ask a particular question once, that to ask repeatedly was to "insult the oracle". Taking this advice to heart, I learned to better understand the answer, learned to better understand the language of the tarot. And also better understand the language of life.

So today my queery was thus: how do I best deal with my tendency to have too many irons in the fiber? In other words, how do I simplify and focus? I picked up my Rider Waite, the deck I use most often, a deck that is like an old friend. As I shuffled the cards with my queery in mind, one card veritably jumped out, flipping over several times, and landed in my lap. The seven of wands. I had to laugh because it was a card I might have chosen if I'd really given it some thought ahead of time...might have chosen as an indicator. Of course I had the Empress in mind as I sat in my cluttered studio surrounded by unfinished projects and multitudinous ideas. Or perhaps on a slightly more "get real" level, the Queen of Pentacles. But up popped this seven and I laughed. All those wands signified my "irons" (the suit is fire, of course). And there I was beating them off with a stick. On closer look, though, I could see that I was not so much beating them off, but commanding them from a higher vantage point, and that they were pretty much staying in line. So the advice could be "see these irons as separate and distinct entities, each unto itself. Take them one at a time, not as a group. Concentrate on each one without letting them spill out or glom onto other projects. Sage advice indeed. I mean, I could have gotten something like the seven of cups which would have indicated that all those projects were pie in the sky, just thought forms, intangible. Or the seven of swords, which would surmise that my efforts might not be totally honest or straight forward. The seven of pentacles would have been a lot tamer, my irons being more like sheep in a pasture, or plates in the cupboard. At least my irons are solid, well developed, forthright and energetic. Thank you, oracle, for you are wise.

One of the "irons" is my new Etsy shop Celestial Gear full of handspun, handknit tarot and treasure bags. I love making little "homes" for my collection of cards, and decided to offer some for sale. Each one is unique, totally handmade. I dye the fibers, spin them into unique OOAK yarns, then knit them into little bags. Each bag is a meditation in itself. It's too bad you can't touch them online, because the feel of their softness and cushiness would have you in ecstasies.