The Barons Come Calling

I feel like I’ve been gone so long, I don’t even know where to begin. I’ve started to write this post a couple of times, and each time ended up stopping due to being entirely overwhelmed!

For a long time (months, I suppose) I’d been foreseeing a June full of changes. I saw that I’d perhaps experience something negative that would have potentially positive financial consequences, but had no idea what that would look like in real life. We were planning a trip to Michigan to drop the kids off with my parents for several weeks, and I saw some challenges and surprises surrounding that, but had no idea how that would play out either.  June was certainly a “full” month, and the trip to Michigan was not without its challenges, and in this post I’ll attempt to shed some light on the cards (and runes) I was seeing, and how things ultimately fell together…

 Wildwood Tarot
W. Worthington

When I did a New Year’s reading for myself, choosing a card for each month of the year, The Great Bear (from the Wildwood Tarot - similar to Judgment) fell into the position for June 2014. Likewise, when I did Jorge’s, the Journey (akin to Death) fell for the same month in his reading. That was enough for me to be very aware of what might develop during this particular month, and in the time leading up to June I did quite a few spreads with the intention of gleaning as much information as possible. I would see Lenormand cards that to me suggested an ending (or possibly illness or death!) that would help me financially. Naturally I was a bit nervous, but I also didn’t really know how that would manifest. I was hoping everyone in my family would be okay. On the first day of June I flew up to Michigan for 2 short days to attend the wedding reception for my sister. On the final afternoon I was looking at cards for the return trip and kept seeing cards like: Rider – Whip – Coffin, and Rider – Crossroads – Cross that had me anxious. Would my flight be canceled? No, it wasn’t, and it went on quite normally and according to plan. I wasn’t sure what those cards were about, even though such cards for daily draws are usually toned down, and hence don’t carry the same intense meaning as it might usually. Less than 24 hours later I was back home and sitting at a red light waiting to turn left, when I was suddenly hit by a man who had crossed through the intersection, passed over top of the median, and slammed into the side of my car. I was stunned, but fortunately didn’t have anything more than a few bumps and bruises, and some shoulder aches. This man had bounced off me and hit the woman behind me as well. In the end, he had no insurance to speak of, and my company was considering going after this man legally. I was prepared for a long and stressful journey. Interestingly, the insurance company deemed my car a total loss, and they paid off the remainder of the car loan, and then some. We had already considered downsizing to a single car for our family, but didn’t think we’d get enough in the sale to make up for what we had left of our loan, so it didn’t seem likely that we would be a one-car family anytime soon. Suddenly we were down to one car, I wasn’t too injured, and our loan was entirely gone.

All of that was challenging, yet ultimately worked out heavily in our favor, and I realized that this was the event I’d been seeing in my cards – not a death or illness, but definitely a severe ending that led to financial improvement. The side effect of the crash was that I passed through a period of deep existentialism. In Spanish we say “cuando te toca, te toca,” meaning that when it’s your time, there’s nothing you can do about it. I’m a good driver, a careful driver, but sometimes it just doesn’t matter how great you are. This man made a beeline right for me, and there was nothing I could do about it.

Looking back I realized that those cards I’d pulled before my return to Florida were precisely describing my accident and its location (at a crossroads). But there was nothing I could really have done about it. Even if I’d been aware that it was referring to a car accident, how could I have known which intersection, or in which manner it would unfold? Rather than being a negative thing, I saw this (and still do) as a powerful teaching experience for working with predictions, one that makes me a more skilled reader/interpreter.

Still, I was quite upset about the occurrence. I realized just how fragile things are, and how unexpectedly a millisecond can totally change your life. I didn’t have a hard time driving after that (though Jorge didn’t really want me to!), but I did experience anxiety when I was a passenger – I wasn’t in control, couldn’t gauge the velocity or time needed to stop the car – and every car that passed by or made a rapid movement really scared me and had me grabbing the seat, white-knuckled. I’m much better now, but that sense of treating each moment as precious and valuable still hasn’t left me.

New Orleans Voodoo Tarot
S. Glassman

During that time I had little desire to interact with the outside world. I became very focused on my private life – family, myself, my goals. I took an unplanned break from everything while shifting and reevaluating.  And along the way I kept reading about this big trip up to Michigan with the kids which would happen at the very end of June, and I was seeing cards like the Sun reversed, 3 of Swords, 5 of Cups…and that was concerning! I didn’t need another difficult blow. I was on the verge of canceling the trip simply to avoid any challenges. I pulled more cards from my Voodoo Tarot and drew the Barons – essentially a wild card that predicts unexpected chaos for which you can do nothing but keep your sense of humor. Really?

Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot

I pulled runes, and they all said the same thing: expect the unexpected!

I did what I could. I had Jorge fix everything on the car, change the tires and the oil. At least I didn’t want the car breaking down! On the morning of our departure I pulled three Lenormand cards: Lady – Bouquet – Ship. That was an incredible comfort to me – we’d have a comfortable voyage. And in the end our ride north was smooth, albeit long, and we arrived in Michigan without any problems. Whew!

But all of those cards and runes that had concerned me were entirely apt:

The Sun reversed, 3 of Swords, and 5 of Cups were spot on. I was heartbroken about leaving my kids behind with my parents. I knew they’d be in good hands, but my little son had never been away from us – ever – and I was deeply concerned that he would have a hard time adjusting. I was so sad. In fact Jorge and I were both sad enough to change our plans a bit. On the day we were originally going to leave to drive back home (sans kids) we decided that I would stay on for another week and Jorge would drive the car back on his own. He had to leave for Sweden a couple of days later so he couldn’t stay with me. So I alerted my work, took some extra vacation days, and bought a one-way flight back home for the following Sunday. Quite a significant change at the last moment!

Hagal

Then, on the evening of the day that Jorge left to drive home, I discovered that all of the kids had contracted lice. Isa had spent time trying on hats at H&M a couple of weeks before, and all the kids share the same hairbrush. So Jorge left, and I acquired lice shampoo, bedding spray, and nit combs, and went to work. I spent an entire day washing and combing out hair, spraying mattresses and washing clothes, and I spent several more days following that doing damage control (and being extremely paranoid). Meanwhile I could see the Barons laughing at me in my mind’s eye, and I just had to laugh along with them. Sometimes things get so crazy and out of hand that laughing really is the best, and maybe only, thing to do.

On his way back home Jorge told me that one of the tires kept losing air…one of the brand new tires we just had put on. He had to stop every couple of hours to refill it with air, and upon arriving at home he took it back to the auto shop at which point they showed him a large hole in the tire; we must have run over something on the highway and punctured the tire without realizing it. Fortunately he was able to change it so it was in perfect condition when I flew back into town.

My favorite part of all of this is that as I did these readings for myself prior to the trip, I wrote them down in my journal along with advice for myself. In fact at one point I told myself: “Things may not go according to plan. If money becomes a concern, don’t worry too much – money is just a tool.”  Um…yes!!!!!! Though I re-read this after the fact, it was still comforting to me. Indeed, many things deviated from expectation, and money was a very useful tool in this case. I’d also forgotten that I’d pulled cards on how to get through any complications, and my advice had been to go slow, be patient, and cover all the bases – but that ultimately I’d be okay. I suppose I should pay more attention to my own readings!

Experiences like this help give heightened perspective for readings that ultimately help us become far better, more discerning, wise, and careful readers, and I’m grateful for everything I’ve learned. In many ways my June was certainly the beginning of a Rebirth of sorts, and I’ll likely be riding the wave for some time to come.