Talking Past Each Other

Yesterday morning I pulled a morning draw from the Dreams of Gaia Tarot. The card was "Emotions/Intellect," which roughly corresponds to the Page of Cups in a more traditional deck. I've pulled this card a few times lately, and it always prods me toward the same end: speak your truth with kindness. Except there was more there this time - a deeper level of significance that connected to the current socio-political climate in the United States. I ended up composing this short paragraph:

A balance of heart and mind. Share your truth, and hold space for others to do the same (even if you don't agree with their perspective). Progress is restrained by compartmentalization, and impeded by "othering." It's particularly hard these days to listen, especially when we don't feel heard... but it has to start somewhere.

Indeed, it's challenging to be willing to listen to others who don't demonstrate that same willingness toward us. It's hard. Really hard. And yet how are we supposed to move forward as a nation if we can't find a way to overcome the divisiveness? 

Yesterday evening I witnessed yet another "discussion" on social media where a pretty honest and innocent question (by a New Zealander) about how it was possible for Trump to win if so many people seem not to like him, eventually led into the same sort of name-calling bitterness that is so common these days. There were some thoughtful, intelligent, calm, kind offerings, but at times those seemed to be drowned out by accusations and anger. It called to my mind the image from the 5 of Cups from the Deviant Moon Tarot:

A woman shouts angrily at a seated man, who plugs his ears as if enjoying his own blatant disregard for what she is saying. The three empty cups are symbolic of a lack of frith - the unity, togetherness, and joy represented by the 3 of Cups. Two cups stand patiently waiting to be remembered. The 2 of Cups is a card of love, harmony, healing, and meeting others half-way - the energy missing from most political conversations. The 5 of Cups is traditionally thought of as a card of regret, mourning, loss, sadness. It's not hard for me to imagine that this feeling is the root of what many people in our country are experiencing (no matter who they voted for), and underlies the impulse to shout, point fingers, and plug our ears to each other's voices. And while I believe that talking to each other is necessary, I'm starting to question the ability for us - as a nation - to ever arrive at any semblance of common ground or respectful inquiry. In the online discussion I viewed, I saw some individuals hotly refuting hard facts either without any evidence at all to support their perspectives, or, almost worse, citing sources that did not support their claims. It is almost mind-boggling, but it brings us back to the issue being discussed widely at present: if facts don't seem to matter, then what does? Where does that leave us? How does that help us to establish meaningful dialogue? 

At worst, anger, cynicism, and hurt seem to reduce our capacity and willingness to respectfully listen to each other. At best, some of these deep and fundamental issues become chasms that may not be easily fordable. What happens if we never manage to see eye-to-eye, or learn to hold rich, fruitful, meaningful, and considerate discussions about our points of disagreement? Then we must at a minimum act with kindness upon what our hearts and minds indicate is the right thing to do, and find a way to honor that in each other. Maybe that means that I volunteer at Planned Parenthood, and you support a Catholic adoption agency....and we still just might be able to sit down at the end of the day and share a cup of tea together. Maybe we can at least start with that. 

A Midnight Meeting with my Grandmother

A few nights ago I dreamt of my maternal grandmother - or, perhaps it's more accurate to say that she came to visit me in my sleep. It wasn't a long dream, per se, but it was poignant, particularly because it is the first time that I've ever dreamt of Dorothy, who died when I was five years old.

In the dream her figure was not solid, but ethereal; only partly there, like a spirit. I stood in front of her and wrapped my arms around hazy form saying, "I never had the chance to hug you, as an adult." I asked her if she had any messages for my mother, and she gave me two. Unfortunately, upon waking I couldn't remember the second. I did recall the majority of the first, and when I wrote to my mom to tell her, she replied that it was the same message that her morning reading had given her. That was nice to hear.

I pulled a few cards to explore this experience:

Pagan Otherworlds Tarot

1: My grandmother's presence

Page of Cups. A perfect symbol of a message-bearer, a speaker through the liminal realms of dreamtime.

2: Her essential message to me

9 of Pentacles. I felt this to be both encouragement and acknowledgement of where I am, and where I'm headed. I felt that she was telling me that she's proud of me.

3: Additional energy

2 of Cups. Love.

Page of Cups: A Moment of Peace

I have been pretty overwhelmed at work of late: the pace has been particularly hectic and I've had a far higher-than-usual number of flames to quench. I'd say I'm a mediator by nature, but even mediators (perhaps especially mediators) need to let off steam from time to time. There were at least two or three occasions in the past couple of months where I used the drive in to work to envision myself thoroughly cursing out the offending party, and putting her or him in their respective places being very honest and forthright about my thoughts and opinions, simply so that once I arrived (at whatever meeting it was that I needed to facilitate) I could breathe and moderate professionally. Yes, I need a vacation. It's not vacation time, however, so I have been craving my weekends like cold water in the high desert.

This evening I pulled a card from my newly acquired Tarot of the Cat People (I'm admittedly not a cat person, but the art is quite interesting) asking: "Where do I need to focus on self-care?" I pulled the Page of Cups:

I could almost feel my soul sigh upon taking in this card image. A young lady sits on what appears to be a sandy hill, under a hazy, sunny sky. She is flanked by a cat companion, quiet and comforting, and a chalice. This card evokes a sense of the 4 of Swords - a time for separation, recuperation, and healing. Indeed the Page of Cups does include healing qualities. Like a flame burning itself out from far too much intensity, I need to be cooled and calmed. Those flames I've been putting out have taken a toll, and a quiet space away from that charged environment will help me to rebuild my emotional wellspring so that I can keep on tending to the responsibilities that fall on me as a leader. I don't begrudge my position by any means; this comes with the territory and ultimately the energies will shift like ocean tides. As they say, "This too shall pass." In the meantime, I need a little me-time, and maybe a cup of mulled mead in that goblet ;-)

Daily Draw: Working From Home

I woke up reluctantly this morning. From the warmth of bed I mentally reviewed the steps I'd be soon undertaking in order to prepare both myself and the kids for work and school. I decided that it was safest to start with the coffee pot, and as I listened to those first, glorious, mahogany droplets fall into the carafe, my younger daughter sat quietly at the kitchen table with a bowl of cereal... which she promptly vomited all over the floor (sorry, I know it's kind of gross). Hm. Perhaps Monday would become my third day of the weekend!

I did manage to arrange to work from home, sending out a couple of text messages and emails to be sure that everyone knew where I would be all day and why (I did refrain from sharing the minute details, ahem). So with a rather low-key day ahead I settled my pajamaed-self in to enjoy my coffee, and pull a daily card or two (something that tends to be rushed rather than leisurely these days).

I was considering (based on one of Ellen's recent posts) what my "soul deck" might be as I was deciding upon which to use. While there are a lot of decks that I love for various reasons, I realize that the Fountain Tarot has become a common go-to. The reversible backs, beautiful art, rather traditional (yet freshly rendered) imagery, and amazing card stock has elevated it to this position. I almost grabbed it off the shelf, but then I decided to go for warmth instead, so I dug out my trusty Morgan Greer. This was one of my first decks, but I gave it away because I just couldn't deal with the Tom Selleck mustaches all over the place. (And then I regretted it, because it's really a gorgeous, brightly colored work of art, so I reacquired it in the Italian version). This is another deck that shuffles fantastically.

Morgan Greer Tarot; Bill Greer

So what would the predominant energies of my day be, oh Morgan Greer?

Page of Cups (ah, definitely my kids - not only is my daughter ill, but my son is battling bronchitis)..........

World (mhmm.... no doubt that I'd be spending most of my time and energy on them....)...........

Emperor (oh, right. Working from home.)

As I peered at the World card I was drawn to the fact that the figures on each side peer outward to the cards on the left and right, respectively. The woman in the center balances them all evenly. To the left the Page of Cups shows my attentions to caring for my kids, while the Emperor to the right reminds me that I will have to divide my time a bit between home concerns and my director duties: despite not being physically present in the office, I still need to hold down the proverbial fort, even if I do so via technology. But then, that's the benefit of living in this modern age, I suppose!

So off I go to pour another cup, organize the kids in their beds and blankets, and then...on to those emails!

Between Water and Fire

This morning I sat at the kitchen table enjoying the first cup of coffee from my new pot (thanks to my sister for a belated birthday/Christmas present!!) and I decided to pull a daily card from the Tarot of Holy Light. I shuffled a bit and selected the Ace of Swords. I've pulled this card a couple of times recently, and I have been uncovering many new and interesting facets of its character. I thought, "I wonder what its message is for me today....?"

Since taking on a leadership role at my place of work I've found myself positioned between two departments that happen to share a specific population of students. These departments have different personalities, cultures, perspectives, and approaches, and this has caused some friction over time. Now I am in a place where I often find myself mediating conflicts between the two. Over a week ago I was preparing myself for one such meeting and decided to pull a card to help guide me in how to approach these relationship misalignments. I pulled the Ace of Swords, from this same deck, the Tarot of Holy Light. At the time I wrote this:

"Demand honesty and forthrightness. If they inhabit a world hazy with clouded emotion and ambiguous intent, shine your blade a little bit in the sun. Let them see you. Remind them that you're there. Plant seeds of justice that over time will evaporate the doubts and frivolity obscuring the sharp clarity of truth."

It was very helpful advice.

So this morning I laid the Ace on the table, and then thought to look at the top and bottom cards which were the Page of Cups and the Page of Wands. I laid them to either side of the Ace and spent some time considering the line of three. Image-wise it looked quite a bit to me like mediation. And then I remembered: the first item on my morning agenda was a meeting with two members from these different teams, to discuss an ongoing problem.

On the left sits the Page of Cups, almost literally pouring his emotions out into the foreground. The eye floating above the ocean is symbolic of the way in which the perspective of this page is filtered through his/her feelings and emotional responses to the environment. On the right sits the Page of Wands, surrounded in bright, urgent flame. While the Page of Cups appears to be considering the beauty of the flowers nearby, the Page of Wands reaches out almost as if to connect with the other two cards. Water and fire, emotion and spirit. In the middle sits the Ace of Swords, an upright blade surrounded by six faces or eyes connected to a central eye that lies over the sword. All of the varying opinions, beliefs, perspectives, and feelings must be funneled through the impartial eye of the sword whose principal interest is in understanding, truth, clarity, and precise communication.

I see both parties from today's meeting in these Pages - both passionate, both motivated, both caring. But both in need of common ground, of someone to listen to them and to draw out the salient points; to help draw attention to and tease apart what is factual from what is perception. The Ace of Swords is good at that.

The meeting went well, ultimately, and I was able to use Ace of Swords energy to help achieve a level of mutual understanding. It once again brings to my mind the idea of pursuing formal mediation training, and perhaps it is time to look into that!

Giving My Id A Little Breathing Room

Today's task for the Shadow Work October challenge was to complete a personal reading using an "Id, Ego, Superego" layout. I used the Tarot of Vampyres for this reading and I'm really enjoying the dark vibrancy, strength, and movement in the images.

So before I pulled my cards I wanted to refresh my memory regarding Freud's concepts of these three aspects of human psyche that impact the way we behave. I found some great images online that illustrate the way these elements interact with each other. In the end my understanding of each is as follows:

Id: my primal instincts, desires, motivations. This is the part of me that wants what it wants, that would relish free-reign over my Self.

Superego: my principled, socialized, "ideal" self that keeps my Id in check. This primarily stems from how we've learned to be through our environment, and always strives to do the right thing. This is the central source of the experiences of pride and guilt.

Ego: my practical, conscious self that forms something of a bridge or balance between the Id and Superego. It filters the Id's impulses through the Superego, ending up with something manageable within the confines of reality, or society. 

My cards are: Lord of Scepters - Daughter of Grails - 8 of Knives

This was a very intriguing and powerful reading for me in light of the spread positions, and also quite enlightening (and it made me slightly sad all at the same time). What struck me initially through this imagery is just how effectively my Superego keeps my Id constrained.

My Id is represented by the Lord of Scepters (King of Wands). I love the intense reds and blacks of this card, the energy of the horse leaping, the electricity in the lightening bolts streaming from the sky above. My Id wants to ride forth and be great, experience life in all its manifestations. This Lord is charismatic and vision-guided. He doesn't care what people think about him, but he naturally draws others to him like moths to a flame (whether for good or not!). He goes out and gets what he wants, claims his power as a birthright. 

Meanwhile the Lord's fiery essence is totally cut short by my Superego: the 8 of Knives. The correlation between the two cards is meaningful. The Lord sits confidently on his steed's back, the horns of his helmet upright, a symbol of his potency. The figure in the 8 of Knives also has horns, though his are down-turned, a symbol of powerlessness, and a knife is positioned over his genitals as if to block his raw power and force. Instead of the lively red of the Lord's card, we have a murky, yellow haze that confuses and obscures the surrounding environment. Who, or what, is out there? It's impossible to say. 

In the middle lies my Ego, the Daughter of Grails. She has a tough job of finding a way to balance the heavy demands of the Id and Superego. In the end she chooses a softer, far more receptive and easy-to-swallow demeanor. There is nothing forceful about her - she is calm, caring, and perceptive. She moves like water to adapt to the needs of others, thus she's quite pleasant to be around. But she doesn't look particularly satisfied, does she? Perhaps the chains of her Superego are bound too tightly. She needs to find a way to give her Id a little breathing room.

This is a fairly unexpected and painfully accurate representation of my personal experience. It's quite jarring to see it laid out so explicitly in these powerful images, and yet there is something cathartic here. In my shadow work thus far this month the theme has centered very pointedly around reclaiming my personal power, learning how not to run from conflict. Yet again that is present here in this reading, and it seems like each day I'm given a slightly larger view on the matter. The Daughter of Grails is a core part of who I am, but I need and want to tap further into the power of my inner fire. I see an imbalance here, and in order to address it I need to unpack the root of the 8 of Knives....

As I looked over this reading the idea of "playing small," from the Marianne Williamson kept running through my head:

Mabon Tarot Blog Hop: Princess of Cups

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Welcome to the Mabon 2015 Blog Hop! Please use the links at the bottom or top of this post to navigate to the other wonderful blogs in this circle of divination thinkers, writers, and creators.

For this second-harvest festival hop, our wrangler, Maureen Aisling Duffy-Boose, asked us to think of a Tarot card that embodies this time of year for us, and then to create our own card using whatever materials suited our fancy. I am a drawer and painter primarily, so my first thought was to head for the canvas and acrylics. But then I thought about trying out a new (to me) medium - digital/photographic art! So here goes.....

When asked to consider a card that highlights the harvest season, autumn, most completely, I immediately thought of the Princess of Cups from the DruidCraft deck. In fact I will never forget how I felt the first time I laid eyes on it after having purchased it several years ago...the colors in rich, deep reds, the orange leaves preparing to fall into the brisk breeze...the golden fields in the background, and the cool calmness of the water. I love autumn, I'll just clear that up right now. It's my favorite season, and one of the more difficult adjustments I've had to make with living in the near-tropical south has been losing the earthy charm of this time of year. I have rediscovered it to some extent in the Florida winter, which is quite like autumn in the north, complete even with certain trees that change color and lose their foliage (usually in mid-December).

Still, the apple-cinnamon-orchard-pumpkin-chill-campfiresmoke-mystery is a little bit harder to find.

DruidCraft Tarot/W. Worthington

That said, the minute September 1st rolls around I start to feel an undercurrent of excitement - the thrill of the impending change in season. It's subtler down here, but it's still noticeable if you pay attention. Even in the at-times-oppressive 90-degree heat, I am thinking of baking, cider, and pumpkin pie.

So I knew that I wanted to recreate the Princess of Cups in honor of this second harvest festival of Mabon. Interestingly as I went a-researching I found (thanks to my trusty Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot, by DuQuette, 2003) that the season of the Princess of Cups begins at the Fall Equinox and rules Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius! Coincidence? Synchronicity? Perhaps!

Princess of Cups/O. Destrades

I chose my daughter, Lourdes, to be my Princess, and I used my iPad and an art app to create the effects over the photo. While her Sun sign is Taurus, pretty much everything else in her chart is water, and she is certainly the most sensitive of my three kids. In this image the core color scheme highlights autumn: oranges, reds, browns and black. Representing the pure essence of water, streams of the element shoot from her finger and hand, arcing up into the sky and then down and around her body. She is young, and carries the innocence of this Court, but her expression is calm and knowing.

Inspired by the process of working on the Princess of Cups, I also created the Princess of Disks using the image of my oldest daughter, Isabella, who is a triple Earth (Capricorn, Virgo, Taurus)!

May your creativity always flow! Happy Mabon!

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Perceptions of the American Dream

I teach English and American culture to international students that hail from numerous countries from across the planet, from Venezuela and Colombia, to Iran and Malaysia. Each month I have my new group of students do a project where they create a list of questions about culture and identity, and then tape an interview conducted with a U.S.-born peer. One of the topics that my international students often ask about is how students from the United States perceive "the American Dream." In class I ask them to define it for themselves, and the most common response is something along the lines of: "it's about having the opportunity to study, to earn good money, and to pursue your dreams." When they conduct their interviews and ask about this topic, their American interviewees often reply: "Yeah I know what the American Dream is….it's about having a house and two kids, and a great job, and making good money. But I don't really believe in it, that much."

Photo Credit: Brian Auer

My international students overwhelmingly believe in the concept of the American Dream. They are here because they have faith that through dedicated study and application of their will and purpose, they will become successful. So I ask them why they think so many students in the United States seem to think it's outdated. Last month one of my students from Venezuela summarized in a nutshell what his peers from previous months had expressed: the American Dream pertains more to immigrants than to native-born students. Their perception of themselves is that they come to this country motivated and with a clear plan of action precisely because they are coming from places where their future career outlook is at best limited.

Now of course, this is their experience and opinion, and there are certainly many native-born U.S. students who are extremely dedicated and motivated, and become very successful. But I still thought that this trend of thought was interesting. I thought I'd explore it with my cards. I drew one card for my ESL students, and one for U.S. students on the topic of how they perceive the American Dream:

ESL students' perceptions of the American Dream: Page of Mirrors/Cups
U.S. students' perceptions of the American Dream: 9 of Mirrors/Cups reversed

Chrysalis Tarot - H. Sierra
US Games Systems, Inc.

The Page of Mirrors tells me that my ESL students come here with an open heart, and are inspired by the possibility of starting the path toward realizing their hopes and dreams. Like the Healer kneeling in the grass, they are starting from the ground up, getting their hands dirty, using raw materials to build their path forward, bit by bit. The majority of my students expect that the route will not be easy. They are in my classes because they need to improve their language skills simply in order to have the opportunity to begin their regular program of study. But they choose to see this as a surmountable challenge to attaining their goals. They often demonstrate joy in creation, and in their education. And for some of my students coming from countries with active political and economic turmoil, there is a sense of healing in the act of pursuing their dreams, something nearly impossible to do in their land of origin.

On the other hand the 9 of Mirrors reversed tells a different story. In Tarot we often call this the "wish fulfilled" card, so in its reversed position it speaks to a student body that feels distanced from reaching their own dreams. There is a sense of disillusionment and dissatisfaction to this energy. But why? Perhaps the students are sinking under the pressure of a concept that no longer seems to be about simply being able to enjoy one's life, but about a definition of success that appears to demand the attainment of great wealth, of great success - a notion that seems unlikely, or even impossible. I also wonder if the opportunities available to them are taken for granted, even unintentionally, and impact in some way their attitudes and perceptions about what's possible for them.

Living through adversity certainly puts things into perspective, no matter where you're from. One of my students from Venezuela spent several years flying back and forth from his home country and Miami, working at whatever odd job he could find in order to make enough money to cover his travel expenses, support his family back home, and save for college. When he first came, he said he went knocking on restaurant doors, and he went through forty places before finally a manager agreed to hire him - the manager happened to be Venezuelan.

Photo Credit: Hartwig HKD

Another of my students grew up in Angola during the civil war, when his parents finally sent him to live with relatives in Portugal. Being of mixed heritage, he had been "too white" for his Angolan classmates, and was "too black" for his Portuguese classmates. At the age of 15 he was living alone in an apartment in a Jamaican neighborhood of London, where he picked up the "Islands" accent he still has today. He was often stopped by police on his way to school on suspicion of carrying knives or other weapons, and this became something he simply had to deal with.

Both of these students have big dreams of being music producers, and if you speak with them, their confidence in their future success is palpable. They've already worked hard at life, and they are barely 20 years old.  So I believe them when they tell me about their plans. There is no doubt in their speech, only calm certainty, accompanied by a knowing smile.

Whether international or domestic, I wish all of them well. I pray that their dreams allow them to rise above the challenges that cross their paths, and that inspiration shines in their hearts always.

Autumn Descends

Today we had our first cool day in Central Florida.  It was mostly cloudy, and the temperature didn't surpass about 70 degrees.  That sounds warm, but down here, after a long, hot, humid summer, 70 degrees feels like pure autumn, and I love it!  The trees here tend to drop leaves all year round, but the sycamores actually go through a yearly cycle not unlike the more temperate north.  Starting about now their great, broad leaves start to dry and brown, and slowly drift to the ground, and by late December they're entirely bare and stark. I feel fortunate to have some sort of sycamore-like shrub next to the house which even turn colors before they drop - bright reds and oranges, mostly - which gives me a small and deeply appreciated taste of a northern fall.

I spent most of my life in a northern climate, with all four seasons.  When I was a child the winter was my favorite - the colder the better.  I even tapped our front yard maple tree one year in March and managed to produce about an ounce of maple syrup.  I dreamed of being a dog-sled racer, wearing snow-shoes regularly (and in fact my parents bought me a pair for Christmas one year), and enjoying the sun twinkling on the new fallen snow.

As I grew older I began to appreciate the summer more, and found the long months of winter a bit burdensome.  The early winter is always lovely, especially the first snow, but by late January I started to yearn for spring....and yet still had 2-3 months left of ice, slush, and gray skies.

Fall was always a fun time, and it was a season I began to deeply love more than all other seasons, and I suppose it still is my favorite season.  The leaves change colors slowly, and fall foliage in late September is quite breathtaking.  I love the fall activities of apple picking, and cider-drinking.  I enjoyed preparing for Halloween, which then led into the series of holidays I adore (which I'll focus on in an up-coming Samhain post!).  I savored the breath of fresh, crisp air after a warm summer.

So moving to Florida was both exciting and also a bit sad for me, when I considered the seasons I'd be leaving behind.  Well, okay, I wasn't going to miss much of winter...but fall?  Definitely.  And indeed our first fall here was quite bittersweet.  The local Starbucks and other shops would ironically tape paper cut-outs of autumn leaves in their display windows.  I'd been under the impression that Florida would be warm and humid year round, and was pleasantly surprised that first year to learn that Florida does indeed have its own seasons, that perhaps are best described as wet/dry, or summer/fall.  There is no true winter here, but a Central Florida "winter" is like the most pristine fall one could imagine.  The air is very dry and cool (so dry that we even have wildfire warnings).  It hardly ever rains.  Sometimes in January it gets cold enough to create a brief glaze of ice on the windshields, though it never snows. I'm grateful for that hint of season, and thoroughly enjoy every day from late October to early April.

Today was our first truly cool day, and during my evening stroll with my husband I could even smell the beloved scent of woodsmoke in the air.  Brown leaves were strewn across the grass and sidewalks, and it felt like autumn had finally arrived.

So I wanted to share a few of my favorite autumn cards - the ones that remind me most keenly of what I love most about this season.....here we go:

DruidCraft Tarot/Will Worthington

Llewellyn Tarot, The Wheel of Fortune
Anna Marie Ferguson 

Wildwood Tarot/Will Worthington

So with that I will conclude this post so that I can go watch the sun finish setting, and the stars come out!

Page of Cups, Newsbearer

Yesterday I pulled the Page of Cups as my daily draw.  To be honest, it didn't really speak to me.  I tend to think of it as representing an emotional healing, or the hint at a new love or other sort of relationship.  Love, forgiveness, intuition, sensitivity, etc etc. I did think of the the potential meaning that it could represent delivery of good news.  Nothing really made a lot of sense based on what I know of my life at present, or what I knew of my day ahead.

So, I drew my card from Morgan Greer Tarot, and I'm not using reversals with that deck.  I am still pondering whether or not I want to use them at all.... I already use reversed meanings to some extent (in "advice" or "obstacle" positions, usually, and in any other circumstances that seem to make sense).  I've had some times where I've experimented with reversals and pulled one which seemed to fit very well....and then pulled another on another day where it was clear that the upright meaning was the correct one.  So that has not helped sway me either way!

                                           Morgan Greer Tarot                                             

      

That said, I put the Page out of my mind all day, and even considered that it may not have been the "right" card for me, for whatever reason (we're on vacation, not in the usual environment, lots of distractions).  I considered that, even despite what I've come to repeat often, which is "the cards don't lie." You may misinterpret them,  you may not understand them, you may not want to hear the message...but the cards tell you what's up.

So nothing Pagey really happened all day.  We settled into bed.  Gabriel was a bit ill, but nothing serious.  Just as I was getting ready to close my eyes, Jorge says "oh my God..." several times. Turned out that he had just received news of a death in his extended family which is having a major emotional impact on him.  So.....there it was.  The Page came bearing news.  Emotional news...but not happy news.  

This is the kind of moment that makes me in awe of the beauty of the cards, but also makes me second guess the value of using reversals.  Though honestly, even if I'd have pulled the Page of Cups reversed, I probably would not have felt it fit my day any more appropriately.  We can't really foresee this kind of thing, much less with a daily draw.  Still, it's been a profound lesson for me.