This morning, in what has become something of a morning ritual, I checked with Cafe Astrology to see what the Stars have in store for us today and I did my Dream, Joy, Magic reading with the Fey Tarot.

The astrological lesson for today seemed to be that road blocks are the things that get us to stop and focus on something that otherwise would have gone out the door not quite right. Instead of getting frustrated when the universe places an obstacle in our path, perhaps we should see it not as a nuisance but as the universe's way of saying, "Hey, something here needs your attention."

Waite Ryder Five of Pentacles

The Magic card of my spread, which indicates the the work one needs to do to overcome personal limits, was the Five of Pentacles. We've all seen the Waite Ryder Five of Pentacles, with the couple dressed in rags walking miserably through the snow past a church window radiating warmth and light. The simple reading of the Five of Pentacles is usually poverty, but a deeper look at the Waite Ryder card suggests a certain refusal or inability to see where relief from our suffering is if we are only willing to walk through the door. (I'm starting to realize how heavily laced with Christian overtones the Waite Ryder deck really is!) A big difference between the Waite Ryder Five of Pentacles and the Fey Five of Pentacles is that the Fey are depicted inside, sleeping huddled by the warmth of a fire that is emanating from the pentacle before them, the remains of a simple repast nearby. Outside the window is a scary-looking beast. The message here is more of a choice between which side of the window we want to be on. Even those of us who don't have much are luckier than many if we are still able to find shelter, food, warmth and companionship. So the Magic in this card seems to be that we should be grateful for that which we have, even if it isn't much - to choose to be on the inside where it is warm. And who's to say that the scary beast outside isn't really a kindred soul who needs our help, but because he looks different we see him as something to fear instead of someone worthy of our compassion.

It's interesting that these issues came up for me today because they bring me back to an issue I was struggling with last week. I had done a couple of readings with Dianne Sylvan's Storyteller's Spread. One of the cards in the spread represents a Treasure that is our reward for defeating the Dragon (which for me turned out to be something in myself every time). In other words, bravely facing the "Big Bad" that we are meant to overcome to achieve the Goal set out for us at the beginning of our quest. In the first reading, my Treasure was the Three of Swords and in spread two it was Five of Cups. What's up with that? How can heartache and sorrow be a Treasure? How can these be my reward for bravely facing my demons? I was not a happy quester.

Then a wise Druid made a suggestion. He said that maybe the treasure is learning to deal with pain, loss, and struggle - learning to rise above them. "That's a treasure few people receive," he said.

I thought about this and I realized that, while I might have preferred a happier, shinier treasure, to know that one can face pain and loss and still survive is a valuable thing indeed. Fear of pain and loss is something that keeps many of us from moving on, from accepting transformative opportunities, from taking a leap of faith to jump into an unknown future that may hold more joy and happy, shiny treasure than we have ever known before.

For those of us who are walking a Wiccan path, these lessons teach us to look beyond the surface of pain and loss to find the treasures hidden within. That obstacles that slow us down as we hurtle down our path may be opportunities to fix something before it's too late. That we are only poor if we choose to see ourselves that way. That fear of the unknown is not smart or compassionate. And that knowing pain and loss is what allows us not only to know that we can feel but also that in living through the pain and loss we come out on the other side blessed with survival and the wisdom that we can do anything now that we no longer have fear to keep us from trying.

Posted by Angela-Eloise at 10:38 AM