Especially the music from the first season. As many TV dramas do, it went off the rails toward the end. Sharks must be jumped it seems.
All in all, my favorite moment in the whole thing was when Cookie told a young Jamal “I got you.”
That hit me right in the motherhood. Maybe it is how I was raised, maybe it us cultural, maybe its just how I’m wired, but to me that’s how a core family (that may or may not be genetically related) show love is by doing for each other. You need HOW many cookies for school tomortow? I got you. You need a ride to WHERE? I got you. You need me to listen? I got you. Need a beer after a long week at work? I got you. Need me to send you a funny political cartoon to make you laugh? I got you. Need a simple answer to a simple question? I got you there too, but it might come on the form of a coffee fueled lecture. Accepting and loving the beauty of imperfection is another card and another day.
Today, the earthy practicality that goes with the Pentacles has my attention more than the idea of balance that the two specifically emphasizes.
Nothing says “I love you” quite like the stuff you do right after the “I got you.”
I wonder how everyone out there in the world is feeling about Valentine’s day. The pandemic is obviously throwing a big monkey wrench in the ‘hallmark holiday’ go out and eat, cards and flowers aspect of the thing. I’m personally more interested on trolling for on-sale leftover chocolate at the mega-mart the on the 15th.
In the huge big picture of things, Valentines Day has become a big commercialized nothing-burger. If you really love someone, any day is a good day to show a token of your affection. I’d say surprising them with it on any other day except Valentines Day would be more fun. Although I’m down with dinners out and heart shaped boxes of chocolates. It’s cool. In these times where indoor gatherings with ANYONE you don’t already live with is an open invitation to mutant viruses that could kill you (or someone you care about) Valentines Day takes on a new importance in that it is a good excuse to communicate with anyone and everyone you know. So fire up those sappy cards and emails – heck, send ’em a .gif. It’s whole usefulness in modern culture has been a reminder to express affection for those for whom we feel affection anyway. And cheap chocolate.
In the whole big picture of things, Valentines Day gives a nod to something big and important in our human existence: love, romance and heart to heart connections of every kind.
You don’t hear it much any more. It comes to mind today with the Knight of Cups today, in a sweet, kissy-kissy way. I can’t blame you if you just aren’t in the mood for it. As I write this it is first thing in the morning and I’m not in the mood form much other than a large latte. Like Gurney Halleck in the Dune movie tells us, “moods are a thing for loveplay and cattle” Loveplay it is then.
In another movie, The Crow, Eric tells us (in the scene where he visits Officer Albrecht at home) “Little things used to mean so much to Shelly- I used to think they were kind of trivial. Believe me, nothing is trivial.” Little things mean a lot. Little gestures mean a lot.
Things that may seem trivial to you at the time might just be a little treasure to those who care about you. Don’t be surprised if small gestures of affection – in any human connection, not just grand romance – give you a little heartbeat of happiness too.
It’s the church lady (think Dana Carvey on Saturday Night Live) version of the infinite monkey theory.
My mom is exceedingly fond of stuff with sayings on them. Mugs, shower curtains, calendars, address books – you name it. It was like growing up in a very church-y Hallmark store. Like the infinite monkeys typing that finally came up with a copy of Hamlet, the mass of platitudes came up with one that actually made sense, in a mind-body connection sort of way.
“Don’t think yourself into a new way of doing, do yourself into a new way of thinking.” – some unknown sappy platitude writer
The Knight of Wands is about adventure, travel, experimentation, newness. It feels like the card is directed to people on the hunt for a soulmate. It isn’t a traditional meaning for the Knight of Wands, but intuitively the Knight is whacking us over the head with the apparent theme for this year’s “Tarot Valentine” series: Self confidence is sexy.
Knight cards are active. They are about doing. Wands cards are about inner fire, our inner, spiritual, philosophical world. Today’s card reminds me very much of “do yourself into a new way of thinking.” It’s a little like “fake it until you make it” but without the fake part. Sincerely do things differently and your thinking will change. You’ll KNOW how good or bad the change is for you. Once the experience of DOing a thing shows you the actuality, then you can embrace or reject the thing not from thinking but from the knowing that only experience can give. “Experience teaches all things” is attributed to Julius Caesar, not the shower curtain.
So what does that have to do with Valentines Day and such?
Here is my thought: Self-confidence is sexy. The pandemic may make this impossible for a while, but when things get back to normal, DO things that take your mind off of being lonely. NO, not going to bars on a heat seeking find-my-soulmate mission. DO something that you enjoy, nay, something you LOVE doing that is not romance or relationship related. DO what you love doing. Put your heart and mind into that, which is in essence a big investment in yourself and your self-actualization, and your autonomy and your maturity and your personal development and – did I mention that self-confidence is attractive?
I mean, look at it this way…who would you rather spend your time with? Would you rather be with someone whose mind an heart is wrapped up in how lonely they are or someone who is already happy and living their best life? If a person is already giving love and attention to what they are doing, that demonstrates they are capable of giving love and attention to you. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of already-existing joi de vie. If someone is all wrapped up in finding a soulmate in order to make them happy, all that shows is that they want YOU to make THEM happy. Not many people are going to sign up for that.
Finding a new love, a soulmate, that certain special someone is a sort of inner alchemy. Living happy draws love to you. Giving your love and attention to the life you already have (or to making it a good life without a soulmate) might be just the thing to DO your way to an attractive, self-confident way of thinking.
It’s so easy that it is almost impossible to stop yourself from snapping at loved ones when you are stressed, cranky, tired, hangry or pushed to the limit by whatever. It’s proximity, just like the nerve reflexes your doctor checks with the little rubber hammer thingy. Particular nerve reflexes are wired so that they basically short out across the spinal cord and bypass the brain entirely. Your leg moves with the hammer boink without you thinking about it or willing it to do it…or not do it. It’s the same brain-bypass that lets you snap your hand back from a hot pan so you don’t get burned.
Reflexes bypass language editing centers. I don’t know about you, but when one of those injury avoiding ‘ouch’ reflexes happen, it is usually accompanied by at least “OW” and usually a swear or two. Reflexes happen faster than cognitive processing, they don’t go all the way to the brain and have a shorter distance for the nerve impulse to travel, for a simplified way to look at it.
The same is true when we are under stress. It is quick and easy to take it out on loved ones because, with any kind of luck, they are relatively close at hand. The stress has a short distance to travel. If you are the stressed one, it is hard to stop yourself from doing that. If you are the one in the splash zone of your loved one’s stress, it is hard to stop yourself from getting reflexively defensive and splashing a little bit too.
I’ve learned this from my spouse who is a freaking saint to put up with me my crankies, but taking care of yourself is an act of love for the ones you are closest to. Get a nap, have a snack, whatever it is that works to manage your stress…DO it. You’ll be doing a favor for your own mental health as well as giving a token of affection to those who you love…and who love you.
There us a feeling of newness and if expanding horizons. I think I see why the feeling to reach for the Heart of Stars deck (by Thom Pham, all rights reserved, used with pefmission). Superman ties today’s card to yesterday.
Remember how the Devil card hinted that it is far better to put your energy into being happy alone than to tie yourself in knots just for the sake of being in a relationship? It is better to be alone than to make your partner bear the weight of the relationship by hoping they’ll change or be different this time. It’s ok to be counterculture especially if that gives you the wherewithal to be loving and compassionate yo yourself and to others. Plus, perhaps more importantly, self confidence is sexy. Dare to be comfortable in your own skin and happy in this present moment.
The “superperson” in this case is someone who has conqured that. Imagine it us someone who has eeked out just a little more of that self assured, right-here-happy energy. This might be a hint of new love to come or a deepening of live already here.
The three of wands has a watching quality. Everyone wants to be seen and heard. Attention nourishes all types of love. Attention is a potent aphrodesiac if that is the kind of mutual relationship you are in.
Give your full attention to all those you love the most.
If there is a time in history for the Devil card to be the first Tarot Valentine’s card of the season, I suppose this would be it. The separation imposed by the Pandemic has been a devil of thing for a lot of people, especially those with very social or extroverted personalities. This year you can go out with your love interest and risk their death. At least it seems so here in the U.S. where so many people have done so many things so wrong.
If there is advice in this card in this context, it would be the same as every other year and Valentine’s season…don’t let loneliness drive you into making bad decisions. Never go into a relationship that you know isn’t right or safe just for the sake of being in a relationship with someone. Lonely hurts, but alone isn’t lethal.
In a sense the advice is also to be a Devil. Not to other people, but to preconceived ideas. Be a pink hearts and lacey romance rebel. It is OK to be alone. It is OK to not be in the mood for kissy kissy romance after the past year. It is OK to be an dark expresso latte in a candy heart world. Harm none, and do what thou will. Find love in what is, not what is wished for.
Take a deep breath, clear your mind and relax as best as you can in this one moment.
Watch the first part of the video and pick a card from the three taken face down from the deck
Choose left, center or right purely on impulse, or if you want more time pause the video then restart to see the reveal.
Read below for your card’s energy
Taken together, the three cards talk about perspective and problem solving. This week is about finding the answer that is already inside, finding an answer outside of the box, and being on the lookout all around for a problem that sneaks up behind and needs solving.
The overall energy is sluggish and slow. It isn’t brick-wall kind of blocked, but feels thick, and just this side of stagnant. Be patient. It might be an annoying slog, but we’ll get through it.
Left: Three of Swords. This card is part of the reason the Swords cards have a little bit of a foreboding reputation. You can’t solve a problem or avoid a trap unless you know it exists. The danger isn’t dire, but warrants your attention. This card always seems to carry an energy of manipulation and petty power plays. Watch your back. If something gives you the creeps, or someone makes you feel uncomfortable, pay attention to that. Follow your gut in that respect.
Center: Eight of Swords. Also dire-looking, this card is already trapped, bound, feeling overwhelmed and helpless. It is less so in this deck, but in the Pamela Smith artwork for the card, the swords are less evenly spaced, leaving an out that must be gingerly sensed, so the woman does not cut her feet if she is to find and use the gap, the way forward to escape. “Careful, shrewd VERY out of the box thinking” comes to mind and may be what is asked of you in the near future.
Right: The Hermit. Just because it isn’t fun doesn’t mean you don’t have things well in hand. If you picked this card, you already have an answer that you need. You may well have what you need already. The trick is to drag it out into the open. Find a way to shut out the distraction and the noise. Not to go all Dune on you, but look within. You already have what you need, it is just a matter of sorting through the noise and clutter to find it. Set boundaries, say no, find some me time to do just that.
The ancestors connected at distance using the arcane device known as a “telephone.” Conversation is a minimal connection with our fellow human beings, especially during times like these when in-person companionship isn’t available. Connecting through communication is such a deep and primal need that we have put new technology to that use ever since new technology consisted of banging on a drum or lighting a fire.
Communication is not separate from intuition. If we can speak our insights and feelings across a table , we can bang them, flash them, write them, phone them, video them or email them. We have used intuition at a distance from the beginning. Think “sacred scrolls.” Scrolls are ancient communication at a distance. Intuition and spirit made them sacred.
I’m not saying an email Tarot reading is a sacred scroll, but it goes to show that Tarot at a distance is at least equal to an in-person reading. Arguably, in our time, distance readings have the advantage.
Before the pandemic we were busy, and distance tarot is convenient Tarot. You buy the thing whenever you want, and read the answer whenever you want. No appointment is needed. Distance readings flow seamlessly into your schedule, no matter what your schedule may be.
Because of the pandemic, distance Tarot is the safest Tarot. COVID can’t travel to you through the internet. (Wear your mask! Watch your distance! Wash your hands!)
Distance Tarot is authentic Tarot. You know that it is pure intuition, and not stage mentalism or a ‘cold reading’ based on body language or your answers to leading questions. Your questions are welcome before you order, in your order, and after the reading. Every email reading includes a follow up for any questions that come up during the reading.
Distance Tarot is affordable Tarot. I don’t maintain an office or rent space in a store so I can pass those savings on to you. All of my prices are flat rate, not per minute so you know your full cost up front. Compare my $40 seven card readings to other hour-long sessions.
Tarot, as a whole, has never been mainstream or like other so-called ‘normal’ businesses. That unconventional nature has always been and advantage, but never more so than now, during these unexpectedly stressful times. Distance Tarot readings are arguably better than in-person sessions. They are certainly, at the very least, equal.
Order distance Tarot 24/7, no appointment needed HERE
Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot 
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