Weekly Forecast: November 4-10
What do you want to do?
This week shows us really showing up in awareness of our wants and desires. They're not superficial or fleeting. We have a huge reservoir of willpower, determination, and discernment rising from within us. Our task is to translate this energy into action.
What do you want to do?
This week shows us really showing up in awareness of our wants and desires. They're not superficial or fleeting. We have a huge reservoir of willpower, determination, and discernment rising from within us. Our task is to translate this energy into action.
We come in with the stormy energy of the Knight of Swords. This is a card that's seeking certainty, that loves the feeling of being right. Yet underneath is a deep fear of being wrong, as if we must have 100% certainty to be valid. As if we could somehow reach a conclusion that would hold in a court of law - a flawless, beautiful argument.
The blend of smarts and insecurity can be volatile, but this week we're onto something. The hunches and restless questioning of the Knight of Swords are leading us to the stability of the King of Pentacles. Our roving minds are looking for the words to describe a facet of our lived truth. What is happening right now? What is the ground that I'm standing on? Why does it matter?
Once we find that solid ground, however, we have to stop our questioning.
This is all bringing us to the beautiful self-awareness of The Sun, and I like the reversed quality to these cards. The epiphany isn't coming first. We're not entering into the week under bright light. Instead, there's edginess, questions, and an instinct for motion, change, and new ways of understanding.
All the Knights in tarot are on horseback. Some sit placidly, surveying the land, while others, like the Knight of Swords, are in mid-charge, looking to prove themselves. At times this energy can be harmful for us: We don't want to charge headlong into a ditch or danger. Yet the Knight of Swords is bringing us towards the King of Pentacles. Our drive is an instinct to make ourselves more solid in our lives. It's something trustworthy, even if we can't articulate it completely.
When we come to rest in the King of Pentacles we can see things as they are. Look for interpretations of your situation that make you feel at home in your body, no matter how that feels. It could feel "bad" - a sadness that hasn't been honored or held up - but it's yours and part of your experience. The King of Pentacles gains his power from accepting and working with his life as it is on the ground. He's always the king because of his reality, not in spite of it.
On the other end of the spectrum, things could be better than we think. Sometimes the Knight of Swords, when left to his own devices, turns his analytic fury towards his sense of selves, leveling brutal criticism and dissatisfaction every which way. What if our actual reality is something to be proud of? What if it isn't the time to ask so many complicated questions; that the reality is in fact quite lush and sustaining?
We're All Creative Creatures
“I’m just not a very creative person…”
How many times have I heard this phrase, both inside and outside of my tarot studio? It seems that most of us have a strictly “paintbrushes and poems” vision of the creative process. If we’re not engaged in the arts of music, painting, photography, etc. well, we’re just not creative.
“I’m just not a very creative person…”
How many times have I heard this phrase, both inside and outside of my tarot studio? It seems that most of us have a strictly “paintbrushes and poems” vision of the creative process. If we’re not engaged in the arts of music, painting, photography, etc. well, we’re just not creative.
I have a major bone to pick with this idea. Most of the people I meet have already made several creative decisions before they make it to my office. Maybe they took a new route on their way over or found an innovative solution to an argument with their partner from that morning. Maybe they tried a never-before-seen combinations of toppings at the salad bar! What I’m saying here is that creativity can be so interwoven with the mundane that we’re not even aware of it.
Take a look at tarot, for example. The Minor Arcana consists of four suits: wands, cups, swords, and pentacles. We embody all four of the suits as we move through life and the wands are most commonly associated with creativity. In the broadest sense they mean motion and putting ideas into action. In other words, simply moving through the world requires it. Many of the things we do have never been done before. They started as ideas and we bring them into being through our actions. It’s all part of being human.
Reclaiming our creative identity is massively healing. Behind all the statements of “I’m just not creative” is a secret longing. Simply be reframing our experience to include creativity in our everyday existence we open up further avenues for expression. That could lead to picking up watercolors as a hobby or just gaining the confidence of seeing ourselves as an integrated person, one whose creativity isn’t limited to the arts or our output.
Tarot Card for Creativity
The Suit of Wands
The Magician
The Fool
The Sun
The Empress
The World
Three of Pentacles
Seven of Cups
Creativity can look like…
Problem-solving
New projects
Taking initiative at work, home, etc.
Communicating ideas
Organizing
Decorating
Artistic pursuits
Planning
Weekly Forecast: September 3-9
This is a week full of opportunity for us if we choose to reach out and take what's being offered to us. Of course, starting with the Ace of Pentacles is a welcome beacon of potential and promise. Look at this singular, shining coin! And yet taking gifts when they're offered isn't as easy as it may seem. Many of us struggle with accepting good things. Sometimes we're afraid of the spotlight - that we look greedy or boastful - and sometimes we're afraid of growing into something bigger.
This is a week full of opportunity for us if we choose to reach out and take what's being offered to us. Of course, starting with the Ace of Pentacles is a welcome beacon of potential and promise. Look at this singular, shining coin! And yet taking gifts when they're offered isn't as easy as it may seem. Many of us struggle with accepting good things. Sometimes we're afraid of the spotlight - that we look greedy or boastful - and sometimes we're afraid of growing into something bigger.
We'll be experiencing some of these tensions this week, though not in a paralyzing sense. Rather, we're in a position where we can no longer ignore the magic happening around us. We can work on editing some of these stale and limiting stories because the rewards and support in our lives are too big to ignore.
This ace is appearing to let us know that our actions to date have been accumulating a lot of goodwill and recognition, even if we've been unaware of it, lost in doubts or simply the focus of continuing along a path, one foot ahead of the other.
This is a time to examine our reflexive responses to gifts and kindness. Are we comfortable receiving attention, support, and goodwill? How adept are we at navigating the spotlight? Whether we're feeling ready for it or not, this is a moment where we can launch ourselves into a radically new phase. It's time to get going, abandon any limitations we tend to put in front of us, and let ourselves walk into ease and expansion.
Because we have two Major Arcana cards springing from the Ace of Pentacles. Both point towards expression, growth, and support. Taking a gift, gesture of support, or windfall and running with it is leading us to bigger places.
The Hierophant lets us know that we have incredible resources to draw on. This card speaks to mentoring figures in our lives. Who in our circles or their peripheries inspires us? Who can guide us on our path and offer us sage advice as we stretch our wings? We're onto something here and reaching out to those who've been down similar roads will both add to our knowledge and help galvanize us. This week is a time to reach out and connect with the people who inspire us.
Bringing our dreams to others is a magical way to stay accountable and dedicated to their realization. Left alone we can abandon the path and nobody would be the wiser.
And that would be a shame since The Sun, our final card, shows us walking towards a beautiful burst of self-expression. The Sun shines so brightly that we often take it for granted. It's difficult to squint into its light and see how much energy and work goes into its output. Being a beacon, living our truth, and sharing that truth with the world is a true labor of love. It's a wonderful thing to behold, but it also requires being active, present, and, in a sense, vulnerable.
We may be feeling some anxiety this week about being seen fully, our ambitions and dreams visible to all around us. Wanting things and then pursuing them means that we're putting ourselves out there. Make room for that naked feeling while focusing on the freedom that comes with it. So what if we have big dreams and are working to make them real? When we become our own suns we don't need to worry about the opinions of others or even the bumps along the road.
Our vision for change and connection to ourselves will always be shining above any clouds.
Weekly Forecast: June 11-17
This week is brimming with hearty, enthusiastic energy, my peaches. We have the direct spelndor of The Sun, followed by the rich satisfaction and tenderness of the Queen of Wands. Things are unfolding beautifully and, in addition to being able to run forward with mindful enthusiasm, we're also being wise enough to take quieter moments to tend to ourselves and the ones we love. Take a moment right now to congratulate yourself. It's easy to overlook this step when things are going well; let's not miss this opportunity today.
This week is brimming with hearty, enthusiastic energy, my peaches. We have the direct spelndor of The Sun, followed by the rich satisfaction and tenderness of the Queen of Wands. Things are unfolding beautifully and, in addition to being able to run forward with mindful enthusiasm, we're also being wise enough to take quieter moments to tend to ourselves and the ones we love. Take a moment right now to congratulate yourself. It's easy to overlook this step when things are going well; let's not miss this opportunity today.
I'm going to skip over these cards for a minute and focus on our final card, the Ten of Wands. It appears there's a fox in the henhouse. Indeed, Ricardo Cavolo's depiction of this card - a fox replacing the traditional image of an exhausted person pushing a bundle of wands - is very apt this week. We seem to be unwilling to slow down and appreciate the results of a final push to the end of a cycle.
Just look at the mischievous fox perched on its stack of wands. If we gaze closer we can see that the wands form a barrier between the water - the element of the Queen of Cups - and the warm rays of the sun. This temptation is arriving towards the end of the week, when we may feel pulled to gleefully bypass the success, sweetness, and happiness we've earned this week.
In this case, we're replacing celebration with more work and responsibility. The pile of wands represents a burden of duties, the kind that can seem extra important from the outside. We're running around frenetically, looking important and getting things done!
Sounds like fun, right? The Tens in tarot have a trickiness to them. While we often talk about them as the end of a cycle, they in fact represent an overload or excess of energy. (Just look at the epic, death metal album cover of a card, the Ten of Swords!) In other words, they're overkill, and we can look at them as the extra steps we run past the finish line, carried by our immense momentum.
This week we're given an opprtunity to pump the brakes on the process. What if we stop and realize we've already accomplished what we needed to accomplish? And that, instead of rushing to fill the void with more busy work and stress, we can open up to joys of accomplishment?
In this reading, that facet of our experience is clear, bright, and powerful. The Sun tells us that we've been working towards a goal that is truly aligned with our highest self. The Queen of Cups tells us that we're embodying the complex and loving responsibility that allows us to prioritize pleasure, enjoyment, and loving relationships. These are no small potatoes! It's time to relax into these wonderful realities. Reach out, share, celebrate, and push those wands to the side.
Sometimes the conclusion of a journey is realizing you've already reached its end.
Weekly Forecast: April 30 - May 6
In tarot, the Pages embody the eager seekers within us. When we're younger we inhabit the Pages' energies almost constantly. The world is new along with everything in it. Because of this association, it's easy to look at the positivity and fascination of this group of cards with a hint of benevolent condescension. "Look, how cute! We're being energized by something new!"
In tarot, the Pages embody the eager seekers within us. When we're younger we inhabit the Pages' energies almost constantly. The world is new along with everything in it. Because of this association, it's easy to look at the positivity and fascination of this group of cards with a hint of benevolent condescension. "Look, how cute! We're being energized by something new!"
And yet we all know that the wonder of childhood came with a lot of mystery and intense feelings. This week, the Page of Wands isn't just showing us an influx of curiosity and a new direction. It's also showing us that following those sparks of interest can lead us much farther than we imagined, into powerful and meaningful territory.
If the Page of Wands is arriving on the scene to show us enamored with a new action, path, or practice, the Six of Swords is showing us that following that pull is leading us towards an important new phase. In other words, we've been doing some challenging and worthwhile work around our childhood. It's what's allowing us to embrace the Page of Wands and to feel unafraid about showing our enthusiasm and heeding our inner voice. This is leading to a powerful combination of feelings: joyful focus and deep processing. This week a quieter inward journey is finally able to break through into our everyday expression.
We can see this so beautifully and boldly in The Sun. This card is a radiant beacon of the self that shows just how triumphant the process of healing and integration can be. The journey to The Sun through the preceding cards of the Major Arcana is a long one. This tells us that the open-armed happiness shown here is far from silly or naive. The Sun has done the hard work of getting to know itself - the good, the bad, and the ugly (or the easy, the challenging, and the impossible) - and is choosing to find strength in vulnerability and to let its full self ride into the spotlight.
So it's not just all sunshine and daisies (or, in this case, sunflowers). It's all that and the rain that makes the flowers grow, the clouds that make the sun seem brighter, and the stormy weather that tests our abilities and motivates us to find our strength.
The cards for this week are asking us to acknowledge the hard work that we've done to step into the lessons of The Sun, and the big changes that we're undergoing as we choose to shine brighter. The Six of Swords highlights this bittersweet journey because, when we choose a brighter path that's true to ourselves, we also leave behind old ideas of who we are, relationships that no longer serve our best interests, and old dreams we once held. Even though these things aren't what we want, we're familiar with them and they hold a certain level of comfort.
The Six of Swords shows us the difficulty of this transition. We're on a journey towards a better, brighter shore. And we're carrying with us all the experiences and lessons that have made us who we are. As we look back at what we're leaving behind we can't help but feel a twinge of sadness as that familiar place grows smaller and smaller. There's something beautiful about this moment and it's giving us a crucial opportunity to acknowledge what we're leaving behind us, to recognize and feel our sense of loss, and process before we emerge into the brightness of The Sun. Reminiscing like this is only giving us a deeper understanding of how far we've come and where we're going. As well as clarity around what's really important.
So the energy of The Page of Wands is far from frivolous. It's a beautiful offshoot of the growth we've been doing. We can replace shame with action and excitement, knowing that we're giving ourselves an important and hard-won gift. We might be surprised to see how far these seemingly small steps will take us in the days to come.
Tarot and the Erotic: Sexuality in the Cards
Tarot can sometimes seem like a chaste affair, especially in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck where the nude figures are either presented as archetypes (The Lovers) or in solitary introspection (The Star).
A quick look at other decks like the deliciously cheeky and bawdy Eros Tarot by Uusi or the wonderfully sex-positive and diverse Slutist Tarot shows us that sex does have a presence in the cards after all. Yes, things can get spicy when you're reading tarot!
Tarot can sometimes seem like a chaste affair, especially in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck where the nude figures are either presented as archetypes (The Lovers) or in solitary introspection (The Star).
A quick look at other decks like the deliciously cheeky and bawdy Eros Tarot by Uusi or the wonderfully sex-positive and diverse Slutist Tarot shows us that sex does have a presence in the cards after all. Yes, things can get spicy when you're reading tarot!
As it should! Sexuality is intrinsic to our humanity, whether we choose to express that energy physically or not.
It's also important to acknowledge that tarot, especially the Rider-Waite-Smith system that I'll be working with in this post, has a visually white and heteronormative focus. Looking at the cards as archetypal energies and not literal or limiting representations of human expression is helpful in navigating these shortcomings.
For example, the phallic symbolism on the Ace of Wands doesn't exclusively apply to phallus-havers or lovers. Rather, we can look at it as a representation of a certain type of sexual energy, one we can all feel and express. The cards are simply markers on a larger spectrum we use to illustrate more complicated truths.
For beautiful and vibrant decks that show the wide range of shapes, orientations, and forms of humanity and not Medieval figures, check out the decks above the Dust II Onyx Tarot and Slow Holler Tarot ... hmm... I think I might just have to turn this into another deck recomendation post - stay tuned!
Below are some of my favorite cards that speak to spicy times of all stripes:
Tarot Cards that Signify Sex
The Empress
Just looking at this card gives us an insight into its sexual meaning. Here is a woman who is clearly feeling herself. The grounded confidence of The Empress represents a deep-seated undertsanding of one's body as the root of their sexuality. Pleasure is wild, free, and undeniably hers. This card can reflect self-pleasuring, sexual generosity with healthy boundaries, and valuing pleasure for pleasure's sake.
The Devil
Well, well! This card certainly looks naughty. The Devil shows us how it sometimes feels good to be bad. Doing this in a healthy, consensual manner can be toe-curlingly delicious. We can use The Devil's energy to explore parts of ourselves through our sexuality that get short shrift in everyday life. However, we can often seek out unhealthy relationships to get this thrill, unfortunately to our own detriment.
The Seven of Swords
This card is more than a little naughty. Jauntily sneaking off with more swords than you can carry reflects the thrill of having a secret - a hidden kink, new relationship, or even affair. Be sure to stop and consider if this secret is benign or whether it's hurtful to others. Sometimes the temporary pleasure isn't worth it.
The Magician
A card of vibrant sexual agency, The Magician shows us moments where we take things into our own hands (wink wink) and pursue our passions. Seeking out what attracts us and taking the risk of approaching it is a valuable and confidence-building exercise. How else would The Magician have gained his experience? Look to this card for sexual invigoration and inspiration and the confidence to let things unfold naturally.
The Sun
This card can represent the unbridled orgasmic joy of sex. Vulnerability, when expressed in a safe relationship or relationships, allows us to show up as purely ourselves. When we do this sexually, the energetic channel is astounding and something to be savored (hopefully many, many times!)
The Ace of Wands
This card is a) a phallic symbol sprouting leaves and b) a representation of an influx of sexual energy. It's the electricity in the air when you're around your crush, the general creative feeling you get at the beginning of a new project. This sexual feeling can be amorphous and channeled into many aspects of our lives. Sexually speaking, it's an encouraging sign to get creative and involved with our sexual expression.
Weekly Forecast: February 5-11
When a vibrant sense of fun leads to an important breakthrough.
We're often taught that working involves intense effort. It's the image of someone sweating heavily while toiling at a job site or the romanticized notion of pulling all-nighters in a frenzied push towards a goal. Grit and genius can only come from sweat and struggle.
Sometimes we lean so heavily on this idea that anything less feels like a shortcoming. If we're not suffering we're not working hard enough. Right?
The three cards for this week have a convincing counterargument.
We're ushered into the scene by the verdant excitement of the Page of Pentacles. When I turned this card over I immediately started singing "The Hills Are Alive" from The Sound of Music ( in my head, thankfully). And it's true - this card shares the same bright-eyed enthusiasm as Maria in the beginning of her journey.
Similarly, we're entering a new beginning regarding our work, one that is taking us away from the gritty "capitalist truck commercial" idea of effort and towards something brighter and more exploratory. Think of your early passions from childhood. For me it was dinosaurs and ancient Egypt. I didn't need to harness any motivation to learn about them. Instead I was hungrily grabbing at information, memorizing long dinosaur names, and happily sharing my new knowledge with anyone who would listen.
This week we're being presented with this gift of natural passion. We want to explore a new area wholeheartedly, or an area that now seems as shiny as the golden coin balanced in the Page's hand. This card shows us the unbridled joy that comes with learning when we allow ourselves to be led by our natural interests. Focus comes easily and our new pursuit illuminates our world with excitement and possibility.
The idea of knowledge as an illuminating force brings us to our next card, The Sun, taking our freedom, adventure, and self-expression to the next level. Something we're pursuing this week is tapping into a gorgeous facet of ourselves, one that's been longing for a little light.
This might be somewhat unnerving - are things feeling too fun? Too joyful? We might find ourselves framing this burst of energy as a distraction, something that's pulling us way from the responsibility and toil of our daily lives.
But sometimes we need this rush of energy - a reminder that work can be fulfilling, breezy, and fun - to bring us to the next level. Our final card, The Eight of Coins, shows us that this bright path has provided a missing piece to a more tangible, effort-based undertaking. Something we've been working on for a long time needed the rush of exploratory energy from the Page of Coins and The Sun. It's as if the next step needed time to coalesce, either in the form of a step back from the intensity of deliberate work or in a spontaneous innovation inspired through a more lighthearted approach.
This is where trust in our process, self-expression, and the joy of exploration inject a much needed sense of levity and ease into our process. Embrace the itch to learn something new, take off a bit of pressure and think differently, or even take a break before returning to a state of intense concentration.
Playfulness and freedom are giving us both pleasure and inspiration this week. Soon enough we'll be returning to the masterful and directed focus of The Eight of Coins. This time, however, we'll be invigorated and rested - ready for the next phase of our project.
Weekly Forecast: December 18-24
There's something wild in all of us that can be easy to forget at times. Daily life requires that we step away from our snarling wolf sides. After all, it's not practical if we're rampaging through our homes, tearing at our sofas with our sharp fangs. (Though sometimes it's tempting).
Usually these uncharted and untamed parts of our personalities pop up in destructive ways. Like an animal cornered we lash out or crouch defensively with our ears back and teeth bared.
There's another way, however, that involves quite a bit of bravery and willingness to look past our sense of familiarity and safety. It's deep inner-work that can only be approached in the long-term. Impatience doesn't work when the path is windy and overgrown. Yet if we choose to walk through it we're rewarded with a kind of deep, irreplaceable self-knowledge, because in our personal woods we get to meet our untamed selves and, most powerfully, we get to know them.
That's how we arrive on the scene this week. Our rough and winding journey has reconnected us with our animal strength. The risk of moving forward when what we have on the surface is "enough" was high. It's easy to label someone as foolhardy or overly-ambitious when they strike out in this way, heeding a call only they can hear. We can see the Eight of Cups as a brave decision to move away from the expected, domestic, and safe "enough" of our lives and to seek something deeper, following a deep-seated instinct within us.
I love Ricardo Cavolo's illustration of this card. Instead of the solitary figure journeying into moonlit mountains with his row of eight upturned cups behind him we have a lush explosion of green. The upturned cups have sprouted strong vines that are bursting forth to tear down a pillar and expose a bright and burning flame.
I see this as the result of the journey we've undertaken in the Eight of Cups. We've heeded the call to follow our wild natures and doing so has unleashed a great and sustaining creative energy. And a big change - we've had to tear down a pillar supporting our lives, trusting our wild selves when they tell us that doing so will free us.
All the wonderful things that have sustained us in our life - our eight upturned cups - have become the home from which we can cultivate our true nature. The result? Given time, they bud and grow, reaching out to tear down what no longer works in our lives, exposing a powerful source of energy and inspiration.
With all this deep working going on (and exposed flames!) now is an excellent time to acknowledge and appreciate all the stages of our journeys so far. What has sustained us and supported us, allowing for our complicated, wild selves to flourish? These are the relationships and connections that don't hold us back or box us in, and as such they are immensely valuable and precious.
Now we're being propelled into the joyful clarity of The Sun and it's glorious to behold. All the doubut and risk-taking of the Eight of Cups has revealed something precious and fiery within us. Now that single flame has transformed into The Sun and it's shining down to illuminate our next phase. We're bravely creating a world that can hold our entires selves, wildness and all, and it's warm, energetic, and full of possibility.
Enjoy this period of emerging and basking in your personal glow. It hasn't been easy getting to this place and it may have felt too risky or too challenging at times, so take some time to look around and enjoy the clarity. Our creative channels are clear and open now; cavort, jump, experiment, and celebrate your newfound personal freedom.
This freedom has us ready to jump into creating something tangible for ourselves. Most importantly, we'll be asking our wild selves to come along for the ride as our trusted advisors. All that strength and complexity is too precious to send back to the woods, and as we work at manifesting our visions we'll be calling on its wisdom to help guide us. The Six of Pentacles points us to the future, reminding us to follow the weird, deep, and unmistakable call of our untamed selves. As we decide what to sustain and focus on, this sense of intuition and self-knowledge will help guide us. If it doesn't ignite a mysterious sense of interst and instinct, it's not our path to take.
Weekly Forecast: December 4-10
How do we look at the world and our part in it?
This week gives us a fascinating opportunity to reassesss our outlook. We're entering into things feeling a bit prickly and restless. The landscape stretching out before us seems rough around the edges and we're approaching it with trepidation and distrust. Perhaps something in the past is making us feel wary today; a memory of a hurtful situation that's reminiscent of our current surroundings.
But things aren't what they seem. It's quite the opposite, in fact. Armed with our discerning minds we're attempting to stave off vulerability because, in our heart of hearts, we know something new and exciting is happening. Rather than lean into it, our first instinct is to protect and withdraw. Look at the windswept wariness of the Five of Swords. Surveying a cloudy beach, the central figure holds three swords, having just vanquished two figures turning away mournfully to the ocean.
We're starting off with the distrustful energy of the Five of Swords and yet the other two cards in our reading, The Seven of Pentacles and The Sun, paint an entirely differnt pictue. Instead of desolate, grey beaches we have light and bright skies. Instead of smirking at a temporary victory, we have calm satisfaction and effervescent joy.
In a sense, we're seeing the world through some very dark sunglasses, an idea or worldview that we've inherited instead of earned or created for ourselves. We might think they make us look cool and mysterious, but they actually darken our view of things, limiting our ability to see situations as the are.
Our first instinct is to see our situation as dire - we need to use our minds, thoughts, and actions to defend our turf from others. In reality, however, we're more like the content farmer in the Seven of Pentacles. There's no one circling us, hoping to make off with our bounty. Instead, we're given the opportunity to relax and take in the fruits of our labors. Why would we choose anything else?
The Five of Swords and the Seven of Pentacles ask us to engage with our tendencies to see the world as an inherently competitive place. What do we gain from this? Is it a sense of urgency and importance? The ability to hide our pride in our hard work behind struggle and drama?
This cards for this week ask us to be brave and let our skills and accomplishments just be: just be worthy of our pride, worthy of acknowledgment from others, and worthy of celebration. Doing so allows us to blossom into clearer and more joyful people, ready to enter into all aspects of life as full expressions of ourselves, uninhibited by self-doubt and negative thinking.
Yes, this can be scary. We don't have the excuse of busying ourselves in protective battles agaisnt nefarious assailants. Instead, we're just in a blossoming garden of our own making. And we can see ourselves as The Sun whose light allows all our ideas, plans, and visions to grow and flourish.