Birthday Spread

Today I turn 43. Instead of the usual Daily Card spread, I decided to throw a spread that looked back on the last year and looked ahead at my 43rd. I asked five questions and received the following cards for each:

1. What lessons did I learn last year? The Star
2. How can apply these lessons moving forward this year? Strength
3. What successes will I have this year? Page of Swords again!
4. What challenges will I face this year? The Sun Reversed
5. Overall, what kind of year will it be? Justice

In the Star we see a beautiful woman kneeling in water, pouring water from two Golden carafes. The woman is naked except for a golden headband. In the background we see the Star Machine against a purple sky filled with stars. Simply put, this is a card of hope and optimism. Our nymph is naked symbolizing truth. The carafes stand for the conscious world, the water emotions. She is pouring freely unafraid of running out. A star burst on her headband tells us she has not given up intellect. She has learned to blend it.

This card tells me I learned to hope again. To put my trust in the "unknowable." I am healing from the issues that have clouded my body, mind and soul. I think this speaks directly to my readiness to put my past with my ex behind me and look towards new relationships.

A woman walks with her head held high and proud. Her hair blows casually behind her. She leads a lion by a loose fitting chain. She has nothing to fear from the King of Beasts, for her strength and beauty and compassion has tamed him. Her dress it fitted with stars again showing mastery of the unknown. The card shows how the feminine side of our nature can overcome and control the more aggressive male side.

This shows me I must trust and nurture my more feminine qualities. That I have an inner strength that will see me through life's challenges. It also tells me I must be patient for things to happen. Things happen in their own time for their own reason. I am able to make those reasons blend with my own once they happen, but I must wait for them to show themselves.

Again this student stares back at me with cautious eyes. Standing in all his finery he poses for a picture but remains unsure in his own truths. He is not confident enough to take action, like his brother Knight, instead he sits back and watches. Analyzes. Interprets.

My friendly Page tells me I am going to continue to grow and learn. He tells me in his very nature that one of the lessons will be patience. By not rushing in our lad is able to better grasp the situation and find solutions not based on rashness. This supports and validates the Strength card and her lesson of applying patience in all matters. Being an air card and the studious Page, I also see a return to formal education. I never thought college would be in my future but our Page seems tp say differently.

As the Beatles sang, "Here comes the Sun and I say, it's alright."

This card shows the fiery Sun and the Universe of planets hovering around it. The signs of the Zodiac circle Mars and Saturn showing the Sun's reach into all aspects of life. The Sun, being the largest star in our Solar System, amplifies the lessons of the Star. To trust in "unknowable" and the continuing of my healing.

The card shows all good things. Warmth, goodness, life and love. Reversed it shows that while these things will still be there (truly these things can never leave), I will be hard pressed to see them. This directly relates to my inability to move beyond how my marriage ended. While the Star says I am healing, and Strength shows my strength to overcome these challenges. The Sun reversed advises me that I still will hold on to the pain.

A woman dressed in white stands blindfolded in front of a golden scale. Her hands, mimicking the scales hold two sun like orbs that focus rays of energy down to a golden sun symbol. She is blindfolded. A warm summer sky at orange twilight surrounds the image.

Well, this says it all and ties everything up in a nice little package. Balance. Plain and simple. The lessons of my frequent Page and of Strength and the Star are all reflected in this card. Allowing the feminine some control as shown in the Strength. Trusting the secrets poured by the nymph. Learning to sit back and watch like the Page instead of rushing in.

Yes, this year will be a study in Balance.