Sun Signs Everything Under The Sun!
Know the Week with Ukiyoe Tarot
I’m feeling very Japanese today so I decided to use the Ukiyoe Tarot for the weekly inspiration. A truly cool deck with so many layers of symbolism added in the form of small cultural details (such as the types of flowers shown) and historical inspirations/allusions taking place behind the scenes. I highly recommend it! So here are the two cards I’ve drawn for the upcoming week:
The first card, the Eight of Pentacles, gives us an overview of the entire week while the second card, the Page of Swords, gives us related advice.
Eight Of Pentacles
The Eight of Pentacles is a busy-bee card, a worker-ant card: it’s all about training 100% of one’s focus on the task at hand, never looking up, and never checking behind you. And this is pleasurable work. It’s not nose-to-the-grindstone stuff! Do you know how a tattoo artist might labor over a design for hours and hours, not even giving thought to the passage of time? Because they’re so into it.
All they can see is the human canvas under their fingertips, and that is enough for their entire world. Nothing else exists. That’s the sort of feeling we can expect in the coming week. Passionate, committed, solid devotion to the task at hand.
What is your task at hand?
It might relate to your actual job, but then it might relate to some other type of work that you’re passionate about — or want to be passionate about. Is there a project that you’ve been putting off? Now is the time to set aside several hours and just get to it.
The red flowers in the card are symbolic of the lush fullness of summer — petals that open up to the sun and bask there. Whatever task you devote your time to this week, the potential is there for steady growth and development. Make it count!
The supporting card, the Page of Swords, gives us a little insight into how to make the most of the hardworking, focused energies suggested by the Eight of Pentacles. The two fit together nicely: with the Eight of Pentacles, no outside influences are allowed to infringe upon the task at hand (critics are ignored, for example, and adulation is not sought, it’s all about the work).
With the Page of Swords, this theme of self-reliance and keeping one’s own counsel is reiterated: this Page watches, learns, and remembers, but rarely speaks or acts. All the movement is internal. His one sword, sheathed, indicates restrained thought (waiting for the right time, waiting for all the info, all the experience), while his other sword, pointed at the ground, is symbolic of understanding truths hidden below the surface.
So, overall, this looks to be a rather calm week on the outside of things: working hard, focusing on the now, and absorbing knowledge. Make sure whatever you choose to focus your energy on is a task you enjoy and can see yourself working with for the long term.