It's All In The Cards

My errands went well... I even found a perfect jacket (which fit me EXACTLY right), which I might go get this afternoon (I want to see if Terri wants to come with me). In the meantime: the results from the Artists Date at Ancient Ways

I went in to get a pendulum to practice dowsing, and to get a tarot reading. I've never had a 'professional' reading before; a few friends have given me readings, but I was curious what a seasoned professional would say.

I asked the question: What will happen if I pursue art; more specifically, if I go back to art school?

Without going into each card, this is basically what she said:

• I've been doing a lot of soul-searching on this topic, it's been a long, deep search because I'm unsatisfied with what I'm doing right now. Things are good, but I want more in my life.
• If I follow this path, there will be loss, or I'll get stuck wondering about a loss -- but I'll need to get over it in order to move on.
• I won't initially be as successful financially.
• My current relationship is very stable; it is the one for me, it's the right path
• It will be very important for me to find balance in what I'm doing, and with my friends and family. Balance will be very important -- I may get too busy doing something and neglect my family and friends.
• I will need to be very careful about protecting my work -- I'll be successful eventually, but I'll need to make sure everything is written down/understood. Things may be hidden that I'll need to be very aware of/clarify.
• There is a lot of intuitive things that I need to express, and I might have a hard time reaching them at first.
• Ultimately, I'll need to keep all these things in mind because this path might lead to a broken heart/trouble in my relationship/massive indecision.

So I was confused. This didn't sound so great. So she put down six more cards, with the modifier question "What if I don't go back to school, but continue on my current path of learning as I go, transitioning gradually, starting my own business, etc."

• Immediately I got The Star: hope and healing, clarity and insight, unexpected help, a clear path, opportunities.
• There will be lots of competition, but I will be able to hold my own and ultimately be successful.
• I will still need to be careful about protecting my work, so that someone doesn't use it as their own.
• Lots of success, everything works out well -- and also, fertility in the near future. (!!)
• My intuition will serve me well... my inspirations will be expressed, I'll be able to communicate well (but I might need a little practice). I'll need to sell myself, but I'll be able to.

So. This, along with my hand reading that indicated that my life's purpose is to be a knockout artist/businesswoman, leads me to think that perhaps I ought to think about this art school thing again. The woman doing the reading said that the cards indicate that if I take my time and develop my own ideas (and maybe take some classes), that I'll be very successful. But if I take the plunge and go to school full-time (or try to balance everything), there might be a pretty rocky future ahead of me.

Which makes sense.

So, I'll think about this. I have to admit, it felt pretty good to see that if I follow my own path, I'll have much more success than if I drop everything and go to school. So now the question becomes, how do I learn what I want to learn, while still pursuing the path I'm supposed to?