It took 47 years to get here,
These circles
And circuses
These meanderings
And mazes I created for myself
Out of some fealty to what it means
to be misunderstood
to be Minotaur
and monster
and miscast
as a villain in a play someone else wrote.

I’ll weave a way with my own red thread,
thank you very much,
and find my way free of these misconceptions I’ve embodied so long
these notions that I am okay with less
that I am comfortable with compromise
that I am lost without direction.

Reigning my world
without reining myself in
I am the Captain of this ship
The hand on the tiller
The Fool at the wheel.

~~~~~

Today’s deck is the Blood and Ink tarot by Elise Oursa and it’s definitely at the top of many lists for me. It’s one of the only decks I have which has no imagery on the pip cards (the minor arcana excluding court cards), and that’s pretty surprising. There was a time when I found reading without pictures to be intimidating because I have this need to be right, I have this need for the story bones to be there so I can flesh it out and consider myself alive with insight. And when there are just a bunch of pips indicating number and suit, what the heck am I supposed to do with that? To be fair to this deck, the pip cards are just as lively as those with characters on them.
However, the growth I’ve experienced as a reader because of this deck cannot be undermined. A good part of that comes of lessons and readings from the creatrix of the deck herself. One of the most intuitive and accomplished readers I’ve ever known, I never cease to be amazed by the skill Elise impart when reading the cards. I might have a bias, because I think she’s awesome, but that’s how we incorporate growth into our daily lives. We find those things which drive us, which we feel passionate about and we pursue them in whatever means are available. It’s easy to be biased toward things which generate joy and enthusiasm, which give us a sense that the path we’re on is worthwhile, especially if it encourages the sort of growth which is inclusive and broad. And when we find teachers and friends who inspire that growth, I say bias all you wanna.

I also love that this is my birth card (birthday numbers added together = 7) and I randomly pulled it. Because magic.