Instead of doing a daily draw today, I decided to do a paths spread to determine a course of action for this weekend. On the one hand, we had made plans with friends to attend a board game night, sleep over, and perhaps go to a small festival the next day. On the other, we are both really tired, and neither of us really wants to drive two hours up there even if we do miss our friends.
To represent the choice, I pulled the nine of Pentacles. On the “go” path were the five of Wands, the Page of Swords, and the Four of Pentacles. On the “stay” path were the World, the Knight of Swords, and the Devil. Click through to check out the larger scan. Any pixelation is a result of my scanner, and is not apparent on the cards.
After I shuffled the cards, I said “I need to make a decision,” and drew the nine of Pentacles. I then alternated top, bottom, top, bottom, top, bottom to represent “go, stay, go, stay, go, stay”. I have to say that I laughed when the first two cards that I laid down were the five of Wands (conflict, struggles, even disaster) and the World (completion, fulfillment, or spiritual/divine joy). Seems telling… but maybe not as much as I thought at first.
The nine of Pentacles tells me that the decision revolves around how to use our leisure time and our hard-earned money (gas, or maybe a dinner out nearby?). The five of Wands indicates conflict, but since we would have been going to a board game party and then to a festival with a freindly contest, it probably just indicates the “conflict” of contesting in the games. This contrasts with the peace and quiet that seems to be coming at us through the World if we stay home.
The second two cards were the Page and Knight of Swords, and I find it telling that the more “advanced” form of the card was on the “stay home” side of the line. Perhaps it is saying that while we might have had a fun time there, we can have just as much fun by embracing staying home. The Page looks indifferent to me, while the Knight is very active, ready to charge toward the World.
In the third set of cards, the four of Pentacles shows the stress that I would almost certianly find myself under with regard to money. I hate the necessity of shelling out for gas, toll, food, snacks, etc. when we head up there to visit as much as I love seeing my friends. It gets stressful, espeically when money is tight, which it currently is. On the other hand, the Devil always seems to appeal to me. It tells me to embrace my impish side and have some naughty fun at home instead.
The spread doesn’t say that one path is “better” than the other, but I think that I personally like where the second path leads. By staying at home, I think we will have a terrific time and we can save the gas money for the next time we actually have the energy to travel.
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I asked the cards to show me what would happen today, and it was spot on. The nine of Pentacles traditionally shows a person enjoying a garden that they have built for themselves, independent, confident and sure. My husband and I are pretty broke, but we have set aside a little money so that I can build a couple of raised planters (our soil sucks) and grow vegetables for next year. We would like to be independent of our current vegetable supply, since we hate it. Step one, build the beds and buy the winter vegetable seeds. I’m shopping for seeds and lumber today!
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