This card represents the "gear" the hero brings on her journey - the assets, skills and talents that she already has at the beginning of her quest, the tools she can rely on. It can also represent the baggage that she carries with her, and what she may need to reassess and let go before the pack grows too heavy to carry and prevents her from moving on.
I am exhausted tonight, so I drew only one card - I'll return tomorrow morning to do an i-depth meditation and draw two supporting cards.
The card I drew was the Eight of Swords. Depicted on this card, a noble swan struggles, trapped among thorny brambles. Above, a tiny hummingbird hovers. The first word that leapt to mind when I looked at this card was: Hope. The second word was: Calm.
The hummingbird represents hope even in seemingly impossible situations - the small light shining still, the symbol that life goes on and things will work their way out. The hummingbird is a tiny creature compared to the swan, whose very grace and majesty can become an obstacle in certain situations. Here, the swan is clearly panicking, and yet the brambles do not cut so deep as all that. The hummingbird - as quick as it is - counsels the swan to stay calm, to reassess, not to make use of might and swagger to get out of the situation but to center herself and move gently and delicately and with subtlety.
Today, I spent most of the day working intensely on editing the podcast, writing the show notes and creating an image for the post to go up with the first episode. I'm very proud of the results - I think it's a fantastic first episode - but it was tiring work and I find myself feeling intimidated by the idea of trying to keep this up twice a week on a regular basis. I was beginning to panic - to worry about what kind of situation I've committed myself to.
This card, I think, is both a reminder of my assets and a caution about what baggage I carry. If I want to be majestic and powerful like the swan, I need to be aware of the kind of baggage that creates and that it might not be helpful in certain circumstances - whereas the hummingbird is small and unassuming, but its very quickness and small size is what allows it to navigate, to slip through otherwise dangerous or difficult territory. My best assets are hope (the light that I hold steady even through difficulty, and my willingness to work through it), and calm (remembering to center in myself and not get distracted by the trivial, to stay committed)....but my baggage may be my desire to do too much, to force things when they can't be forced and to try to be "bigger" when the situation actually requires me to think small, quick and unassuming.
So.... good insights from even just that one card. I'm very glad I didn't skip my work tonight, though I'm very tired. Looking forward to relaxing and heading to bed.