Beyond my Closed Blind

There is something special about bank holidays. They really lift the collective soul of people, I feel. Especially when the weather is as good as it is now. We have four days spread out in front of us, ready to be sprinkled with visitors, an afternoon in a park with my friends and their kids, and seeing my boyfriend's nan. We have another one next week, due to the Royal Wedding, so my boyfriend cleverly booked the days off in between before anyone else in his office.

Talking of my boyfriend, he is asleep and my blinds are drawn, bricking out the beautiful sunshine and trees. I can see it poking through the bottom, beckoning us to come out and play, but for the moment, I will let him rest. He gets up so early for work every day that I don't want to deprive him of the odd lay in. I, on the other hand, have been up for hours, sewing a bag and spread cloth for my Shadowscapes Tarot. It always bugs me when decks don't come with a decent means of storage, and this deck is so special to me that I felt it was time to give it a protective home. I bought an array of different fabrics yesterday, but it isn't the easiest pack to colour match. When placed next to lilacs, it looked too blue. When matched with blue, the deck looked too lilac, so in the end I bought some purple and black material. The black for the bag has a dull silver floral print on it, which picks up the card's borders nicely. When placed on the purple spread cloth, which I backed in black, the card backs are really complimented and look rich.

Today's card shows an apathetic mermaid. She has slithered out of her world in the sea for some time to contemplate and reflect in the land of air. Maybe she is a little dissatisfied with the norm and yearns for something different. I suppose she could represent me generally. Even though the day has just begun, I do get a little bored of sitting around here in my room. As I type, my teenage neighbour is hammering away at his punch ball in the garden and I am aware that life goes on outside of my window, beyond the closed blind. My closest and oldest friend is travelling up here with her husband today to visit a mutual mate, so we are all getting together later. She and I have been friends for thirty-five years, but with one thing or another, haven't seen each other in the last six months. We email and text regularly, but some real face to face contact will be nice. In a few hours I will start getting myself ready, and like the mermaid in the 4 of Cups, will then dive back into the pool and join the land of the living. For the moment, however, as my immediate world sleeps around me, I will reflect quietly on it's surface.



Illustration from The Shadowscapes Tarot by Stephanie Pui Mun Law