Nobody's Fool

As usual, I wasn't so keen on seeing this woman come up. She's not one of my favourite characters in the tarot deck, but maybe today, I am seeing her in a better light. Due to the woman who lives next door, it is her reversed or negative qualities that I am often warned off by, but she does have the ability to project a glow of warmth and general jeux de vie when positively aspected.

I met one of my close friends this morning. With being so busy and tired of late, I haven't been up to much in my free time, but knew I needed to touch base with her since it's been quite a while. She understands that I am not up for big nights out at the moment, so we previously decided on meeting today and it's been in the diary for a bit.

My friend is a very strong woman. In the past, this has sometimes come across as bolshy and a little intimidating for others, but as far as our friendship is concerned, we are on an equal footing; we always have been. I know how to turn the temperature down when she is beginning to get hot under the collar. Symbolised by the queen in this throne, my friend sits next to a growing sunflower, which apparently represents her optimism. This Queen of Wands looks as though she is nobody's fool, which she is not, but when positively aspected, the card portrays a woman who is socially enthusiastic, generous, and who is fun to be around.

My friend and I took a wander through town, starting with breakfast and a little shopping, before picking up her husband and driving to my local pub. The Summer seems to have returned, so with it being hot and sunny, we sat out in the garden and had lunch. It was good to spend time with them both. I think that today's card is very much affected by it's surroundings. This queen does have the ability to be egocentric, jealous, and will readily seek revenge when wronged, but as my friend showed me today, her energies can be better spent. Not all people reminiscent of the Queen of Wands are as selfish and spiteful as Oddbod next door.

When I woke this morning, the first thing I checked was News 24 to see how the UK had coped overnight. Even though London was quieter than it has been in four days, Birmingham and Liverpool had suffered disturbance, with shops set on fire and petrol bombs thrown into a bank. I have heard that a 19 year old has already been arrested and hopefully charged for the arson of the clothes store. I watched the footage of groups in Birmingham, carrying rubbish bags to fill with loot, and it appeared that once again, the police stood back and let them in many cases. These people don't care about Mark Duggan. They probably don't even know who he is. They are just taking advantage of an opportunity.

How did we get to this? I kind of place some of the blame on the way we value celebrity in this country; I place a portion of the blame on the reality shows which catapult nobodies into fame and shower them in riches. And then there are the magazines and adverts, telling us that we are worth nothing if we don't look the part, go to the right places, or have the most up to date mobile phone in our pocket. Programmes like Big Brother lead a poor example, encouraging young people to believe that they don't need to work for their place on the red carpet as they once might have had to. Does this kind of culture have a hand in what we are seeing now? - image and status being the biggest priority for our youth. There is a divide. You either have it or you don't, and these kids have no qualms about hurting others to get their slice of the pie, whether they have earned it or not.

It seems that my fatigue always manages to take shape around a Wednesday and after a long nap this afternoon, I felt drained of energy on my journey to my boyfriend's this evening. I hope that I won't have a repeat of the week before last, where I was fit for nothing on Thursday morning, since I have things I need to get on with. It is nice and quiet at my boyfriend's this evening. We are laying on his bed with the wind rising outside his window and a programme about desert ants on the television. The warm and sunny presence of today's card is cooling for the evening and I wouldn't be surprised if the rain sets in soon.




Illustration from The Mystic Dreamer Tarot by Heidi Darras