The Light & the Shadow

For this week I am using Alta's Light & Shadow Spread from Aeclectic. I have had a motivation issue with readings simply because it has been increasingly difficult to come up with a query each week. Lately I have been preoccupied with my job situation, as my previous readings have shown.

But allow me to set that aside for now and focus on this excellent general reading for today.

Here is the spread:

 5

 4 1 2

 3

1.  Significator
   
2.  The Light 
   
3.  How you sometimes move into the shadow.
   
4.  The Shadow
   
5.  How you can move further into the light.

(Click to enlarge)

My Significator was King of Swords for this reading. It is the combination of my ascendant Leo and my sun sign Cancer (because Fire and Water make Air).

3 of Swords as "The Light" is a bit confusing, but if I look at it as "strength in adversity" then it make a little more sense. When I was in school, I had a teacher tell me there is such a thing as "good stress." I didn't know what he meant until later in life. This card is a bit like that. "When the going get tough, the tough get going." Sorry for all these clichés, but somehow they seem apt for this card in this position.

My King of Wands represents my passion and hotheadedness. This is the Leo side of my personality that I must take care not to allow to take over. I have my Moon in Leo and she is square with Mars in Scorpio. I have a tendency to wear my heart on my sleeve, and to react instead of act on issues that face me.

II High Priestess as the shadow means that there is still some little voice inside my head that plants that seed of doubt. This is the "what if" or the "not yet" phenomena that can be the destroyer of worlds and of confidence. The self-doubt of self-discovery seems to be a paradox, but how can I improve myself unless I can identify my shortcomings to begin with?

7 of Chalices answers this question nicely! This is a card of choice, obviously, but also that of spiritual perfection. I realize that perfection is a 10-letter word for insanity, and am reminded that it is about spiritual progress, not spiritual perfection. The Shadow of the II High Priestess is there to whisper in my ear, "Your best isn't good enough" because she is all about Perfection with a capital "P."

Card images © Lo Scarabeo ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Used by Permission

Changing Locations for Work

I learned Friday that I have been offered my tenure in my school district. That is the good news. The bad news (not "bad" bad, just not "the best") is that I will have to switch schools because of redistricting and budget cuts. Although I am guaranteed a job somewhere in the school system, it is up to me to find job listings there and get interviews around the county. My certification is such that I am free to teacher any grade level. My decision lies therefore in choosing between elementary and secondary levels. Enough background!

Rarely do I use such a large spread, but to do any less would be taking away from an important life-choice. I think it deserves more attention and detail. I am using a spread of my own design called Another Two Paths Spread:

Path option 2-------------------Path option 1

--9----------------------------------6-------

---------8---------------------5-------------

--------------7-----------4------------------

---------------------3-----------------------

---------------------------------------------

---------------------2-----------------------

---------------------------------------------

---------------------1-----------------------

----------------The present-----------------

Option 1 is where I am now, elementary, and Option 2 is secondary (aka middle school Science). It is obvious which way I am going.

1. What is the basis for your question? 9 of Wands. As I mentioned I have been recommended for tenure. So this card represents the end-of-the-road for in terms of having to be under vigilance for the past three years, during which I had not been guaranteed employment from one year to the next. A keyword that I used when learning the minor arcane was "Respite," or rest after strife. The frog looks like he's saying, "What next?"
   
2. What about the present will most greatly affect your decision? 10 of Chalices. I feel quite comfortable where I am at now in terms of the age-level that I teach. That being said, I feel that perhaps I have already done all that I can do professionally in this area. 10s, of course, are as much about endings as they are about beginnings. Since this is a Cup, the positional meaning might as well read "How I feel about the present that will most greatly affect my decision." I have toyed with the idea of moving up in age group over the last two years for more reasons than one, such as health considerations and workday hours. But more will be revealed in this reading.
   
3. What will divide the two paths? XIII Death. This is one of those "No $#!+ cards." The change is involuntary, as I would rather stay put. Moving locations is not fun. I have done it upwards of 6 times of the past 7 years of teaching. I guess I should be used to it by now. Since there is no longer a position for me at this school, I do not have a choice but to move. Again, I have been thinking about it for quite a while. Being involuntarily transferred is a much-needed push out of the nest. Baby birds either fly or they die.
   
4. What about my past suits this path? 2 of Swords. This is Option 1, elementary education. Since this is my current assignment, I decided it should be Option 1. The 2 of Swords is about choices. I decided long ago (2003, to be exact) to make the move into generalist field (a fancy word for Kindergarten through 3rd grades). This was a necessity because of the jobs that were available and where we wanted to live at the time.  It was an excellent choice and we enjoyed a peaceful and laid-back lifestyle for nearly four years. I am comfortable in my own skin at my current grade level.
   
5. What about the present suits this path? 10 of Coins. Another 10 here reflecting turn-of-The-Wheel aspect of the 10 of Chalices and my comfort level. Since this is an earth card, it suggests that I am a little too comfortable. I could be lulled into a false sense of security, as I could suffer consequences later due to further budget cuts and needing to transfer at a much later date when there are fewer options close to home to choose from.
   
6. The outcome should you choose this course of action. XIV The Tower. Referring back to the last interpretation: I feel that if I stay put (which there is a high-probability of being able to do), then later I will be more forcibly uprooted, again, needing to move to another job center that is not my ideal place to work. I will be able to interview for my choice locations almost immediately (within the next two weeks). But which grade level to choose? Option 1 or Option 2?
   
7. What about my past suits this path? King of Chalices. I am much more spiritually awakened having taken up yoga. When I started elementary, I did not have the practice that I do now. These are well-grounded emotional tools that I have now to guide me through life and perhaps help me deal with moving up to an older age group. My first year, I taught middle schoolers, and enjoyed it, but in hind-sight it was less enjoyable than what I am doing now. Perceptions change. 
   
8. What about the present suits this path? Queen of Chalices. And this card highlights this change. She is fixed and secure in her emotions. Nothing can sway her. She is a stalwart and champion. I love having this card here. In fact, in readings for others, this pair has shown up twice with an important message. Now I have this message!
   
9. The outcome should you choose this course of action. Knight of Swords. Another court card suggests change yet again into a different state-of-mind. This is not a bad thing. I happen to like change, myself. I feel it is important to my life and my mental health. This card, therefore, is about health―mental, physical and in some respects spiritual. Part of the reasons that I would like to move up to the higher grades is simply that the working hours are more compatible with a healthy lifestyle. I would start later and finish around the same time (because of difference in driving distances). Although this is not the only factor entail in the job search, it is certainly one of the main mitigating factors in it. This card in this position is a good augury for my making a major professional change that will in turn affect a lifestyle change. And it ain't no Tower!

(Click to enlarge)

Card images © Lo Scarabeo ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Used by Permission