my copy of Paul Quinn's book came in the mail today also and i am thru the first 50 pages and am very excited and keyed up with what I see as a fine text so far (and have no reason to doubt it changing as i continue) ... i did my semi-daily-after-work-reading (need a shorter title for that
) and i consulted the new Quinn book for his views or readings of the cards (however is the most correct, tarot-way to put this) ... i was so glad they were all minor arcana cards (which i'll explain in a minute) -- anyway, the subject of this spread has been the same since my coming back to tarot a few weeks ago and that is my career/job situation ... and even more so Quinn's take on the cards are much clearer than the references and such i've been using and have used before ... very nicely laid out and thought-out presentation on top of his explanations and enlightenment of the cards
then when reading Rachel Pollack's foreword for the book, she mentions her view of the Hanged Man as a "joyous card, an image of the spiritual values that sustain us even if everyone else sees us as upside down or backward" as opposed to "many people having seen the Hanged Man as being stuck, or blocked, or signifying painful sacrifice" ... she continues in the paragraph, "Paul managed to capture both these views -the block and the sustenance - in the deceptively simple question, 'What's been holding you up lately?'"
nicely worded and then when continuing onto Quinn's own introduction, he suggests taking the major arcana and drawing a card to "tell you why you were led to pick up this book" -- my draw was the Hanged Man ... and i didn't go and look up his section on it as he suggested and was very glad my spread today was only minor arcana cards so that i can experience the majors in his presentation path ... anyway, drawing the Hanged Man gave me a shiver and a smile as additionally i returned to tarot because i have been "held up" for some time, and as with my spreads recently on my career, well, that's been a held up area of my life as well, treading water, very unfulfilling and seemingly more pointless as i get close to half a century of living ... what once was something of a career is now just a job, 40 hours and a paycheck and a painful boredom and complete lack of any feeling of accomplishment (save for that I am lucky enough to have an adequate job in a time of economic downswing and yes, for this i am grateful, make no mistake) ... that lack of any feeling for the job is broken up only by the harping of a new boss (as of 6 months ago) ...
another eye-opener for me was in my semi-daily spread was one of the stories he includes for each one of the minor arcana that stem from his own readings, research, experience, or readings for others with those cards ... a story that kind of stands out as a description of what the card can be or mean or imply ... the once for the ace of swords that turned up in my career spread today was of a "computer specialist" (i'm in the computer field) whose boss gave "vague or incomplete instructions" which the person would "follow inevitably to a bad end" ... boy is that my job, me, and my boss to a T ... and his suggestion for the employee is very good and one i will try in "ask for clarity at every step ... repeat every instruction he gives back and ask for confirmation ... better yet do it in writing ..." -- and then quinn summarizes with "see the crown at the top of this card?... You earn that crown when you state your needs and intentions openly and ask for clarity. If he (the boss) doesn't respect that, you might eventually make a decision to leave on your own. But you'll leave with your self-respect."
i've been wanting to leave and saw nothing but a bad ending to this job and further have had nothing but a bad time for the last 6 months with this new boss ... feeling like half the time i'm addle-minded (or thinking my boss thinks i am) because i follow instructions, complete a project, and she looks at it like it's something from outer space as compared to what she thought she described for me to do ... so from now on, clarity at each step will be my watchword
soooooo this is a very very long post and sorry for that BUT just needed to share how much this book has lit me up right where and when i needed it ... so far, so enlightened
(thank you for your patience and bandwidth lol)
