Hard work will be rewarded?

The packet was on a private meetup.com site, and has been taken down. So unfortunately it's not available anymore. Can't find anything about the dog, maybe that was just to fill some space on the card, in a fit of inspired improvising? The library background, I now recall, was chosen because it's night and the light reminds me of the Hermit's lantern.

I replied to Janet's post about this on Facebook: I collaged a Tarot majors-only deck last fall... it's not great, but it was definitely a fun way to get to know the trumps better. :-) http://tinyurl.com/2bub4mm Behind-the-scenes note: I had a bunch of parenting-type magazines from the library, plus library magazines, and you can definitely tell from looking at some of the cards! LOL Janet's response: OMG, how cool! Go post this on my blog! Please! I LOVE your Death card! What is the inspiration for The Hermit? I don't "get" it. Is it a personal association? Wow are you good at this! I suck at collage. :oP There are two artists in this family, and I ain't one of them... Thanks for the compliments, I had fun! I wish I had background images for everything instead of just the pink cardstock I was taping things onto. (I also would have laminated them instead of taping them.) I have a handout from someone, who I'm not going to name but is known in the tarot world, teaching about how to collage tarot cards. There are pages for each card showing the RWS pictures, along with lists of possible meanings and symbols that are often used in the cards and why. So I was picking and choosing what symbols I wanted to use, and deciding what other images I could find that my brain instinctively correlated with particular cards. Like the tennis ball and racket on my Temperence card, showing the idea of balance, a back-and-forth movement. Another personal favorite is Robin Hood on the Wheel of Fortune -- rob from the rich, give to the poor. Whether that's good or bad depends on your perspective. For the Hermit, my focus was on the Knowledge aspect. A lot of times my first instinct when I see the card is along the lines of retreat, taking a sabbatical. But as someone once pointed out to me, the Hermit is someone who has "been there, done that" and can offer a lot of advice. He is a wise man who can see the world from his vantage point up in the clouds. So my Hermit card is the outside of a library, with a cartoon version of a librarian who (I don't know her, but according to the article) was getting an award I think? Or somehow being recognized for her work. The dog... I honestly don't remember why I put him there, but I know there was a reason for everything I put in the cards. I'll look at my notes when I get home from work tonight, if I remember, and see if that jogs my mind. I'd be happy to answer any other questions about my choices. :-)

I am drooling over his paints. I have little talent, but I love to play and mix colors once in a while. And turning a kitchen into a studio is brilliant - all the cabinet space! The sink! The fridge for munchies! (Next time, please post a photo of said munchies, if there are any. LOL) Does Ron help with homeschooling "Bill," or is that solely your territory? Is "Bill" artistically inclined? Uh oh, I think I'm getting off on a tangent... ;-)

More wording to work on, Janet: "all the correct guesses" and anything else that indicates something similar. There are many possible interpretations for Tarot cards, and just because they're not what you had in mind doesn't mean we're wrong. What's that thing they say about the student becoming the teacher? ;-)

Starting the day with a prayer that you will find a new job.

Janet, Thanks for posting this. As I've said, we have had a very difficult year. During my parents' first year of marriage they had some trouble, like my dad's father being diagnosed with cancer. On their first anniversary, Dad told Mom, "If we can get through this, we can get through anything." They are still together, with 32 mostly-happy years of marriage under the belt. I had a great example set for me, and I'm eager to see what else life throws at me. And yes, I have learned that having expectations is usually just setting myself up for disappointment. I try to just take things as they come, and if things turn out well I'm thrilled but if not I can handle it with grace. Thanks for all the kind words about me. Inspirational? I hope I am. But more importantly I'm just trying to be there for my husband in the best way I know how. Love, Michelle