I drew The Wheel card for yesterday's Daily Reflection, also; but there it was reversed, and I noted that it seemed to be speaking about moving from Winter into Spring. Today, upright, I see movement from Summer into Autumn. That echoes my current life-stage, moving into the early years of my cronehood. The Four of Pentacles card speaks of control over one's resources, but in this deck that control seems less obsessive and forced than in traditional RWS imagery, and more a case of care-taking being done as an act of love and appreciation. The Pentacles here are, literally, cradled in a symmetrical pattern within the spiral curves of the tree's branches. They look like jewels set sturdily among graceful curves of precious metal in a beautiful brooch or amulet!
I think the two cards together are telling me that, as I move into the later years of my life, I need to honor the resources with which I've been blessed, including the financial legacy that I received from my now deceased parents. To me, "honoring" these resources doesn't mean hoarding them and being afraid to use them, but rather using them well, spending them wisely, only after careful consideration and with a heart filled with gratitude and appreciation for how hard my parents worked to gain them in the first place.
This "message" is very, very interesting, because just last night I dreamed that my mother (with my sister backing her up as kind of a one-woman Greek chorus!) was berating me for being irresponsible and careless with money! The dream disturbed me so much that I actually called my sister a little while ago, just to have her reassure me that she doesn't think I'm recklessly squandering what our parents left to me! (She did reassure me, by the way!) And now here, with these two cards, that dream's message seems to be repeated, albeit not as harsh criticism, but in a more loving, encouraging way - a gentle reminder.
mep
