Pendulum and Cards: Rachelcat reads for kare

[Rachelcat]

Hi! Thanks for leading us!

Do you have a question, topic, something you want to talk about?

Just let me know, and I'll get started! (Well, maybe not right away, but I'll be thinking of it!)

[kare]

Hi! Thanks for leading us!

Do you have a question, topic, something you want to talk about?

Just let me know, and I'll get started! (Well, maybe not right away, but I'll be thinking of it!)

Thank you so much for reading for me. My question is this. I'm kind of looking for some creative inspiration or some creative problem-solving inspiration. I have made some first steps to setting up a hobby business just for fun on the side. I have done a ton of research and keep running into logistical obstacles related to doing business the standard way. It's given me an opportunity to really evaluate whether the business will actually be workable for me and has been an opportunity to really think about what I truly want to do with regard to my business idea. But I feel like I may not be exploring all the possibilities, and I want to see what other possibilities might be out there for moving forward with my business in a way that is a perfect fit and addresses the logistical issues.

Thank you for your help.

[Rachelcat]

Here’s my reading for you. It was all very experimental, so take with several grains of salt!!

What does kare need to know about moving forward with her hobby business?

I’m using my trimmed Thoth because I think it works with the elements/suits theme of the spread. And I haven’t used it in quite a while. And my chakra pendulum because it’s pretty! And very heavy and very pointy.

I’m using a pentagram spread with the significator in the center.

I chose a significator based on the subject, not the person, and it’s 8 of Coins, planning (8=Mercury) for physical/financial (coins) results. I cut the deck on it, and the rest of the cards were random from the deck after it.

Significator: 8 of Coins. It’s such a strong plant giving off big flowers, big and each protected by a leaf. That’s what you want for your business, strong financial and physical growth.

Physical aspects: Devil. I see people on the bottom there struggling to be born, as your business is. This Devil is a god of mischief. He’s not evil, but he will put obstacles in your way just to see how you’ll react, just for his own amusement. No matter what, he’ll be laughing at you, not with you. In the background are, not clouds, but black obstructions in the air that are clouding your thinking on physical/money matters.

Emotional aspects: Princess of Cups. You’re full of emotions about this practical matter. (Princess of Cups is earth of water, in a water position.) You want to offer to the world things that you feel are beautiful, as the princess is stepping forward with her shell and turtle before her.

Mental aspects: Princess of Wands. With another princess right beside the previous one, you’re seeing yourself as a princess/page beginner in all of this. And really, everyone who’s trying to start a business is a beginner! It’s about beginning! This princess is also making an offering, but this time to the gods, not the people of the world. You think your work is worthwhile and just needs to be created in the universe. I also see the fire of enthusiasm perhaps consuming what you’re concentrating on creating. You may be thinking that you need to put all your energy in it, and that’s what might be holding you back. You don’t want it to be just a hobby, but your everything.

Energetic aspects: Wheel of Fortune. Before I started the reading, I thought the bottom two cards would probably be the focus, physical and energetic. And now we see they’re both majors. No matter how much you put into it, chance will have a hand. As in all business, sometimes it’s up, sometimes it’s down, no matter how well you plan or how wonderful your product is.

Spiritual aspects: 5 of Swords. Here’s an inverted pentagram saying you’re putting physical concerns above the spiritual. Part of the pentagram is made with rose petals, so it’s related to your idea of love and the beautiful. You’re confused (5=conflict, swords=mind) about the spiritual value of approaching this as a hobby. And as a business. If it’s something you love or believe is beautiful, should you be downplaying it as “just a hobby” in your mind/feelings/beliefs?

What I ended up doing with the pendulum is holding it over each card in the same order and asking if it is the most important card in the spread. I got two yesses: Emotional/Princess of Cups and Energetic/Wheel of Fortune.

So the advice is trust your gut. Whatever you decide to do, whatever you plan, make sure you check in with how that makes you feel. Don’t do something that just makes practical sense but doesn’t feel right. And do what makes you feel that you have something good to offer, like you’ve really built a better mousetrap and want everyone to have one! But, no matter how well you plan and/or how desirable your product is, chance will be involved. The effect of chance can be for good or ill. That mischievous Devil is over there ready to make fun of all your sensible planning, but the Wheel is ruled by jovial, beneficent Jupiter. The only way to deal with chance is to plan the best you can and then accept whatever happens.

I hope this helps in some way. And that I didn’t stray too far from the pendulum theme! Please let me know what you think!

[kare]

Here’s my reading for you. It was all very experimental, so take with several grains of salt!!

What does kare need to know about moving forward with her hobby business?

I’m using my trimmed Thoth because I think it works with the elements/suits theme of the spread. And I haven’t used it in quite a while. And my chakra pendulum because it’s pretty! And very heavy and very pointy.

I’m using a pentagram spread with the significator in the center.

I chose a significator based on the subject, not the person, and it’s 8 of Coins, planning (8=Mercury) for physical/financial (coins) results. I cut the deck on it, and the rest of the cards were random from the deck after it.


kare small.jpg



Significator: 8 of Coins. It’s such a strong plant giving off big flowers, big and each protected by a leaf. That’s what you want for your business, strong financial and physical growth.

Physical aspects: Devil. I see people on the bottom there struggling to be born, as your business is. This Devil is a god of mischief. He’s not evil, but he will put obstacles in your way just to see how you’ll react, just for his own amusement. No matter what, he’ll be laughing at you, not with you. In the background are, not clouds, but black obstructions in the air that are clouding your thinking on physical/money matters.

Emotional aspects: Princess of Cups. You’re full of emotions about this practical matter. (Princess of Cups is earth of water, in a water position.) You want to offer to the world things that you feel are beautiful, as the princess is stepping forward with her shell and turtle before her.

Mental aspects: Princess of Wands. With another princess right beside the previous one, you’re seeing yourself as a princess/page beginner in all of this. And really, everyone who’s trying to start a business is a beginner! It’s about beginning! This princess is also making an offering, but this time to the gods, not the people of the world. You think your work is worthwhile and just needs to be created in the universe. I also see the fire of enthusiasm perhaps consuming what you’re concentrating on creating. You may be thinking that you need to put all your energy in it, and that’s what might be holding you back. You don’t want it to be just a hobby, but your everything.

Energetic aspects: Wheel of Fortune. Before I started the reading, I thought the bottom two cards would probably be the focus, physical and energetic. And now we see they’re both majors. No matter how much you put into it, chance will have a hand. As in all business, sometimes it’s up, sometimes it’s down, no matter how well you plan or how wonderful your product is.

Spiritual aspects: 5 of Swords. Here’s an inverted pentagram saying you’re putting physical concerns above the spiritual. Part of the pentagram is made with rose petals, so it’s related to your idea of love and the beautiful. You’re confused (5=conflict, swords=mind) about the spiritual value of approaching this as a hobby. And as a business. If it’s something you love or believe is beautiful, should you be downplaying it as “just a hobby” in your mind/feelings/beliefs?

What I ended up doing with the pendulum is holding it over each card in the same order and asking if it is the most important card in the spread. I got two yesses: Emotional/Princess of Cups and Energetic/Wheel of Fortune.

So the advice is trust your gut. Whatever you decide to do, whatever you plan, make sure you check in with how that makes you feel. Don’t do something that just makes practical sense but doesn’t feel right. And do what makes you feel that you have something good to offer, like you’ve really built a better mousetrap and want everyone to have one! But, no matter how well you plan and/or how desirable your product is, chance will be involved. The effect of chance can be for good or ill. That mischievous Devil is over there ready to make fun of all your sensible planning, but the Wheel is ruled by jovial, beneficent Jupiter. The only way to deal with chance is to plan the best you can and then accept whatever happens.

I hope this helps in some way. And that I didn’t stray too far from the pendulum theme! Please let me know what you think!

Rachelcat, thank you so much for this thorough and thoughtful reading! You gave me a lot to reflect on. I typically don't select out significators but let the deck choose, so it was really nice to have a reading done where someone picks the significator, and it really seemd to set the right tone or focal point. I can see now how that would be of great use in a reading where you were trying to direct a focus more intentionally. And in my case, I needed that given my widely varying thoughts and feelings on how to proceed. Also, though you mentioned financial and planning, I also see pentacles as representing the real treasures we have in life, and you were right that I view my hobby business as something of real value to me to offer the world.

Princess of Cups: I do feel that what I want to offer is of value, and that makes it hard to let go and make practical, workable decisions. That is a nod to the Devil, I think. I love that the Devil appears. More on him later.

Princess of Wands: I had never thoguht of the wands as representing the offering to the gods, so to speak. I like that view--it enhances my understanding of the suit. I had always thought of it as more spiritual endeavors, or what is of spiritual significance, but this is a lovely and fitting way to think of wands. I am definitely a beginner in this process and do feel it is a worthwile endeavor. Back to the Devil. I do end up putting a lot of energy into it, in part because I think it will solve some minor financial issues at home, but also because it really inspires my creative side. That, of course, makes it hard to be practical.

I love also that the Wheel came up. It is a really good reminder that I have to temper all my expectations, plans, enthusiasm with those elements out of my control. This issue of letting go for me gets back to the Devil element here.

5 swords: since I asked the question of you, I have been focusing on how valuable it is to do my hobby and not worry about the financial aspects of it, which frees me to plan a more enjoyable and workable way of doing it. I think here the Devil represents my clinging to an idea that isn't workable or really what I most want to do. He could also represent the idea of trusting my gut, as you say, instead of denying it--listen to that opposing tension within myself that isn't so concrete as all my plans rather than rejecting it. I always see this card not as a negative but as an opportunity to evaluate what is really going on inside you.

Ultimately, the pendulum, selecting the Princess of Cups and the Wheel, to me says that I need to embrace Temperance, balance. And that might put that Devil card to rest.

Thank you so much!