I have a ton of work to get done in the next month, but I'm feeling a bit under the weather today. It's curse-related, not Covid-related, so no worries there. I just can't shake the cobwebs out of my head and get down to business. I actually napped for three straight hours, which is something I rarely do.

I do nap almost every day, don't get me wrong. I love naps! But for twenty minutes - never three straight hours. I guess my body needed it.

In just over a week I'll be flying to Las Vegas for the 20Booksto50K conference. I'm sharing a table with T.J. Deschamps, author of Eastside Hedge Witch and the Faerie Tales series. But I'm not at all ready for that trip. I don't have any of the supplies I'll need, nor do I have any clean, decent clothes to wear (after 19 months of no face-to-face real world work, my upscale work clothes don't fit anymore.)

​I am not ready to open my shop in Vegas. I'm the reversed nine of cups.

Upright, the Nine of Cups is riches, luxury, and the satisfaction you receive from enjoying your wealth. It is sometimes a bit of smugness as well, or it could represent a shopkeeper who is ready to open their store to the world.

Reversed, the luxuries have been overturned or lost. It is misery, devastation, self-hatred and greed. Because cups are about emotions, it could also be a need to end a  relationship, or a lack of joy.   
 
Questions answered by the reversed Nine of Cups:
Who? An arrogant, disappointed person 
What? A lack of fulfillment
Where? An uncomfortable place
When? The 1st week of March; 9 months after a loss
Why? “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” ~Martin Luther King Jr
Yes or No? No

The reversed Nine of Cups as:
…an action?

• Take a break
• Show empathy for others
• Cheer up
• Close your shop

…a place in your house?

• A disappointing space

 
…a place in your city?

• A warehouse store
• A radio station

• A hospital or elder care center

…a place in the world?

• Loch Ness, Scotland
• Paris, France
• Casablanca, Morocco
• Las Vegas, Nevada

…something to eat?

• Boxed Mac & Cheese
• Club sandwiches
• Jell-o shots
• Pop tarts

…something to clean?

• The toilet
• The oven and fridge

 
…where to find your missing item?

• Near the trash

 
…a color? Blue
 
…a movie theme? Shattered dreams; unfulfillment

• American Beauty
• A Beautiful Mind
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

 
…a new career?

• Personal shopper
• IT
• Antique shopkeeper
• Two or more minimum wage jobs
• Part time work

The reversed Nine of Cups
Before any card: Disappointing and negative (card)
After any card: Failure; unhappiness

and 
​If you're in the Vegas area and want a Tarot reading, come find me at Bally's on November 12th! I'll try and have my head and my shop together by then.

It's downtime for me. Last week, I had two papers due for grad school, so I was hustling. Next week begins National Novel Writing Month, and I'm planning to write a 50k-word novel in just the first 7 days, so that's going to be a whirlwind. This week, I have zero things to do. It's a great time to chill out and plan to accomplish zilch. Nada. Nothing.

That's a challenge for me, as I usually have a million balls in the air and am all go-go-go, but I'm going to do my best to just not. Like the reversed eight of cups, I plan to give up on everything and walk away.
​​
By the end of this week I'll be fully disillusioned with doing nothing, and ready for the next big thing.

The Eight of Cups upright might be someone going on a spirit quest, giving up on their current situation, or disillusioned with the present and ready to move on to the future.

Reversed, a few things could be happening. They might be afraid of commitment, they could be abandoning a person or situation without explanation, or they may lack emotional maturity or be partying too hard. Like its upright counterpart, this eight needs to be interpreted in the moment.
 
Questions answered by reversed Eight of Cups:
Who? A youth
What? A cancelled event
Where? Far away
When? The end of February; When you’ve given up; When you walk away from your situation
Why? “At times in life you have to leave people where they left you.” ~Angel Moreira
Yes or No? Maybe

The reversed Eight of Cups as:
…an action?

• Accept what you have
• Throw a party
• Run away

 
…a place in your house?

• The room you last walked out of

 
…a place in your city?

• A place to be alone
• A party store

 
…a place in the world?

• Alaska
• Ukraine
• Sonoma, California
• The desert

 
…something to clean?

• The last thing you walked away from

 
…where to find the missing item?

• The last place you were
• You keep walking right by them

 
…something to eat?

• Stuffed mushrooms
• Mini meatballs

 
…a color? orange
 
…a movie theme? Avoidance or immaturity

• The Hangover

• The Incredibles

 
…a new career?

• Something completely different
• Retail work
• Camp counselor
• Tour guide

 
The reversed Eight of Cups
Before any card: Abandoning (card)
After any card: Immaturity; stagnation

I have a 5,000-word essay due to my grad school advisor in less than three days, and the essay barely exists in any legible shape or prose at this moment. I have to get down to business, finish my research, and type like a madwoman. Yet, I am at this moment spending my time writing this blog, talking to a friend about overseas travel, as well as surfing the web for astrology predictions for my sign - I'm an ever wishy-washy, procrastinating Libra and I need to know that it will be okay.

It probably would be okay, if I'd just do the work already.

I need to stay grounded in reality and do the work that needs to be done, and quit flitting about with my head in the clouds. In other words, I need to invoke the power of the reversed Seven of Cups.

Upright, the Seven of Cups could be high hopes, wishful thinking or, in a practical sense, it’s a set of options to choose from.

Reversed, it is a lack of decent choices, a need to stay practical and logical, or a reality check in a difficult situation.
 
Questions answered by Seven of Cups reversed:
Who? A sober person
What? Clarity
Where? Firmly on the ground; other side of the fence
When? The middle of November; When you wake up; Seven hours from now
Why? “Let us make our future now, and let us make our dreams tomorrow's reality.” ~Malala Yousafzai
Yes or No? Yes

The reversed Seven of Cups as:
…an action?

• Ground yourself in reality
• Clean your glasses

 
…a place in your house?

• The workspace
• The toolbox
• Under the sink

 
…a place in your city?

• A public service building
• A transportation hub, like a bus or train station
• The office

 
…a place in the world?

• Mexico
• Shanghai
• Tokyo
• Russia
• Italy

…something to eat?

• Almonds
• Bananas
• Liquor
• Milk

…something to clean?

• The sink

 
…where are my keys?

• The last place you were working hard

 
…a color? red
 
…a movie theme? Grounding oneself in reality

• Groundhog Day
• Fantasia

• The Big Sick

 
…a new career?

• Psychotherapist
• Artist
• Nonprofit work

 
Seven of Cups reversed
Before any card: Stay grounded about (card)
After any card: reality, facts 

For more on the reversed Seven of Cups, check out Applied Tarot reversed:

I'm trying to get my youngest child through his college applications. I don't remember it being so challenging for the other two to complete theirs, but maybe I'm misremembering. I do recall a couple of panic attacks my daughter had that perhaps her essays weren't that good, or that she'd forgotten some extracurricular activities, but otherwise it required no effort on my part to make sure she'd gotten them done.
Likewise, my older son didn't need any nagging (or what I like to call 'persistent reminding'.) He had an advisor to help him out, since he was applying for a specialized music program, and he knew the importance of deadlines for auditions and whatnot.
But my youngest. Oh, the youngest. I don't know what's up with him. I even hired a college application assistant to be his program manager on the subject, but he is still unable to get through the most simple of tasks, such as inputting a class name, or adding a suggested comma to his essay. Some of his apps are due November 1st, and it feels like he's years behind.
His college application assistant actually called me on the phone and said that of all of his clients who are behind, my son is the most behind.
I like to call that winning the losing game. It all counts.
Such is the nature of the six of cups reversed, though. While it's often about a child leaving the nest, it can also represent one being unable to leave the nest, like one thing is missing before a child can launch himself into adulthood. For my son, that one thing is getting a college application in so that hopefully he has a place to move to next year. For others, it just might be a missing spark of ambition or something. What's your six of cups reversed?

Upright, the Six of Cups is about childhood, nostalgia, homesickness, and those old dreams that may no longer be realistic.

Reversed, the card indicates a maturity or growing up. It could represent someone moving out of the family home or letting go of a difficult past. In a negative sense, it might also represent being bored or lacking that youthful spark of creativity.
 
Questions answered by the reversed Six of Cups:
Who? A new adult; a child moving out of the house 
What? Broken toys; memories
Where? In a new location; away from home
When? The first week of November; In the recent past; When a child moves out
Why? “A ship does not sail with yesterday’s wind.” ~Louis L’Amour
Yes or No? Yes
 
The reversed Six of Cups as:
…an action?

• Do the mature thing
• Get married

• Buy a house
• Cooperate

 
…a place in your house?

• A stack of bills to pay
• The kitchen prep space

 
…a place in your city?

• The courthouse
• A continuing education center
• A real estate office

 
…a place in the world?

• The next biggest city
• A concert hall
• The DMV

 
…something to eat?

• Wine and cheese at a fancy restaurant
• Waffles
• Sliders

 
…something to clean?

• The office
• Scrub the pet litter box or kids’ dirtiest toy

 
…where to find your missing item?

• Under a stack of paperwork

 
…a color? blue, green
 
…a movie theme? Maturing, empty nesting

• Lady Bird
• Pleasantville
• Bao

 
…a new career?

• Working with new adults or college graduates
• Archaeologist
• Social worker

 
The reversed Six of Cups
Before any card: Letting go of (card)
After any card: maturity, leaving the nest

For more on the reversed Six of Cups, read Applied Tarot Reversed

I had to drive into Seattle today. It's twenty minutes from my home, so a regular-enough trip, but until I found myself merging onto the 520 did I realize that I haven't driven in downtown Seattle in nearly 20 months. 
I've been there during the pandemic, a handful of times, but someone else was always driving. I haven't driven myself in downtown Seattle since before the entire globe was struck with an illness that closed down society. 
It was surreal, and tricky. The lanes are skinny, and there is no parking. The buildings tower over you and cut off your GPS signal. Traffic is just as bad as it ever was, the whole world seems to have returned to normal already. I guess I was the last holdout.
It is this, this returning to society after a long absence, that is represented in the reversed five of cups. 
I don't plan on going back to Seattle anytime soon. Driving in that hellhole for one morning was enough for another 20 months. Now that I'm back home, I'm going to channel the reversed five, clean the desk right in front of me, and watch some Thor. I'll imagine him clearing the traffic with one throw of Mjolnir - that'll help me get over the agony of Seattle driving.

​The Five of Cups upright is regret or grief about something that happened in the past, and it’s an indication that we should try to look forward and find the positives.

The Reversed five is this looking forward. It is moving on from defeat, letting go of sorrow and regrets, and doing our best to rejoin society after a setback.
 
Questions answered by the reversed Five of Cups:
Who? Someone moving forward 
What? Letting go
Where? Ahead of you
When? The last week of October; 5 days or weeks from now; When you let go
Why? “You can spend minutes, hours, days, weeks, or even months over-analyzing a situation; trying to put the pieces together, justifying what could’ve, would’ve happened… or you can just leave the pieces on the floor and move on.” ~Tupac Shakur
Yes or No? Maybe

The reversed Five of Cups as:
…an action?

• Forgive
• Start a gratitude journal
• Take a break from your relationship

 
…a place in your house?

• The cabinet

• Luggage storage

…a place in your city?

• The airport
• A pub with friends

• The suburbs

​
…a place in the world?

• The United States
• Russia
• The United Kingdom

 
…something to eat?

• Dried fruit
• Crackers and peanut butter

 
…something to clean?

• The area directly in front of you

 
…where to find the missing item?

• In front of you

 
…a color? White, brown
 
…a movie theme? Letting go; forgiveness

• Thor
• Zootopia
• Moonlight

 
…a new career?

• Dishwasher
• Delivery driver
• Flight attendant

 
The Five of Cups reversed
Before any card: Letting go of (card)
After any card: forgiveness; acceptance; better days ahead

Read more about the reversed Five of Cups in Applied Tarot Reversed.

I have two big projects due for school in two weeks. These are 3,000 to 5,000 word papers - research-based and literary. They're wildly different from each other and I need to get started. 

I know I need to get started.

I have a variety of mental illnesses that inhibit my ability to function as an adult. I don't know where they came from. Genetics, most likely. Maybe that time I skied into a tree and was knocked out for a moment. Maybe something horrific from my childhood that I've blocked out. Who knows. I'm working with a therapist and I'm on a variety of supplements that haven't started working yet. I'm on it, it's just taking a while. 

This is the reversed four of cups energy. You're raring to go, you're just unable to get started or you don't know where to begin. Your own psychoses might be holding you back. You may be worried about the outcome. You're probably feeling dopey, wandering around like you just woke up and need more coffee.  

It's time to get going. It's the reversed four of cups.

Upright, the Four of Cups is boredom, fatigue and apathy.

Reversed, one is ready to seize opportunities but may be unsure of where to start. It is about letting go of regrets and finding gratitude for the little things. If you pull the reversed four of cups, be ready to wake up.
 
Questions answered by the reversed Four of Cups:
Who? Someone looking to find themselves again 
What? A spirit quest
Where? On a mountain
When? The middle of July; When one is ready for a change 
Why? “You will recognize your own path when you come upon it, because you will suddenly have all the energy and imagination you will ever need.” ~Jerry Gillies
Yes or No? Maybe

The Four of Cups reversed as:
…an action?

• Go on a personal retreat
• Change something about your life
• Start a gratitude journal

 
…a place in your house?

• The porch, patio, or balcony
• The garden

 
…a place in your city?

• The hills
• A career counseling office

 
…a place in the world?

• Bali
• Iceland
• Switzerland

 
…something to eat?

• Yogurt
• Avocado toast
• Cheese platter

 
…something to clean?

• Don’t clean today, do something fun instead

 
…where to find your missing item?

• Near the front door
• In the car

 
…a color? Red
 
…a movie theme? Finding yourself; awakening

• Amélie
• Chef
• Ratatouille

 
…a new career?

• Spirit guide
• Career counselor

 
The reversed Four of Cups
Before any card: Seize an opportunity about (card)
After any card: Enthusiasm; focus

More on the reversed Four of Cups in Applied Divination Reversed

Today's card is all about affairs, gossip, and the downsides of relationships, but I don't have any of these problems right now. I had a birthday yesterday and my friends and coworkers took me out for lunch, sent me well-wishes, laughed, played, and cheered. It was a great day. It was the upright three rather than reversed.

However, later today I have an appointment to get a booster shot, and I suspect it will make me tired, miserable, and anti-social for about 24-hours. That seems to be the pattern with these vaccinations, and is very reversed three of cups energy.

I'm writing this blog post now rather than after the shot, because who knows if I'll be up for it, or if I'll just want to sleep and grumble at people all afternoon. 

Upright, the three of cups is about platonic love, community, and friendship.

​Reversed, the friendships have gone sour. There may be peer pressure, gossip, or cancelled events. Alternatively, a partner might be having an affair, as in “three’s a crowd,” or a couple may have suffered a pregnancy loss.  
 
Questions answered by the reversed Three of Cups:
Who? A mistress or affair partner; a gossip 
What? A cancelled celebration
Where? An empty wedding venue; an overturned boat  
When? The first week in July; Too soon
Why? “An insincere friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind.” ~Unknown
Yes or No? Maybe

The reversed Three of Cups as:
…an action?

• Cancel plans
• Quit drinking

 
…a place in your house?

• The toilet
• The dishwasher
• The fridge
• The recycling bin

…a place in your city?

• A brunch restaurant
• The café
• A golf course

 
…a place in the world?

• Thailand
• Italy
• Spain
• Germany

…something to eat?

• Tea
• Crumpets
• Liquor
• Leftovers

…a color? blue, gray, red
 
…a movie theme? Infidelity; gossip

• Promising Young Woman
• Crazy Rich Asians
• Love Actually

 
…a new career?

• Concierge
• Recruiter or HR

 
…something to clean?

• The liquor cabinet
• Your social media friends list

 
…where to find your missing item?

• In the front hall closet
• Under the table

 
The reversed Three of Cups
Before any card: Plans cancelled because of (card)
After any card: Gossip; an affair

Facebook and Instagram are down today. Mondays are when I do the bulk of my marketing work, and most of my followers are on those platforms, so it's a bit of a bummer to not have them available. What's a small-time Fortune Teller to do?

Create a Down 'n Out Tarot Spread! That's what!  Let's see what the cards think I should do about this terrible event. 

Something got you down, lately? Read along with me.

The Down 'n Out Layout:

Card 1 - Why Am I Down?

• Speaks for itself. What's got your goat today?

Card 2 - What Action Should I Take?

• What can you do to lift yourself up by the bootstraps? Consult the Applied Tarot or Applied Tarot Reversed for a list of actions that go with your card.

Card 3 - Who will help me?

• If this isn't an obvious court card, consult the Applied Divination books to see whom this card might represent.

Card 4 - Where should I go?

• This could be a vacation to take, or a place in your city to visit, or it could just be a different room in your apartment that will shake you out of your slump.

Cards 5 & 6 "Outcome"

• This is a two-card outcome. You can read these by picking keywords from the Applied Divination books and reading them together, or analyze the cards together to see what jumps out at you, or what is missing. Maybe you'll never get out of your slump (I hope that's not so!) or maybe it'll be over before this blog is even written.

I did a reading for myself. Although I know the bulk of my issues come from Zuckerberg's shenanigans today, maybe there is something else afoot that is causing me distress, or something I can do about it. Let's see!

Card 1. Why am I, Emily Paper, down? I drew the Ace of Pentacles.

• Apparently I'm down because something tangible, material, or gift-like is just around the corner for me? Maybe this is the storm before the calm? I don't know, I'll take whatever the world is offering next, though! 

Card 2. What action should I take? I drew the reversed Seven of Wands.

• According to Applied Tarot Reversed, I should surrender or try a different way of thinking about this problem. Okay, sounds easy enough!

Card 3. Who will help me? Hopefully whomever is bringing me that ace of pentacles gift. I drew the reversed Seven of Pentacles.

• According to Applied Tarot Reversed, this is a person who is unable to retire. Interesting. I know a few of those. My husband, myself, my best friend, my parent. So this isn't super clear, but I find all those people very helpful whenever I need them, so I appreciate this card for what it is - a reminder that I'm in this boat with a lot of people, and that they give me great gifts every day. 

Card 4 - Where should I go? I drew the Seven of Cups upright. Holy sevens, batman. I'll talk about this in a minute.

• I should go to a gallery, a fancy hotel, Iceland, New York City, or to the shower. I think I'll choose the shower, since I can't really afford the other options. I do need a shower. 

Two-card Outcome (Cards 5 & 6). I drew the King of Swords and the Emperor. Woah patriarchy.

• If I treat these as words, King of Swords is logical or objective, and the Emperor is a father or authority figure. If I use the "Before/After" from Applied Tarot, the translation is "Do hard work for structure." Alright.
  
• Oftentimes I think of the Emperor as the Patriarchy, which I despise so much. So if we think about my problem today - that Facebook/Insta is down and that's where I do the bulk of my marketing, and it's part of the capitalist hellhole that is Patriarchal America, I guess the outcome could mean that I should do some hard work anyway, and soon it'll come back and everything will just magically work in a logical, transactional way again.

Well okay then, I'll take it. I count this blog and tarot spread as hard work. I honestly wasn't going to do this today, but I didn't have a Facebook to read.

On multiple sevens:
It is very rare to get the same number tarot card three times in only a 6-card spread, so let's talk about Tarot and Numerology for a sec. The Minor Arcana follow a similar pattern with numbering.  Here's what the numbers represent:

Aces - new beginnings, potential, fresh starts, gifts
Twos - duality, balance, juggling, choices
Threes - growth, increase, expansion, creativity
Fours - stability, foundations, structure
Fives - instability, challenges, changes, losses
Sixes - comfort, healing, peace, adjustment
Sevens - questioning, spirituality, independence, knowledge, gaining wisdom
Eights - courage, movement, change, disappointment, fortitude
Nines - achievement, awakening, becoming, nearing the end of a cycle
Tens - endings, accomplishment, failure, the finality before a new dawn

So my multiple sevens represents a lot of questions and spiritual insights being gained during this Facebook outage. I suppose that's true. I spend a lot of time on that platform - on purpose, because being alone in my own head is like attending a circus 24/7. But maybe these sevens are telling me to just live with my thought-circus for a bit and see what fresh insights come to me. I guess I'll go do that.  In the shower.