It’s In the Cards: Core Values I’ll Embrace This Coming School Year
Why do I like September better than August?
I have to tell you, I feel immediately better now that it is September 1st. I started coming out of my funk this past week as the month of August wound down.
And I see that was the same as last year.
Last August, in the little notes I keep for each day on my Zeroscaping tracking spreadsheet, several days show me in a similar funk.
What does my psyche or soul have against August?
Or is it the “past expiration date” of being in my hobbit-hole cabin in the woods too long?
Well, that’s not the point of today’s article, but I will be contemplating this.
Today, I want to come back with Part 2 of yesterday’s article, Pick A Card, Play A Song.
I said I would describe what the tarot card spread the audience picked signaled for me to focus on in the near term and perhaps into the coming new school year
(September 2026 to August 2027).
On Saturday morning, before leaving for the open mic in the afternoon, I had been contemplating my core values and personal myths. I had mentioned in an article last week that I wanted to see if I could streamline my core values to the essential few.
Interestingly, this spread and the songs that are associated with it revealed an answer to my question on Core Values:
What are my most essential values to focus on in the coming month and year?
Let’s go back to the cards picked and the songs associated with them.
First up was the Knight of Wands, and the song was Finally Found.
The Knight of Wands is the card of action, adventure, and sudden energy. It is a call to embrace your passion and to fearlessly chase a goal or start a trip. It warns against anger, impulsiveness, or rushing into something without a plan.
The song, Finally Found, has the protagonist singing about how they have “finally found the one” for them. It is an embrace of passion, an energetic longing to be united with this “one,” and yet it ends with the realization that this person has not let go of a dream that is over.
Oops.
The protagonist is holding onto a broken dream and would benefit from embracing a new adventure.
The second card was the Page of Cups, and the song was Given A Second Chance.
The Page of Cups is the card of creativity, intuition, and heartfelt, affectionate, and/or sentimental messages. It encourages one to look at the world in wonder. To embrace a new creative idea, keep an open heart, and expect to hear and consider an emotional offer. It warns against sadness over a broken dream and getting into a creative rut.
The song, Given A Second Chance, is a song about the entwinement of two people’s lives; one that turned out poorly, the other that turned out better because of a second chance.
The protagonist is lamenting the state of modern music streaming and forced playlists (swift algorithms), but is able to let that go.
The anti-hero is like a troll under a bridge who can’t escape the broken dream.
The protagonist and the anti-hero are both torn between the light and dark paths, but one stays mired in the mud, while the other is given a second chance and is ready to play.
Both had similar childhood experiences that shaped their destinies.
Both regret the state of the world they find themselves in, but again, one stays in the “muddy waters” and the other continues on with a renewed second chance to play.
The third card was The Star, and the song was Oregon Coast.
The Star is the card of hope, faith, and healing. It brings inspiration and a deep trust in the future. It is a symbol of an inner compass pointing towards truth and beauty. It warns of losing faith, doubting oneself, or feeling discouraged by setbacks.
Oregon Coast is a song a bit like Synchronicity by The Police.
The protagonist is looking into the future and making a declaration that they will avoid the siren Call and propagandistic myth of the solo entrepreneur and hustle culture.
They have almost been lured into this path, but at the last minute realize, “Will it get you the life you thought you could have if you were free?”
The protagonist finds themself in cubicle fluorescent hell again, confronted by the type of nervous, fretting, asleep-working drone who doesn’t understand why what they are doing is not valued.
In the choruses, the protagonist is longing for and lamenting a time with the beloved and the wild beauty of the Oregon Coast.
The song is a call to action. Start changing. Move towards your North Star, the life you thought you might have in the natural beauty of a place like the Oregon Coast.
The fourth card was The Fool, and the song was Steal Another Tomorrow.
The Fool is the card of new beginnings, naive innocence, beginner’s mind, and leaps of faith. It calls you to pursue the quest, the calling, the irrational thing, and trust the universe enough to take a bold step forward. It warns against taking excessive risks, poor planning and preparation, or holding oneself back out of fear.
The song, Steal Another Tomorrow, is a Prometheus-type song. It is a call to steal the fire from the gods.
The protagonist has been held back by “insane reasons” and is no longer accepting conventional thinking as the truth. They recognize the potential futility of trying because of death and karmic forces.
But they believe there will be another life and They call to their companion and/or beloved to join in starting over, even if time has run out.
They can see if they might be able to steal another tomorrow.
As I wrote yesterday, I got the chance to play 2 more songs after this first set. I chose one of the last 2 songs that was not picked by the audience because it had never been played live for an audience before.
The card associated with it was Three of Cups, and the song was Amarillo Señora.
The Three of Cups is the card of celebration, community, connections, and cultivating supportive friendships. It calls you to connect and gather with friends, family, and chosen community, to celebrate achievements and reunions, and share in joyful times together.
The song, Amarillo Señora, is about a traveling troubadour who, on a whim, decides to pull over on a long road trip to a roadside bar (The Curious Armadillo) and see what is going on that night.
A bit nervous, nevertheless, they pluck their courage up and go inside. He sees a beautiful señora and is determined to meet her. He approaches her in a state of “powerful seduction.”
He learns she is there from Wisconsin, a “party state,” and that “people dance there often.” (A nod to David Lynch’s movie, The Straight Story.)
They become an “Adam and Eve,” falling into “original sin” because sometimes “love’s liberation starts like that.”
So, yeah, I think this spread points to core values I want to emphasize.
Adventure, play, Beauty, Freedom, Connection.
as in:
Finally Found the Call to Adventure — passion, fearless action, momentum
Given A Second Chance to Play — embrace my inner child, serendipity, synchronicities, and spontaneity
Oregon Coast as Inner Compass Pointing Towards Beauty — focus on what I love, what makes me yearn, creating and embracing Beauty as litmus test for truth.
Total Freedom to Steal Another Tomorrow — leap into the unknown, radical self-determination
Amarillo Señora as Muse for Deep & Joyful Connections — experiences of joy with friends, family, and loved ones
Dang, those are some tall orders!
Going to be a great year, right?
Whooo!! Let’s do it!
Highway to Yeah, baby!