What's your sign?

A friend,  who is newly single after 26 years,  went to a bar.  When a man asked her 'what's your sign?' she mumbled something and walked away.  But her daughter has prepared her for next time.  The young teens response : -  'My sign?  My sign is a stop sign! Stop right there!'

Isn't that the most perfect response?  Where was she in 1988?  Right, not born yet... why didn't I think of that answer for myself? I had to wait for a 14 year old to tell it to her mom,  to tell me... 

FAQ

The other day I did a reading (via skype,  she shuffled her deck and drew the cards,  I watched from the other side of the planet and interpreted for her) and this question came up:

Is Milo as into the relationship as I am?

And she drew

3 Cups Reversed / 4 Cups Reversed / 8 of Wands

The good news is - he's not evil,  he's not being unfaithful,  he's not betraying her, he's not a bad egg.  The bad news - he's not as into the relationship by any definition - she gives it more joy and thought  (3 cups R) ,  attempting to will/dream it into something more than it is (4 cups R)  but it's all sticks in the wind,  (8 wands) it is not coalescing or growing into something more sturdy.  

And she nodded vigorously.  It's confusing to her,  because he isn't a bad guy,  and he is funny and sweet,  but it's not growing,  he's completely happy to keep dating but doesn't want it to get any deeper and she thinks I'm right,  it will be all sticks in the wind,  it's feeling pretty damn breezy now.  

I often get variations of this question and the cards are usually pretty spot on  in their response. 

Why the Prophets are Human

In my last tarot reading I quoted a Rumi poem - Rumi is a Sufi poet who rhapsodizes over Spirituality and love, but the poem I was recalling was more prosaic than that - it was about why the Prophets are human -

A Woman came to Ali, "My baby has crawled out
on the roof near the water drain,  where I cannot go.
He won't listen to me.  I talk to him,
but he doesn't understand language.

I make gestures.  I show him my breast,
but he turns away.  What can I do?"

Take another baby his age
up to the roof."

The woman did so,  and her child saw his friend
and crawled away from the edge.

The prophets are human for this reason,
that we may see them and delight
in the friendly presence
and crawl away from the downsprout.

(Mathnawi, IV, 2657-2669)

We were talking in the reading about how much do you have to know,  how self evolved do you have to be,  before you can help others.  And I said,  you can't be too far from the person,  you can't lead from 100 miles away,  it's easier to follow if you are only a foot or so ahead.  So as we are now, today,  we can help others,  because we are close to them,  close to the struggle. 

We don't have to know all the answers,  we only have to be a foot or two ahead;  and we can be over taken,  and helped ourselves.  It's much easier that way,  than chasing a perfection a hundred miles down the road...