In the cards this week: creativity and compromise

A good pair to get you where you want to go

This week's Minoan Tarot cards:

Maid of Daggers: Get creative and drop that inside-the-box thinking! Unconventional ideas will solve the problems that you can't fix any other way.

Three of Horns: Working with others is the pathway to success. That may involve compromise or admitting that others have something valuable to teach you.

This deck is my art, my creation. Details and lots more card pix here.

---

This week’s first card, the Maid of Daggers, definitely has an attitude - and wants you to have one, too! What I mean is, this card is really more about your attitude, the way you view the world, than it is about specific actions.

It’s about changing the way you see what’s around you, literally and figuratively, and refusing to be restricted by conventional thinking when you’re working on creative endeavors.

We talk a lot these days about out-of-the-box thinking. But I’ve always felt like the Maid of Daggers refuses to even acknowledge that there is a box.

How thoroughly can we free ourselves from the traditional boundaries that encompass our creative activities and expressions? Changing the way you look at the world changes what comes to mind when you’re considering what’s possible.

We could even view this card as freeing us from conventional definitions of what actually constitutes creative activities. The standard definition of that phrase involves pursuits like art, music, writing, dance… you know the sort of thing.

But really, we are fundamentally creative beings. We can access that aspect of ourselves in everything we do, whether it’s figuring out what to have for dinner this week, or arranging task priorities at work, or organizing volunteer activities.

How will you access your creative self this week to find outside-the-box solutions to the practical aspects of your life?

Our second card this week, the Three of Horns, points to that old saying: No one is an island. We can accomplish more, much more, when we work together.

And remember, this is the bottom-of-the-deck card, the one that gives us a secret peek into how to find joy in these Interesting Times.

It’s telling us that joy comes from teamwork and cooperation instead of trying to go it alone.

Yes, that might involve compromise or admitting that you’re not indestructible and indefatigable. It might take a little practice to become comfortable with doing things in community instead of alone. But you’ll have a better chance of success if you work with others.

The glorification of individuality in western culture has a lot to answer for. Community and connection is what got our ancestors through the many sets of Interesting Times they experienced. It will serve us well now.

And for the new folks, I’d like to point out that the Minor Arcana in this deck are color-coded by suit so you don’t have to remember which symbol goes with which element. Today, we have a Fire suit card (the Maid of Daggers) and an Earth suit card (the Three of Horns). The suits are as follows:

Fire - Daggers - red
Water - Rhytons - blue
Air - Labryses - yellow
Earth - Horns - green

Also the face cards are gender-balanced, with three masculine and three feminine face cards per suit: Youth and Maid, Lord and Lady, Priest and Priestess.

But reaching beyond the masculine/feminine gender binary, the face cards aren’t meant to represent male or female individuals. Instead, each one represents a set of personality traits that can be found in people of any gender.

So if you turn up a Minoan Tarot face card in a reading and it feels to you like it represents a person, don’t look at the picture and ask who you know who looks like that. Instead, consider who you know who has that set of personality traits. I’ll bet it will only take a moment for you to recognize them.

I wish you a week full of creativity, community, and joy!

---

I’m not going to paywall my Substack, but if what I share here has meaning and value for you, please consider dropping a little something in my tip jar at Ko-Fi. Thank you!

You can find the Minoan Tarot here, my books here, and my art here and here. I do apologize, but due to unpleasant activity from trolls, I’ve had to limit comments to subscribers only. I hope you understand.

About Laura Perry

I'm the founder and Temple Mom of Ariadne's Tribe, a worldwide inclusive Minoan spiritual tradition. I'm also an author, artist, and creator who works magic with words, paint, ink, music, textiles, and herbs. My spiritual practice includes spirit work and herbalism through the lens of lifelong animism. I write pagan / polytheist / magical non-fiction and fiction across several different subjects and genres. My book of modern Minoan myths is coming later this month in paperback and hardcover, with the ebook to follow. My Minoan title in the Moon Books Pantheons series is now available for pre-order and will be released on 26 August 2025. I’m also an avid herb and vegetable gardener and living history demonstrator (just in case you thought all I ever did was write books and create art).