In the cards this week: pleasure and power

Stepping into two aspects of physical life

This week's Minoan Tarot cards:

Priestess of Horns: Allow yourself to sink into your physicality and enjoy the pleasures that it offers. Just remember to keep it in perspective, balancing the material and the spiritual.

Two of Daggers: Lean into your inner power and step outside your comfort zone, stretching yourself and flaming your inner Fire to reach your goals and find satisfaction.

The Minoan Tarot is my creation, my art, published by RedFeatherMBS. Details and many more card pix here.

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This is an interesting pair of cards. Considering the way I draw the weekly cards, I would have expected these two to come up the other way round.

The first card I draw (the one on the left in the photo) comes from the top of the deck and addresses the stuff we’re liable to encounter in our daily lives over the course of the week: the bumps and blips and the good stuff, too. The second card (the one on the right) comes from the bottom of the deck. It’s the secret treasure, the hint about how to find joy even as we encounter the challenges of these interesting times.

Now, the first card this week - the Priestess of Horns - is all about settling into physical reality and allowing ourselves to enjoy whatever pleasures that entails. I would have expected that to show up as the “joy card.” But instead, the Tarot is telling us that this is how to deal with Life Writ Large this week, how to get through the day, every day.

By allowing ourselves to enjoy it.

How often do we deny ourselves pleasures, even simple ones, in order to git ‘er done and knock one more thing off the to-do list?

How often do you feel guilty about taking the time to really savor a meal or a bath or shower? How often do you take the time to ask for a hug, or to offer one, and then truly focus your attention on that hug instead of letting your mind wander to that infernal to-do-list?

Sometimes, getting through a week - even if it’s not a terribly difficult one - becomes much easier if we give ourselves permission to enjoy the physical aspects of it. The way a favorite shirt feels against your skin. The sound of your favorite music. Sharing a smile or a laugh with someone you care about.

Being in your body, no matter what condition it’s in, and seeking out the pleasurable aspects of that part of existence. Taking the time to do that even if the Big Capitalist / Calvinist Machine says you shouldn’t.

Of course, we should always balance material pleasures with the spiritual side of life. But if you find you’ve been denying yourself simple pleasures, give yourself permission to lean into them a little this week - and see what happens!

This week’s second card, from the bottom of the deck, is our secret treasure to find joy in these chaotic times we’re living in. I usually think of this one as more of a how-to-get-things-done card.

But this week, the deck is asking us to take a different view of it.

The Two of Daggers comes with a to-do list of its own: work on your willpower; step outside your comfort zone; be willing to combat obstacles that stand in your way; center yourself in your personal power.

That sounds more like a list out of a self-help book than a secret treasure, doesn’t it?

But what if we look at it this way: In interesting times, joy is liable to lie outside its usual bounds. It might take a little stretching on our part, a little moving outside the comfort zone, a little more personal chutzpah than usual to grasp onto that sacred joy.

What would really bring you joy, but you’ve been afraid to reach for it?

Can you fan the flames of your inner Fire and heat up enough passion and desire for it that you can move outside your usual boundaries?

Where your joy lies will depend on the circumstances of your individual personality and life. But I’m looking at this week’s pair of cards together and thinking… I bet for many of us, daring to stop the frenzied busy-ness and take the time for pleasure feels defiant, rebellious - maybe even naughty! (And no, I’m not necessarily talking about sex, just simple G-rated physical pleasures.)

Because we’re adults, and we’re not supposed to “waste our time” on that kind of “nonsense.”

I tell you what: I’ll make a point of spending some of my time this week focused on simple pleasures if you will. Then I bet we’ll all have a more joyful week!

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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 now available in paperback, keepsake hardcover edition, and ebook. My Minoan title in the Moon Books Pantheons series is 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 make art).