May 1, 2010 - Seven of Coins

The Seven of Coins is a card about assessment, reward, and direction change.  It's a card that urges you to take a time out and appreciate your handiwork.  The man in the card has worked hard and the fruits of his labor are there for everyone to see.  He could harvest and this card often talks of rewards coming your way, especially after hard work.  He could also take a breath and assess if he's on his true path., and adjust his course accordingly.  When we're busy, sometimes we don't take the time time to reflect on what we're doing and why.  We have to take stock in key moments, and when Seven of Coins shows up in a reading, this is one of those key moments.

The Seven of Coins sometimes arrives when we are at a crossroads.  It's so easy to continue along a familiar path; so much harder to change course, to forge a new path in a new direction.  When this card comes up in a reading you have the opportunity to make a course correction if you need to, or a complete about-face if that is required.  Change is still possible without the wholesale destruction of the Tower.

In the Jane Austen Tarot, the Seven of Coins is depicted by Robert Martin of Emma (Modern Library Classics).  He is a hardworking gentleman farmer who falls in love with a young woman of questionable parentage, Harriet Smith.  She refuses him at the urging of her new friend, Emma Woodhouse.  Ultimately, Harriet comes to happily accept Robert Martin's proposal, but until then Robert Martin works his fields and goes on, hoping but not pining for what has been denied.

What is most interesting to me about the Jane Austen Tarot is how often the stories depicted by the cards have a strong resonance for me.  I too loved and was refused.  I went on, continued, worked hard.  I did grieve overmuch.  I was not as focused as Robert Martin.  And I gave up, I suppose, unlike that hard working young man.  I don't know.  Maybe my goal is not unachievable.  I do think though you can't lose sight of yourself, your land, your labors, your life.  Even when your goal seems out of reach, you go on, live life to the fullest.

What Would Jane Do?
"But of all things this card preaches, patience is the greatest message.  If you give up on something you really want, you will berate yourself for a much longer period than the one you are spending wishing for something to come to fruition.  Understand that what is meant to happen will happen when the time is ripe, and your continued application is the only element that will move the desired situation closer.