Tiny Tarot Story
Read a short story inspired by the Three of Wands.
On holidays, back when he was a boy, Daniel could expect that at one point in the night, his grandmother would snatch him, place him on her lap, and whisper advice in hot, frantic bursts. Her sentences not quite connecting, wisdom trying to make itself heard before the last one ended. This happened long past the point of comfort, his long limbs draped over her brittle ones. Still, she seemed desperate to hand him experiences condensed into a few sentences, into treasure. As the youngest, he was her last chance.
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“Put one step in front of another,” she said. “When you don’t know what to do, keep moving forward.” For dramatic effect, she’d point to the row of adults on the couch, letting the full meals in their bellies bring them closer to a half-sleeping state. Those people were standing still.
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Daniel found this advice, in particular, frustratingly obvious. What else was he going to do? Walk backwards? Daniel would writhe away from her and her hot, picked breath, and join his cousins in running around the house. Always moving forward.
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Then he was 18 and starting college and suddenly everyone was his grandma, throwing advice at him. Join this club, do this thing, climb this ladder, avoid this section of town. Every person he listened to was another person he couldn’t listen to. Whose words should he follow? Whose guidance would he regret not following?
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The only place where he was safe, it seemed, was his bed. He knew how to lay down. In the mornings, Daniel lingered for longer and longer until he missed class. He wasn’t moving–but he wasn’t going down a path that would lead to failure, either, right?
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After he failed two tests in his first semester, Daniel called his grandma and explained his issue. He’d forgotten how to walk, it seemed. She reminded him: You’d been following your path this whole time. Just take a step.
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Three of Wands Reflections
Musings
There are actors I confused for years, honestly believing they were the same person—Dermot Mulroney and Dylan McDermott, for example. There are certain card pairs in the deck that my mind has conflated into one, like a live photo on an iPhone, one image blending into the other. The Two and Three of Wands are like that, for me.
Both cards depict stages in a journey. The Two of Wands is about contemplation, deciding your direction. The Three of Wands is about setting forth, and represents optimism and unbound potential. To me, they’re one swift action turned into two parts.
What I find interesting about the Three of Wands is that, while it’s typically associated with action, the art depicts a person standing still and watching. Is there not paralysis also in that image?
Imagine you’re far from the familiar, so far it sometimes it feels like being far from land. You chose to be here. You’re proud of yourself for braving the struggle. One day, though, you walk past a store frying up potatoes that smell like the ones you used to eat in that restaurant after school with your friends, and you’re suddenly subsumed in emotion that feels more like water. Where am I? you wonder. Why did I ever come here?
And you look at how far you’ve come, and you look at how far there is to go, and you realize the path forward has not been forged—you have to forge it yourself. And you are suddenly tired.
For me, that feeling is present in the Three of Wands. The fear-laced exhilaration of knowing there’s a long road ahead, and that you have to keep going, because you chose this path. Sometimes, that responsibility is too much to bear. Sometimes, you have to stand still for a while, like the man in the picture.
The only way to deal with this is to take small steps. Every day, make a tiny bit of progress. I think about this a lot when it comes to my creative projects, especially when they really “get going.” 50 pages in and I’m far from shore. The key is to keep going even when it seems insurmountable.
What the Three of Wands is saying is: The fear will pass. The journey is worth the discomfort. Take a breath, and keep going.
You will never reach the horizon. But I promise: The farther you go, the closer you get, the more you will see.
Journaling Prompts
How have you overcome paralysis in the past?
What are your tactics for pushing beyond self-doubt?
What are the longest journeys you’ve ever taken, physically and emotionally? What did it feel like when you “arrived?” When did you know you had arrived?
What motivates you to keep going?
Start a Story of Your Own
Write a story of your own inspired by the dynamics present in the Three of Wands card, starting with this sentence. If you email me your story, I’ll share it in the next newsletter.
The ships came into the shore. He was set to go aboard one the next morning. All he had to do was decide which.
Extra Credit
Plan a vacation or a day trip to somewhere you’ve never been before.
Use a pedometer app to track how far you walk every day. Try to walk farther tomorrow.
Make a map of your life. Where were you born? Where are you now? Where did your formative moments take place?