Make Your Blessings Count

Blessed is he who not only counts his blessings, but makes his blessings count.
- a refrigerator magnet
I’ve been feeling grateful lately—but also a little uneasy about whether I’m doing enough with the good I’ve been given. I’m thoroughly enjoying many aspects of life in the U.S., the comfort, the ease, the many luxuries, because each one feels like an enormous blessing. Still, I worry that I’m not showing enough gratitude. I’m not putting enough heart into my job, not taking enough walks to enjoy the weather and scenery, and not making an effort to meet people or make friends.

So I did a reading with The Ocean Tarot, a mermaid-themed deck that reminds me of Eilat, the jumping-off point for my journey back to the US.

The question I asked was, "How can I rise up and align myself with the blessings I am receiving?"

Fives showed up frequently in this reading. That’s the sefirah גְּבוּרָה (Gevurah), Strength. These challenges may be necessary to help me grow. Fives often represent spiritual transition. (Across various traditions, fives are generally understood as points of instability, challenge, or disruption that invite growth.)

CARD 1 – The Blessings Present
What blessings or gifts are currently flowing into my life? (It feels like there are so many blessings, I could have pulled a dozen cards.)

Page of Pearls (Cups)
This is the kid who is appreciative and open-hearted toward whatever or whomever he encounters. In this deck, the Page is admiring a glowing pearl. The blessings of my new life feel precious, hard-won, and still dazzling. Maybe the real blessing is that my heart can feel wonder and grace. There are seahorses all around him, symbols of patience, fatherhood, and gentleness. The seahorses remind me to approach life gently.
In my Eilat Tarot, this card is called: Servant of Grace


CARD 2 – What Holds Me Back
What pattern, attitude, or distraction keeps me from aligning with these blessings?

Four of Pearls (Cups)
This card is such a contrast to the last one. It represents someone who isn’t paying attention to the blessings around him, or the additional divine gift being offered. Although I’m aware of all the blessings I’m receiving, I reflexively retreat from opportunities. The fourth pearl, descending with rays of light from the ocean’s surface, evokes a spiritual prompting to stay awake and grateful.
In my Eilat Tarot, this card is called: Before the Heart Opens

CARD 3 – Embodying Heart and Presence
How can I bring more heart into my work and daily actions?

Five of Pearls (Cups)
This is someone who needs to see not just his losses and what he still has, but needs to "cross the bridge to the castle of dreams," i.e. aspire to the next great goal he can reach. He should not just survive hardship, but dare to hope again. In this deck, there are three broken eggs and two live jellyfish, suggesting sensitivity and vulnerability. I'm being invited to move through emotion into a new purpose. The adult jellyfish in the background suggest emotional maturity, reminding me I can move forward even while remaining sensitive. Bringing heart into daily actions means not fearing emotional messiness, but using it to deepen compassion and connection.
In my Eilat Tarot, this card is called: Crossing the Waters
(I might rename it The Mourner's Path)

CARD 4 – Reconnecting with the World
What will help me engage with nature and people with more joy and aliveness?

Two of Treasure (Pentacles)
Usually this card means being undecided about which path to commit to—but in this deck, the figure resembles The World card. It’s a portrait of joyful receiving rather than striving. It suggests saying “yes” more often, and being a little less guarded.
In my Eilat Tarot, this card is called: The Tension of Two Worlds
(I might rename it The Moment Between Steps)

CARD 5 – The Path of Rising
What does it look like to rise up and live in alignment with the life I’ve been given?

Five of Spears (Swords)
This is a surprising card in this position. It’s about the sore winner, someone who clings to resentment or conflict. But in The Medieval Cat Tarot, it can also indicate the support of true friends, releasing shame, internal healing, or making amends. Maybe here, it points toward independence, not desperately seeking love or fearing scarcity. It may be a call to walk forward unburdened by the past, to release not just people but also narratives tied to old pain. Once again, I’m reminded of what my father tried to teach me for over forty years, a lesson that’s become something of a personal motto, even if it’s not quite 100% true: “No one is your friend, and money’s the only thing that matters.”
In my Eilat Tarot, this card is called: The Severed Bond
(I might rename it Beyond the Battle)


This reading reminds me: it’s not enough to count my blessings. I must carry them forward, with presence and purpose.

What the Two of Pentacles Really Means

It’s Not About Balance—It’s About Avoidance

Most contemporary writers interpret the Two of Pentacles as a sign of balance, adaptability, grace under pressure, and the ability to juggle life’s many demands. It’s often seen as a card that applauds your flexibility and suggests you can handle whatever life throws your way. This leads some readers to say: Don't worry, you've got this.

But what else could it mean?

In the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, a playful figure dances while juggling two pentacles inside a lemniscate. Two ships sail smoothly and safely over incredibly high waves of a rough sea.

From one perspective, the card is a kind of “don’t worry, you’ve got this” message.

Take a closer look at the figure's garments. He wears a bright red hat that’s not quite a dunce cap, but certainly reminiscent of one. His clothing is oddly theatrical, almost like part of a costume. Some readers have suggested he’s standing on a stage, playing a role.

The lemniscate also appears above the head of The Magician—a figure associated with both making dreams come true and with deception.

The card may suggest a period of multitasking where everything is still under control. However, you should ask if he is really in control, or simply trying to look like he is. This fool's performance may be his way of ignoring a precarious situation, or even trying to deceive others into thinking he’s more balanced than he really is.

Before we go further, here are the keywords I associate with this card:

Keywords (Light Side)

• Adaptability
• Grace under pressure
• Flexibility in fluctuating circumstances
• Multitasking
• Managing demands
• Finding harmony or your divine path
• Trying to make dreams come true

Keywords (Shadow Side)

• Disorganization
• Unclear goals
• Trying to balance too many things
• Delaying decisions
  
• Chaos
• Poor time management
• Splitting your energy
  

These light side keywords reflect the best-case scenario: someone who stays "nimble and quick" under pressure and navigates competing demands with flexibility and poise. Dedication and adaptability can help you achieve your goals, but you must know what your goals are.

In my experience, the Two of Pentacles often appears when balancing act is already faltering. You’re walking a tightrope, and it’s beginning to sway. One misstep, and everything could fall.

This is the card of conflicting goals and lack of commitment to a clear goal. It often shows up when someone is trying to serve two masters or maintain appearances while everything is unraveling beneath the surface.

It says: You’re not really choosing.

Even upright, the card can suggest that things aren't working particularly well. If you don’t make a firm commitment soon, everything could fall apart. Reversed, the danger becomes obvious: chaos, confusion, failure, and burnout.

What the card really means:

The Two of Pentacles often appears not because someone is skillfully balancing, but because they’re avoiding a difficult decision.

This card isn’t just about doing too much; it’s about refusing to let something go. You might be clinging to two different goals or two versions of yourself, while quietly hoping that someone else will come along and reveal your divinely ordained direction. But not all dreams are meant to be pursued at the same time. Some must be sacrificed so that others can flourish. And no one else—not your partner, not your mentor, not your tarot reader—can pinpoint your path for you.

That’s why I read this card as a wake-up call: Stop performing. Start choosing.

I don't believe there is a single "real" meaning for any card, but I enjoy finding new interpretations. Do you have a unique take on any of the cards? Please share your insights below! I love hearing from my readers.

Prayers in the Medicine Woman Tarot

When I first encountered The Medicine Woman Tarot. I passed it by because I know nothing about Native American cultures. How could I use a deck whose imagery I wouldn't recognize or understand? 

People have cited this deck as an example of cultural appropriation. The artist describes the deck as an attempt to envision a "new reality of tribal ways based on native awareness of the land and drawing wisdom from many sacred traditions." 

With some hesitation, I ordered the book and deck last summer because I was attracted to the title, which suggests healing and empowerment. Although I'm not much moved by the deck's artwork, I can see why the guidebook is loved and recommended.

The Two of Stones fromMedicine Woman Tarot

The book alternately captivates and repels me. Sometimes the words sound like New Age dreck, sometimes they seem more profound.

The fertile ground of nature surrounds me,
 
     waiting with her gifts for me to notice...

What can I offer the world that will bring
  
      my earthly reward and soothe my soul... 

What can I do for the land around me? 


What can I do for my people? 


As I chose a direction and begin to work,

      the road to prosperity is cleared.

There is a flaky, NewAge ring to it, but there are deeper ideas, too:

• Acknowledging and developing your gifts can put you on your right path.  
• Seeking satisfaction is okay.  
• The most fulfilling use of your gifts is being of service to the land and other people.  
• The world is (sometimes) benevolent.

Two of Pentacles from
the Rider-Waite-Smith

So there is a contemplative aspect to the companion book. But are the cards really a tarot deck?

At first glance, Carol Bridges' Two of Stones (see above) seems entirely divorced from traditional tarot imagery and meaning. However, I eventually found some commonalities for the corresponding cards in the Rider-Waite-Smith and the Gaian Tarot.

The Two of Pentacles in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck indicates imbalance and struggle, divided attention, an attempt to do too much, and failed multi-tasking; those things aren't seen in the Medicine Woman Tarot. However, the lemniscate and ocean waves in the RWS image also suggest going with the flow and focusing on the task immediately before you, not letting your ego interfere with the flow of the moment. The two coins suggest a choice. You don't have to do everything at once; each moment has its appropriate action. And, remember to dance even when the seas are stormy.

Two of Earth from
The Gaian Tarot

The description of the Two of Earth in the Gaian Tarot guidebook conveys a similar message. Joanna Powell Colbert wrote this affirmation for the image:

I stay centered in the midst of many

demands on my time and attention.

All three cards suggest choosing a path, being flexible, and remaining centered while doing your work. The parent with two children may find joy in caring for them no matter the struggle.

If you are interested, I'd suggest getting the Medicine Woman Tarot Guidebook regardless of what deck you use.