Friday Reflection: Four of Pentacles

Every morning I wake up at 4:30am and sit down at my dining room table with my cards, my tarot journal, and a cup of English breakfast tea. I shuffle my deck as I slowly start to become more awake and focus my intention on finding out what message I need as I start a new day. It is VERY rare that I draw the same card more than once during a week, but this week I pulled the Four of Pentacles and decided that I needed to write about this particular card. So here we go...

First of all, I would like to say that I think the Four of Pentacles gets a bad wrap. A lot of people look at this card and all they see is a person who is miserly or too caught up with wealth and possessions. But I see this card much differently, especially as a teacher.


Some of the traditional key words for this card include control and possession, but the word that popped into my head as I looked at this card while drinking my tea on both Monday and Tuesday was protection. Protection has a totally different vibe to me than possession. And as a teacher, I think we need to be particularly protective of our time and inner resources. Speaking for myself, I am the type of person who likes to take breaks during the day. So whenever I have a prep period, you can usually spot me walking down the hall. There isn't necessarily anything wrong with taking a walk, it can be a great way to relax after a stressful class or to clear your mind, but the problem for me comes in the form of stopping to talk. I'm a social butterfly and if I run into someone and they ask me about my kids, I can stop and talk for as long as they will let me. This isn't really the best use of my prep period though.

This card is warning me that I need to protect myself from myself! If my goal is to work at work and play at home, then I need to make every second that I am at work count. I still allow myself time to exchange pleasantries, but I keep it to a five minute maximum. Aside from talking during my prep time, I can also get distracted from the task at hand even when I am by myself. All of a sudden I will get a new idea and I will start researching or doing something else unrelated to the task at hand. So I've started implementing a new system that has helped me tremendously. It's not my own original idea. I got it from Leonie Dawson. You should check her out if you need help with goal setting. She is just brilliant.

But what I learned from her is to implement the 3 MIT's: (3 Most Important Tasks). So every morning when I sit down at my desk, I write down the 3 most important tasks that I need to finish by the time the dismissal bell rings. This has increased my production exponentially! It helps me keep focused and organized. When I cross off my tasks I feel accomplished and energized. So I highly recommend trying it out and seeing how it works for you.

So once again, the four of pentacles gets a bad wrap in my opinion. His message to me is to protect my time so that I can maximize my time at work so that I can spend more time at home doing other things that I love besides teaching. Like hanging out with my family and blogging! :)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

All my best,

Amy