Ah yes, the 7 of Spades is about going within, doing a lot of evaluating and paying attention to your intuition. It is also about valuing knowledge, freedom and independence.
One of the things that I worked through was setting boundaries for myself and understanding exactly what I wanted to be doing as a creative – and about letting go of the guilt or feelings that I should be doing what others think I should be doing.
The 7 of Spades doesn’t want to feel restricted but resists taking risks. That was exactly the conundrum I was feeling.

A big part of what I went through was the age old battle between needing to earn a living and doing what you really want to be doing.
Fortunately, as I was going through this, I was also going through The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity [10th Anniversary Edition]

Her book is what launched me into taking my writing seriously about 15 years ago. I wasn’t sure I would need to go through it again, but it’s amazing how you can see things you didn’t see before, and realize there are still areas in your creative life that you need to work on.

Art and Abundance seems to constantly be this muddy entanglement we battle with as creatives. We either keep the day job and write/create on days off or we take a big leap of faith and work full-time not really knowing if/when the income will follow.
We are still drowning in the mass consciousness belief that art doesn’t pay the bills, well, except for the very lucky few out there.

This thought is what allowed me to take the leap and I realized I needed to embrace it again:

Why would we be given a passion/desire to create____________ (fill in blank here with the medium you love) and not be also given the ways/means of support to be able to still live?

Here is a quote from The Artists Way: “What we really want to do is what we are really meant to do. When we do what we are meant to do, money comes to us, doors open for us, we feel useful, and the work we do feels like play to us.”

There was a time in my life when I daydreamed about doing something very specific, but had absolutely no ways/means or knowledge of how to do it. I just sat and saw myself doing it.
Suddenly, things started happening that launched me into exactly what I wanted to be doing. There was no way I could have set all of it up with step by step actions. It all fell into place and I made good money doing it as well as it being one of the most fun,rewarding and fabulous jobs I have ever had.

There is no disclaimer on the above statement about what type of thing you have to want to do…it doesn’t say “Only for doctors, lawyers or investment bankers….or what your parents believe in or the hot job field of the month.”

I know from personal experience that the above works and works very well. I have been too focused on that mass consciousness gunk that has everyone thinking that only a select few make it and are successful as painters or writers (or whatever your passion is).

So, after clearing some gunk, and getting back to fully embracing what I want to really be doing, I’m also embracing the above quote from The Artists Way.
It feels good!

One of the thoughts that the Sun shares is: True freedom exists when we are free from the fear of loss.

I got to thinking about the state of our society right now. So many people who were use to having it all, are now facing losing it all. The American life of the big house and the big car and whatever material possessions we want-we can have, is collapsing. The material things and the balance in our bank accounts and the status of  those things, for some, is what defined us. What defines us when we lose it all? Who are we if we have to move in with our parents, or start delivering pizzas instead of being the big guy on the block who had everything?
The other irony of this card draw for me is that this is exactly what the protagonist in my novel is going through. She based her life on her success and material acquisitions – she  is then thrown a curve ball by having to go back to her roots and past, something she has avoided for a really long time, and she *thinks* that it will, in the end, add some more to her bottom line. Instead, she learns what real abundance is.

We became such a disconnected society. Now, with what is going on, we are learning to reconnect. Before, when we needed help, we whipped out the checkbook and paid for help. Now, communities are coming together to provide help, not with monetary exchanges, but with hands on help.
The message of the 8 of diamonds is that with abundance and power comes responsibility.
The message of the Sun card is that we have choices to make and we need to make them based on careful observations and practical application.
It is humans who do the work of the Divine. When our hands refuse to reach out and help, the bounty of the Sun (Divine) is limited and lack is experienced.
How is this about creativity? Creativity is power. Ideas are power and can create abundance. We are going through a time when we need new ideas; we need new perspectives and the ideas that we share with our creativity can help move us in a new direction. We also need to support one another. We have lived the time in America when it was all about competition and about seeing who could grab onto the most and have it all to themselves.  And, how did that work out for us?
There is nothing wrong with abundance; the Sun card and the 8 of diamonds affirms that Divine infinite provision is offered, and we do live in the land of plenty and endless bounty.  Creativity- that ability to create our reality- that innate power within us, is always there. We can responsibly utilize it or we can destroy everything with it.
Maybe we should have a new slogan- instead of  “What’s in your wallet?” – how about  “What’s in your creative hands?”