Good morning!
If you are feeling a bit "in over your head" lately you have two choices either step up your game and do the work it will take to be a success or let go. The question is which path is the one that will help you move forward and which one will be yet another chain holding you back from living your true purpose.
The crow of the Eight of Pentacles is a diligent worker who takes pride in ensuring that every task is finished with perfection. This bird doesn't want to just meet expectations it wants to exceed them.
The energy that is running through your situation today stems from a time of learning and developing new skills in order to find success in a new area of life. Whether you went back to school or studied under a mentor - or studied on your own - the situation you are in is a result of taking the bull by the horns and going after a goal with determination and a desire to be the best in the field.
The crow looking for a new treasure to bring home spots a bushel of wands from the sky - from several feet away the bushel looked small and manageable and the crow became more and more excited about its new discovery. Upon closer inspection, however, the wands proved to be anything but manageable - but none the less - the crow was determined to take the wands - however, the task was not easy and at the end of the day, the crow found itself evaluating if it was truly worth it.
At the heart of today's reading is the Ten of Wands (this one seems to be making an appearance bit often these days!) This card creates friction as it adds a heaviness to a task that you want to complete. Perhaps you studied to be a glass artist and have become known for your skills - as a result, you receive a large order, one that you accept however the number of pieces and the time they need to deliver leaves you with not a minute to spare - because of this you risk either not living up to your reputation for perfection or becoming burnt out just as your career is taking off.
And right on cue - here comes the Devil
The crow keeps the bird chained to him - not by a tight grip, no this crow is too cunning for that, it keeps the bird a prisoner by its own will by making promises and feeding into the little bird's fears. The Devil's power is strong and tricky as it knows its victim's weaknesses and uses them to ensure that they see the Devil as their only hope for survival.
The Devil card appears today as a warning - are you in over your head because you don't want to face a fear such as not being able to complete a big task on time. Are you second-guessing your skills? Perhaps turning down a big job sends waves of worry through you as the money would be helpful and as a result, you have become "chained" to it and unable to say no.
The key is to follow your strengths and know what you can handle and what your ego thinks you can handle. After working so hard to reach a level of success the last thing you want is to find yourself resenting the job as that will be the fastest route to losing passion for the thing you love.
"Passion will move men beyond themselves, beyond their shortcomings, beyond their failures." ~ Joseph Campbell
Peace!
MJ