[I forgot to ask a question again.]

Illustrator: Helen Jones
Author: Jane Lyle

Interpretation: “Ability. Creative beginnings. // …an upsurge of the pace in everyday life. Original ideas, intuitive guidance, a desire to make new friends— all these may spring from inside ourselves. Outer events mirror this energy; there is often an increase in conversations, letters, invitations, short trips and social events.”

How about: I would like an increase in conversations (with friends), letters (from friends), invitations (to visit friends), short trips (with friends) and social events (at my house).

Is grocery shopping or a trip to the doctor’s a short trip? Is traveling to Quebec or Syracuse for the weekend or week a short trip or a long trip? Perhaps the length of the trip is determined by how long the trip feels. “Short trip” is supposed to seem positive whereas “errand” generally seems negative.

Maybe “short trip” means “brief psychedelic experience.” From the on-line urban dictionary: “An adjective meaning cool, freaky, groovy, amazing, or all of the above, depending on the context in which it’s used. …the root word, “trip,” refers to soft psychedelic trips and has been in use since the 60’s.”

When I wanted Martin to consider home birth, I didn’t try too hard to be convincing. I handed him my only book on birth— Ina May Gaskin’s book Spiritual Midwifery— where the natural birthing experience, as described by the husband, is always trippy, other-worldly, and extremely spiritual. After he’d read a bit, he said, “I’d like to experience that kind of energy.” I was happy.

The short trip of birth (as opposed to the long trip of raising a child) will indeed herald new beginnings, an upsurge in the pace of life, and the need to come up with original ideas to solve every-day problems. It will necessitate following my intuition. I hope to make new friends who can help me with these things.

I could, perhaps, have picked another aspect of my life to relate this card to. I’ve used pregnancy a number of times. However, that’s what gets my attention right now. Louann Brizendine, MD, director of the Women’s Mood and Hormone Clinic at the University of California, San Francisco explains pregnancy brain, in part, like this: “There are 15 to 40 times more progesterone and estrogen marinating the brain during pregnancy, and these hormones affect all kinds of neurons in the brain.” And, “You only have so many shelves in your brain so the top three are filled with baby stuff.” Good enough for me.