January 2, 2021: 3 of Wands and 4 of Pentacles

Today I have thrown two Minor Arcana cards.  My Inner Focus card is the 3 of Wands.  The image shows a fully dressed man from the shoulders down; he has his shirt pulled up and his pants opened.  Kneeling before him is a woman who appears to be naked but we can only see her from the shoulders up.  She has her eyes closed and the man's penis in her mouth, and one hand on the waistband of his pants as if pulling them down further.  The man is holding his penis at the base, guiding it as she pleasures him; his other hand is on her head, not grasping her hair but resting there and offering more gentle guidance.  The key phrases for this card are: initial success, and give joy and act boldly.

My Outer Focus card is the 4 of Pentacles.  The image on this card shows a naked woman laying back on a rustled bed in what appears to be a dark room, resting on her elbows with her eyes closed and her lips parted as if gasping.  Before her and between her knees is a naked man; his eyes are also closed.  He is enthusiastically sucking on one of her nipples with one of his hands grasping her other breast; his other hand is on her pubis.  The key phrases for this card are: greed, selfishness, and intentionally lustful life.

Both of these cards show one person being pleasured by another person, but there are differences to be seen.  The image in the 3 of Wands appears to be in the daytime.  The interaction appears to be in its early stages, for the man has not taken off any of his clothes, although the woman's shoulders are naked.  There is a power dynamic here because the man is clothed and the woman is not, and the man is standing and the woman is kneeling.  However, she does not appear uncomfortable, and in fact is grasping his pants as if to move them out of the way.  The suit of Wands in the Decameron Tarot represent all of the correspondences of the element of Fire, as well as strong passions and extreme experiences.  I think those last two are the ones that get applied to the messages of this card; after all the experience presented is extreme and the passions are strong, apparently in both.  

The 4 of Pentacles image appears to be at night or in shadow.  Because both the man and the woman seem to be glistening with perspiration, I'm guessing that this interaction has been going on for a while.  The mussed sheets support this.  However, the woman's hair is not mussed, while the man's hair appears to be disheveled, hinting at the power dynamic that could be within this image.  The suit of Pentacles in the Decameron Tarot represent the correspondences of the element of Earth, as well as the body and material goods.  Here, the woman is the one being pleasured, but instead of supporting her partner, she is laying back and allowing him to do the work.  

This is an interesting message.  I may feel that I am offering support and encouragement, but perhaps the message is not being received and someone else might believe the work load is not balanced.  This is something we all need to remember, for merely having the right intentions is not always enough.  If the message does not come through, our intentions are wasted and their energies dissipate.  We need to do the work to get out our message, even if it is only a message of gratitude and appreciation.  Sometimes all it takes is a simple gesture to change everything, like the woman in the 3 of Wands grasping the man's pants to move them away so she has greater access, or the man's hand resting gently on her heading that same image, even as his other hand holds his penis steady so he can better penetrate her mouth.  She is participating and indicating her willingness to participate, rather than laying back and letting her partner do all the work.

Collaborations can be stronger than their individual parts.