Secret Santa

Oh, dear, sweet Bitty, what an interesting spread we have for you today. While Santa couldn't work all of your questions into this, here are a couple of answers for you. With hard work and practice, you will most certainly perfect your lemon meringue. While you may be in Darrow for a long time to come (Santa hopes so!), one day you will see Shitty again. And for the third, well, keep reading...


6 of Coins: True story, when I turned this card over, I went "Awww" out loud. You see, in our spread, the 6 of Coins inhabits the space that represents dear Bitty. It's an admirable card, too. It speaks of generosity and compassion. The 6 of Coins shows us a wealthy merchant who distributes his wealth to those in need, the same way Bitty openly gives his love and affection in so many forms to those around him. The merchant can afford to be generous and does it because it's right, an act of noblesse oblige. Likewise, Bitty is someone who gives and gives without a second thought. The world needs more people like that.


4 of Coins: Sitting across the sweet 6 of Coins, however, we have the 4 of Coins, who is literally two steps back. He is a regression, and he represents something weighing on Bitty. The Coins are a very physical suit; they're concerned with the pragmatic and physical things in our world, and everything that relates to hearth and home. And this isn't a bad thing at all! But the problem with the 4 is that he's too pragmatic. He's afraid to lose anything, so he keeps things locked down. There are aspects of himself that Bitty gives freely, but this card suggests that there are also parts of himself he keeps hidden away for fear of losing them. In sitting on his wealth, though, the 4 loses more than he keeps. Who knows what he could gain if he moved forward and made use of his riches? It's good to be practical, but this is too much of a good thing.


The Page of Cups: The Page is such a great representation of where Bitty comes from! The Page of Cups, the suit of emotions, is a young apprentice figure, excited and enthusiastic. He brings so much youthful verve and hope to whatever he attempts. While he may have found that his new pursuits were more overwhelming than envisioned, the Page keeps on going, the picture of determined innocence. In short, the Page of Cups is a perfect representation of Bitty back in his frog days.


9 of Swords: Oh, sweet Bitty. Thank goodness the 9 is in your rearview mirror! The 9 is a card I've seen many times in readings for myself. Here she represents something that Bitty is leaving behind, which is a good place to leave her. Lost in her own sometimes obsessive thoughts, the 9 is distraught and depressed, consumed by everything that is wrong and perhaps all the things she believes she has done wrong. She sits alone in her room through the night, keeping her pain from everyone else and forgetting that even the darkest night has a dawn. The 9 of Swords can't see past her own mistakes, real or perceived. It's time for Bitty to shed that tendency in himself to get hung up on the past and all the things he can't change.


2 of Cups: Bitty asked if he would find love, and the cards have answered! Here in the position that indicates future possibilities, we see the 2 of Cups, a card that represents new and idealized love, which suggests that, yes, Bitty, love is in your near future! What a lovely card. The 2 says that, in sharing yourself with someone else and letting them in, you let them help you too. The 2 is about the healing power of affection, both giving it and allowing yourself to receive it.


These three cards represent the resources available to Bitty, though I sometimes read them as advice like I did for Ronan. Here they're very much resources and good ones at that.

3 of Coins: This card is about teamwork and knowing your place in the team. If there are things in life you aren't very good at, let someone who is good at them do them, while you do what you rock at. Working together in this way, everyone wins!

6 of Cups: This is about innocence and seeing the world through fresh eyes, perhaps even revisiting old roles with a new perspective. Bitty's own sense of trust is a huge boon to him.

10 of Coins: There's such a wealth of Coin cards in this reading, which makes sense, I think. He's very home and family-oriented (I consider friends and teammates family, too). The 10 is a very special card in this suit. It speaks to the importance of family and legacy. When Bitty needs help, he can draw on the resources given to him by those who came before him and all the things he has to pass on. While his family and team may not be in Darrow to help him directly, he can use what he learned from them and the support of those who love him here to help him get through.


8 of Swords: As an advice card, the 8 of Swords is astoundingly clear. Don't beat yourself up, she says. The 8 is being punished. We may not know what for, but it's pretty clear that she, at least, believes she deserved it. There's really not very much keeping her here other than her own sense of guilt and wrongdoing. Bitty should try not to be so hard on himself and hold himself accountable for things he maybe can't help or punish himself more than is deserved. Be kinder to yourself.


The Magician: This is such an exciting card to have in this position! This last card is about the future and possibilities for Bitty. The Magician says anything is possible. She is the card of infinite possibility. If you look at her closely, you can see that the Magician has every tool at her disposal: Wands, Cups, Swords, and Coins. These are the four elements, action and emotion, intellect and all things practical. She points to the ground, grounding herself, but she looks to the sky. If Bitty trusts himself and works hard, there is nothing he can't do. He has so much available to him and in himself, he only has to work for it and learn how to wield the many tools at his disposal.