King of Wands

"Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of (her) his soul"

- W Somerset Maugham 

I drew the King of Wands last night and, according To Mary K Greer in Tarot for Your Self, this card is about the "establishment of self."  Wands represent the fire element and that spark of inspiration.  The King is the master of his suit.  This card symbolises the ability and the belief in our creative abilities.  I believe most artists in some way embody the King of Wands, however if there is an imbalance, someone could appear arrogant and vain about their art or equally the opposite, and be seen as weak and insecure.

Ultimately though this is a portentous card which carries great gifts if manifested appropriately.

For me, drawing this card led me back to art journaling. This was something I discovered about 6 years ago,  but when I realised my journals were looking nothing like those I was seeing on Pinterest (not even close!) I grew despondent and gave up.  However, listening to Big Magic recently and hearing Elizabeth Gilbert recount the story of her friend Susan who took up ice skating again at the age of 40 because it was the last time she had a real sense of joy (my word for 2016 I'm thinking...) I was transported back to how much fun I had when I was drawing and painting.  I mean there's nothing to say it has to look like anything on Pinterest, right?

So today I made a drawing inspired by the King of Wands.  I had limited supplies, and really not a clue (I need to YouTube how to blend colour pencils) but you know what?  I had bucket loads of fun.