There are points in our lives when dreaming about the future is just part of what we do: like when a booger-laden preschooler is all, "I'm gonna be a dinosaur when I grow up!" Good luck with that one, kiddo.

But still, we still continue to dream. In high school, we have grand visions of our future careers; in college and after: thoughts on getting married or having kids (then we dream of what it's like to NOT have kids...); further on, we make bucket lists of the things we want to experience before we die. Everything is a dream... but a dream without planning is just a dream and nothing more.

Enter the II of Wands. Traditionally, this is the card of planning. It's about having this potential, glorious idea, and studying, researching, and mapping out a way to make that idea bloom into something viable. It takes effort and purpose to move that idea forward. (Remember, this "idea" or "dream" or whatever you want to call it is the "divine gift" from the Ace of Wands. Like a seed, it only grows if you nurture it.) And as Stephen Sondheim taught us in Into the Woods, "Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor."

But sometimes we have dreams and wishes that whither on the vine. Sometimes we push them aside for when we have more time (spoiler alert: there is never a period when we have "more time," just a change in priorities.) And other times we're just fuckin' lazy and aren't willing to expend the energy that is required to make it happen. Imagine what the world would be like if we never procrastinated or took the easy way out. Imagine how rich our lives would be. In that sense, I suppose it's really about living up to our potential.

Message of the Day: While I was thinking on this card, I really kept coming back to this notion of being trapped or caged. Like Satine in Moulin Rouge, when she so desperately wants to change her pimped out life (in more ways than one) but is torn between her desires and loyalties and sings "One Day I'll Fly Away" on this giant hollow elephant-house-thing. She has a dream, a grand desire, but there are emotional barriers standing in her way.

So while this card is traditionally a card of dreams and planning, there are times when we are stuck and can't progress further. I mean, sure, maybe I'd love to be a T-Rex one day, but the fact that I have normal-length arms is a significant problem.

Outside of actual, REAL barriers in our life (lack of funding, lack of knowledge or experience, lack of support), the biggest hurdle in moving our plan forward is usually ourselves. Fear, like with Satine, paralyzes a lot of people into a state of inaction. There are just so many unknowns; they don't know where to begin and just give up and forget it. OORRRR they're afraid of the risk involved (financial, emotional, maybe even physical) and drop it in an act of caution.

Or perhaps worst of all: they're just lazy. And I'm not just talking about entrepreneurial-type plans, I'm talking about things like organizing a vacation, meal planning for the week ahead, and planning ahead so you have a clean, unwrinkled outfit to wear to Cousin Jimbob's fancy wedding. II of Wands energy isn't always some deified halo of light surrounding a life-changing epiphany (this is a Minor Arcana card, after all). It's also, ya know, sometimes just being responsible and doing what you have to do, not dropping that earth-shaped ball the dude in the middle card is holding.

Because, if the II of Wands can teach us anything, it's that the world is ours for the taking if we are willing to show the initiative and put in the work. It encourages us to stop being afraid, to get off our lazy asses and learn something new, and to come up with a plan to jump off that giant elephant and head out the door. Perhaps even more important, the II of Wands is a reminder to keep a positive attitude and be optimistic about the future. You can't let a setback become defeat; learn from your mistakes and do better next time.

Decks shown above:

• Tarot of Oppositions
• The Modern Way Tarot
• The Fat Folks Tarot

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