And what have I learnt...

It is a bit difficult for me to write about what have I learnt this week, with the sudden trip to the conference. I still don't know exactly what my lesson was, but I am happy I did not miss this opportunity... as scary as it was at first!

The King of Clubs, Sol, and the 3 of Diamonds were the two cards that helped me to decide whether to go or not. They appeared in the Head and Throat positions of the Present Spread, respectively. I did not meditate about their meanings, but for some reason they screamed "YES!" to me. "Go Marina, go!"

And I went. Veni, vidi, vici!

Now I think about what these cards were telling me, and what lesson have I learnt. Sol is an eternal student, a master of many subjects, but specially someone whose curiosity is never sated. Alone, all by himself, he is cold and still, like the stale air of an old library. Full of knowledge but without any use to it.

And then comes the fire, in the 3 of Diamonds. A growing fire, the one that make things change and manifest, as in a chemical reaction. The 3 of Diamonds was like a Bunsen burner, heating the little dish in which Sol rested, making his molecules move faster and faster and faster... making him rise.


For over an year, I have been exercising my mind in my work, but without any passion. I just did what I was supposed to do, with no real involvement. I didn't consider what I do really important, and I didn't think that the good results we are having had anything to do with me. Going to this conference gave me a new view... although I still don't think this work is my vocation (my true calling, so to speak), I began to find it more interesting because it's the start of a new era, and everyone is a bit lost. Digital Books are novelty for 90% of the publishing houses and bookstores in 90% of countries worldwide. It's a time of chaos and creation!

I realized that they need new minds to make this work. Whoever finds the most simple and most functional way of making ebooks will dictate the next steps. This opportunity... this new market... is symbolized by the 3 of Diamonds. It is the fire that is warming up the market, that is burning the chairs of all those who refuse to get up and do something. And for the first time, it came to me that even if this job is not my true calling, perhaps I have a reason to be here. Perhaps my contribution is needed in ways I cannot foresee.

This conference helped me to test my courage and my ability to react to the unexpected; and it also helped me to test my knowledge. I realized that I know much more about ebooks than I believed. I realized that I may have something to offer to the market, or at least to the company in which I work, even if I don't stay there forever. I can use it to my personal growth.

Ana Cortez said in her book about the PCO that we should picture the suit signs in the 3s as the rungs of a vertical ladder. For the first time, the idea makes complete sense to me. I feel like my mind has been challenged for the first time in a long tme - it's the calling of the 3 of Diamonds, agitating Sol's cold intellect.



The Playing Card Oracles © Ana Cortez & C.J. Freeman