22 - Roads or Paths by zannamarie

Astrological Symbol Significance

Taurus

Taurus is Latin for bull and is the second sign of the zodiac. It is a fixed earth sign representing strong stability but also stubbornness. The Taurean can be patient, reliable, warmhearted, and determined. But from the dark side, this sign can be inflexible, jealous, possessive, and self-indulgent.

The dirt on this path, the Oregon Trail, represents the stable earth qualities of Taurus the bull. Travel along this path was most often accomplished by oxen pulling covered wagons. Oxen, closely related to bulls, are able to pull heavy loads under adverse conditions, and can survive eating almost anything you put in front of them.

Playing Card Symbol Interpretation

Queen of Diamonds

This queen represents the need for assertion but also acknowledgment. She is a mature-minded woman whose age may be hard to decide. On the positive side, she is practical, has discerning taste, and is responsible in business and friendship. On the negative side, she is a gossip who is spiteful and petty.

A traditional name for this card is Biblical Rachel. She was a non-assertive woman who was willing to stand aside and let her sister marry the man she loved so as not to bring her sister and family shame. She also displayed practicality, as befitting a Queen of Diamonds, in that she gave her handmaid to her husband to bear sons when she could not.

Artists Personal Symbol

A road with two arrows, each going a different directions. A choice must be made as to which direction to go in order to continue moving.

Card Description

This scene is on the grounds of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center just outside Baker City, Oregon, USA. The signpost marks wagon wheel ruts of the famous Oregon Trail, a covered wagon route that spanned 2,000 miles from Missouri (middle of USA) to the Oregon Coast (west coast of USA). The lure of free land and other opportunities drew at least 300,000 people to travel this route in the mid-1800's. At the location in the photo, travelers would still have had approximately 300 miles left to reach the coast.

Nearly 150 years later, over 300 miles of trail still exists and this is part of it. The wagons were actually quite narrow so there was only one gully-like path and not two separate wheel paths. Without the post marker, I would not have been sure which way the trail was going so this is definitely a decision point. The trail actually goes from the lower right to the middle left of the photo. But it looks like there is a possible Y in the road and one could go off to the right.

Card Interpretation

This card represents the road ahead leading out of difficulty just as the Oregon Trail promised to be a road out of difficulty for those who traveled it. Many travelers made choices along the route to veer in other directions and not head for the coast, but quite a few did end up on the Oregon coast. Any of the choices may be acceptable ones depending upon one's final goals. p>The Roads/Paths card indicates choices and decision time. With this card, one is at a crossroads and must decide which way to go. The trail continues in more than one direction and obstructions in a future path may not always be visible at the signpost. So, one must be determined and patient in order to reach the final goal once a decision is made. p>If the Clouds card is nearby, a detour is necessary.

Keywords

Choice, movement, stability, durability, stubbornness.

Artistic Media

Photograph from the artist's personal collection was scanned into digital format. This photograph was created while standing at an outdoor marker at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center just outside of Baker City, Oregon, USA. The photograph was cropped and compressed to fit the card dimensions using Microsoft Picture It! Express 7.0. Symbols and the borders were created and added also using Picture It! Express.

Artist's Bio

zannamarie resides in northern Idaho, far enough from the coast that the winter storms are snow and not rain. She loves traveling to photograph the colorful beauty of nature's artwork, and then sharing that art with others. She also enjoys unusual oracles and has been known to toss animal crackers for divination and then subsequently consume them.

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