Eight of Swords

Had a medical appointment at the alcohol place this morning, I'd been dreading it for a while. Drew a Tarot card which I sometimes do before setting off to something I'm anxious about. It perhaps seems irrational but strangely it often helps me to rationalise my feelings.

People familiar with Tarot will know that the Eight of Swords isn't a particularly nice card to draw. It depicts a woman (traditionally) surrounded by swords and blindfolded, symbolising a feeling of being trapped and blinded by limiting self-beliefs. It seemed so apt. If the crow simply removed the blindfold however it would find it could escape the situation easily. The card challenges you to take back your power by looking at things from a different angle and situations that may appear overwhelming or beyond your capabilities can be overcome.

I was very nervous because I knew a blood test was involved. If I just say that even having my blood pressure taken causes me a certain amount of anxiety then you get the idea why I was so on edge. Added to that it was somewhere I'd never been before and had no idea what to expect.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, the nurse was ace. I told her about my blood/needle phobia straight away and she was so kind to me. She said that I didn't have to have the blood taken if I didn't want and that she'd go through the rest of the (less scary) examination and questions with me and then at the end I could decide whether I wanted it doing. By the end of the 20 or so minutes we were chatting away and she'd put me really at ease so when she asked if I wanted to have the blood taken I removed the metaphorical blindfold and said yes. And I didn't faint. Yay! Thank you kind nurse :-)

As a little treat I've pre-ordered the Urban Crow Oracle deck to go alongside the Crow Tarot. Been waiting for it to become available in the UK for months as it's far too expensive to have imported from the US. It's not released until October but I got it for an excellent price and am willing to wait.

Added an extra of some Stewy graffiti art of Polish Anna (a local character from years gone by) I spotted in Bradford after my appointment.