In terms of work, this is a month of change. People are returning to offices after months of working at home, children are going back to school and students are starting new academic years at university. The machines of our society are changing gear and we are the engineers who have to ensure it all runs smoothly. So, drawing the Engineer card from the Steampunk Tarot - Wisdom from the Gods of the Machine, was absolutely right.
The Engineer corresponds with Strength in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. A. E. Waite's
Pictorial Key to the Tarot gave the Strength card divinatory meanings focusing on fortitude: "Power, energy, action, courage, magnanimity; also complete success and honours." The picture on the Rider-Waite-Smith card shows a woman taming a lion using courage and gentle handling rather than physical might. Courage and gentle handling are certainly what many of us need to engage if we are returning to work or college at this time of uncertainty, when there are still a lot of fears about the global pandemic.
The Engineer from John and Caitlin Mastthews' Steampunk Tarot is similar, but subtly different, in meaning to Strength in its earlier form. The picture shows a woman repairing a giant robot, which in turn is operating vast machinery. The description given in the book that comes with the set says that this card shows we have the strength, skills and courage to face huge and potentially scary tasks:
"Just because something is big doesn't make it monstrous. Giving it your power by allowing your fears prominence would be self-defeating. The coin of fear, when face-uppermost, locks down power; when the flip side of the coin is uppermost, then power is in control. In this brave new world, the Engineer enables you to calmly find power to cope with things with conviction and courage. But she also understands exactly when to acknowledge that things can't always be done alone. Machines require respect, or else they will become your masters and you their slave. When you connect to the power within, you can be encouraged and supported."
The card shows that there are opportunities available, in our work and in other aspects of society. To make the most of them, we need to find confidence and strength of mind to engage with things that need tackling. Use your strengths and your courage, but ask for help when you need it, and also don't be shy to point out when you need the right tools to do your best job, whether those tools are screwdrivers, computer equipment, or face masks and hand sanitiser. One quote from the book that struck me as most apt is: "Don't stay in survival mode too long."
You can view the Steampunk Tarot - Wisdom from the Gods of the Machine on Amazon and read my earlier review of the deck.
Links and previous related posts:
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2020/07/divination-for-day-tower-from-vertigo.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2020/06/divination-fool-from-haindl-tarot.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2020/05/tarot-for-day-four-of-autumn-coins.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2020/08/tales-from-witch-room-tarot-deck-shelfie.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/01/review-steampunk-tarot-gods-of-machine.html
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