Capital Spirit

Well, since it’s been a couple of days since I wrote anything on here, and since the biggest offseason question at the moment is whether or not Shaone Morrisonn will return, and since I need the practice, I’m going to go ahead and take a look at ShaMo’s future.

Deck: Tarot of the Angels (Scarabeo)
Spread: Celtic Cross
Normal distribution: 3-3-2-2, Majors: 2 or 3
Question: “What does the rest of the summer hold for Shaone Morrisonn?”

Initial impressions: Well, it holds a lot of important news, says the two 10’s, four court cards, and four (!) Majors on the board. The court cards are two Knaves and two Queens, but all in different suits. As for the four Majors, I have two Air, one Earth, and one Fire (no Majors in Water, note). Overall distribution is a quirky 4-2-2-2. And the positions of the various suits tend to run thematically. Interesting, interesting, interesting. Let’s take a look at the individual positions.

Card 1: Basis. Judgement. If you’d asked me to guess what card would have been the Basis in this reading before I dealt it out, I probably wouldn’t have said Judgement if you’d given me fifty different guesses. Now, I know ShaMo’s going to arbitration, so why am I surprised that it’s Judgement? Isn’t Judgement something you’d expect to see in an arbitration type of setting? Not really. Legal proceedings are more often represented by Justice (11 in the Majors) than by Judgement (20). Justice is more the energy of legal proceedings and making decisions; Judgement is more about a final settling of accounts at the end of days. Judgement can also symbolize rebirth, and the beginning of a new, different chapter. Justice also has more of a fork-in-the-road, life-goes-on type of energy behind it; Judgement has more of a sense of finality. The image on the card is of Gabriel sounding his trumpet to call the faithful home: this is not just some one-day-one-trial case of jury duty. This is the big Kahuna. Now, it is face-up, so that makes it very good news indeed: a life well-lived, time well-spent, and now a prize to be awarded. This is not a predictive position: it’s the status of the question as it stands right now. So my sense here is that negotiations between both sides are ongoing, and that the general tone of the negotiations is quite complimentary on both sides. It would seem that the Caps are recognizing all of Morrisonn’s contributions from the past few seasons, and are trying to reward him for his service as best they can. This is a very favorable card to have as the basis in an arbitration case. But the rest isn’t quite so straightforward. Read on…

Card 2: Crossing. Knave of Wands. Remember how I said that some of the suits tend to run thematically? Well, with the Knave of Wands crossing Judgement, the center of the cross is all and entirely Fire…and these two cards are the only Fire cards in the spread. Fire is light; it’s heat; it’s warmth; it’s spiritual; it’s sunny; you get the idea. The cards in the cross–the first six cards dealt–represent the more mundane, real-world, visible-to-all parts of the question. And right smack dab in the middle of the cross is a double dose of Fire-Spirit-Light. It’s like this bright, blazing spiritual energy is just glowing from the center of the question, for all the world to see, if that makes any sense in cold print. Now, the Knave of Wands, to be more specific, can mean a spiritual message of some kind; it can mean the start of a spiritual journey; it can also indicate the presence of a young person with a spiritual view on the question. I’m sensing this may refer to a very young family member of Morrisonn’s, and that is the last I will say on this card: more than this is not for me to put to record.

Card 3: Distant Past. 10 of Swords. There’s an eye-opener. This is one of my least favorite cards in the entire Minor Arcana–it’s a very challenging card, and usually indicates very bad news (in the Quest Tarot deck, in fact, the subtitle of the card is “Ruin.”) What manner of past misfortune might this be referring to? My intuition is telling me that there has been some not inconsiderable pressure on Shaone since his arrival in 2004. He’s the known player we dealt Gonchar for, after all, and that’s no small data point. Yes, we got some other draft picks for Gonchar, but Morrisonn is the player we knew we were getting–so there has to be, at least on SOME level, with SOME persons in or around the club, the expectation that Morrisonn could do at least a competent job filling Gonchar’s skates. If that’s a good read, then whether he has or not is also one other factor in play in the ongoing negotiations.

Card 4: Recent Past. Queen of Pentacles, reversed. I believe this is referring to some sort of financial difficulty bearing on this question in the recent past. I think that by inking Fedorov to a four million dollar deal, the Caps may not have left enough wiggle room under the cap to make proper room for Morrisonn. That’s what this seems to indicate to me on first impression, although that might be too simple a read by half. We’ll see.

Card 5: General Direction: 10 of Chalices, reversed. “And they all lived happily ever…whoops, not quite.” That’s the best way I can think to summarize a reversed 10 of Chalices. It’s like the grand celebration that’s not quite ready to start; it’s the oasis in the desert that’s close, but not quite upon you; it’s the full house you flopped that still might lose to quads. Victory is tantalizingly, achingly, cruelly close…but not quite there yet. That’s the general direction this summer is heading for Morrisonn: agonizingly close to getting everything he wanted this summer, but not quite. Now, interestingly, both the top and bottom card of the cross are 10’s, and both are pointing back toward the two fire cards at the center of the cross. Tens represent renewal, rebirth, new beginnings. So might these two new beginnings–one mental, one emotional–both be subtly pointing to a more spiritual understanding in the negotiations? Might the message here be, In order to think and feel anew, one has to see this question through the view of Spirit? It’s an intriguing possibility.

Card 6: Immediate Future. Knave of Swords. And here’s another odd relationship–two of them, actually. First, we have both Knaves right next to each other, one as Crossing, the other as Immediate Future. Also of interest, the 10 of Swords in the Distant Past seems to look quite paradoxical with a Knave of Swords in the Immediate Future. Regarding the two Knaves, they both reflect the energy and enthusiasm of youth. And although a Crossing card cannot be reversed–you read it face-up no matter which way it points–I find it intriguing that the Knave in the Crossing is pointing towards the Knave in the Immediate Future. Youth will be well-served, and a new chapter will begin. Now, as to the two Swords, the Knave may not be able to handle all ten swords on his ownsome lonesome. But he does stand guard before a fort of some kind, where more–and more able–hands will be able to control those ten swords that are showing up in the Distant Past. So a new journey may make a painful past more bearable, if I’m reading that correctly.

Card 7: Querant. The Star, reversed. There’s that Star again! Reversed in this position, it seems to say that the subject seems to be a little bit less than fully hopeful. And there’s another card yet to reveal which tells me things aren’t quite as plain sailing beneath the surface. Shaone is still worried about a couple of things, which may be one reason he hasn’t signed yet. This isn’t an indication of hopelessness, just a non-total optimism. I’m not sure what the hang-up is: could be length of the contract, dollar amount, or perhaps other personnel decisions made so far this summer. Perhaps Morrisonn wasn’t entirely thrilled at seeing Eminger dealt on draft night, and now he’s worrying a bit that he may not fit the long-term plans of the team. I have no indication which of those is closest. But the general impression of “not entirely hopeful” is coming through loud and clear.

Card 8: Outside Influences. The Fool. The Fool is a very “carpe diem” type of energy. It’s like that Dodge commercial: “Grab Life By the Horns.” It’s about starting out in a blaze of newfound glory. This may indicate the fortunes of the Capitals as a whole: new beginnings on what promise to be a fabulous journey next year. And that would make sense for that type of energy to be in play when this question is asked. Can the Capitals contend, make the playoffs, repeat atop the Southeast, make an extended playoff run, or win the whole enchilada with the blueline corps now in place? That is a question that will hang over the proceedings a bit. A new chapter in the history of Capitals Hockey is going to be written this coming season. Does everyone involved think Shaone Morrisonn is an integral part of that history?

Card 9: Subconscious Influences/Hopes and Fears. The Hierophant, reversed. If this card is correct, then what Morrisonn fears the most about these contract negotiations is a radical change in his life. The Hierophant is about tradition, about sticking with what you know because that’s what you know. Reversed in this position, it may indicate that Shaone is worried that what he’s become accustomed to the past few seasons, may be about to change. Will there be any more changes in the defensive lineup? Will Shaone’s ice time be radically different next season from what it’s been the past few seasons? Will he still be paired up with Mike Green? Will Green’s new contract change his style of play? And so on. What The Hierophant, reversed, indicates in this position, is a resistance to change. Mo’s had a very good couple of seasons with the Capitals, and may be worrying throughout these negotiations that some unpleasant changes may be coming down the pike. Based on the Outcome card, though, I think that fear may be ill-founded.

Card 10: Outcome. Queen of Chalices. Another odd match-up: both of the more “predictive” spots on the spread are Chalices–they’re the only two Water cards on the spread, as well. This seems to indicate an emotional investment in the way the summer turns out. Interestingly enough, everything else is intellect, and spirit, and physical energy: it’s only when the future comes up that the emotional overdrive kicks in. With a Queen of Chalices as an outcome, that would indicate an emotionally stable outcome–not really one that’s either too triumphant or too downtrodden. So it seems that all sides will eventually get very close to what they want at the end of the negotiations. I can’t tell if this will or will not be heard at a hearing, but it seems that the eventual outcome will be one that’s generally acceptable to both sides. This is a pleasant enough card to draw as an Outcome, which makes me believe that Morrisonn will eventually re-sign with the Capitals, at a price both sides are OK with.

Distribution of Suits: Air 4, Earth 2, Fire 2, Water 2. What that tells me is that there’s a lot of mental energy being expended here. Shaone may be overthinking this a little. He’s giving this all due thought, and he may be overanalyzing it a little bit, but at the very least, all the other suits are in balance and about where they should be.

Distribution of Majors (notable): 4 Major Arcana cards here, and that is significant. This particular summer is going to be one of the most important of Shaone’s career, if these four Majors are a good indication. Interestingly, there are four Majors, four court cards, and four Air cards on this spread. That’s a lot of fours. So I think Morrisonn may end up signing a four-year contract before the summer is out.

And as ever, I take my crow medium well.

CAPITAL SPIRIT
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

Completely unrelated, but too well-done to not pass along.

Was mucking about on YouTube, and found a decently-done fan video of “Endless Skies” by VNV Nation. It’s a pretty song, and the end result of the video is worth the slightly graphic introduction. Simply produced, it seems, but that doesn’t make it less touching.

Enjoy!–CS

Let me commence with a conclusion. I have concluded that there are three kinds of difficult people in this world: those who are hard to please; those who are impossible to please; and fans of the Washington Capitals.

My tarot cards are safely put away, and I’m not about to deal this question out and read it. But I suspect that if I did ask the question, “How are things going with the fan base of the Washington Capitals?”, that I would see four, five, maybe even six Water cards on a Celtic Cross layout, with not a single Air card to be found. Actually? Check that. Let me get those cards out and test this little hypothesis.

Deck: Tarot of the Angels (Scarabeo)
Spread: Celtic Cross
Normal distribution: 3-3-2-2, Majors: 2 or 3
Question: “What’s going on right now among the Washington Capitals fan base?”

First impression: Wow, this is telling me more than I thought it would, even on a casual inspection. Best way I’m going to be able to distill all this is to go through this one card at a time and tie it all together as I go. Four Major Arcana cards on the layout, and that is unusual. That tells me that what’s happening among the fans right now, as I type this, is very significant. Some important lessons to be learned right now, Caps fans, if this reading is any indication. Interesting item number one: there is one 3 on the layout, and one court card. The other four minors are, in poker terms, nines over eights, in suit. As for the Majors, the lowest number among them is 16 (out of 21). Put it this way: if these cards were a college schedule, it would be the schedule of a graduate student. I can’t stress it enough: if I’m reading this correctly, what’s going on right now among the fans in Caps Nation is, big, big, BIG.

Card 1: Basis. The Sun, reversed. My goodness, start by saying the obvious, why don’t you. The Sun, when reversed, indicates that things are generally sour. Even though the sun is shining just as brightly when the card is reversed, everything is totally out of whack. It’s like, even though the sun is shining, all the light and success that this card usually heralds when face-up are either being ignored, or just being flat-out rejected outright. If I were to apply this card to the fan base right now, the message would seem to be, “Sun? What sun? We ENJOY our rain clouds, dagnabbit.”

Card 2: Crossing. 3 of Wands. The general mood of the 3 of Wands is traditionally one of virtue, of doing the right thing because that’s the way it should be done. Reading the card itself tells a subtler story. On this card, a man is standing on a rock outcropping, surveying the land before him, holding one of the three wands at his side. And this is not a magician’s wand, it’s more like a staff: it’s almost twice as tall as the man holding it. A good angel is offering another wand (#2) to him, but he doesn’t notice: his eyes are looking skyward. Meanwhile, a dark angel pokes him in the back with Wand #3. In the distance, storm clouds are gathering, and it seems that this is what the man is focusing on. Recall that the Crossing card in a Celtic Cross spread usually indicates either the road you’re on, or an obstacle in your way, and I tend to read it both ways. I take this as meaning that we’re focusing too much on the storm in the distance, and not paying any attention to the spiritual energy, positive and negative, that is at work around us right now. We’re looking at everything that can possibly go wrong down the road, and ignoring the here and now. We didn’t land our first choice between the pipes, so never mind that we just locked up Mike Green for four years on the very same day. We’re focusing on the dark clouds on the horizon, and never mind the forces of Light that are offering their help right under our noses. No, we’ll just watch the storm, and keep letting ourselves get poked in the back. Taken together, these cards are telling me that the good news is being ignored: Mike Green got signed for four years and everyone whined that he got signed for too much. Meanwhile, we got a sweet deal on the best goaltender we could get under the circumstances, and people were calling for George McPhee’s head the very same day. Why? I think the next card may help answer that.

Card 3: Distant Past. The Tower. No way to sugar-coat this card, especially when it’s face-up. Everything breaks, plans don’t work out, the center doesn’t hold, things fall apart…Burma Shave. Now, this card is, again, in the Distant Past position, but it still affects the question as it stands right now. The team’s distant past is–let’s be honest, Caps Nation–a history of perpetual also-ran-ness. We’ve been to the Stanley Cup Finals exactly once, and we didn’t win a single game when we were there. Our inaugural season in ‘74-’75 was, let’s admit, one of the worst hockey teams ever assembled. All-time, we are 72-89 in the playoffs. We haven’t exactly been a hockey dynasty in the three and a half decades we’ve played in the NHL. And all that failure–all that Tower-type energy–is still affecting the mood of the fans, right now, this minute. Some Caps fans seem to be so conditioned to failure that they can’t seem to believe things will ever go well for the team. And from there, it’s not very far to reflexively believing that every front office move is a mistake; that none of our players can ever be any good; even, it seems, that management actually WANTS the team to fail. But the thing is, this is the DISTANT past. It’s OVER. It’s DONE. FINISHED. This team is not the woeful bunch that raised a garbage can in celebration. We have a once-in-a-generation player committed to this team for over a decade. We have a young team that has been battle-tested in the playoffs this season past, and players who now understand what it takes to win in the second season. We also have one very gifted coach who knows how to get the best from his players. The Capitals are a team that is undeniably on the rise. Yet, with The Tower showing up in the distant past, I get the sense that there are still some fans in Caps Nation who can’t seem to accept the idea that this team will succeed, and soon. We Caps fans have gotten too used to failure. Strange as this sounds, we need to allow ourselves to accept that the Capitals can and will succeed.

Card 4: Recent Past. 8 of Chalices. The scene on this card is of an old man, looking at the night sky with a telescope. Judging by the look on his face, he sees something in the night sky that concerns him. However, there is a reassuring hand on his shoulder. The hand is evidently that of an angel, even though the hand and forearm are the only parts of the angel that are actually depicted (it’s reaching in from outside the frame.) There has been a lot of unease among Capitals fans–myself included–over the last few days and weeks. I daresay that most of us have been searching and scouring everywhere we could think to look, desperate to know if this player or that were anywhere close to signing. I’m not sure if the man on this card feels that spiritual reassurance, but I’d be willing to bet that most Caps fans haven’t been feeling it the past few weeks. Even though this is an 8–a generally good number–there’s still a sense of unease around it. It’s a very dark night that this man is looking up at, after all. Yet, this is in the past, and receding, so I would go so far as to submit that the dark night may soon give way to a new dawn for the Capitals. Call it a hunch.

Card 5: General Direction. 9 of Chalices. I can think of many worse cards to draw in a predictive position. The 9 of Chalices represents a very emotional success: think tears of joy as you throw up your arms and yell, “Yes! We did it!” It’s not the 10 of Chalices–Tarot’s way of saying “And they all lived happily ever after”–but it’s pretty darn close. It’s kind of like wishing upon a star, but knowing that wish really will come true. So while I think we are heading toward better times ahead–yes, I’m going there, even better than a Division Championship–there’s still one cautionary note I’m getting from this. And that is, that while wishes can indeed come true, be careful what you wish for. Given some of the other cards on this layout, I think some Caps fans may, subconsciously, be wishing for the team to fail. It bears repeating: the Caps are a team on the rise. We fans can no longer be comfortable with the team losing as it has in the past. We seem to have resigned ourselves to being a perpetual also-ran in the NHL. We need to lose that attitude now, because bad wishes can come true, too.

Card 6: Immediate Future. The Star. This card seems to come up a LOT when I do readings for the Caps, and regular readers of this blog no doubt know by now that it represents hope. If this is a true indication, it means we will have reason to hope, and sooner rather than later. I believe we may see another RFA signing or two before the Fan Fest next Saturday, or perhaps good medical news for the Caps, although that is admittedly conjecture. So there’s a little bit of back-to-back good news in these last two cards. If that hope is indeed coming down the pike, it may very well be enough to make us concentrate less on the mistakes, perceived or actual, of the past two days.

Card 7: Querant. 9 of Pentacles. The scene on this card is one of an angel that is resting from its work. It seems to have finished building something, to judge by the tools around it, and is now resting–along with a very endearing dog–while nine coins shine in the sky overhead. The general energy of this card is of material gain, and of being rewarded for a good day’s work. And we Caps fans have been rewarded, richly, this past season. We put up an emotional, crazy, triumphant run from the outhouse of the NHL to the penthouse of the Southeast. We made it to overtime in Game 7 in the first round of the playoffs–no small feat for a team full of players who were making their Stanley Cup Playoff debuts. We’ve got a young group of players who are ready to show that last season’s run was no fluke. We’ve got a coach who has a Jack Adams to justify. And we’ve got a once-in-a-generation hockey superstar signed long-term. And that, folks, brings me back to the Basis card, The Sun, reversed. After all the Caps did last year, and all the triumph and tragedy we witnessed, we still get snippy when things don’t go perfectly. We don’t have that luxury now, and I don’t think we ever should have claimed it. We are in a position of abundance (9 of Pentacles), but our attitude is still one of ingratitude (The Sun reversed). We fans have to learn to accept the blessings we have been given.

Card 8: Outside Influences. 8 of Pentacles. Unlike the 8 of Chalices in the recent past, the 8 of Pentacles is an 8 that’s almost straight-up good news. It represents knowledge, mastery of the physical world, being skilled at your craft, and so on. So, how does that relate to the fan base of the Caps? I’m going to read this–and I could be off here, but I’m going on intuition–as a reflection of out-of-town opinions. Think TSN, The Hockey News, out-of-town media, the news pages on NHL.com, and so on. The Hockey News, to pick one site, seems to think Jose Theodore was the best goalie on the market not named Huet. If that’s the general consensus across the board, perhaps Caps fans will come to accept that if Huet was going to leave regardless, that Jose Theodore really was the best the Caps could have done. Really. (Unless someone really wants to argue that Ty Conklin would have been a better pick-up?) I suspect that after the dust settles a bit, Caps fans will realize that signing Theodore really wasn’t as boneheaded as some were so quick to say.

Card 9: Subconscious Influences/Hopes and Fears. The World, Reversed. Remember how I said that some fans seem to want the Caps to fail? Well, here you go. Face-up, The World represents ultimate victory. Reversed, it signifies a Pyrrhic victory, or perhaps a victory squandered. Or, perhaps–and I’m looking at the gestalt of the spread to get this–it could signify a victory that isn’t embraced. Or, perhaps the meaning is more literal: what Caps fans fear the most right now, is their world being turned upside-down. Kolzig is now in Tampa Bay. Huet is now in Chicago. The big signings on day two of free agency were…Graham Mink and Tyler Sloan? Huh? I think the fans are worried that the magical run from last year won’t happen again for this reason or that. They look at the team’s history (Distant Past: Tower), they fret about possible troubles to come (Crossing: 3 of Wands), and they end up feeling like sourpusses (Basis: The Sun, reversed). It’s a message that’s being repeated in this spread by four different cards (The Sun reversed, 3 of Wands, The Tower, The World reversed): Caps fans, QUIT FEARING FOR THE WORST, already. Hope (The Star), richness (9 of Pentacles), knowledge (8 of Pentacles), and fortune (9 of Chalices) are all around this team, if we’ll simply open our hearts and accept them with gratitude. We must stop being fans living in a perpetual subconscious fear of the worst. Failure may have been our lot in the past, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. Go ahead and Believe: it won’t hurt you.

Card 10: Outcome. Knave of Wands. This would seem to indicate that one person will drastically affect the overall mood of the Caps fan base. Either this person is very young, or they may be bringing a message of some kind to the fans. (Don’t look at me–I’m more the Knight of Chalices type.) This might also indicate the beginning of some kind of spiritual journey for the fans. I know that looks odd, but consider the 9 of Chalices back in the General Direction position. If we, the fans, really are heading in a fortunate direction, we may be fortunate enough to see the Caps come roaring out of the gate in October. Ours may, perhaps, be a season of destiny. And if so, I thoroughly expect that by the time the season is halfway over, Verizon Center will be rocking out with Capital Spirit.

Suits of the Major Arcana Cards: The Sun, Fire; The Tower, Fire; The Star, Air; The World, Earth.
Distribution: Earth 3, Air 1, Fire 4, Water 2. Surprisingly, emotional Water and physical Earth are where they should be. The imbalance is 4 Fire cards to 1 Air card. That tells me the fans aren’t doing a lot of logical thinking right about now. Fire represents spiritual energy, but it also represents light, and more importantly, heat. So my take on the distribution is that we Caps fans need to turn down the heat a little bit, and do a little bit more thinking before we hit “Submit Reply.” Let’s not get so carried away by our passions that we end up typing before we think, and end up saying things we may regret once the new season begins.

CAPITAL SPIRIT
GRATITUDE, NOT FEAR