Preparing for the New Year: Strength

 

 Strength

from Mystic Faerie Tarot

by Barbara Moore with art by Linda Ravenscroft

For today and the next several days leading up to the New Year, I want to offer you this card from Barbara Moore and Linda Ravenscroft's charming Mystic Faerie Tarot. This is not a Card of the Day, but a guide to steadily walk you through the process of preparation for 2022.

Considering all that the 2020s have already put us through--and, child, you know they ain't finished yet--the very idea of Strength, as in Lord, give me..., should not be a surprise.

Strength? Gather yours.

We are not only not out of the woods, we've got a lot of people out there still trying their damnedest to send us off in the wrong direction, deeper into danger.

Strength is one of my favorite Major Arcana cards. For those of you new to these parts, Major Arcana (major secrets) means the big overarching archetypes that represent the driving forces and energies and themes in our lives and issues. Strength generally shows up in Tarot as a figure (usually gendered as female but possibly an angelic or, in Ravencroft's vision, a faerie being) depicted with a big lion or other jungle cat (or, in this case, a dragon). We're meant to see the "lady" as a calm, wise tamer of the beast--heavenly mind over earthly matter. The beast is all body and physical force; she is spirit and intellect. In some images, she grabs and wrests control of the lion's jaws; in others, as here with Ravencroft's dragon, she sits peaceably with her formidable partner, an interpretation I much prefer, as you might expect!

There is no fight, no wrestling here. Ravencroft's image can call us to make peace with the totality of who we are, to find strength there in friendship and collaboration within, and to face the external world from that place of self-knowledge, self-acceptance, and power.

So, begin to prepare yourself this way: 

Whatever you encounter in 2022, you will show up as your full self with all your forces--spirit, mind, body, emotions--in loving alignment and on point. You will nourish and nurture you full self. You will express your full self.

Let this be your plan, and start to build towards it now. Dream on it. Journal on it. Sing it. Dance it.

It might turn out that I will have a few more things to share with you before January 1 but, for now, this is your practice for the week. Enjoy!

CARD OF WEEKEND: December 25-26, 2021

 

Knight of Swords

from Animals Divine Tarot

by Lisa Hunt

Below, more samples from this deck

 

 

 

December 25-26, 2021: Merry Christmas to all celebrating! Our Card of the Day is not taking the holiday off. Here we go!

Like Lisa Hunt's Knight of Swords in Animals Divine Tarot, you are well-acquainted with the swift spirits of air and mind, and they are well-acquainted with you. Your survival and advancement have depended upon being quick-witted, even wily, and adaptable to any environment. Like the deity out of Siberian myth, Kutkinnaku--the inspiration for Hunt's card--you speak with the boldness of a raven.

Today's a good day for any activity involving words (written, spoken, even sung), any important activity of the mind, and impactful communication. Decisions have the crystalline, analytical clarity of the Knight behind them. Even arguments, if they are necessary and/or unavoidable, could lead to significant and satisfying results.

So, speak your mind!

****** 

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

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Taking time...and Tarot!

 

 Queen of Staffs (Queen of Wands)

from Alchemical Tarot

by Robert M. Place

 

A long while back--1994 and, apparently, updated in 2000--I wrote a piece about timing of events and processes in Tarot reading, and I've just rediscovered it. I think it holds up pretty damn well.

So, I thought I'd edit it slightly, add a few new items, and share it with you here. Use the Contact Eva form to let me know what you think and what your own experiences with timing in Tarot have been.

******

The Tarot and Time--Some Suggestions
by Eva Yaa Asantewaa

Using Time/Energy Factors in Tarot:

If you are looking for indicators of time period, timing of action, or pacing of energy in a Tarot spread, here are my suggestion for how the cards may give you helpful clues. Of course, remember to interpret everything creatively and intuitively within the context of the specific question and reading.

Swords (air) can mean fast, airborne energy; something happening very quickly; can also be any time period governed by the air signs of the zodiac (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius).

Wands (fire) can mean fast, fire-borne energy; something happening soon. Relationship to the Sun card means happening within a day or days. The number of wands could indicate number of days. Can also be any time period governed by the fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius).

Cups (water) can mean slow, gradual, deep movement. Relationship to The Moon card means happening within a month or months. Takes a little time to develop. The number of cups could indicate number of months. Can also be any time period governed by the water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces).

Pentacles (earth) can mean extremely slow; year or years. The number of pentacles could indicate number of years. Can also be any time period governed by the earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn).

Aces--the beginning of something, new cycle

Twos, Threes, Fours--early on in a process

Fives--mid-point in a process but also possibly a significant turning point

Sixes, Sevens, Eights--far along in a process; all significant stages along the way

Nines or Tens--a process coming to fruition, prelude to a new cycle

Kings--the past; long development of experience; maturing

Queens--the status quo present

Pages and Knights--the new, the active present, what's potential

The Fool--impulsive; things happening very quickly; unplanned and potentially disruptive.

Magician--things may happen quickly but only after skillful arrangement, effort, willpower.

High Priestess--slow energy; things happen only after something is tested, revealed or discovered; may take time and effort.

The Empress--gradual, steady, natural; things may take time to develop and possibly only in relation to the prior or simultaneous development of associated things.

The Emperor--things may take a long time to manifest but, when tangible, will move rapidly.

Hierophant--things happen easily only after appropriate connections and understandings are made, then movement flows steadily.

The Lovers--things happen only after a decision has been reached or a change in thinking has occurred, then movement is quick.

The Chariot--things may happen, facilitated by internal and/or external momentum. Some care should be taken in one's movement.

Strength--things happen only after something is brought into sharp focus. Proceed in a careful, moderate way with guidance.

The Hermit--things happen in a fairly slow, careful manner or after a period of careful thought, planning, meditation, and/or solitude. The pace of events is determined by one's inner processes and needs, not by pressures of the outside world.

The Wheel of Fortune--things happen in cycles; things happen again; necessity to know exactly where you are in a certain external or internal cycle and to act or make your decisions from that awareness.

Justice--things happen only when there is balance or when the right decision has been reached, then they can proceed swiftly.

The Hanged Man--very slow, gradual, steady development; natural time; nothing forced. It is advised to stop action and wait. This card can also indicate a period of looking into the past, regressing or having a sense of being regressed, or feeling stuck. Can be a necessary and helpful period of suspension.

Death--dramatic change; beginning of a new cycle.

Temperance--gradual, moderate development; things happen only as a result of healing or balancing process.

The Devil--regression; sense that time has stopped or moved backwards; inertia; things happen only when lessons have been learned and you've moved on from the past--or--challenging things happen again and again until awareness changes them.

The Tower--rapid, dramatic change; break with the past; usually unplanned, unexpected.

The Star--things can happen after a period of cleansing or after something has been communicated to others or others have been activated; then they happen with ease; can be unusual, unexpected.

The Moon--gradual, natural change; observe and follow the lunar cycle.

The Sun--daily occurrences; natural cycles of highs and lows in life.

Judgement--things happen only after different things are each acknowledged and drawn together; things happen only after awareness is heightened.

The World--holistic sense of time--timelessness; past, present, and future as one an all equally valuable and accessible.

©1994, 2000, 2021 Eva Yaa Asantewaa

Shopping for your deck!

 

 

The Fool

from Etruscan Tarot

by Riccardo Minetti with art by Silvana Alasia

It's certainly way too late to ship out a Christmas present, but you can still pick out one for yourself! But where can you find just the right Tarot deck, Tarot guide book, or Tarot bag to please you? 

Pinterest is great for viewing a wide range of Tarot designs and beginning to get a sense of what styles of imagery might work well for your practice.

Check out Etsy, too, for more ideas and vendors.

You'll find a great archive of deck reviews (with card images) on the great Aeclectic Tarot site-- including several by yours truly from as much as 15 years ago!

Here's one of mine on the very unusual 2013 Oracle deck--for one thing, I said it was "not for people who prefer their decks gentle and sweet"--and another on Dorothy Krause's Millennium Tarot (aka Dorothy Krause's Tarot).

Two good New York City bookstores devoted to spiritual/metaphysical books and supplies, like Tarot, are:

Quest Bookshop

240 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022 (212-758-5521)

Aum Shanti Bookshop

230 E 14th St, New York, NY 10003 (212-260-2866)

Oddly enough, I've never visited the little Brooklyn witch shop Catland, but I'm guessing it's cool!

Catland

987 Flushing Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11206 (718- 418-9393)
info@catlandbooks.com

******

Do you have a favorite shop in your area or another resource to add to this list? Use my Contact Eva form on the right side of your screen to drop me a note, and I'll be happy to share it with hummingwitch readers!

Happy holidays!

CARD OF THE DAY: December 24, 2021

Princess of Wands (Page of Wands)

from The Light and Shadow Tarot

by Brian Williams and Michael Goepferd

Below: more samples from this deck

December 24, 2021: The Light and Shadow Tarot (not to be confused with John Matthews' The Tarot of Light and Shadow) has amazing linoleum block prints. I was inspired to give you several card samples. This is an extraordinary work of art by Michael Goepferd (with a book by Brian Williams and Goepferd).

Today brings us the Princess of Wands with a tiger that claims most of the oversized card space and brings an irrepressible burst of fiery energy into your day.

I think you can tell from the samples I've offered that Goepferd's art emphasizes the robust inner energy to be activated when you feel whole, complete, integrated--no longer separated into parts either sanctioned and prioritized or repressed.

What do you will to bring forward today? How will you honor, coordinate, and utilize all parts of your most vital self?

Let's go!

******

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

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CARD OF THE DAY: December 23, 2021

  

The Magician

The Wild Unknown Tarot

by Kim Krans

 

December 23, 2021: The sure thing about The Magician is that everything needed for magic is at hand. Or, in this case, for the handsome leopard mage of Kim Krans' Wild Unknown Tarot, at paw.

All the magical elements and their representative implements are present--the Sword for Air; the Pentacle for Earth; the Wand for Fire; and the Cup for Water. The lemniscate (figure-eight symbol) on the breast of the leopard pulls everything together in an eternal loop of energy. And that paw rests upon the pentacle of worldly manifestation as if to say, "I've got this!"

Well, you do. And to prove it, look to your existing tools and skills. Don't discount yourself or those things you clearly have mastered, and don't leave anything out that might be put to good use in your current situation or opportunity. Find what you need. It's all there for you.

Feeling secure and confident, the proud leopard twists around to look to the right edge of the card, gazing into a future that is being shaped, by will and craft, even as we speak.

******

Catch up with updated CARD OF THE DAY posts here: https://hummingwitch.blogspot.com/2021/11/a-good-weekend-to-catch-up-with-our.html

"Contact Eva" form to the right! 👉 👉 👉 

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Have you missed any Cards of the Day?

 

Six of Pentacles and Son of Pentacles

from The Wild Unknown Tarot

by Kim Krans

 

Be sure to check this updated list of Cards of the Day/Weekend in case you've missed any of the many installments in this series!

And remember, if there's a card you'd like to hear about--and from--I'm open to your suggestions. Use the Contact Eva form to the right of this post--or, if we're social media buddies, go ahead and drop me a message on Facebook or Twitter.

I love doing this and sharing with you, and I'll even be happy to do some research on a card from a specific deck that I don't own if the deck or card intrigues you.

Do take advantage of this offer!

CARDS OF THE DAY: December 22, 2021

 

 The Dove and Hathor

from The Anubis Oracle

by Nicki Scully and Linda Star Wolf with art by Kris Waldherr

 

December 22, 2021: The gentle innocence of The Dove in flight connects with the motherly benevolence of Egyptian goddess Hathor in this pair of cards for today from the 35-card Anubis Oracle by the team of Nicki Scully, Linda Star Wolf, and Kris Waldherr. What is young (not necessarily in years) or new or untried and in need of care and protection?

In reading cards, I sometimes find myself drawn to a specific element in the imagery above all others. In this case, Hathor's impressive, dual-toned, sun/moon goblet stands out for me. Gold above, silver below...or...how about flipping it so it's silver above, gold below? And look how Hathor makes it simply float around in the charged air!

In this oracular encounter, Hathor offers The Dove magical alternatives, I believe, and says, "There is no way you can choose wrong."

These things are different but equally acceptable, and they can change, if need be.

In a conventional Tarot deck, Cups cards reversed can often signal, in my view, a refusal: I do not want what is offered. Or, I have no capacity for more. Or, I am finished and want no more. I am not open to receiving.

But here in the Anubis Oracle, Hathor's goblet is always upright, no matter which way you turn the card. Take another look at it, and take that message in.

If we were sitting together, or even doing a Zoom session, I'd probably turn the card reversed and upright and reversed and upright until you got the message you need or got dizzy, whichever came first.

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"Letter" card from Mystical Lenormand

from Mystical Lenormand

by Regula Elizabeth Fiechter with art by Urban Trösch

 

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CARD OF THE DAY: December 21, 2021 (Solstice)

 The Sun

from Neo Tarot

by Jerico Mandybur with art by Daiana Ruiz

 

December 21, 2021: As the world struggles with the rise of another COVID-19 variant--Omicron--I send my best wishes to you for a healthy and lovely Solstice, and I hope you are doing everything in your power to keep yourself and your loved ones safe now and in the New Year.

Please forgive my absence yesterday, which went without a Card of the Day. I know some of you have been inspired by my daily draws and readings to consult your own decks--or buy your first one--and I hope you went ahead and found a card that spoke good and useful things to you.

Today's card is not a random draw but a deliberate pick--The Sun, for Solstice, naturally--from Jerico Mandybur's Neo Tarot deck.

I felt joy at rising early to find the moon visible from my bedroom window and, at the other end of the apartment, a bright planet--Venus, I assume--visible from my kitchen window. Our New York City skies have not always been clear enough to reveal these dear beings. They make me happy, and I always greet them with gratitude.

Daiana Ruiz's art for the Neo Sun expresses vitality. It's so easy to get frightened and discouraged by what is happening, but this image affirms and celebrates life and bids us stay in the fight against selfishness, despair, and cynicism. It asks us to find and securely align with a source of revitalizing energy and lock into that.

I also love the star at the Third Eye of Ruiz's sun. That's a reminder to activate higher vision, gain a more powerful knowledge of matters. Find your sun and be a sun.

CARD OF THE WEEKEND: December 18-19, 2021

 

Gaia Grid

from Sacred Geometry Cards for the Visionary Path

by Francene Hart

 

December 18-19, 2021: Francene Hart's Sacred Geometry Cards for the Visionary Path is a truly, truly, truly gorgeous oracle (non-Tarot) deck that might not suit everyone's taste. I say that only because Hart does indulge in the New Age tendency to collect and mix diverse cultural imagery and traditions. But let me say it once again and without hesitation: gorgeous.

Geometric patterns that can be used for calling in and projecting energy. Trippy images from the natural world and cosmos. Dolphin Merkaba, anyone? This 64-card deck is all about activating the transformative imagination, and I am here for it.

Today's card--Gaia Grid--celebrates intersectionality, and I want you to think of the way the Earth's ley lines connect sites of power. We need to collaborate with and within this grid right now. 

And what about the invisible grid of ley lines we hold within ourselves, each of us? How can you seek out and activate that power?

CARDS OF THE DAY: December 15-17, 2021

December 15-17, 2021: Hey, did you try to guess yesterday's mystery card? 

She was Queen of Pentacles from Golden Botticelli Tarot!

Here she is along with a few bonus cards to take you through the next few days.

From top:

Queen of Pentacles, Ace of Swords, and 3 of Pentacles

from Golden Botticelli Tarot

by A. A. Atanassov with art by Pietro Alligo

 

You can look at these cards separately--one for yesterday, one for today, one for tomorrow, three distinct voices--or you can read them together, harmonizing in a three-card spread.

Yesterday's mystery card, Mother Queen of Pentacles, brings extensive, grounding knowledge and insight and provides a sense of reliability, safety, and confidence. Today's Ace of Swords can indicate a fresh idea or a new channel of communication. And one of this deck's charmers, Three of Pentacles, helps you move along at a good pace and rhythm as if dancing to an angelic melody. Both secure and inspired, your expression is well-aligned with the highest plans and bound to be exactly what is needed.

Enjoy these cards, and these next few days, and I will check in again on the weekend!

CARD OF THE DAY: December 15, 2021

 

Mystery card!

 

December 15, 2021:

Can you tell--those of you who are Tarot mavens and know your deck backs--which deck this is?

Care to make a guess at which card?

Let's have some fun with this CARD OF THE DAY! No hints but, as always, I wish you a wonderful day!

CARD OF THE DAY: December 14, 2021

 

 The Sun

from The Nigel Jackson Tarot

by Nigel Jackson

 

December 14, 2021: From deep down in one of my Tarot/oracle deck baskets comes the eponymous Nigel Jackson Tarot, which you'll especially enjoy if Euro-based tales of royal realms and knightly chivalry appeal to you. But if that's not your cultural jam, you might still find Jackson's art quite fetching, as I do.

Some more samples:

 

Today's card, The Sun, caught my eye this morning as I leafed through this deck. Then, after I shuffled the deck, the sunny one elbowed its way forward again, sure as Tarot. The Sun wants to be right here, right now.

Be glad. In The Sun, you have an ally in good fortune. Something major is in the works, some reward, some lovely turn of events. There will be cause to give thanks and celebrate. The Sun shines on you today. Embrace your joy!

CARD OF THE DAY: December 13, 2021

 

La Torre (The Tower)

from Cani Tarot

by Osvaldo Menegazzi

 

December 13, 2021: La Torre (The Tower): a little something for the doglovers from Osvaldo Menegazzi's Cani Tarot!

Cani (Italian for dogs) is a 22-card deck (Major Arcana only) featuring a variety of breeds for its central figures. Finely rendered in black print on heavy, un-laminated, cream-colored card stock, it was a precious collector's item. I have never used Cani Tarot for readings. But since I have featured cats (and other animals) in previous Cards of the Day, it's time to give these dogs their turn on the stage.

So, here is the oh-so-startling La Torre! What's it going to be? Breakdown? Breakthrough? Or some combination of the two?

More importantly, someone please rescue that poor beagle!

It's time to get Doggie outta there, whatever it takes. What it takes might be quite drastic. Nevertheless, survival will require fast action.

For compare-and-contrast, here's the Universal Waite's Card XVI with its well-known Pamela Colman Smith image:

 

 

Unlike this classic Tower card--done deal, babe; this is out of your hands--La Torre, as I see it, issues a fair warning and introduces the hint of time and the possibility of rescue, snatching something valuable from impending disaster. A reversed Pamela Colman Smith Tower would do the same, now that I think of it.

La Torre gives you some time to save the pooch, though not a lot of time, and it's going to require quick thinking and, possibly, some heroics on your part. I so hope you are a fan of action movies!

So now, who or what is it you need to grab and rescue?

CARD OF THE WEEKEND: December 11-12, 2021

 

(top) Five of Chalices (Five of Cups)

from Afro-Brazilian Tarot

by Alice Santana with art by Giuseppe Palumbo

(bottom) Five of Cups

from Universal Waite Tarot, art by Pamela Colman Smith,

re-colored by Mary Hanson-Roberts

 

December 11-12, 2021: The cartoonish aesthetics of Giuseppe Palumbo's images for Afro-Brazilian Tarot might not be my favorite approach to Tarot art, but I appreciated the humor in his Five of Chalices (Cups). Here, an orange tabby takes a stroll across a table set with five tall white vessels, knocking one aside. Catlovers, for sure, look at this card and think, "Of course!"

So, in this moment, the traditional mournful sadness and disappointment associated with the Five of Cups (as imaged by Pamela Colman Smith for the classic Rider-Waite deck) morphs into something more like a minor annoyance mixed with a comical sense of the inevitability of the situation:

Look, it's an unguarded table topped with fine porcelain vessels arranged just so. It's a cat. Exactly what did you think might happen?

Cue the sudden shout of alarm soon followed by--I hope--helpless laughter!

So, here we see how an artist's personal conception of an archetypal Tarot image can open up new, potentially useful, transformative ways to perceive and interpret that image. It might not always be the apt interpretation, but look for signs that it might be, and remember that each Tarot archetype can contain a spectrum of many potentially applicable identities.

Working specifically with Afro-Brazilian Tarot's Five of Chalices today, anticipate at least one minor, petty nuisance or disappointment, possibly something that, on a subtle level, you might have expected--that is, if you had paid attention to the inherent nature of who or what you were dealing with. Whether you could have prevented this issue is almost not the point now. Instead, look at how you can handle it this time--and, if necessary, next time.

Understand--and, as some like to say, overstand--the game and its players. Get some perspective so you are no longer controlled by circumstances. Bring a sense of humor to the situation, too. All of this will give you an advantage you might not be aware of at first in the heat of the moment.

The chalice was toppled but not shattered. You can rework things, set them right. And, next time, you'll have a better idea of how to thwart that rascal cat!

WEEKEND BONUS: Revisiting my review of Rana George's "The Essential Lenormand"

 

 

 From top: Moon, Lady, and Rider

from Mystical Lenormand

by Regula Elizabeth Fiechter with art by Urban Trösch

 

Looking back!

Scrolling through some of my older hummingwitch posts, I found this 2014 review of Rana George's book, The Essential Lenormand: Your Guide to Precise & Practical Fortunetelling. Lenormand is not Tarot and is used by most of its readers very differently. I thought it might be fun to share this review with new readers of this blog, and I hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as I did.

CARD OF THE DAY: December 10, 2021

 

The Lovers

(top) from Lo Scarabeo's Antiche Minchiate Etruria

(bottom) from Universal Waite Tarot, art by Pamela Colman Smith, 

re-colored by Mary Hanson-Roberts

December 10, 2021: Ever have a classic Tarot archetype you've never really connected with? The Lovers is that card for me.

I could never warm up to its well-known Pamela Colman Smith image of an angel looming over bare-assed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Eve--Mother of Life and symbol of the lure of earthly things--stands by her fruitful, snake-coiled tree, the snake poised to hiss devilish temptation into her ear. Socially distanced at the other end of the image, Adam stands by a fire-blackened tree that bears only flaming branches.

The angel-- arms stretched wide, eyes closed in serene patience--appears to be waiting for the pending decision or choice that this card is supposed to predict or advise. Quite a drama.

Personally, I find The Lovers card in Lo Scarbeo's Antiche Minchiate Etruria to be a lot more fun. (It's the fifth--not sixth--Major Arcana card in this deck, which has many other anomalies.) Take a look at this image and where Cupid's bow is aimed! Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, indeed! At least, that's how I see it.

Talk about a card that screams "unintended consequences" and getting way more than you bargained for, and not in a good way.

What does this have to do with love/lovers/loving? Possibly nothing...unless, of course, it does. So, watch your situation--romantic or otherwise.

Are you sure you've set up the necessary conditions for a right, satisfying, and durable outcome? Maybe there's something that needs deeper examination or, even, overturn.

So, yes, you do have some super-smart decisions and/or choices to make. This is not the time to get lazy or scared and overlook or avoid them.

CARD OF THE DAY: December 9, 2021

 

 8 of Pentacles

from Neo Tarot

by Jerico Mandybur with art by Daiana Ruiz

 

December 9, 2021: The rather dancerly painter central to Neo Tarot's Eight of Pentacles card draws upon a secure foundation of four pentacles (element of earth) below and the secure shelter of four pentacles above ("roof over my head"). You find yourself in the right space--your right place--protected and adequately supported as you attend to your work or craft.

You might have created (or should create) an environment in which you may fully express yourself and bring out creativity or skills of any kind. And this is definitely a time for demonstrating skills and setting upon the process of making. No matter where you are in this process, don't miss this opportunity to focus and make tangible progress. If, so far, important ideas and plans have been all up in your head, it's time to implement them.

Place is important. This might mean dedicating space in your living environment and making it clean, organized, well-supplied and, in every do-able way, optimal for your work. Or, by all means, accept a friend or colleague's offer to lend you space to embark on or finish up a project. Or, yes, apply for or accept that residency. It could make all the difference.