My birthday was Saturday, and I got an email from a friend:

"I asked what kind of year you'll have and drew a Tarot card for you from the Revelations deck. It was the Queen of Pentacles. From the book:"

She is a warm-hearted woman surrounded by luxury and wealth. She gives from her wholesome heart for the pleasures of the body.

The Queen of Pentacles represents goodheartedness, a love for luxury, a great cook, a patron of fine clothes, and a frequenter of elegant places. She is also a friend who can be practical in times of need and supportive when the chips are down. As a lover, she is deeply sensual and is comfortable with her body. She is methodical in her business sense and pragmatic in her dealings. She budgets out of practicality and perseveres through chores for the good of herself and of others.

In situations, this card heralds a period of luxurious material wealth and the acquisition of beautiful things. Here, wealth that has been earned is spent as a reward or as a treat.

I had gotten an email from Tarot.com offering a free Celtic Cross reading, so I did that yesterday, and the Queen of Pentacles came up again, which I thought was very interesting. It came up as the "Near Future" card:

Be prudent. Concentrate on what is most realistic and practical when it comes to your immediate prospects.

The card in the Near Future position indicates which way the wind is blowing with regard to your situation. If you follow the Advice card, however, you can improve on or neutralize tendencies.

With the Queen of Coins in this position, you will soon have a chance to test your dream against reality. The effort and time you have invested in some enterprise or relationship is about to bear magnificent fruit.

We shall see how sensibly you behave when there are no external limits on where you spend your energy, talents and money. To maximize what is good about the Queen of Coins, you should focus on what is practical and sensible. Invest your energy and resources wisely. Otherwise her more exuberant side could take over and your gains will degenerate into one long, expensive party.

I've always thought of myself as the Queen of Cups, but maybe this is going to be Queen of Pentacles year. I could use one.