I know you know at least one. I know you've probably even been one at some point, though it may be embarrassing to admit. At least once and probably many more times you have made that proverbial mountain out of a molehill. You Drama King/Queen! It's ok, really. I have a side that inclines toward the dramatic. Ok, maybe more than a side. A whole flank of my being perhaps. Enough that a friend of mine, who also relishes the fair amount of drama sprinkled through out her life, will call me out, "O! M! G! You're being so drama!" At least we recognize it in ourselves and can laugh at it when it rears its entertaining head. This fact makes us decidedly not Drama Queens. The true Drama King or Queen does not accept the fact that he or she is being ridiculously melodramatic nor do they seem aware that they are consistently creating situations that result in exhausting drama for themselves and others. So my friend and I were talking last night when she wondered aloud, "Which tarot card would represent drama?" We had been discussing the Moon card and the dramatic side to that card and the question made us both stop, mid-convo, and mentally rifle through the deck. At first we were rather nonplussed. I said the Fool and Moon combination would make me think "drama" but I wasn't satisified with my answer. We continued our conversation and somehow the Ten of Swords was mentioned and she interjected, "There is the drama card!" I laughed, "Oh yeah! For sure!" Talk about over the top, that card screams "Woe is meeeeeee!"

Recently my twelve-year-old daughter asked me what labels we used for various cliques in high school. Of course we had those we called "Jocks." She said "Jocks are perennial." (Yes, she is twelve with a very broad vocabulary.) I said we called "Stoners" by a different name, "Freaks." We had "Nerds" which would probably be "Geeks" or something like that today. We had a group we called "Grits" which were closely related to the "Redneck" in that they liked to race their souped-up cars and dress in leather jackets and grease their hair back in 1950's style. As she tried to find modern equivalents for the late 1970 era categories she asked, "Did you have Emo kids?"

"No! Because ALL teenagers are EMO!"

I bet your most embarrassing drama queen/king incident happened when you were an adolescent, right? And if it happened later, you probably felt like an angst-ridden teenager. As adults, we're not immune to our emo side and will occasionally exhibit distinctly self-absorbed, overblown emotional displays, especially while inebriated. It's ok, I forgive you. We're all entitled to occasionally wax melodramatic over some insignificant thing. Like that time I was trying to get ready for work and the new kitten I had just brought home had gone on a spastic kitty frenzy and climbed the curtains in the bedroom and brought the whole curtain rod down and for some reason this event rendered me incapable of going to work that day. Or that Christmas Eve scene I had with my first boyfriend in which I dramatically broke up with him, slapping him full in the face a la Joan Crawford, held back the tears until I burst through the door at home and ran to my mother and collapsed in a soppy, bawling mess in her lap. My mother was entertaining a date at the time. I didn't notice that the lights were low, all but the Christmas tree lights were off, there were wine glasses on the coffee table.

So, I put the question to my tarot deck today. Which card represents that inclination in people to be so self-focused and hungry for attention that they create interpersonal drama? The first card that I pulled was The Devil. Hmmm...never really thought about that, but isn't it true? This card speaks of OCD, addictions, obsession, unhealthy attractions and pretty ugly ulterior motives. It's the hedonist card, plain and simple.

Feeling on a roll, I pulled another card. Six of Cups? How in the heck? It's such a sweet card, so giving and generous...oh, but wait...these are children. Childish. Those I've known who are drama addicts also tend to be very immature and although they have chronologically outgrown the time of their lives when they are expected to be narcissistic, they haven't matured emotionally past that.

Next one I pulled was The Hanged Man. I laughed. Talk about the ultimate martyr! And look at the delight he is obviously receiving from his discomfort, he is enjoying what most people would take great pains to avoid. Is he a masochist? No, he is a victim, but not a completely innocent one. Some believe he is a thief for the coins that drop out of his pocket in a few older renditions of The Hanged Man. The precarious and even torturous position he finds himself in is probably due to his own making, the consequence of his actions. And he smiles. Like the cat who ate the canary.

Ok, this is getting interesting. Is it possible to find aspects of "drama piggyness" in every card? I pulled another. The Ace of Wands. Ha! Tempers flare then die out quickly with this card. It's a major blow up over something small, a matchstick that lights a straw fire that blazes hot then extinguishes in a moment. Does that remind you of any drama queen or king that you know? Umm hmmm...me too.

One more. I pulled the Six of Wands. I love tarot for its sense of humor. This card is one of the most positive cards in the deck, usually. But what about its conceit? Its "look-at-me!" attitude. The seeking of the approval and, most of all, the attention of others, along with the playing to the crowd that is evident in this card. This card shows someone who seeks the attention, thrives on the attention, and can't even take a trip home without drawing a crowd of onlookers.

So I think I get it. Human inclinations, personality flaws, irritating aspects of us all, can be found throughout the tarot deck. It's merely a matter of perspective when you look at any card. You can probably find what you're looking for if you look deeply enough, cock your head to one side, take in the whole of the card, not just what you think it means.