Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Child of Earth - Slow Knitting

Today’s card is the Child of Earth from the Gaian Tarot. After a two well deserved Four of Air days, it is time to start engaging with the world again.  Last weekend I was away to attend a family weekend for my mother’s birthday and you all know how straining these social events can be for me. I always need some time to replenish afterwards but today I almost feel like my old self again. This child’s energy is definitely helping me. The first things that came to mind  when I drew this card were: knitting (green sweater), cuddling with Jofee (little rabbit), eating fresh fruit (apple) and spending more time outside. After some longer consideration this card also reminded me of being mindful and experiencing the outside world with our senses. Life can be felt, seen, tasted, heard and smelled. This give us such an more balanced understanding of life than by only thinking about it. The Child of Earth invites us to embrace our beginners mind and approach our day with an attitude of eagerness and openness and without preconceptions.
As you all know by now I am crocheting and knitting a lot lately. I have to say I can do both things very rapidly but and one thing that helps me to really be present is to watch closely how I knit very slowly, stitch by stitch, and how my fingers lead the yarn and how very gradually my knitting grows larger. This is such a sensory activity. I smell and feel the yarn (whool), I see what I do and I hear the ticking  of my needles and no, I don’t taste it;  that part  is taken care of by my coffee and biscuits.

"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few."

15 comments:

  1. I love the Gaian's Child cards. :) Glad you are feeling rested in body and spirit. What a wonderful, sensual way to ground yourself through needlework!

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    1. Yes the child cards are beautiful messages of wonder and fresh insights!
      Doing needlework has become quite a (healthy) obsession for me. :) It keeps my hands busy and it prevents me from worrying. Also it is less intimidating than painting and or drawing

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    1. A little blanket for in my chair with a simple pattern but just difficult enough to prevent me from race knitting :)

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  3. Good to hear you are restored after long weekend and family get together. Love them but they can be a drain. Your child of earth is the youthful enthusiasm that we can all use, just like the wolf pups.

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    1. Family, can't live with and can't life without them!
      Yes the pups and the child encourage us to play more and not take life so seriously :)

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  4. I love this card and a great post Ellen. Slow knitting a wonderful analogy for life slow living! When I was younger I could be a hyper-hypo. Still can be if I don't consciously slow myself down. It's such an important lesson to learn, to embrace the slow ways because everything eventually does slow down whether we like it or not.

    Life goes by way too fast anyway so why not slow down and really enjoy the journey.

    Slow knitting. I love it! Fine needle work is a beautiful meditation if we allow it to be for sure.

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    1. Thanks Catherine!It is not only beneficial to slow down but knitting is such a pleasant activity for me. I've never "meditated" so frequently lately :)

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  5. Hope you're feeling more relaxed now, with your slow knitting. I know just what you mean, my sewing feels like that: watch the needle in and out, follow the thread...
    The Child of Earth always makes me think of yoga, too. Maybe I'll practice later :D

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    1. You sew by hand then? I do like your tarot bags a lot. My decks get mostly knitted wraps :D
      Enjoy the yoga!!

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    2. Yes, I sew each stitch by hand, a lovely meditative focus. Of course, it would be 10 times quicker with a machine, but as you've said, that's not the point! I tried knitting bags for my decks, but it would take me weeks or months to make a single bag :o Sewing, I can do one in 4-7 days... :)

      I've practised yoga more frequently this week than at any time in the last two years, I think. Lovely! Are you still going to classes?

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    3. I've just started working out last week again after a break of about a month (heatwave)
      You might like embroidery also.

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    4. Congratulations on getting back into working out, Ellen!

      As for embroidery, I liked it as a child and have been thinking about it. I may embroider some tarot bag, if I do some in plain fabric. Right now, I'm enjoying that my sewing actually creates something new, rather than being 'merely' meditative and decorative ;)

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  6. I love the way you read this card and I sympathise about the social engagement part. Hurrah for knitting and crocheting. I get a lot of my stress relief from those crafts as well.

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    1. Hi Caitrin! thank you for stopping by. Yes needle-craft can be very therapeutic. I am glad to hear you enjoy it as well. :)

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