Resting in Her Embrace

With this card I want to let you all know, I am taking some time off from blogging and Instagram. Now my eldest girl and her boyfriend have moved out, after having lived with us for two and half month, I feel the need to take some time for myself to rest and reinvent myself. Feelings about this event are mixed up and there is an empty space waiting to be filled with more than distractions and escaping from the present moment.

I have so many ideas and so many plans and nothing is happening but watching TV series, playing games on my tablet and surfing on the internet. My three screens are making overtime. Posting pictures on IG and writing for my blog which I enjoy so much are starting to feel like to-do’s which I want to tick off, so I can feel good about it.

So for now, I just want to rest and do nothing besides reading some fiction, baking, walking, riding my bike, painting, writing in my journal etc. I’m not quite sure how long it will take. Trust, Letting go and Attention; these where my three words for this 2016. Maybe now it is the time to put them into action

Hugs Ellen

Tarot Magic for a more healthy lifestyle (Part II)

After having carefully picked the cards for my tarot spell for a healthy lifestyle I started two write the words; The Mother of Swords part of magic. This is the part where you craft your magic with pen and paper. As a side note, in my opinion pen and paper are the most powerful magical tools I have to my disposal. Journaling is often a magical practice for me.

After some scratching and tearing I’ve come up with a prayer, a spell and an affirmation. I am definitely going to use the prayer and the affirmation but I am not sure about the spell part. It seems a bit redundant. When I wrote my prayer I addressed the Mother of  Pentacles and the Mother of Swords as two parts of the Goddess, who could be of help to me to achieve my goal. When I called them  Earth Mother and Sky Mother in my prayer, I immediately was reminded of the goddess Holda who is both Earth and Skye goddess. This connection was  to me a conformation I was moving in the right direction with this spell. 
So this is my prayer:

Aardemoeder, Wolkenmoeder Wakker mijn verlangen aan Om gezond te zijn Om sterk te zijn Om dag in dag uit Datgene te kiezen wat goed is voor mijn lichaam. Aardemoeder, Wolkenmoeder Bevrijd mij van starre patronen Geef mij heilzame gedachten en Leer mij vliegen als een vlinder

Earth Mother, Sky Mother Wake up my desire To be healthy to be strong So each day I will Choose the things Which are good for my body. Earth Mother, Sky Mother Free me from rigid patterns Give me healing thoughts and Teach me how to fly like a butterfly

And this is my affirmation:

Vandaag kies ik bewust voor gezonde voeding en genoeg beweging om mijn lichaam de liefde, zorg en aandacht te geven  die ik verdien. Hierdoor word ik vandaag sterker, gezonder en voel ik me meer comfortabel in mijn eigen vel.

Today I consciously choose for a healthy diet and plenty of exercise to give my body, the love, care and attention I deserve. Because of this, today I'm stronger, healthier and I feel more comfortable in my own skin.

The stones ( Mother of Pentacles part) to go with my spell are:

Labradorite to promote change and to protect me from tempting influences (chocolate!)

Aventurine for the Earthy part; for health and determination (Mother of Pentacles)

Sodalite for the Airy part; for clear and motivational thoughts. (Mother of Swords)

Rune: Uruz for strength and a strong, healthy  physical body

Finally I’ve made a vision board for in my room; a Mother of Pentacles part of the spell tooIguess. This board is the first thing I see every morning when I wake up. It is just a simple pin-up board where I pinned al my clippings from magazines which are related to a healthy lifestyle!

I’ve been enjoying doing all of this. To be busy with the writing and the crystals and clippings made me feel very connected to my goal. And now the last part is to activate my spell and  do the work!

Tarot Magic for a more Healthy Lifestyle (Part I)

For today, instead of a daily draw, I want to show you the cards I’ve picked which motivate me and might be helpful for me to start living more healthy. I also want to include them in a not quite finished tarot spell.

Last weekend I was painfully aware of the fact that my physical well-being has been on the back burner for way too  many years. My diet is far from healthy and seriously out of balance and I hardly exercise at all.  I know I make up tons of excuses but  I feel without a doubt the aging of my body starting to hinder me to do the things I want to do.  I am well aware of the fact that some processes can’t be stopped but I do want to give it a go to slow them down a bit.

This notion is strongly influenced by having pulled the Mother of Pentacles two times in row. She is not only protecting her fawn but also encouraging him to grow up and be the strongest deer of the herd.

Over the years I have more than once tried to change my not so healthy lifestyle but never with long-term results.

So if the old way doesn’t work for me than I should try something new: Magic!!

First I’ve flipped through my deck to pull every card which reminded me of physical wellbeing and then I narrowed it down to four cards to create a bridge spell which I’ve learned from Chloe of Inner Whispers.

The cards I’ve chosen are:

Situation/ Issue - Ace of Pentacles

This card represents my potential to become a healthy strong woman. I love it how even though the tree is cut down to a stump, there is still a strong life energy burning in the center to bring forth new life and new beginnings on the physical plane, represented by the budding twigs and leaves.

Energy needed 1 – Two of Wands

This is for me a card which represents the choice, the intent to actually do job. And when I would slack,  I will pick up my two wands and make that same choice  over and over again as many times as needed. 

Energy needed 2– Eight of Pentacles

This spider is teaching me to do the work. To start each day with a positive intent to work on my web and make it strong and flexible.  Changing a lifestyle  is a long-term process and when challenges arise, like wind and rain for the spider,  I have to “hang there” in and keep going anyway.

Result – Six of Wands.

Look how gracious this butterfly has freed herself from the tangle of branches. She is strong and has moved from the darkness of self-defeating actions into the light where the sun shines over her to celebrate her success

These three cards will become the center part of my Tarot spell, which will be the topic of my next post!

I pulled one extra card to ask how I should proceed with this spell and I got the Mother of Swords, my favorite court card in any deck.  She is telling me today, that first I should choose the wording of my spell wisely and secondly I should approach this new intent with the same motherly advise I would give my girls: be gentle but truthful to yourself. Don’t  believe everything your inner resistance is going to tell you along the way but wield your sword of truth and awareness and be mindful to address yourself with encouragement and compassion. 

Full Moon Reading for July with the Wild Unknown Tarot

Unlike last month, yesterday evening the sky was clear and we could see the moon shining her cool white light over our overheated country.  I’ve been sitting outside enjoying the view and the slowly falling temperatures.  It was not until very, very late that  I pulled some cards.  It surprised me how beautifully they correlated with my last full moon and new moon reading of June. .

0. Yourself in your current situation (from the base of the deck) Five of Cups

We sees a sad and burdened horse with his head  held down facing the shadows. He doesn’t see the five cups above him, suspended in the light. Although I do feel somewhat better, it hasn’t been a very cheerful fortnight for me due to some personal circumstances.

1. What can be seen with clarity, so bright that it can even blind you? Mother of Pentacles

Look at how gentle and tender the doe is minding her fawn. The Mother of Pentacles radiates care and motherly love. This was my 0 card last month and seeing this card in the 1st  position, it is very obvious I should nurture myself and treat myself like a loving mother should.

2. What gets completed. What closes a cycle? The hanged Man.

A bat is hanging in his cave but he is not sleeping. He is mindful and sees everything what is going on with his red eyes, but he will not be involved. This was my Embrace card for the previous new moon. Seeing it in this position it indicates to me I should become more active again and the time of surrendering and just being is coming to an end.

3. What begins to fade away, to darken, to abandon you... or what needs to be? The Emperor. 

Although I have become aware of many positive traits of the Emperor over the last year, I think in this position it tells me to abandon my deep-rooted need to control ( an ever reoccurring  issue )

Again I was amazed how well this reading fitted with my last two moon readings. I loved doing this full moon reading with the Wild Unknown Tarot. What I like about the deck is that you are able to see the whole reading at a glance and then you can focus on the individual cards.