Chosing Joy, moment by moment...

How do you start to live fully again after having suffered a great loss? How do we pick up our daily chores and activities.  How do we start to feel joy without guilt and feeling like we do something wrong. As if laughter isn't allowed while grieving.

It has been a week since Tara died and we miss her every hour of the day but we are also trying to move forward. Yesterday we have buried her ashes but in the meantime we are also thinking about a new puppy. We've always had a dog and the emptiness is screaming to be filled by a furry little rascal to love, to cherish and to care for.

After a long time without playing with my cards, I've picked up the Mystical Lenormand and asked how to embrace joy:

And I pulled Whip + Sun + Roads

I see this line of three as a encouragement to consciously choose joy and happiness over repetitive regrets and guilt. Grieving is good but it is also okay to take you mind of the sadness and enjoy the little things which might make you happy. 

When you stay flexible you can reach for the stars!

For today I've pulled The Acrobat, the Page of Stones from the Chrysalis tarot. This Page is all about changing your perspective, be open for new idea’s and knowledge. While swinging on her pole she is rising above her troubles and is able to see new horizons. Her monkey symbolizes the benefit of an agile, quick witted mind.

The Acrobat is studious with a playful sense of humor. She likes to keep her mind sharp and pliable. She has a positive mindset and encourages us to keep developing our skills and knowledge. That way we won’t get stuck in fixed and rigid ways of thinking but instead we’'ll always be able to see different sides of a situation

The question I can ask myself today is: 

“how do I keep an open mind?” 

I've chosen the Mystical Lenormand to give me the answer to this question:

Bear+ Rider+ Stars

In this line of three we see the Bear again as  the first card. He resembles power and inner strength. But sometimes also an older person who might be less flexible then our youngsters.

The second card is Rider, as a symbol for movement and new insights and messages  from other sources. Things are changing quickly.

The last card, the Stars, is a card for intuition, spirituality, dreams come true and nowadays also the internet: What a source of information and new contacts. Reach for the stars, the sky is the limit. In this depiction you even see the learning attributes next to the cat.

So I guess the answer might be something like this:

In order to keep an open mind you have to be willing to embrace and keep up with new ideas and information. Keep studying with diligence and enthusiasm and a touch of intuition. Your success is written in the stars!
Cher has taught me to add up the inserts to add an extra layer to the reading.The inserts of these cards (if they were depicted here) would add up to 25, which is Ring. So in order to be successful I've have to stay committed to study and finding new perspectives. 

Of course after this post I am open for suggestions how to read these three cards differently J

Don’t set the bar too high

Today I will be using the Tao Oracle by Ma Deva Padma. Before I pull my card I want to share my mega find on our Dutch online thrift store. Just before the new year, I had bought five beautiful, as good as new, tarot and oracle decks. The previous owner had only bought them to be a part of her collection and had never used them.  Even the boxes were undamaged. So now I am a very happy woman because right beside me on our dining table I have: The Tao Oracle by Ma Deva Padma, Angeldreams and the Angel Tarot by D. Virtue, Mystical Lenormand by R.E. Fiechter and Ask your Guidies by S. Choquette. And everything far below 50% of the retail price. I feel like I've won the New year’s lottery!!

Tao Oracle

For the second day of this year I've pulled: Duration. In my opinion an excellent card for everybody who is  totally excited to sprint into this year, heavily packed with goals and resolutions. (Myself included J) This card shows us a mountain in four different circumstances. And it’s no surprise to any of us, in each picture the mountain remains the same. This mountain is the perfect symbol for the keywords of this card: constancy, continuity, endurance, perseverance, maturity, strengthening, stability, a deep commitment. And in the end that´s what it´s all about. Not how we start out, which is of course important but also if you can really commit to your goals or whatever it is you want to manifest this new year. Do you have the strength to go on when it gets hard? According to the book it is so important to be aware of your inner core. (inner mountain) That unchangeable everlasting part of you. When you connect to this part, you can endure everything: “The essence of a mountain is stability, a deep and abiding quality that withstands the tests of time.  It is the solidity of rock and the stabilizing function of earth, and it is unequivocally itself.”. Perhaps it is a good idea to search for a symbol of your “inner mountain” to carry with you in your daily life as a talisman. It can be as simple as a pebble as long as it has meaning for you.

Mystical Lenormand

So this is definitely a card for the long run but what does that mean for me today? To answer that question, I drew three lennies from the Mystical Lenormand: house + bear + stars: 

• My home is my base to grow spiritually.
• My house is my safe haven where I can explore     new ideas and goals.
• The love and support of my daughters is a strong   foundation to have hope for the future.

I think I'll pick the second option. Perhaps it is a sound idea to review my goals in order to find out if I haven’t set the bar too high for myself. Sometimes it seems like I do this deliberately so I will fail again and I can beat myself up about it (again). But I can assure you it isn't. It is a common problem for people who are perfectionists. That's why I think it wise to give my lists a closer look to see if I have to adjust my goals in order to be able to stick them when circumstances change.