Othala and Intuition – Your gut feeling will lead you home

Today’s rune is Othala, the last rune of the Futhark, the end of your journey. It is the rune of heritage, inner wealth, coming home and finding your purpose, your destiny,.

So I wondered what energy I could consider to be my guide, my road sign, towards my purpose in live. Maybe I would even pull a card which would reveal my purpose in life…..

So I stood before my shelf with most of my decks, wondering which deck would be the one to answer my question and I picked The dreams of Gaia Tarot. After some extensive shuffling I pulled “Intuition”. Maybe not a representation of my life’s purpose but definitely a gentle guide towards it. Listening to my intuition will keep me on the right track for sure.

Our intuition is the voice beneath all reason. The undercurrent of our conscious mind. It is the voice which words our deeper knowledge. Of course feelings, inklings, gentle nudges and pulls are also ways of our intuition to communicate with us. For me intuition is not only the voice of our unconscious but also of our higher consciousness or maybe even of our divine spark or God herself.

More than often we tend to downplay synchronistic events  and coincidences. How much more magical our life would be, if we would see them as little miracles. Maybe this way we would me more keen to heed our intuition, so we would practice and strengthen this innate quality. This way our signposts to guide us where we are supposed to be would be written in neon lights instead of being hidden in the shadows of our mind.

Six and Ten of Fire – Use you energy wisely

Two cards today: the Six and the Ten of Fire from the Dreams of Gaia Tarot. First I drew the Six of Fire which represents a truce after a conflict. This could be a disagreement with somebody else or, perhaps even more often, an internal conflict. For today and in light of the meaning of the Ten of Fire, I 've picked the last option.

We see two opponents in the Six of Fire, crossing their swords but with the tip pointed down. The mediator is raising his right index finger up as if he is going to speak his verdict over this argument. If they are going to abide by this ruling is going to depend on whether they both are willing to compromise and to listen to each other’s point a view. Yes, sometimes we have to call a halt to our inner combats. It is a loss of vital energy and our rational mind has to put a stop to this. When we can find some internal peace, then we can direct our energy to something more fulfilling like to the energy of the Ten of Fire. This is the card of “mastery of craft and of self”. This kind of mastery doesn’t come overnight. No, we have to apply ourselves diligently and passionately. This card doesn’t imply you have to become the very best but it does encourage us to do your very best. As long as we improve ourselves and our craft we are on the right track. And, let’s not forget to celebrate our achievements along the way. Yes, seeing this card, the quarrel in the Six of Fire seem ever so futile.

Ps I Love how the Dandelions bloom  thanks to the overflowing cup of the mediator 

Five of Water – Open your eyes and smile

Today’s card is the Five of Water from the Dreams of Gaia Tarot.  We see a mermaid crouched on the bottom of the sea. Her head is bowed down, her eyes are closed and she looks very downhearted.  She doesn’t see the orange colored fish nor does she see the golden ring with a beautiful pearl hidden between the coral. From above radiant sparkly light is shining down on her. But she doesn’t notice this either, Why is she so said? What is troubling her? Grief, fear, worries, regret, guilt….? These are all emotions which paralyze us and/or block us from moving away from this place of anguish. They keep us from focusing on the beauty and abundance in our life which is still available for us. So little mermaid, open your eyes, put the ring on your finger and swim with the fish towards the light. I am sure this will put a smile on your face again

P.S. For me today this Light also represents the Divine which I come to see more and more as a source of Loving and Compassionate Energy which is always with me even if I don’t  realize this.

The Counsellor – Diving into deep water

Today’s card is The Counsellor from the Dreams of Gaia Tarot. This is the second time he has come up this week and I am not surprised at all. Lately, I have been pondering about the way I tend to read my tarot cards. I usually have a very quick and certain style of interpreting my cards. And if  I doubt myself (which is still quite regularly) I open up the guidebook and read what the “intended” meaning is for this card. Trusting the written word is often easier than trusting your own ideas

But I want more and I want to dive deeper. Perhaps this quick way of reading my cards is caused by fear of discovering a more personal meaning of a card.

And then The Counsellor arrives on my doorstep and he invites me to sit down and he asks me how I feel and then he is quiet and he waits... First, there is silence but then I start talking and talking and it almost seems as if I have opened up a bottomless pit. One subject leads to another, free associations are whirling through my mind. Everything goes, everything is okay no censor, no uncertainties, just talking and talking….

And I think that is the answer on how to read more intuitively: don’t be afraid of the initial silence and let your mind roam free. Just sit a while with your card and notice how it makes you feel, what stands out and how can you form sentences around these feelings and observations.

This way of reading not entirely new to me but it isn’t one I practice a lot. So the Counsellor is a welcome guide for this endeavor

New Moon in March

For this new moon I wanted to pull one card from the Dreams of Gaia Tarot as to what energy  I should embrace during the time until the Full Moon in April. Instead this one jumped right into my face while shuffling and when I turned  it over I knew it was the perfect card for me: The Seven of Earth. Some of its keywords are grounding, meditation and connection.

In this card we see a meditating figure who chakras a perfectly balanced.  He is one with himself,  the physical world around him and the all permeating spiritual realm. Yes he even fully understands that all these aspects of being spring from the same source  and are all equally important. 

Painting my oracle deck has brought me a great deal of healing but now I want to take it up a notch and take up things I feel less comfortable with.

So for the coming time I want to focus on doing things outside and also pick up my meditation practice (again). This morning I’ve combined the two and meditated in my garden. It is some getting used to because while I meditated other people were talking loudly and someone was working with a sander.

Also I want to go out for walks more regularly again. I know it will bring me peace  and calm but just like meditating I tend to “forget” it too often. Sometimes I think I suffer from spiritual amnsesia J

So lots of ideas and to tackle my forgetfulness I am going to list them  in my planner. Mind you, it won’t be a “todo” list but a gentle “remind” me list of options

Three card spread with the Dreams of Gaia: To move beyond doubt

As usual I wanted to draw one card and share my thoughts about it but when I drew the Seven of Air from the Dreams of Gaia Tarot, I knew I had to add some more cards. This card represent so beautifully what I have been struggling with these last few months. This card is all about belief systems and the different teachings of wise and spiritual people.  

Ever since I was a young girl I wanted to belong to a group of people who shared the same beliefs as I did and I have never came across such a group. I tried to fit in with some of them but it never lasted long.  Gradually I have accepted that what I belief is personal and ever changing. But sometimes I feel the need for some conformation that I am on the right track. Sometimes I even envy the confidence of some religious groups who are “absolutely sure” of their spiritual convictions. This feeling is strongly connected to my word of the year: Trust. Do I trust myself enough to keep following my own path, even though it is leading me along deep chasms filled with doubt and steep mountains covered with insecurity. 

So after pulling this initial card I wanted to know how to deal with these feelings and I pulled Choice, the first card of the deck. This card is asking us to move forward, to make a choice which is fulfilling for both our heart and our mind. There is no way back. The past is gone forever and there is only this little moment in time. If we don’t choose, we are stuck there in a kind of limbo where we can mull over which door to choose so long that we might not even remember why we are stuck there in the first place.

Then I wondered what would happen if I would trust myself enough to follow my intuition, to chose a door, any door and continue to walk my path? The answer to this question is the Ace of Air, the gift of insight and clarity. Some keywords are, belief it or not: unlearn and let go, a new personal ideology, personal truth, new ideas.  So now I realize it doesn’t really matter which door I choose; the gift of The Ace of Air is always within me and I will take it with me wherever I my path will lead me. 

New Moon in December

Pulling my cards for this New Moon, at het end of the Holiday season, feels a lot like an intention setting for January. I suppose most of us are anxiously anticipating the first of January, when everything will get back to “normal”

For this New moon I pulled two cards from the Dreams of Gaia Tarot:

Release – X Wisdom

This card relates closely to the Hermit in a traditional Tarot deck. It represents o.a: inner wisdom, self knowledge and shadow work. Yes, I feel the time for inward reflection is coming to an end. It can be tempting to stay in our cave a bit longer but life is more than only seeking inner wisdom. It is also about having experiences and creating opportunities to gain wisdom from. Without those our wisdom might become shallow and meaningless

Embrace – XI of Fire – Masculine/feminine

A very motivating card for this coming lunation. This card is all about finding the balance between passive and active energy. January often appeals to our most active energy, so we can better ourselves, follow up on our new year resolutions and trying to work on our goals and intentions. This is not always the most effective way to go about it. Instead of hurrying and chasing and doing our uttermost best, listen to your energetic rhythms and try to be flexible. Embrace the energy which suits you best. It is okay to slow down, even in January! There are eleven more months to come.

The Veil and Seven of Fire – Divination or Exploration?

From the Halloween Oracle I got The Veil – Future, which represents the” thinning of the veil” around the Festival of Samhain or Halloween. 

It is said that during this season it is the perfect time for divination and all things magical. Although I hardly ever use my cards for giving me a peek into my future, for this one time I asked a little hesitant: “What do I need to know about my future?” Because I can’t get enough of The dreams of Gaia Tarot, I pulled the Seven of Fire, from this deck.

Seeing this card made me  laugh a littly bit. This card is all about divination and using your intuition and I think it might be the Minor Arcana counterpart of ‘Intuition” from the  Influence cards of the Major Arcana. Since this is a Minor Arcana card I think this card mostly about how to put our intuition into our daily practice and how to develop this highly influential part of ourselves.  According to the guidebook listening to our intuition can be a completely internal process; you just “know” something or it can be triggered by external stimuli (like our cards). But both ways do depend on a large amount of trust in ourselves.

Today this card is encouraging me to listen to and trust in my inner voice and also to be aware of those little things which happen during the day and which give me a that tingly feeling of a meaningful coincidence.

Or maybe I got it all wrong and this card is telling I  will to get into the card reading business any time soon now.

Ten of Water – Happiness is a verb

Today’s card is Ten of Water from the Dreams of Gaia Tarot and to me it feels like I am continuing with my theme of self realization.

In this card we see a woman who is totally content with and by herself. She has found an emotional balance and a way to keep her balance when waves of disruption and turmoil clash in on her. I suppose her turtle will carry her through the ebbs and flows of her life. This lady has freed herself from limiting emotions from her past like guilt, shame and regret and now she is enjoying this present moment like it was her last. And maybe it is because this moment will never return, so we’d better make the most of it. And that is the advice of this card too. Whatever your circumstances are, there is so much to be grateful for and to enjoy if you look closely: a smile, a ray of sunlight or my beloved cup of coffee in the morning.

So today, instead of feeling sorry for myself because my neck and my arm are hurting I am going to actively seek out joy and contentment and hopefully pass it along to others. A smile is so easy to give and so wonderful to receive…

Self - Who are you right now?

Today’s card is “Self” from the Dreams of Gaia Tarot and this card is all about self realization, discovering and accepting who you are and trying to live an authentic life.

Our idea of Self is (thank God/dess) ever changing and always evolving. For me this is beautifully represented by the roses in full bloom, the butterfly and the flying doves. We aren’t the  same as we were ten, five or one year ago and even not the same as we were last month, last week or yesterday. This might give us some insecurity about not knowing who we really are today but what we can be sure of  that we are the result of our past notions of Self.  Not only of our own previous perceptions of who we were but also who others told us we were (right or wrong) I “know” I am stubborn because my mother told me so frequently when I wanted to do things my own way.  Maybe if  she’d praised me for being determined, I would have had a slightly different idea of “Self”?

So this card encourages me to sit with “who am I right now?” and find out what is still true and what is outdated or hearsay . Only when we have established and accepted who we are today, we can choose intentionally who we want to become tomorrow.  

Visualizing our future self will give us some idea of who we want to become and when we are actively involved in becoming who we are meant to be, we will be able to unlock the door to our inner sanctuary called “Self” where we will find fulfillment and peace.

Four of Air – No time to waste

Today’s card is the Four of Air from the Dreams of Gaia Tarot. I didn’t have the  “sigh” reaction  I usually have when I pull the Four of Air/Swords from other decks.  This card is obviously not about taking a much needed time out.

The Four of Air in this deck is all about our need for structure and routine. Having a balanced daily routine will give us peace of mind. It is a kind of safety net which helps us to bring order into our daily life. Imagine how stressful our day would be if we had to think about everything we had to do: coffee or tea, bread or oatmeal. Where do I buy my groceries, by card or by bike  etc. Routine relieves us from numerous small decisions. But this  card is also about examining these routines: How many time wasting, slightly addictive activities have sneaked into them?

Today, it is for me a timely message to really look closely at the way I spend my days. Since about two weeks I have been plagued with a sore neck and a tingling in some fingers of my right hand. This is probable caused by a pinched nerve (again) and it prevents me from doing a lot of things I love: knitting, crochet, writing by hand, painting and drawing, and going to the gym.

Thanks to this card I am fully aware now that some of the gaps in my routine are filled with a lot less productive and creative activities which are mostly internet related. (Yesterday’s Devil?)

So now it is up to me to think of some new routines and ways to spend my time since this neck thing might last a bit longer than I would like.

Three card daily spread with the Dreams of Gaia Tarot

For today I’ve done a three card spread with my already highly appreciated  Dreams of Gaia Tarot. Even though this deck is perfect for digging deep and really exploring unknown territories of your psyche, today’s message was crisp a clear and very concise.

The cards I drew were:

1 The general energy of the day – Faith

This is the last card of the Major Arcana in this deck and it represents primarily Faith in yourself, although Faith in a higher Power can be very beneficial  for your sense of self worth too. This Faith cards is all about confidence, self worth and a sense of being good enough. When we develop this kind of believe in ourselves it will support us and carry us safely through the ups and down of life.

2 The challenge of the day – Two of Water

This card is about sharing you deepest feelings with some one else; having the courage to be open and vulnerable in communication. It is about giving and receiving; about deep and sincere intimacy.

3 The gift of today – Six of Fire

Healing, negotiation and compromise are some of the key words for this card. Being aware and accepting of of other people's opinions and preferences and still being able to find a middle ground on which both parties can meet.

What I love about this reading it that it all starts with having Faith  myself and being aware that I am enough and worthy to be heard. When I feel secure enough to share my beliefs and point a views then, yes only then, I will have the courage to meet others halfway.

Affirmation : I am enough

Intuition – All will be well

Today’s word to draw a card with is “Message” and I wondered if my Inner Wise Woman would have a message for me. I shuffled my Dreams of Gaia Tarot and before I pulled  a card, I noticed my hag stone sitting on the window sill. I picked it up and drew my card: Intuition.  

If I had it in me to pay more attention to that inner voice, My Inner Wise Lady would have had genuine conversations with me  instead of sending me a (post)card once in a while. But since I am A Queen of Swords at heart, my mind has always been my go-to tool to tackle any situation. Considering every possible option before I make a move, gives me a (false) sense of control. I have to admit, I do slightly envy the “Intuitives” among us; the ones that “feel”  and  “know”  always the right thing to do and never give it another thought.  Maybe I could seek out a balance between those two ways of dealing with big issues and day to day challenges.

The hag stone I picked up reminds me of the physical world with a magical doorway to another realm: the intricate web behind more corporeal layers of life. It is there where threads are pulled and where miracles are born.  When we are open to this other world, we realize that everything is connected and we become aware of the fact that by pulling one thread, thousands of other will begin to vibrate as well.  But when we decide to pull that one thread, we also trust that everything will work out for the best and that all will be well  in the end.

So how do I recognize this inner voice? I suppose she is friendly and soft spoken. Not afraid to tell me to truth but always in a gentle way. She is non judgmental and she never spreads fear. Instead, she is caring,  loving and compassionate towards me as well as towards others. When I write this down, I wish I had realized all of this sooner. We could have been best friends forever.

Eight of Earth – Gratitude will protect us from evil spirits

Today's word to draw a card with is Jack O’Lantern. I’ve picked the card with the same name from the Halloween Oracle and its keyword is protection, So I wondered what energy will protect me from evil spirits or maybe rather from self-defeating attitudes and thoughts  and I pulled the Eight of Earth from the Dreams of Gaia Tarot.

In this deck the Eight of Earth stands for enjoying what you have accomplished so far and contemplating where to go from here.  Since you were able to  reach this luscious garden, this card also wants you to remember you have the ability to unlock doors to maybe even more greater successes and abundance. This is highlighted by the keys dangling from the lady’s staff. She is also holding a crystal ball in her hand with which she can seek out new possibilities and manifest her future.

Don’t sell yourself short. We are often capable of much more than we give ourselves credit for. Feeling grateful for the abundance in our life as it is right now and feeling thankful for and proud of what we have achieved so far will fend off insecurity, fear of failure and other shortcomings (or evil spirits)

Today I am grateful for: S has helped me doing the groceries,  fresh apple pie and coffee, this blogpost, my Dreams of Gaia Tarot, Jofee is feeling better, the sun is shining,  my home, watching “Turn” with M, I won the Fountain tarot give away, my health, whole wheat bread with cheese and a glass of milk, clean sheets sprayed with lavender…… and so much more