Undressing of a salad - Keeping our balance at all cost?

Today’s card is “Undressing the Salad” of The Faeries' Oracle and it features a bluish young faerie juggling his balls with a little help from the crouching faerie on the head of large gnome who is looking in two directions at once. A strange name for a strange card but for today I will focus on whether or not it is possible to always maintain our balance, in every moment, whatever it may bring. I think not. In my humble opinion balance is something we can strive for, experience it for a while and eventually, we fall out of balance again. This cycle will keep repeating itself as long as we keep striving for balance. Maybe this cycle is also a sort of balance or perhaps even more a rhythm of life with its ups and downs; of breathing in and breathing out. It definitely sounds more natural to me than maintaining our balance at all cost, all the time.

So for today I will take it easy because the last few days were quite busy.  For me a perfect  way to live a balanced life J

Temperance - From head to heart and back again

Today’s card is Temperance from the Tarot of the Hidden Realm. In this picture we see a young Fae woman pouring water from one cup into another and she is completely focused on her task. She is also very conscious of her body and her surroundings and her movements are as light and elegant as the dragonflies near her head.

It seems so easy when you look at this picture but the ease comes from lots of experience and practice. From being able to travel from her head to her heart and back again in a split second. Always checking in with herself has become totally natural for her. It allows her to blend her thoughts and feelings into a perfect mixture called living.

Finding this balance isn’t so hard for me but keeping it is much more challenging. I tend to forget consulting my heart when everything goes smoothly and I am in control. But when feelings come knocking unexpectedly, my structured life falls apart rather quickly and I have to pick up the pieces once again. I wonder why this happens over and over again. I mean, I am not daft, I get the message, but I don’t seem to be able to remember it when all is well again.

So for today I will travel this short distance regularly even though it might feel like a very long journey.

Two of Pentacles – Keep practicing

Today’s card is the Two of Pentacles from the Goddess Tarot. This is a card of balance, flexibility and a touch of playfulness. When we look at this woman, it is very obvious she doesn’t find this juggling act very difficult. She keeps her Pentacles in the air with grace and ease. She doesn’t even have to watch what she is doing. That is, in my opinion, the secret of a juggler. Once you get the hang of the rhythm of throwing and catching it isn’t that difficult anymore. Mind you, juggling isn’t so much about catching but more about throwing; about purposely letting go and trusting you will catch it again when the time is right.

Ah, if only I was such a proficient juggler. No need for planners or to-do lists, no need for creating some good habits day after day. I would love to be more like this woman who is living in this very moment and is satisfied with doing what she is can do. She isn’t concerned with all her other Pentacles laying around the house and catching dust.

So, for today I will try to focus on the task at hand without letting myself be distracted by everything else I should be doing instead.  Also, I will try to find some flow of throwing and catching, of breathing in and breathing out. 

Two of Coins - Taking a step back

Today’s card is the Two of Coins from the Margarete Petersen tarot. In this card we see the soles of our feet while we are walking, carefully putting on foot before the other so we won’t step on the snake who has carefully wrapped herself in a lemniscate around our feet. She resembles the continuity of how we journey through life, of our ups and downs and of all our attempts to find balance again each and every time we seem to have lost it. This card also encourages us to walk (or whatever activity you want to engage in) more mindfully, to take a step back and become aware of what it is you are doing right now. Watch for a moment how you have been rushing and not being present with what you were doing and then do it differently; change the pattern

Today I was doing my grocery shopping and since this is not a hobby of mine I tend to do this as quickly as possible so I can go home and do something more to my liking. But today I slowed down and I was walking peacefully and mindfully from shop to shop and through the aisles, filling my shopping cart. It was a much more pleasant way of doing my shopping, also because I wasn’t so agitated and tired when I got home.

Temperance – The gentle approach

Today’s Card is Temperance from the Original Rider Waite Tarot and with this card we continue to explore how to find balance between opposites. In the background we see a road leading into the mountains. Because of this I like to assign this card also to Middle Way as it was taught by Buddha. He said that The Middle Way was a manner of living life in a balance, and avoiding extremes  and knowing our boundaries and limitations.

It is funny because while I drew this card I was wondering how I could better manage my online and other distractive screen activities. I was expecting something like the strict King of Swords or maybe even The Devil or The Tower but no, an angel came to me to encourage me to find inner peace and harmony so that I wouldn’t crave this digital refuge so much. Because that is what it is for me: escaping from the here and now, so I won’t have to deal with the scary stuff like writing, drawing, knitting, meditating, etc. When I spend my time behind a digital screen I can tell myself I don’t have time for anything else. The advice of Temperance so the opposite of how I would try to cut down my screen time myself. So no strict schedules or alarm bells are required. because by finding harmony I won’t crave it anymore but I can enjoy it and so I will find a natural balance in my activities. 

Jera and Soulcards 1 - Inner balancing Act

Today’s rune is Jera (year, cycle, harvest) and I was wondering what cyclical movement I needed to embrace and accept more.

From Soulcards 1 I pulled a card to give me an answer to this question. In this card we see a man en a woman standing back to back and holding each other by the hand. (Look how they almost resemble the rune itself). With their free hand they seem to welcome whatever comes their way. Together they are strong and firmly rooted in day to day’s life. Like The Lovers this card can represent a loving and supportive relationship with another person but for me today it is all about “Me Myself and I”. I wonder what part of me strengthens me, supports me and grounds me and how I should embrace this part more and let it into my daily life instead of ignoring it and underestimating its value. It feels like this card has to do with finding the balance between my masculine and feminine aspects, my Yin and my Yang. Like the turning of the seasons is based on the in and out breath of nature so are my Animus and Anima dancing around and with each other in a continuous movement of push and pull, to try to find an inner balance and to maintain it as good as possible.. For me it is also reminder to view the Divine as a integration of both these aspects. Nothing is complete without its counterpart and so we all keep searching, time and again for that which makes us whole.

Justice – Trying to maintain the Balance

On this Summer Solstice day, which happens to be illuminated by a full moon tonight, I drew Justice from the Gaian Tarot. Among other things this card is also all about finding balance in our daily life. An aspect which is a lot on my mind lately. In the tarot community we often talk  about the need for balance; how to find it and even more urgent in today’s world, how to keep it. This suggests that balance is something you can hold on to tightly so when  you’ve finally found it you won’t lose it ever again. For me however a sense of balance is as fleeting as happiness or joy. And also the more we strive for it, the more elusive it gets. For me balance is a verb. A constant movement between experiencing it and losing it and a continuous checking in with ourselves how we are  feeling and if we are still walking our path. So whenever we feel  balanced we are a aware of it and whenever we lose it we know we have to adjust our ways.

What can help us to stay on the path towards a balanced and mindful life: the Child of Earth. We couldn’t have hoped for a better teacher than this child. With his little rabbit as a companion, his curiosity for  the world around him keeps him in the present moment. He experiences life withal his senses. Suddenly I am wondering how his apple would smell, taste and feel and it makes my mouth water. This kind of awareness of the abundance all around us, will help us to achieve a balanced life.

Justice - Keeping the balance

Yesterday I've posted  a comment on Chloe’s blog about how Balance seems to be one of the most reoccurring themes in tarot spreads and daily draws. We could say that living a balanced life is an everlasting life lesson for everybody. As a confirmation of this idea I've drawn for today Justice from the Tarot of the Sidhe.

This depiction of Justice is emphasizing the necessity to find balance in every aspect of ourselves and our lives. Our Body, Mind and Soul should come together in perfect harmony. But when we speak about “should” it often indicates this isn't the case.

The card contains a lot of symbolism which is representing for balance: The sun and the moon with clouds swirling around them in the shape of a lemniscate and a Sidhe woman balancing  between night and day on the hilt of her sword which is pointed in the center of the spiral. She is “The  cosmic  dancer of truth and balance” And she knows as nobody else the moment you find balance you lose it and you have to adjust a bit to find it again. It is like a never ending dance; a perpetuum mobile.

“ The key to keeping your balance is knowing when you've lost it”

Beltane Contemplation with The Wildwood Tarot

Time is flying too fast for me. Beltane is already the beginning of Summer. Where did Spring go? This is a time of fertility for the animal and plant kingdom. Animals are procreating and flowers are pollinated so they can bear seeds and fruits. It is a lusty season for the wild and the free.

In the Wildwood we move from the period of the Arrows to the period of the Bows. This is a time of high energy levels which will reach their peak at midsummer. Bows represent willpower, creativity, spiritual pursuits and other “fiery” aspects of life J

The two Major Arcana cards which are representative for Beltane are The Forest Lovers (The Lovers) and Balance (Temperance).

We are invited to the handfasting of the Forest Lovers. They are speaking their vows and begin their commitment to each other. A new relationship is born. From two energies a third one comes into play, whether it is their child or the energy of this constant fluctuating togetherness. It is giving and taking, again and again; always changing, never the same. Each moment the Forest Lovers are creating their relationship over and over again. They are continuously seeking Balance which is the second card of this post.

Here we see two snakes intertwined. They’re coming together but they’re keeping their own identity/color. Always seeking the balance of life always moving and adjusting.  Together they look like the shape of the double helix of human DNA, the building block of life. The face carved in the rock at the bottom of the tree reminds us that in order for light to shine there has to be darkness to. In this darkness our greatest treasures are hidden which will restore the balance once again.

For me personal The Forest Lovers also represent the balance between the masculine and femine energies in every human being and in the Divine as a whole. Jung explains it as follows: “In the unconscious of the male, this archetype finds expression as a feminine inner personality: anima; equivalently, in the unconscious of the female it is expressed as a masculine inner personality: animus. The anima and animus can be identified as the totality of the unconscious feminine psychological qualities that a male possesses or the masculine ones possessed by the female, respectively”.

Maybe this year Beltane for me will be all about acknowledging and embracing my masculine aspects: my animus. Besides that I also want to create a more balanced image of my Gddess: to affirm She is feminine, masculine and probable so much more which I don’t know yet J

The Oracle of Shadows and Light

This morning my favorite postman brought me my oracle deck that I had ordered online. It’s the Oracle of Shadows and Light.  Writing this down I realize that it is the perfect deck to give myself at Mabon. Since this deck is all about balance and embracing your shadow.

Oracle of Shadows and Light - Lucy Cavendish and Jasmine Becket

Life isn't all about light and happy faces. I did hesitate a long time before I decided to buy this deck. I thought it would be to girly, superficial perhaps. But OMG I was wrong.

I already connect to the pictures of this deck on such a deep level. It seems like those lovely whimsical creatures are calling out to my little inner child to come out and play and don’t be shy. I like them that much that I’ve just ordered the Oracle of  the Shapeshifters too. Usually I’m not that splurging but this time I knew I had to have those two decks. I think they can teach me a lot about myself in a playful nonjudgmental way.

The Dutch version of these decks have the artwork of the Australian versions. I like them more then the American. Probably because the somewhat darker atmosphere in some of the cards and perhaps my age???

I’m going to do my daily draws with these decks. There is a Dutch Tarot website which gives a question for each day from Mabon until Samhain which you can answer with your daily draws. So this challenge will hopefully motivate me to play with my cards daily. And I’m also planning on combining these cards with my Anna K Tarot deck. What a wonderful way to begin the darker months of the year. Yay!

Full Moon in September and Seeking Balance

Balance

This is the time to celebrate the playfulness I have welcomed in my life on the new moon (zet daar een link in):

I have started this blog which is for me a huge step out of my comfort zone. I’m more the quiet listening type. Not so keen on getting out there.  But so far it has brought me a lot of fun writing it and I’m so happy with all the nice comments I’ve got.  Also I have tried to do some creative activities. The page of Swords I have drawn will be the subject of a next post.  Although I have had idea’s enough to “play”, I wasn't able to start them all because  I've strained my neck which caused a pinched nerve in that area. That hurts a lot. (Ouch)

So this full moon will be all about being proud  of what I have accomplished and about rethinking my options. How can I be playful and enjoy myself, when my body doesn't want to play along. I am certain though that I don't want to fall in my eight of swords trap; feeling sorry for myself and block every option of having fun.

Saturday it’s Mabon. Usually I celebrate the wheel of the year only with some decorations and baking. But this year it will be all about balancing my physical and my mental  well being.

The picture is a collage I’ve made last year representing the seeking of balance during this season

The translation of the Dutch text in the picture is : “Between the past and the future there is only  “I am”.”