What does royalty have to say about workouts?

Now Autumn has finally begun this year, it is time to hit the gym again. To be honest, during this heat wave I wasn’t really up to it. When I haven’t exercised in a while,it is always a bit hard for me to pick it up again and to keep at it. Excuses seem to pop up from everywhere: too hot, too tired, too busy, or I just don’t feel like it, but eventually I went. While I was walking on the tread mill, I was thinking about what the Tarot might have to say about exercising. Immediately I saw four young Pages running around the gym, trying out the equipment. They didn't pay me any attention, let alone have the time to talk to me. So I directed my thoughts to the Queens and asked them why I should work out regularly, even if I don’t really feel like it:

Queen of Wands: "Girl, it is the perfect way to keep your energy levels up and set you ablaze. Feel how your heart is pumping the red blood through your veins! You will be fired up to seize the day!"

Queen of Cups: "Ah my dear, working out will most definitely reduce your stress levels and make you feel so much more calm and relaxed. Breath in and out and produce those endorphins!"

Queen of Swords: "My dear lady, nothing is more effective to clear your mind from worrying and depressing thoughts than to work up a sweat. The most ingenious ideas will come to you when you are physically active."

Queen of Pentacles: "Oh sweetie, what can I add  to  this sincere advice. Exercising is a gift to your body, which is just as precious as your spirit, your soul and your mind. Treat it well and it will serve you accordingly and don’t forget to eat healthy too."

Well that settles it: Working out will be an priority on my weekly to-do list!

New Moon in July - Get real!

For this New Moon I've drawn as usual two cards. The first one for the energy I am going to release and the second one for the energy which is beneficial for me to embrace. From the wildwood Tarot I pulled:

1 Release - Page of Vessels

This Page is depicted as an Otter, sitting on a slab of stone near the river. Otter is a very playful and joyful creature. He also represents being intuitive, brave enough to be vulnerable and open to share his feelings. I don’t see how I would want to release any of those qualities.

As a challenging card this signifies self-indulgence, living too much in your imagination and being absorbed by your own troubles. Now those are more likely aspects of my life I want to let go of.

2 Embrace - Ace of Stones

I was pleasantly surprised to see this card in the Embrace position. It is also the first card of my Tarot spell for a healthy life style.

Here we see a standing stone as a symbol that we can create changes in the material world if we set our mind to it; we can manifest our hopes and dreams but also our fear and anxiety. It is up to me what I chose to create. The potential of this Ace is limitless.

Together these cards tell me to step out of my over busy imaginative mind. I’ve spend more time thinking about a healthy lifestyle, than actually living it. Luckily I know myself and I am not going to beat myself up over this but I do love the fact how this reading is giving me a wake-up call to get real.

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.