Eight of Wands - Keep going, Keep growing

Today I pulled again the Eight of Wands  from the Joie de Vivre Tarot. Little did I know how it would reveal to me something very important which I wasn’t yet quite fully aware of. At first I felt annoyed; whatever could I write today about this card that I hadn’t wrote already  a few days ago.  Then I thought perhaps I could approach this card from the opposite side; the need to speed up and get things done. Not quite my cup of tea for a day off.  So I pulled another clarifying card and I got the Chariot. Together they felt very determined to get me moving, so I laced my shoes and went for a walk . 

After a short time I reached the park and entered it. Following the path I enjoyed the peace and solitude of my surroundings. Not the silence though, because so many birds where performing their most beautiful songs. I was amazed by the  wonder of nature’s awakening on this spring morning. And then it I hit me. I was walking in a park on my own. Nobody else was there and I wasn’t afraid. I’ve walked  there  a few times more these last two weeks, but I didn’t fully realize this up until now. It was amazing. It is freeing not to need someone to protect me from everything that might happen in this park. After so many years this fearful story has faded away so much that is isn’t able to affect me any longer. This walk has given me back a part of my strength and independence for which I am so grateful. I felt victorious, just like the figure in the Chariot!

One of the pictures I took there today tells the same story: Even from very old wounds can grow new life.

The fool - The Magic of a Fresh Outlook

The last couple of days I’ve been having a lot of fun with my Lenormand cards,  so for today, just like in my previous post, I have pulled one tarot card as a focus for my daily three card Lenormand spread. My tarot card  for today is The Fool from the Druidcraft Tarot.

This card is all about naivete and innocence; about seeing the world through the eyes of child with wonder and amazement, as if today is the first day of our life. So the question that came to mind was: What do I need to be open, carefree and content about? What do I need to experience today as if it was the first time?

And I pulled from the Celtic Lenormand: fox, ring and tree.

The ring stands for commitments and relationships. The Tree card tells me this is not about casual relationships but more about long standing family ties, deep rooted but often with gnarls, cracks and broken branches. And then like in all families often the fox comes around to emphasize the nasty little irritations we all have gathered over the years. 

Some even have turned into festering wounds of unmet desires and expectations. Often this says more about us than about them, so how do we shut up this deceiving inner voice who seeks out the tiny cracks and flaws in our commitments? I think if we were to look at our loved ones like we did the day we realized we loved them, everything else would be trifling and meaningless…

So this morning I have visited my husband and we had a very pleasant get together indeed. I will also try to  keep this message in mind when I address M and my mother today. I suspect it will make all the difference.

Combining Tarot and Lenormand in one reading

Inspired by Chloe and Siddaleah  I've been practicing again with my Lenormand cards for several days now. And I have to say it hasn't been easy. There has been times the cards only spoke jibber jabber to me and I felt like throwing them into the trash can. Could it be possible I'm not cut out  for this? Since I am a stubborn woman (Taurus) I didn't want to be defeated by 36 pieces of cardboard so I kept practicing.

And gradually the fog was lifting and the cards started to make sense to me again. It was helpful for me me not to search for generic meanings but to ask a question first. Was it about love, money or health? But how many questions can you come up with while practicing on  your own. So I included my tarot cards in the reading. I picked a tarot card which would be the topic of my reading and then I drew a line of three lennies about this topic.

The topic for this reading was the Ten of Swords from the Legacy of the Divine Tarot : How can I let go of all my self defeating thoughts and move on?

Then I pulled three cards from the Gilded Reverie Lenormand (both decks are by Ciro Marchetti):

7 Snake +15 Bear + 5 Tree

Biting thoughts (suspicions and self loathing) can be conquered by confidence and inner strength which will improve your physical (health) and mental (wisdom) well being.

I liked how the bear was swimming away from the snake and towards the tree; moving on from one situation to another.

Building confidence is certainly helpful for me while practicing with these cards. Whining about how I will never, ever be able to read them won't help me to improve my skills.J

Practicing like this is so much fun and very encouraging for my confidence in reading the Lenormand.

A quick three card Lenormand line

Since I am quite busy with cutting and pasting for my Soul oracle cards this will be a quick daily draw with my new Gilded Reverie Lenormand by Ciro Marchetti. It’s good to take a short break from collecting pictures and flipping through magazines because the images are already effecting me emotionally although they aren't even pasted on a card yet J

The cards for today are bear + tree + mountain:

Gilded Reverie Lenormand

• An authority with a traditional background is causing problems
• A strong woman has health issues which are hindering and frustrating
• Deep rooted jalousie can block you from moving forward

It feels good to search for various interpretations for this line. I've seen this on Chloe’s blog  “Inner whispers” and it keeps you from getting stuck with ready made answers: a tree isn't always about heath.

For today I've chosen the second interpretation. My health isn't that great and it so frustrating to feel you are getting older. This morning I went outside on my bike again. It was freezing a little and the sun was shining. A great ride. After this post I am going to do my exercises (physiotherapy) So I do try to maintain a healthy lifestyle but my joints aren't what they used to be.