Year Ahead Spread: February – Two of Swords and Laguz

My card for  February is the Two of Swords from the Wild Unknown Tarot and my rune for this month is Laguz.

The Two of Swords is all about postponing a decision or reaching a stalemate.  This can become quite a challenge for me, since I am usually  all about solving problems and making things right as quickly as possible, so I don’t have to feel uncomfortable any longer than necessary. But truth be told this behavior doesn’t always benefits me. It can cause stressful situations because I tend to act quickly and sometimes too ill considered. Resolving unpleasant feelings as soon as possible has really become a second nature of me. But then I started reading “living Beautifully” by Pema Chödrön again and this reminded me how staying with whatever you feel and experiencing life how it is right now can be an act of compassion toward ourselves and how this can bring about a sense of deep peace and calm.

I feel this card symbolizes my effort to stay with whatever occurs in my life and refrain myself from seeking  a quick habitual solution to make it all go away.

The rune Laguz emphasizes this  notion because Laguz is the rune of  water, of feeling and emotions and of our unconscious. This rune fit seamlessly with “II Inner Voice” of the OshoZen tarot (aka the High Priestess), my rune for this lunation. Both urge me to listen to my heart,  before I decide how to act in a situation. This requires slowing down, becoming more mindful of what is really going on and trying to maintain a regular mediation practice. I am happy to say so far the latter is going rather well this time around. 

Two of Swords – Listen to your heart

Today’s card is the Two of Swords from the Anna K Tarot. Instead of the usual blindfolded woman the man in the depiction is walking away from his swords. Maybe he is hoping when he pretends they are not there he doesn’t have to deal with them. But it is obvious this isn’t working: the sand from the beach outside has found its way into the room, the floor is cracking, the waves high and from the anxious look on his face I am sure he knows. It is a new moon, the perfect time for new beginnings and facing his responsibilities 

Often when we try to make up our mind with only our intellect our decision doesn’t feel quite right. A little voice starts nagging us. Although we have decided, we are still doubting if we did the right thing. Only when head and heart are both being heard a balanced decision can be made and the man in Two of Swords  can go home to the Ten of Pentacles, where he can enjoy the simple things of life with his family. There he will experience a peace of mind which he thought he had lost in the tidal waves of the stormy sea.

Problem solving with tarot

This morning, when I woke up, I didn't feel that great. I was obsessing about, now please don’t laugh, which journal I would like to use for the coming time. This is an obsession which has been going on for as long as I write in my journals. I go back and forth between several formats and almost never really finish one. Sometimes I write everything in one book, or I use multiple journals; for each subject a different notebook. And don’t get me started about the actual journals I can choose from: ring-bound, spiral bound, hardcover, digital, A4, A5, A6, lined grid, blank…. the possibilities are endless. A typical first world problem or maybe a cover-up for an underlying issue. When I feel this anxious it is very hard to let go of. So instead of obsessing about it even further, I flipped trough my deck and picked a few cards face- up which visualize how I feel.

In short:

When too many choices are available, I get stuck, unable to move, while in my mind the quarrel is constantly going on and without a winner. The only thing I have to do is take of my blindfold get up and receive the gift of choosing one possibility, be content with it and start journaling. This will lead me through the gate towards freedom.

It is so easy. All I have to do is make one decision and release the illusion I have to solve this dilemma for eternity. Just choose for today and be happy with it.

Is it just me, or does any of you have such nagging, not at all crucial, long lasting, dilemma too?

Dreamer two - Half-Moon Truce

To be honest I didn't feel like blogging today. Yesterday was our 28th anniversary and today my husband is coming over to celebrate this. A lot of mixed feelings are whirling through my mind but most of all I am determined to make this visit a success. Especially for him and hopefully for all for us. So some of my feelings has to be put on the back burner for today. But when I was playing with my tarot decks just for fun and relaxation, I noticed I kept drawing a version of the two of swords. I thought this was so significant I had to write about it. The first two of swords I did pull this morning was the one from the Tarot of the Sidhe. We see a face in the sky, half black half white.  It is a quarter moon, half full, half darkened. At the bottom of the card a magpie spreads it wings; showing his black and white feathers. Everything points out to a stalemate situation, a temporary balance.

“Now the Mind is split in twain

The glorious whole is seen to wane

And two thoughts must find a path

To bring both peace and conquer wrath”

Emily Carding

This is a very timely card for today. On one hand there is this profound sadness and on the other hand joy and festivity are in place and expected. M and I have made a delicious cake with walnuts and chocolate. This will certainly heighten the mood. For tonight I am going to make my husband’s favorite meal: leek pie, kidney beans and salad. So now I am going to prepare the leek and the dough for the pie and I will put in some extra love as “secret” ingredient. 

Two of Air: Listen….

“A woman stands by a hawthorn tree in bloom, listening to two cedar waxwings making companion calls. She closes her eyes to shut out extraneous noises so she can hear the quietest bird call, the one behind all the other ones. She cradles something precious in her hands — perhaps a stone or broken bird's egg. It becomes a talisman of silence and awareness.

"The quieter you become, the more you can hear," Ram Dass.

You are learning to become so still that you can hear the quietest sound of all: the voice within your own heart, the voice of Spirit. Come into the awareness of silence and stillness. Make time and space in your day to sit in silence and allow insight to appear. When there are decisions to be made, it’s best to "move at the pace of guidance," as Christina Baldwin says in Seven Whispers.”

This text came from my First Android App, The Gaian Tarot by Joanna Powell Colbert,  I've bought from Foolsdog, a company which sells tarot apps for iPhone and Android. Yesterday I've also bought Tarot of Trees by Dana Driscoll, a lovely deck but due to high shipping costs to The Netherlands too expensive for me to buy as a real deck. I like both apps; they are fun to play with and it is rather handy because if you tap on your card it turns around and you can read the meaning on the backside J. But I do miss the feel of a deck in my hands. I think you can compare it with reading a physical book or an E- book on your reader. It is okay but you miss the smell and the feel of real paper. Still I do enjoy having those two decks on my tablet. The card for today was very timely. Because as I've told you before I am trying to meditate more frequently. This card is showing me what wonderful peaceful experience it is to be still, to listen and to become aware of that soft inner voice of intuition.

Affirmation:” I take time in my day to listen, and be open to receiving insight”

My First Impressions of The Joie de Vivre Tarot

Yesterday I've received The Joie de Vivre Tarot By Paulina Cassidy in the mail. I've ordered it two weeks ago at Book Depository. And to be honest is was a kind of an emotional purchase. Although I am celebrating my birthday in about three weeks and I am promised some tarot presents, I really needed  to treat myself on a light, friendly and uplifting deck.

A deck which will comfort you. A deck which will tell you the truth but in a gentle and kind way. A deck which will emphasize the positive side of a situation. Even the most dreadful cards are friendly and they speak more to your compassion than to your fears.

For instance the figure in the two of words is being  held by birds and the girl who is falling from the tower is held by butterflies

It had to be also a deck which would distract my mind form worrying. So there had to be enough symbolism in de pictures to keep my mind busy. Look how many symbols there are for instance in The Wheel: the zodiac, the moon cycles, the four trees on his head, the lemniscate on his jacket. In every card there are little treasures to be found.

And that’s when I knew it had to be the Joie de Vivre Tarot:

“French for 'joy of living', the Joie de Vivre is designed to access the childlike energy in each one of us to help stimulate, enhance, and inspire joy in our own lives. A truly fantastical people, the living beings in the Joie de Vivre realm are all sentient souls of love who want nothing but the best for those who take a journey through their world. An amplifier of intuition and a connection to the divine source, they hope the Joie de Vivre deck will help awaken a response from deep within your heart, mind, and spirit.”

It is the second tarot deck by Paulina Cassidy. I don’t own her first deck: the Paulina Tarot, because the artwork was too detailed for me. In the Joie de Vivre tarot the pictures are less crowded but still they contain a lot of little adorable details and symbols. The pictures were done in watercolors and ink. The colors are soft and transparent. The backgrounds are often just made  with a color wash and some swirls which is a good contrast to the detailed figures. The cardstock is average and the finish is glossy and smooth. The colors are much more vibrant than I had expected and they are absolutely beautiful.

One more thing about the LWB. Paulina has written a tiny little story about each character in her pictures and she has even named them. This makes this little booklet a very surprising addition to the deck

AL together it will be rather obvious I totally adore this deck.  And I haven’t even started reading with it. I do have already begun to knit a bag because the little tuckbox didn't survive the long journey overseas. 

Two and Page of Swords - How to air a closed up mind

For today's daily draw I've used my Original Rider Waite Tarot and I wasn’t surprised at all to have drawn the Two of Swords. The woman is sitting blindfolded with two swords crossed for her chest. She doesn’t want to know, to feel or to deal with the situation at hand. There is delay and uncertainty, there is doubt and probable a touch of anxiety. I can relate to those feelings but like this woman I don’t want to deal with them now. So what to do? I pull another card.

The Original Rider Waite Tarot

And there he is, my brave Page of Swords. With his brand new sword swaying above his head. He isn’t even watching what he is doing. He is just moving it back and forth. He has a lot of sparkling idea’s which are circling around in his mind. He is the one who will clear away my premature worries and who will open my mental windows to air my mind. At this very moment I am sitting near my open kitchen door and a Spring breeze is blowing some blossom leaves in my kitchen. It is good to breath the fresh air as it is also wise to allow freshness and bright thoughts to enter my mind. This page is my perfect hero for today J

From Two of Swords to Queen of Cups

For today another card from the Anna K tarot, which I absolutely adore. It is the two of swords in a slightly different setting as the usual R.W. versions. Here we see a man who is ignoring his two swords and has his back turned to them. They are standing right outside the door on the beach. The sea is rough, the waves are high. The moon is waxing as are probable his emotions too. The sand is already inside; covering the neat tiled floor. He has to do something to move forward, but obviously he has not been able to do anything yet. This moment is giving him his much needed time-out. He cannot go anywhere and according to his facial expression he knows. It is what it is,for now.

It is very easy for me to relate to this man. I think I have an armory full of swords, waiting to discarded or to be chosen. But not yet, not now,  because I honestly don’t know what to do with them and which ones to pick.

I hardly ever go there and as long as I don’t open the door it seems as if it isn't there.

I didn't want it to leave it like this so I asked what would be a good way to approach my Two of Swords mentality and I got the Queen of Cups. Look at her sitting there, under a starry sky,  with her feet and one hand in the cool rippling water.  It is as if the raging sea from the Two of Swords immediately calmed down after she has touched it. The moon is mirroring the moon from the first card; it is waning. Emotions are settling down. Perhaps it is scary to  get in touch with your feelings, to make decisions, but in the end it is not so bad as it was to be expected.

Two of swords; my breathing space

Universal Waite Tarot

Today another swords card. Again a card I am pleased to see. The two of swords. For me this is a peaceful card. I tend to focus more on the stillness of this moment than on the decisions at hand. The woman is sitting on a solid concrete bench. She is blindfolded and she has her two swords crossed over her heart. Behind her the see seems calm, but she knows better than anybody else what is beneath the still waters…. She has to make a move, a decision, but not now, not yet. Breath, just breath…

I know I have to let down my guard at some point; to lower my swords and remove the blindfold to able to make decisions with more than only my mind. I have to be at peace with what I decide. My heart has to be in it. When decisions are made after just counting the cons and pros, you often feel regret afterwards but when your heart is involved, perhaps you dare to explore the see behind you al little bit more; drop by drop, wave by wave, tide by ti

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Between the moments

October 5: Sparrows and blue tits are finding insects to eat, especially  beetles and earwigs, between the seeds of a sunflower. In what unexpected places do I find nourishment?

Druidcraft Tarot

 All kind of places come to mind but then I draw the two of swords from the Druidcraft Tarot. Out of all cards, I get the one with a blindfolded woman. How do I look for those special places where I can find  nourishment, when I can’t see a thing?

The woman is sitting at the crossroads. She’s holding two swords crossed in front of her chest and she’s blindfolded. She has a choice to make. Which way is the right way? There is a time-out, indecision, a hush. Perhaps between the moments of hesitation and making that decision, there’s an unknown place to be found. Just on the threshold,  neither inside or outside, there is a thought…

And then I knew I wanted something more out of this reading and after few months of not looking at them, I've picked up my Lenormand cards again...

Lo Scarabeo Lenormand

And I drew: mice(23), key(33) and book(26). How surprised I was when I saw my nourishment in front me. This is how I read my cards: The key is the center card and tells me that in those meaningful moments of silence doors can be opened, new ways can be found and I can find this key inside me. Key stands for solutions, opening doors, new beginnings and insight. The Key is modified by the book: That is something familiar. I like to read about everything. So in these moments, written ideas can take root and blossom. And on the other side is the mice card. They can take my nourishment away. Those critters eat almost everything J. But I think they represent my nervousness or stress; the main blockage for inner wisdom.

So thanks to my Lennies, I have found my nourishment