Reflection - Illusion, Self-examination, Distortion

Today’s card is Reflection from The Gaia Oracle by Toni Salerno. I like that it fits perfectly with the full moon tonight. This card is all about looking around you and determine how your physical reality reflects your inner turmoil. Now this makes me chuckle. Cards can have a grim kind of humor too. While I am typing this, my back is really killing me. Somehow I must have done something stupid and I can’t remember what or when but it hurts like h*ll.  This prevents me from doing the things I love most, like writing and drawing etc. So this is the perfect time for reflection while I sit, lie down or walk sequentially for short periods of time.

“Observe your thoughts and feeling throughout the day and make a note of negative or unconstructive thoughts and feelings. This practice, over time, will in itself help heal and restore balance to your life.”

This card urges me not to just skim the surface but to be brave enough to go deeper and to journal about it but I will limit myself to short notes for now. So now I am going off for my stroll around the block to loosen up the muscles and do some "serious" reflecting!

“My heart is full of love and light

All is well in my world

I feel the peace within me and this creates peace around me

I observe all I think and feel

Each negative thought or feeling is automatically transformed to love” 

Six of cups – Remembering you

Instead of picking up my Gaian tarot for my daily draw I was mindlessly playing with my Original Rider Waite Tarot and I pulled my card for today: the Six of Cups. this card is all about happy childhood memories, feeling safe and nurturing our inner child.

Yesterday I’ve  received the very sad message that my aunt had passed away. She was such a gentle and loving soul. Always ready to help others where and whenever she could.  She lived with her mother, my grandmother, and always when I visited them for the holidays she took me places like the cinema, the zoo, the beach  or just shopping. She even took days off from work, especially for me. Together we’ve seen the Sound of Music seven times!  We played games together in the evenings after dinner. Later when I had a family of my own she was just as loving for my kids as she has been for me. It saddens me she is gone but I know for her it must have been a relief because the last year of her life she was very ill So from now on I will treasure the precious memories I have of her, safely in my heart.

“If there comes a day when we can’t be together, keep me in your heart, I’ll stay there forever."  Winnie the Pooh

The Star - Opening to Grace

Today’s’ card is The Star from the Gaian Tarot. Again another Major Arcana card and this time a very tranquil and serene one. This is the card which follows after the storm and lightning of The Tower. A woman kneels near a sacred starlit spring. She drinks from the magical water to recuperate and to be filled with hope and inspiration  Above her stars are shining and watching over her.

This card represents a renewed connection with the Divine which is unearned and freely granted.

After a busy weekend, today will be a day of graceful calm and gratitude for the many blessings in my life. Also I want to be aware of my connection with God(dess) and with everything else in this beautiful abundant world.

“Now is a good time to begin the practice of gratitude, of giving thanks. When our hearts are full, it's easy to be thankful. If we begin the practice now, it will be easier to sustain when times are rough. Follow your star, for it will guide you home. “

It has been too long since I’ve opened my gratitude journal, so today will also be a good day to revive this practice.

I am grateful for: M cleaning and reorganizing closets - being home again – friends and family -the unconditional love of our dog - lots of rain - coffee with biscuits – hydrangea – tarot decks -  internet - and so much more

The sun - Feeling good

After my last post, the Sun card from the Gaian Tarot as my daily draw, couldn’t be more appropriate. Since my impromptu little art session I feel so much more relaxed. It is if all my windows are opened and fresh air is coming in. Look how the woman in red is dancing in the sunlight. She is totally engaged in her dancing and enjoying the flow of her movements. There is nothing but the here and now and the joy of being alive.

This is the card of the great YES; a card of happiness, celebration joy and everything good and optimistic you can think of. It is so important to understand we can all feel this way if we are brave enough to take the necessary choices and actions. Happiness is our natural state of being. When are able to let go of our excess need of control and our rigid belief systems it will surface effortlessly

This weekend I am going to celebrate my mother’s birthday.  My brothers will be there too, so it also will be a family reunion. I intent to spend this time together with an open heart, a smile on my face and without any expectations

I wish you all a lovely sunny weekend and I’ll see you again next week

Hugs

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The Magician and Bindweed – The Power to Break Free

 

Today’s cards are The Magician and Bindweed (the Devil) from the Gaian Tarot by Joanna Powell Colbert. Although the cards come from a different deck they form a fitting follow-up on yesterday’s post.

The Magician reminds me of the power I have to change my life. Nobody else but me can make the necessary decisions and act on them accordingly. I drum through my life either on a humdrum rhythm or with creative passion or maybe with a healthy balance of both. 

But when we see Bindweed there is some serious need to wield my magical powers in order to set myself free. To stop thinking about creative expression and start drumming vigorously. With every strike of my brush or my pencil the bindweed dies and withers. Now it is not about the quality of my art but the quantity. Just break free and start gardening later!

For now this will do and I am going to slap some paint on paper and feel free!
P.s And I loved it!

Eight of Arrows – We Struggle Because We Have Hope

 

Today’s card is the Eight of Arrows (Swords) from the Wildwood Tarot. We see a young woman struggling to find her way through the snow and the blizzard. There are eight broken and wasted arrows lying in the snow, with no use to anyone anymore. The woman is carrying a lit lantern, which is a symbol of her hope to eventually find her way again. Everybody knows how it feels to be in a situation like this; to be challenged by choices and dilemmas, which are often calling for harsh and sometimes painful decisions. And we know we are the ones who have to make them. Life can be cruel and difficult but we are fueled with hope that we will prevail. Otherwise we wouldn’t struggle and fight to overcome these challenges. And what will our destination be, once we have survived this storm?

The Six of Arrows. We are heading for the port to set sail on our boat towards calm weather. Now that we have left behind our broken arrows, our old thought patterns, we are energized with new possibilities and ideas. There are boundaries to cross. New reasonings will be tested, and new approaches will be researched. What wonders may lie ahead???

Personally I’ve experienced yesterday a minor struggle of my own.  After reading Bev’s blogpost “indulging the Ego” I was wondering what hidden agenda I myself had for creating art and why my ego is always so hesitant to create since it would probable result in praise.  Or is my ego afraid that I will ruin the drawing and it won’t get it’s quick fix. Some part of me wanted to start drawing again so badly and finally, late at night I succeeded to overcome my inner adversary and I drew a woman’s face. Maybe I should call her Hope.

Tarot and Oracle Decks on my Altar

Lately it seems to be trendy to take the tarot and oracle decks you are currently working with out of their boxes or bags and put them out in the open on your altar or some other kind of sacred space. Preferable with a crystal on top to keep it safe, to charge it, cleanse it and whatnot.  I’ve seen this practice for the first time in a video by Raecine from Owlmoon 513.

I can remember, I was not overly enthusiastic back then, because in my opinion there would be a dust gathering problem and the backs might discolor in the daylight. Over time, on YouTube and on Instagram, I’ve seen others doing the same thing, which is totally okay because that is how we learn from one another. Personally for me, my Tarot and Oracle decks are one of the most important tools of my spiritual practice, so it would be very fitting to have some decks ready to pull from on my altar. Because my altar was in some serious need of dusting and cleaning/cleansing anyway, I thought, why not try to put some decks on there too.

And so I did. On my altar I have now out in the open: the Sacred Rebels oracle deck, The Wildwood Tarot, The Celtic Lenormand and as a trusted old friend; The Original Rider Waite Tarot.

It has been three days now since I’ve made the "altaration" and I absolutely love it. It such a good feeling to be able to pick up your deck and start shuffling it right away. It feels so intimate and very inviting to me. Like in the fairy tale of Mother Holle when the apple tree calls out: "Shake me, shake me, my apples are all ripe,." so is are my decks calling out to me: “shuffle us shuffle us, we have many tales to tell”