A Letter from My Inner Self with the Enchanted Map Oracle

Last week, Kate from Daily Tarot Girl  wrote a post about a tarot spread which could be seen as a letter from your Inner Self to you. I missed this post and was happy to read how Cher from Tarot Guidance had done this exercise for herself

I personalized the letter a bit and used an oracle instead of a tarot deck.

Question: Inner Self, what message do you have for me at this time?

Answer: My dearest me. I would like to tell you three things you need to know for now. You need to_____________ and_________________. It is also very important to let go of_______________. Please  know I write to you with love and affection and I hope you’ll take my advice to heart

Love to hear from you soon

I pulled the followings cards from the Enchanted map Oracle:

So this could be my letter:

My dearest me. 

I would like to tell you three things you need to know for now. You need to Slow down and take it easy. This is no time to hurry and you need to realize you a whole person and have everything you need within yourself. It is also very important to let go of The urge to push others to see things your way and do what you want.

Please  know I write to you with love and affection and I hope you’ll take my advice to heart.

Love to hear from you soon

Cher has made an affirmation to go with her reading so I would like to finish this post with mine:

Slow down; I am okay and so are they J

Compass –We are never lost

For today I've drawn “Compass” from the Enchanted Map Oracle by Colette Baron Reid.  When your are on a journey a compass is the tool to maintain the right direction. Colette calls this your True North. The direction of your higher self, the divine, your purpose in life, your heart’s desire and so forth:

“As long as you orient your compass to True North — the direction of your higher power — you will never be lost.”

Although we encounter many distractions on our path and we might think we've lost our way, this isn't the case. Our higher self follows without a doubt our winding path through the thicket and the swamps back to the meadow where it is visible again. Every experience is a footstep further on this path. How small and rough it might be it is our path and we never lose our way.

These last few days have not been my best days and when I feel like that there is always the fear of relapse, which is almost never the case. Now, while I am feeling somewhat better again, I wonder as always; how did I lose my way and every time I remind myself: this is my way…

“Have faith and trust, for your compass, with Spirit as True North, will ensure that you’ll never be lost — even on a starless night when all seems dark”.

It all comes down to trust and being in the moment, where we are able to look at our compass and decide on our next move. 

Slow and Steady …wins the race

The Enchanted Map Oracle Cards

Today I’ll take a break from my beloved new Wildwood tarot. As you have noticed or perhaps have experienced this deck is asking a lot of yourself. It’s pulling you inwards, softly but determined and it’s often not easy what you find there. So I've picked up the Enchanted Map Oracle Cards. The theme of this deck is the inner map of your life; the landscapes and guide’s you will find there and how to play an active role in shaping this world.

So I shuffled and asked: Am I still on the right track”?And I've got “Slow and Steady” .I sighed with relieve. After a good but hectic and tiring Sunday this is such a fine card to start my week with.

The card depicts a fairy who has curled up inside a snail shell and in doing so she has adopted this animals movement speed. I suspect this little fairy to be a busy fluttering creature who has a life speed much faster than we humans have. For today I'll interpret this card as a temporary but o so welcome adjustment to my daily routine

The book says:

“Remember the old saying ‘slow and steady wins the race’? This is the time for easy movement, unhurried steps, and a steady heart. Trust that taking life at a more leisurely pace will give you greater access to your dreams. Slowing down allows more contact with the juicier elements of your life. Savour them!”

ments and savour them to the fullest; starting out with a long luxurious shower followed by coffee and … Chocolates

My cheatsheet for life

The Enchanted Map Oracle Cards

Every morning when I get up I feel like I have a second chance at life again. I need to have that chance because I tend to forget all my intentions, promises and commitments and even my own wishes; my heart’s desires. Perhaps it is my age. My doctor once said, everybody over 50 needs a notebook in his pocket.J

But it could be something entirely else. Intentions and so forth all have  to do with change. And what can be more fearful than change. To leave a familiar status quo, even when it’s not working or is unhealthy, can cause a lot of anxiety and insecurity. We want to change our ways for the better, but even though we aspire a healthy and spiritual life we keep falling back to our old habits and behavior patterns. Reading other peoples blogs and watching their Youtube video has made me aware of the fact that I ‘m not alone in this. But I think I've found a creative solution for  my (our) problem….

Yesterday evening I've watched a video from MonsoonMagick about a blessing box on her altar. She puts little pieces of paper in there with blessings she wants to invite in to her life and intentions she want to manifest. I have transformed this idea (combined it with my doctors advice) to an intention journal/notebook, not only for on my altar but to carry it with me where ever I go and to read it whenever I want to.

My little intention notebook

This idea is right in time for my Samhain resolutions/wishes etc. I am planning to write in this little book every holiday and new moon. Here I will list my intentions, my wishes ,my practices and everything I want to commit to.  It is also great to revisit en evaluate previous entries from past holidays  and new moons. Keep in mind that it’s not a journal  but rather a little book with lists and keywords. Like a cheatsheet for life J

Just before I've posted this I've pulled a card from The Enchanted Map Oracle Cards and what do you know; it was “Commitment”: “A true commitment is a responsibility of the heart mind body and soul. This is a good time to make one.”

Flying high

The Enchanted Map Oracle Cards

Today’s card is “Flying” from the Enchanted Map Oracle Cards by Colette Baron-Reid.

To be honest I've felt a little bit lost today. Recently I've had every day a subject to draw a card for but now that’s over and done. So here I am sitting in front of my laptop with my too familiar inner critic on my lap. And isn't  that rascal having fun. J

But the cards came to the rescue. Flying high! With the subtext: “You have the power to see things from a higher perspective”

This is a part of the uplifting message from the guidebook: “If you were a bird flying high in the air, what would you see? When you soar above life’s challenges and opportunities, a new perspective becomes available.. ..You have the ability to reach for the stars and find the one with you name on it spread you wings and soar.” It’s so empowering to take a step back and see the whole picture instead of the itty bitty parts. You know immediately what’s really important and what's not. And if I soar there is no rascal in site. There is just an immense feeling of freedom and possibilities. Yay, there’re the words I‘ve been waiting for: Freedom and possibilities. I see this card as a portal to my own way of writing this blog. I am free to write how, what and when I want to. No more challenges, no more commitments, at least not for some time. Just me and my laptop and my most beloved decks J

Filling the well

October 12: These days the sweet chestnuts are falling from the trees. Poor people were fed by those trees for free. Who or what will provide for me?

The Enchanted Map Oracle

At first sight this card doesn't look very hopeful. It’s Dry Desert from The Enchanted Map Oracle made by Colette Baron Reid. There’s a woman walking in the desert with nothing there but two cactus's and one bird. She is alone there, so who will provide for her. Should she eat from the cactus? Then it hit me. She’s standing tall and confident, her head held high: She is the one who will provide for herself in times of need. This is one of those “Aha” moments you get sometimes when you’re reading cards.

Then I opened the little guidebook and I read:

Dig deep for inspiration and truth. Now is the time to become resilient and adaptable. Is your life presenting you with opportunities that seem to yield nothing? Have your ideas dried up? Does it feel like you’re on an endless journey through a dry, hot, lifeless desert? This card reminds you that there are times when you are meant to become resilient as you journey through harsher circumstances. You’re being required to conserve your energy – until, after consistent effort, you reach the oasis you’re searching for. Consider the creatures that live in these conditions: they have adapted to thrive in spite of the outer environment. In a desert, water, essential for life, can be found deep underground. Go deep within yourself now…find your truth there. Let Spirit sustain you while you locate the real source. Whatever it is you’re asking about will not be found in the conditions you’re in until you move past the surface of things and choose to do the real work and discover the answers deep within you. This may not seem like the most productive time but looks are deceiving. This is a most important place to find what is truly right for you.

So it all comes down to this: I have to take care of myself in times of need. Inside me I have resources not yet discovered. To stay in the scenery of this card there is a well inside where I can drink and be filled with strength and intuition which will guide me to the meadow, the forest, to anywhere but here

I’ve been in the desert several times already but never it was so dry and barren as last time. Although I didn’t know it at the time those inner resources have pulled me through. Now I know that every time you’re in the desert you learn and adapt to survive and you become more flexible and resilient and your higher self knows that there’s always an oasis to be found.

Today I’m going to fill my inner well with some meditation and reading. You never know when you’ll need it. My daughters boyfriend is making coffee; for now he provides for me. J

Help is already here

28 September:  Tomorrow it’s St Michaelsday: He is said to protect us and helps the ones in need. What do I need help for. Draw a card and see what help you've got

The Enchanted Map Oracle

This morning I have taken the Enchanted Map Oracle from my shelf. It has been lying there far too long. It's by Colette Baron-Reid.With this deck you'll navigate a metaphoric map of your life's journey. You go places, you meet challengers & allies and you encounter situations. Everything takes place in the magical realm of your imagination. 

She has also written a book called “The Map”. It is a good read and it gives you more insight in this deck.

For today I've got the Bone Collector. No, it isn't as creepy as it sounds. The card depicts a peaceful elderly woman who is sitting in a circle of stones. She is smiling and she looks quite inviting to talk to. When I've opened the guidebook for some guidance (It has been long time ago J), I read the small sentence that summarizes the meaning of this card: "You are whole and have everything you need within." Further it says:

  “Whenever we're wounded, especially when we're young, it’s as if something essential is stolen from us. We adapt, and accept a particular version of the truth that then sets us up to behave a certain way in the future when faced with a situation that reminds us of the original event. What we know about ourselves thus becomes influenced by a perception of limitation “

 “The Bone Collector reminds you that the truth is that you are a powerful being with limitless possibilities. She has kept safe what was stolen from you in the wounding, and is here for you to reclaim it now. You have everything you believe you lack, and the Bone Collector is your inner resource. Act as if you have what you need and you’ll find you have it after all.”

That gave me goose bumps!  And I do like that when that happens when I'm reading cards. I find it really exciting when readings follow a theme throughout several days. Then I feel like the cards are really speaking to me.

So this darling old lady will help me with everything I was set out to do after my encounter with The Daughter of Poseidon. The Bone Collector is the one where my help is coming from. And the most striking part is that I just have realized that she is a part of me. Yes, all this help is coming from within! So I just called myself me a darling old lady. That’s the first step on the road of self acceptance J

This card also reminds me of the story of La Loba from “women who run with a Wolves” by Clarissa Pinkola Estes: 

“The sole work of La Loba is the collecting of bones.  She is known to collect and preserve especially that which is in danger of being lost to the world.

If you haven't read this wonderful book already, please do, because it’s a must read for every woman