Lakshmi – All shall be well

Today I felt really drawn to pull a card from my first oracle deck ever, the Goddess Guidance Oracle Cards, which has been a birthday gift from my daughter M. Those first decks which have brought me so much pleasure and deep felt kindness are so easily buried under the great amount of newer and more trendy decks. Decks with more symbolism, gorgeous art, new systems and with such a rich and layered messages. I mean you have to be an awesome deck to compete with that. Somehow I do believe that every deck, every card can give us the message we need to hear, since it all comes from within ourselves or if you like from divine guidance.

So for today, I got Lakshmi - Bright Future:  "Stop worrying. Everything is going to be fine."  Lakshmi is the Hindu goddess of abundance and is often depicted with the elephant god Ganesh, the remover of obstacles. Her message is not to worry about all the terrible things that might happen, to hush your fears and worries and trust that the Universe/God has your best interest at heart.

I don’t believe this aspect of the divine will shower us with money and other riches but more that She and her Companion will grant us the strength and whatever more we need to move through our challenges and reap the due rewards. Also, I believe that focusing on this benevolent energy we are more likely to notice what She has given us and to express our gratitude for the abundance of the little things we notice each and every day. This way we become more and more aware of the abundance she bestows and feel more prosperous day by day

                                                                                                                                                        

First and Last Tag

This post is inspired by Kelly from The Truth in a Story.  After a lot of us have participated in Chloe’s tag: 3x3x3 divination, she has started her own tag about our first and last tarot and oracle deck and other divination systems which don’t involve cards. So let’s start with the last part of this tag: 

Other forms of divination

Sixteen years ago I’ve made my runes using ordinary pebbles. Tarot wasn’t in the picture yet. I felt I should work with runes because they were part of my ancestral heritage.  Also you have only 24 runes  and 78 tarot cards. So the decision was very easy at the time.

This is my first and my last divination set other then tarot or oracles. Although I have  become a fervent collector of card decks, I have never felt the need to try out other forms of divination beside my runes

Tarot decks

My very first tarot deck was a pocket version of the Rider Waite Tarot, which has softer color tones than the yellow box Rider Waite. I remember taking it with me on a holiday. I tried to read and understand the guidebook but all it did was confuse me and I didn’t want to unwrap the cards because I was so afraid to pull the Death card before we traveled home. Who know what powers this deck could have…???

When we were safely at home again I bought a book from Hajo Banzhaf which opened the doors for me to more in depth tarot studies

My last Tarot deck is the Wild unknown Tarot.  Although I only have this deck for about  five weeks it has already become one of my favorites.  It amazes me each time how these pen drawings with a touch of color can evoke such deep feelings and so much meaning. I also love how well it works together with my Runes. A wonderful match between a first and a last

Oracle decks

My first oracle deck was the Dutch version of the Goddess Guidance Oracle deck. I wanted to work with some of the depicted goddesses and needed representations on my altar.  At the time I thought I had to pick this deck very carefully because I had no intention to buy any more oracle decks. It was gifted to by M about four years ago.

My last oracle deck is the Gaia Oracle. Again the  Dutch version and again because I want to use it to explore the Divine Feminine. Lately I have been very interested in Germanic goddesses. Like Holda and Freya. I’ve discovered there is so much more to them than what you read in most  books. This is also true for Erda, Eartha, the personification of Earth (Aarde in Dutch). She is similar to Gaia, so working with this deck is a great way to relate to her and other goddesses.

I have really enjoyed this tag very much. It has brought back  a lot of memories and it was fun to see how much ideas about divination can change over the years.

Aeracura – Blossoming

For today I purposely picked up a Doreen Virtue deck as a way of self care. No difficult or startling messages but a gentle nudge in the right direction was what I was looking for. I've chosen the Goddess Guidance Oracle deck and I've drawn Aeracura. Never heard of her before. She is a  not so well-known Celtic and/or Germanic benevolent earth goddess who helps us to reach our goals without unnecessary stress and who restores our faith in the future. She is devoted to blossoming. She represents the "blossoming" aspect of ourselves  The cards depicts a small faery like being, emerging form a budding flower. The message on the card says:

 “You are just getting started, so have patience with yourself and the process, and do not give up. In many ways you are like a flower bud who is ripe and ready to open and grow. Don’t rush this process, as it is part of your beautiful path”

Aah, that’s good! Patience is good when you’re feeling not that perky. After this first feeling of relieve, I realized that is a very odd notion to consider yourself as a blossoming flower when you are  at my age. But I guess you can apply this notion to every new phase and or project in your life. You plant a seed, tend for it and have patience. Don’t try to hasten this budding process. Take good care of yourself, practice your new skill or work on that new project but take time to rest and refuel too. 

So after I've had my second cup of coffee I am going to put a first layer of paint on new painting. I have no idea what I am going to paint  and I will try to let go of the end result because I have noticed this will enhance the feeling of flow and freedom while painting.

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Anais Nin

Combined Tarot & Oracle Reading

For today I wanted to try something different. I was inspired to combine an oracle and a tarot deck in one reading by a post from Eowyn about questions and tarot readings.

Sometimes you may run out of questions when you read mostly  for yourself. So I thought what if I drew a oracle card to determine the subject of the reading?

I've pulled Rhiannon, The sorceress, from the Goddess Guidance Oracle by Doreen Virtue. The message of this card is: “You are a magical person who can manifest your clear intention into reality.”

Without delving much deeper into the meaning of this card, we now have our question: How can we manifest our intention or desires? Now I can pull two other cards to answer this question. They will provide me with two things I want to consider when manifesting or you could also assign one as Do and the other as Don’t or whatever you  prefer. You can make the reading as elaborate as you like but personally I prefer small spreads.

From my Universal Waite Tarot I pulled:

The Ace of Swords: in order to manifest your intention you need to have a clear vision or idea. Besides that you might want to make a plan how to proceed and what you require to manifest your desire. This Ace is just the first step: The potential of success. You have to make things happen yourself. Work together with the Universe. You desire won’t get signed sealed and delivered when you don’t participate in the process

The Hermit: When you create a vision of your intent, it is perhaps a good idea to really think about the consequences of your desire. What is your inner wisdom, your intuition telling you? If you shed a light over this intention is it still desirable and for the good of all or it is only beneficial for yourself This card is more about ethics than practical measures.

I love it how the two tarot cards are fitting together with the oracle card: the Ace of Swords resembles the horn the Unicorn and The Hermit highlights the solitude of the this goddess. Even the colors are matching quite well

All and all this trio of cards has given me something to think about. I think it is a good advice and I like how they make me think about something besides my usual interests. Sometimes you are so preoccupied with a situation, the cards only seem to talk about that instead of addressing something entirely else This can be a nice way to step out of your own circle of thoughts.

Green Tara - Start delegating

For today I've drawn Green Tara from the Goddess Guidance Oracle by Doreen Virtue. A familiar deck for most of you and for me my first oracle deck. I've been blogging for about two weeks about tarot now and perhaps I need a small break from it. Sometimes Tarot tend to dig deeper into the soul than I can handle. Maybe that is why I think  I prefer to do my daily draws with various decks rather than with one deck for a whole week.

So let's continue about Green Tara. She is originally a Hindu mother goddess, who has been adopted by Buddhism. Her name means Star. Each of her aspects is depicted in a different color. Green Tara is the one who comes to our aid when we are in need for help. She is the embodiment of compassion. You can see how she has already one leg ready to get up and help us. The caption says: Ask others (including me) to help you, Instead of trying to do everything by yourself”

For me it is, like probable for many of you, very difficult to ask for help. Somehow I always seem to think I should be in greater need for help more before I can ask it.  There is always that nagging feeling of guilt: "Shouldn't I do this myself? I don’t want to bother others". But on the other hand everybody is asking me for help and I almost never refuse. So perhaps today I could ask for some help to make my day a bit easier.

Green Tara is also about reconnecting with your own inner strength by getting the bigger picture of the situation at hand and feeling more, sure about your decisions. In that way she teaches us to help ourselves and find inner peace when there is nobody else around.

Nemetona - Sacred Space

For this weekend I’ve drawn an oracle card from the Goddess Guidance Oracle by Doreen Virtue. I was pleasantly surprised when I pulled this card from the deck: Nemetona – Sacred Space. She is the Celtic Goddess of the sacred grove.

“She is the sacred grove and it is her. She is sacred space, whether that is found within the majestic trees of a grove or if it is held simply within one's heart. She is holy breath, the sanctuaries we create, not out of stone and mortar, but out of love and reverence… Simply put, she is sacred space.”(Sora Nalani)

After the Nine of Pentacles from yesterday,  which was all about enjoying life’s little luxuries in the physical world, this one is emphasizing to retreat and  find a more spiritual sanctuary in order to connect to the Divine. This can be a real place in nature or maybe a church , but in my circumstances I am thinking more about a small altar or a inner sacred space. I was reminded by the importance of this by Sharyn in her yesterday’s comment:”We often need to mentally go to our room of quiet joy”. I do have a little altar in my room upstairs but lately it hasn’t been used very much. I’ve redecorated it for Ostara and Spring and that’s about it. My inner cottage has to be swept and dusted too. It has been so long since I have been there. It is definitely in need of some serious "Springitual" cleaning J

Have a wonderful weekend!

Lakshmi - Let it be

This morning I've drawn Lakshmi from the Goddess Guidance Oracle. She is the Hindu Goddess of wealth, prosperity (both material and spiritual), fortune, and the embodiment of beauty. She is said to bring good luck and is believed to protect her devotees from all kinds of misery and money-related sorrows.  

Since things are a little bit emotional and hectic around here, I figured I could use a little bit of guidance. I wasn't surprised to get this card since lately I feel very connected to Durga and Kali, who are both Hindu goddesses as well.  Yet today in my approach to my youngest I've reacted a bit to fierce, so the gentleness of Lakshmi was very welcome for both of us . Instead of focusing on what is not, and what I lack ,Lakshmi teaches me to be grateful for the abundance she is giving me and for everything I already have. The caption says: Stop worrying everything is going to be fine.  

Mostly I want to solve problems right away. I offer lot’s of solutions and expect others to accept at least one of them.  But sometimes it is what it is; especially when feelings are involved. It is hard for me to just let it be for a while. Although Lakshmi is often associated with overcoming money problems, today for me she is  all about trusting the Divine and stop solving problems and quit mothering. Just being there for her is often already enough.

My mantra for Lakshmi is: Om Shreem Maha lakshmiyai Namaha