Seven of Swords - Putting it all together

After yesterday’s card, the Seven of Swords seems to invite us to really take a good look at what we believe to be true and to shed some light over contradicting idea’s. This card invites me to write about my spiritual beliefs and how I came to this personal blend of several belief systems.

As you all know I was raised Christian but never felt quite comfortable with the exclusive nature of Christianity. Although I loved God and Jesus, the dogma’s were putting me off immensely.  So starting in adolescence,  I have always been trying to fit in with other kinds of spiritual groups but up until today I have never found one. Buddhism, Wicca, Paganism, they all have beautiful and deep truths but somehow I missed the God of my Childhood and, honestly, there was always the fear of being totally wrong and the impending consequences.

My altar was a beautiful representation of my confusion and my swaying between different beliefs. One day I would have representations of Mary, Jesus and other Christian symbols on my altar but a month later it could have changed into a celebration of nature and the Divine Feminine. When I was totally confused I reduced it to a few crystals and a large white candle.

Then I picked up “Paganism” by River and Joyce Higginbotham which taught me that our idea’s of Divinity are something entirely different then Divinity itself. Words, ideas etc are only limiting our perception of God.

This helped me to overcome the fear to be wrong and after long deliberation, I took a leap of faith and I wholeheartedly embraced God as truly multifaceted. It was such a relief not having to puzzle the pieces together but experiencing how everything blends in seamlessly: my love for Jesus and Mary are in no way contradicting with my reverence for Mother Holda and the  Great Mother. One thing that l really love is that with Jesus, I have a male aspect of God to relate to which was very difficult for me when I was solely focusing on Paganism.

In this card we see the old man desperately trying to fit his seven swords in a structure he can work with. I am now positive he will succeed but only when he is willing to implement some room for mystery and awe because our spirit can take us places where our mind cannot enter.

Tarot Magic for a more healthy lifestyle (Part II)

After having carefully picked the cards for my tarot spell for a healthy lifestyle I started two write the words; The Mother of Swords part of magic. This is the part where you craft your magic with pen and paper. As a side note, in my opinion pen and paper are the most powerful magical tools I have to my disposal. Journaling is often a magical practice for me.

After some scratching and tearing I’ve come up with a prayer, a spell and an affirmation. I am definitely going to use the prayer and the affirmation but I am not sure about the spell part. It seems a bit redundant. When I wrote my prayer I addressed the Mother of  Pentacles and the Mother of Swords as two parts of the Goddess, who could be of help to me to achieve my goal. When I called them  Earth Mother and Sky Mother in my prayer, I immediately was reminded of the goddess Holda who is both Earth and Skye goddess. This connection was  to me a conformation I was moving in the right direction with this spell. 
So this is my prayer:

Aardemoeder, Wolkenmoeder Wakker mijn verlangen aan Om gezond te zijn Om sterk te zijn Om dag in dag uit Datgene te kiezen wat goed is voor mijn lichaam. Aardemoeder, Wolkenmoeder Bevrijd mij van starre patronen Geef mij heilzame gedachten en Leer mij vliegen als een vlinder

Earth Mother, Sky Mother Wake up my desire To be healthy to be strong So each day I will Choose the things Which are good for my body. Earth Mother, Sky Mother Free me from rigid patterns Give me healing thoughts and Teach me how to fly like a butterfly

And this is my affirmation:

Vandaag kies ik bewust voor gezonde voeding en genoeg beweging om mijn lichaam de liefde, zorg en aandacht te geven  die ik verdien. Hierdoor word ik vandaag sterker, gezonder en voel ik me meer comfortabel in mijn eigen vel.

Today I consciously choose for a healthy diet and plenty of exercise to give my body, the love, care and attention I deserve. Because of this, today I'm stronger, healthier and I feel more comfortable in my own skin.

The stones ( Mother of Pentacles part) to go with my spell are:

Labradorite to promote change and to protect me from tempting influences (chocolate!)

Aventurine for the Earthy part; for health and determination (Mother of Pentacles)

Sodalite for the Airy part; for clear and motivational thoughts. (Mother of Swords)

Rune: Uruz for strength and a strong, healthy  physical body

Finally I’ve made a vision board for in my room; a Mother of Pentacles part of the spell tooIguess. This board is the first thing I see every morning when I wake up. It is just a simple pin-up board where I pinned al my clippings from magazines which are related to a healthy lifestyle!

I’ve been enjoying doing all of this. To be busy with the writing and the crystals and clippings made me feel very connected to my goal. And now the last part is to activate my spell and  do the work!