Year Ahead Spread April – Jera and The Devil

My rune for April is Jera (harvest,year), which is the rune for cycles, the turning of the wheel, slow and steady development and karma.

 “What you sow you will reap” is a very fitting phrase for this rune.

So far it is looking quite promising but the card I pulled for this month seems much more challenging: The Devil from the Wild Unknown Tarot. For me the Devil has a  broad range of meanings. From honoring our sensuality and enjoying the physical  part of our life to serious cravings, addictions and obsessions. As most human beings,  I move between those two and encounter every other aspect of The Devil in in between.  For me he is not always “bad” or “sinful” but he is a seducer and it is often very tempting to  indulge ourselves

So how do these two fit together? Maybe The Devil will shake up the harmonious slow energy of the Jera a bit but Jera will keep me accountable  for every “slip” I make, how enjoyable it might have been.  Perhaps Jera  will also encourage me to pause before I give in and let me asses if it is really worth it. How often do we want to experience something very pleasurable only to regret it afterwards: eating that second piece of cake, buying the best deck ever, binch watching TV series etc. Jera  ask us to consider, before taking action, if we should indulge or restrain. And mind you this is not the same as living with a big “NO NO” in our mind. It tells us to be cautious but also to live a little. And Oh, if you think you have outwitted the Devil this time, Jera will make sure he is just a around the corner to try to tempt you again when you are expecting him the least

Of course I don’t now how this month will turn out but it feels like a interesting and probable exciting pair to work with.

Cycles – Trust the process

Today’s card is Cycles from the Magical Times Empowerment Cards. “We are all becoming. Surrender to your changes. Release your fear. Trust this powerful process.”

This last week  it feels like I am in a kind of a spiritual Winter or  a standstill. I don’t feel “it” and during this season the pressure is quite high to feel “it”, with everybody talking about the Christmas Spirit and so on.  In the depiction we see two dragons chasing each other, which tells me there is always movement in Cycles, even when we are not aware of it. This card resembles the Wheel of Fortune, which also teaches us that life has its ups and downs. Nothing ever stays the same; everything always changes. So I just have to trust this universal law and accept where I am right now, knowing this too will pass.

But I wouldn’t  be me if I didn’t  want to  help the universe to speed things up a little and preferable before Christmas. Yes I do have own my time schedule to consider too, so I pulled a rune for an assisting energy in this matter.

I pulled Jera, the rune of Cycles and Harvest.  Two divinatory systems telling me exactly the same thing.  How cool it that. Now I understand how speeding things up can ruin my harvest of this experience. We have to follow the rhythm of sowing, growing, weeding, harvesting and yes, also of resting. Each activity has its own season. This is the natural cycle of life. So it is actually not that strange to find myself in a spiritual lull these days. Maybe the cold winter does that to a person sometimes.

For now I will pour myself a hot cup of coffee and try to accept what is and sit with that, without giving in to my need to fix things quickly and trying to find a shortcut out.

I wish you all a wonderful Yule

Jera and Soulcards 1 - Inner balancing Act

Today’s rune is Jera (year, cycle, harvest) and I was wondering what cyclical movement I needed to embrace and accept more.

From Soulcards 1 I pulled a card to give me an answer to this question. In this card we see a man en a woman standing back to back and holding each other by the hand. (Look how they almost resemble the rune itself). With their free hand they seem to welcome whatever comes their way. Together they are strong and firmly rooted in day to day’s life. Like The Lovers this card can represent a loving and supportive relationship with another person but for me today it is all about “Me Myself and I”. I wonder what part of me strengthens me, supports me and grounds me and how I should embrace this part more and let it into my daily life instead of ignoring it and underestimating its value. It feels like this card has to do with finding the balance between my masculine and feminine aspects, my Yin and my Yang. Like the turning of the seasons is based on the in and out breath of nature so are my Animus and Anima dancing around and with each other in a continuous movement of push and pull, to try to find an inner balance and to maintain it as good as possible.. For me it is also reminder to view the Divine as a integration of both these aspects. Nothing is complete without its counterpart and so we all keep searching, time and again for that which makes us whole.

The Page of Pentacles and Jera – the beauty of our daily life

My rune for today is Jera which means year, harvest and cycle and it got me thinking about how we often complain of the tediousness of our day to day life. Each day ,each week, each month, with its same chores, the same social obligations and the same boredom. Yes, life can be like that too. The turning of the year teaches us there is a time sow and a time to reap. We are now entering the reaping phase of the year and people will be turning more inward soon. It will be Christmas before you know it. Sometimes the inevitability of these cycles can make me feel a bit tired and dulled. So what attitude can be helpful if we feel like this? I pulled the Page of Pentacles. Notice how he is situated in farmland, which is the perfect metaphor for cycles and seasons. He is holding his Pentacle in his hand and he is examining it as if he has never seen a Pentacle before. And I suppose there lies his secret. He is amazed by every aspect of this Pentacle: how it shines brightly in the sunlight, how it feels smoothly in his hands and imagine all the things you can do with this magnificent Pentacle.

Maybe if we would start out our day with the intent to find beauty in the common things. Look at the world through the eyes of a child (a Page) and let the world surprise you again and again and again. It might even be fun to journal you daily discoveries!