Journey – Stop running and enjoy the scenery

Today’s card is "Journey" from the Magical Empowerment cards by Jody Bergsma. I needed a kind, gentle and uplifting message today, so I was very pleased this deck was still in my collection. It has been on my “decks to let go” list but somehow I find it very difficult to part with decks which have supported me throughout various phases of my life. So I keep them in a box for when I want to revisit with them again. And in that box, I found this deck …

The message of the card is to focus on how far we have come instead of how far we still have to go. Everything we have experienced up until this moment has brought us to where we are right now. Looking back on my life I consider this one h*ll of an accomplishment. But frankly, I never pay much attention to this feat.  I’d rather make to-do lists, research ways to improve myself, try to fix other people’s problems, run my daily life and move forward. But life has its own way of saying "enough!": Sometimes by sending you the flu or in my case dumping too much on my plate. 

So for today, I will keep myself from running towards the finish line and take some time to be proud of myself and to be in this moment, on this day and frankly, without expecting anything, it has become a good day, a very good day....

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

Manifestation – Let your dreams roam free

After having been solely working with tarot for a long time, I've pulled “Manifestation” from the Magical Times Empowerment Cards by Jodie Bergsma.

The message on the cards says: “Your dreams have untold energy. Open the door and let them live. Desire and belief are you power”

This card reminds me of The Magician’s energy: Everything is possible when you set your mind to it; you have the power within to manifest your dreams.

Most of my dreams are tucked away safely beneath a heavy blanket of forgetfulness and suppression. They are keeping quiet for now but I know they are still there and fully alive. It is almost if they are in some kind of hibernation. But now Spring is coming, life is stirring and dreams want to bud just eagerly as bulb flowers beneath the snow. Dreams can be awakened and come to life by the power of desire and belief, symbolized by the Dragon and the Unicorn.

Getting to know my dreams and giving them room to live is one of my main life challenges. In a few days I am starting with a 40 day Dutch journaling challenge with the theme: “Making room in 40 days”.  This is a more contemporary way of fasting.  With all kinds of prompts we are going to figure out what we really need in life; what is nourishing and what is a distraction and temptation from Ego. This way we can create room for more fulfilling things like writing, dreaming, meditation, tarot, art or just doing nothing….

I am really looking forward to it and I am sure making room for my dreams will be one of the subjects I want to write about.