Word, Card and Rune for 2017

Long before the New year, I had decided what my word for 2017 would be. It is one I struggle with a lot. The word I picked for this year is Trust: Trust in myself and trust in others. I hesitated about adding faith too but I feel Trust is a more active and empowering word than faith.  Faith is more like a spiritual concept and trust is a verb: “Trust is faith in action!”

So with that in mind I pulled my card for my theme the year. Whatever it would be I wanted to trust that it would be able to teach me a valuable lesson this year and I pulled the Nine of Cups ( pfff). This card is all about experiencing intense joy and emotional fulfillment on a personal level. For me the Ten is more about the well-being of community; the love and joy experienced with family, friends and loved ones. The Nine however is an invitation to discover everything which brings you joy, to fill up those nine cups. But also it is about accepting what life has already put in those cups and making the most out of it. Joy can even be found even in the hardest of times.

In the five we were grieving and not able to see the two cups standing upright, The Six reminds us that our happy memories are always with us, the Seven asks us to find out what our heart truly desires. In the Eight we try to leave our cups behind. (I sincerely doubt if that is ever possible) And then we reach the Nine where we learn to find gratitude and Joy in all aspects of life.

I pulled Perthro from my bag of runes to go with The Nine of Cups and immediately  I recognized the cup which would transform my Nine into a Ten, into completion. Perthro means dice cup and it is a symbol of mystery, of not knowing. How this cup will guide me from Nine to Ten is a question I Trust, I will be able to answer one day and maybe even before 2018.

Year ahead spread: January - Nine of Swords and Teiwaz

This year was the first time I did a Year Ahead Spread for myself.  For this kind of spread you basically pull a single card for each month as a theme or an energy you may want to explore for that month. The first card you pull is your  theme for the year. I also added rune to each card to give the reading  an extra oomph. I intend to post my card of the month in the beginning of each month. For this spread I’ve used the Wild Unknown Tarot but I might want to use the version of one of the cards I pulled from another deck instead. Or I might even take the card from several decks for comparison. We’ll see were this journey will lead me.

So for January I pulled the Nine of Swords which in this deck is a very disturbing looking card and it is definitely not a very uplifting theme to start the new year with. The Nine of Swords is all about anxiety, bad dreams, guilt and regret, destructive self-talk etc.

Luckily I got the rune Teiwaz (Tir) to go with it. Teiwaz is a warrior rune but also one of order, justice and rationality . You can compare this rune with the Emperor card.

I often am prone to this kind of behavior when I let negative thinking get the best of me.  The worst things could happen if you would believe my internal gibberish. So I feel the energy of Teiwaz can be quite helpful. It is the rationality of this rune which speaks the most clearly to me in this context.

This rune awakes the inner sentinel which will defeat my Fear by showing me what it really is: False Expectations are Appearing Real. Such a clarity bomb often works a lot better than trying to ignore these thoughts or pushing them away. Both of these methods will often make our negative thinking even more persistent and intrusive.

I believe working with this pair could be a very interesting experience.  

Motto: Since I do not know how not to think I want to be mindful of what I think.

New Moon in December

Pulling my cards for this New Moon, at het end of the Holiday season, feels a lot like an intention setting for January. I suppose most of us are anxiously anticipating the first of January, when everything will get back to “normal”

For this New moon I pulled two cards from the Dreams of Gaia Tarot:

Release – X Wisdom

This card relates closely to the Hermit in a traditional Tarot deck. It represents o.a: inner wisdom, self knowledge and shadow work. Yes, I feel the time for inward reflection is coming to an end. It can be tempting to stay in our cave a bit longer but life is more than only seeking inner wisdom. It is also about having experiences and creating opportunities to gain wisdom from. Without those our wisdom might become shallow and meaningless

Embrace – XI of Fire – Masculine/feminine

A very motivating card for this coming lunation. This card is all about finding the balance between passive and active energy. January often appeals to our most active energy, so we can better ourselves, follow up on our new year resolutions and trying to work on our goals and intentions. This is not always the most effective way to go about it. Instead of hurrying and chasing and doing our uttermost best, listen to your energetic rhythms and try to be flexible. Embrace the energy which suits you best. It is okay to slow down, even in January! There are eleven more months to come.

Happy New Year - Solitary Tarot Challenge

First let me start of this blogpost by wishing everybody a wonderful, joyous and creative 2015!

I think most of you are just as excited as I am to leave the festivities (which have been really good this year) behind us and start a whole fresh new year with an abundance of chances and possibilities

To underline this feeling  I've started The Solitary Tarot/Oracle Challenge from Owlmoon513. This is mainly a challenge for people who want to use their cards as a tool for  spiritual development. She will upload a video every week with some exercises and to share her own experiences

Her advice is to chose one deck  for this challenge which you are particularly drawn to or maybe a deck you want to get to know  better.

I’ve chosen The Chrysalis Tarot. Although I love this deck which I consider truly a work of art, so much, I still struggle with the different imagery and symbolism compared to a Rider Waite themed deck. As a supportive tool I’ve bought the  corresponding app from Foolsdog . That way I will have a quick access to the deck wherever I am and I can record my daily draws with the LWB interpretations in the journal which comes as an extra feature in this app. My more personal thoughts and feelings will be written in my regular tarot journal.

The card I've chosen from my physical deck for myself today is my favorite card: The Watcher, The Queen of Mirrors. I see her as my guide on this journey with this deck. You can guess my surprise when the first card I pulled from my app was: The Watcher! J

A Tiny Tarot Reading for the New Year

This morning I decided to draw two cards for the coming new year just for an overall view; a kind of theme.

The first card would provide the question or the situation and the second card would be an advice or an elaboration for the first card. I've used the original Rider Waite for this mini reading.

The first card I got was the Four of Cups. This card is asking me to consider when I feel really content. Is it because of the beauty of these three cups, or is it about the content or is it perhaps because I have the time to sit beneath a tree to relax? But what about the fourth cup? Do I need it on order  to be more happy and content? Does this cup hold the promise of  perfect everlasting happiness and joy. It is something I need or just want because it has been made available?

This card has brought up a lot of timely questions because My word for 2015 will be “Simplicity”:

Trying to be happy and content with the small things, feeling gratitude for the daily events and also trying not to be not so easily influenced by YouTube and blogs etc. as to what I “need to have”  in order to be happy J.  

Of course there is so much more to this word then  what I can write in this post for now. I  will have an entire year to further explore the depth of its meaning.

The second card is the Magician.  The first thing I noticed were the four tools on his table which is all he needs for making his magic happen. If I would tap into this archetype I would find my inner strength would be enough to be fulfilled and happy. It is in myself where my true power resides.  Not even in the tools in front of me. Whatever is in my three cups or in the fourth; they are merely things to enjoy but not necessary to become fully who I am supposed to be.  

It sounds good to me and hopefully I will remember this when the next “temptation” comes along

A tarot spread for the New Year

Yesterday I've stumbled upon a great spread for the new year. It was created by Kate from Daily TarotGirl and she has made a video about it too.  It’s not a twelve month spread but more an overall view for the coming year. I liked it so much, I've done this reading for my daughters as well as for myself. We were all amazed about the accuracy of the readings. Whether it was the spread, the deck or our own awesomeness, It was a great experience to do this together.J

I've used the Druidcraft Tarot (just as Kate did) because I am very fond of this deck and I tend to use it for larger spreads. Now that I've trimmed the borders the colors of all the cards together are so beautiful 

Druidcraft Tarot

1 The overall message of the reading:  - The Lovers

For me this is a card of feeling whole. A synergy of male and female; mind and heart. This card also urges me to really, fully connect to the things I want to accomplish and to go for it; to be passionate about it.

2 Your goals and dreams for 2014 and how do you make things happen? - Nine of Swords.
I want to let go of my anxiety and worries and to learn to trust in myself and in the future. No more long negative spiraling into the black hole!

3 What actions are needed to be successful?- Three of Swords.

I still have to process parts of my grief, pain and sadness to be able to move forward

4 What do you leave behind in 2013? -  Four of Swords.

I've been resting long enough! Now it’s time to pick myself up and make things happen

5 The theme of 2014 : -Two of Wands.

I was indecisive and insecure. I knew my current situation was solid and save. But I felt like there had to be more, only I was too afraid to make the next move.  Now is the time to step over the threshold and make a the first step

6 Where  will 2014 lead us? -  Three of Pentacles.

YAY! My creativity card. I am starting to feel more relaxed already when I am drawing and I want to improve that by drawing (or painting , writing, collage etc) more often and to really be thankful and happy with the things I will create in 2014

7 Obstacles for 2014: - Five of Cups.

I have to be careful not to be overwhelmed by feeling sorry for myself when I am feeling sad or anxious. It’s better to focus on what is still there than on what I've lost

8 Gifts and talents for 2014: -  Ace of Swords.

 I am developing a new, more positive way of thinking. My gifts are my mind, my words, my writing; Those are the gifts I can use to find clarity, new idea’s and insights.

9 Message from your guides before you step into the new year: -  The world.

Wow! What a beautiful message: “You are already whole: You are who you are supposed to be at this very moment. Everything is okay. Just take the next step and your path will unfold itself into the new year.”

I wish everybody to be able to take that next step into 2014

Happy New Year!