Ghost of the Pumpkin Patch – Count your Blessings

Tonight is All Hallows Eve or Halloween, the evening before Samhain. My last two posts were about my intention to look into my fears and anxieties. So for today I've asked the question, what will help me to face my fears. And I pulled The Ghost of the Pumpkin Patch from the Oracle of Shadows and Light.

The Ghost of the Pumpkin Patch Speaks:

“Something that is a blessing is being overlooked. It appears cloaked and seems almost invisible to you. You must stand in your field – that is to say, your life – and look around you, and see all that has been given to you again, and give thanks for it. You are forgetting how much you truly have, and how much you will have again, and again. My time is the harvest: it is now your time to bring in, or harvest, the joy and love of what you have so much of, and share your abundance.”

When you want to face you fears it is wise to first count your blessings. This will give you lots of security and strength for your inner journey. Life is not always as bad and scary as it seems. Skeletons in the closet are a lot smaller than the sound of their rattling bones might suggest. Spiders in the attic? Humbug, Monsters in the cellar might be just brooms and boxes when you are supported by the joy of your blessings

I've written  a lot about the practice of gratitude and this card is a reminder to uphold this practice when dealing with the harder parts of life

Count your  blessings and don’t take anything for granted. Count until there is nothing left to count, not even the smallest little squash in the corner of  your patch.

Happy Halloween and Samhain!

Storm Angel – Searching for new Balance

Since we are heading towards Samhain, I've drawn my card for today from the Oracle of Shadows and Light. I like this deck a lot but haven’t used it for a long time.Maybe because it feels like this is a deck for only the darker moths of the year. Lately I've been working a lot with tarot and much less with oracles. So I thought this was a good choice for today. The key words for this card are: Collision of beliefs, styles, attitudes, energies.

These  words are well depicted by an angel dressed in purple storm clouds and surrounded by lightning bolts. I imagine the thunderclaps must be deafening. She doesn't seem too happy to be the bearer of such heavy weather but she is up to the task:

 “…I bring change, and when change comes for some it is simple, easy and flowing, for others, dramatic, erratic, wild and full of static!... I then appear to burn away the old and create a clear, fresh vibration, where all that is stale, and fearful, and unpleasant has been cleared away! The wonderful thing about this challenging collision is that while you’ll be nudged out of your comfort zone, you’ll also realize just how much has changed, and how far you have come! The results will be worth the pressure – trust me!”

To me this sounds a lot like The Tower where we also have this kind a of weather.

The three of us have experienced a lot of big and abrupt changes lately and we are still adjusting to all of this. Gradually things are falling into place and we are establishing a new daily routine. We are also noticing we are very tired. (And some of us are still recovering from the flu) So miscommunications are understandable but we are trying to be considerate towards each other.

The biggest change around the house for me personally is the bustle Jofee is bringing with him. The long quiet hours when I could read,  paint, write and do anything I wanted are gone and I have to search for little moments in the day for myself.  But on the other hand I do enjoy these short moments so much more

I am positive we will find our balance in due time and stormy weathers will calm down again.

Healing from Amara the Menehune

Oracle of Shadows and Light

The Oracle of Shadows and light has given me today: Amara The Menehune – Aloha healing.

I am not very familiar with Hawaiian culture but I've came to understood, the Menehune are the little people of Hawaii. They live deep in the forest and they are said to be superb craftspeople.(like brownies, pixies etc)

But even those tiny very strong people do need to recover after a hard day’s work and that is what this card is all about.

“There is no rush when Amara comes into your world: she knows that while you feel rushed, you are not eating right, nor digesting properly, nor connecting deeply, nor sleeping well, nor feeling fully. You are barely noticing the beauty of nature both within and outside of you.”

A great card for the weekend. A time for relaxation, being in the moment and enjoying yourself. For me that is reading (blogs), taking showers ( the waterfall) riding my bike, and hopefully drawing (but no pressure) cooking a healthy meal for tonight and whatever comes to mind to enjoy and pamper myself. Although it is perhaps difficult to embrace the aloha spirit in the midst of winter, it is all about the right mindset so let take care of ourselves today!

Sea Storm - Calm amidst Chaos

October 27: When it’s slightly dark and the cold air is hazy and foggy you can get lost easily when you are walking in nature. How do I find my way home?

Oracle of Shadows and Light

The card that will be guiding me home is Sea Storm from the Oracle of Shadows and Light. The subtext is: Calm amidst chaos. It seems my inner lake (yesterday’s post) isn't always that calm. This is a stormy weather with lightning and high waves. It is easy to panic, to be afraid and feel lost. There is no lighthouse in the distance You’re all alone. But as I've said yesterday, that should be enough. If you have been to your inner lake often enough you know the feeling you have to regain. And through that feeling you can reach you inner wisdom. That’s your guide out of this chaos. Your inner calm, your intuition knows what to do, what to say, how to act, to guide you home and to calm down  the wild raging sea. My true home is my inner source of wisdom where anything is possible, where magic is real and mermaids guide me home. This is where I can be myself at all times. So although the outer reality looks chaotic and wild and scary and your feelings are running wild,  the best thing you can do is dive deeper and deeper to the bottom of the sea, the basis of you existence. That’s where you’ll find peace and quiet. Just as the bottom of the lake is as calm as it surface, this rough sea has a calm undercurrent too.

Sea Storm is one of my favorite cards from this the deck. I love the beautiful blues and the contrast between the tranquility of the mermaid and the emotional wild waves around her.

Often my Sunday mornings are like emotional tidal waves. So I am grateful for this reminder to my own inner calm.

Climb every mountain

October 14: The last hazelnuts are harvested. The Hazel symbolizes wisdom, secret knowledge and divination. Forked hazel branches were used for dowsing to find underground water. What do I want find out or get to know?

Oracle of Shadows and Light

To answer this I'v got the Lantern Fairy from the Oracle of Shadows and Light by Lucy Cavendish. This fairy is supposed to shed some light over this question. At first glance a great card to give an answer to whatever you want to know. You think she might have the answer but she doesn't. She only carries a lantern to lighten your way. When you think you are standing with you back against the wall and  you don’t know a way out, she knows where obstacles are less dangerous, where the hole in the wall can be found.  She will guide you through you inner darkness but she won’t tell you what you want to know because life lessons have life answers which can only be given by yourself.

Lo Scarabeo Oracle

And because I’m sometimes a little stubborn, I wasn't really pleased with this reading. I wanted more! I wanted answers! So I pulled three cards from my Lo Scarabeo oracle. And those cards made me laugh: book(26)+mountain(21)+sun(31). Sometimes there is no shortcut in life. The book is closed. The answers are still hidden, but when you’ll climb the mountain (guided by the fairy with that shining lantern) you’ll have experiences along the way that will let your inner light shine over the content of your book.

Voodoo in Blue

Oracle of Shadows and Light- L. Cavendish

23 September : Fruits ripen; De birds nourish themselves before their great journey ; what feeds and sustains me in the fall?

With this question in mind I drew “Voodoo in Blue” (Back Off). My first thought were :”That will be a lonely autumn. What/who will sustain me when I kick everybody out?” J

Since I'm not familiar with these cards yet, I looked in the guidebook what was written in there about this Voodoo in Blue. A sigh of relief: This dark fairy is really on my side. She warns me for people and situations that can drain me dry; wear me out. I don't always have to be the kind and loving woman everybody wants me to be. It is very healthy to set my boundaries and be clear about them to others. I liked it that there were no pins in the puppet, because that is not really my style of communicating J.  When I look at her this way, I can imagine that she is helping me to stay strong and stand up for myself during this season.

The Fairy of the Highlands

Oracle of Shadows and Light- L.Cavendish

22 September:  The animals prepare for the coming season. How do I prepare for/adjust to the new season? How do I find harmony with the demands of this period ?

Today I pulled “The Fairy of the Highlands” It is time to be brave. I think this Fairy is adorable, She looks at me with her great scary  eyes, still frightened, but there is a spark of courage in there when she says: it is time to be brave. A spark of courage is all we need to prepare for the coming season; To take on new challenges, to start new projects. But most of all to look inside ourselves and go for battle with our inner turmoil., Raise your sword and be brave. On the other hand it is also brave to decline demands from others; to stand up for yourself so you don't get overwhelmed with other people’s expectations. Be brave enough to follow your own path this season. 

Happy Mabon

Happy Mabon everybody. I hope you all have a wonderful day. My daughter and I have baked an apple-pie together. It’s always fun to bake something with her. Sometimes we quarrel because both of us wants to take the lead, but this time it went smoothly. The pie is in the oven right now, so I have to wait to post this until it is ready, because I want to add a picture of . Yay, it smells so good!

homemade apple-pie

I have pulled my card for today; 21 September:  what stands out in my life at this moment; the dark or the light, or is there balance?

I’ve got “The mend a broken heart fairy” Healing from Heartache.

Oracle of Shadows and Light - Lucy Cavendish and Jasmine Becket

This card emphasizes the darker side of life for me. But with a door open to the lighter half. It is true that although things are getting better, I still need some healing for the sadness and grief that is inside me. I wish it was as easy as putting a bandage on the most painful part. It’s good to experience the love of my daughters now that my neck is injured and to see that they do more around the house. That is comforting. But it’s also important to give some healing to myself. This is the most difficult part for many of us: Being kind, loving and patient with ourselves. How often do we think that is has been long enough; we have to go on and get over it. But we do need to give ourselves time and attention, otherwise feeling like sadness and grief can fester. So I’m going to make myself a nice cup of tea and  think about what kind of healing I can give to myself. (starting with a piece of pie :D)

The Oracle of Shadows and Light

This morning my favorite postman brought me my oracle deck that I had ordered online. It’s the Oracle of Shadows and Light.  Writing this down I realize that it is the perfect deck to give myself at Mabon. Since this deck is all about balance and embracing your shadow.

Oracle of Shadows and Light - Lucy Cavendish and Jasmine Becket

Life isn't all about light and happy faces. I did hesitate a long time before I decided to buy this deck. I thought it would be to girly, superficial perhaps. But OMG I was wrong.

I already connect to the pictures of this deck on such a deep level. It seems like those lovely whimsical creatures are calling out to my little inner child to come out and play and don’t be shy. I like them that much that I’ve just ordered the Oracle of  the Shapeshifters too. Usually I’m not that splurging but this time I knew I had to have those two decks. I think they can teach me a lot about myself in a playful nonjudgmental way.

The Dutch version of these decks have the artwork of the Australian versions. I like them more then the American. Probably because the somewhat darker atmosphere in some of the cards and perhaps my age???

I’m going to do my daily draws with these decks. There is a Dutch Tarot website which gives a question for each day from Mabon until Samhain which you can answer with your daily draws. So this challenge will hopefully motivate me to play with my cards daily. And I’m also planning on combining these cards with my Anna K Tarot deck. What a wonderful way to begin the darker months of the year. Yay!