Two of Wands: I've got the whole world in my hands

For today I've drawn the Two of Wands from the Robin Wood Tarot. Normally this card speaks to  us about being in control, successful and inspired to make a next move. It is also about patience and insight; knowing when to act and what to do next. He is pleased with what he has accomplished but he wants more. The roses and the lily’s on his robe tell us that his desires are pure. So all in all this is a positive card.

Yet this morning I saw this two of wands in a whole different light. There is this man behind thick stone walls; in his castle he has built himself, with all the goods he has gained from his successful enterprises. And there he  is, watching his globe and being stuck in his little world. This globe made me think of the World Wide Web. Almost everybody our there has access to the world in his own living room: TV, internet, smartphones and so on. Sometimes I wonder, if we would be more out there in the real world, without the digital one at our disposal at any time.

My own world has become (by circumstances) a small one and I am ever so glad with the opportunity to broaden my view on life  with the internet. It has given me so much more than I ever could have imagined ten years ago. But still there is something nagging. I know I have to accept the things I cannot change but I also want to be brave enough to look critical at what can be changed.

The Goddess with a thousand names

Writing the Goddess' name

I have been thinking a lot about my last post about how to get the know the Goddess by naming aspects, qualities and attributes; by coming up with suitable adjectives and epithets. I also thought it would be a good idea to do some collage. Up till now it is hard to find pictures which represent Her and at the same time don’t confine Her. So I find myself back behind my laptop with a new Word Doc.

How am I going to capture Her essence in words?

Which words can describe Her without limiting Her?

Since She is all encompassing, where do I start?

To be honest I speak a lot about God(dess) but momentarily I perceive God as Female. This differs from time to time but for now I will address God as She and Her. Feel free to substitute these words by He and Him or They and Them

In my opinion the goddess is represented by numerous goddesses/archetypes. In every culture there are for instance a mother, a warrior, a maiden, a protectress, a wise woman, a lover, an enchantress, a teacher, a healer, a storyteller, a weaver, a spinner, a witch, a wild, woman….. etc.

These words tell us something about Her, yet they remain colorless and abstract. With adjectives and epithets we can paint the nouns and give them more depth and layers. For example:

Teacher of a thousand ways –Diligent Weaver of lives – Gentle Healer with the softest hands – Lady who has dominion over all that is wild and ferocious. Brave warrior, full of strength and compassion,

Nurturing Mother with Her arms open wide…..etc

When you start playing and shuffling like this with words, the possibilities are endless. And isn’t that what She is all about. So for the time being I will shift my attention to writing about Her instead of trying to make a collage or a painting.

To boost my “creative writing skills”, I thought it might be a good idea to draw a single card  (oracle or tarot) which will point me to an aspect of The goddess

Robin Wood Tarot and Goddess statue

For example this morning I’ve drawn the Page of Wands. In my tarot journal I have written this quote from Leila Vey: “I am the spirit of innovation and self-expression. I see the world in a new way, and can hardly contain my excitement with its possibilities. I live for the spark of inspiration which plunges me into the joy of creating something new. Even when others disapprove, I cannot help but express myself with truth. I celebrate my individuality, my originality in everything I do.”

So I could name The goddess:

The creative confident Lady of exiting new possibilities

The fierce Adventuress who dares to take a risk

The brave and frank Speaker of truth

(I have to admit this is easier in Dutch J). So, these are just a few of my thoughts and I welcome any ideas from you how to get to know Her a little bit better.

Four of cups: seize this moment

This morning I have drawn the Four of Cups from the Robin Wood Tarot. This is the first deck I’ve bought after The Rider Waite. I remember how uncertain I was, if I would be able to read with it. In those days I was all about learning the meanings by heart and sometimes I even forgot to look at the pictures myself. I totally relied on what the books told me. And how confused I was when some of the books contradicted each other. I am so happy to have learned to look at the depictions more closely now and trust my own intuition so I can combine book knowledge with my own feeling about the cards. 

When we look as this four of cups it is quite obvious this man is not happy. While the facial expression of the man in the Rider Waite is rather flat, in the Robin wood there is no doubt about his discontentment with his cups. He doesn’t want to look at them and while turning his eyes away from the cups in front of him, he doesn't notice the opportunity handed out to him by a magnificent radiant cup.

Sometimes this card can represent turning inward or meditation. I think this can help us to become aware of the shining cup in the air. When we let go of the notion of how we did feel, want to feel, should feel and so on only then we can try to discover how we are feeling right now. If we are fully present in this moment we have limitless opportunities how step into the next moment. Living our life like that is an ongoing adventure

Seven of cups: dream, dream, dream!

Robin Wood Tarot

The subject of yesterday is keeping my mind occupied. Especially since women raised in the 50^th, 60^th and 70^th were not encouraged to dream and worse, sometimes even discouraged to dream. We were told to behave and smile, play with our dolls and color between the lines. It was not appropriate to be loud  en adventurous and get dirty like the boys of our age. But perhaps it is never too late to change. Why not dream now. Make up our own adventures, send our most exuberant wishes into the universe and trust they will come true. To believe in the magic of our imagination.

This card did not come up randomly. I picked it myself! Often this card is associated with someone with a lethargic attitude or an airy fairy type of person who has to stop dreaming, choose what she wants and get on with it. Someone who has got her head in the clouds (Literally; the clouds are made of her hair)

But today I say let her dream. And let us dream spectacular dreams, naughty dreams and impossible dreams. Take your old and dusted dreams from the shelf. Just dream and be happy with it. Don’t think any of these dreams can’t come true. Neither would you have done this when you were little. Everything is possible; the sky is the limit. 

Play with your thoughts, write them down, eat some chocolate or ice cream , smile and be happy about them and perhaps even share a tiny one in a comment???

I will be first:

It is/was my dream to live in a small cottage on the heath and lead a self-sufficient life there with some animals and a patch of land to grow some veggies. I would fill my house with stacks of books and read for hours and  afterwards listen to the silence of my surroundings. I would spin the wool from my own sheep eat the eggs of my chickens. I would life a simple but a fulfilling life. This dream came up for the first time when I was around 14 years old. When I remember this and visualize me living there on the heath, I feel so good.