New moon in June

For this new moon I have pulled a major from my just arrived Mother Peace Tarot as to what energy I should embrace during the next cycle of the moon. The two previous lunations I also drew a Major card and I found that the multilayered aspect of these cards made it so much more interesting to work with them for the duration of one month. So for this month I cut the deck and flipped through the cards until the first Major came up. And it was The Lovers.

Notice how the two lovers meet each other in the pink middle of the card. They can walk together under a bower of roses towards the setting sun.

Personally for me, The Lovers is not so much about romantic love but more about how to unite my masculine and feminine aspects, about how to become a whole person and last but not least about how to woo myself.  In my last post I have written about what a bit of makeup can do for your self-worth but now it seems my brand new feminine-oriented deck is taking it up a notch. It is as if She is using this small concession to pampering myself as a starting point to some major changes in my self-care and self-love practice. I think July is a perfect month to start pampering myself more regularly. 
(I am thinking strawberries, ice cream, sunshine, flowers etc) Yes, and not because I have to but because I want to be with myself. I will consciously choose to enjoy these moments as a loving caress for my soul.
Who knows, maybe at the end of this moon cycle, Me Myself and I will be going steadyJ

The Forest Lovers -Where do we find True Love?

Where ever did I get the idea that the Wildwood Tarot is a wintry deck? 

Today’s Cards is The Forest Lovers. The setting of this card is during Beltane, the beginning of summer, when the world is in full bloom. The Lovers are celebrating their handvasting near a Birch tree, which is adorned as a maypole. Both are pledging their love for each other with their hand over their heart; the seat of their true love. It is very likely that their marriage will result in a third creative energy. The lilies are symbolizing this very clearly.

Personally for me The Forest Lovers is mainly a card of self acceptance which will eventually result in true self love. This card is all about embracing the darker aspects, the not so nice parts of myself. It is about commitment and about “for better and for worse”, even when we discover parts of ourselves which we loathe and detest. Yes, these are harsh words but it is not so difficult only to embrace our minor flaws. We all have more despicable aspects too. When we uncover these parts, our self love it really tested to the core. Can we hold our hand over our heart and say “I do” even then? 

I think only if we can truly and completely accept and love ourselves, we can truly and completely love someone else. Because “to truly love, we must be truly whole”

The Lovers – Love me tender, love me sweet

Today’s card is The Lovers from the Joie de Vivre Tarot. As I have stated before, often in a personal reading this card symbolizes my relationship with myself.

We see two trusting lovers going on a journey together. They are holding hands, gazing in each other’s eyes and a little bird is flying back en forth, carrying love letters.

I like how their cloaks have such large ears so they can truly be attentive to each other’s thoughts and needs.

It is a timely card for me. A reminder to give my Self love practice some much needed attention. As many of my generation, I was raised to be humble and not to draw attention to skills I was proud of, or knowledge I had gained. It was also considered ill mannered to tend to your own needs first. Instead you should take care of others and hope and pray they would do the same for you.

Much later in my life I learned to trust, nurture and love myself and be proud of what I have accomplished so far in my life. Yes and even to celebrate this. Still it feels strange to compliment myself and accept who I am. And to go even further, not only accept who I am but to love and embrace myself fully. I thought I was fairly kind to myself. But then I realized kindness is not Love.

So I am going to start a “courtship” with myself by writing me a beautiful love letter. I hope this will be the start of an encouraging an uplifting self talk in my journal.

Elhaz and The Lovers – Protect what you love

The Rune for today is Elhaz (or Algiz) which means Elk. The rune stands for protection and guarding what you love and what is rightfully yours.  It is all about setting safe boundaries and deciding who or what is worth your effort to protect.

With that in mind I pulled The Lovers from the Original Rider Waite tarot and was immediately struck by the posture of the angel which is exactly the same as the Elhaz rune. The angel is the protector and guardian of The Lovers. This is a card about every form of Love you can think of. It can be about love between two people (not necessary romantic), about self love (very important) or about the love for a line of work or hobby etc. It is also a card about choice. You have to choose in who or what you will invest your love. Although Love itself is infinite, we do want to choose what we love and what it is we are willing to protect and to fight for. Yes fight for! before I became a mother, I thought I was incapable of any form of aggression. Now I know differently.

But although setting some protective boundaries is a wise thing to do, I want to open the door for new love and new opportunities because to be honest, it has been closed to for too long and it is time for some fresh air

“Where there is love there is life”.  Mahatma Gandhi

Beltane Contemplation with The Wildwood Tarot

Time is flying too fast for me. Beltane is already the beginning of Summer. Where did Spring go? This is a time of fertility for the animal and plant kingdom. Animals are procreating and flowers are pollinated so they can bear seeds and fruits. It is a lusty season for the wild and the free.

In the Wildwood we move from the period of the Arrows to the period of the Bows. This is a time of high energy levels which will reach their peak at midsummer. Bows represent willpower, creativity, spiritual pursuits and other “fiery” aspects of life J

The two Major Arcana cards which are representative for Beltane are The Forest Lovers (The Lovers) and Balance (Temperance).

We are invited to the handfasting of the Forest Lovers. They are speaking their vows and begin their commitment to each other. A new relationship is born. From two energies a third one comes into play, whether it is their child or the energy of this constant fluctuating togetherness. It is giving and taking, again and again; always changing, never the same. Each moment the Forest Lovers are creating their relationship over and over again. They are continuously seeking Balance which is the second card of this post.

Here we see two snakes intertwined. They’re coming together but they’re keeping their own identity/color. Always seeking the balance of life always moving and adjusting.  Together they look like the shape of the double helix of human DNA, the building block of life. The face carved in the rock at the bottom of the tree reminds us that in order for light to shine there has to be darkness to. In this darkness our greatest treasures are hidden which will restore the balance once again.

For me personal The Forest Lovers also represent the balance between the masculine and femine energies in every human being and in the Divine as a whole. Jung explains it as follows: “In the unconscious of the male, this archetype finds expression as a feminine inner personality: anima; equivalently, in the unconscious of the female it is expressed as a masculine inner personality: animus. The anima and animus can be identified as the totality of the unconscious feminine psychological qualities that a male possesses or the masculine ones possessed by the female, respectively”.

Maybe this year Beltane for me will be all about acknowledging and embracing my masculine aspects: my animus. Besides that I also want to create a more balanced image of my Gddess: to affirm She is feminine, masculine and probable so much more which I don’t know yet J

Beltane Issues

The Lovers

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the Divine again, after reading a blogpost by Kerry from Neopagan Priestess about incorporating the male aspect of divinity into your practice. 

Although the God of my childhood is a Father, nowadays in my spiritual practice God is Feminine; a Mother. But sometimes I wonder if perhaps I am forgetting or neglecting a major part of my God(dess).

Since it is almost Beltane I am not surprised this subject is asking my attention now. I've always struggled with this Sabbat, because I never knew what to do with a god and goddess in love. It feels strange to me,  although I  know it’s just a myth, but still ….

How could I research this aspect of the Divine in a creative way without diving to deep in all sorts of mythologies, which can be ever so confusing. Although I love to read them, in my opinion the gods are described often as being too human, to really satisfy my quest for understanding Divinity on a more spiritual level.

The Hermit

I had suggested Kerry to name the masculine aspect of the Divine using the tarot, the same way as I have done with the femine aspect.

Trying this out for myself I came to the conclusion it didn't really matter which personal pronoun I would use in these naming exercises. Even if the character in the depiction was male or female; it didn't make any difference for me:

The Hermit: The Keeper of Knowledge, who comes to me in silence and sheds his/her light over my hidden wisdom

or

The Light Bearer, who takes me by the hand and illuminates my way in the darkness

Strength:The One who perseveres and is strongly committed to protect those who are in need

or

The Patient One, who teaches me to reach deep within for my own inner strength 

Strength

God can be as nurturing, gentle and creative as Goddess and Goddess can be as fierce, militant and lustful as god. They are all the same. Every Goddess is an aspect of the Divine and every God is an aspect of the same Divine too. Since I don’t feel comfortable with aggressive warlike Gods, I turn to Kali or Sekhmet who are both fierce goddesses to defend and protect me in times of need. So we are free to reach out to the Divine in whatever form we feel comfortable with. Recently I've started calling Her Amma (thank you Sycamore). With this name, which sounds a lot like “mama” (Dutch for mom) I can see Her as all encompassing and at the same time very approachable to build a personal relationship with. She is every God and Goddess for me. She is Spirit. She is Nature, She is Everything. I just choose to call upon Her as female instead of male

For me this was another step closer to what I belief to be God(dess). More and more I come to realize that All is One and the freedom which emerges from this is so liberating.

I am even looking forward to Beltane now J

(The cards are from the Druidcraft Tarot by Philip Carr-Gomm and Will Worthington)

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! 

You just have to be quiet

October 2: In the Catholic church it is the feast of the guardian angels. What does my guardian angel ( or spirit guide or patron….) want to tell me?

Hanson Roberts Tarot

The First question that I have to ask myself is: do I believe in guardian angels or something like that?

I don't believe in them as specific beings but I can work with them as energies or aspects of the divine. Perhaps they could be a manifestation of my higher self; that part of me that is connected with the divine (my sparkle J) Or it can be my intuition speaking. In any way I belief they can give me a message or some guidance if I am quiet enough to listen...

Can I see the card of today as such a message?  I’ve got The Lovers from the Hanson Roberts Tarot

Well that’s a surprise! There is an angel in the picture looking at the couple and trying to get their attention. But they are too wrapped up (literally) in each other that they are complete oblivious of that angel in the sky. Or perhaps the angel is silently waiting until the right moment comes along to intrude.

In either case I tend to see the lovers, since I am not in a romantically relationship, as a blending between some parts of me (ego subconscious and higher self) or a coming together of my male and female side. And of course there are meanings like: unconditional love, making a responsible choices, self love, longing for unity etc.

What stands out in this card in comparison with The Lovers from the Rider Waite tarot is that this couple is holding each other tight, whereas the R.W. couple is standing apart and they're looking at the angel. I prefer the couple from Hanson Roberts. It is obvious that they love and care for each other. The woman seems to be somewhat stronger than the man. I feel that she is taking responsibility for him. I don’t think this is a status quo, but more a sign that two opposites can take responsibility for each other back and forth.

For me today, with this card, an angel is trying to tell me not to be so predisposed with loving and caring, but also to make some free time to connect with the divine. Loving yourself and others is perfect, but there is more…

Take some time in these darker growing days to be quiet and just listen. You'll be surprised……