My best Christmas gifts!

I wasn’t planning on blogging today but when I read Chloe’s post: “What Were Your Best ChristmasGifts?”

I was inspired to pull two cards to answer the following questions for myself. I used the Druidcraft Tarot since it is my “Christmas deck” for this year. I have been enjoying it so much; just looking at the pictures, discovering new details, pulling a card now and then and being amazed by its wisdom and evocative nature all over again.

So let’s dive in:

What is the best gift I gave this Christmas? – Ace of Swords

From the depth of my sometime murky unconscious  emerged one thought crystal clear: this Christmas is a brand new experience: a once in a life time Christmas. No need to stain it with regrets and/or high expectations of Christmases  past. This relaxed mindset allowed me to step into this year’s Christmas with my family and really enjoy it. My eldest daughter and her boyfriend and my husband all came to visit us and we had a very good and peaceful day. I was able to divide my energy with ease and even keep some for  myself.

What is the best gift I received this Christmas? – Three of Swords

All  the merriment and cheerfulness were like a healing balm for the lingering sadness which is always, one way or another, asking for attention during this season. But this year I felt no need to harden my heart so I could protect myself from feeling too much. No this year I felt like I could be truly be myself and that was a wonderful Christmas gift.

What were your gifts this year?

New Crystal friends

Yesterday I went shopping with M. to our local New Age Shop. I felt in the mood to look for one or two crystals as an addition to my Crystal Family. I do have quite a nice collection of crystals. Some tumbled, some rough and some bracelets and pendants  but just like collecting tarot decks, there is always room for another addition. 

A while ago I was so clumsy to break my Rose Quartz donut and I really missed having a smooth larger piece of Rose Quartz. It is my go to stone for Self Love.

The other crystal I've been  looking for was a Snowflake Obsidian. This is a crystal which is great for shadow work and balancing the darker en lighter aspects of yourself. This stone is softer and more gentle to work with than a Black Obsidian. 

It reminds me of the Goddess Holle, a Germanic Mother goddess who encompasses an all round image of the Feminine Divine: from Spring goddess to death goddess and everything in between. Her memory is  kept alive in the fairy tale of mother Holle who shakes her feather bed to let it snow on earth.

I did find both of these crystals which made me so very happy. Last night I let them sit on my altar in an Abalone shell with a few Citrine tumbled rocks and Clear Quartz chips to cleanse them . So today they are really mine and all ready to be making their first appearance on my blog.

I've found a lovely little wooden treasure chest where they fit in together perfectly. Our little gnome is taking his task to protect them very seriously.....

A wonderful Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday! No, I am not  going to tell you how old I am. J  M was so kind to take some pictures I could share with you.

Our preparation started on Saturday when M and I had baked our traditional birthday apple crumble pie

 Together my girls surprised me with a  beautiful Carnation bouquet in  a variety of colors. These are my most favorite flowers

 Presents!!!!

I am so happy with each and every one of these gifts:

Of course there were chocolates mmmm. No celebration can do without them. A Kate Spade clip for my planner. A book about the social and cultural changes in our country in the last fifty years which has brought back so many memories. A book about Goddess Holle  and how she has changed from a greatly worshiped Germanic deity in to a fairy tale figure (Mother Holle). She is a goddess I feel very connected to. And not to forget two of my most desired decks : the Wild Unknown Tarot  By Kim Krans and the Celtic Lenormand by Chloe McCracken and Will Worthington

Later in the afternoon my husband came to visit and gifted me some art supplies  He loves to paint himself too so last week we went shopping together in a art supply store.

He bought me a watercolor sketchbook, some water-resistant drawing pens and a tear off palette to use when I paint with acrylics. 

“no gifts for me?”

Al together it was a perfect day.

Tarot bag from Tiferet tarot and Update

Late November I've participated in a giveaway hosted by Steve Bright form Tiferet Tarot

and I won!!!

 The winner would receive one of his handmade beautiful tarot bags. Since Steve is a qualified designer and fashioner of clothing, this bag is a beautiful crafted piece of work. It is a lovely soft bag to hold in your hands. It has a matching lining and is softly padded. My bag has a design with birds and little bows. The bag closes with a magnetic press stud. On the front side is little tuck bag for a LWB or a crystal or something like that.

Steve, Thank you so much for this beautiful gift I am so happy with it. I don’t have a special deck for it yet. For now it holds the deck I am currently working with and it has found a regular spot on my simplified altar. I can highly recommend purchasing such a Tarot bag, either for yourself or as a lovely Christmas gift

I love to hold it in my hands while and feel it while contemplating my question for the card I am about to draw. This way it has become a part of my daily little tarot ritual

After ten days of mostly rest I am still experiencing al lot of discomfort in my arm from the pinched nerve in my neck. I have started with leaving some comments here and there because I do miss you all. Typing and sitting behind my laptop is still painful but I wanted to write this post so much to express my gratitude to Steve and say hello to my blog friends

Hugs

Post Birthday Gratitude

Yesterday was my birthday. It was a small family celebration which I often prefer too large  gatherings. I’ve received mostly tarot presents. From each of my girls I've received a deck: the Tarot of Sidhe by Emily Carding  and the Tarot of the Hidden Realm by Julia Jeffrey

The last deck has arrived at my house for the second time.  Last year September I’ve bought it for myself but I send it back to the store because I couldn’t connect with it. But I wasn't able to let go of it either. So here it is again. And I am so happy with it. The other deck was love at first site and I am so pleased I've got it as a present.

It was only on my birthday I had realized both my new decks have the Other World as their theme. (I am really getting older J).Each with their own point a view and style of art. How fitting to spend time with them these coming weeks up until midsummer. I will enjoy exploring these two decks even more now I’ve realized this!

From my husband I’ve got the book from Joan Bunning about reversals. I seriously want to  start learning to read with reversed cards more in depth. I figured this was a good book to give me some more insights about several ways to approach reversals.

And besides all those yummy tarot goodies, I’ve also got some beautiful  Carnations in pink and white and a lovely little plant which is called Tolmiea menziesii  It is known by the common names: Youth on age, Thousand mothers, and  Piggyback plant. In Holland we call it “Little child on mother’s lap” An last but not least  a bouquet of small red roses

All and all I am ever so grateful for my wonderful gifts and the pleasant and lovely day we’ve had together as a family

Apple blossoms and presents

For today no daily draw but instead I wanted to share some pictures of our apple tree, we’ve planted last Autumn and I also wanted to show the presents I’ve got yesterday.

Yesterday was a good day. Like the Page of  Swords, M. and I wanted to clear our heads and we went to a town nearby for some shopping J

We had discovered a beautiful New age shop where we could drool over the crystals, tarot decks, incenses, books etc. M had bought some nice things for herself and the sweetheart had found two perfect gifts for me too:

First she showed me a fragrant piece of wood. It was Palo Santo (Holy Wood). It was a lovely coincidence because yesterday I had seen this wood for the first time in a video from “Between traditions” where Avalon used it for cleansing her reading space. It smells so good. I haven't burned it yet but the wood itself smells lovely too. Then she showed me a bracelet of red garnet chips. I really love this deep red color a lot. I immediately fell in love with it. Its properties are: energy, willpower, passion en self confidence. That sounds a lot like a Queen of Wands bracelet to me. Isn't it strange; I‘ve seen so many beautiful things in that store and I couldn’t decide what to buy and she just picked out the two perfect presents for me

Following are the pictures of our apple tree. Slowly the blossoms have started to bloom. Now it is a coming and going of bees who will hopelfully pollinate them

This is promising for  a good harvest (apple pie! J)

I've won a tarot reading!!!

Yesterday I've received my first tarot reading by mail ever.

In the beginning of December, Olivia from First Earth Tarot has done a giveaway. The winner would receive a free reading. And I won!!! I've never won a giveaway before, so I was delighted.

By email (of course J) we exchanged some possibilities and preferences for this reading. And we have decided together that she would give me a reading about my current situation and the major energies which are prevailing in my life  right now

She had found a spread which focuses on my inner strengths and gifts: the Christmas tree spread:

  ---6

--4---5

1---2---3

1. The Shepherds: What are you tending/watching over?

2. The Angel: What glad tidings do you bring? (What message do you bring to others?)

3. The Star: What is guiding you?

4. The Magi: What gifts do you carry?

5. Mary: What are you giving birth to?

6. The Child: Where do you bring hope and light? How does your divine love become manifest

I thought this would be a lovely and very appropriate spread for this time of year. A few days later I received an email with my reading. And OMG! It was so elaborated, thoughtful, and comprehensive. She has written about two pages full of beautiful things about me that I could recognize so well and yet made me so shy at the same time. The spread really focuses on the positive side and it felt like such a precious Christmas gift.

I will not post my reading here because this is too private but I can assure you her reading style is fabulous and very in depth. Olivia, thank you so very much for this wonderful gift

Magical messages from the Fairies – Practice, practice, practice

 Yesterday afternoon my youngest daughter M. came home from shopping and she had bought me two gifts. Just like that. It was such a sweet surprise. First she gave me a little package which held a beautiful crystal : a mixture between black tourmaline and  clear quartz. Isn't that symbolic for how life is for most of us.

Magical Messages from the Fairies

I was so amazed when she had yet another present for me. She had bought me The Magical Messages of the Fairies by Doreen Virtue. M. knew I liked it because she has this deck too. What I most like about this deck is the uplifting spirit and although it is a fairy deck its messages can be very practical and they are a great counterweight to the  more deep and psychological decks I have. But don’t be surprised for this deck messages can be very profound and accurate too

Of course I've picked my daily card from this deck and I've got “Practice, practice, practice” - With daily practice, you can polish your skills and talents and increase your confidence.  It’s obvious this fairy takes her music seriously and she enjoys her practice because she notices she is making progress. I was raised with the saying: “practice makes perfect”  Why , I wonder, wasn't the phrase : “Practice delights” or  “Practice fulfills” or something like that. Perhaps perfectionism wouldn't be that great an issue; who knows.

Lately I am very fascinated by the hare. I think I've noticed this animal  first in the Wildwood Tarot (Queen of Bows, Two of Stones) and later on I seem to encounter it on various blogs. This animal is connected to the moon (moon hare) and to several mythologies which I have to explore yet.

Black Tourmaline- Clear Quartz

This brings us back to my daily draw. I want to draw a hare, but I am again, sorry for whining, afraid I will fail. This card encourages me to make an effort and just try. This will cut both ways: I will practice drawing a hare and I will face my insecurity .When I look at my crystal I see the beauty of  the dark stripe accentuate the white clear parts. Perhaps my insecurity is such a stripe …

A beautiful autumn bouquet

This afternoon me and my daughters had to do some shopping and I also wanted to give myself something to celebrate all that I've accomplished this last couple of weeks. But instead I'v got from them another beautiful bouquet. This one was made with flowers in autumn colours. It was such kind and sweet gesture J

Smelling the roses

The rest of this Sunday will be about relaxing while smelling the roses I've got as a gift from my daughters this week :D

Spending time with mum

This weekend have visited my mum. It is a two hour trip, so I don't see her as often as I would like. I like being with her, She tells a lot of stories from our past. Most of them I already know. But now and again I hear something that is new to me. It is like finding a little treasure. She is a very detailed storyteller and so her tales become vivid and expressive. All I have to do is sit with her, drinking coffee and listen…

My mum has  had this beautiful little statue on her mantelpiece for years. It is a statue of a father and a mother and their child. You could also see it as Joseph and Mary and Jesus, or as the Divine in its Father and Mother form, where I could be their nurtured protected child. It has multiple meanings for  me and  I've always loved it. I think that was noticed by my mum, because this weekend she gave it to me and now it has a place in my windowsill.

It was in many ways a wonderful weekend 

Father, Mother and Child

I've got Presents!

This morning I drove my daughter to town. She had some shopping to do and it is was raining cats and dogs. The shop was nearby a new age store where I went to drool over some beautiful things they had in displayed. I thought it was time for a treat. So I bought myself a beautiful smooth Labradorite. The properties of this crystal suits me fine. It helps to hold on to your energy and don’t let it slip away in draining situations. It is a very protective stone and I am utterly in love with the iridescent surface. I’m carrying  it with me in my jeans pocket, so we can become best friends.

My new BFF

My daughter had decided to buy me a present too. That was a lovely surprise! When we had returned to our car, she gave me two beautiful wrapped packages: a gorgeous carved little box for burning Incense cones and two boxes of the finest incense of  “The Mothers Fragrances”.  We always burn incense of that brand. It has such a natural, soft smell.

Yay, I'm so happy!