Seven of Pentacles - Permission to take a step back

Yesterday I asked for my daily draw: “what do I give myself permission for?” and I got the Seven of Pentacles. What a welcome card it was. I am not feeling too well lately and I this card is telling me not to get worked up about the things I think I need to do but rather take a step back and see how far I’ve come already; to really appreciate what I have accomplished. Also this card grants me permission to think about how to move forward

Since the Seven of Pentacles really hit home for me, I decided to make it a part of the three card spread:

Where do I come from? The four of Pentacles. No wonder I am so tired lately. Clinging to what energy, time and resources I have left is energetically draining me. This is a card of fear for scarcity, the inability to let go of controlling everything and the lack of trust that the Universe will provide what I need the most.

Where am I now? the Seven of Pentacles. A perfect card for after the Four of Pentacles, because we all know what will happen when the Four of Pentacles becomes a Five of Pentacles !!! So taking a step back during whatever you are doing, to find out how your are doing is always smart thing to do.

Where am I going? The six of Pentacles. The flow of resources. It is not important what our position is in this flow as long as the resources are flowing from one to the other. Sometimes we are giving freely and sometimes we have to ask  for help. Maybe that is a good thing to consider too when we are taking that step back; do we need help in any way? So hard to ask but such a gift to our loved ones because how will they know what we need if we don’t speak up? And how will we know what we need if we don’t take a moment to find out?

These pentacles are giving me a lot to think about but not without wishing all my American readers a happy Fourth of July!

New Moon in April

For this New Moon I've drawn two cards as usual. The first one for the energy I am going to release and the second one for the energy which is beneficial for me to embrace. From the Tarot of the Hidden Realm I got:

Release – The Seven of Pentacles

This card is all about patiently waiting. A woman is sitting on the ground facing the bleak April sunlight. She is clearly pregnant. She is holding her swollen belly with both hands, protective and nurturing. It won’t be long now. I can remember the times when my pregnancies were almost at their end. I was focused inward and content with just being; waiting, because there was nothing more for me do than to trust the process. Drawing this card, I wondered what it was I was waiting for now, because it is obvious this card in this position means my waiting time is over.

Embrace – The Fool

Wow, what an energetic card this is and so full of possibilities. I love how the colors of both cards seem to blend together and how it looks like both The Fool and the woman are looking at the same sun. This card marks a new beginning. A very suitable card for this Spring. Everything blossoms and comes to life. The waiting is over. It is time for a fresh start.

This afternoon I received an offer from our local fitness center  to have some free trial lessons. I am super exited.  This is totally new for me.  I also know I have to be honest to myself and feel  if it is truly something for me. I am definitely  going to give  this a serious chance because first and foremost  I want to become a lot fitter than I am now and I also want to lose some weight.

Six of Cups – I remember a time when…..

Today’s card is the Six of Cups from the Tarot of the Hidden Realm. We see a woman bathing in the bay. This is where she can connect to her memories in a very soothing way. She feels them floating through her mind, just like the little waves are caressing her body. Some of those memories are kind and precious, some of them feel uncomfortable and sad but she tries to accept each one of them with gentle compassion. Often when something distressful has happened, it is not so easy to take a light-hearted stroll down memory lane again.  Personally I still find it very hard to revisit photo albums from more than a decade ago….

This card reminded me of an exercise I’ve read somewhere online once: 

Shuffle your deck, pull a card and finish the following sentence:

“I remember a time when…………

Whatever memory comes to mind when you look at your card, it's okay. It doesn’t matter if the meaning of the card has nothing to do with your memory.

Often memories are little snippets of a larger story. You can decide if you want to spent some more time there or if you want you can pull the next card. Don’t forget this exercise is supposed to be a pleasant experience. Try to embrace your memories with love and compassion. If a card disturbs you in any way feel free to pick another.

These four cards came up for me this morning:

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Page of Wands: I remember a time when I got my first set of “real” watercolors and how amazed I was by the quality of its beautiful pigments.

Ace of Pentacles. I remember a time when I started my first job as a teacher and how thrilled I was that  I was the one who would teach these little persons how to read in less than a year

Seven of Pentacles: I remember two times when I shared my body with one of my girls. The waiting. The caring and attentive love of my husband. We became parents and I like to think we were good at it

Justice: I remember a time when I thought life wasn’t fair. Why did this have happen to us. But gradually over the years life taught me about balance and how time and new experiences fill the empty places

Maybe you would like to try this for yourself. You can journal about your memories or just sit with them for a while

"We don't remember days, we remember moments." Cesare Pavese

New Moon in May – Taking my time and be gentle with myself

After having played almost exclusively with both my new birthday decks, I felt it was time to pick up my beloved Original Rider Waite deck. Beside the fact I love the color scheme of this deck and of course the  well-known artwork, I am totally smitten by the physical feeling and smell of these cards. No deck feels as good for me as this one does. It was love at first site and I never got over it. J

For this New Moon I've drawn as usual two cards. The first one for the energy I am going to release and the second one for the energy which is beneficial for me to embrace and I drew:

1 Release -  Nine of Swords – well this is as good as it can get. After my emotional set back since the end of April  and the healing I’ve done; the lessons I’ve learned, the time is  right  to let go of my anxiety and sadness for now. I know they will always be in the shadows waiting for another opportunity to get hold of me but for now I am free and I feel good. So let’s keep it this way.

2  Embrace – Seven of Pentacles – This is a card I didn’t know right away what to do with. I often get a kick in the butt of my cards to get going but now they want me so take a pause and reflect on my status quo. While I am writing this it sounds as the most healthy thing to do.  Instead of getting back on my horse again it is better to recuperate  a while longer and rejoice the fact I am up and about again. It is better to be gentle and patient  with myself then to rush into things full steam ahead and overstep my own boundaries (again)

Another thing I get from this card is to pick up my gratitude practice again. This guy is watching his pentacles and is astounded by their beauty. It is only a matter of time when he can harvest his crop. There is so much to be grateful for

My copy of the Gaian tarot has arrived!

Yesterday I've received the Gaian Tarot  in the mail. This is a deck which  was off and on my wish list for years. I already had the Foolsdog app of this deck but in the end  that wasn't  it for me.  

A few weeks ago I decided to finally purchase a physical copy for myself and was deeply disappointed when I learned it (the Llewellyn edition) was out of print. 

There and then I decided to let it go and not obsess about any further.  But a few days ago I found myself searching the net again for this deck and  to my great surprise I found a Dutch Publisher who still had a one copy in stock. Without any delay I made the purchase and now I am ever so glad to have The Gaian tarot in my collection. It is a welcome counterbalance to all the more whimsical decks I have. It reads very intuitively which I like and it has a soft nurturing feel to it. For me it is a grounding deck after having read with the Chrysalis tarot for whole month now.

Today’s card is the Seven of Earth. Well it couldn't be more grounding than this. We see a woman planting a young sapling in the soil of a large forest. She is holding the root ball carefully in her hands and with her smile she is giving the young tree the confidence to grow.

Growing a tree needs patience; a lot of patience just a some of our other projects do. Not always we get the results we want and when we want them. Sometimes we just have to work slow and steadily towards our goal. Often life is not about our pass but more about Nature’s and Spirit’s pass.

When we learn to take pleasure in daily progress and in taking baby steps  then we can be grateful for each new leaf of our sapling, for each millimeter growth in length and or thickness.

Just before I wanted to upload this post I got the feeling this woman was adding her precious new deck to her collection with the intention of growing a solid and deep relationship with it. J

Affirmation: “ I trust that my efforts are growing to fruition in their own good time” J. Colbert

Seven of Pentacles – Practicing Patience

For today,  before I pulled a card from my Original Rider Waite Tarot, I've asked what we needed the most to make this day a wonderful day.

And I've got the Seven of pentacles: Patience, patience, patience!

Usually I like my life to be organized and scheduled. Setting out time for work, for relaxation, for making art etc. if I would try to maintain this quest for order I would get very frustrated because with a little puppy around the house, order is nowhere to be found. We follow his schedule of playing, eating, and sleeping and try to adjust it little by little to how it fits us best. This requires a lot of patience and thought. Like the pentacles in this picture take their time to ripen, it takes also time for a puppy to grow up and for us to get used to this new situation. I think in the beginning we did expect too much of him and luckily very soon we realized how little he still is. It is just a little baby. And taking that in consideration, he is already so clever: He pees and poops on an old newspaper on the kitchen floor and sits when asked. He comes when we call him and when he is tired he is falling asleep between the feet of one of us. Then we carry him to his bench where he continues to sleep. He is a bundle of joy. We talk about this new way of living a lot and although it is very tiring we do feel Jofee is bringing a lot of positive and lively energy to our family. And after each day we feel fulfilled, and happy with how he is developing and is experiencing and learning new things.

Seven of Pentacles – Honor and Gratitude

For today I've drawn the Seven of Pentacles from the Joie de Vivre Tarot by Paulina Cassidy When you  could use a lighthearted and cheerful message, this a deck which will always be one you can count on without being too cheesy.

For each card the artist has written a little story about the characters in the picture. For the Seven of Coins it goes like this:

“A pair of fairydeer, Gratitude and Honor, planted a tiny seed. Through thick and thin, they were dedicated to nurturing this tree through its stages of growth. Ultimately, their seed had grown into a monument of beauty and grace. They pause for a moment of contemplation, reaping the rewards of their hard work.”

The two fairydeer are aspects of ourselves which are vital when working on a long term project.  Honor and Gratitude are what keeps us going when we commit to an idea or an intent: a tiny seed of love we sow and care for.  It will grow and develop and during this process we can be proud of ourselves for our commitment and achievements. Sometimes it is good to pause to see how far you’ve come. Although you are not there yet the change is evident. So pause, reflect and think back where you came from to see how your seedling has developed and grown stronger. You don’t have to wait for your goal to have been reached. Just tend to you seedling with honor and take pride in its development. Enjoy the process moment by moment and count your blessings every step along the way.

Affirmation: Today I am going to take a step back and look at my  “garden” with honor and gratitude

A great question to ask the tarot

The Original Rider Waite Tarot

When you draw a daily card sometimes it can be hard to discover which aspect of your card is relevant for this day. Especially when you pull a gloom and doom card. Yesterday I saw an interview on Daily tarot girl with Sasha Graham, an author  of tarot books. She shared with us her go-to question which, in her opinion, is always applicable to any card in any situation. I agree with her that tarot can be a wonderful tool  to teach you how to live your life to the fullest. A tool that can clear away the “cobwebs in your attic” Her question is: “What can I do right now, in this moment that will bring me pleasure and also positively impact my future” (Sasha Graham)

So for today I have asked this question to the Original Rider Waite Tarot and I've got: The Seven of Pentacles. It is almost too good to be true. Out of 78 cards I've got the gardening card or perhaps for today it is better called the after gardening card. For now we are almost finished  with our garden and I am so tired. I had made all sort of plans about what I was going to do after the gardening project but now I am too tired to do anything. And to be completely honest I can stand myself for being tired so that isn't helping either.

And now back to the question: The best thing for me to do right now; which will bring me pleasure is to step back and enjoy the fruits of my labor. Just look at the expression in the guys face. He is so content and at peace in this moment. This will impact my future positively because before I can start another project I have to regain my strength and while doing so I am going to be proud of myself en non judgmental for being tired.

This question is a keeper for me and I hope you will enjoy it too

Seven of Pentacles - the Strength of Patience

For today another card of this summery deck. It is the Seven of Pentacles which relates in its own way to the Strength card of two days ago. I’ve written about  patience being also a form of strength. When we look at this woman we see how closely she is connected to the fruit bearing tree. The guidebook calls her a dryad, so we witness a sort of symbiosis. While she touches and examines the lowest and most ripened fruit, it is in turn touching her arm. They both know on a deep level what is best for this moment: To pick or not to pick. The dryad knows if the time has come, when the fruit is ripe enough for the harvest. She has to wait and restrain her appetite for this delicious fruit just a bit longer because she knows how much more she will enjoy it if she can be patient. She has respect for the trees natural processes. Meanwhile she can enjoy her leisure time and think…

“I pause a moment and enjoy the fruits of my labors. I think about how things have gone, and how I might make better choices in the future. I have learned some valuable lessons from my work thus far. I shall consider trying new approaches where the ones I have used did not serve me as well as I had hoped. For now, I must decide whether I have set a good course, and should continue as I have, or whether I should change direction, if even just a little bit.”(Leila Vey)

So often we try to hasten a process in order to be ready and to start the next project. But how would it be if we stepped back and let things evolve, unfold and ripen by themselves at their own pace. That  attitude is asking a lot of strength and patience and most of all trust in life and the Universe. We have to have enough trust to let go of our need of control and expect that life will give us the best pick in the end.

 “Patience is not passive; on the contrary, it is active; it is concentrated strength” E. G. Bulwer-Lytton

Seven of Pentacles – take a break

Crystal Visions Tarot

This morning I have drawn the seven of Pentacles from the Crystal Visions Tarot. The woman in the picture is sitting between the roots of the tree. It looks almost as if she is merging with it, like the dryads in the branches. Her eyes are closed. Is she looking at her bowl with picked fruits, or is she dozing off? Either way she is totally relaxed and trusting the Pentacles to grow and ripen by themselves. There is nothing urgent to do, no activities on the calendar. How wonderful that must be. Just taking a well deserved break of everything and watching the world go by.

It is not that difficult. Perhaps we have to let go of our notion we are indispensable. Let’s be honest. Who doesn't think; I know best, I will take care of them, I will solve that problem etc. We like to think we are needed but sometimes we also want break free from the everyday hustle and sit back, relax and take stock of our lives and ask ourselves: How can we be more at ease, less stressed out and overworked and most important how can we become less important in our own perception? Just try to let the grass grow by itself and trust everything will be okay in the end.

Compromise between adventure and laziness

Every now and then I just look at the cards and feel no urge to read the guidebook for more “spiritual and in depth” interpretations, to expand on my own plain obvious impression. Today I’ll just stick with the daily ordinariness of this reading.

This three cards read almost like three Lennies with the center card as main topic:

Osho Zen Tarot

So today is all about compromise between two options: adventure and Laziness

Of course when you think about adventure, excitement and surprises come to mind. But we’re not always are up to that. Sometimes the only thing we want is to push root in our couch; especially during weekends. And the cards tell us that’s okay too. Although adventure does include freedom  and exploring possibilities, it also requires a lot of creative energy and perseverance.

So this weekend we’ll get to do both. It is up to you how the scales are balanced. Enjoy!

Shining bright and learning patience

27 September: This is the time that the Michaelmas daisy blooms . How do I radiate and shine?----

If you want to know more about this daisy, go over to Eowyn’s post: Everybody plays the fool

Ann K Tarot

Today  I've drawn the seven of pentacles from the Anna K Tarot. Yesterday I was so eager to get up and paint with my watercolors. I was really motivated. But when I sat down with my supplies, it was hurting me too much. I was disappointed, but I realized that I had set my goals too high. I have to admit that some of the things I like to do are not possible for me right now. So no painting, no knitting, no crocheting, no gardening…. Those are my pentacles that I've put down to rest. I have to be patient for a while. I know that I will get better (this happened to me before)

I am really happy that I have discovered blogging. It keeps me occupied and I'm meeting a lot of new people. J

I radiate and shine bright because I've uploaded my very first Youtube video. More about this in my next post ……(patience J)