Six of Pentacles - Receiving isn't easy

Today's card is the Six of Pentacles from the Druidcraft Tarot. This is a card of giving and or receiving benefits. It also speaks about a fair balance between the two. Finding that balance can be a hard thing to do. Especially when you're on the giving side of the equation. Givers don't like to admit they need help or other resources just like anyone else. They almost need to be coaxed into receiving the gifts we want to give them. A lot of these givers have probably been spoonfed with the words that "it's better to give than to receive. ”
I know, because I am one of them. It's hard for me to express my needs to others and ask for help but I am getting better at it. In order to do that I have to open up and be prepared to be vulnerable. I think it's about time I start practicing this more seriously....
So for today I will try be mindful to graciously accept a helping hand, a compliment, some loving attention and even more, to ask for this if needed.

Uruz and Six of Pentacles - Both sides of the coin are equally valid

Today’s rune is Uruz (ox) the rune of strength and vitality and I wondered what kind of energy would make me feel more alive and would invigorate me so I would be able to jump into the new year with some fresh enthusiasm and inspiration. Then I drew the Six of Pentacles…

Not what I was expecting but it does make sense. Often we feel the most alive when we matter to other people; when we give our time and energy to those who need it more than we do.  Mind you the Six of Pentacles is a card of reciprocity. It doesn’t only encourage us to give, give, give, even though this is often the easiest part of this card. When we, in turn, are lacking resources it is up to us to ask for help to others. Don’t expect they will notice our need because this often leads to disappointment and further withdrawal. Ideas of not being seen or worthy of love will start to arise. No, let’s be brave and ask for help. This will strengthen your love for yourself and your trust in other people. So either way, this card will strengthen you.  

Soulcards and Laguz – Don't keep the lid on

My Rune for today is Laguz, meaning water or lake. This is the rune of feelings and emotions, of the unconscious and of the hidden and unknown. Combined with this Soulcard from Soulcards 2 it is obvious how unhealthy it is to bottle up feelings and emotions and to keep them under a heavy lid. One way or another they will always find a way to surface and always when you’ll expect it the least.  This intense screaming inside will hurt us so much more then expressing our troubling feelings when they arise. Sometimes our cover can be so strong and impenetrable, it might even be possible we cannot hear our own soul screaming. But what if we do hear it, what to do about it?

And then I pulled the Six of Pentacles from the Original Rider Waite Tarot. The first thing that came to mind was asking for help to someone we trust. Because obviously  we are left with little to give like in the Six of Pentacles of the Wildwood tarot. The card from the Deviant Moon Tarot advises me to keep some of my time and resources for myself when others come to ask for my help after I have recuperated from this emotional tidal wave . My initial response is always give, give, give and that’s okay as long as I don’t exploit myself.

Today after a very busy morning and afternoon I am claiming some space and time for myself to do the things I love most… and maybe take a peek under that lid…

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!

Love can’t be measured on a scale.

Today’s question for Shadow Work October by Mnomquah on IG was:

Intimacy: How can you strengthen your bond with your loved ones.

For this question I’ve used the Rider Waite Tarot. After having worked with The “darker” decks for a while, for now it feels more comforting to pull from my trusted Rider Waite deck in order to answer these deep and sometimes disturbing questions. So while shuffling my deck to answer the question for today, The Moon jumped out and I pulled the Six of Pentacles myself.

The moon is all about fear and uncertainty, about not being in control and about a lack of trust and boundaries. Mmm… this is a very blunt way of telling me that my social and emotional skills definitely are in need some healing and polishing up. It is true I’ve been let down so many times in my life that I do have trust issues and also a fear of commitment and abandonment. So fear seems to be a  strong  component of my relationships, which is not a good thing at all.

The Six of Pentacles is maybe a good start to examine how my relationships could be improved. This is a card about interdependence. We see a rich man give to  the poor with one hand and he is holding scales in his other hand. He distributes his money equally to the beggars. The question here is always: who are you, the beggar or the rich man?

For me the message for this card today is to get rid of the scales and give from the heart. In loving relationships the amount of giving and receiving don’t have to be equal and measured. It is not about the worth or weight of the gifts but it is about the intention of giving and being open and willing to receive. Sometimes receiving is even harder then giving, because sometimes you have nothing to give back in return, but a heartfelt  “thank you” and the relationship feels unbalanced. This doesn’t have to be true at all for the main component of each relationship is Love and Love can never be measured on a scale. 

A Thousand Gifts…

For today a slightly different post than usual. Lately I've been thinking a lot about Gratitude and what it really means to me. Maybe because we are heading for the Autumn equinox this concept has been a lot on my mind. Gratitude is the one pillar of my spiritual practice which never wavers. When everything else is put to the test and doubted, gratitude remains fully alive and intact. I even don’t mind if I can figure out  to who or what I am grateful.

Yesterday when I was Googling about Gratitude, to explore how others practiced it and what they had to share about this subject, I came across  Ann Voskamp, a Christian writer, who has written a book called: “One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are”. It was written in 2011 so perhaps many of you have heard about it already. Although her spiritual path isn't exactly mine, I think she has a very important message for all of us, since in my opinion Gratitude is a universal principle. She dares you to list one thousand things you are grateful for. One thousand gifts from who/whatever you think they are coming from. It is a well known practice to list five things each night before you go to sleep but to list one thousand is something entirely different. 

Ann Voskamp has been through a lot in her life and she claims her faith but even more her Gratitude practice has pulled her through. Gratitude is not all about being thankful for the big things in life but even more for  the everyday events, like a bird singing, a leaf falling or the snoring of your dog. Just try to notice the beauty around you where you are at that moment. You don’t have to live a grand life to be grateful. This morning while drinking my first coffee in the garden, I enjoyed the first signs of Autumn in crisp morning the air.

Being grateful when times are good isn't so challenging but being grateful when the wheel turns and life gets difficult is not that easy.
Seeing beauty when the lightening hits The Tower is a gift we can gracefully accept with our hands wide open. That’s when trust comes into play. Do you trust the flow of life; trust that everything will be okay again. That’s something to be grateful for and everything else will follow. We are all worthy of so much; even of one thousand gifts and more

So for today I am going to start with my list of a thousand gifts.

“Wherever you are, be all there." I have lived the runner, panting ahead in worry, pounding back in regrets, terrified to live in the present, because here-time asks me to do the hardest of all: just open wide and receive.” Ann Voskamp 

Maker Six - Better to give than to receive?????

For today I've got Maker six from my brand new deck, The tarot of the Sidhe. This is the equivalent of Six of Pentacles. The keyword on the cards says generosity. What an apt card to pull so short after my birthday. The card depicts a woman of the Sidhe, who receives an apple from an obviously content tree. Look at him smiling! Note that she is not picking the apple but she is given one. There is a mutual understanding between the tree and Sidhe woman. Perhaps this woman has cared for the tree during Spring and Summer and now she can have her share the harvest. M and I have been working in our garden  yesterday and we are so grateful for all the beautiful flowers and blossoms which are growing there now. We have also discovered the tiniest little apples in our Apple tree

Although I acknowledge how wonderful it is to give, it is also so great to receive. When I got my birthday presents and all the loving and caring attention I felt so appreciated and loved. Of course as always it is a matter of balance and reciprocity: a beautiful word which Emily Carding has used so elegantly in her verse for this card:

“The spirit of generosity

Brings fruitful reciprocity

A mouth need never hunger more

When those with plenty help the poor”

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!

Picking our berries

October 7: The grapes, apples and pears are harvested. What can I look back to with satisfaction? What is my harvest of the last season?

Crystal Visions Tarot

That will be the Six of pentacles from the Crystal Visions tarot. It’s a very appropriate card for this question. The girl is picking berries while the birds are helping her and in turn getting their share of the harvest. The total vibe of this card is gentle and every creature is kind of equal. Here is no needy dependency that you see in many other depictions of the six of pentacles. Six beautiful pentacles are hanging in the tree waiting to be picked. My harvest (not only of last season) is that I have raised two beautiful daughters who have become loving caring young women. The three of us are living together only for a short while, because the eldest is going to live with her boyfriend any time soon now. So I am very grateful that we still have some time together. Although I encourage her independency, I’ll miss her a lot. So now is the time we can still enjoy each other’s company. Looking after each other, help one another, listen and advise each other, talk and laugh together. Just get the most out of it in those last few months. The last sentence of this post is not my own. I found it somewhere on the internet but I don’t remember where…

”Life is an endless exchange of resources, knowledge, nurture and skill. There is a time to talk and a time to listen, a time to lead and a time to follow, a time to care for others, and a time to be cared for.”