All the ingredients for nice relaxed Sunday

After the challenging cards of last week according to my tarot cards, I am going to have a lovely Sunday. I am going to enjoy my own company as well as spending some quality time with my daughters. So this is going to be a day of harmony and balance.

I seem to be more inclined to acknowledge the predictive qualities of the tarot when I pull positive cards like these two. Perhaps I am more eager to be influenced by the energy of these two cards rather than feeling depressed about my nine of swords experience.

But as always it all comes down to my own perception of reality. What are my thoughts and how do they make me feel? If I feel down how can I be mindful enough to be aware of my thoughts and change them into more comforting ones?

Perhaps cards like these can be helpful in this process. Today I have drawn them from my deck but sometimes I pick the cards which will remind me of qualities I want to embrace or manifest. Almost like a sort of a visual affirmation. I used to do this more often and I am glad that I have rediscovered this practice by writing this post

Which card would you pick for yourself?

Sometimes you just have to be told over and over again!

Sometimes you draw a card and you feel like you've been hit in the stomach: Not again the nine of Swords. A little bit more than a week ago I drew the Nine of Air from the Angeltarot. 

This depiction was a lot more gentle than the rendition of the Druidcraft Tarot which follows neatly the Rider Waite imagery: a woman in despair holding her head in her hands in hands, unable to sleep.

She is obviously at a loss, sad and depressed. Often when I get a card more often then usual it is clear to me I haven’t got the message  yet. So I asked the cards what should a I do to solve the problems represented by this card and I drew the Eight of Cups. This is also a card I get a lot in personal readings. It is like the tarot is screaming: “wake up woman”, which would sound less cynical if  the woman in the nine of swords wasn't having sleepless nights. J

It looks like she was able to get out of her bed and has dressed herself in her red sheet and blue blanket. She is leaving all her empty dried up cups behind and she is following the path uphill beside the stream of fresh cool water. She is searching for the its source, which holds the promise of healing,  intuition and Love

It just struck me this figure is climbing yesterdays mountain!

Six of Cups and Mountain - Tarot and Lenormand playing together

For today I have drawn two cards from two different systems and both cards have been made by the same artist: Ciro Marchetti. From the Legacy of the Divine Tarot I’ve got the Six of Cups and from the Gilded Reverie Lenormand I've pulled the mountain.

First I drew the tarot card to represent the overall feeling/energy of the day;

This cards depicts a girl lying in the grass and she is recalling some good times when she was playing with her friend. It is very easy for me to identify with this girl. Life used to be so easy. There were less difficult choices to make. Of course it wasn't always sunshine and roses  but at least my husband was there to stand beside me. And nowadays it is just me who has to make all the decisions. But I am very glad  I can cherish a lot of good and loving memories. So why does this card affect me more than usual?

For a modification of this tarot card I drew Mountain. This card is about blockages, difficulties and frustration. When we are confronted with our mountain it is only natural we are inclined to look back to the green meadows of the past and to imagine them greener than they really were. How tempting it might be to idolize and dwell in these pastures, it is better to get your backpack and lace up your shoes and start climbing the mountain.

It is obvious how the Lenormand card emphasizes for me the danger of living in the past and can be seen as an encouragement to face my problems. I think any other Lenormand card would have highlighted a different aspect of The Six of Cups. The Tarot card represents for me the psychological side of the matter and the Lenormand card the more mundane and active side. Although Tarot and Lenormand are  two different systems, I think they can work very well together

Ps. don’t get me wrong; There is nothing as comforting as a stroll down memory lane J

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

Gilded Reverie Lenormand - a Three Card Spread

Yesterday I was inspired by Olivia from First EarthTarot  to pick up my Lennies again and give them the attention this lovely system deserves.  Although it contains “only” 36 cards, it is a comprehensive study which  requires a lot of dedication and practice. It is almost as if I would say English isn't that difficult; you write it with just 26 letters.

So back to the cards. I am still in the stage of reading three card lines, So let's see what this line has to say about my renewed acquaintance with the Lennies:

Bouquet + Stars+ Ship

1.       Pleasure is found in following your dream

2.       The gift of an inspirational journey

3.       A longing for putting my talent in motion

When I read these cards they give me the distinct feeling I should give this system a fair change, explore it’s usage for me and see  this study as an adventurous journey.  I will be open minded and find out if I can re-establish a connection to these cards. Furthermore I will try not to be scared off by the blunt language of the Lennies.  Maybe it's similar to not being fearful anymore for the Death card and the Ten of Swords.J

If you have any additional thoughts about these three cards, please leave a comment. 

Strength – Don’t smother your Lion

Shadowscapes Tarot

Today is a gorgeous Spring day to air out my Shadowscapes Tarot by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law. It has been hidden in the back of my tarot drawer for most part of Fall and Winter but now it is time to renew our relationship. The first card I've got after such a long time is Strength. I like this depiction of strength very much. It shows us there are different kinds of strength.  For instance you have the strength of the bamboo, which is flexible and strong and can bend without breaking and there is the strength of an oak tree, which can grow from such a tiny acorn into the king of trees. There is the strength of a swan mother protecting her young and the strength in a lions roar and last but not least there is the strength of this slender female which can silence the lion with the gentle touch of her hand.

Strength also is reminding us of being compassionate and patient  and temper our primal fires by soft control. The cats represent the domesticated wild cat. But beware don’t smother the fire of your lion entirely, because you may need this force sooner than you think. Be a wild woman and embrace your power like the lady in this card.

The High Priestess - You don’t have to know all the answers

Crystal Visions Tarot

This is a card I seldom pull from a deck and now  I've got it twice shortly after each other. It is my Embrace card for this lunation which encourages me to focus on listening to my inner voice.  (Listen is a my word for this year.) And to be honest I am having a hard time with it. Lately it is difficult to silence my inner dialogues which contain mostly worries, negative self talk and bottled up irritation.

What stood out the most in this .of The High Priestess, is the fact she is surrounded by butterflies and none of them are touching her . The guidebook tells me the butterflies are a symbol of transformation but to me, today, they are representing every fluttering thought which crosses my mind during the day and sadly sometimes at the night too

So what is her secret? Why is she able to keep them at bay?

For a new perspective on this card,  I picked up one of my tarot books.  For today I choose “Tarot 101” by Kim Huggens.  (One of my favorites on this subject). And there I found an eye-opening sentence: “The High Priestess is the silence of true wisdom and the ability to truly listen to others and the world around, instead of trying to think of an answer”

Especially the last part of the sentence was enlightening: I don’t have to know the answers! I just have to listen; to others as well as to myself.  My inner dialogues are always tempting me get involved and to come up with solutions for (non) existing problems and when I do so, the merry go round keeps on turning, because none of my answers are ever good enough.  But what if I didn't fell in that trap over and over again. I don’t have to know the answers and maintain control. Sometimes things will just have to unfold by themselves and I will observe, listen and only act when needed. And again it all comes down to living in the present moment  and to be mindful.