Wolf Moon – I will watch over you

For today I drawn  Wolf moon from the Oracle of the Shapeshifters. We see a girl and wolf together in the picture. It is night and probable cold, since the wolf moon appears in January. We don’t now for sure who is the one being watched over, but I strongly suspect it is the girl who is about to change into a wolf under the light of the full Wolf moon. She is holding the wolf, hugging him and she is finding comfort in the warmth of his fur and the strength of his spirit. 
This card reminds me of the Strength card, so maybe the girl and the wolf are representing  two aspects of the same being

Wolf Moon heralds a time of change. Although we are always constantly changing, some times change can be more obvious than usual and these are the times we want to be held, because change can be scary and painful: Often we have to leave a familiar situation behind and then we have to step into the unknown just like the Outsider or the little bird from my previous posts. Yes, again the cards seem to tell us a story like a in daily comic strip.

The wolf is a loyal guide during such transformations. For me he represents (inner)strength, loyalty and trustworthiness. Whether you see him as a spirit animal, an angel, a part of your inner self or the divine itself, is of no consequence; just know you are watched over.

Affirmation: Today I am going to be aware of the spiritual protection, I will receive in difficult situations.

The page of Water - Understanding

My card for today is the Page of Water from the Osho Zen Tarot. The card is called: Understanding. Being the counterpart of the Page of Cups in the Rider Waite system, this page's understanding has nothing to do with his mental abilities but more with a deep knowledge of Truth; almost like a feeling of enlightenment. Suddenly you just know….

“The bird pictured on this card is looking out from what seems to be a cage. There is no door, and actually the bars are disappearing. The bars were an illusion, and this small bird is being summoned by the grace and freedom and encouragement of the others. It is spreading its wings, ready to take flight for the very first time. It is the dawn of a new understanding; that the cage has always been open, and the sky has always been there for us to explore (..) Move with the sweetness and gentleness of the present moment. Feel the fluttering within. Spread your wings and be free.”

How fitting, this card comes after  yesterday’s  Page of Rainbows  – The Outsider. Now the gates are wide open and the bird realizes he is free to go wherever he wants to. The so feared excluding and bullying birds are not so scary anymore. They are like him: just birds.

When we let go of our limiting preconceptions about the world and it's inhabitants, we can grow wings and fly high. Our possibilities are endless when we embrace freedom. First our inner freedom and then the freedom to step into the world with confidence and trust. This is of course so much more easy to write down than to put into practice. But this card might be a nudge in the right direction.J

“No one can persuade another to change. Each of us guards a gate of change that can only be opened from the inside. We cannot open the gate of another, either by argument or emotional appeal.” Marilyn Ferguson

Five of Rainbows – The Outsider opens the gate

For today I've drawn the Five Of Rainbows (Pentacles) from the Osho Zen tarot.

“A small child is standing on one side of a gate, looking through it. He is so small, and so convinced that he cannot get through. He cannot see that the chain holding the gate is not locked; all he has to do is open it.

Whenever we feel 'left out', or excluded, it brings up this feeling of being a small, helpless child. It is not surprising, as the feeling is deeply rooted in our earliest childhood experiences. The problem is that, because it is so deeply rooted, it plays over and over again, like a tape, in our lives.”

This card is telling me to stop doubting myself. To stop imagining what other people might think of me. I have been disappointed in people many times, many ways. Always thinking there had to be something wrong with me. That I wasn't good enough. I was raised to be a people pleaser and when I didn't feel accepted I always thought I hadn't done enough to get them to like me. When I look at this card I even think maybe the chain is the child’s way of keeping the bad world outside; afraid to get hurt again.

But lately I have come to realize there is nothing wrong with me. I am  good just the way I am right now. I've learned to accept and yes, to truly love myself. I know I am precious and worthy of Love. So let’s open the gate and step into the world full of rainbow colors!

The Courage to dare to embrace the Ordinariness of Life

For today I've drawn the eight of Rainbows  (Pentacles) "Ordinariness” from the Osho Zen tarot. We see a woman walking in nature, enjoying the blossoming trees and the flowers all around her. “Beauty can be found in the simple, ordinary things of life. We so easily take this beautiful world we live in for granted. Cleaning the house, tending the garden, cooking a meal--the most mundane tasks take on a sacred quality  when they are performed with your total involvement and love.” (guidebook) 

This is an attitude which can bring us so much joy but is so hard to maintain. So I pulled another card with the question: what do I need to enjoy an ordinary life? Imagine my surprise when I pulled "Courage" (Strength) from my deck!

This little tiny flower had the courage to meet the challenge of the rocks and stones and it has become the flower it was meant to be, basking in the sunlight. 

Our daily life with its chores and routines can easily be represented by the rock and stones This courageous Daisy is asking us this: Do we dare to meet the challenge of our daily life; "to dare to live life fully right where you are" and embrace each moment of it. Maybe it can be helpful if you can look at your life as a beautiful painting. Instead of looking at the whole picture in a glance, and judging it in second, look for the details, the brushstrokes and how the light is captured on your canvas.  See the beauty of the colors and notice how they deepen by your perceptive look. Enjoying life can be as simple as looking at it with wonderment.

Today I am  going to be grateful for the colors my day is going to be painted with. So I will brighten the palette of my life

Five of Pentacles – a helping hand

After having pulled rather challenging cards the last two day, I decided to draw today’s card with a positive question in mind:  “What can I do right now, in this moment that will bring me pleasure and also positively impact my future” (Sasha Graham). I’ve written about the origin of this question in a previous post.

How happy I was with my decision when I pulled the Five of Pentacles; an obvious example of a again a challenging card. It felt almost as if the tarot was pulling a prank on me. In this depiction we see an elderly couple sitting under a make-do shelter covered with snow. This card is about deprivation, poverty and physical, mental or material hardship.

“But this card does also imply that comfort can be found in such situations in partners, friends or unexpectedly compassionate strangers. The card invites us to look for help and to accept help that is offered to us”(guidebook). So that is the positive side of this card.

In answer to my question; I will look for how I can  be compassionate to others and how I can try to gracefully accept offered help. The last part is the most difficult because I usually want to do everything myself so it will good for me to learn to depend on others too. 
This morning somebody friendly let me cut in line at the grocery store and when I came home my girls offered to put the groceries. So it was a good start of my day
I love it how the question has  determined the atmosphere of this reading J

Today I am grateful and accepting for a helping hand, either mentally or physically

The full Harvest Moon of September – Tarot Spell

Yesterday, it was the night of the full Harvest moon and encouraged by Bev from By the Sycamore Tree I've decided to create a tarot spell/visual prayer in order to help me cope with and accept the coming changes in my family. (S will be moving out when her boyfriend finds a job) Also to help me see these changes in a positive light; perhaps even as a kind of personal harvest after years of mothering.

I've  learned this type of spell from Kerry from Neopagan Priestess. The tarot is a wonderful tool to visualize and focus on your desires, need for change and maybe even your gratitude before you have actually experienced the fulfilling of your desire or noticed a positive change.

Because I've been working with the Anna K Tarot lately, this deck was a natural choice to use for my spell.

First I've laid down yesterday’s card as the main theme. Then I flipped through the deck to find cards which resonated with me and/or were connected one way or another to this theme. This went very quickly and without a lot of thought. Finally I narrowed the little pile down to three cards to put around the theme card.
I've picked the following cards:

Ace of Pentacles for Me and M nourishing our roots, planting seeds, redefining our living together and for new exciting opportunities for both of us

The Sun as the symbol  for joy, a positive outcome, and self-confidence for all of us

The Three of Rods for S making plans and starting out on a new exciting journey 

I loved how these three cards were radiating their yellow sunlight over the darker Eight of Cups. Yellow and blue, a match made in heaven!

I've put it all on tray (thank you Kerry!) to put it wherever I want it to be. To focus on my intent I've come up with this little prayer. I tried to translate it as well as I could.

“May the sun shine its light over you and your journey and your choices yet to make and over us while we are keeping our home safe and enjoying the new opportunities this change will  bring us.”

Eight of Cups – rearranging life

For today I've drawn the Eight of Cups from the Anna K Tarot.  Similar as in the seven of Rods from yesterday I have the feeling the main character isn't symbolizing just me. This card feels more like the illustration of what is about to happen to our family in due course. You all know I don’t use my cards for fortunetelling: This Eight of Cups reminds me of an inevitable event. In my opinion this is about my eldest leaving home and M and I are staying behind. And there is sadness in this depiction although I am aware she is so ready for moving out. Her boyfriend has finished his studies recently and is now going to apply for jobs. I do hope they will find something nearby but nowadays you can’t be too picky. Anyway a familiar situation is left behind and a new life is about to be found

Besides this card made me think about S her moving out, this card is also about me and M being left behind and rearranging our eight cups. The stable situation of three women together in one house is going to change for sure. Family dynamics will be shifting. To be honest, although I trust we all will be alright in the end and for S it will be a big adventure, I think it rather scary too.