Dreamer Prince - The Gift of Liberty

Today’s card is The Dreamer Prince – Gift of Liberty from the Tarot of the Sidhe by Emily Carding. We see a Sidhe prince with his hands over his ears and from his head a flock of birds is taking flight. When I think of the twittering of the birds in my garden, this flock of birds could be deafening for our Prince. So many idea’s, so many thoughts are sprouting from his ever busy mind. He always has inspiration enough.  His well of ideas never runs dry.  But it is very difficult for him to stop his train of thoughts and to focus on one subject or idea and to elaborate on it, let alone do something with all his bright ideas.

Often I feel overwhelmed by my own stream of consciousness. I have all these thoughts about what I want to do and most of them never gets done or when I am starting vigorously with something new, I am losing interest along the way too soon and so I have a pile of unfinished projects stacked away for more productive times.....

Since I am getting older, I also seem to leak my greatest ideas without being aware I’ve lost something precious. So now I am always, wherever I go, carrying a notebook with me to jot down the things I want to remember. I also like to make lists and mind maps to keep my thought process  a bit within limits.

“He dreams of more than any could know,

But they are seeds he cannot sow,

His winged thoughts fly upon the air,

Never to land within a prayer…”

E. Carding

Just before posting this I was thinking how much he resembles me when I try to meditate... 

Dreamer Eight and Maker Four – Grounding activities can free you from your web of thoughts

Today's Card is Dreamer Eight ( Eight of Swords) and Maker Four (Four of Pentacles) from the Tarot of the Sidhe by Emily Carding.

Carla from Rowan Tarot wrote this morning about how she felt when she would draw a card like this as her card of the day. Well clearly I can sympathize now. The Eight of Swords been my nemesis tarot card for a very long time and now it has found its way back into my life as Dreamer Eight - Web of Mirrors. This card is all about being trapped in your own limiting beliefs and being unable to see reality. This is often caused by fear of letting go the illusion of control. The figure in the card is a spider like Sidhe who has woven her own web of self sabotaging thoughts. Thread by thread, thought by thought, she has imprisoned herself more and more.

The only way out is for her to become aware that this entangling situation is of her own doing:

“Yeah, as long as we know we’re trapped, we still have a chance to escape ” (S. Grant)

Then I asked what would be a helping attitude for me to face reality. And I got the Maker Four- The greedy Tree. This what not what I had expected at all but this is what I got, so there was bound to be a message for me in there somewhere: Besides being greedy this card is also about protecting what is precious to you. So today this card is all about protecting my self-worth, my time, my health and about feeling grounded by taking care of my physical me. Doing something is for me personally the best way to unravel those cobwebs in my mind

“For when we weave a web of thoughts

Of “ifs” and  “shoulds” and “coulds” and “oughts”

And fears of what the others seem

We make a prison of our dream”

(E. Carding)

Maker Ten and The Dreamer – a Dream of Abundance and Stability

Today’s cards are a very appropriate for the Summer Solstice: the Maker Ten and the Dreamer of the Tarot of the Sidhe. And yes the deck is in honor of the Solstice too!

First let’s look at the Maker Ten. This is a card of prosperity, abundance and stability. An important man is about to be crowned as leader because of his accomplishments for the community. It is a happy occasion with food and drinks and many merry Fae who came to honor this man. 

“The crown was forged by Maker King

And to him Fortune’s gifts we bring

For all will flourish in this land

Under our noble leader’s hand”

(E. Carding)

But the second card makes me wonder if this happening is more about what the Fae people want than about the wishes of their leader. The blazing sunlight is illuminating the mind of The Dreamer. I get the impression the leader's mind is already focusing on his next project or idea. Something beneficial for his people no doubt and he will be glad that tomorrow he can go about business as usual.

“All things are born in the land of Dream

In an insubstantial airy gleam

In the eternal Dreamer’s golden mind

As pure as one by Gods Divin’d”

(E. Carding)

It strikes me that this group resembles my family very much: a father, a mother and three children

The Fae man reminds me of my father, the provider of his family, a tower of strength for all of us. He was not so keen on celebrations with himself as the center of attention.  He was a gentle, modest and such an intelligent man. I miss him and not only today on Father’s day…

Queen of cups – walking the waves

Today’s card is the Queen of Cups from the Shadowscapes Tarot. I absolutely love this depiction of the Queen of Cups. She has risen from her throne and entered her kingdom. Fearlessly and with confidence, she is walking the waves, following a path which is unfolding for her step by step. Without a plan or road map, just guided by her intuition, she puts one foot before the other and with every step a sea turtle is there, to carry her as her stepping stone. She is totally aligned with her intuition, her feelings and emotions. This is her realm. This is her home. The stars in the sky will guide her. They symbolize wisdom from days past and  hope for the future.  In this card everything is fluid: the sea, the standing stones in the background, the sky, her glowing creative imagination: all the elements are present and flowing naturally into one another.

Tomorrow I am going to visit my mother for a few days. When we are together we are both very much like this queen, each in our very own way.  I do hope my intuition will guide me to put my feet on solid places and be kind and loving, while wading through this watery weekend.  I just want to be there and enjoy her company without expecting anything in return.  I want to focus on our time spend together instead of on how I would have wanted it to be.

So when I return home again I will be fulfilled and happy to have been there for her, like she has been there for me for so long!

So see you all next week! 

New moon in June

Yesterday I drew two cards for the New Moon of this month from the Shadowscapes Tarot and both hold some very sound and also summery advice for me:

        

Release – The eight of Cups

For me this card is all about soul searching, shadow work and seeking truth and answers in places you’ve never been before. A lonely and sometimes scary journey into the unknown, leaving behind who you once was and not knowing how you will emerge from this adventure. But now is not the time to dive deep, so I should let go of that tempting distant glimmer in the depths which is just out of reach. I’d better swim back to the surface and bask myself in the summer sun.

Embrace – The Hanged Man

Well  he sure is getting a tan. This card is always a real challenge for me: letting go of control, surrender to what is and while doing change my perspective and be open to new ways of thinking. A shift in consciousness is sometimes all we need to continue our journey peacefully. Often it is hard for me to do nothing because when my mind is unoccupied, unwelcome thoughts will creep in. So I read and  I write, I draw and I knit  to keep the worrying at bay. But when I look at this card even the little Fae  are quietly  waiting so perhaps when I try to let go of suppressing my darker thoughts they will stop wriggling and writhing too. Isn't it a fact that what we fight is always getting stronger?

And just now I noticed the Hanged Man has a beautiful  shining  ball of light in his hands, so we don’t always have to dive deep to find our treasure. When we hold still and surrender it might just magically appear…

Five of Swords – Self-interest or Self-care?

Today’s card is the Five of Swords from the Shadowscapes Tarot. This  is a card of conflict.  In many Rider Waite based decks it depicts one person holding five swords while defeated adversaries are walking away. Here however we see an angel like figure holding  one sword in his hand and carrying two crossed swords on his back much like in the Two of Swords.  It is not easy to decide who this angel is. Is he the aggressor  who acts only out of self- interest, or is he the defeated one, a cast out angel from the heavens?

Often our role in a conflict is difficult to assess; it goes back and forth like the swinging of a pendulum. But one thing is certain; before entering a conflict we have to be sure if it is worth it to engage in the conflict at all.

Engaging in a conflict with our own interest in mind can sometimes be in fact an act of self-care.  As long as we don’t trample and hurt our opponents just for the sake of wanting to be right. Yes this card is often just about heated discussions and wanting to be right or at least to be entitled to our own opinion.  Personally I am inclined to be “cast out of heaven” so for me this card is all about letting myself be heard and to be taken seriously whenever a conflict arises. 

First and Last Tag

This post is inspired by Kelly from The Truth in a Story.  After a lot of us have participated in Chloe’s tag: 3x3x3 divination, she has started her own tag about our first and last tarot and oracle deck and other divination systems which don’t involve cards. So let’s start with the last part of this tag: 

Other forms of divination

Sixteen years ago I’ve made my runes using ordinary pebbles. Tarot wasn’t in the picture yet. I felt I should work with runes because they were part of my ancestral heritage.  Also you have only 24 runes  and 78 tarot cards. So the decision was very easy at the time.

This is my first and my last divination set other then tarot or oracles. Although I have  become a fervent collector of card decks, I have never felt the need to try out other forms of divination beside my runes

Tarot decks

My very first tarot deck was a pocket version of the Rider Waite Tarot, which has softer color tones than the yellow box Rider Waite. I remember taking it with me on a holiday. I tried to read and understand the guidebook but all it did was confuse me and I didn’t want to unwrap the cards because I was so afraid to pull the Death card before we traveled home. Who know what powers this deck could have…???

When we were safely at home again I bought a book from Hajo Banzhaf which opened the doors for me to more in depth tarot studies

My last Tarot deck is the Wild unknown Tarot.  Although I only have this deck for about  five weeks it has already become one of my favorites.  It amazes me each time how these pen drawings with a touch of color can evoke such deep feelings and so much meaning. I also love how well it works together with my Runes. A wonderful match between a first and a last

Oracle decks

My first oracle deck was the Dutch version of the Goddess Guidance Oracle deck. I wanted to work with some of the depicted goddesses and needed representations on my altar.  At the time I thought I had to pick this deck very carefully because I had no intention to buy any more oracle decks. It was gifted to by M about four years ago.

My last oracle deck is the Gaia Oracle. Again the  Dutch version and again because I want to use it to explore the Divine Feminine. Lately I have been very interested in Germanic goddesses. Like Holda and Freya. I’ve discovered there is so much more to them than what you read in most  books. This is also true for Erda, Eartha, the personification of Earth (Aarde in Dutch). She is similar to Gaia, so working with this deck is a great way to relate to her and other goddesses.

I have really enjoyed this tag very much. It has brought back  a lot of memories and it was fun to see how much ideas about divination can change over the years.