Parting the Mists

I pulled this card and laughed – the abundance of water in the image hit a little too close to home as our area is facing severe storms and flash flooding for today and rain/storms for a full week after. But I can grab a book and some tea and be quite happy with the weather, provided we don’t wash away. Here’s hoping you all find some happiness in whatever is coming your way.

Also drawn today were The Woodward (finding courage and drawing strength from nature) and the Six of Bows (abundance and reaping/accepting rewards and blessings). It seemed a well-rounded spread, so I thought I’d share it.

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, blessed Beltaine Eve! (And to those in the Southern, blessed Samhain eve.)

Ten of Vessels – Happiness

Description: A waterfall foams over rocks from a low cliff decked with trees. The cascade creates dozens of separate water flows, which fall into a river below. Near the bottom of the waterfall, 10 vessels are arranged and the water fills them to overflowing.

Meaning: Generous fulfillment of desires from a source that is pure and cleansing. Reward for patience and love given selflessly. True emotional stability and freedom.

Reading Points: With the deep and profound calm of true and lasting happiness flowing through your life, a sense of homecoming, safety, and beauty shines from an individual that lights others’ lives and is infectious to everyone. Healing rays of affection and warmth radiate from your inner core. For those in love, the joy is in the sharing of tender and intimate support and understanding. Giving love and seeing that love reflected in the eyes of the one you care for is the most powerful and healing magic known to mankind.

For those who thrive on happiness derived from the fulfillment of ambitions in life goals, happiness is fueled by the essence of affirmation of self-worth and ideals. Being effective and productive in the practical world brings a sense of stability that can be shared and used as a vehicle to motivate and inspire others. No greater act of humanity can be achieved than by showing the way and opening a person‘s heart to the possibility of happiness. However much we love, however much we achieve, we empower ourselves to be emotionally alive by excepting that the circuit of life requires giving, as well as receiving. As we revel in the bliss of the journey, we remember with gratitude patients, wisdom, and synchronicity that brought that blessing into our lives.

Wildwood Tarot by authors Mark Ryan and John Matthews and artist Will Worthington

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A very auspicious card to start our week! Here in southeast Kansas, we are enjoying some beautiful, soft rain this morning – I hope you all are being blessed as well.

Clover – Wisdom, Health, Good Fortune

The card shows the Well of Segais, the mythical source of the river Boyne in Ireland. The salmon of Wisdom swims in this sacred pool, which is overhung by hazels. Every so often a hazelnut will fall and the salmon will crack own the nut and feed on it. In the foreground, we see the Red Clover in flower.

Meaning: Since records began, good luck has been said to come to those who find a four-leafed clover. It is extremely auspicious to draw this card in a reading, and it may well indicate that you are about to experience good fortune. In Sussex folklore, the four leaves of a lucky Clover were said to represent fame, wealth, good health, and a faithful lover, and perhaps one or more of these will come to you. The old phrase “living in Clover” meant living in luxury and it is possible that you will be able to enjoy a standard of living or lifestyle that you have long dreamed about but never quite attained.

To dream of Clover is considered a portent of good fortune and health, and the wise understand that the greatest wealth is found not in money, but in good health. If we can find wisdom as well as health, then we can bask in good fortune, regardless of how much money we might have. The well of Segais, shown on this card, is considered by Druids to be the source of wisdom. From this source they refresh their bodies and their spirits.

Drawing this card may also indicate that you are trying to free yourself of something unwanted, troubling, or even toxic. You may want to rid yourself of a habit or anxiety that bothers you, or perhaps you wish to be free from something that you feel inhibits you or hamper your development. This card may be inviting you to first consider what you have gained or learned from what you wish to banish.

The Druid Plant Oracle by authors Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm and artist Will Worthington

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OK, how perfect is this card (not to mention gorgeous)? It’s Friday, for starters. For those in my area, it’s a gorgeous day and we even have our town’s Art Walk tonight. Plenty of opportunities to unwind and relax and just enjoy the day.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

Brown Bear Spirit – Take Time Out

Message: There is a time to act and a time to focus your attention on patient strategizing. The arrival of Brown Bear Spirit signals that you are best served by foregoing hard work toward your goals at this moment and instead taking the time out to meditate – or just take a nap so you can refresh yourself and begin planning what you want to co-create next. Come to know the lay of the land as you contemplate and imagine what you might do in this vast space of possibility before you, and begin forming a plan. Remember, sleep allows for dreaming and rest allows for clear-headed strategizing.

How might you become the person you wish to be and experience whatever your heart desires? Insights will arise as you explore the possibilities and begin envisioning your plan. Knowing what you want will ensure you use your energy wisely in the days ahead. Be patient at this time. Relax and be calm and peaceful so you can recharge. The call for action will come later.

Protection Message: When you become so frazzled that you can’t decide how to move forward, Brown Bear arrives to remind you to let go of your impatience in getting to answers and solving the problems that face you. Now is the time for rest and meditation. Take a break, let insights arise, and know that you have plenty of time to make plans.

Brown Bear Spirit reminds you that sometimes the best and most  effective action is inaction, allowing the situation around you to reveal itself to you so you can better understand it. Remember that what is yours will never be withheld from you, so you really can relax and wait until the next right action is revealed. Miracles come from out of nowhere, and yours will arrive on Great Spirit’s timetable.

Spirit Animal Oracle by author Colette Baron-Reid and artists Jenna DellaGrotaglia

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Here’s another card with a bright outlook. Sometimes we pull in too much because it’s easier than dealing with people’s confusion or resistance to who we really are. Do not withdraw – expand and let the world sense your energy. Blessings!

Grandfather Sky

Meaning: This is your time to reach for the sky! Expansive energy, vitality, health, healing, and passion – these qualities are expanding in your life. The sky’s the limit. You are a healer and a channel for the life force of the Universe. Your ability to sense energy fields is increasing dramatically. Be prepared to soar to new heights.

Native Spirit Wisdom: When you receive the Grandfather Sky card, you’re entering into an expansive cycle. Do not hold back and repress what you feel; your body and spirit will become drained. If you strive to meet everyone’s expectations, but forget to honor your own needs, your energy field becomes dull. If you allow your emotions and needs the freedom to be spontaneously expressed, waves of incredible energy will expand inside of you. Running on your own resources, it’s easy to become drained; however, letting the divine light of the Creator flow through you easily replenishes your Soul.

The Journey: To deepen your connection to Grandfather Sky and bring an expansive energy into your life, stand outdoors with your arms reaching out to the sky. One of the fastest ways to bring joy and bounty into your life is through gratitude. Allow thankfulness to surge through you up into the heavens.

Native Spirit Wisdom by author Denise Linn and artist Charles McStravick

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Great card and don’t ignore the protection message – some of us need that one!

Blessings!

Cow Spirit

Message: You are at a beautiful point in your life today, for your needs are being met effortlessly and in so many ways. Fully embrace this truth by focusing on all you have right now, including the positive relationships that sustain you, the work you are proud to do to contribute to the world, and the activities that inspire you and nourish your soul.

Cow Spirit nudges you to pay attention because this is the perfect time to focus on the choices, actions, and behaviors that you know feed your soul and bring your heart contentment. Now is also the time when you will see many of your projects and commitments that were set in motion in the past begin to yield valuable gifts that will bring you joy and love and sustain you for a long time to come. Stay positive and share your well-being with others. The more you share, the more you will manifest, so be generous. Cow Spirit promises you will never run out of miracles.

Protection Message: Cow Spirit asks you to pay attention to how you nourish your mind, body, and spirit because right now, you are wobbling around like a newborn calf on its unsteady legs. Perhaps you’ve been spending too much time distracting yourself on the Internet, or obsessing over a relationship, or choosing to eat food that isn’t healthy. Whatever it is, you’re being nudged to assess how you are looking after your needs.

Remember, the Universe has a way of reflecting back to you events and conditions that match how you treat yourself. Cow remind you that the universe want to give you the very best but needs you do to your part to participate and nourish your well-being. Heed her message, and everything will shift in your favor!

Spirit Animal Oracle by Colette Baron-Reid and Jenna DellaGrotaglia

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Alright, here we are with an awesome card after a four-day hiatus (sorry about that, but life got super busy)! This dragon is demanding we remember that we are creators. Not just creative, but creating something. Whether it be art, a family, a garden, or whatever, don’t ignore the call to use your energy toward creating something wonderful in your life.

Blessings!

You Were Born to Create

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This is a serious card – the Wildwood deck does tend to get to the point sometimes, whether the point be cozy and warm or cold and hard. As many of us are celebrating the fertility of spring (in the Northern Hem) and others celebrating the harvest (in the Southern Hem), but in this day we need to consider how these cycles are changing and whether it’s for the health of all – including future generations.

What are we doing that need to change to live our words? In our household, we struggle to reduce plastic use, not waste food, and to get busy with gardening in a timely manner. We all need to find better – and more sustainable – ways to live.

Sorry to be preachy, but sometimes it is what it is.

SIX OF STONES – EXPLOITATION

MEANING: Selfish or foolish overuse of non-sustainable resources implies imbalance in work and business that is damaging to yourself or the environment.

DESCRIPTION: Two ragged and distraught figures, and old man and a girl, stand by a row of damaged and abandoned beehives holding empty bowls. Broken and unused farming tools lie on the ground nearby. Through the leafless trees, we see the surrounding fields, barren and desolate. In the distance, smoke rises from burning piles of spoiled crops.

READING POINTS: The human race’s capacity to exploit planetary resources to our own detriment is motivated by a flawed belief that we have the right to do so. As we begin to come to terms with the profound effects of global climate change and the irreversible effects this will have on our children’s lives, the human race still struggles to deal with the unresolved issues of how to feed the billions of new human beings born every year. How we will resource the education, health, and social service requirements of entire generations to come seems like a question too painful even to think about. With world financial systems and safeguards breaking down and faith in any government’s ability to tell the truth and act with integrity severely damaged, our social moral codes and once-familiar cultural “norms” appear under enormous strain. We all need to be aware of the price our children will pay for our exploitation of the planet’s resources.

The Wildwood Tarot by authors Mark Ryan and John Matthews and artist Will Worthington

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Nimue often gets a bad rap in the Arthurian literature. Remember that her character is being viewed through an extremely patriarchal lens. There is more to her story, and she has much to teach us.

High Priestess – Nimue

Meaning: A deep stirring within the self. A subtle but powerful connection with the collective unconscious or world soul. An inspired state of being. Surges of wisdom that benefit any creative endeavor, whether they be artistic, esoteric, or scientific.

Seeking guidance and knowledge. Seclusion and self-reliance. Good judgement and astute psychic ability. Feminine principles and grace. A need for solitude. Creating a receptive state of mind. Meditation brings new solutions to light.

This card could also mean: Dormant talents and wisdom. The waste or misuse of skills and knowledge. Lack of inspiration; hollow existence. A negative influence affecting emotional stability and imparting judgement. Being deceived by a superficial show of knowledge. Ignorance and an unwillingness to consider the advice of others.

Nimue: Nimue is one of several women to hold the title Chief Damsel of the Lake. This can lead to confusion, as the name Lady of the Lake may refer to, among others, Morgan or the water spirit who fosters Lancelot and rises from the waters to give and later receive Excaliber.

Nimue is most often remembered as Merlin’s undoing. The sage first happened upon her while she was dancing in the woods. As he watched her graceful movements, he felt his heart ties and recognized the dance, but was powerless to stop the emotion that came over him. From that day on, Merlin followed her everywhere. Nimue dared not rebuke the great Merlin for fear of his wrath and magical powers. The indignant court marveled at the sight of their wisest counselor acting the fool, and gossip began. Arthur was relieved when Merlin announced that they would be leaving the court to travel. Nimue had agreed to accompany Merlin on the condition that he promise not to use his powers to overcome her. Nimue, meanwhile, strove to learn all she could of Merlin’s magic so that one day she might be rid of him.

Merlin’s obsession deepened with time, and his advances took a sinister turn. Aided by an enchantment he taught her, Nimue trapped Merlin in a cave where he would remain for all eternity. Some say he languishes in a tower of air or under a great stone. Others believe he was not trapped at all, but merely chose to retire to the Isle of the Otherworld. In this interpretation, Nimue was a trusted escort and nurse, a companion to help him on his journey to the twilight realm.

Whatever the case may have been, Nimue’s action were considered justified and there were no serious repercussions. Indeed, she became an advisor and friend to the king, saving his life and guarding him against treachery.

Legend: The Arthurian Tarot by Anna-Marie Ferguson

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Maybe it’s springtime calling, but the urge to declutter has been strong with me lately – how about you? perhaps a spiritual or mental decluttering if not a physical one? This card came to us in February, so clearly our work is not done here.

Blessings!

SMUDGING CEREMONY

MEANING: Let go of the past. Purify. Detox. Release whatever doesn’t serve or support you in your life. Cleanse your body and environment by doing space clearing and clutter clearing. Let go of the old, discarded, and unused to make way for the new energy and new beginnings. Eat lightly, drink lots of fresh water, and consume food with strong life force.

NATIVE SPIRIT WISDOM: Smudging is a native tradition that involves using the smoke of burning herbs to symbolically “wash” a space in a ceremonial manner. Sometimes your energy field or the energy field of your environment becomes so cluttered and dingy that you can’t see the world clearly and you have trouble hearing the messages from your soul. When you take the time to purify yourself and your environment, not only do you feel lighter and brighter but also you’re a clearer channel for the light. The brilliance that pours through you can heal and help many people – but first the path has to be clear.

THE JOURNEY: Using the smoke of incense or sage, cup your hands into the smoke and “wash” over the top of your head, saying, “That I think clearly.” Then cup the smoke to your eyes, saying, “That I may see the truth.” Next bring the smoke to your throat area, saying, “That I may speak the truth.” Finally, waft the smoke to your heart area, saying, “That my heart be open.”

Native Spirit Oracle by author Denise Linn and artist Charles McStravick

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Here’s another beautiful but deep card to kick off our week. For many of us, getting back into the weekday groove on Monday is a bit of an autopilot thing as we come out of a weekend. Today, the Swan suggests we go through today with more thought and introspection than that.

Hope you all had a great weekend (we did – plenty of time outdoors and some of it with friends). Blessings!

Swan Spirit – Time for a Deep Dive

Message: With their graceful, long necks, swans are able to reach into the depths. When Swan Spirit arrives, you are called to take a deep dive, beyond what is easily availing on the surface. You may think you know what is best for you now, but take the plunge to the depths of your awareness, for there is knowledge you are not aware of and great treasures to discover. Deeper understanding awaits you, and a perspective that comes from greater self-knowledge is what you need right now to better understand a situation or relationship.

As you come to know yourself more intimately, so too will you come to better know others, so Swan Spirit asks you to go behind the surface of what is happening between you and others and resist the temptation to judge by superficial appearances. Know there is much deeper potential for loving connections, forgiveness, and mutual understanding.  Choose to dive deep, into your Why. Asking the deeper questions of yourself, you are led by the grace of Swan Spirit.

Protection Message: Don’t talk yourself into diving deep into something just because you see the potential of things instead of what they really are now. The necessary work and patience involved may not be the best use of your energy. Have you seen the potential in someone and think that if you love and support them, they will become the person who knows you love them beyond all others? Have you stepped into an opportunity that you know feels too good to be true and might not turn out the way you hope?

Now is not a time for selective, limited perception that can lead to misjudgment. Instead, this is a time for going deep and being honest about what you find as you explore the depths. Have no fear, for whatever you find below will help you love and understand yourself and others, and make better choices. Can you sense Swan Spirit calling you to dive deep and resurface to choose again?

Spirit Animal Oracle by author Colette Baron-Reid and artist Jena DellaGrottaglia

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