Archive for April, 2022

Today’s Card: Stick to harmless games with Honeysuckle

Posted in daily card reading, tagged , on April 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »

OK, games can be a lot of fun – but they can also be torture if people take them too seriously or if it’s mind games afoot. This weekend is Beltaine for those of us in the Northern hemisphere – a perfect time for fun and games so let’s all engage in some fun games and leave the other kind alone, shall we?

Blessings!

HONEYSUCKLE – GAMES

KEYS: Games & sports, having fun, setting small challenges for yourself, a spirit of competition, a break from work, having a laugh, playing psychological games

MEANING: Grandville’s image shows Honeysuckle in a summery dress and a flamboyant hat. She is on a staircase. Close behind her is a beautifully drawn goat who holds one of the pink tendrils in its mouth. There is no sense of despondency or menace in this card but, rather, a sense of uncomplicated fun. This card stands for all sorts of games, in both the actual and the more metaphorical senses. We probably play games with other people, not with goats, but whoever our fellow players are, it is important to remember that games are fun. Or are supposed to be. Don’t let that competitive streak make a game a thing of anxiety and one-upmanship. What is the difference between a game and a sport? Many people would say a sport demands physical prowess while a game does not. Is chess a game? For avid chess players, chess is neither a game nor a sport but a way of life. For most of us, though, games (or sports) should be a pleasant opportunity to get together with family and friends.

Now we come to difficult games: mind games. We all play them, often unconsciously. Eric Bern examines these games in fascinating detail in his book “Games People Play.” He gives the games colloquial names such as “See What You Made Me Do,” “Ain’t it Awful,” and “I’m Only Trying to Help You.” Even if you haven’t actually used these words, or heard someone else using them, chances are you have witnessed these games being played at home, at work, wherever. They are not necessarily bad, as long as you are aware of them and recognize that, ultimately, a healthy relationship can only thrive if games such as these are kept to a minimum. Why? Because they prevent good communication.

Original language of flowers meaning: Generous and devoted affection.

The Victorian Flower Oracle by author Sheila Hamilton and artists JJ Grandville (original illustrations), Karen Mahony, and Alex Ukolov

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Today’s Card: Rose Empress shows us how to be strong and delicate

Posted in daily card reading, tagged , on April 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »

What a bold and lovely card! So often, people only consider the blooms of a rose – their beauty, shape, color, and scent. But there is much more to a rose. Many roses produce rose hips, which are edible and nutritious. The thorns protect the plant from harm and these spiky plants create shelter for other creatures.

As such, don’t overlook the fact that we too are multidimensional. We can be sensuous and grounded, playful and serious when needed, strong and yet gentle.

The Empress – Rose

Be vulnerable, yet strong; nurture love and compassion; see beauty and abundance in every stage of life.

A honey-colored work table is veered in wild roses. Fall leaves are arrayed in a crown. The seeds of fat, juicy rose hips spill out next to pink heart-shaped petals. Buds and flowers lie on a honeycomb. Red chiles form a triskele pointing to a flaming heart. A stone bead of the Woman of Willendorf, a representative of the Great Mother, is strung onto a rosary.

Meaning: Healing the heart heals the world. Learn to be vulnerable yet strong like the delicate petals of the rose protected by thorns. Roses uplift the spirit and inspire love. Embody sensuality in bold, vibrant ways. Let creativity and abundance flourish around and within you. Wild roses are prolific, creating food, medicine, and shelter for all who encounter them. As all parts of the rose contain medicine, every stage of your life find passionate expression. Create, make, love, play. It is a fertile, generative time. 

Crafting with the Empress

• Arrange rose thorns and petals together on your altar to cultivate vulnerability and strength. 

• Create a rosary out of rose buds, rose hips, or dried rose petal beads for love and compassion. 

• Celebrate the many stages of life by learning the remedies for each season of the rose: Rose buds for childhood, full blooms for midlife, and hips for elder hood.

The Herbcrafter’s Tarot by author Latisha Guthrie and artist Joanna Powell Colbert

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Today’s Card: Notice the small things with Mouse Spirit

Posted in daily card reading, tagged , on April 27, 2022| 1 Comment »

Small things can add up to big impact, so don’t get so caught up in tackling the “big” items in your life that you ignore the small but important things. And sometimes what we need to do is lessen control of the little things – it all depends on your approach. Some of us need to tighten it up and others need to loosen up. Which are you?

Blessings,

Thistle

Mouse Spirit – Attend to the small things

Message: The humble mouse pays attention to the smallest details, and Mouse Spirit calls on you to notice the nuances and the fine print at this time. In your eagerness to meet your goals and pursue your dreams, it’s easy to forget the importance of clear communication and tending to the little things, including people’s subtle signs that they are unhappy as well as the small voice inside of you that says, “This doesn’t feel right.”

Take your time to sniff out what you need to know. Is there some detail or nuance about how you engage others or operate in the world that is key to your success but you’ve dismissed as “nothing big” or “nothing special”? Mouse Spirit remind you that what seems small may be more important and powerful than you think, so look again. Do not underestimate yourself or your potential for co-creating something amazing when you pay attention to the details!

Protection Message: Are you too caught up in details, micromanaging others and stressing out because you want everything to be perfect? Are you procrastinating because you want every detail to be “just right” and losing track of time and your priorities? Mouse Spirit wants you to listen to your intuition that tells you that the the detail you fear you are overlooking will only appear when you stop obsessing.

Mouse Spirit will lead you to the nuances you need to notice and will diligently work to support you if you take a breath and trust that guidance will be provided. Small gestures carry great power right now, and maybe you need to take action toward discovering what is going on that you may not be seeing – or toward mending a relationship or situation. Ask a question, do a little research, and listen for Mouse Spirit’s quiet little squeak telling you, “Look here, and attend to this detail.”

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

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Today’s Card: Honor all of Circle of Life, believe in good things coming

Posted in daily card reading, tagged , on April 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Of course, I wrote that headline and then immediately got the Nahko and Medicine for the People song stuck in my head! Well, please do believe in the good things coming – and help make them happen.

The natural cycles of life are not always cozy and pleasant, but even the dark times are healing and growing times. Let’s honor them all while striving for better things.

Like I said yesterday, I’m attempting to post every day, Monday through Friday, but will sometimes miss as my schedule is kind of wonky. Hang in there with me, please.

Blessings!

Circle of Life

Meaning: All things are possible. Stand in your center and be open. The Four Winds are bringing your dreams to fruition. Embrace and accept where you are in the great circle of life. Bounty and abundance are flowing to you. If you’ve had relationship or financial challenges, things are about to change.

Native Spirit Wisdom: The circle of life (called “The medicine wheel” in Native American traditions) symbolizes a cosmology that honors all the circle of life. Those in Western cultures tend to see life as linear; however, those in indigenous cultures view all life as a circle. When this card chooses you, it’s time to honor and cherish all aspects of the great circle. All parts of the journey have beauty and grace. There’s beauty in the rising sun, just as there is in the setting sun. To only revel in the rising sun (and demean times of endings) depletes your energy. Choose what is and you become master of the Universe (or at least of your own personal universe).

The Journey: Create a medicine wheel for yourself. It can be as simple as creating a circle of stones that you place on your desk or making a circle of stones or pinecones that you lay outdoors. As you place each part of the circle, hold the intent that you’re honoring all aspects of your life.

Native Spirit Oracle by author Denise Linn and artist Charles McStravick

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No card today! But I’ll be back

Posted in News & Updates, tagged on April 25, 2022| Leave a Comment »

OK, so I had a rough night and have an early appointment, so I didn’t have time to pull a card today. I will be back tomorrow – and I think I will resume daily card pulls.

My intention with going to twice a week was to try to be more consistent as I was missing some days anyway. Well, then I missed last Monday. I think trying to do it every day works better for me, but please just be aware that I have a lot going on medically and I might just miss a day here or there. At this point I’m just trying to tap into the peaceful Guan Yin (Kuan Yin) energy and do the best I can. 🙂

Statue of Guan Yin at the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum in Kansas City.

Have a good day everyone!

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Weekend’s Card: Celtic Bean connects us to earthiness, ancestors, nourishment, something lost

Posted in daily card reading, tagged , on April 22, 2022| Leave a Comment »

This card is a bit deceiving; it looks almost cheerful – just look at those blue skies and that happy pig in the corner! And while it’s not a scary card, it offers more serious work than it might appear. It may be time to revive something gone or abandoned; to treat out of a pattern, and more. It’s a complex card with many potential meanings.

Enjoy the weekend!

Thistle

Celtic Bean – Fertility, Reincarnation & Nourishment (also Confusion, Ancestors, Impurity)

Meaning: The Broad Bean is associated with fertility and reincarnation. As it sprouts, it is a phallic symbol, and the bean when it has formed resembles an embryo. The ancients saw the plant as being in direct communication with the realm of the dead, with their spirits returning from the Underworld through the hollow stems of the plant. Choosing this card may indicate that something that you thought was dead has come back into your life in a new form. A relationship you believed was over may suddenly be revived or a project that was buried a long time ago may be bearing fruit in an unexpected way.

Alternatively, you may be experiencing a sensual earthiness which seeks sexual expression, or you may find that you are drawn to expressing this earthiness in an artistic way.

On the flip side, this plant was connected to the Otherworld and the realm of Ancestors. If you have chosen this card reversed, it may mean that you are being strongly influenced by the Ancestors at this time. They may be inspiring you to behave or feel in certain ways, or you may simply be acting out a pattern that was laid down by a previous generation. This might be appropriate, or you may wish to be the generation that finally stops acting out this pattern, in which case a ritual offering of beans to the spirits of the Ancestors may be indicated. Try throwing some over your shoulder or casting them on the ground after stating your intention.

Alternatively, you may be experiencing some confusion or a sense of impurity. Trying to be free of impurity can end up making you feel even more uncomfortable. Purity is a quality rarely found in Nature – everything from water to air needs a good mix of ingredients to make it wholesome, and we need our flaws, weaknesses, and history of mistakes to make us human. What counts is not purity but integrity, which literally means wholeness.

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

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The Weekend’s Card: Consider choices carefully with Dahlia

Posted in daily card reading, tagged , on April 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »

We have so many choices today that it can be overwhelming, yet we all claim to want them even if we freeze in the choosing of one thing over another. This weekend, between the (hopefully) relaxation and fun, consider your choices and why you are making them. Is this the easy thing to do or least confrontational? Are you choosing time for yourself as well as with others (or perhaps vice versa)? Choices, like dahlias, are lovely to look at, but we need to be able to move forward in a positive way with the choices we are making.

Blessings and have a lovely weekend,

Thistle

Dahlia – Choices

Keywords: Picking and choosing, evaluating many options, spoiled for choice, decisions decisions, seeing all the alternatives, deciding what’s best

Meaning: The lady on this card is not just a dahlia herself – she also loves dahlias and is trying to decide how to arrange some in a vase. A single bloom? Which one? Or both together, for contrast? We all have to make choices. Some are basic: what to have for breakfast; and some are life-changing: whether to settle down with a partner, whether to have children, and other such serious issues.

Then there are those sticky moral choices that can drive us half insane while we weigh them up – fortunately, having actually made a choice, we usually feel better. Choice sounds great. Most of us like to think we have options, that our life is not mapped out in one ever so predictable line. If you are keen gardener, think of all the beautiful dahlias you could choose. You won’t buy them all, but is not great there so many? The actual act of choosing is fun, not just the outcome. And you really can’t make the wrong choice in that situation. But how about a much more serious kind of choice? Imagine that you were offered two jobs simultaneously. Both of them are in the field you enjoy and in which you have some skill and experience. One of them is adequately but not well-paid: the other will earn you quite a bit more for the same number of hours, but you will have more responsibility. What do you do? This particular one is not a moral choice, but it is tricky. When you’re faced with this kind of difficult decision, make a list of priorities. Ask yourself what you really want and what you would miss most if it were they taken away. The simple but profound exercise often points a way forward.

The Victorian Flower Oracle by author Sheila Hamilton and artists by JJ Grandeville, Karen Mahoney, and Alex Yukolov

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This Week’s Card: Be bold with honoring your true self

Posted in daily card reading, tagged , on April 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Well, this is quite the recipe for the coming week! I do love cinnamon, and it’s a spice that invigorates as well as promotes circulation and other good things. Whether you savor it literally or only in symbolism, let it help you connect with your true self and your ancestors.

Blessings and have a lovely week!

Thistle

Seven of Fire – Cinnamon

Answer the call of the ancients; seek vision from the ancestors; take a stand for your whole, authentic self

An image of the goddess Ixchel and a Sun Stone are gathered on a table. A rosary is draped across a dusty book of curanderismo (healing arts) near a roaring fire. Cinnamon has been crushed for te de canela, cinnamon tea, and now boils on the wood stove. A jar of cinnamon sticks remains opened, and lime is sliced.

Meaning: Ancestral traditions remind us who we are. Te de canela is a remedy of Mexican grandmothers. Your personal power has roots in your own cultural heritage. When you hear a call from the ancients, start with a study of your bloodlines. Learn the history, take the medicine, and eat the food of your people. Just as cinnamon found its way around the globe on the Silk Road, allow yourself to be taken on a journey by your ancestors. Devotion to divine beings will deepen your connection: collect imagery and stories, make altars and offerings. Take pride in where you come from. Stand up for who you are. Claim your sovereign path. Your foremothers will give you direction. Cinnamon is a strong and spicy remedy; be assertive and bold in the expression of the true self.

Crafting with Seven of Fire:
• Study your bloodlines.
• Invite your ancestors to a fireside council. Share a warming tea and ask for guidance.
• Boost your day with fire power; use extra cinnamon in your breakfast.

The Herbcrafter’s Tarot by author Latisha Guthrie and artist Joanna Powell Colbert

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Card of the Weekend: Walk gently with Deer Spirit

Posted in daily card reading, tagged , on April 8, 2022| Leave a Comment »

While weekends can be busy with activity and fun, be sure not to engage in conflict this weekend. Mind your spirit and let others do the same. Blessings!

Message: The time has come to be gentle and diplomatic when dealing with others. You might have found yourself in a situation where negotiations are necessary in order to reach your goal. Be mindful of the words you choose, but do not worry. Deer Spirit reminds you that you have the ability to be sure-footed and confident while showing humility and respect for others. You will find that your capacity for calm and grounded communication is heightened at this time.

Follow the way of Deer Spirit and you will do well, gaining the respect of others and finding common ground that is pleasing to you. Remember that understanding others and their needs will be more powerful at this time than putting your own first. If you do that, you will be rewarded tenfold.

Protection Message: Deer Spirit is bringing you a gentle warning that now is not the time to engage in an argument, no matter how volatile others are being. Do not match their intensity with your own. If you are dealing an overly assertive person, step back and disengage, lest you agree to something out of alignment with your intentions. Don’t let anyone bully you into anything you’re uncomfortable with. You have solid footing if you stand your ground with grace; those who disagree will begin to find their own gentleness and willingness to compromise.

Deer also brings the message that it might be easy to offend someone today or to take offense because someone lacks diplomacy. Let all of that pass. You are not meant to take this world personally. While it’s a beautiful gift to be sensitive, today you need a tougher hide so that any compromises you make allow you to maintain your integrity.

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

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The Week’s Card: Weave your own destiny with The Wheel

Posted in daily card reading, tagged , on April 4, 2022| Leave a Comment »

OK, so I’ve decided to streamline things a bit here with the cards of the day. You may have noticed I’m not terribly consistent anymore, so I’ve decided to post just twice a week: on Mondays to consider through the week, and on Fridays to guide the weekend. I also am trying to get back to writing some more content like I used to. Wish me luck.

For this week, we are being told to take control of our destiny. Yes, there will always be things out of our control, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make decisions around that or how to handle those things. What attitude we face challenges with is also part of our control – do we want to get bitter or appreciate what we do have?

Have a great week, everyone!

The Wheel

Reading Points: The Wheel has turned; change is at hand. In all nature, there is a time and tide. The cyclic laws of birth, death, and rebirth are ever revolving and, without change, all things stagnate. How you deal with this change is the issue here. Within the tangled and tightly woven fabric of chance, you have the power to make a difference. By your own action you can change your life. You are not a prisoner of fate, but an integral part of it. Remember, this is not a dress rehearsal! Life is what happens to you while you are waiting for it to begin. Whether on the surface the change appears to be for better or worse, welcome it, be at peace with it and take control of your actions within it. All things must pass.

Meaning: The Wheel traditionally represents the cycles of eternal law and evolution that all living creatures are covered by. Change is unavoidable and necessary if the cycles of nature are to remain alive and regenerative. But on the human level, we are the weavers of our own destiny. Consciously or unconsciously, we make the patterns and possibilities that the universe has to offer and, although the seemingly random, chaotic nature of the universe always has the final world, we can affect our own life and that of the world by taking control of our destiny. Many believe that fate is set, that all things are predesigned no matter what we do in this human reality, but the weaver of the cloak can affect this ever-shifting metric of potential just by recognizing the pattern and making timely decisions. We can grasp the web of fate and weave in our own special, personal pattern.

Although the jigsaw puzzle of probability and possibility holds the universe together in a loose web of predictable events, nothing is set in stone. The very act of asking a question creates a whole new set of possible outcomes. But be aware! With this ability to weave our own destiny comes with responsibility. Our actions are not without risk. If things are out of balance with the universe, the Wheel will bring change in order to restore natural harmony to the web of fate.

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

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